Текст книги "The Enemy"

Автор книги: Charlie Higson

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Текущая страница: 14 (всего у книги 22 страниц)

37

David was true to his word. That evening the kids sat down to a slap-up meal in the state dining room. The newcomers couldn’t get over how posh the room was, and how weird it was eating in here, like being in a lush film. The room, which was painted a deep red, was lit by countless candles in silver candlesticks. Along one side tall glass doors looked out over the garden, and the wall opposite was hung with paintings of British monarchs. The kids sat around a massive polished wooden table piled with food. Three giant mirrors at one end of the room reflected the whole surreal scene.

The kids expected that at any moment a furious adult would come in and tell them they didn’t belong here and to get lost.

The food was simple but good, with a choice for everyone. Spaghetti Bolognese, steamed vegetables, baked potatoes and omelettes with warm crusty bread. All washed down with jugs of cool, clear water. The bread was slightly stodgy but it was the first bread any of the Holloway crew had tasted in over a year.

They were all starting to relax and getting to know each other. There was a noisy level of chatter round the long table.

Maxie found herself sitting with Franny, the gardener. She was very thin and jolly and well spoken. Rattling away between mouthfuls.

‘I can honestly say I’m happier now than I have ever been in my life. I mean, of course I miss my family, but I’d been at boarding school so I hadn’t seen that much of them lately anyway, no, that’s not fair, I loved them dearly and I do miss them, but David’s got everything so well organized here, he really is a genius, we worship him.’

‘Worship him?’

‘It’s just a figure of speech, I don’t mean to say we throw ourselves to the ground in front of him and offer up thanks, though I think some of the younger children would like to, but he really is clever, things are a lot better all round than they were before.’

‘You are joking, Franny?’ said Maxie. ‘The world’s fallen apart.’

‘No, I’m quite serious,’ said Franny. ‘Think about it, Maxine.’

‘It’s Maxie.’

‘Sorry, yes.’ Franny giggled. ‘I used to know a Maxine at school, it’s sort of stuck in my head, she was really into horses, she’s probably dead now, poor girl, but what was I saying? Oh yes. The world. Think about it. The oceans are no longer being polluted, the fish aren’t being wiped out, they’re breeding now, multiplying like mad, in a couple of years there’ll be more fish in the seas than there have been for centuries, and it’s not just fish, there’s whales, dolphins, turtles, wild animals everywhere. Think of the forests growing, the trees no longer being cut down. The world is going back to how it should be.’

‘But I’ll never see any of those fish,’ said Maxie. ‘Or those whales. Or any lions or tigers. I’m never going to set foot in a rainforest now, am I? I won’t even be able to watch any old DVDs of them without any electricity. What does the future hold? It’s like going back to the Middle Ages. Nobody knowing what was going on beyond their front doorsteps. All I’ll ever know is this. This little bit of London.’

‘So?’ said Franny. ‘As long as you are happy. And if the world is happy we can be happy. The world will heal itself, the damage that man did will be repaired, future generations will maybe look after it better.’

‘Future generations?’

‘Of course.’

Ollie leant over. ‘How do you know when we get old we won’t all get the sickness?’

Franny made a face and shrugged. ‘David will think of something,’ she said.

‘You reckon?’

‘Let’s not talk about gloomy things like that,’ said Franny. ‘Not tonight.’

‘Whatever.’ Ollie looked around the room. He noticed that not every palace kid was eating with them. Some of the boys in uniform were sitting by the doors, still clutching their rifles. He didn’t like the atmosphere it created. As if David and his friends were trying to recreate the days of royalty. The enemy was outside roaming the streets, not in here. What were they trying to prove with this display?

He could understand it if they were patrolling the grounds – which he had no doubt they were, given the level of David’s organization – it just about made sense to have sentries on duty out front, though even that had looked a little OTT to him. They would have been a lot more use keeping watch from the roof. Whatever, they certainly didn’t need these poor sad acts in uniform watching them eat. There was something military about the boys’ behaviour. They didn’t speak. They stayed very still. It was creepy.

Ollie got up from the table and slipped out of the room. Kids had been coming and going all the time. Some using the toilet, some bringing in food or clearing away dirty dishes. Nobody noticed him leave.

He walked down the corridor as if he was heading for the toilet, checked that no one was looking and carried on walking.

It was time for a little snooping.

