Unusual hunters prowl the city streets at night, but the line between survival and discovery is thin and fraught with danger.

The houses of the town were sleeping. Tall and slim, they perched on the riverside peacefully, they were waiting for night to fall. Gently the houses slept, they creaked as they breathed in and out.

Lower and lower the sun sank, it touched the horizon and seemed to hover there, observing the world before finally dipping down and out of sight. Darkness fell and caressed the facades along the river. The night became richer, darker, emptier. There was a group of friends still, relaxing by the river’s edge, their toes dipping in and out of the water. Eventually, it became time for them to leave. They gathered their things and ambled home, arms thrown over shoulders.

All was quiet at the river now, the water moved sluggishly in the leftover heat from the day. A magpie rustled in the branches of a tree as it settled in for the night. Curtains fluttered in the breeze at an open window.

All was still.

That is until number 46 began to grow taller. The height difference was imperceptible at first, but soon it was a whole storey taller than its neighbours. There was no rumbling, no ground-shaking as you might expect, 46 simply rose smoothly from the ground. When 46 had stood all the way up, it was more than twice the height of its neighbours. Its legs were spindly, long and thin with irregular knobbly bits. 2 arms slowly peeled themselves away from 46’s newly exposed sides, they were as equally thin and spindly as the legs. They hung down past 46’s ground floor, making it look slightly like a building shaped gorilla. Having stood up, 46 gave a little shake to loosen up its cramped joints. It gave a sigh as it surveyed the sedate river at its feet, pleased to be able to move from its cramped position. A slight rustling sound made 46 turn, number 50 was stirring, it wouldn’t be long before the whole row was up and about.

46 was hungry, and night was the time when all houses were free to eat. With a groan, 46 moved its weight forward until it seemed as if it would fall into the river. Just at the point of no return, its feet remembered what to do and caught up with the rest of its body. 46 moved quickly away from the row, the eating would be better deeper into the city centre, the city council liked to keep the riverfront clean, but the back alleys of the centre were less visible and so ignored by the street sweepers. Stepping lightly over parked cars and trees, 46 moved smoothly with a slight sway rocking it gently from side to side.

As 46 came close to the centre of the city, it began to slow down, crouching slightly to scan the ground more efficiently. An open window on 46’s third floor caused a curtain to flap in the breeze. Impatiently, 46 poked the curtain back inside and carefully slid the window shut, now it had all of its windows free for searching. Crouching even lower, 46 began to run its hands over the ground, feeling carefully for the soft irregularities it prized. 46’s fingers brushed against something which rustled as it was moved, in a dark recess of the street where sight could not penetrate. Teasing it out, 46 picked up the delicate bundle and pulled it into the light, a bin bag, full almost to bursting and leaking a foul liquid. 46 shivered with delight and opened its front door with nimble fingers. It lifted the bag and tipped it through the open doorway, shaking off some of the leakages from its fingers as it closed the door and swallowed.

A bin bag! Delicious! 46 thought.

You might be wondering where the bag went. It went to the same place that all lost things go in a house. It is a place that exists within a house in all the same rooms and spaces as the inhabitants but impossible to reach. A place where no human or animal can possibly go, without help that is. Sometimes an inhabitant, a Sleeper, awakens. An Awakening must be dealt with quickly, the Sleepers go mad when they learn that the buildings are really alive. And so they are invited gracefully to explore the other part of the house the hidden part, as only with an invitation may they enter. The Sleeper explores, they wonder at how only now they have learned the secrets of the house, and then they grow fearful when they realise all the doors and windows open to nowhere. Eventually, they resign themselves to their new life, trapped forever in the hidden spaces. So close to the loved ones they once knew, but with no way to touch to them, talk to them.

So far in its young life, 46 had never had an Awakening, had never experienced the gut-wrenching feeling of having a person awake while 46 was also awake. Had never had to sacrifice a person’s life to keep the secret. 46 knew houses that had had Awakenings, some of them were changed forever by the scared and angry life that was now trapped inside their rooms and corridors.

Rattling its letterbox to banish such dark thoughts, 46 continued on its search. The streets were pristine in their emptiness as 46 crept along. It peered through the windows of buildings that had not woken this night, these older buildings were like snakes, they could wait a long time before waking to go in search of a meal.

Crashing through the stillness of the night, there was an almighty bang followed by a grinding as if two cliffs had suddenly collided. 46 whirled and ran to the corner where the noise had come from. The grinding was becoming unbearable and 46 shivered to hear it. Carefully, 46 peered around the corner to see its neighbours, 50 and 48, locked in a deadly embrace, their facades grinding together as each building attempted to gain the upper hand. 46’s interest was piqued, for 50 and 48 to risk discovery, to risk an Awakening, they must be fighting over a great prize. The warring buildings suddenly jerked apart and began circling each other, that was when 46 was able to see the object of the fight, a mattress.

A mattress abandoned at the side of the road was the ultimate delicacy, trumped only by a three piece suite. 46 circled around to get closer to the mattress. Looking around the corner at the still circling buildings, 46 waited for the perfect moment. Finally, it came when 48 and 50 rushed each other and collided with an almighty crash, 48 losing a piece of cornicing in the process. 46 darted forward and snagged a corner of the mattress before jumping backwards and swiftly loping away with its prize. The grinding noise didn’t continue for long, the fighters must have noticed the object of their fight had disappeared. They would be on the hunt for the thief, 46 made sure to eat the mattress quickly. It hungrily squeezed the pliant mattress into its open door, enjoying the shape and feel of the mattress as it made its way to join the bin bag.

46 felt satisfied after that huge meal and stood up with a groan. Looking up at the sky, it saw a lightening of the deep inky blackness, polluted by the orange of the street lamps. 46 cracked its fingers and began its journey home, making sure to look out for the two fighters. They would not be kind if they discovered the one who stole their meal.

Gliding, creeping, 46 placed its feet on the pavement with the utmost care and quiet, conscious now of not waking up its Sleepers. Sometimes when hunger took hold, it was hard to remember those who slept within its body. The thought of an Awakening made 46 feel ill, it would have to be more careful. 46 wondered about the sleepers inside 48 and 50. They must be very heavy sleepers for the buildings to feel brave enough to fight over a meal, no matter how juicy. Even if the sleepers hadn’t woken up, they would be sure to have terrible, ground-shaking nightmares.

46 was close to the river now, it slowed to revel in the last minutes of freedom before settling in for the day. 50 was back in its space already, new scrapes and crumbled windowsills distinguishing its facades. 48 was nowhere to be seen, it still had time to get back before any people would wake.

The river gurgled happily as 46 carefully placed itself back in its gap. It surveyed the river as it thought with pleasure about the delicious food it had eaten, much more satisfying than the scraps it had found the last time it awoke. 46 flexed its arms before slowly winding them in, holding them tight to its sides. With a last sigh, 46 began to bend its legs, it descended towards the ground and slotted itself perfectly into the yawning gap, and with that, the morning was still once again.