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
‘I couldn’t face seeing his bed every time I came home,’ Remi explained. ‘The new couch pulls out for you to sleep on. My aunt stayed a few nights. She said it was reasonably comfortable.’
No electricity meant no air conditioning, and as Remi slid the balcony doors open for a breeze, Julius realised photos of Remi’s glory days as a correspondent for NTA had been swapped for some of Duke’s best drawings.
‘He was so talented,’ Julius said as he studied a large drawing.
Duke’s pencils had captured a St Gilda’s classroom, down to tiny details like the trapped dirt where floor met skirting board and the speckled pattern of the ceiling tiles. Breaking from realism, the uniformed kids at the desks had the heads of wolves, devils and fork-tongued lizards.
‘I have a poster tube for you,’ Remi said. ‘Some beautiful sketches Duke made of you.’
‘Thank you,’ Julius said, peeling his soggy shirt from his skin. ‘I stink. Can I use the shower?’
‘Naturally,’ Remi agreed, checking the time as he pulled his passport from a kitchen drawer. ‘It’s impossible to get diesel in the city right now. My back-up generator is dry, and the power grid hasn’t been on enough to stop food going bad in the fridge.’
‘A cold shower will do,’ Julius said.
He undid his belt and started emptying pockets onto a tabletop. It was fully dark now and as Julius stood by the balcony door to catch a breeze, he noticed a huge white hangar, glowing in the midst of Arctic Zoo.
‘What’s happening up there?’ he asked.
Remi’s brow furrowed with contempt. ‘That’s for Siberian tigers and the bloody polar bear,’ he explained. ‘They can’t get a licence to move Eddie to his new home until his infected skin clears up. So they’ve built him an oxygen chamber and put him on a special diet. They’ve got brand new Jeeps that buzz in and out, day and night. The vets and zookeepers have taken over the executive floor at the Palace Hotel.’
‘My friend’s tweet raised a million pounds,’ Julius noted.
He realised his phone was down to seven per cent as stepped out onto the balcony, hoping there was enough light to get a decent pic for Georgia.
‘Georgia hoped the picture of Eddie would raise awareness of other stuff in Akure, like the water poisoning.’
‘Westerners who dabble piss me off,’ Remi said bitterly as Julius stepped back in from the balcony. ‘They get it wrong so often, I can honestly say I prefer the ones who don’t give a damn.’
‘Georgia’s cool,’ Julius said defensively.