Blue was at one end of the table with Jester and David. He was quizzing David. Anxious to find out how everything worked at the palace. ‘So are you in charge then, Dave?’ he asked, shovelling food into his mouth.

‘He doesn’t like “Dave”,’ said Jester. ‘He likes to be called David.’

‘Sorry. David.’ Blue took a sip of water. ‘David what?’

‘Actually my name is David King.’

Blue spluttered, spitting water on to his plate.

‘You are not serious, man?’

‘I am.’

‘Well, remember. Just because you live in a palace it don’t make you a real king.’

‘No?’ David smiled.

‘No way, man. We all used to live in a shop, didn’t make me a shopkeeper.’

‘I never said I was a king, anyway. It’s just my name.’

‘Well, you certainly act like you’re the big cheese.’

‘When we first got here it was chaos,’ said Jester. ‘We were all over the place. But if you want to survive you have to be organized. If you want to grow food, to drink clean water, to stay warm, to defend yourselves, all those things need organization. David arrived a little after the rest of us. He pulled us all together. He organized us.’

Blue glanced at Jester. ‘Things are going to be bare different from now on, man. Bare different.’

‘How so?’ said David.

‘How so? Well. For one, you ain’t gonna be organizing me, pal. Right? Ain’t nobody gonna be organizing me. And that’s a fact. You ain’t my king. I never voted for you.’

‘You don’t vote for a king.’

‘Listen –’

‘We’ll talk about it later,’ said David, smiling. ‘It’s no big deal. We’ll work out a way that we can all get along.’

‘Why can’t we talk about it now?’

‘Let’s enjoy the food. You lot need to settle in and find your feet. In the morning everything will seem so much simpler.’

Ollie followed his nose towards the kitchens. Making sure that he wasn’t being followed. Most of the palace was eerily dark and empty, but it made it easy to stay hidden. A staircase near the state dining room led down to the service level. There was a lot of noise coming from the kitchen and Ollie approached cautiously. Standing in the corridor was a large plastic bin on wheels. He looked inside. Empty tins of dog food.

That explained the spaghetti Bolognese.

Oh well, he’d eaten worse.

He carried on and found a spot where he could see into the kitchen without being seen. The room was packed. One group of kids was sweating away at the stoves, another clattering dishes at the sinks, immersed in clouds of steam and smoke. Yet more kids were crowded round a scrubbed wooden table. There looked to be about twenty of them; some in uniform, some still grubby from working in the garden. They weren’t eating anything like what was being served upstairs. They had bowls of some kind of thin stew or soup. As Ollie watched, a boy stood up and shouted over to the cooks.

‘Hey! Is there any bread to go with this?’ ‘You’re joking, aren’t you?’ one of the cooks shouted back. ‘They’re scoffing next month’s supply upstairs.’

‘They’re scoffing everything upstairs. We’ll starve.’

‘We’ll make do.’

Ollie had seen enough. He slipped away. So David was lying to them, pretending they had more food than they really did. What was he up to? Showing off, probably. For now they would have to sit tight and see what happened. Ollie knew that he ought to be angry, but he was actually quite impressed. David was a clever boy, devious. He knew a bit of psychology. He understood about politics. About spin. He had achieved a hell of a lot here, obviously not quite as much as he was making out, but it was still remarkable. Ollie would need to be very careful – they all would – but David was a good person to be on the right side of.

Ella was eating her dinner slowly and quietly. Godzilla was under the table chewing on a piece of leather. Occasionally she would feel him bump reassuringly against her leg. She was thinking about Sam. He’d have liked it here. He’d have liked playing in the garden, and running round the palace, looking at all the nice things. She’d seen a painting of a man in armour. Sam would have really liked that. He liked knights. He always loved dressing up in his play armour. She’d tried to play with him, as a princess, but he didn’t like princesses. He only wanted other knights to fight with. She wasn’t very good at fighting and always ended up getting hurt and crying.

Was he really in heaven like Whitney had said? Ella didn’t exactly know what heaven was. She’d always imagined it looked a bit like this. A nice clean palace with pictures and a garden to play in and a nice man looking after you. And nice food.

She’d never liked vegetables before but now they tasted lovely. So many things had changed. Too many. She’d always thought Sam would be there to look after her, even though he was only small. She was nearly as big as him.

Now he was gone.

She said a silent prayer. Sent it up to heaven.

