That evening, Jack, Stacy and their dad sat round the kitchen table in semi-darkness. All the lights had blown. It was too dark to fiddle around with the fuse box, so they ate their chip supper by torchlight. Behind them, the boiler thumped like a metallic heartbeat. The pipes grumbled and gurgled in the background but the radiators had not come on. “It's cold,” moaned Stacy. "Sorry, love," said their dad. “I'll try and bleed the radiators tomorrow.” At the mention of bleeding, Jack unconsciously touched the point on his hand where the splinter had gone in. When they had finished eating, they had a quick game of cards. But with his belly full, Jack began to feel his eyelids grow heavy. “| think we should all get an early night don’t you?" said his dad. He handed them each a torch and Jack made his way up the creaking stairs. He was so tired, that he hardly noticed the shadows stretching towards him.