Max felt hot with anger. Lukas had been weird with him ever since he’d arrived. It was obvious that winning meant everything to him. To the extent that he was willing to do this …

For a moment, Max considered untying the paracord and taking it, along with the gum wrapper, as evidence that Lukas had sabotaged him. But he shook his head. That wasn’t his style. He’d grown up learning to deal with his own problems. And since he was the last recruit, leaving it wouldn’t compromise any of the others. So he turned his back on the clumsy booby trap and tried to continue running.

He winced. His left ankle was agony. He limped as he ran, and could only manage half his previous speed. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to carry on.

The going was slow and painful. The flags that marked his way seemed to take an age to reach and pass. He was sweating twice as badly now, and his breath came in short gasps. It took another twenty minutes to clear the forest. Only then did he see the finish line up ahead.

The others had all made it. They were standing in a little group slightly apart from Hector and Angel, next to the white minibus. Most of them were bent double, hands on knees, as they tried to get their breath back. Not Lukas. He was standing straight, looking back towards Max. As Max limped up to them, he saw that Lukas had a satisfied smile on his face.

‘Good of you to join us,’ Hector said. He clicked a stopwatch and recorded Max’s time in a notebook. Angel looked on sympathetically.

‘What happened?’ she asked.

Max glanced at Lukas. ‘I tripped,’ he muttered. ‘It doesn’t matter.’

‘We’ll get Martha to look at your ankle.’

‘It doesn’t matter,’ Max repeated more forcefully.

‘Everyone into the minibus,’ Hector shouted. ‘Move. Now.’

They bundled in. Max, limping, was last. He sat next to Abby and opposite Sami. As the minibus trundled back to the house, Sami looked at Max with an expression of sympathetic understanding. For the first time, Max felt irritated with his friend. He didn’t need anybody’s sympathy. He felt his face burning and he stared at the floor of the vehicle. Nobody spoke.