Evil Star

could she have had second thoughts?
    "What are you doing, just sitting there?" Rex McKenna asked.
    "I don't know.. .." Gwenda muttered.
    “You weren't thinking of walking away, were you, you naughty girl?" It made Gwenda tingle when he talked like that. She had seen Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star him do it on the television. Sometimes he treated adults like children. It was part of his act.
    "I don't want to die," she said.
    "Of course you don't, Gwenda. Nor do I. Nor does any-body. But sometimes, you know, it just has to happen. Sometimes you don't have any choice."
    "Don't I have any choice?" Gwenda asked. A single tear trickled down her cheek. She caught sight of herself in the rearview mirror, but it only told her what she already knew. She was looking very old and dirty. There was dried blood on her coat. Her skin had no color at all.
    "Not really, my love," Rex answered. "It's a bit like the Big Wheel in a way. You spin the wheel, and your number comes up. There's not much you can do about it." He sighed. “Your whole life was a bit of a waste of time, if you want the honest truth. But at least you've been given the chance to do something important now. We need this boy killed. And you're the one who's been chosen to do it.
    So off you go! And don't worry — it'll all be over very soon."
    Gwenda could imagine Rex McKenna winking at her. She could hear it in his voice.
    The radio had gone silent again but there was nothing more to be said. Gwenda turned the engine on, pressed her foot on the accelerator, then slammed the gear into first.
    • •
    Matt was on his way out. He could see the double doors at the end of the corridor with notice boards on both sides, lining the way. There Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star were boys everywhere, getting ready to go for lunch. For once they didn't notice him. Nor had anyone seen him dump his books. He felt a sense of ela-tion. No matter what happened, he would be glad to leave Forrest Hill behind him.
    And then Matt smelled it again. The burning. And at exactly the same moment, the doors burst open. As he stared in horror, a river of flame rushed in toward him, rolling down the corridor, peeling away the walls, scorch-ing everything in its path. There were two boys standing there and suddenly they were black skeletons, X-rays of themselves as they had been seconds before. It was as if Hell had come to Forrest Hill. Matt saw a dozen more boys swallowed up instantly, too quickly even for them to cry out. Then the fire reached him and he flinched, closing his eyes, waiting for his own death.
    But there was no flame.
    When Matt opened his eyes again, everything was exactly as it had been before. It was two minutes to one. Morning lessons had ended.
    The students were on their way to lunch. He had simply imagined it.
    Except that he knew. It wasn't his imagination.
    He couldn't just walk out of the school. The fire hadn't happened . . .
    but it was about to. That was what he had been sensing from the moment he had arrived that day.
    He looked around him. A bell sounded. The lunch bell. It told him what he had to do. He took three steps down the corridor and found a fire alarm, set behind a glass panel and mounted on the wall. He used his elbow to smash the glass, then pressed the alarm button with his thumb.
    At once, much louder bells sounded throughout the school. People stopped what they were doing and began to look at each other, half Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star smiling, wondering what was going on. They knew the sound of the fire alarm. There had been fire drills often enough. But it was as if no one wanted to make the first move, afraid of looking foolish.
    "There's a fire!" Matt shouted. "Move!"
    One or two boys began to make their way past him, walking away from the double doors and back toward the other side of the school.
    The main assembly point was a foot-ball field next to the chapel. As soon as the first few had started moving, others followed. Matt heard doors opening and slamming. People were asking questions, but the alarm was so loud that Matt couldn't make out any words.
    Then Mr. O'Shaughnessy appeared. The assistant head-master was looking flustered. His face, never cheerful at the best of times, was thunderous. There were pinpricks of red in his normally pallid cheeks. He saw Matt standing next to the fire alarm. His eyes moved and took in the broken glass.
    "Freeman!" he exclaimed. He had to shout