Chapters (88)
- Cover
- Title Page
- Dear Reader …
- Also by Robert Muchamore
- PART ONE
- Walter J Freeman Adolescent Mental Health Unit – East Grinstead, UK
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- PART TWO
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- PART THREE
- Walter J. Freeman Adolescent Mental Health Unit – East Grinstead, UK
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- PART FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- EPILOGUE
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- Have you read KILLER T?
- 1 SLASHED RUBBER
- 2 NOT HARRY POTTER
Julius had imagined a kiss or hug, but all Duke could offer without hurting were his fingertips.
‘Barely a scratch,’ Duke joked, hoping humour would ease Julius’s pained expression.
Julius furiously thought about Collins, Kehinde and Taiwo using Duke as a punchbag. And the headmaster who’d let them get away with it … He looked at Remi. ‘Shouldn’t he be in hospital?’
‘His mother is coming on an overnight bus,’ Remi answered. ‘The Catholic hospital only takes American dollars. Six hundred a day just for the bed. The state hospital might admit him, but he has open wounds and that place is notorious for infection.’
Gabe stood awkwardly by the end of the bed, not knowing where to look.
‘Hey, little guy,’ Duke said, waving with the tips of his fingers. ‘You must be Gabe.’
Julius vented some of his anger. ‘This is what the twins were laughing about by the pool,’ he told Gabe bitterly.
‘So how come you’re both here?’ Duke asked, then gave a long groan as he tried sitting up.
Thinking how to answer made Julius realise how stressed he was.
‘Long story …’ he began as he drew up a chair beside the bed.
THIRTY-FIVE
You only notice sounds when they’re different. Georgia realised this as kids poured into hallways at the start of lunch. Voices felt sharper, bodies moved faster. Fists pounded on lockers.
‘Freedom!’ someone shouted.
Georgia was wary. She took time zipping her books away. She was last out of class and didn’t answer when a kid asked if she knew train times to London. But she was behind a hallway scrum and felt safe peeking at her phone. Her notification screen scrolled almost to infinity. Six voicemails, twenty-seven SMS, sixty Twitter messages, six hundred new followers on Instagram …
‘You seen Maya?’ Rolf asked, coming out of nowhere and giving Georgia a far-too-friendly thump on the back.
Rolf was with all his usual mates. Guys Georgia didn’t like, but she found herself among them as they surged down the hallway, shoving younger kids.
For all the bravado after the assemblies, most pupils were doing their usual thing. Heading for lunch, dribbling a ball towards the all-weather pitch or fighting over the outdoor pingpong tables.
But there was a scene with about eighty kids at the front gate. Rather than leave teachers exposed, the gates had been locked and left unattended. A couple of girls tried climbing over, but the narrow mesh gave no footholds, and if they got to the top, they faced jagged wire.
The strategy of letting kids burn themselves out seemed to be a good one. After a few rowdy minutes, thoughts turned to food and the crowd began peeling away.
‘Total bollocks,’ Rolf complained as their group watched from a few metres back.