CHERUB: The Fall - Robert Muchamore Page 0,61

a rope.’

‘You can wish me luck,’ Kevin said as he stepped off the platform and placed a boot on to the steeply sloping beam.

James could hardly bear to look as Kevin balanced precariously on the slippery plank. James had been over it dozens of times, but when it was dry you could take a short run up and make it down in eight nervous steps. With ice on the plank your boot would skid off sideways.

After three steps, Kevin’s front boot slipped. After controlling a wobble, he looked back towards the top and realised that he’d bitten off more than he could chew. James frantically reached under the platform to unbuckle the rescue rope. It was meant for getting to the ground, but he reckoned he could throw the end out for Kevin to grab hold of.

As the rope dropped through the branches, James looked up and saw that Kevin had turned around and now had one knee resting on the plank. Next, the youngster rested his hands on the wood and let his feet slip over the sides so that he sat astride it.

James couldn’t help but smile. If you came up with a group, the instructor would scream abuse and make you run punishment laps if you shuffled along a plank instead of walking, but it wasn’t actually breaking any rules. The only rule was that Kevin had to get across the obstacle without any assistance.

With his chest resting against the beam and his arms wrapped around it, Kevin tried to control his descent. But the angle was steep and the rough wood shredded his sleeves. When he thumped into the base of the final platform, he screamed – then swung his leg around, before stepping off and looking over his shoulder. James was on the previous platform ten metres away, but he could see the giant splinter of wood sticking out of Kevin’s bum.

‘Don’t pull it out,’ James yelled. ‘Leave it there, in case you’ve ruptured a vein or an artery.’

Kevin limped to the front of the platform and grabbed a metre of damp nylon rope out of a plastic dustbin. He slung one end over the main rope that led down to the ground and gripped the rubber handles on each end.

‘Wait until you clear the last tree,’ James shouted. ‘Then count two seconds and let go, or you’ll crash into the pond.’

‘Gotcha,’ Kevin nodded.

James had no intention of following Kevin over the icy beam. He grabbed the escape rope and was lowering himself over the side as Kevin launched himself off the platform.

‘SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT,’ Kevin screamed, picking up speed as the branches skimmed against his legs.

James was less than half-way down when everything went silent. Desperate to know if Kevin was OK, he clambered through fifty metres of undergrowth, before breaking out on to the flat expanse of grass where the rope slide ended.

‘Kevin!’ James called anxiously. ‘Are you OK?’

Lots of kids mistimed letting go of the rope the first couple of times they tried it. Although injuries were usually restricted to sprained ankles and cut knees, Kevin’s silence was giving James visions of shattered limbs and concussions.

‘Over here,’ Kevin shouted.

James sprinted towards the pool. Kevin had let go a little bit late and ended up with his legs in the stinking water, but he was already on his feet and limping breathlessly towards James.

‘I bloody did it,’ Kevin grinned. ‘Basic training here I come!’

James knew Kevin still had a mountain to climb: during basic training he’d be expected to complete the obstacle in less than three minutes with a fifteen-kilogram pack on his back. But this was a moment for celebration, not harsh reality.

‘Well done, mate,’ James grinned back. ‘Not bad. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it was pretty damned impressive for someone who wouldn’t jump off a metre-high barrel two nights ago.’

‘I want to be a cherub,’ Kevin said. ‘When Bruce shoved me off the platform last night, I was so scared. I actually wet my pants on the way down.’

James grimaced. ‘Nice.’

‘But when I bounced off the net I looked up at the obstacle and it was like, is that all you’ve got?’

‘When the weather’s better, I’ll take you over a couple more times, so you get used to it,’ James offered.

‘I’m sorry I went up when it was icy,’ Kevin said. ‘But after last night I just had to do it.’

‘I should report you,’ James said.

Kevin looked up pleadingly, knowing that the instructors could punish him hard if