‘No. I’m not really good at anything,’ said Ella and she started to cry. She walked away from the group and stood at the end of the chicken run with her back to them.

‘What’s the matter with her?’ asked Wiki.

‘Her little brother got killed the other day,’ said Monkey-Boy. ‘Some grown-ups took him away in a sack.’

‘Harsh,’ said Jibber-jabber. ‘Didn’t mean to upset her.’

‘I was going to say staying alive,’ said Monkey-Boy.

‘What do you mean?’ Wiki asked.

‘I was going to say that we were good at staying alive,’ Monkey-Boy explained. ‘But in the last few days quite a lot of us have got killed.’

‘Some of our lot died last night as well,’ said Wiki. ‘Me and Jibber nearly did too; we were stuck in the library and some sickos got in. Best not to think about it really, so thanks, Jibber-jabber, for going on about being killed and eaten.’

‘I’m sorry,’ said Jibber-jabber, sounding more angry than sorry. ‘I didn’t know.’

‘You see?’ said Wiki. ‘You talk and talk, but you don’t think.’

Bill was concentrating on his Blu-tack. His mind was spinning, full of mixed-up dinosaurs and chickens and grown-ups. He hated it when people were sad, or angry, like Ella and Jibber-jabber. That’s why he liked fossils. They were only ever one thing, one way. Stone.

He had moulded himself a chicken. A bald chicken. Smooth. It helped a little, made the chickens in the pen less frightening. He squashed it before any of the others saw it, though. He didn’t want them saying how good it was and could they have a go at making something.

It wasn’t a toy.

Sometimes he wanted to be completely alone, so he walked away from the others and got into one of the parked cars. Sat there, comforted by the dashboard, the gear lever, the steering wheel … Wished his own body was like a car and he could sit at the controls in his head.

He closed his eyes.

Everything was all right.

Wasn’t it?

Chapter 10

10

Justin and Jackson were looking in the back of the supermarket lorry with Boggle.

‘No sicko could have unlocked it,’ said Boggle, examining the padlock, which hadn’t been forced. It was quite obvious that someone had used a key. ‘It’s definitely sabotage. No doubt about it, man. Someone’s gone round letting all the sickos out, and letting them all in, if you take my meaning.’

‘You know what I think?’ said Justin.

‘What?’

‘I think David’s behind it.’

‘David?’ Boggle looked amazed. ‘How? He’s all the way over at Buckingham Palace.’

‘I don’t know,’ said Justin. ‘But it’s the sort of thing he’d do. Ever since that kid DogNut turned up the other day things have been weird.’

‘You know he got killed?’ said Jackson.

‘What?’ Now it was Justin’s turn to look amazed.