Humpty's bones

Three

For what seemed like an age we froze. We stared at the figure. Stared as a blue light burned with a strange, phantom intensity. Stared as the weird apparition loomed through the doorway.

Adam pointed. ‘Look, there’s something wrong with its mouth.’

For some reason I found my eyes yanked to those monster-size fishhooks that hung from chains above our heads and wondered if -

‘Come on,’ boomed the figure. ‘You’ve got to look at this! I’ve been calling you for ages. Didn’t you hear? Naz, what’s wrong? You look as if you’ve stood on a ghost.’

‘Pitt?’ I blinked. ‘Is that you?’

‘Who do you think? Frankenstein?’

Jenny shook her head. ‘The phrase, Pitt, is “seen a ghost” not “stood on one.” ‘

‘Whatever.’

Adam swayed. ‘I was so scared I thought I’d puke… think I still am.’

The weird ghostly effect was caused by a blue light shining onto Pitt from the room that led off this corridor. Of course, the ‘something wrong with his mouth’ comment by Adam referred to the scabby cut on his lip.

‘Aw, come on, people.’ Then this from Pitt gave me chills: ‘When you see what I’ve found you’re not going to believe your eyes.’