As for Josa, she was keeping up her own string of abuse, calling Ed every name in her arsenal, while shouting at her kids to do something. Ed figured he’d heard enough and tightened his grip, choking off her whines.

If Ed got away with this there were going to be some nasty arguments in school tonight.

Come on, Ebenezer.

At last there was a shout. High and shrill. And then another, and another. The knot of kids was starting to break up. Confusion was spreading.

Now Ed saw Ebenezer running towards the main gates, carrying a javelin in each hand. Nobody was bothering with him, though. Their attention was elsewhere.

It was a drastic plan, but the locals had been prepared to kick Ed and his friends out with no car and no protection in the middle of the night. They were only getting what they deserved.

The shouts were growing louder, some screams, and then the locals were running in all directions, some towards the danger, some back towards the school building. The fighters among them were grouping together. They had a bigger threat than Ed and Lewis on their hands.

Sickos.

Ebenezer had opened their pens.

Ed could see some of them now, wandering about on the other side of the road that led to the gate. He loosened his grip on Josa. Her usefulness was over.

‘What the bloody hell have you done?’ she shrieked.

‘A little diversion.’ Ed laughed. ‘You wanna go deal with it? Your troops look a little headless.’

‘Don’t hurt ’em!’ Josa yelled at her guys. ‘We need ’em for the races. Don’t hurt ’em. Round ’em up.’

‘You wanna go help?’ Ed repeated.

‘Let me go, you arsehole.’

‘Tell your guys not to even think of shooting or you’re coming with us.’

Ed hardly needed to say this. Josa’s boys seemed to have completely forgotten about her and were charging about, trying to shut down the sickos.

‘Let me go.’

‘Anyone shoots at us I will shoot back,’ said Lewis.

‘Let me go!’

Ed shoved her away and she went stumbling over the ground, trying not to fall over, then ran off towards the sickos, shouting at her team not to hurt them.

Ed and Lewis jumped in the moving car, Brooke hauling them aboard, and Kyle sped up towards the gates. The kids were still guarding it, but were in a stand-off with Ebenezer who had his javelins at the ready. As the car got closer, Lewis jumped out, raising the gun.

‘Open it,’ he said, nothing dozy about him now, and the kids hurriedly scrambled to unlock the gate and pull it open. Then Ebenezer and Lewis were back in the car and they were speeding away down the main road.