Yo-yo's Weekend

  30 (a)

  Departure

  sniffs a little and wipes his eyes.

  ''You're a little weasel,'' says Truss, ''And you're going to get what you deserve.'' He gestures for Yo-yo to move under the window of William Peckitt.

  ''I don't have the ring,'' sobs Yo-yo.

  ''Fair enough.'' Truss shrugs, and pulls the trigger.

  Yo-yo feels a sudden sharp punch in his chest. A scarlet flower seems to blossom on the front of his hoodie. His fingers feel numb. The single gun-shot is remarkably loud, its sharp crack booming round the ancient arches.

  ''You shot me,'' he mutters.

  ''You didn't have to shoot him,'' says Rue, a hundred millions miles away.

  ''I had to shoot him,'' says Truss. ''It's the only way.''

  Yo-yo sinks to his knees. His breathing is harsh. He feels sweat on his face. His vision is fading. Truss and Rue are blurring. He presses his hand against his heart, trying to force the blood back inside, but it's spreading and flowering, flowing over his fingers. Some blood froths into his throat and flecks over his lips.

  The ceiling

  S

  NP

  I

  He falls onto his face, one arm flung out on the cold, cold stone. He can no longer move. He feels tired, so very tired. He hears laughter and the voice of Eleazar Glenn saying ''Goodnight, sweet prince, and may flights of angels sing you to your rest.'' And now there is music, a high-pitched singing, maybe a choir humming one note, increasing, increasing, intense and overwhelming…..….. He feels so tired.

  Rue 's voice is very very faint. She is repeating his name. Maybe she is also crying. Dimly he hears a commotion, hears Katze and Uncle Reefer shouting, hears Venus Periwinkle screaming… he tries to turn his head, but it is too heavy. He starts to laugh. It becomes a short cough. Venus picks him up in her arms. Katze has punched Truss to the floor. Venus is talking but Yo-yo cannot hear her. He tries to smile but his face is too heavy.

  Slowly, gently, he closes his eyes. ''I'll see you at Christmas,'' he says.

  THE (EAST) END