day.’
I was still hanging there when the lights in the room came on.
‘Goodness me,’ came a voice. ‘Do you see that boy hanging on the wall there, Cyril?’
‘Is he wearing orange socks?’ said another.
‘I do believe he is,’ said the first.
‘Boy! Help us, please!’ they said together.
When a siren began to wail, my wrists detached and I slumped to the floor. My hands fell on top of my head and jammed over my ears. It wasn’t a siren I’d heard; it was the sound of a hundred heads howling for help.
Men in vinyl poured into the room. They were carrying electric prods – the kind used to zap a stubborn cow.
I crouched low and ran to the far end of the room, across a slippery floor. The air was thicker away from the broken fan and I was glad I’d chosen to hold my breath.
‘John?’ squeaked a familiar voice.
‘Crystal?’
It took me a minute to find her head amongst the body parts. A hairy arm hung from beside her ear and as I stepped close, it grabbed at me.
I recoiled and the arm missed. ‘Crystal? Is it really you?’
‘Help me, please John. Help me.’
‘Yes, John,’ another head said. ‘Help us.’
‘But I . . .’
‘Over here!’ shouted a guard.
The hairy arm grabbed at me again, only this time it connected and clung to my jacket. I tried to back away but the hand held tight. Men in vinyl were bearing down on me from both sides of the room and my struggle turned frantic. I heaved and the hairy arm was torn from Titania’s side. It let go and flopped to the slimy floor.
The guards closed in, cattle prods at the ready.
I had no weapon. I looked around, hesitated then grabbed the arm off the floor. I flung it at the closest guard.
The arm sailed through the air like a fleshy boomerang and knocked the guard off his feet and sent him tumbling into Titania. Hands and legs hooked around him and held him tight.
I tore a foot from the mass beside me and pitched it at another guard but the guard ducked and the foot bounced uselessly off the wall. I ran and weaved and managed to slip past three more guards before four hands closed on my shoulders and I was lifted off the ground.
The Head had caught me.
I kicked and squirmed but only succeeded in dislodging my little foot. It hit the floor with a soft splash and began flapping like a fish in a boat.
The Head lifted me higher. I felt like a minnow caught by a shark. I stopped struggling.
The Head laughed his sinister laugh and it drained the last of the hope from my body.
‘Interesting,’ the Head said, looking at my flipping foot. ‘Seems there’s a big dose of trouble in that little body. We can soon shake that out of you.’
The Head rattled me hard enough for the change to jingle in my jeans. I felt my head coming loose, but I willed it to stay on. Willed it with all my might. My hand bumped against my jacket and something cracked on my knuckle.
Ravi’s cigarette lighter.
I pulled the lighter from my pocket and an idea exploded into my head.
The air in Titania’s chamber was rotten, thick with the gases exuded by all the bodies trapped there. Heavy with the extremely flammable gases given off by those bodies, even more concentrated now the fan was broken.
A smile formed on my lips. The Head saw what was in my hand and as it dawned on him what was about to happen, the smile (along with all the colour) drained from his face.
I flicked the cigarette lighter.
CHAPTER 26
T HE EXPLOSION MADE my ears ring. It made my toes ring and my teeth ring. It also blew all but one of the lights in Titania’s cell, and caused Titania to detach, to break into hundreds of pieces. On the floor, where the huge single body had once been was a writhing tumble of naked limbs. It was the world’s largest ever game of Nude Twister, only nobody really wanted to play. Detachable people of all ages and all nations politely felt through the pile, feet looking for legs, hands looking for their arms, arms hunting for torsos that were trying to
I was still hanging there when the lights in the room came on.
‘Goodness me,’ came a voice. ‘Do you see that boy hanging on the wall there, Cyril?’
‘Is he wearing orange socks?’ said another.
‘I do believe he is,’ said the first.
‘Boy! Help us, please!’ they said together.
When a siren began to wail, my wrists detached and I slumped to the floor. My hands fell on top of my head and jammed over my ears. It wasn’t a siren I’d heard; it was the sound of a hundred heads howling for help.
Men in vinyl poured into the room. They were carrying electric prods – the kind used to zap a stubborn cow.
I crouched low and ran to the far end of the room, across a slippery floor. The air was thicker away from the broken fan and I was glad I’d chosen to hold my breath.
‘John?’ squeaked a familiar voice.
‘Crystal?’
It took me a minute to find her head amongst the body parts. A hairy arm hung from beside her ear and as I stepped close, it grabbed at me.
I recoiled and the arm missed. ‘Crystal? Is it really you?’
‘Help me, please John. Help me.’
‘Yes, John,’ another head said. ‘Help us.’
‘But I . . .’
‘Over here!’ shouted a guard.
The hairy arm grabbed at me again, only this time it connected and clung to my jacket. I tried to back away but the hand held tight. Men in vinyl were bearing down on me from both sides of the room and my struggle turned frantic. I heaved and the hairy arm was torn from Titania’s side. It let go and flopped to the slimy floor.
The guards closed in, cattle prods at the ready.
I had no weapon. I looked around, hesitated then grabbed the arm off the floor. I flung it at the closest guard.
The arm sailed through the air like a fleshy boomerang and knocked the guard off his feet and sent him tumbling into Titania. Hands and legs hooked around him and held him tight.
I tore a foot from the mass beside me and pitched it at another guard but the guard ducked and the foot bounced uselessly off the wall. I ran and weaved and managed to slip past three more guards before four hands closed on my shoulders and I was lifted off the ground.
The Head had caught me.
I kicked and squirmed but only succeeded in dislodging my little foot. It hit the floor with a soft splash and began flapping like a fish in a boat.
The Head lifted me higher. I felt like a minnow caught by a shark. I stopped struggling.
The Head laughed his sinister laugh and it drained the last of the hope from my body.
‘Interesting,’ the Head said, looking at my flipping foot. ‘Seems there’s a big dose of trouble in that little body. We can soon shake that out of you.’
The Head rattled me hard enough for the change to jingle in my jeans. I felt my head coming loose, but I willed it to stay on. Willed it with all my might. My hand bumped against my jacket and something cracked on my knuckle.
Ravi’s cigarette lighter.
I pulled the lighter from my pocket and an idea exploded into my head.
The air in Titania’s chamber was rotten, thick with the gases exuded by all the bodies trapped there. Heavy with the extremely flammable gases given off by those bodies, even more concentrated now the fan was broken.
A smile formed on my lips. The Head saw what was in my hand and as it dawned on him what was about to happen, the smile (along with all the colour) drained from his face.
I flicked the cigarette lighter.
CHAPTER 26
T HE EXPLOSION MADE my ears ring. It made my toes ring and my teeth ring. It also blew all but one of the lights in Titania’s cell, and caused Titania to detach, to break into hundreds of pieces. On the floor, where the huge single body had once been was a writhing tumble of naked limbs. It was the world’s largest ever game of Nude Twister, only nobody really wanted to play. Detachable people of all ages and all nations politely felt through the pile, feet looking for legs, hands looking for their arms, arms hunting for torsos that were trying to
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