He would never have jumped this gap on his own. Not in a million years. But he wasn’t on his own, he was with his friends, his crew, even if they were a lot taller and bigger and better at jumping than him.

‘You have to jump from here,’ Jake indicated his side of the gap, ‘over to there. We did a jump like this in Army Cadets. ’Cept it was wider.’

‘Cool,’ Daniel said, playing for time. ‘How old do you have to be for Cadets?’

‘Dunno. Not in it any more.’

‘Why?’

He shrugged. ‘Didn’t like being shouted at and ordered about.’

‘They kicked him out,’ Ethan said with a smirk.

‘No they never!’ Jake punched his brother on the arm. ‘It got boring, all the marching and that shit. There was hardly any shooting.’

Daniel checked over his shoulder in case a grown-up was there. He couldn’t help it. He always did, when someone swore.

‘It’s easy,’ Jake said. ‘I’ll show you.’

He took a short run-up and jumped across the gap, landing hard on the other side in a cloud of dust kicked up by his trainers.

Ethan followed suit, only just making it, sprawling to his knees when he hit the far side. He stood up quickly, brushing himself down and coming to stand next to his brother. They both stared at Daniel.

‘Your turn,’ Jake said.

Daniel inched a bit closer to the edge and looked down into the gorge. Blue water sparkled in the stream at the bottom, sunlight glinting like diamonds in the sun.

‘It’s a long way down, isn’t it?’

‘Kill you for sure, a drop like that,’ Ethan said.

‘Are you chicken?’ Jake said.

‘No.’

‘You are, you’re a chicken-man,’ Ethan said, adding suddenly with a cruel smile, ‘Chicken-man Dan!’

He began to make buck-buck-buck chicken noises, flapping his arms at his sides. His brother joined in.

‘Chicken-man Dan! Chicken-man Dan!’ Both brothers capered in circles, arms flapping. ‘Buck-buck-buck!’

Daniel felt the heat rising to his cheeks. Suddenly he needed a wee, really badly. It was like the worst bits of school all rolled into one, PE and bullies and high-up things and always getting picked last for the football team.

He might have been scared, but he wasn’t a chicken. He wasn’t.

He would show them.

‘I’m not chicken.’

Ethan stopped flapping his arms, his smile turning cold.

‘I think you are, little man.’

‘Not!’

‘Prove it then.’

Daniel stepped back six paces and took a couple of deep breaths.

He wasn’t a chicken.

He ran towards the gap, fists pumping, feet slapping the dusty earth, eyes fixed on the far side—

And jumped.

Chapter 50

50