Jack stood. His knees were visibly trembling. He looked as if he might collapse with fear.

The gunman turned to face the dining hall. ‘Choose one,’ he instructed.

‘What do you mean?’ Jack replied.

‘Are you stupid? Choose one of these children. Then I will kill them, as a punishment for your attempt to escape.’

Jack looked at him in horror. Then he shook his head. ‘No,’ he said.

‘You are refusing to do as I say?’

‘They haven’t done anything wrong. I’m the one who tried to escape. Not any of them.’

It was absolutely silent in the room now. There was not even any crying.

Max could see the gunman’s lips curl into a sneer. ‘Ah!’ he said. ‘A hero! Very well.’ He put the barrel of the MP5 to the side of Jack’s head. ‘I shall punish you instead.’

Max wanted to shout out, but he was paralysed with shock and fear. The other recruits looked on in terror. Jack closed his eyes.

It all happened very quickly. The gunman spun round his MP5 and held it in both hands. He whacked the butt of the weapon against the side of Jack’s head. There was a sickening crack. Jack went down immediately, toppling from the stage onto the floor, landing hard. There was a collective moan from the hostages in the room. Lukas, Sami and Abby craned their necks over the edge of the stage, looking horrified. Max could see nothing above the heads of the other hostages. Half of him wanted to get to his feet so he could see Jack. Half of him wanted to vomit. He did neither, but stayed crouched on the ground, head bowed, limbs weak.

‘He was lucky,’ the gunman on the stage announced. ‘If anyone else tries to escape, I will use the other end of the weapon.’

More panic in the room. Max looked up. The other recruits were still on their knees, their hands behind their backs. They were all staring at Max. Max put his hand over his mouth. ‘Stop staring at me,’ he hissed into the comms. The other recruits immediately looked down.

He couldn’t say any more. T6 had turned his way again and was walking towards him. Instead, Max slid across the floor to one of the other students, a ginger-haired boy about his own age. Taking advantage of the increased noise in the room, he struck up conversation. ‘These wires going overhead and all around the room, do you know what I think they are?’

The boy gave him a strange look. ‘Who are you? I don’t recognise you,’ he said.

‘I’m new today,’ Max said. He gave a little grimace. ‘Great day to start a new school, huh?’

‘What are they?’ the boy asked.

‘Look, they lead to those packages all around the room. I think they’re bombs. I think the whole place is rigged to blow up.’

– How many devices, Max?