We climbed until we reached the second, and top, floor. He seemed to know where he was going, know exactly what he was doing, and that frightened me. This had all been planned. For how long? And why? The why still made no sense to me.

‘Please,’ I begged again as he pushed me further down the corridor. ‘Why are you doing this? Just let me go, Michael. I won’t tell anyone it was you. I won’t say a word. I’ll do what you want. I’ll run away with you.’

He didn’t speak, just pushed me forwards.

Opening the door of a classroom on the left-hand side, he pushed me inside. With the gentle light of the torch I could see posters, classwork still pinned to some of the walls. The blackboard, with obscenities scrawled along it. A few chairs, lying on their sides. Discarded drinks cans and beer bottles. A mouldy and pervasive smell filled the air, only made worse by the lack of any ventilation.

He walked across the classroom to the door of the small storeroom before waving his torch in the same direction.

‘Get in!’ he said.

‘No!’ I shook my head.

‘Don’t be so stupid,’ he said as if he were talking to a child. As if he were asking me to try something fun and I was being stubborn. ‘Get in,’ he snarled.

I hesitated before he grabbed my arm and pushed me in, my ribs colliding with a wooden shelf as I hit the back of the storeroom. I barely had time to turn around to look at him, when he closed the door and I could hear him move furniture around.

‘I’ll be back later,’ he said through the door.

‘Michael, please!’ I begged, thumping on the door as hard as I could. ‘Don’t leave me here!’

He didn’t respond, but I heard the sound of his footsteps moving further and further away until there was silence again. Silence and utter blackness.

I slumped to the ground, pulled my knees up to my chest. My head ached, my arm, too. My foot felt as though it were on fire. But aside from the physical pain, my God! I was scared. So incredibly terrified. Terrified and angry for putting myself in this position.

I had no idea what time it was. Were the police looking for me? Surely they’d have traced my car, for what good it would do? I thought of Beth and Paul. How I’d betrayed them by going to meet Michael in the first place. How I’d been so stupid. So reckless.