Hi this is Who am I. I am loved and this is my first ever fan fiction! I'm so excited, yay. So the reason I've written/ am writing this fan fiction is because I can't bare to let go of this series of books. This is my way of keeping them alive. I know, sad isn't it!

Anyway, I do not own anything, nothing, Nada, zilch, nil! It all belongs to other people, Darren Shan is an example. No copyright infringement is intended, please don't hurt my fan fiction!

I've always been fascinated by spider. I used to collect them when I was younger. I'd spend hours rooting through the dusty old shed at the bottom of our garden, hunting the cobwebs for lurking eight-legged predators. When I found one, I'd bring it in and let it loose in my bedroom.

It used to drive mum mad!

Usually, the spider would slip away after no more than a day or two, never to be seen again, but sometimes they hung around for longer. I had one who made a cobweb above my bed and stood sentry for almost a month. Going to sleep, I used to imagine the spider creeping down, crawling into my mouth, sliding down my throat and laying a load off eggs in my belly. The baby spiders would hatch after a while and eat me alive, from the inside out.

I loved being scared when I was little.

When I was nine, my mum and dad gave me a small tarantula. It wasn't poisonous or very big, but it was the greatest gift I'd ever received. I played with it almost every waking hour of the day. Gave it all sorts of treats: flies, cockroaches and tiny worms. Spoilt it rotten.

Then, one day, I did something stupid. I'd been watching a cartoon in which one of the characters was sucked up into a vacuum cleaner. No harm came to him. He squeezed out of the bag, dusty dirty and mad as hell. It was very funny.

So funny, I tried it. With the tarantula.

Needless to say, things didn't happen quite like they did in the cartoon. The spider was ripped to pieces. I cried a lot, but it was too late for tears. My pet was dead, it was my fault, and there was nothing I could do about it.

My parents nearly hollered the roof down when they found out what I'd done - the tarantula had cost quite a bit of money. They said I was an irresponsible fool, and from that day on they never again let me have a pet, not even an ordinary garden spider.

I started with that tale from the past for two reasons. One will become obvious as the story unfolds. The other reason is:

This is a true story.

I don't expect you to believe me - I wouldn't believe myself if I hadn't lived it - but it's true. Everything I describe in this book has happened, just as I tell it.

In real life, vacuums kill spider. If you cross a road without looking, you get whacked by a car. If you fall from a tree, you break some bones. Real life's nasty. It's cruel. It doesn't care about heroes and happy endings and the way things should be. In real life, bad things happen. People die. fights are lost. Evil often wins.

I just wanted to make that clear before I began.

One more thing: My name isn't really Darrie Shan. Everything's true in this book, except for names. I've had to change them because... well, by the time you get to the end, you'll understand.

I haven't used any real names, not mine, my sister's, my friends or my teachers. Nobody's. I'm not even going to tell you the name of my town or country. I daren't.

Anyway, that's enough of an introduction. if you're ready, lets begin. If this was a made-up story, it would begin at night, with a storm blowing and owls hooting and rattling noises under the bed. But this is a real story, so I have to begin where it really started.

It started in a toilet.

Did you love it? Hate it? Not sure, review! It makes the world a better place!

Hugs and kisses

Who am I. I am loved