‘Too damn kind, if you ask me.’ Max and Woody turned to see Hector standing in the doorway. If anything, he looked grumpier than before. ‘Sliding down a rock face because some hippy student got the weather wrong isn’t the same as passing selection. Being good at CCF isn’t the same as what some of these kids have been through. We didn’t call you up in the first place because you’re not the right fit. There’s plenty of kids out there who’re smarter and stronger than you. But I don’t think we’ll need to kick you out. If you don’t throw your hat in by the end of day four, I’ll eat mine.’

Hector turned and left. The sound of his footsteps faded away as he strode down the corridor.

‘You still think he likes me?’ Max said.

‘That’s Hector for you. His bark’s worse than his bite. He’ll come round.’ Woody frowned again. ‘Probably. Come on, I’ll take you to your hut.’

But Hector had made Max feel a bit uncertain. He didn’t move. Instead, he looked anxiously out of the window again.

Woody gave him a steady look. ‘You’re not really going to say no because some old soldier like Hector gave you a few hard words, are you?’

Max tried to withstand that stare. He couldn’t. After a few seconds he lowered his head.

‘Thought not,’ Woody said brightly. ‘Let’s get moving. You’ll want a decent night’s sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be … well, kind of brutal. You’ll enjoy it!’

He walked to the door and left the room. Max felt he had no option but to follow.

5

The Rules

‘There are some rules you need to know,’ Woody said as they crossed the open ground between the house and the Nissen huts. ‘You’ll be bunking down with five other boys. You can tell them your first name and they can tell you theirs. But that’s it. No background information. Nothing about where you come from or what school you go to.’

‘Why?’ Max said.

‘Because your presence here is a state secret. Most of you will never see each other again, but we can’t risk any of you revealing the identities of those cadets who make it through selection. Special Forces Cadets need to work anonymously. Everyone has been told this. They all understand that if they reveal their own personal information, or ask anybody else theirs, they’re out of here.’

‘How will you know?’

Woody stopped and gave Max another intense look. ‘We’ll know,’ he said. He smiled broadly again and pointed towards one of the Nissen huts. ‘Come on, this is yours.’