‘You don’t want to come with us then?’

‘Us? What d’you mean?’

‘I’ve been talking to some of the other kids here,’ said Maeve. ‘It’s not just me feels this way. There’s a few of us want to go. Some of the younger ones like Ella and Monkey-Boy are freaked out by this place and, let’s face it, there’s not enough food to go round. We’ll be doing everyone else a favour.’

‘You can’t go, Maeve.’

‘I can.’ Maeve stood up. ‘And I will.’

Cameron writhed in the bed, his legs thrashed under the sheets and he whimpered.

‘Is he going to be all right?’ said Maxie.

‘I don’t bloody know,’ Maeve snapped, sounding very tired. ‘As I say, Maxie, I’m not a doctor. I’ve had enough of this. Just keep checking his temperature. If you can get him to drink some water as well …’ She paused, looking down at Cameron in his bed. ‘He’s got as much chance as the rest of us.’

Chapter 75

75

‘Something’s not right,’ said Blue and the group stopped.

The doors of the church were standing open.

Something was definitely not right.

Blue told everyone to quickly get under cover and they hurried off the path and into the trees. Ollie settled in next to Blue, crouching low behind a stump, Ebenezer with him.

‘You’ve got good eyesight,’ said Blue. ‘Can you see anything?’

Ollie stared hard at the church, looking for any clues as to what might have happened. Of course there could always be a perfectly innocent explanation. The kids might have had to come out to do something, or …

Who was he kidding? Blue was right – something was off. They could all sense it, fine-tuned as they were to pick up any signs of danger. A crow flapped down from the tower and disappeared behind the church. Ollie looked up. There was nobody there. No look-out.

It wasn’t as if anyone was running around screaming. It was spookily quiet. Ollie scanned the church again, then the churchyard. What was wrong?

‘There,’ he said at last, pointing.

‘What?’

‘Back over by those buildings, those shed things.’

‘What am I looking for?’

‘I can see it too,’ said Ebenezer. ‘A body, I think.’

‘That’s just made my day,’ said Blue and he muttered something filthy under his breath.

‘Can you see what sort of body?’ he added. ‘A kid? A grown-up?’

‘All I can tell you is it’s not moving.’

Now Einstein joined them.

‘Why have we stopped? What’s going on?’

‘There’s a body over there,’ said Blue.

‘Dead?’

‘Well, I hardly think it’s sunbathing, is it?’ said Blue.

Ollie sat down with his back to the stump, started fishing steel shot out of his pouches. The morning had started so well. Too good to be true.