As little Kelvin rips excitedly at the box that contains the Imp, Kade, Kelly, Troy and I, stand, brandishing baseball bats - just in case.

Drew, who has been quietly sitting, stands and steps forward, "There will be no need for weapons, these Imps are not aggressive, like those you may have encountered at the over seas facility," he says, helping Kelvin open the lid.

Little Kelvin's arm dives into the box and rummages around, pulling and tugging.

"So, what do you know about these Imps?" Asks Kade. Drew holds the box steady, While Kelvin pulls, "Very little, I'm afraid. I know they are a new, passive breed, bred to enchant children. But beyond that my knowledge is limited, as we were shielded from their full purpose. It was our job to package them, ready for distribution," he says.

Little Kelvin's face is screwed up with exertion as he clearly struggles to release the Imp from its box.

Kade leans in, to help Kelvin, "You seem to fear the phrase, 'Beware the Topknot' and the instructions on the back say 'twist the Topknot on the Imps head, to activate it.' That would suggest we should fear the Imp," says Kade.

Kelvin's excited squeal fills the room, "How can we fear this, it looks so friendly!" He exclaims, lifting it aloft and staring into its face like he's meeting his brand new puppy.

Drew responds by moving slightly back, "Yes, it does. However, I've seen no violent action from those that were activated in The Land of Love," he says, with his sing-songy sincerity.

......

"Dad, put it on the table, so we can all see it properly," says Kelly.

We all move in and peer at the little creature. The first thing I notice is how adorably cute it is. It's nothing like the tree imps. The face is round, with sandy colored short fur. The eyes are big and slightly bulging; it has a small button nose and an ever so slightly down turned mouth. The body is like that of a shorthaired teddy bear. It looks so damn cuddlesome.

"The face looks like one of those dogs, I can't think of the breed right now," says Kelly.

"A pug," says Kade.

"That's the one," says Kelly.

My brother, Tony is recording everything on camera, while mom stands back, observing with a Scientists eye, "Kelvin, go ahead and turn the little Topknot on the top of the head, activate your new pet," she says.

I catch her eye, and she gives me an ever so slight, knowing smirk - NO! I know she heard Kade and I in the bedroom earlier; embarrassment floods my face, momentarily distracting me from the activation of the Imp.

Your husband's mom, hearing you being intimate with her son - it's too much.

Kelvin's little hand finds the tiny knob on the top of the Imps head. He twists it and we hear a 'click.'

"It's not doing anything," says Kelvin, picking it up and shaking it impatiently.

"Dad! Put it down, give it time," says Kade, grabbing the Imp form Kelvin, and placing it on the table, yanking his father away from it.

Kelvin reacts with anger, "How dare you man handle me on my birthday - I'm your father..."

..."calm down dad," cuts in Kade.

..."and don't erupt me, it's rude!" Asserts Kelvin.

"Interrupt," corrects Kelly.

Kelvin shoots back at her, "How dare you erupt your father, young lady!" He shouts.

Kelly's eyes meet mine and we smile, "Hey dad, look at your Imp now," she says, ignoring his anger.

We all look, and see its little arms waving up and down. Kelvin's face switches from angry to happy, "He's waving at me," he says, smiling wide.

The eyes blink, the nose twitches and finally the little downturned frown upturns into a smile. Kelvin picks it up and rubs his nose against the Imp's face, affectionately.

I know we're all seeing and thinking the same thing: Kelvin is instantly enthralled and charmed by this creature. The pull that the Imp has is like that a cute puppy or kitten has on a child. We can see Kelvin is experiencing a mix of intrigue, affection and need to nurture his new pet.

When the creature's mouth parts slightly, Kade looks alarmed "Dad, put it on the table, please," he says, his body taut, ready to pounce should he need to.

Kelvin complies, and we watch as the mouth stretches open into a wide mouthed yawn, blinks his eyes then says, sleepily, "Hello Kelvin, I'm your new friend for life."

When Kelvin sweeps it up in his arms and cuddles it, we know the bond between these two is now tight - worryingly.

Mom breaks the silence, "This is chilling. Every child will be besotted - who knows what these things will do in the long-term?" she says, concern in her voice.

Troy looks over at Kelvin, who is now talking to the Imp as if it were a person, "One thing's for certain, there's no way we can take it away from Kelvin now. That would be like taking a puppy from a child," he observes.

Kade shakes his head, "What've we done? I'm not sure we should have brought this thing into our lives," he says, concern in his voice.

"We had no other option, Kade." Says mom. "It's imperative that we study the relationship Kelvin develops with the Imp, see how it seeks to influence him. And from those findings we can discover what The Lady and her team's intentions are," she explains.

"We have to watch and wait - then act," I say.

Mom nods her head, "That's it, exactly, Tanya," says mom.

Kade ruffles his hair and huddles into me, "I want a quick fix, but I guess you're right," he says, finding his favorite place, the nape of my neck.

Holding his head, I'm realistic, "We have to be patient; they've spent a lot of time developing these Imps, we have to spend time discovering what evil intent they have." I pull his head up, "But in the short-term, we have another Topknot to deal with - the human one," I say, glancing over to the locked door of bedroom four.

.....

Mom and Tony remain observing little Kelvin's relationship with the Imp, while the rest of us decide to pay Topknot guy a visit.

I have a slight anxiety as Kade puts the key in the door: what if he's not there?

But my anxiety's allied once the door opens and I see his prostrate body still secured tight to the hospital gurney.

......

On entering the room, Drew immediately recoils, his face furrows with fear.

Marko lifts his head off, of the hospital gurney, "Well I never! Look who it is, my favorite Angel Voiced Faggot." He glances at me, "And the perennial lab-rat - I'm impressed with your escape. Should I be congratulating you, Tanya, are you carrying this faggot's kid, or did you bail before they planted his seed inside you?"

