away the cobwebs inside my head.”
“But you’re protected by spells here,” I note. “You might not be safe outside Carcery Vale. Lord Loss...”
“Remember the book in the cellar?” Dervish says. “Unless I dig myself out of this hole, I don’t think I’m safe anywhere.”
I nod slowly. “How long will you be gone?”
“However long the shoot lasts,” Dervish says. “I’ll ask Meera to keep an eye on things while I’m away.”
“Meera’s going to be staying with me?” I ask, not minding the sound of that one little bit — Meera Flame’s hot stuff!
“No,” Dervish says. “You won’t be here either. Unless you object, I want to take you with me. Billy too.”
“You want to take us on set?” I yelp.
“Davida said I could,” he reminds me. “Well, she didn’t mention Billy, but I’m sure that won’t be a problem.”
“Brilliant!” I gasp, face lighting up. Then doubt crosses my mind. “But why?”
“Two reasons,” Dervish says. “One — I need you to look out for me at night, to help me if the nightmares continue.” He stops.
“And the second reason?”
“I don’t trust Prae Athim and the Lambs. They might pull a fast one if I’m not around.”
“You think they’d kidnap Bill-E?”
“It’s possible. Right now I want Billy where I can protect him, twenty-four seven. I’ll rest easier that way.”
“So we’re going into the movie business,” I laugh.
“Yep.” Dervish laughs too. “Crazy, isn’t it?” He checks his watch. “Three-thirty in the morning. Ma and Pa Spleen would hit the roof if we called Billy at such an ungodly hour.” He cocks a wicked eyebrow at me. “Do you want to ring or shall I?”
Film Folk
“I ’VE always wanted to eat human flesh. I mean, it’s not an obsession or anything. I wouldn’t go out of my way to kill, skin, and cook somebody. But I’ve always been curious, wondered what it would taste like. So, when the opportunity dropped into my lap, yeah, I took it. Does that make me a bad person? I don’t think so. At least, not much badder than —”
“Worse than,” Bill-E interrupts.
“
Worse!
” Emmet winces. “I keep tripping on that. ‘Not much
worse
than, not much
worse
than, not much
worse
than...’”
I feel sorry for Emmet, watching him struggle to learn his lines. It’s not easy to keep a load of words that aren’t yours straight inside your head, then trot them out in a seemingly normal fashion. I used to think actors had a great life. Not anymore. Not after a week on the set of Slawter.
Slawter,
as Davida told us when she visited Carcery Vale, is the title of the movie and the name of the fictional town that features in it. It’s also what they’ve called the huge set that Davida’s crew has constructed. It’s an amazing place. They found a deserted town in the middle of nowhere. Rented the entire area and set to work restoring the buildings, clearing the streets of rubble, putting in fake street lamps, telephone wires, signs for restaurants, hotels, bars, and so on. They also erected a lot of fake buildings that look real from the front but are entirely empty on the other side. Walking down the streets, it’s hard to tell the real buildings from the fake ones — until you open a door.
There are trailers on the outskirts of Slawter — the movie veterans refer to them as the circus — where many of the cast and crew sleep, but a lot of us are staying in the old, real buildings. Since we’re so far from any other town, Davida decided to turn some of the buildings into makeshift hotels, so everyone could stay in one place, in comfort. The “hotel” where Dervish, Bill-E, and I are staying looks like a butcher’s shop out front, but it’s cozy inside.
I’ve been told this isn’t the way films are normally made. Usually the crew does a bit of location work, then heads back to the studio to shoot the interior scenes. But Slawter
is
the studio. There are huge warehouses, built beyond one end
“But you’re protected by spells here,” I note. “You might not be safe outside Carcery Vale. Lord Loss...”
“Remember the book in the cellar?” Dervish says. “Unless I dig myself out of this hole, I don’t think I’m safe anywhere.”
I nod slowly. “How long will you be gone?”
“However long the shoot lasts,” Dervish says. “I’ll ask Meera to keep an eye on things while I’m away.”
“Meera’s going to be staying with me?” I ask, not minding the sound of that one little bit — Meera Flame’s hot stuff!
“No,” Dervish says. “You won’t be here either. Unless you object, I want to take you with me. Billy too.”
“You want to take us on set?” I yelp.
“Davida said I could,” he reminds me. “Well, she didn’t mention Billy, but I’m sure that won’t be a problem.”
“Brilliant!” I gasp, face lighting up. Then doubt crosses my mind. “But why?”
“Two reasons,” Dervish says. “One — I need you to look out for me at night, to help me if the nightmares continue.” He stops.
“And the second reason?”
“I don’t trust Prae Athim and the Lambs. They might pull a fast one if I’m not around.”
“You think they’d kidnap Bill-E?”
“It’s possible. Right now I want Billy where I can protect him, twenty-four seven. I’ll rest easier that way.”
“So we’re going into the movie business,” I laugh.
“Yep.” Dervish laughs too. “Crazy, isn’t it?” He checks his watch. “Three-thirty in the morning. Ma and Pa Spleen would hit the roof if we called Billy at such an ungodly hour.” He cocks a wicked eyebrow at me. “Do you want to ring or shall I?”
Film Folk
“I ’VE always wanted to eat human flesh. I mean, it’s not an obsession or anything. I wouldn’t go out of my way to kill, skin, and cook somebody. But I’ve always been curious, wondered what it would taste like. So, when the opportunity dropped into my lap, yeah, I took it. Does that make me a bad person? I don’t think so. At least, not much badder than —”
“Worse than,” Bill-E interrupts.
“
Worse!
” Emmet winces. “I keep tripping on that. ‘Not much
worse
than, not much
worse
than, not much
worse
than...’”
I feel sorry for Emmet, watching him struggle to learn his lines. It’s not easy to keep a load of words that aren’t yours straight inside your head, then trot them out in a seemingly normal fashion. I used to think actors had a great life. Not anymore. Not after a week on the set of Slawter.
Slawter,
as Davida told us when she visited Carcery Vale, is the title of the movie and the name of the fictional town that features in it. It’s also what they’ve called the huge set that Davida’s crew has constructed. It’s an amazing place. They found a deserted town in the middle of nowhere. Rented the entire area and set to work restoring the buildings, clearing the streets of rubble, putting in fake street lamps, telephone wires, signs for restaurants, hotels, bars, and so on. They also erected a lot of fake buildings that look real from the front but are entirely empty on the other side. Walking down the streets, it’s hard to tell the real buildings from the fake ones — until you open a door.
There are trailers on the outskirts of Slawter — the movie veterans refer to them as the circus — where many of the cast and crew sleep, but a lot of us are staying in the old, real buildings. Since we’re so far from any other town, Davida decided to turn some of the buildings into makeshift hotels, so everyone could stay in one place, in comfort. The “hotel” where Dervish, Bill-E, and I are staying looks like a butcher’s shop out front, but it’s cozy inside.
I’ve been told this isn’t the way films are normally made. Usually the crew does a bit of location work, then heads back to the studio to shoot the interior scenes. But Slawter
is
the studio. There are huge warehouses, built beyond one end
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