Spider.

Chapter 1: The walking corpse

I smiled at Mrs.Kendall who was holding the door open for me. It was a sad smile, a smile that said 'He's going to be okay'. But we both knew nothing was going to be the same ever again.

I stepped tentatively into the house. It smelled of rosemary and incense. The hallway ended in the living room where Mr.Kendall sat. His fatigue was visible under his swollen eyes. He greeted me in a quiet, broken voice. I shook his hand then walked up the stairs. Caspar's door was the first one on the left. I swallowed hard. I didn't know what to expect.

"Caspar?" I called. His room was poorly lit, the only sources of light being the two lava lamps standing on either side of his headboard. School books and pens lay untouched against the wall. Casper jerked upright. "Amelia?" His once strong voice was hoarse and brittle. He turned towards me. His face fell and the little light that was left in his eyes disappeared when he saw me. When he saw I wasn't Amelia.

Caspar slumped back down sinking into the floor. I put a shaky hand on his shoulder. I wanted to hold him,to make his pain disappear. "You have to get up Cas. You have to eat
Your mum and dad,they're worried sick about you." My voice came out feeble. I sat down in front of him. When I saw his face I couldn't breathe. His dark hair was stiff and full of sweat. Dark circles surrounded his red rimmed bloodshot eyes. The condition of his lips matched that of his heart- bloody and broken. He was so pale he was almost translucent. When he saw my eyes widen he grabbed my arm and his coldness spread through my bones. "Amelia" he purred tightening his grip.