Run by Gabby Tye Page B

Dyanne.
    â€œPull on three!” she shouts. “One… two… THREE!”
    We pull the door shut. Something falls on the floor at my feet.
    I look down. It is a finger. I shudder. Dyanne and I look at each other in disgust as it twitches on the floor.
    â€œJae! Kyl! Anybody! Help!” I scream.

CHAPTER 25
    Brion runs over and grabs the door handle. It seems to work. The door remains closed. The pounding coming from the other side rattles the door. I am so terrified I want to scream.
    I look over at the back wall. Jae and Kyl are still hauling kids over. Five kids left. Plus me, Brion and Dyanne. I am relieved to note that Eryn isn’t in the garden anymore. She must be on the other side of the wall. Now, four kids left.
    Just when I start to think that we just might be able to make it, the pounding stops. Something doesn’t feel right. It’s too quiet.
    Then there is a huge crack and a fist comes through the wooden door, barely missing my head. I scream and let go. Brion and Dyanne desperately hang on to the door handle. I look around, panting in fear.
    That familiar tingling feeling creeps up my neck. It takes me a split second to realise that I need to see what’s coming. I freeze and concentrate. The tingling stops. No!!
    The fist comes through the door again and another surge of fear shoots through me when Dyanne lets the door handle go with a scream. There is only Brion holding the door in place. Skinny geeky Brion is the only thing between us and them. The Eaters.
    The tingling sensation starts again, this time, from my forehead and around my eyes. It makes my face itch. I try to breathe. I see the flashing images again and I know what I must do. It will be okay, I think.
    I grab Dyanne and push her towards the wall. “Go! I can handle this.”
    She hesitates.
    â€œGo! Help the other kids get over!” I shout.
    She runs to Jae and the three remaining kids.
    â€œBrion, let go,” I say.
    â€œWh-what? Are you mad?”
    â€œJust let go, Brion. When I count to three, run to Jae. Get all the kids over and run. I will be okay. I promise,” I say.
    â€œNo!”
    I ignore him. “One. Two. THREE!”
    I practically yank him off and shove him towards the wall. I wait. The door swings open and I am face to face with an Eater.

CHAPTER 26
    I don’t know why, but I no longer feel fear. Behind me, Dyanne is screaming something. Jae too. I ignore them and try to keep calm. I need to focus on the images flying through my mind. Unlike when I faced Tattoo Guy and could see his thoughts, there are no thoughts I can see. Maybe they have none. But I can see what they intend to do.
    The first Eater through the door lunges at my throat, both hands out, Egyptian-mummy style.
    I scowl at him. “Oh, no, you don’t.”
    I swing my arm forward and punch him in the jaw. I hear a crack. There go my knuckles. The Eater flies backwards into several other Eaters and stays down.
    My right hand is throbbing. I refuse to look at it, afraid of what I will see. I grab a laundry pole off a nearby stack with my left hand and swing it lightly, testing its weight. As I shift it to my right hand, a pain flares though my arm. I almost drop the stick. I clench my teeth, push the pain into a box and lock it. That’s for me to think about later.
    Two more Eaters come at me. I brace myself. I let my mind relax and let my instincts take over. My left arm – still slightly wounded – bears the weight of the pole as I swing it sideways and around my head, gaining momentum as it comes back round. I hit them both on their heads and the two Eaters drop like puppets with their strings cut.
    Two more rush out. These are women. Or were women. I don’t know what they are now. One of them doesn’t even have eyes, just gaping sockets. I take her – or it – down first with a quick flick to her knees. She keels over and stays down. I twirl the pole as my body turns and