held prisoner by two grown-ups, Nick and Rachel, in their tube
train carriage down in the tunnels beneath Bank station. They hadn’t seemed to be
affected by the disease. They’d said they wanted to help Sam, told him they were
keeping him safe.
Just like Ed.
And just like Ed they hadn’t wanted
him to go …
Of course the grown-ups weren’t
normal. They had the disease in them. Deep down and hidden. And they’d been
fattening Sam up so they could eat him. It was The Kid who’d rescued him. Sam had
escaped the forbidden zone one time. And now here he was getting ready to run back into
danger, like an idiot.
Was he really planning to leave the safety
of the castle? Somewhere he’d always dreamt of living? He looked across at the
high yellow-grey walls.
Tish was right.
This place might be a castle, but for hundreds
of years it had also been a prison. If he stayed here too long he’d never get
away. He’d forget about Ella; she’d fade from his memory like his parents
had. It was less than three weeks since he’d last seen her, but so much had
happened in that time. He’d moved from one world to another. He tried to picture
her now, but all he could remember clearly was a photograph that had been on the
mantelpiece at home. Him and Ella with Father Christmas. Ella looking like she was about
to cry, Sam looking embarrassed.
She was two years younger than him.
Preferred to wear boys’ clothing to girls’ and had short dark hair.
That was about it.
It wasn’t enough.
He had to find her. She was all he had left
of the past.
They unloaded their delivery and he strolled
over to the cars with The Kid while Tish slipped away.
He stood watching the older boys, who were
taking it in turns to sit in the driver’s seat of the Porsche. Out of the corner
of his eye he saw Tish going over to the end of the row of older cars. He was supposed
to be distracting these boys, wasn’t he?
‘How fast does it go?’ he asked
one of them.
‘About a hundred and
eighty.’
Sam nodded.
‘Cool.’ In truth he didn’t
really know very much about cars, but 180 miles an hour did sound pretty fast.
‘Has it got a full tank?’
‘Half full. It drinks a ton of fuel as
well.’
‘Yeah.’ Sam nodded again. He was
running out of things to talk about.
‘I like the colour.’
‘You want to sit in it?’
‘No. I’m all right.’ What
was taking Tish so long? He nudged The Kid in the ribs. ‘Help me out here,’
he hissed.
‘It’s got four wheels,’
said The Kid, who evidently knew less about cars than Sam. The older boy laughed.
‘You’re weird,’ he
said.
‘I’m no weirder than a dog with
the head of a cat and the heart of a humming bee.’
‘I guess not.’
Mercifully Sam saw a puff of black smoke
waft above the row of cars.
There was a shout.
‘Hey!’
The smoke thickened, turned into a column.
Kids were shouting and running towards the cars. There was a hubbub of voices.
‘It’s on fire.’
‘Fetch some water.’
‘Don’t get too close, it might
explode.’
‘What happened?’
Sam and The Kid edged away from the
commotion, moving backwards through the crowd of kids who were congregating around the
fire. They reached the ticket offices and found Tish waiting for them.
‘I thought it would never catch
light,’ she said. ‘But look at it go now!’
The guards were wandering over from the
perimeter, drawn by the fire, forgetting what they were supposed to be doing. In the end
they were all just children and couldn’t be expected to have the discipline of
trained soldiers.
‘What did you do?’ Sam asked,
staring at the flames that were leaping above the cars.
‘Set fire to some crap on the back seat
of an old Ford Focus.’
‘Will it be all right?’
‘Of course it won’t be all
right!’ Tish gave a short, slightly crazy-sounding squeal of laughter.
‘Now let’s go.’
16
They
train carriage down in the tunnels beneath Bank station. They hadn’t seemed to be
affected by the disease. They’d said they wanted to help Sam, told him they were
keeping him safe.
Just like Ed.
And just like Ed they hadn’t wanted
him to go …
Of course the grown-ups weren’t
normal. They had the disease in them. Deep down and hidden. And they’d been
fattening Sam up so they could eat him. It was The Kid who’d rescued him. Sam had
escaped the forbidden zone one time. And now here he was getting ready to run back into
danger, like an idiot.
Was he really planning to leave the safety
of the castle? Somewhere he’d always dreamt of living? He looked across at the
high yellow-grey walls.
Tish was right.
This place might be a castle, but for hundreds
of years it had also been a prison. If he stayed here too long he’d never get
away. He’d forget about Ella; she’d fade from his memory like his parents
had. It was less than three weeks since he’d last seen her, but so much had
happened in that time. He’d moved from one world to another. He tried to picture
her now, but all he could remember clearly was a photograph that had been on the
mantelpiece at home. Him and Ella with Father Christmas. Ella looking like she was about
to cry, Sam looking embarrassed.
She was two years younger than him.
Preferred to wear boys’ clothing to girls’ and had short dark hair.
That was about it.
It wasn’t enough.
He had to find her. She was all he had left
of the past.
They unloaded their delivery and he strolled
over to the cars with The Kid while Tish slipped away.
He stood watching the older boys, who were
taking it in turns to sit in the driver’s seat of the Porsche. Out of the corner
of his eye he saw Tish going over to the end of the row of older cars. He was supposed
to be distracting these boys, wasn’t he?
‘How fast does it go?’ he asked
one of them.
‘About a hundred and
eighty.’
Sam nodded.
‘Cool.’ In truth he didn’t
really know very much about cars, but 180 miles an hour did sound pretty fast.
‘Has it got a full tank?’
‘Half full. It drinks a ton of fuel as
well.’
‘Yeah.’ Sam nodded again. He was
running out of things to talk about.
‘I like the colour.’
‘You want to sit in it?’
‘No. I’m all right.’ What
was taking Tish so long? He nudged The Kid in the ribs. ‘Help me out here,’
he hissed.
‘It’s got four wheels,’
said The Kid, who evidently knew less about cars than Sam. The older boy laughed.
‘You’re weird,’ he
said.
‘I’m no weirder than a dog with
the head of a cat and the heart of a humming bee.’
‘I guess not.’
Mercifully Sam saw a puff of black smoke
waft above the row of cars.
There was a shout.
‘Hey!’
The smoke thickened, turned into a column.
Kids were shouting and running towards the cars. There was a hubbub of voices.
‘It’s on fire.’
‘Fetch some water.’
‘Don’t get too close, it might
explode.’
‘What happened?’
Sam and The Kid edged away from the
commotion, moving backwards through the crowd of kids who were congregating around the
fire. They reached the ticket offices and found Tish waiting for them.
‘I thought it would never catch
light,’ she said. ‘But look at it go now!’
The guards were wandering over from the
perimeter, drawn by the fire, forgetting what they were supposed to be doing. In the end
they were all just children and couldn’t be expected to have the discipline of
trained soldiers.
‘What did you do?’ Sam asked,
staring at the flames that were leaping above the cars.
‘Set fire to some crap on the back seat
of an old Ford Focus.’
‘Will it be all right?’
‘Of course it won’t be all
right!’ Tish gave a short, slightly crazy-sounding squeal of laughter.
‘Now let’s go.’
16
They
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