Twenty Minutes Earlier

“We just need to wait til he’s got his guard down,” whispered Chris, “There’s three of us and one of him.” Chris glanced over at Barry, who, for now at least, wasn’t looking at them. He was busy paying for the petrol and throwing in some beer and crisps while he was at it. “All we need to do is wait til he’s distracted, and all go in at once.”

Tommy nodded. “We can work out a signal. One of us moving our hands in a particular way. And then…” He broke off. Barry had finished paying and turned round.

Isaac wanted to use the last few seconds to say something. He wanted to talk Chris and Tommy out of it, tell them that the only thing they were going to achieve was making Barry even angrier. But what was the alternative? Sitting quietly in the back of the car until Barry saw fit to let them go?

It was too late now, anyway. Barry was looming over them, beer and crisps neatly tucked under one arm. “We’re done,” he told them, “Move.”

The three younger boys skittered out of the door like frightened mice. But in the dark, halfway between the shop and the car, Isaac felt himself being pulled back. So that was why Barry had kept one arm free.

“Saw you three chatting away in there,” came the whisper in his ear, “Before you start getting clever, remember, I know about you. I can ruin you in this town.”

And Isaac, like an idiot, was this close to opening his stupid mouth and saying, “What, by telling them you caught me scribbling on a bench? Compared to what I’ve seen you doing tonight, that’s nothing.”

But, in that microsecond between thought and speech, Isaac remembered that he was completely at Barry’s mercy. And not just him- Chris and Tommy too. If Isaac even hinted that they had something to hold over Barry’s head, Barry’s first thought wouldn’t be trying to appease them, it would be making sure they stayed quiet for good. So instead, Isaac just mumbled, “I know. Sorry.” And Barry dragged him back to the car. Where no-one knew where they were, and no-one would come to save them.

(To Be Continued)