The Fear

‘Cool it, blood,’ said DogNut. ‘We need someone who knows what they doing out here, yeah? Otherwise we flush him out and he gets away. And not just that. He ain’t the only sicko in London. You get me? Once we in there someone got to watch our backs. Once we start kicking up a fuss, making all noise and that, the locals is go

Robbie’s shoulders dropped. He could see the truth in what DogNut was saying. But he hadn’t given up the fight.

‘So why don’t you stay out here, big man, and I go in?’

DogNut made an elaborate gesture towards the house, sweeping his arm wide and half bowing.

‘Be my guest, soldier. You know where to go when you get in there? Cos it’s go

‘Maybe …’

DogNut smiled and put an arm round Robbie, giving him a squeeze.

‘This is the best way, brother, believe me.’

‘OK. Forget it. But next time you talk to me before you start making any plans.’

‘Yeah, sorry. Was just me and Ryan got to talking.’

‘So who’s going in with you?’

‘There ain’t a lot of room to move in there, so I want to keep it small, yeah? We go

‘I’m sending a small crew round the back, to the garden,’ said Ryan. ‘Just in case he tries to get out that way.’

‘The kids going into the house need to be ones who’ve been in there before, though,’ said DogNut. ‘Marco and Felix are go

‘I’m coming with you,’ said Paul, stepping forward.

‘For real?’ said DogNut.

Paul swallowed and took a deep breath. ‘Of course,’ he said, staring at the pavement. ‘She was my sister.’

‘OK, but we don’t need no hero act,’ said DogNut. ‘You stick with me and you do what I say.’

Paul nodded.

‘I’d better come along too,’ said Ryan. ‘And I’m bringing my best fighter. You’ll need us.’

‘If you say so.’

‘I say so.’ Ryan put an arm round DogNut. He smelt like an animal, what with all the leather and fur and bits of dead flesh hanging off him. That and the fact that he obviously hadn’t washed in about six months.

‘This is go

‘OK?’ said DogNut, and Robbie reluctantly nodded. ‘So that’s me, Paul, Ryan, Ryan’s hunter and, if you want to make sure that your guys are in on it, I’ll take one more from the museum. Who d’you suggest? Someone who ain’t scared of nothing and can fight up close if they got to.’

‘Jackson.’ Robbie nodded towards a stocky kid wearing hoodie and jeans who had close-cropped hair and a face like a potato.

‘He good?’

‘She.’

‘She?’

‘Yeah.’ Robbie gri

He called Jackson over. She looked serious and slightly shy.

‘You happy to go inside with the main team and flush the sicko out?’ Robbie asked her and she shrugged.

‘Why not?’ She smiled now and her face softened and she instantly looked like a little girl.

‘How old are you, Jackson?’ DogNut asked.

‘Thirteen. Why? You think I can’t do this?’ Jackson stopped smiling.

‘Didn’t say nothing. Just asking.’

Jackson sniffed. Held DogNut’s gaze. Her eyes were grey and clear. She carried a short spear with a long, extremely sharp-looking head. She twirled it in her hand, like a bandleader with a baton. The tip zipping past a millimetre from DogNut’s nose.

He laughed and stepped back.

‘Save it for the man, soldier,’ he said, and then called the rest of his team together.

‘We’re going in,’ he shouted. ‘And, remember, the show ain’t over till the fat sicko croaks.’

32

Courtney groaned. She was back in the Collector’s house. The last place on earth she wanted to be. Her feet stuck to the squishy mashed layer of paper and food and excrement that lay on the floorboards, giving the effect of walking through wet mud. The stink of it, rising from the floor in wafts of damp heat, and seeping from the walls, nauseated her. She felt like she was inside the twisting wormholes of some giant sponge that had soaked up gallons of grease and sweat and slime that was all now slowly oozing out. The air seemed to be thicker in here. It clogged her nostrils and the back of her throat, making it hard to breathe. She was panting like a dog, hard and fast, unable to fill her lungs. Her pounding heart was pushing so hard she felt as if her skin might split, and sweat lay on her in a tight cloying sheet, like clingfilm, making her itch. She wanted to scratch herself all over. But she knew she must show no fear in front of the other kids – three of Ryan’s hunters and a fat boy from the museum. They were absolutely bricking themselves so she had to give them courage.

Just like dogs, the kids preferred to hunt in a large pack, and separated from Ryan, his hunters didn’t look so tough. These three stuck close behind Courtney and she reckoned if they did come across any sickos they’d be out of there in a flash. They were very different boys to the cocky, swaggering bunch who’d volunteered to come inside with her. Oh, they’d been warned about what to expect – they’d even laughed about it, boasted about what they were going to do, but as they’d forced the door open and walked into the hallway they’d fallen silent. The Collector had painstakingly rebuilt the towering piles of rotting newspaper and had spent some time jamming human bones into it.

The boys had grown pale and quiet. This was like nothing they’d ever experienced before. There was an alien atmosphere in the house. Alien and evil. Very little sunlight penetrated the building. It hadn’t been so obvious last night when it was dark outside, but the Collector had stacked stuff on all the window ledges, and the panes of glass were so thick with grime and dust that only a few spots of yellowish light showed here and there.

Courtney switched on her torch. It was a relief to be heading upstairs, away from what she knew waited in the basement, even though it brought back painful memories of when six of them had gone up last night and only five had come down. And there would be nothing worse than to be trapped up here again with these strangers, kids she didn’t know and couldn’t fully trust. A big part of her wished she could have stayed with DogNut.

Come on, girl, concentrate.

She may have got the soft option, but she still couldn’t be sure of what she might find up here. What if they stumbled across the mutilated body of Olivia? She’d seen the dead bodies of friends before, but none had been mucked about with the way the Collector had torn up those poor kids in the kitchen.

Up. Keep going up.

She hustled her gang, making her way to the very top of the house without stopping. They quickly arrived at the bedroom with the balcony where they’d had their fight with the Collector. There was much more light in here. The wide sliding glass doors along the back wall were largely clear and there was a big gap in the middle where they’d been smashed. Had that happened in the fight? She couldn’t remember. It had all happened so fast and she’d been in a blind panic.

Because of the broken windows the air in here was cooler and cleaner. With a strong sense of relief she went out on to the balcony and leant on the wall. A movement below caught her eye and she spotted another group of Ryan’s hunters climbing the wall into the garden. They stopped and looked up and then waved to her. Courtney felt reassured that she wasn’t alone.