The Enemy

‘Just think of him like that, yeah?’ said Whitney. ‘Forever young. Always the beautiful Arran you knew.’

‘Forever dead,’ said Maxie.

‘Hey, come on, think positive,’ said Whitney. ‘That’s an order.’

Maxie gave a bitter, slightly hysterical laugh. ‘Think positive? Look at us, Whitney. Look at what’s happened to us. What’s to be positive about?’

‘At least Big Brother ain’t on the TV no more.’

‘No.’ Maxie gave a snort of laughter that almost slid into tears.

‘See, you can still laugh.’

‘I feel dead inside,’ said Maxie.

‘It’ll pass. We’ve all lost people.’

‘I know. I’m sorry. It’s been a horrible day.’

‘There’s too many friends have been killed,’ said Whitney. ‘Too many.’

‘Yeah,’ said Maxie. ‘Arran’s not the first and he won’t be the last. Every time someone dies I don’t think I can take any more.’

‘But somehow you do, don’t you?’ said Whitney. ‘You carry on.’

‘Yeah,’ said Maxie, and she wiped away a tear.

‘I du

‘I know. Thanks, Whitney.’

‘And listen.’ Whitney held Maxie’s arm. ‘Blue. He’s all right, you know. He has to act tough, cos he’s our leader. But he ain’t stupid. You need to work with him.’

‘I’ll try.’

Whitney gripped Maxie’s head in an affectionate arm-lock.

‘You’re strong. I know it, girl. Together we can be stronger.’

It was a moonless night, and no stars shone in the clouded sky. Some kids had made flaming torches, but they were quickly burning out. Those that had them were using their friction torches. They had to keep in a huddled mass, though, or risk getting split up in the dark.

Freak was plodding along, lost in his thoughts. He felt someone nudge him in the side.

‘You pla

It was Achilleus. Freak sighed and looked away.

‘Why do you always have to pretend to be so tough, Akkie?’ he said.

‘Who’s pretending?’

‘Don’t you care about Arran?’

‘Yeah. I care. He was all right. But you don’t fool me. I know what that speech was really all about.’

‘Oh yeah, what?’

Achilleus put on a whiny voice, mocking Freak. ‘Don’t blame Sophie, it was an accident, us kids have to stick together… Bullshit. You’re just feeling guilty about what you did to Arran and don’t want no one to blame you.’

‘What do you mean, what I did to Arran? I didn’t do nothing to him.’

‘It was you got him killed, Freaky-Deaky.’

‘What are you talking about? I never shot that arrow.’

‘Didn’t need to. He was already dying. And Deke was already dead. All because you wanted to go looking for a stupid vending machine.’

Freak felt a lump in his throat. He fought hard not to sob.

‘Don’t say that.’

‘It’s the truth, Freaky-Deaky. You know it and I ain’t never going to forget it. You nearly got us all killed. You think if Arran hadn’t been bitten he would have gone crazy back there? No. And he wouldn’t have got shot. All your fault.’

Freak swore at Achilleus who spat in the road and walked over to Mick. He said something to the big Morrisons kid, who looked at Freak and laughed.

Up at the front Jester was talking to Blue, their torches raking the road in front of them.

‘We should try to go faster,’ said Jester. ‘We’ve lost a lot of time. We should have arrived in daylight.’

‘We’re safer at night,’ said Blue. ‘Less grown-ups around.’

‘I don’t feel safe. Not after what happened today.’

‘Wasn’t right,’ said Blue. ‘Grown-ups don’t usually act like that. Clubbing together. They was an army. I’ve not seen that before.’

‘You still think that the park is the best way to go?’ said Jester.

‘Yeah,’ said Blue. ‘It’s wide open – we can see anything that’s coming. Grown-ups don’t like wide-open spaces. I was thinking we could even set up camp for the night. Post sentries round the edges. Let the little ones rest.’

‘They’ve rested enough,’ said Jester. ‘We were hours in Camden waiting for Arran to die.’

‘That’s cold, man,’ said Blue. ‘What do you think we should have done? Finished him off ourselves?’

‘Of course not,’ said Jester. ‘But it was obvious he was going to die.’

‘We did what we did, man,’ said Blue. ‘Couldn’t have done it no other way.’

‘I know,’ said Jester. ‘And I think it was good the way you took control. I think you should take overall charge.’

‘What do you mean?’ Blue turned to Jester, but couldn’t clearly see his features in the dark.

‘We don’t need two leaders,’ said Jester. ‘Maxie can look after the little kids. She’s a girl. She fell apart when Arran died.’

‘We’ll see,’ said Blue. ‘The Waitrose crew ain’t necessarily go

‘Maybe.’

‘And what about when we get there?’ said Blue.

‘How do you mean?’

‘Presumably you got someone in charge at the palace.’

‘Yeah…’

‘So what happens? Eh? I just sit down and do what I’m told?’

‘Don’t worry about that,’ said Jester. ‘We’ll work something out.’

‘Yeah,’ said Blue. ‘We will.’

24

They crossed the road at the top of Parkway and entered Regent’s Park by Gloucester Gate.

The park had changed. The flowerbeds were overgrown. The short, well-kept grass was now waist high and tangled with weeds and wildflowers. Here and there young saplings pushed up through the undergrowth. Only a few centimetres tall now, but in time this would become a forest.

There was a playground near the gate. A relic from a forgotten age. And the little kids stared at it in wonder as they passed. Maxie gave Godzilla back to Joel and went to relieve Josh and join her team on the right flank.

Josh walked up front where Jester and the others were discussing the best route to take.

‘Best stick to the path, I reckon,’ said Blue. ‘It’ll be clearer and we’ll have a better view. Who knows what might be hiding in the long grass.’

‘Like those raptors in Jurassic Park,’ Josh chipped in.

‘There’s a lot of things out to get us in London these days,’ said Blue, laughing. ‘But dinosaurs ain’t one of them.’

‘You never know,’ said Josh. ‘The world’s turned upside down. I wouldn’t be surprised. Nothing surprises me any more.’

‘Don’t be scared of no dinosaurs,’ said Blue.

‘Who said anything about being scared?’ said Josh. ‘You know what they call me? Josh, the Boy without Fear. I’m go

‘Don’t nothing scare you, man?’ said Blue, trying not to laugh.

‘Nah. Grown-ups is stupid, and slow. And they got no weapons. Dogs is stupid too. Nothing scares me. Something tries to scare me I just kill it, man. Dead.’

‘Well, I’m glad you’re on our side,’ said Blue. ‘Now, let’s get going.’

They had to stretch out along the path as it wasn’t as wide as the roads they’d been travelling on. The flanking parties stayed close on either side, pushing through the grass.

The emos, Ben and Bernie, were helping the smaller kids along, listening to their chatter.

‘That’s the zoo over there,’ said Monkey-Boy, pointing past a line of trees towards where some of the zoo’s structures were just visible.

‘I used to like the zoo,’ said Ella. ‘I had a birthday party there once. My favourites were the lions and tigers.’

‘What happened to all the animals, do you think?’ asked Joel, clutching Godzilla tightly. ‘When all the keepers died?’

‘Did the animals all starve to death?’ said Ella. She sounded tearful.