Sam, if you can hear me I hope you’ve got nice food where you are. Some vegetables like these. They’re meant to be good for you. So eat them all up, like I’m doing. When I die I’ll come and see you and we’ll be together again. But for now I’m going to think of you safe and happy and playing knights with a friend.

Love from Ella. Your sister.

PS I got a good long go with Godzilla today after we got here. Godzilla is very happy.

PPS I forgot, you never met Godzilla. He is a puppy and is very cute, he belonged to a boy called Joel who got killed by monkeys. I think the monkeys were sick. Monkeys are usually nice. At least in stories.

PPPS Maybe you’ll meet Joel where you are. Say hello. He is nice.

PPPPS Goodnight, Sam. The others call you Small Sam. To me you’re just Sam – my brother.

I miss you. I wish I was with you.

38

‘They put something in the soup to make you sleep.’

‘What do you mean? Why would they do that?’

‘Why do you think? They needed to chain you up. They’re keeping us prisoner.’

Sam had woken up in a different carriage. There was no fancy furniture in here, no curtains or carpets. There was straw on the floor, a bucket at one end to use as a toilet and the doors were jammed shut. Otherwise it was a normal tube-train carriage.

There were handcuffs around his wrists. A thin chain led from them up to the roof where it was fixed to the handrail. He had room to move about, but not far.

There were three other kids in here. Two were asleep. Twins. A boy and a girl, about Sam’s age. They looked clean and well fed, but a little feeble, and their skin was very pale. The third kid was a girl, older than Sam, quite fat but with withered, skinny legs. She sat on one of the seats and seemed to have some trouble breathing. Maybe it was asthma?

Her name was Rhiannon. She said she’d been here about three weeks. As far as she could tell.

‘Why would they keep us prisoner?’ said Sam. ‘They seemed nice.’

‘When I’ve first come here,’ said Rhiannon, ‘there was another boy. His name was Mark Watkins. He’d been here a long time. He could hardly stand up. His muscles was all wasted away. They’d been feeding him on tinned vegetables and dog biscuits. Then one morning he wasn’t here. I’ve never saw him again. But I saw Rachel and Nick. They was stuffing their faces with meat. I saw them taking away bin bags after. They’re keeping us like cattle.’

‘They can’t,’ Sam protested. ‘They’re not like the other grown-ups. They’re not diseased. They’re not mad.’

‘They still need to eat.’

‘They can scavenge…’

‘They want meat,’ said Rhiannon. ‘I’ve quizzed them about it. They deny it. But why else would we be here? People will do anything to survive. I’ve read stories. People stranded at sea, or in plane crashes. They end up eating each other. Just to live.’

‘You’re wrong,’ said Sam. ‘You’ve got no proof.’

Rhiannon nodded at his handcuffs. ‘Ain’t that proof enough for you?’

‘But Nick saved my life,’ said Sam, who was close to tears.

‘If a wolf attacks his sheep the shepherd kills the wolf,’ said Rhiannon. ‘But he still eats the sheep when he’s hungry.’

‘I’m not a sheep,’ said Sam. ‘I’m a boy.’

‘To them you’re a sheep. Or a pig,’ said Rhiannon. ‘They feed us. They give us water. They check we’re not sick. They won’t eat us if we’re sick. That’s why I’m still alive, I reckon. They’re waiting to see if my chest infection is serious. There was another kid, a girl, never even got to know her name. She kept throwing up. Was too ill even to speak. They took her out. Don’t know what they did to her. Maybe they fed her to the rats or to their horrible fat cat. I call them Spiderman and Spiderwoman. It’s like we’re bugs caught in their web. They’ll keep us here until we’re ready to be eaten.’

‘We’ve got to escape,’ said Sam, jumping up and pulling at his chain.

Rhiannon snorted through her nose.

‘I done it before,’ said Sam. ‘I escaped from a nest of grown-ups at Arsenal stadium. I’m Sam the Giant Slayer. I’ve come all the way here from Holloway by myself. I’m not going to let these buggers hurt me. We’ll all get out.’

‘Don’t you think I’ve tried?’ said Rhiannon, shaking her head. ‘I’ve thought and I’ve thought, I’ve looked and looked, but there’s no way out of here.’

Sam sat down miserably. To have come all this way and end up like this was terrible, just terrible.

But he was Sam the Giant Slayer.

And he wasn’t going to give up without a fight.

39

‘This is ridiculous.’

