I've never felt fear like it. The only experience that could rival being confronted by Princess the chihuahua; was the time I found a giant spider in my bed. Everything about arachnoids freak me out, from their hairy legs to the way they scuttle across the floor at breakneck speed. Right now, as Princess bared her razor-sharp teeth, I'd have given anything to be back in bed with that spider.

"This.... is.... not.... good." Mac croaked.

It was hard to disagree with Mac's assessment, particularly when Princess began to advance on us, teeth glowing in the moonlight.

"Stay calm," Stewart said to Mac, "She might not see us if we don't move."

"How the hell do you work that one oot?"

"I saw it in a movie once."

"That's a T-Rex."

Stewart slowly turned his head until he was facing Mac.

"You mean, standing still won't work?"

"Of course, it won't you fool."

"Well, I'm out of here."

"No," Mac and I said at the exact time.

But Stewart didn't listen. He turned around on the spot and then ran back to the gate by the kitchen window. Princess was there before he could open it, so he darted the other way, straight past the window where someone was standing with their back to us. He had only got as far as the middle of the garden when he tripped over a garden brush and went down like a sack of spuds.

Princess sprinted towards him, teeth gnashing with vicious intent. Without thinking, I picked up a stick and threw it away from the helpless Stewart. The dog pivoted but did not chase the stick, instead she thundered across the grass and leaped towards me like a hairy Spring-Heeled Jack. I fell backwards and landed with a thud. She was on top of me within seconds, her stinking breath making me wish I carried a spare bottle of mouthwash in my pocket. I rolled away and scrambled to my feet but fell again when she bit at my ankles.

"Help." I gasped, tears coming to my eyes as the dog tore at my clothes.

A whistle from somewhere caught the dog's attention. Suddenly, I was free. Mac was sitting on top of the fence that separated Frank and Davie's garden. He was dangling a branch, daring Princess to leap off the ground and get it. Mac pulled the branch up further every time she jumped.

"Get up here you two." Mac yelled.

There was no need for a second invitation. Stewart was just ahead of me when we reached the fence and climbed to the top, well out of the dog's reach. Mac dropped the branch, and Princess tore it to pieces.

Sitting atop the fence and caked in dirt, I suddenly felt my hands trembling, then the tension in my body evaporated, leaving me with nothing but quiet sobs of relief.

"Hey man, you're OK." Mac said, placing a comforting hand on my shoulders.

"Look at me, crying like a big baby." I chuckled through sobs.

"Let it oot man." Mac replied.

So, that's exactly what I did. Once the emotion had subsided, I felt better and ready to continue.

"Onwards we go." Mac commented, as he dropped off the other side of the fence into Davie's garden. He was safely hidden by an old decaying hut.

"I'll go next." Stewart said.

By the time I joined them, Stewart was lighting another cigarette.

"Put that oot," Mac ordered. "Someone will see the flame."

"Who cares? I need one after what I've just went through."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "What you just went through?"

"Let's just agree we both suffered."

I shook my head and turned to Mac. "There's no way I'm going back over that fence. We need a plan B to get out."

"The dog will be back inside by the time we've picked up the food."

"How do you know?"

"Because she's probably oot to do her business. Frank will surely let her back in when she's finished."

"You better be right. Otherwise, I'm staying here."

Stewart dropped the cigarette and stubbed it out with his once white trainers that were now covered in mud. "What now?"

"We wait here until Alan appears at the top window." Mac explained.

"I've got time for another smoke then." he replied, lighting one up.

Mac said. "I hope the food is almost there. I'm starving now."

I heard my own belly rumble. Dinner time seemed like a lifetime ago now. The free food seemed closer than ever now we'd reached Davie's back garden. All we had to do was catch the food from the window and then make our way to Mac's house. We would have the munch of a lifetime back there. Oh, and the ice-cream too of course.

But ten minutes later, there was no sign of Alan at Davie's window. Nobody said anything but I wondered if Stewart and Mac were getting concerned.

"Maybe, he's been caught." Stewart offered.

"I doubt it," Mac replied. "We'd hear a commotion by now."

"There he is." Stewart said excitedly.

Sure enough, Alan was standing upstairs at the open window, delivery in hand and gesturing for us to hurry forward. We checked the coast was clear and then jogged towards the house.

"Thank goodness you guys are here," Alan whispered from his lofty position. "I was worried you wouldn't show."

Mac laughed. "We'd never let you doon. Any problems?"

"Not yet. Take this food, will you?"

Alan leaned further out the window and dangled the delivery for a moment. The three of us got into position by forming a circle with arms outstretched.

"Catch." Alan said, letting it drop into our grateful hands.

The delicious smell was intoxicating but I put the aroma to the back of my mind and quickly scanned the contents, noting there was three pizza boxes and three white tubs containing what I assumed to be the kebabs, salad, and sauce. There was no sign of the ice-cream."

"Where's the rest?" I asked.

"I'll have to go and get it."

I looked at Marc and Stewart, then turned back to gaze up at Alan.

"You've left the ice-cream downstairs? What if Davie sees it?"

"It's not my fault the order is so big. The driver...."

"WHIT'S GOING ON HERE?"

The angry voice almost made time itself stand still. Alan moved away from the window, but we saw Davie appear in his place. He stared at us for a moment, and we stared back. A lifetime seemed to pass before he abruptly pulled back from the window.

"He's coming after us lads." Stewart cried.

"We'd better move." Mac said, hurtling towards the back fence as quickly as his huge frame would allow.

"What about Alan." I yelled.

"He knew the risks."

Mac stopped at the fence and then passed the delivery to me as soon as I arrived behind him. Seconds later, he had scrambled to the top. It was the quickest I had ever seen him move. He steadied himself and then scrambled back into Frank's garden. Thankfully, there was no sign of the dog who had terrorised us on the way in.

"Here come the drunks." Stewart cried.

I nervously glanced back and saw Davie and a horde of drunken men stagger towards us like zombies searching for brains.

"We're doomed." I said, panic gripping me once again.

"Give the food to Stewart," I heard Mac say. "Then climb to the top of the fence. He can pass it to you when you're steady."

I was up the fence in a flash. Once sitting pretty, I accepted the delivery and passed it to Mac on the other side. Stewart came up beside me, just as the drunks reached the fence. They screamed all kinds of obscenities at us. Two of them tried to climb over but were clearly too intoxicated to manage.

"Come on." I shouted to Stewart.

"That dog better stay in the house." I said, as we dropped onto grass.

"Shut up and run." Mac cried.

We had almost reached the back gate when I heard a thud and then the ear-piercing sound of Stewart howling in pain. I turned around to see him lying on the grass in tears, clutching his shin and muttering under his breath. The brush that tripped him up on the way in lay beside him.

"Get up, before Frank comes oot." Mac yelled.

But it was too late. The backdoor flooded with light, and the sound of bouncing dance music filled the ice-cold air. Frank and three male friends spilled into the garden, each carrying a can of lager, their faces twisted with a mixture of what looked like rage and confusion.