Toxic Treacle by Echo Freer Page A

and a glass of keg in his other hand. ‘What are you doing here?’
    Monkey scanned the assembled crowd then shook himself free of the provider’s grip. ‘‘Flecting back, cuz.’
    Tragic dropped his arm from the girl’s shoulder and his eyes darted to Jane and the provider whom Monkey had seen kissing her earlier. It was the male who broke the tension.
    â€˜You must be Mickey; Jane and Trevor have told me a lot about you.’ He turned to Angel. ‘And, if I’m not mistaken, you’ll be Angelina?’
    Angel stepped forward and cocked her head enquiringly. ‘How did you...’
    â€˜I recognise the description,’ he gave her a disarming smile. ‘I’m Tom - Trevor’s father.’
    Monkey recognised his voice immediately; he was one of the providers who had been working in the field the previous night when Monkey had been on his way home: the one who’d been talking about having a ‘big day’ and taking someone down the snug for his first legal keg. Then came another voice that was familiar to Monkey, only, when he’d heard it the previous evening out in the field, he’d been unable to place it.
    â€˜Mickey, man! Wozzapp’nin’? What you doin’ here?’ It was Jumpy, the hyperactive Mooner who’d been sentenced to a spell on The Farm for being caught with a pre-nurturer before he’d graduated.
    â€˜Jumpy?’ Monkey was shocked.
    â€˜They call me Noel here. And guess what? I ain’t jumpy no more, neither!’ he grinned, raising his glass and taking a sip of keg. ‘Edge and Riddler are over there too - only we call ‘em Edward and Roger. We don’t do tags here. Good to see you, mate.’ He walked off towards the back of the snug where several pre-breeders and pre-nurturers were gathered round a table. One or two of them raised their glasses when they saw Monkey, as though toasting his welcome to the community.
    â€˜They think you’ve joined us,’ Tragic commented.
    â€˜What’re they doing here? I thought they went straight from The Farm to the Breeders’ Zone?’
    Tragic shook his head. ‘There’s quite a few Farm escapees in the rurals. They hear what the zones are like from some of the older farm workers and there’s no way they’re going there. So they make a run for it.’
    Monkey was struggling to take it all in. ‘And who’s...’ he looked at the pre-nurturer who had kissed Tragic but had now moved slightly away from him.
    â€˜Oh, this is Zoë - she’s my girlfriend.’ He shot Zoë a sideways glance, blushed, then looked at his feet, grinning widely.
    â€˜Girlfriend?’ Monkey shook his head in disbelief. ‘First, you’re calling Jane, Mum , and then some guy introduces himself as your father - now you’ve got yourself a girlfriend . What’s going on here, Tradge? You’ve only been away a week and it’s like you’ve turned back time fifty years.’
    Tragic shrugged. ‘Well, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.’
    Monkey slapped his head with his hand. ‘You have got to be raggin’ me!’
    Tom interrupted and suggested they go somewhere quiet so that Monkey could be offered some explanations. Tragic said his goodbyes to the crowd in the snug, kissed Zoë and told her he’d see her later, then Tom and Jane led them back to the cottage. Jane could barely conceal her consternation that Monkey had returned, so it was Tom who spoke.
    He explained that all the adult males in the snug had once been residents of the state zones. They’d started out just like Monkey and Tragic, attending the local school, eager for graduation; many had been in brotherhoods, some had the scars to show for it. Once in the Breeders’ Zone, some had continued their education but many had dropped out, doing menial jobs just for the money until they’d bred their offspring and