‘Let’s just go with the flow, yeah? We’re their guests at the moment. If we want to live here permanently we’re going to have to learn to get along.’

It was ten in the morning. The most senior kids from the Holloway crew had been brought to somewhere called the Green Drawing Room and were standing around on the plush carpet, waiting. It was a ridiculously ornate room with patterned green wallpaper and a huge crystal chandelier dangling from the middle of the over-decorated ceiling. Apparently the palace kids were organizing some kind of ceremony for them. But it was taking forever.

The newcomers had spent the night in their sleeping-bags on camp beds in the ballroom, which had been made up as a huge dormitory. Most had slept well. Feeling secure and safe for the first time in a long while. They’d woken feeling excited, and eager to explore more of their new home.

Freak had announced that he was organizing a football match. He’d found a silver cup in a trophy cabinet and had renamed it the ‘Arran Memorial Cup’. Now most of the kids were outside, playing, but not this six. From Waitrose there were Maxie, Ollie and Achilleus. From Morrisons, Blue, Whitney and Lewis. They were alone apart from two of the uniformed boys who were standing guard on either side of the door through to the next room.

Blue was itchy about the whole thing. Convinced that David was trying to knock him back. He’d been wanting to talk to Jester about it since dinner last night, but hadn’t seen anything of him. Now the six of them had been left standing around like mugs for the best part of an hour. There had been rain in the night but the day was fine and bright, and the thought of just sitting out in the sun unwinding was very enticing.

The Holloway kids were bored and restless and didn’t like being made to feel second-best, but Ollie was urging them to be cautious and trying to calm them down, even though he knew all too well that David wasn’t telling them the whole truth. Ollie wanted David to play all his cards before he played any of his own. He’d long ago worked out that it was best to work behind the scenes. A quiet word here, a suggestion there, was always better than blundering in with all guns blazing. He recognized Jester as someone very similar to himself. Which was probably why he’d never trusted him.

‘If nothing happens in the next five minutes, I’m off,’ said Blue. ‘They’re having a laugh.’

‘Blue’s right,’ drawled Lewis. ‘We don’t want them to think we’ll do whatever they say. We don’t want to look like pussies.’

‘All the same,’ said Ollie. ‘Don’t you want to see what this is all about?’

‘I’ll tell you what it’s all about,’ said Blue. ‘Respect.’

‘Blue’s right,’ said Maxie. ‘I’ve had enough of this. Let’s go.’

‘Remember we’re guests here,’ said Ollie. ‘They can kick us all out if they want.’

‘Why go to all the trouble of sending Jester to find other kids if they’re just going to kick us out?’ said Achilleus. ‘They want something from us. That’s for sure.’

‘There’s a couple of sweet-looking girls want my body,’ said Lewis sleepily.

‘Who’d want your scraggy body?’ said Whitney. ‘There’s some nang guys here. Guys that don’t reek.’

Some of the kids had had baths last night but there hadn’t been enough hot water for everyone, so they were using the bathroom on a rota system. They’d made up a timetable and the girls were going first.

‘Come on,’ said Achilleus. ‘Nothing’s happening here. Let’s go.’

‘Yeah.’

Just as they were turning to leave, the doors to the next room opened a crack and a boy came through.

‘I’m really sorry, guys,’ he said. ‘Didn’t mean to leave you hanging around so long. I’m Pod, by the way.’

Pod was big and handsome with a thick thatch of fair hair streaked with blond highlights. He wore jeans with a rugby shirt, the collar turned up. He seemed like the type who went skiing and played rugby and met up with his mates in Cornwall every year to party and go surfing.

The others grumbled hellos, making sure he noticed how hacked off they all were.

‘We wanted everything to be ready for you, yeah,’ said Pod. ‘It’s taken us a smidgeon longer than we thought. Our fault. Sorry, guys. Now, I didn’t get the chance to say hello last night. I was out on patrol with the lads. I’m sort of in charge of security. Though I gather from my mate Jester that you lot could show me a thing or two about scrapping. I’m really looking forward to working with you.’

‘What exactly are you getting ready in there?’ Whitney asked. ‘You baking a cake or something?’

‘You’ll see. We wanted it to be a surprise.’

‘I don’t like surprises,’ said Blue.

‘It’ll be worth it,’ said Pod. ‘Trust me.’

‘Don’t know you,’ said Blue. ‘So don’t trust you.’

