Chapter 5
"OK we are ready to go," said Arran
Bernie turned to Ben. They looked very pale out here. Their black cloths accentuating the witeness of their skin. They hardly ever went outside.
"shame to be leaving it all," said Bernie. "Everything we built."
"We can build more," said Ben. "if Pathchwork's telling the truth we can make loads of cool stuff in the place. We can build more," said Bernie. We can rebuild the whole of London. We'll be famous. They'll put up statues to us."
"Yeah, but... the speaking tubes, the barriers, the cookers we rigged up in the canteen, the new signalling system we were working on. It took us ages." said Bernie
"you want to stay?" said Ben.
Bernie looked wistfully over towards the supermarket.
"No," he said. "i want to be a million miles from here. It reminds me to much of everything we've lost. All the friends who've died. All the bad times."
"It's a fresh start," said Ben. "We'll build newer and better stuff."
"yeah." Bernire smiled and put and arm around Ben.
Nearby a group of kids was clusterd round one of the Morrisones crew. A tiny six-year-old called Joel who had an even tinier puppy wrapped in an old jaket in his armes.
"Oh, he's so cute."
"Look at him, he's licking my hand."
"What's his name?"
"Godzilla," said Joel and they all laughed.
Maxie looked on and smiled. Maxie noticed a kid on the edge of the group, not joining in. He just stood there, wide-eyed, moulding a big lump of blu-tack in his hands. She went over to him and crouched down.
"What's your name?" she asked. The boy stared at her but didn't speak. Instead he rolled the blu-tack out into a long rope between his fingers.
"He don't speak," said Blue, walking up. "Not since his mum and dad died."
"Poor little guy."
"He's not deaf, or nothing."
"No.
"We call him blu-tack Bill. He's always playing with the stuff. Only thing that keeps him happy."
Maxie smiled at Bill and noticed that he had formed the blu-tack into a letter B. B for Bill.
"Come on then," said Arran, throwing one last glance back to Waitrose. "Let's go."
He raised an arm, held it above his head until he was sure that everyone han seen it, and then let it drope towards the centre of town.
A chee went up. Arran started walking. The rest of the kids fell in behind.
They were marching to a new life.