"Thank you ladies and gentlemen, safe home and don't forget to stay afraid of the dark." Mr Tall concluded, taking a bow
and leaving the stage as darkness fell over entire room. The audience shuffled in their seats and started to get up.
"Nobody move!", Mr Crepsley ordered, a spotlight blinked to life and shone down on us. I flinched by his side due to
harshness of the glare but Mr Crepsley remained in character.
"My extremely poisonous spider has escaped", he said in a low voice, "She could be anywhere, under the seats, in your bags or on stage".
Hushed voices whispered frantically, and some even crouched on the padded velvet seats. Placing the flute between my lips,
I blew softly, watching Mr Crepsley as he willed Madame Octa to weave through peoples legs. They stifled screams of terror.
One faint hearted lady crumbled to the ground, narrowly missing the spider. My throat was dry and my fingers ached as they
scaled up and down the flute but raw energy pumped through me. The co-dependence involved when we performed
almost made us equals. I couldn't explain it but the feeling of power of him caused something to stir inside me. It was
almost carnal. Before I knew it, Mr Crepsley had guided Madame Octa back inside her cage. Shutting the cage door, he
smiled twistedly at the audience,
"I bid you all a goodni-"
The ballroom doors burst open and police flooded in.
"Bloody hell", Mr Crepsley swore under his breath. The crowd fled in all directions. Getting swept into the mob of bodies, I
could no longer distinguish who was who. My body was pushed from person to person and losing my balance I fell to the
floor. Shoes trampled my limbs and I lashed out at anything that came near. A pair of hands pulled me upright. Twisting
around to flash them a grateful smile, a fist slammed into my stomach and my arms were pinned roughly behind my back.
Clink. The metal of handcuffs bit into my wrists as they were snapped on.
Doubling over in pain, I swore graphically. My cheek stung red from a hard slap I received.
"Shut it punk", an officer shouted in my ear. Recoiling, my eyes darted around wildly for the one person I needed right now.
My relief changed to confusion as I saw he was restrained not by the police, but by Mr Tall.
His normal calm appearance had been replace by a creature in frenzy. Bloodshot eyes were locked upon my body and his
teeth were bared. Mr Tall's arms locked around his shuddering frame.
"DARREN", Mr Crepsley roared.
Wide eyed, I stared desperately back at him as I was dragged through the crowd. Before I realised it I was being ungracefully
shoved into the back of a police car, groaning as my head cracked against the back seat.
