In a dingy office in a godforsaken basement, the phone rang. It was picked up by a huge man, as wide as he was tall. "Hello?" he said. "Stoke Travel Insurance. How may I help?"
The voice on the other end was breathless, and sounded worried. "Can I talk to Brett, please?" it asked.
"Who?"
"Brett Edwards."
The man nodded, as though she could see him. He bellowed, "Edwards! Phone call!"
Brett ambled into the room. He hated this part-time job, but it was all he could get. He picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Brett!"
"Drew?" said Brett. "Are you alright?"
"Listen, Brett, Casper's in a bad way. He had a bit of a shock and he needs some comfort. I'm doing all I can, but can you come over as well?"
"Hang on a sec," said Brett. He covered the mouthpiece and turned to the boss. "Can I have the rest of the evening off?"
The boss shrugged.
"I'm on my way," said Brett told Drew.
Drew hung up the phone. Casper was still being violently sick in the toilet. She knew how hard it must be for him. But she wasn't going to let him die, too.
She glanced at the computer. The mouse was hovering over casperandbrett.jpg.
"Don't," said Casper's voice behind her. She turned round. Casper was wiping his mouth with a towel. "I'm not sure I'm ready."
"Don't worry," said Drew, trying to console him. "I called Brett. He's on his way over."
Casper smiled. "Great."
Drew turned back to the computer. "We'll have to look at it sooner or later."
Casper sighed. He sat down on the bed again. "Okay. Let's do it."
He reached out. Drew took him hand in hers, and squeezed it tightly.
She double-clicked the file.
Brett was upset. The reason for this was that he had lost his wallet.
Again.
"Looks like I'm walking," he remarked to no one in particular. He strode out into the street.
It was getting dark now. He started walking.
He reflected on what Drew had told him. So Casper was in shock? He knew that the two of them had seen Zack die, and had been there for Seb's final performance.
It was weird, really. Of the twelve who had got off the bus, three were dead. He started to cross the street.
He was nearly knocked down by a speeding ambulance.
He watched it disappear into the night.
With a vague feeling of worry, he noted that it was heading in the direction of Phoebe's house.
He shook the feeling off, and continued walking.
Casper looked at his own death. And frowned. "So… how am I supposed to die?"
Drew was looking at the photo.
It depicted Casper and Brett bouncing on the bed that day.
That was all.
"So a bed is going to kill me?" Casper ventured.
Drew examined the picture. "There must be something else…"
Then she pointed to something. "That must be it," she said.
Behind Casper and Brett was a large sign, bearing the words, "ETERNAL SLEEP: SWEET DREAMS".
It was clearly supported by a large spike.
"That's what's going to kill me. A sharp spike."
Drew hugged him.
Brett couldn't believe it. He was lost.
He saw a phone booth. Rummaging around in his pockets, he found just enough money for a phone call. He dialled for Drew's house.
Drew and Casper jumped when the phone rang. Drew answered, and listened for a moment. She hung up.
"Who was that?"
"Brett. He's lost again." Drew grabbed her coat. "He gave me the street name."
Casper stood up too. "Maybe you should stay here," Drew warned him.
He shook his head. "I want to see Brett. Let's go."
The reason Brett was lost, it transpired, was that he had wandered down a dead-end alley. Brett had a terrible sense of direction. He sometimes got lost when he went from his bedroom to the bathroom.
He grinned sheepishly at them. "Hi," he said.
Casper hugged him. "Hey, man, whoa, whoa!" said Brett pulling away. "Don't tell me you've turned gay!"
"Sorry," said Casper. He and Drew then quickly explained all that had happened.
Brett just stood there, in the freezing cold, listening. When they had finished, he said, "Okay, I believe you."
"You do?" said Drew in surprise.
Brett nodded. "You two are my best friends. You'd never lie to me."
Drew and Casper were touched.
"Come on then," said Brett. "Let's see if we can get you home without running into any… oh."
"Oh what?" said Drew, suddenly alert.
"Look." Brett pointed.
This end of the alley had opened out into a small square. A few dark windows hinted that there were shops here.
And on one of the walls, a large spike was protruding.
Casper looked at it. He began to edge away very slowly.
They all looked round at the sound of an engine. A van had reversed down the alley, and stopped, so there was no way out.
The van said "ETERNAL SLEEP: SWEET DREAMS" on it.
Casper was frozen to the spot with fear.
"I'll deal with this," said Brett. He went over to the spike, and began trying to wrench it out of the wall.
Drew moved towards Casper. "Get away from me, Drew!" Casper shouted at her. "I don't want you to get hurt."
"I won't," she said, soothingly. "Just give Brett two minutes, he can have that pole out of the wall, and you'll be safe!"
"But Brett's a weakling," Casper pointed out. This was true. They looked at Brett, who was grunting and not getting anywhere.
Drew took a step in his direction, to help him.
This meant Casper was by himself in the middle of the square.
There was a screeching sound. Another vehicle was zooming down the alley. It ran straight into the front of the van.
The back of the van burst open.
A mattress appeared.
It was a most bizarre sight. The mattress was flying straight at Casper, the flat side towards him. Casper was paralysed.
At the last second possible, Drew threw herself at him. They went crashing to the ground, but the mattress sailed harmlessly over their heads.
Harmless for them, anyway.
The mattress hit a window on the far wall of the square. It rebounded, and flew back again.
But not at Casper.
It's unlikely Brett felt anything. He was engrossed in the task of pulling the spike out of the wall.
The mattress hit him in the back. He was pushed on to the spike. It travelled through him, and stabbed through the mattress as well.
There was silence. Drew and Casper looked at the mattress. It was hiding Brett from view, but the part of the spike that was protruding was dripping with blood.
Casper sank to his knees, and did something he would never normally do.
He started to cry.