Kade steps in, "Watch it hipster, or you'll get another blow-job from me. I know how much you enjoyed the last one," he says.

"I hear you, Romeo. And I heard you in action earlier. I'm impressed, you're a proper love God, you talented fella - she was screaming for England," says Marko, his voice dripping in sarcasm.

I deliberately don't rise to his bait, and remain silent.

Troy gently strokes Drew's arm, to ease him, "Don't fear him, he can't harm you here, we'll make sure of that." When he appears to relax a little, Troy asks, "Can you tell us how you know him, who he is?"

Drew swallows, his mouth dry. I fetch him a glass of water and he glugs it down in one. "Take your time," I say, encouragingly.

Avoiding Marko's gaze, Drew talks quietly, "He is Professor Merton's son. He worked closely with The Surgeon, and lately, with The Lady. He performed my procedure," he says.

Marko lifts his head, "Hey, not just yours, I created most of the current Castrato," he says, proudly.

His attention turns to me, "You remember my mother, Professor Merton, don't you?" He asks.

When I don't answer him, he continues, "You kidnapped her in Chicago, tied her up, humiliated an elderly lady." He looks at Kade, "Both of you murdered my mother, forced her on The Love Rush, watched as she was sliced in two." He turns his head and looks past us, "In fact, her body's in this building, encapsulated in plastic, perfectly preserved," he says.

His attention comes back to me, "Still, I got you back for that one. My boss, The Lady, stitched up your parents nicely, didn't she, Tanya?"

I stare at him blankly, and remain silent.

Drew notices his somewhat disheveled Topknot and whispers, "Beware the Topknot - It's for him, I now believe this phrase alludes."

Marko laughs, "Correct Drew." He says, his words delivered with a malevolent rasp.

Both Kade and Kelly shake their heads, "He don't scare me, Drew," says Kelly.

"Nor me," says Kade. He moves in closer, "Because we've got ya buddy. And while you're here you're gonna tell us everything. All we need to know. BUT, not right now, because we have a Birthday to celebrate. So, if you'll excuse us, we'll leave you right here, out of harms way," he says, checking all his restraints.

Marko has a creepy calm, "Your naivety is as cute as our new Imps; they're clever, aren't they?" We ignore him and make for the door while he calls out, "Hey, what I will tell you is, the advertising campaign for the Imps will hit TV screens soon, we're anticipating the demand will be huge. They're so clever, aren't they?"

His head flops back on the gurney, "OK, ignore me - but hey, don't forget to save me a piece of cake."

Kade looks back, "We won't, and if we're lucky, you'll choke on it."

......

Apart from our brief meeting with Marko, it's been a nice day.

Now, I'm in my favorite place, showered and snuggled up with Kade in bed. "It's worrying how attached Kelvin is to that Imp, in such a short time," says Kade, stroking my hair.

"That's what they've been designed for."

"Yep, they're clever, for sure. It'll be interesting when mom discovers what's actually beneath the fur," says Kade.

"If she can get it off Kelvin for long enough to find out."

Kade chuckles, and pulls the light string, plunging us into darkness, "We'll find a way to distract him long enough for mom to look inside it. Good night," he says, snuggling into me.

"Kade?"

"What."

"Can we move Marko somewhere else tomorrow, I don't like having him so close to us?"

"Sure we can; I'll move him down to the room at the end of the hallway - where his interrogation will begin, big time."

I sigh, "Thanks - Goodnight."

......

My eyes ping open, but I see nothing in the blackness.

But, something woke me, I'm not sure what.

Right now, the sound of Kade's sleep heavy breathing is all I can hear.

I close my eyes.

But they ping back open - I heard something.

My ears are on full alert.

"Kade," I whisper, nudging him. He gurgles and turns over, deep in slumber.

Maybe it's a mouse, this ancient basement's no doubt teeming with them.

SHOOT! I sit bolt upright - I can hear someone whispering.

"Kade," I nudge him harder.

He splutters, sleepily, "Go to sleep."

"NO! Kade - wake up."

He turns on his back and yawns, "Why?"

"I hear someone whispering."

"Sure you can, we know these walls don't hold sound. Everyone heard my love-making expertise," he says, nuzzling into me, sleepily.

"Please, let's just go check, otherwise I won't be able to get back to sleep."

He rolls away from me, "Anything for you, my dear Tan," he says, sitting on the edge of the bed.

I jump out and grab my baseball bat. Kade sleepily picks up his, "Let's go ghoul hunting, this is fun," he jests.

......

I open the door into the main living space. It's pitch black, "Is there anybody here?" Asks Kade, while I feel along the wall for the light switch.

"Let's go back to bed, there's no one here, Tan," says an increasingly impatient Kade.

Finding the switch I flick it on.

"See, no one here, everyone's sleeping, like we should be," says Kade, taking my hand and turning back toward our bedroom.

The sight of them almost floors us, "Hello again." Says Marko, his Topknot neatly restored.

He's standing behind Drew.

Marko has a scalpel pressed at Drew's throat, just short of his jugular - ready to swipe.

He is cool, calm, and collected, "Twice I told you how clever the Imps were, and tried to engage you in conversation about them. But you ignored me at your peril. Little Kelvin's Imp crept from his room, retrieved the key, and gnawed my restraints. It's now back, safely snuggled up with a sleeping Kelvin. So clever, isn't it?"

Drew's eyes are bulging, his body trembling, "Now, you know how in your world, you celebrate Birthdays. Well, I'm not sure if Drew has told you, but in our world we celebrate Deathdays."

Marko gently licks and kisses Drew's ear, in a sickening parody of affection, "Well, Drew's is a little late, but I'm happy you're both here to celebrate his belated Deathday...