Free Slawter by Darren Shan Page B

Dervish says warmly. “Hardly anyone here has seen the demon costume. I think people will be really scared.”
    “Nonsense,” Bill-E says. “How can you be scared of a guy in a monster suit?”
    “Trust me,” Dervish grins. “This doesn’t look like a guy in a suit. There are engines and wires within the costume, so it can pull expressions, ooze slime like you wouldn’t believe, even . . .” He lowers his voice. “It smells.”
    “Come again?” Bill-E blinks.
    “Emmet doesn’t know this, so don’t say anything, but Davida wants to wring as much genuine terror out of him as she can. So she created a demon-type stench, to throw him off-guard. She has a few other tricks up her sleeve too. I feel sorry for the kid — he doesn’t know what’s going to hit him!”
    “I don’t think that’s fair,” I mutter. “He’s nervous enough as it is.”
    “Don’t worry,” Juni smiles. “We talked it over with his mother. She gave us the all-clear. He’ll enjoy the joke when he recovers. It will make the scene more believable, which will make his acting seem all the more professional. That will stand him in good stead when he’s looking for his next big role.”
    I’m a bit worried about Emmet, despite Juni’s reassurances. I’d hate if he got so freaked out that he couldn’t finish filming the scene and had to hand the part over to Abe. I can see the moody Master Kooniart standing across from us, with Bo and their fat, leering father, Tump. I wonder if the stench idea was theirs to begin with.
    I’d like to warn Emmet, but Davida is talking with him and Salit, explaining the dynamics of the scene. This is where Salit finds Emmet eating their headmaster, and realizes he’s working for a demon. Emmet starts to give a long speech about how the demons are going to take over the town, and why he’s working for them. In the middle of it, his demonic ally pops out of the manhole and makes off with him.
    “It’s important you don’t look like you know what’s going to happen,” Davida tells Emmet. “As far as you know, this demon is your best buddy and Salit’s the one in trouble. You’ll hear some rumblings, feel a few tremors. Ignore them and concentrate on your lines.”
    “About that,” Emmet cuts in. “I’ve been having a few problems.”
    “Oh?” Davida smiles and waits for him to continue.
    “It’s the line, ‘At least not much worse than a guy who gives in to temptation and steals a candy bar.’ I
know
the line, but I keep coming out with ‘badder’ instead of ‘worse.’ If it happens, can we do it again right away? I’ll try to get it right, but I might...”
    Davida holds up a hand. “Emmet, as far as I’m concerned, there’s not one line in the script that isn’t open to negotiation. I should have made that clear earlier. It’s
your
voice I want to hear, not mine. If ‘badder’ is what comes naturally to you, then ‘badder’ it is.”
    “I can change the line?” Emmet gapes.
    “Absolutely.”
    A big smile works its way across Emmet’s face. Across from us, Abe and the other Kooniarts are glowering. They couldn’t hear the conversation, but they can see the fear fade from Emmet. They’ve lost their chance to bump Abe up the pecking order. I want to thumb my nose at them and stick out my tongue. But that would be childish, so I settle for a smug wink when I catch Bo’s furious eye.
    They shoot the early scenes several times, from a variety of angles. A fake corpse is placed in the alley, close to the manhole cover. Emmet starts the scene crouched over it, pulling bits off and stuffing them in his mouth. He’s so convincing, it’s hilarious, and Salit keeps laughing when he comes upon him.
    “‘Matt!’” he cries, calling Emmet by his screen name. “‘What are you doing with Mr. Litherland’s nose in your...’ Sorry!” he shouts, doubling over. “I can’t help it! He looks so crazy!”
    “Don’t worry,” Davida says, smiling patiently. “We have all