The 13th Horseman - By Barry Hutchison Page 0,56

those closest to the school first, then the row behind, then the row behind that one. It took just seconds until the only movement beyond the school gates was the steady flashing of the police car lights.

“Did... did you kill them?” Drake asked.

“What do you take me for?” said Pest, slapping him on the upper arm. “Temporary narcolepsy. They’re all just having a bit of a nap. Be right as rain in twenty minutes.”

“Then we’d better move fast,” War said. He pointed up to the window the police had been so fixated on. “Is that the classroom?”

“Uh, yeah. I think so,” Drake said. “Looks about right. Should we wait for Famine?”

“He’ll only slow us down,” said War. He was already unsheathing his immense sword as he strode towards the door. “It’s up to the three of us. Let’s go and get this over with.”

THE WOODEN DOUBLE-DOORS at the front entrance to the school were closed over when they approached. Drake turned the metal ring handles and the doors swung outwards, revealing a solid metal barrier behind them.

Drake rapped his knuckles against the metal. They made a sound like the chiming of some ancient bell. “He’s sealed himself in,” Drake realised. He set off running. “There’s a hole round the side,” he said, racing towards the spot where Dim and Spud had torn through the wall.

He stopped, mid-way across the school yard. A wall of shiny chrome covered the hole like a sticking-plaster. “We can’t get in,” Drake cried. “He’s blocked us out.”

“You know your problem? Well, one of them, anyway?” War growled. “You give up far too easily.”

The giant hurled his sword. It flipped, end over end, before the blade buried itself in the rectangle of metal. Gripping the hilt with both hands, War dragged the blade across, then down. He pulled the sword free, then fired a kick against the damaged metal. It squealed, then swung inwards.

“Nae bother,” he said, ducking his head as he led the other two horsemen into the school.

“Up here,” Drake told them. He took the stairs two at a time until he reached the top. In moments, he was outside Dr Black’s classroom. He didn’t even wait for the others to catch up before pushing into the room.

The first thing he saw was Toxie. The cat-faced Hellhound was on his side, half buried by broken furniture. His chest rose and fell in shallow breaths, and a puddle of dark, almost purple blood pooled on the floor around him.

“I figured, if I killed him, he’d only come back.”

Drake spun to find Dr Black sitting behind his desk. His clothes were torn and scorched in places, but otherwise he seemed none the worse for his battle with Toxie.

“So I let him live. But only just.”

“You monster!”

Drake hadn’t even heard the other horsemen enter the room, but Pestilence’s voice was suddenly there in his ear.

“Yes,” Dr Black chuckled. “I know. So good to see you again, Pest.”

“Yeah?” Pest sniffed. “Well... well... not likewise.”

“Still as devastatingly witty as ever, I see,” Dr Black noted.

“We’ve come to stop you,” Drake told him. “To stop... whatever it is you’re doing.”

The teacher blinked, then threw back his head and laughed. “Stop me?” he said. “Didn’t they explain to you how this whole thing is supposed to work? This is the end, boy. This is the Apocalypse. That word mean anything to you? You can’t stop me. No one can stop me.”

War took a step closer, his hand tightening round his sword. “Remember me?”

“Ah, War. I advise you to stay where you are,” Dr Black warned. He was on his feet, suddenly serious. “You know why all those police are out there? You know why the crowd has gathered?”

He beckoned with his finger for them to follow, as he made his way to the cupboard. “Because I have hostages,” he said, in a sing-song voice. With a kick, he opened the door to reveal Mel sitting on the floor beside Mr Franks. The young teacher was awake, but still flat on his back.

“Drake?” Mel cried, before the door was pulled closed again.

“She came back to check on him. Isn’t that noble?” Dr Black asked. His face was lit up with a manic glee as he strolled over and leaned an elbow on the windowsill. “But now I have them both.”

“In the cupboard,” War said.

“Precisely!”

“But you’re not in the cupboard. And neither are we.” With two big paces, War positioned himself directly in front of the cupboard door. “And now you can’t get