Authors: Lou Kuenzler
Shadow Snatcher
LOU KUENZLER
To Elizabeth Hawkins - a great teacher! LK
Chapter 1
Uncle Tony
It was Halloween when Death came to my house.
He didn't wait until it was dark at night. He came early in the morning.
Me and my little sister, Eva, were still eating our cereal.
“Who's that?” said Eva, when the doorbell rang.
“I don't know, do I!” I said.
Eva is only five. I'm thirteen.
The doorbell rang again.
“Maybe it's Max Sounds,” said Eva. “I bet he's come to make me a star! I'll be just like Minnie Pink ⦔
Eva loves Max Sounds. He's from that kids TV show,
The MaX Factor!
Max comes round to an ordinary house. He asks everyone in the family to sing. The winner gets to go to the Grand Final. Minnie Pink is the girl who won last year.
“Come on, Aidan,” Eva cried. “Let's go and see!”
“Just eat up,” I told her. “It's not Max Sounds!”
The doorbell rang again.
“ALL RIGHT! I'M COMING!” I shouted.
“I bet it is him,” Eva gasped.
“It's just Uncle Tony,” I said.
It was half term. Mum and Dad were at work. I was babysitting Eva till Uncle Tony came round.
I ran into the hall. I didn't look out of the spy hole. I just flung the door open.
The man at the door was dressed in black from head to toe. He had a long cloak like a monk. The hood was pulled down over his face.
The only part of his body I could see was a bright white hand. It poked out from under the cloak. The hand didn't seem to have any skin on it. Just bone.
“That's a great glove, Uncle Tony,” I said. “You must be pretty hot in that costume.”
The figure took a step forward.
“Come on in,” I said.
That was my first big mistake. Never invite Death in to your home.
Danger of Death
The figure followed me into the house. He still didn't speak.
“You'd better take your hood down,” I said. “Eva will be scared if she sees you looking like that.”
The door swung closed behind him, by itself. The whole room went freezing cold. That's when I knew it wasn't Uncle Tony.
“You have to go,” I said. “I don't know who you are.”
The figure leaned over me.
He was much taller than Uncle Tony. Who was he? Why didn't he say something?
I took a step back, trying to block the hallway behind me. But the silent stranger kept coming. He was heading for the kitchen.
“Stop!” I held up my hand to push him back.
My fingers hit the hard, cold bone of his shoulder. My hand had gone right through his cloak. It was as if there was nothing there. No cloth. No flesh. It felt as if the cloak was made from mist.
I wanted to call out to Eva. I wanted to tell her to run. But I was scared that she would come into the hall to ask why. She always asks questions before she does what she is told.
“My dad is in the front room,” I lied. “I'll call him if you don't go!”
The figure spoke at last. “Go on then.” His voice was so low, I could hardly hear it. “But he won't come, will he?”
I could feel him looking at me from under his hood.
“There's nobody else here,” he whispered. “You and your sister are all alone!”
I couldn't move. It was as if my feet were frozen to the spot.
“Who are you?” I gasped.
The figure took another step forward.
“I am Death,” he said. “I have come to take Eva.”
Shadow Snatcher
“Eva is mine!” said Death.
“She is not yours!” I cried. “She belongs here. With us. You leave her alone!”
But deep down, I knew why he had come.
“When Eva was a baby, she was meant to die,” said Death.
That was true. When Eva was born, she was very sick. We all thought she would die. I was kept home from school. Dad didn't go to work. We sat in the hospital, waiting.
