This time, Stryker held his arms out, unable to stop himself. Jamie shimmied his way into them. His head buried into Stryker's shoulder and his Daddy's hand found his hair, running through the sweat-soaked strands.

"I'm here for you. Every minute of every day, I'm here for you. We're going to get through this together."

Together was right. They dismantled the final crib, throwing the mould festered mattress in the corner with the others before dragging the metal barring over to the heap that the others had formed.

"Now they can never be used to scare anybody else," Jamie whispered as he threw the last piece onto the pile. It...