That evening, Nancy sat in her bedroom at number 28 Elm Street. Outside, the wind blustered in the cold, dark evening. Nancy tried to focus on her Maths homework, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Hilltop House and the Spencer Institute.

Not far away, Pete was playing video games on his clunky old laptop in the living room of 112 Campbell Street. He was shooting zombies but thinking about what Miss Wan had told them about the Vault. He was also thinking about the design on Miss Wan’s mug.

On the other side of Crooked Oak, just past the village, Krish was at home on Dunwick Farm. He was sitting in a beanbag in the outhouse he called “Area 51” – the place he and Pete and Nancy used as their clubhouse. On the wall behind Krish was a poster that showed a UFO hovering over some trees, with the words “I WANT TO BELIEVE” written below it. It was the exact same design as Miss Wan’s mug.

Krish had finished his homework and was browsing the internet for information about research farms and bio-engineering. His dog, Gizmo, was snoozing in a basket in the corner of the room. Gizmo looked up from time to time when the wind rattled at the door.

*

At form time the next morning, most kids were talking about Storm Carrie. It was going to hit on Thursday. But Pete, Nancy and Krish were talking about the Spencer Institute and bio-engineering.

“Did you know they can put animal DNA into plants?” Krish said. “A company once put DNA from fish into tomato plants so they could survive frost.”

“Fishy tomatoes?” Pete said with a grimace. “That’s nasty.”

“Well, it doesn’t mean the tomatoes would taste—”

Nancy nudged Krish to be quiet.

“Ow!” Krish complained, but then he saw that Nancy was trying to listen to Tracey Levin and her friends, Sophie and Asha. They were at the table by the window, looking at something on Sophie’s phone.

“Ewww! Gross!” Tracey exclaimed.

“I swear,” Sophie said. “It was a big puddle of gunk. Even Eddy wouldn’t go near it, and he’d normally eat anything!”

Pete didn’t much like Tracey and her friends. He called them the “Clones” because they had the same hairstyle, the same nail varnish, the same shoes. Sophie wasn’t too bad, but Tracey and Asha acted like they were better than everyone else.

Nancy went over to speak to Sophie. Pete and Krish followed.

“Do you mind if I ask what you’re talking about?” Nancy asked.

“Yes, we do, actually,” Tracey Levin said with a sneer. She flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulder and stood up to show she was taller than Nancy. She looked Nancy up and down, pulling a face.

Nancy was short and skinny, but she wasn’t short of courage. Tracey didn’t scare her one bit.

“I was actually talking to Sophie,” Nancy said before turning to Sophie and saying, “You mentioned something about gunk?”

“Uh, yeah,” Sophie said, showing Nancy the photo.

It was a bit grainy. Sophie had clearly taken it when it was still dark outside. It showed a weird puddle of slimy gunk about the same length and width as a classroom table.

“It’s like in the newspaper article,” Krish whispered to Nancy. He reached over and zoomed in on the photo while Sophie was still holding the phone. In the close-up, they could see what looked like four curved bones.

“Are those … ribs?” Krish wondered.

“That’s what my dad thought,” Sophie said. “There’s a skull too.” She moved the picture to show them a yellowy skull lying on the grass, covered in gunk.

“Where did you take this?” Nancy asked.

“In one of the fields up near Hilltop,” Sophie said. “Sunday morning, when me and my dad took Eddy for a walk.” She paused, then added, “Eddy’s our dog.”

“Obviously,” Krish muttered.

“Hey, you live in those new houses, right?” Pete asked. “Near Hilltop.”

“Yeah,” Sophie replied. “I can see Hilltop House from my bedroom. It’s creepy. Sometimes lorries go up there in the night and—”

“Are we finished?” Tracey asked. “Can you freaks leave us alone now?”

“Yeah,” Asha added. “This is a private conversation.” She put her hands on her hips and tilted her head to one side. Her dark hair fell across her shoulder like a waterfall.

Nancy glared at Tracey and Asha, then smiled at Sophie. “Thank you,” Nancy said.

“Um …” Sophie said. She glanced at Tracey and Asha, then continued, “There’s something else. There were loads of lights at Hilltop the other night. Around the creepy house and in the fields. I saw them from my bedroom.”

“What kind of lights?” Pete asked.

“Cars,” Sophie said. “And torches. Really bright ones. Like someone was looking for something.”

“When was it exactly?” Krish asked.

“Saturday night,” Sophie replied. “About ten o’clock.”

Pete, Nancy and Krish looked at each other. They were all thinking the same thing. That was the night the sheep disappeared.