The Promithios complex had an office building at the front with walls made of green reflective glass. Behind it was a big, windowless warehouse covered in what appeared to be grey plastic panelling. It looked like a giant box, with no way in or out.

The only obvious entrance was at the front of the office building. The kids clustered round the thick glass doors and started arguing about the best way to get them open. Ollie left them to it. Took a step back to check the place out.

The building was about five storeys high, a couple of metres taller than the warehouse behind it. There was white lettering across the glass wall spelling out PROMITHIOS MEDICAL SOLUTIONS. Underneath was a list in smaller lettering: PROMITHIOS BIOTECHNOLOGY, PROMITHIOS BIOMEDICAL, PROMITHIOS MEDICAL SUPPLIES and, even smaller, PBC – PROMITHIOS BIOMEDICAL CONSULTING.

He was pretty sure that Promithios was a reference to Prometheus, the Titan from Greek mythology who created man and gave him the secret of fire. He wasn’t exactly sure what all the other terms meant, though. He had an idea that biotech was something to do with using living things to make new products – cloning, genetic engineering, growing tissues, altering cells, that sort of thing. Science-fiction stuff, a lot of it. He was just wondering about all this when he saw a sudden movement, a streak of white and a scream.

It all happened very fast.

A half-naked father had darted out of some bushes and charged at the kids clustered round the doors. He initially made for Emily, but Jackson yanked her out of the way and the father came on, deeper into the group. He was small and wiry, more like an animal than a man. His nose was missing and in its place was a cluster of growths and boils. He headed for Mick, who knocked him in the teeth with his forearm. The father skittered sideways out of control and collided with Paddy, who fell over, tangled in his golf-bag. Ollie dived in to protect Paddy and felt a sudden hot flash of pain across his cheek as the father slashed him with his dirty fingernails and then tried to bite him. Ollie was aware of his teeth scraping the fresh wound in his face. He grunted and tried to throw him off.

The next thing the father hissed and dropped to the ground, twisting and writhing. Achilleus and Jackson had both stabbed him at the same time. Ollie was furious at being wounded and lashed out at the father, kicking him in the head.

‘Go on, ginge!’ Mick shouted. ‘Give the bastard one from me.’

The father had stopped moving. Ollie stood there panting, blood dripping down his face. Emily came over and put a hand to his cheek.

‘It doesn’t look too bad,’ she said. ‘I’ll get some antiseptic and stick a plaster on it.’

‘I’m cut too,’ said Mick. ‘Should never have whacked him in the gob.’