‘He’s not the sort to play practical jokes,’ she said fearfully. ‘Is he, Nick?’Nick shook his head, joining her at the bottom of the staircase. ‘Guy, it’s Nick. If you’re up there, come down right now please.’ His voice was loud and confident, but Ash had been with him long enough to detect a faint hint of nerves in it.Silence.‘I’m scared,’ said Tracy. ‘I think something might have happened to him.’Ash was scared too. Really scared. This whole thing felt unreal, like stepping into a nightmare. Except it wasn’t a nightmare. It was actually happening, right now. She turned to Nick. ‘I thought I saw someone outside. A few minutes ago.’‘Why didn’t you say?’‘I thought it might be my imagination.’Tracy called up to her husband again, her voice sounding a bit hysterical for the first time. ‘What are we going to do?’ she asked the other two.‘Stay here,’ said Nick, striding past them into the kitchen. He came back out a few moments later holding two large kitchen knives.
