CHERUB: First Blood

The Funeral

The next few days flew by. Ollie was informed of the funeral date, and also told the results of a short investigation into the circumstances of the fire. The apparent cause was a cigarette found in his parents' bedroom. This somewhat confused Ollie. Although his mum had gambled quite a lot, both of his parents were strongly anti-smoking and it was very unlike them to even allow smokers into the house, let alone smoke themselves. 

Ollie played with this in his head for a while, but figured it was too late to wonder now and forgot about it. He continued to go places with Alex, allowing him to show him the interesting spots around town.

As the funeral approached, Ollie wondered what he would do with his life. His mum had gambled away most of their savings, so any sort of financial boost was out of the question, but Ollie was a smart lad. He'd been interested in marketing and the stock market from an early age, and building a career by investing was a serious possibility for him. But he wondered: was that what he wanted? Working hours and hours every day in front of a screen? He had plenty of time to decide, being eleven and all.

He was taken by a Brook House carer to the funeral. He and several family friends were the only ones there. Listening to the priest drone on about heaven and God, he took one last look at his parents before they were lowered into the grave. They would never look at him back. Just a week or so ago, everything was different. Now, he was at the lowest point he had ever been. A solitary tear rolled down his cheek.

He glanced at the headstone.

DAVID ROBERTSON 

1981-2023

JOANNE ROBERTSON

1983-2023

MAY THEY REST IN PEACE

Turning around, he told the carer "Let's go back.". The carer obliged, and he soon found himself back at Brook House, stewing around in the communal area. He played PlayStation with Alex for a while, had some dinner, and interacted unsuccessfully with some of the other Brook House kids. After a while, an unknown woman approached him.

"I've received some information from an anonymous source. I'm going to need you to come with me."

This must be the chicken burger incident, Ollie thought. He hadn't done anything else wrong that he knew of. He followed the woman into a small room, where she locked the door and sat down. Ollie wondered why she had locked him in. Was it because she thought he might try to escape when confronted? The woman didn't move for a few seconds, and then pulled out what appeared to be a gas mask. 

Ollie made a dash for the door. He didn't know what was going on. But the woman had the key, and didn't move. Suddenly, grey gas began seeping into the room. Ollie went mad. He began swinging mad fists at the woman, who blocked them expertly before launching a karate chop at his chest, sending him flying backwards. Ollie tried to get up, but was unconscious before he could stand.