walk through the city so everyone could see us, as a reminder of what happens to anyone who steps out of line. Then … yeah, well. D and Me got pointed to our ladders, but not J. Some nasty-smart guard had made him a crown out of barbed wire. They stuck it on his head, and it didn’t look comfortable. Bloke hardly looked like he could walk, let alone carry the ladder. But he did. He lifted it, just like us, and off we went. I’d seen these processions before. From the other side. The whole city has to line the street. No exceptions, even the kids. But as we rounded the first corner, I could tell things were a bit different. There were thousands of extra people. Loads of out-of-towners. Maybe the whole mob who’d followed J into the city. And there were a bunch of the invaders too. They never turn up usually. Not a friendly environment for them. But they were there. Lots of them. Soldiers, civilians, you name it. And they weren’t there for D and me. And they didn’t look pleased. They looked sad. It was completely quiet. Not a peep from anyone. Dead-set weird. Usually, there’s a few encouraging shouts from friends, and screams from family, and tears. That’s the normal. Occasionally someone starts a slow clap that gradually gets faster until there’s continuous applause. It’s risky, but they can’t arrest everyone. But that day … nothing. Maybe it was the odd mix of us and them. It was definitely because of J. We walked. It’s a bit of a blur but I know I saw mum. She had tears in her eyes. She put her hand to her heart. Dad looked down, fists clenched. I know he wanted to do something, but there was nothing he could do. I saw others I knew but they wouldn’t meet my eye. D and me, we’d done something real bad and we’d put them all in danger. They weren’t grateful. No-one saw us as heroes. But J, he was something else. Some people were looking ashamed. Some looked crushed. Some bewildered. They all knew what ‘Dirt’ and his mates had done, and some of them had helped. They knew the whole thing was crooked, and that 103
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