with a loud crack and Lauren felt a mist of lilac paint spatter her bare arms.
‘Almost no power, short range and limited accuracy,’ Large explained, throwing the gun down with contempt. ‘Now we’ll try one of these.’
He picked an assault rifle off the desk.
‘This is a proper weapon. A Hungarian-made AK-M assault rifle. There hasn’t been a war fought in the last fifty years where soldiers on one side or both haven’t used some variant of the Kalashnikov. That’s because they are compact, lightweight and extraordinarily robust.’
Mr Large picked a banana-shaped magazine off the table, clipped it into the underside of the gun and set it to fire single shots.
‘As much as I’d enjoy using live ammunition on Puke, this AK is loaded with a training and simulation round. This ammunition has been designed to provide the most realistic combat training you can get, short of actually letting you fire live bullets at one another.’
Mr Large took aim at the square of wood. The noise was similar to that made by the paintball gun, but when the round hit and the paint exploded, Lauren stumbled backwards and the plank erupted into a mass of splinters. When she regained her composure, Lauren noticed that the bullet had torn a huge hunk from the centre of the paint-splattered wood.
‘Because of the power of these simulated rounds, you’ll each have to wear helmets and full body armour,’ Mr Large explained. ‘Do not remove them unless you absolutely have to. You will be provided with special water canisters with straws that can pass through your visors. If you need to urinate, make sure you’re in a safe position and get one of your team-mates to cover you. There is a serious risk of being blinded, so you must keep your helmets and visors in place at all times.’
Kerry raised her hand.
‘Yes, Kerrykins.’
‘Sir, what are the rules if we get hit? Do we have to lie dead for ten minutes or something?’
The gerbil bristled as Mr Large grinned one of his most evil grins. ‘The underlying principle behind this new generation of simulated ammunition is simple: if trainees are scared of getting shot by something painful, they will act in a fashion similar to how they would act in a live combat zone. There are no fancy electronics telling you where you’ve been shot, or regulations saying how long you’ve got to lie down on the ground. The rules are very simple: if you get shot, it hurts like hell.’
4. ESCAPE
James and Shak broke outside on to the concrete ramp, with the PE teacher hurtling after them. The front gates of the school were less than fifty metres away, but the lock was controlled from indoors via an intercom and there was no way they’d be able to clamber over before the teacher grabbed hold of them. Their only option was the flap in the wire fence they’d arrived through, but that was on the opposite side of the school grounds.
James took a glance over his shoulder as they charged back into the main school building. The PE teacher was over two metres tall with a rugby player’s build, and he was closing up rapidly. To make matters worse, the boys wore flat-soled shoes that skidded hopelessly on the polished floor.
By the time James and Shak made it to the flight of stairs leading down to the playing fields, the PE teacher was almost within touching distance. The boys gained ground by sliding down the metal banister in the middle of the staircase, but this trick nearly backfired: James picked up so much speed that he couldn’t stop himself when he slid off at the bottom and he ended up crashing painfully through the doors.
It took a second for James’ eyes to adjust to the afternoon sunlight. His heart sank as he looked out on to two pitches covered with Year Eleven kids. They were playing soccer and he got a nasty feeling that they’d try and bundle him if he charged into the middle of their game with an angry teacher in hot pursuit.
While James hesitated, Shak had sprinted onwards, displaying an impressive turn of speed. James jerked violently and stumbled forwards as the PE teacher ploughed into his back and wrapped a hairy arm around his chest.
‘You lot, get that other one,’ the teacher shouted, his mouth almost in James’ ear as he pointed towards Shak.
The teacher thought he’d captured James the moment he got an arm around him. But he’d assumed he