Hit Squad by Sophie McKenzie

Someone was definitely here. Had they followed me from the train?
    I held my breath, then peered round the tree trunk. The footsteps were crashing towards me now. My heart started pounding again. I tensed, my whole body alert, ready for danger.
    ‘Ed?’ The voice was a hoarse whisper, but as familiar to me as my own.
    I stepped out from the trees as he came into view. He was stumbling towards me, the side of his face livid with a purple-red bruise, clutching his side.
    Nico.
    I opened my mouth to speak his name, but before I could say anything he slumped down, onto the ground. I rushed over.
    ‘Nico?’ I hissed. ‘Nico?’
    But his eyes stayed closed. He was unconscious.

13: The Return
    My heart in my mouth, I shook Nico by the shoulder. He moaned, but his eyes stayed shut.
    My heart was beating like it was about to explode. What on earth was I going to do if he didn’t come round? Jack and Ripley and Knife Man couldn’t be far behind him.
    I shook Nico again. ‘Wake up!’ I yelled.
    Nico opened his eyes. His focus was glazed. I looked at the terrible bruise on his face. Nico shook his head.
    ‘I’m okay,’ he said, his voice barely audible.
    ‘What happened to your face?’
    ‘Knife Man hit me,’ Nico said. He was clearly struggling to keep his eyes open. ‘But that’s not why I passed out. Jack gave me a sleeping pill . . . left me in the car.
That’s when I saw you by the train.’ He offered me a weak smile. ‘Hey, you did it, you stopped the train.’
    I shoved my hands under his arms and hauled him upright.
    ‘You can’t give in and go to sleep,’ I urged. ‘We have to get out of here!’
    ‘Okay . . . okay . . .’ Nico opened his bleary eyes. He leaned against the nearest tree trunk to steady himself, then blinked. ‘Which way?’
    I pointed across the field to the road. ‘Over there. We can flag down a car.’
    Nico nodded. He leaned against me and we set off. It wasn’t easy. I was taking most of Nico’s weight as he walked, half dragging him across the field. I kept glancing over my
shoulder but there was no sign of Jack or the others. As I forced Nico on, my mind went to Ketty. Surely, if she and the others had escaped, they would be free of the effects of the Medutox by
now.
    I focused on trying to reach her with remote telepathy, but Ketty’s mind was in darkness. Presumably she was asleep, which seemed strange seeing it was the middle of the day.
    I probed a little further. Sleep is a weird state to watch someone’s mind in. Everything goes very still on the surface of the brain, though there are still thoughts and feelings expressed
by the unconscious mind buried underneath.
    That wasn’t how it was with Ketty’s mind right now. In fact, if I hadn’t specifically thought about her and focused on reaching her, I wouldn’t have known it was
Ketty’s mind I was inside at all. Was she unconscious? There was definitely a difference between the total pitch black of her brain in this state and the darkness – with glimmers of
light sparking up from the unconscious – that characterised most people’s sleeping brains.
    I forced myself to disconnect and looked around the field again. Still no sign of anyone following us. Nico was leaning on me heavily, but at least his eyes were open.
    ‘Hey, Ed, seriously you were amazing. Awesome. You saved everyone’s lives.’
    I could feel my face reddening. I hate to admit it, but Nico’s praise has always given me a boost. I don’t know why he has that effect on people, but it’s not just me. Almost
everyone he meets wants to impress him.
    We were almost at the road. I could see a car in the distance. If we got a move on, we might be in time to flag it down. I forced Nico on. We reached the road a moment later. I held out my arm,
hoping to stop the car, but it just sailed past us.
    I bit my lip and took shelter in the trees that lined the road. Nico sank, gratefully, against a tree trunk.
    ‘Don’t worry, I’ll get us another