The Shadow appeared to draw breath.

The unbearable agony left Billy's body, twisting into the deep black nothingness of the Shadow, which hung like his own personal storm cloud above him. On it's way the pain collected his terror, and bonded with it into a spinning ball of fiery intent, floating in the blackness. Billy thought he could feel it watching him as he began to regain some control over himself. He was suddenly aware of the sucking contacts all over his shaved head, the wires attached to each, running down the side of the chair, hooking into the machines in the wall. The fizzing sensation on his skin faded, and he no longer felt as if he was being dragged through a shredder.

Looking carefully round, he saw Katerina frozen at the console, her beautiful, cruel face turned towards him. She looked quizzical, as if she had been about to ask him a question. Her black hair fanned out in a delicate arc, like threads locked in amber, implying movement where there was none. She had dropped her pen, which hung in the air on its way to the ground. Next to the keyboard, lying on its side, grinning face turned towards him, sat the box.

Come on kid. You know they're killing you, right? It was the same voice he'd heard before, back when he and Alex were running from the man in black, and then again in the car.

What? Billy said, staring over his shoulder at the box, still not sure what he was hearing. At least he tried to say, 'What?', but no words came out. He still could not speak.

They're killing you, the box said. This machine - this thing - it's sucking the life out of you.

You - you're talking to me? Billy thought back. It was stupid, as if the thing could really, talk. He had probably passed out and this was some weird dream or something.

You know better than that, kid. This is no dream. They are killing you. You won't last much longer.

They said it was just a scan!

And you believed them? If the box could have laughed out loud, Billy was sure that it would.

Hey! I'm only seven! I'm not strong like - like - The tears welled up quickly and Billy blinked angrily, swallowing them back. Tears would help no-one.

Help me! he pleaded.

Alright, alright. Well, look. You feel the wires right?

What?

You can feel the wires. Every single one of them. And then he could, dozens of thin cables expanding out of him, like a grotesque electronic wig. He wondered what he looked like. I feel them, he thought.

And the straps holding you down?

Yeah. Billy concentrated on the straps around his wrists, followed them round the sides of the chair, saw the buckle underneath. He could also see his feet from the back, similarly strapped down, as clear as if he were lying underneath himself. The sensation made him feel ill. He began to panic.

Calm down, kid. Calm down. It's okay. I'm helping you.

But I can see behind me! How-?

Don't worry about it, just keep focused on the buckle.

Who are you? I mean what are you?

I don't know. Could be nothing. Could be everything.

What does that mean?

Look. All I know is, I'm here and I need to get you out. And I know how. Pay attention.

I don't understand. Are you the Shadow? Billy persisted. He imagined the little cartoon man on the box rolling his little cartoon eyes. Imagined, or saw, he could not tell. Somehow he just knew.

Maybe. Never mind that now, the box said patiently. Concentrate. Think about the buckle. See it in your mind.

Billy tried to see the buckle in his mind. He did it the same way as before; by mentally following the straps from his wrists to the back of the chair. When he looked at the buckle it grew bigger, until it was all he could see. Fascinated, he traced it's every contour, the cross-bar and the latch that held the straps tight.

It's not moving! Billy thought.

Of course it isn't! You're not telekinetic. Billy did not know what that meant. He thought the box was being a bit cruel, maybe it really was just a twisted trick his mind was playing just before he died.

So what now?

I'm getting to that. Can you remember the pain?

What a question. As if he could think of anything else. Yeah, I'll never forget it.

Well it's up there, in the Shadow. Take it.

What?

Look into the black swirly thing above you. See your pain. Take it. The box managed to sound exasperated. Look. Just think about your fear at it's worst. When it was hot. Keep the buckle in your mind. Put the two together. Simple.

It didn't sound simple. Billy looked up into the Shadow.

You see a red smudge? the box said.

No. All Billy could see was swirling darkness. The strange face and fiery ball had disappeared. He felt like he was looking into space. A faint red glow materialised in the distance. I see it!

Right. Now look at the redness. Really concentrate. Make it come towards you. Careful now, keep thinking about the buckle...

When Davey asked him about it later, Billy found he was unable to explain exactly what had happened, what he had seen. The buckle filled his view, in intricate detail, but he could also see the red smudge of his pain, at once both tiny and infinite in the void of the Shadow. He told Davey the two seemed to slowly come together like colliding galaxies, but only because he knew that what had really happened was impossible. They were apart, two separate entities. Yet they were one, a fiery buckle of red-hot pain. At the same time.

The buckle shattered. At least it would have done if time had been working properly. Billy watched it come apart slowly, like a flower opening. Once apart, the pieces hung in the air, frozen in time like Katerina. She had turned a little more now, and was looking directly at Billy with a puzzled expression. This must be happening so fast for her. Billy wondered what she could actually see.