Chapter One
Rule One is simple: Run Too, Not From. In a nutshell, it means that when you run, you should run to safety, not away from danger. Go to somewhere you know you can't be harmed, so that your enemies can't attack you. Of course, the challenge is to get there before you're caught.
The roar of fury leant my feet even greater speed as they chased me down the corridor. I risked a quick glance back, more to reassure myself than anything else. Yep, still the same guys. Turns out that when you get a rugby team's captain suspended, the rest of them tend to get annoyed with you. So four of them were chasing me. If they caught me, well, I doubted bruises would be the least of it.
I swung round the corner, turning right not left. The latter led outside, which would seem to be better than continuing to do this inside. It was just that the fire escape was 1) connected to the fire alarm, which would garner me a lot more attention than I wanted and 2) it only led out into a cramped alleyway which ran the length of the building. I really didn't want to get trapped in there.
So, right it was. I grabbed a bin on the way past and shoved into the corridor. From the scream of frustration that followed a second later, I assumed someone fell over it. I didn't turn to check.
By the time I'd made it to the stairs, I was beginning to feel it. Iron filled my mouth, the tang of my exercise spilling out onto my tongue. Every breath burnt its way down my throat and my legs burned with acid. This wasn't going to be fun. I'd barely gotten halfway.
I staggered out of the stairs and onto the next floor. I needed a moment to catch my breath, before I could run any further. Those lunks behind me weren't going to give it to me. So, improvise. The classroom next door to the stairs was open and I slid in. Time for Rule Ten: Don't Be Afraid To Hide. The cupboard at the end of every classroom all had the same key, so the teachers didn't have to worry about finding it on their key ring. I'd gotten a copy ages ago so it took me a bare second to open it.
The door slammed open and the ring leader of my pursuers stormed in, his face blood red. Frank was one of those guys who'd grown a foot the moment he'd hit puberty and never looked back. He was big, cranky and thought he was awesome. In other words, he was perfect.
I took a deep breath as he stalked into the room, fury all over his face as he glanced round. I desperately wanted to pant in exhaustion, but I needed to keep quiet. It's hard to do, but silence is priceless in this sort of situation. Frank made a little noise of satisfaction and crept across the room, his feet not as silent as he'd have liked. My heart lurched in my chest, staggering as it laboured. He'd spotted my coat sticking out from the cupboard!
"Got you, you little!" He tore the door open, slamming it against the wall. I leapt to freedom as he stared into the empty space. No, I hadn't hidden in the cupboard. That would have been foolish. What I had done was put my blazer in the cupboard, poking out so it looked like I was there. In actuality, I'd hidden behind the teacher's desk, on the other side of the room. So in short: laters, sucker!
"Meep-meep!" I dove out the classroom before Frank could react. One of this followers was in the corridor and he started after me, yelling in warning. I took off, running down the corridor once more. The nice thing about school was its simple design. The entire place was like a series of ring donuts stacked on top of each other, classrooms wrapped round the central corridor for the first few floors. Upstairs was a little more interesting, but I'll get to that later.
Another floor up, I was really beginning to wish I'd had a different plan. My chest heaved like a pair of bellows and my arms were weighed down with lead weights. Still, there wasn't time to change it. Fortunately, some kind, lazy soul had left a bin at the top of the stairs, so down it went.
