Which meant it was Max’s turn to go. He sprinted through the school gates, scanning the area ahead as he ran, looking for any movement or threats. There were none. He found the others with their backs to the wall on the west side of Block Yellow.

‘Don’t you think it’s weird,’ Max said quietly, ‘that we can enter the school grounds so easily? You’d think the terrorists would have guards or lookouts or something.’

‘They’re probably scared of snipers,’ Sami said.

‘Yeah, maybe,’ Max said. ‘But I think it means they’re very sure they’ve got all the kids under control, and that they can do something pretty bad if they suspect a rescue team is coming in.’

Nobody had an answer to that. Lukas and Jack didn’t even seem to have heard what Max said. Lukas took the lead again. He led them round the north end of the building and pointed at a door to the main teaching block. ‘I’m going to check it’s unlocked,’ Lukas said. ‘If it is, follow me in.’

Max was about to say, ‘If we don’t start working together, this is going to end badly …’ But he didn’t get the chance. Lukas didn’t wait for anyone to agree or disagree with the plan. He simply sprinted across the open ground to the door. He opened it and slipped inside. Without waiting for any kind of agreement, the others followed, in the same order as before. Again, Max found himself momentarily alone, scanning the area carefully. Nothing. Just that uncanny silence. If he didn’t know what was really happening, he’d think the school was deserted.

When Jack had disappeared into the building, Max followed. He felt vulnerable running across the open tarmac. Instinctively, he ran crouched over, to present a smaller target, just in case. But he reached the building unharmed.

He found himself with the others in an empty corridor with a shiny grey vinyl floor. The lights were on. The walls were covered with children’s artwork: collages and pastel drawings. There were classrooms on either side of the corridor. By each classroom was an alcove where the children had messily stashed their bags and coats. There was a familiar smell. It was a mixture of poster paints and cleaning products that Max recognised from his own school.