I'll keep you safe

Chapter 51

Denzil Kelly's class was the final group of students to leave the building.

He walked along the corridors with his classmates in stony silence. Whilst he didn't know what was going on, getting out of science was the best thing that had happened to him all day.

Suddenly, Earl jumped out from an empty classroom, grabbing his sleeve and dragging him inside.

"What's going on?" Denzil grumbled, his voice filled with panic as he yanked his sleeve out of Earl's grasp

"I was just going to ask you the same thing!" Earl shot back

"I don't know! They told us to get our stuff, go outside and be dead quiet" Denzil shrugged

Earl sighed heavily

"Right, come on, let's see what's happening" he decided, grabbing Denzil by his sleeve again and dragging him over to the door

Earl poked his head out, glancing left and right down the corridors.

Once he was sure they were empty, he started walking, dragging Denzil along with him. Neither of them knew Eddie had come back inside to do a final sweep of the building.

The two brothers snuck into an empty classroom on the second floor, hiding under the Teacher's desk. They stared through the tiny gap as the door swung open, Mr Lawson's footsteps echoing through the room.

Denzil held his breath as Eddie approached the desk. Earl had the gun clutched tightly in his hands. It felt like hours before Mr Lawson's footsteps finally retreated from the classroom.

Earl knew this was about the gun. Paul and Bolton had reported him to one of the Teachers. He wasn't going down for this, no way! He just had to be clever and come up with a plan.

One came to him immediately when he looked at his innocent, naive little brother.

Once they were certain Mr Lawson had gone, they stood up, heading back down the stairs. As they walked, Earl put the gun into Denzil's hand.

"What are you doing?" He frowned, stopping dead in his tracks

"You need to take it, Den" Earl told him softy

"No, I don't want to!" Denzil cried, his eyes widening in panic

"You need to, Den, for me" Earl responded simply

Denzil shook his head frantically

"I don't want it! They'll catch me with it!" He whined

"It's better than them catching me with it!" Earl argued

"No!" Denzil whimpered

Earl resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This was going to be more difficult than he'd originally thought.

"Yeah, Den! You're a little kid, they'll just slap your wrist- it'll be a laugh!"

"How?" Denzil frowned

"You know, they'll slap cuffs on you and that, take you down the station" Earl shrugged

"Don't sound like a laugh to me" Denzil mumbled

"Yeah, well, no one will be calling you thick around here anymore Denzil. Denzil, mate they wouldn't dare! Because then you'd be dangerous, just like me" Earl reasoned

Denzil's worried look vanished from his face. Earl was winning him over easily now. His little brother's naive, defenceless nature and deeply rooted insecurities were finally coming in useful.

"Go on, do it for me?" Earl requested

Denzil still wasn't fully convinced

"See, if they catch me with it, Den, well... you won't be seeing me around here for a while anyway. Then who's going to look after you in this dump, eh?" Earl snapped, growing impatient