Strident is delighted to announce
that ‘Spider’ has been shortlisted for Falkirk
Council’s RED Book Award

How did I get here?
Dreams..? Nightmares more like.
My life was sorted. Well, I thought so – I was pretty stupid. Ducking and diving here and there, thieving – just small things, twocking the odd car for a Run. A real peach of a girlfriend – rich too – and I had a reputation as a bit of a hard man.What more could I ask?
Some might say I got exactly what I was asking for and maybe they’re right.
I just don’t know or care anymore. Thought I was so clever; but you can’t hide from some things and when your nightmares come true….
I had one last night. A nightmare. I didn’t sleep much, so it must have been in one of those moments when you just drift off. But it was so bad I woke up screaming silently, shaking and sweating, tears streaming from my eyes, not sure where I was.
But that’s probably not surprising, is it?
It was shadowy and dark in my nightmare and I was looking at Deanna. She was crying and I couldn’t get her to stop. There was something in her arms but she wouldn’t let me see it. Her hand was covering it and when she lifted her hand for a moment it was dripping with dark red blood. She started yelling at me.
“See what you did, Spider!” I wanted to shout back that I didn’t do it; I didn’t mean it to happen.
I wanted to tell her that I was sorry, so sorry….