‘Fair enough,’ said Pod. ‘Yeah, good philosophy, I like it. Now, listen, I know you’ve all been through a lot. But just remember – we’re the good guys, yeah?’

The door opened again. This time it was Jester.

‘Do you want to come on through?’ he said, standing aside to clear the way.

‘Why not?’ said Achilleus.

None of them quite knew what they were expecting, and it certainly wasn’t this.

The next room was long and red, with several massive chandeliers, though the only light was coming through floor-to-ceiling windows down one side. At the far end was a row of thrones set out on a dais beneath a long plush red drape that hung from a gold canopy.

Sat on the thrones were seven people in various stages of decay. The youngest looked to be about sixteen, the oldest at least sixty. They were dressed in formal clothing that included robes and sashes, tiaras and medals. Diamond jewellery sparkled on the women while the men feebly held on to ceremonial swords. They looked like they didn’t have a clue what was going on and were very sick indeed. Their clothes hung loosely on them, and their scrawny necks poked out of the top like vultures. They had sunken cheeks and waxy, sweaty skin marred by spreading sores and boils. But they were quiet; just sitting, staring with big blank, uncomprehending eyes.

Four boys in uniform stood near the thrones, rifles at their sides. David was standing off to one side with Franny and another girl in a white nurse’s uniform. Maxie assumed this must be the Rose Maeve had told her about. Two more girls in nurse’s uniforms stood a little behind her. Jester and Pod went over to join them.

‘Welcome to the Throne Room,’ said David.

Maxie was staring at the grown-ups. ‘Who are they?’ she said, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

‘They’re all that’s left of the Royal Family,’ said Jester. ‘We found them here when we arrived. Hiding. None of the big names. Not the Queen, or anything. But they’re still royal.’

‘They’re a mess,’ said Lewis.

‘Well, they’re sick but not too sick,’ said David. ‘Who knows, maybe it’s their royal blood, their blue blood. Maybe it’s protected them from the worst.’

An old lady lifted her hand; on it was a grubby white glove. She seemed to be trying to say something. She gave up.

‘At first they weren’t so bad,’ said Jester. ‘They could talk and move about. I must admit they’ve got worse, though. Now they just sit there, slowly rotting. Two of them have died. I guess this lot won’t live that much longer.’

‘That’s why we need to move quickly,’ said David. ‘We need to set ourselves up in London before it’s too late. If I can say I’m putting the Royal Family back on the throne, it’ll make everything easier.’

‘Whoa, hang on,’ said Maxie. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘I’m talking about sorting London out. Putting everything right. We need to take control, and people will be much more likely to look up to us, to follow us, if we have some sort of authority.’

‘What people?’ said Maxie. ‘I’m still not following you.’

‘Ordinary people. They need things like this; things from the past, to reassure them.’

‘This lot wouldn’t reassure anyone,’ said Whitney.

‘This is the Royal Family,’ said David importantly. ‘Legitimate rulers of England.’

‘No way, man,’ said Blue. ‘It’s a joke.’

‘The kids out there don’t have to know how bad they are.’

‘They’re grown-ups,’ said Lewis. ‘Everyone knows how bad grown-ups are.’

‘We’ll lie. Say they’re special. Show them on the balcony now and then. From a distance they’ll look fine.’

A man flopped to the floor and started to crawl off the dais towards the kids, saliva dripping from his open mouth. Two of the guards picked him up and put him back on his throne.

‘Don’t worry, they’re completely harmless,’ said David. ‘But in the right hands, they can be a powerful weapon. Other children out there will –’

‘Wait a minute?’ said Achilleus. ‘You keep talking about other kids. What other kids? I thought this was it.’

‘There are children all over the place,’ said David. ‘Children like you. We just have to find them. That’s what Jester was trying to do. Our plan is to organize the whole of London.’

‘By organize, you mean rule?’ said Blue.

‘Call it what you like,’ said David. ‘But if we’re to stand any chance of creating a secure and prosperous new world to live in, we all have to work together. And for that we need a figurehead.’

‘That lot of zombies?’ said Blue scornfully, pointing to the grown-ups on the dais. ‘They’re gonna look great on the stamps.’

‘They’re a symbol,’ said David. ‘That’s all. Before, when we had a queen on the throne, she had no real power.’

‘At least she could walk and talk,’ said Blue.

‘As I say,’ David went on. ‘Nobody needs to know just how sick they are.’

