The Enemy by Charlie Higson Page B

teeth bared, and he jerked his eyes open.
    Tried to work out what was going on.
    The patchwork boy was speaking.
    “Sixteen years ago, something happened,” he said to no one in particular. “As far as we know, everybody on the planet got diseased, but it’s taken al this time for the symptoms to show. Sixteen years.”
    “Or else something stopped happening,” said Ol ie.
    “What do you mean?”
    “Either something happened sixteen years ago that made everyone il ,” Ol ie went on slowly, “or something stopped happening that had been making people il . So that anyone born after then was al right.”
    “I suppose so,” said the patchwork kid.
    “It’s not sixteen years.” Everyone looked at Whitney. “I ain’t been counting the days, but it’s been a year—year and a half—since the disease first showed.”
    “Doesn’t make any difference,” said Patchwork. “Basical y the adults are al either dead or diseased, and us kids have got to look after ourselves.”
    “We don’t know that,” said Smal Sam’s little sister, El a. “We don’t know if the whole world’s like this, do we?”
    “There must be some grown-ups around who aren’t sick,” said Monkey Boy. “They’l rescue us.”
    “Like Whitney said, it’s been over a year,” said Freak, his voice sounding like it was coming from a mil ion miles away. “If anyone was coming to save us, I think they’d have showed up by now, don’t you? Instead, al we’ve got is this guy. Joseph and his coat of mangy colors.”
    “No one’s going to help us,” said Patchwork. “I can promise you that. Everyone over the age of sixteen got sick and died.”
    “Not everyone,” said Whitney.
    Patchwork shrugged. “Some of the adults are just taking longer to die than others, that’s al . They’ve become Strangers.”
    “What are you talking about now?” said Blue.
    “I guess you cal them something different. The adults who are diseased but not dead yet. Like that lot outside earlier.”
    “We cal them grown-ups,” said Blue. “Cuz that’s what they are.”
    “To us they’re Strangers. We were always told about ‘stranger danger.’ And this lot truly is dangerous. God must real y have it in for us.”
    “I don’t think God would do something like this,” said El a.
    “Maybe it was God,” said Patchwork. “Maybe it was something else.”
    “Like a meteor from space or something,” El a suggested.
    “I think it was to do with global warming,” said Bernie. “I think it was an ecological disaster.”
    “I think it was a disease, like AIDS,” said Maeve.
    “Could be,” said Patchwork. “But we have a theory that it was terrorists or something.”
    “Yeah,” said Achil eus. “Like a bomb, man. A chemical bomb, or some new biological weapon that went wrong.”
    “Nah. It was the scientists,” said Blue. “Mucking about with stuff, genetical y modified crops and al that. Nanotechnology.”
    “That’s just stupid,” said Bernie. “Scientists did a lot of good for mankind.”
    “Who you cal ing stupid, you emo loser?”
    A rumble of voices broke out, and Maxie had to shout over it.
    “Let’s not fight.” She sounded like a tired and fed-up parent.
    Arran smiled. Maxie was right. With so much bad stuff going down, it was ridiculous to be squabbling among themselves. He liked Maxie. He had from the start. She was the type of girl he used to hang out with, before al this kicked off. Now he was so stressed al the time he had no energy left to think about that sort of thing. He could tel she wasn’t interested in him anyway. To her he was just the guy in charge. She probably resented him for being number one. If he hadn’t been around maybe she would have been top dog.
    He closed his eyes.

    He shouldn’t think like that. He real y had no idea what Maxie might feel about anything. The poison in his system was messing with his mind.
    Earlier, when Maxie had touched his neck, he’d felt a little jolt. It was so long