‘Joking, mate, just joking!’ Jake said. He flipped the knife, caught it by the flat of the blade and held it out again, handle first. ‘The look on your face, though. Brilliant. Did you really think I was going to stab you?’

Daniel felt the quick heat of tears behind his eyes and swallowed hard, pushing them back.

‘’Course not.’

No tears. Not now. Not in front of them.

Instead, he forced himself to hold his hand out, still shaking, and took the knife from Jake. The plastic handle curved into the shape of his palm and there was a little hollow where your index finger went. There was hardly any weight to it.

It felt good in his hand. Powerful. Like you could do anything with it.

Jake indicated the blade.

‘Razor sharp, titanium coating. It’ll slice through anything, that will.’

‘Cool,’ Daniel said.

‘Anything at all. Try it.’

‘What?’

‘Try it. On the tree.’

Daniel drew it gingerly across the bark of the olive tree next to him, leaving a hairline cut in the gnarled wood.

Jake took the knife back off him.

‘Goes in better like this,’ he said, thrusting the knife overhand into the bark, burying a half-inch of blade and leaving it quivering there, embedded in the tree.

‘Goes through skin much easier, though.’

‘Skin?’

Jake wrenched the knife from the tree, studying the point for a moment. ‘Hey listen, can you keep a secret?’

‘Yeah.’

Jake studied him for a moment, his face blank. ‘We have an actual gang, me and Ethan.’

Daniel looked from one teenager to the other.

‘A gang with two people?’

‘It’ll be three if you get in, if you want to be a proper full member.’

‘So how do I get in?’

‘You have to do the initiation.’

‘The what?’

‘Initiation,’ Ethan said. ‘It’s like a test.’ He put a hand on Daniel’s shoulder. ‘We’ve both done it already,’ he said.

‘What do I have to do?’

Ethan reached behind him, to a dip in the ground. He lifted out an empty plastic bottle, the top cut off.

‘I made a trap. Take a look.’

Daniel gingerly leaned forward and peered into the plastic bottle. It stank. There was some mouldy old fruit at the bottom, some leaves and stuff and –

Something moved at the bottom of the bottle. Quick and black and shiny.

Daniel flinched backwards.

‘Ugh! What is it?’

Ethan grinned.

‘Stag beetle, a big one. Come on, have a proper look.’