“The silences after his last gasp were sung together by a blackbird. I lay there, my eyes unable to close. His were unable to open. I listed the places where I hurt, and how much. My loins felt ripped. Something inside had torn. There were seven places on my body where he had sunk his fangs into my skin and bitten. He'd dug his nails into my neck, and twisted my head to one side, and clawed my face. I hadn't made a noise. He had made all the noise for both of us. Had it hurt him?”

British comedian, actor and writer

David James Stuart Mitchell is a British comedian, actor, and writer. He came to prominence with Robert Webb as part of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb, and is known for playing Mark Corrigan in the Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show. He won the British Academy Television Award for Best Comedy Performance in 2009. Mitchell and Webb have written and appeared in several sketch shows, including Bruiser, The Mitchell and Webb Situation, That Mitchell and Webb Sound, That Mitchell and Webb Look, and Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping. They also appeared in Apple’s British “Get a Mac” campaign, made their first film, Magicians, in 2007, and later starred in Ambassadors in 2013 and the Channel 4 comedy-drama Back from 2017 to 2021.