‘So if they’re, like, the Royal Family, what does that make you then?’ asked Whitney. ‘The prime minister?’

‘I am a sort of lord chamberlain,’ said David.

‘A lord what?’

‘The person who puts the king’s will into practice. When the king is weak, the chamberlain has the power. In times of crisis you need a strong person in control. But the Royal Family can unite everyone and provide a link to the past.’

‘We don’t want no link to the past,’ said Whitney. ‘We don’t want no new royal family. You think this is going to make things easier? This bunch of idiots on the throne? You’re crazy.’

At this David stormed over to Whitney and shouted into her face.

‘I am not crazy! I am the only person who can pull this country back together. I am your only hope for a secure future.’

Whitney grabbed David by the throat and put her face very close to his.

‘Don’t you ever shout at me again, boy,’ she said, her voice cold and calm. David’s face went scarlet.

The four guards levelled their guns at Whitney. She gave them a look of utter scorn.

‘Do you even know how to use those things?’

‘Do you want to risk finding out?’ said David, his voice tight and high.

Whitney let him go.

‘What you gonna do with us if we don’t want to go along with this?’ she said. ‘Execute us?’

‘Wait, wait, wait,’ said Jester, holding up his hands. ‘Hold on a minute. This hasn’t got off to a good start. We didn’t expect you to get so upset about all this.’

‘Then why didn’t you tell us about it before?’ said Blue.

‘The time wasn’t right. We wanted to show you the palace first. All we’ve achieved.’

‘This is too weird,’ Maxie muttered.

‘Look,’ said David, rubbing his throat. ‘All this arguing is getting us nowhere.’

‘I don’t want no one telling me what to do,’ said Blue.

‘Fine,’ said David. ‘Nobody’s going to tell you what to do. If you’d only listen.’

‘I’m listening.’

‘Good. OK. This is how it works. I don’t order anyone about. I just organize things. Everyone has their own job. Franny’s in charge of growing food, for instance, Rose is in charge of the medical facilities, and so on. What I’m proposing is that you, Blue, would be our commander-in-chief, our general. You would train the troops and lead them. Everyone else here would keep the job they have now. You’d still be in charge of your own people. Things wouldn’t really be that different.’

Blue grinned.

‘General Blue?’ he said. ‘I like the sound of that.’

‘One thing?’ said Ollie, who up until now had said nothing.

‘What?’

‘This army? What’s it for?’

‘To fight grown-ups, of course,’ said Blue.

‘Jester told us the grown-ups had all been driven out of the area.’

‘It’s true,’ said David. ‘But there are other problems.’

‘Like what?’ said Ollie.

‘Like St James’s Park,’ said David.

‘Where’s that?’ asked Achilleus.

‘Just over the road,’ said Maxie. ‘It runs all the way down to Trafalgar Square.’

‘So what about it?’

‘We want to expand our farming activities,’ said Jester, ‘and turn the whole of St James’s into fields. But there’s a group of squatters who’ve set up a sort of camp there and they don’t want anything to do with us. We need to sort them out.’

‘These are kids, right?’ said Maxie. ‘Like us?’

‘Kids, yes, but not like us. They’re not organized. They just run wild. They’re a real threat. If we can sort them out –’

‘Sort them out?’ Maxie interrupted. ‘What does that mean? You want us to attack them?’

‘I don’t think it’ll come to that. I think a show of strength would be enough.’

‘We don’t want to fight no other kids,’ said Whitney.

‘We might have to,’ said David. ‘If we want to control all of London.’

‘No way,’ said Whitney.

‘You should see them,’ said Franny angrily. ‘We had amazing stuff planted there, they just ripped it all up and then attacked us when we went to try and sort it out. We’re stuck here in the palace gardens now. And with all these extra mouths to feed…’

‘You got us here as mercenaries, didn’t you?’ said Maxie, giving David a withering look.

‘Jester tells me you’re really good fighters.’

‘Yeah, what’s the problem?’ said Achilleus. ‘We’ve had to fight to survive. If these other kids are causing problems, we sort them out. It’s what we do. I’m with you, David.’

‘What about the rest of you?’ said David.

‘I need to think,’ said Blue. ‘Maybe see these kids for myself. It’s a lot to take in, man.’

‘We are not fighting other kids,’ said Whitney.

‘I’ll decide,’ Blue snapped. Jester suppressed a smile.

Maxie turned to Ollie.

‘What do you think?’

‘We need to talk.’