Scarface seemed to be completely ignoring what was happening. He’d gone over to where there was an old bit of machinery with pumps and pipes sticking out of it. He was fiddling with something, turning a wheel. Ella didn’t know how long it went on like that, the kids trying to stop the adults from getting in, the adults beating on the walls, the kids bickering with each other whenever there was a moment’s quiet, Scarface fiddling. And no matter how often they blocked up a hole, or a gap in the walls where they’d been bent, another one would open up, and another.

The kids were moving like grown-ups themselves now, slow and automatic and stiff. Zombies. There were dead bodies on the floor from when the grown-ups had got in before and Ella tried not to look at them. Every now and then her eyes would play tricks on her, caused by the dim light and her own tiredness, and she’d think one of the bodies was moving. And she’d scream and run from it, and the others would curse her when there was nothing there. Nothing had moved. No corpse was going to rise from the dead.

When Ella did it for the fifth time, Harry completely lost it and started yelling at her, shoving her around, calling her all sorts of names. He only stopped when Scarface slapped him round the face. For a second Harry was so surprised and upset he looked like he might burst into tears. And then he turned all his anger and frustration on Scarface.

‘That’s right, go on, hit me, attack me, why don’t you? You know you want to, because you’re a bloody grown-up like them, aren’t you? Why are we even in here with you? It’s crazy. You should be out there with your own kind. You bloody grown-up scum. You scum, you bloody scum.’

Harry spat at Scarface, who didn’t respond in any way other than to wipe his face. And then a new gap opened up and they were all smashing at it with clubs and spears, and the banging noise was louder than ever, and this time they had to move a big cupboard over the gap. As they were sliding it up against the wall, Daniel got his hand caught behind it and he yelled.

‘You’ve broken my bloody fingers.’

And Harry copied him.

‘You’ve broken my bloody fingers.’

And Louisa laughed at him until Daniel hit her and then Sonya hit Daniel and Daniel flipped.

‘I’m not staying here,’ he croaked, his voice almost gone. ‘I’m not staying here to die. We’re like sardines in a can. We should never have come here.’

And then, before anyone could stop him, he pushed Harry aside and sprinted across the barn to the side door.

‘No, Daniel …’ Sonya screamed after him, but it was no good.