He struggles to swallow and feels horribly weak. His mouth is sticky, he is thirsty and desperately wants a glass of cold water. Rubbing his face, he tries to remember when he last ate.

He pushes himself up but his head begins to swim.

Placing his palms on the floor, he steadies and gives himself a moment to feel better.

The numbness fades but in its place is a throbbing ache. His heart sinks and he wonders if he has broken his arm again. He wriggles his fingers and is relieved there is no pain. It just feels heavy. He lifts it and hears a rattle. Confused, he touches his wrist. There is a thick metal band around it with a chain attached. Jordan shudders.

What is that?

‘Mum!’ he calls out.

He waits and listens but she doesn’t respond.

He calls again and again, his voice sounds so small in the darkness, and still she doesn’t reply.

He notices a horrible smell, a weird sickly-sweet chemical odour, that makes his stomach turn.

He stands up and tries to focus but he cannot see anything. It’s so dark, like a cave.

He feels his breathing quicken and he trembles.

He tugs at the chain but it’s fixed to something.

He takes it in both hands and follows it upwards until he reaches a wall. The surface is rough like concrete. Crouching down he feels what seems to be a metal rung, which the chain is connected to. He tries to pull it, but it doesn’t give.

There must be a light switch somewhere, he thinks, and he starts to run his hands over the wall, sliding them up and down until at last he finds the switch.

He flicks it on and closes his eyes at the harsh white light that blinks into life. After a moment his eyes adjust and he sees grey walls made from concrete blocks. Nearby is a small stairwell leading up to a green door.

He doesn’t recognise this place.

He turns around to get his bearings.

The room is no bigger than his bedroom. There are no windows and it looks more like a bunker or a cellar than an actual room.

He has the sense that he is being watched and for the first time notices a tall glass tank filled with liquid at the opposite end of the room.

He gasps and stumbles backward.

Something . . . someone is inside it.

Floating upside down is a man wearing a mask. One part of it seems to have been torn away and from underneath, a pale lifeless eye stares back at him.

Terror sweeps through Jordan like a wildfire and he screams.

Chapter 16

16