by Joseph Evans
“Where do you live?” The voice was deep and calm, soothing to hear through the incessant ringing in Seckry’s ears.
Seckry opened his eyes groggily and had to stop himself from yelping because it stung so much to do so. His eyelid would barely part for his left eye; it had clamped shut and it felt like there was a giant ball under his skin.
He looked around as much as he could, trying to take in his surroundings through his watery vision.
It was a car, and he was in the back seat, lying down. The car was motionless and it smelled of fabric, coffee, and a hint of aftershave.
He leaned up and groaned.
“Relax, now,” the voice said.
Sitting in the driver’s seat sipping a thermal flask was a man Seckry had seen once before. It was the teacher from Cutson’s class, the one who’d backed him up about that missing dot on the diagram.
“I changed your shirt. I’ve wrapped the other one in some plastic for the moment, it was wet with blood.”
Seckry hadn’t even noticed he was wearing different clothes. He suddenly felt tiny, draped in this man’s loose top.
“Thanks,” Seckry said croakily.
The teacher sipped some more from his steaming flask and breathed out heavily.
“It makes some kids go insane, that stuff.”
Seckry remembered the foul smelling green goo Snibble had been smoking.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Cosius milatopaine. Or crazydust, as it’s more commonly known. The most widely available drug on the market.”
“How did you find me?” Seckry asked.
“I was driving home from Estergate, I had stayed late, investigating a few things. I saw that there was something going on as I was driving past and I pulled up to take a look. I knew there was trouble as soon as I smelt the crazydust. The air was thick with it.”
“To be honest,” Seckry said, “I think Snibble is just as bad without that stuff. If he hadn’t been smoking it he probably would’ve done exactly the same. He wanted to beat me up. Get revenge for me saying something to him in class.”
“What’s your name?” The man asked.
“Seckraman Sevenstars. Seckry for short.”
“I’m Jonn. Jonn Vance. I’m head of science at Estergate, and I teach a range of science subjects to the older students. Are you a fan of science, Seckry?”
Seckry screwed up his face, “Not really. I’m more of an art person.”
“Well . . . Maybe a few more of Mrs Cutson’s lessons will spark a passion.”
Seckry saw the sarcasm on the man’s face, even through his blurred vision.
“What happened to Snibble?” Seckry asked.
“He ran away just after the girl. They both went in opposite directions. They looked petrified.”
“Good,” Seckry said, feeling a little triumph. “How long have I been out for?”
Vance looked at his watch.
“I’d say about ten minutes. Your eye is swollen and your hands and leg are bruised, but there’s no serious damage.”
No serious damage? Seckry felt as though he’d be bed ridden for weeks after this. He was in agony. He wondered what serious damage would feel like.
Vance finished his drink and sighed.
“I’d better be getting you home. Will your parents be waiting for you?”
“My mum will,” Seckry said.
“Then the sooner we get back, the better. Where do you live?”
“Kerik Square, do you know it?” Seckry began struggling to get his belt on.
Vance put his hand up and shook his head.
“Lie down, it’s okay. I’m going to drive slow, and there’s no cars about at this time. I know Kerik Square. It won’t take us long to get there.”
Seckry gladly lay back down, his head spinning. He forced himself to focus so he wouldn’t vomit. He asked Mr Vance why he’d stayed behind so late at school.
“I was very curious about something,” Vance said, steering the car gently so that Seckry didn’t roll around. “The missing node on the white chip diagram is very interesting indeed.”
“Really?” Seckry exclaimed.
“Yes. And well done for spotting that again. You’re the only one that did. It’s a very minor detail. But possibly a very important one.”
“Wasn’t it just a mistake?” Seckry asked.
“I considered it originally. But this is Endrin. They rarely, if ever, make mistakes. Especially ones as careless as this. No, the node was emitted from the diagram for a reason. I’m not sure what that is yet, but I will find out.”
“A secret node,” Seckry mused, surprised to be so interested in that kind of thing. “So they were trying to hide it from us, thinking we wouldn’t notice it?”
“Exactly,” Vance confirmed. “Now I would rest for a few days, your body will need to heal itself. Don’t worry about phoning the school in the morning, I will sort everything out. And I will deal with Mr Knotting myself.”
“Really?” Seckry said. “It seems like everyone is scared to say or do anything to Snibble because everyone’s afraid of his dad.”
“Not everyone’s afraid of his dad,” Vance said, and there was a slight twinkle in his eye.
When they pulled into Kerik Square, Vance lifted Seckry out of the back seat with ease and helped him to the door of his flat.
“You can give me the shirt back when you’re healed up,” Vance said.
Seckry thanked him and let him drive away before turning the key.
