Hater Page 0,64

around the edge of the kitchen table and reach out for her but I'm too late. Her mother has already grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and has pulled her out of reach. Her tiny, tear-streaked face is filled with fear and shock and her eyes bulge wide as Liz yanks on her clothing, hauling her away from me. Ed glares at me. Even Josh despises me. My sons despise me and I know that I have to destroy them too.

I hurl myself towards Lizzie again, knowing that I have to kill her before she can hurt me and before she can harm Ellis. She shouts at the children to move and they run down the hallway towards the living room. Edward pulls Josh's pushchair across the hall and I trip over it, ending up on my hands and knees. Before I can get up and get to the living room they slam the door shut. I hear the bolt click across.

What the hell do I do now? How did this happen? How could my family turn against me so quickly? I have to forget about them and get to Ellis. She hasn't changed and I know that she needs me. I pick myself up and run at the door. I smash my shoulder into it but it doesn't move. I run back and charge it again and again and, the fifth time I hit it, I feel the bolt give way. I try to force the door open but it only moves a couple of inches. They've pushed furniture against it to stop me from getting inside. Why are they doing this to me?

I hammer my fists against the door.

'Ellis,' I shout. 'Ellis!'

I can hear her. She's trapped in there. I can hear her screaming back at me. She's like me, not them, and she needs to be with me. She's not safe in there. I'm desperate. I can't leave her. I throw myself at the door again and the force of the impact shakes my whole body to the core.

'Ellis!' I yell again. I can still just about hear her muffled reply.

There has to be another way to get to her. The window. I'll get in through the living room window. I turn and run back down the hallway, past the body in the kitchen and out into the lobby. I push the front door open and burst out into the cold, rain-soaked world outside. Now that I'm out in the open I'm aware of noise all around me. I can hear the helicopters, the military trucks, gunshots and the sounds of people like me fighting to survive. It's like being in the middle of a war-zone. But this isn't the noise of one war being fought, it's hundreds of separate clashes. Hundreds, probably thousands of battles fought by people like me who've been turned on and betrayed.

I'm at the living room window. I look inside. Lizzie is still piling furniture against the door. Edward spots me almost immediately and Lizzie shoves the children into the corner of the room. Ellis is trapped behind Edward and Josh but I can still see her. I can still see her face. She's crying and mouthing my name.

I look around for something to use to smash the glass. There's a broken paving slab halfway down the path to the front door. I pick it up and manage to throw it through the window. The glass shatters and the noise is uncomfortably loud. I can hear their voices again now. I can hear Lizzie screaming at them to keep back and keep away from me. I drag myself up and climb through the window frame, feeling shards of glass digging into me and slicing my skin. The pain doesn't matter.

I force my body through the window head first and collapse onto the carpet. I quickly get up but my footing is unsteady and I'm off-balance. Lizzie is running towards me. She has something in her hands - it's the metal tube from the vacuum cleaner. She swings it at me. I try to duck out of the way but I'm too slow and she hits me.

A sudden burning, searing pain across my face.

Blood pouring from my nose and into my mouth.

Face down on the carpet. I can't...

Chapter Thirty-One

The living room is cold and silent. I slowly prise open my eyes. I don't think there's anyone else here. The pile of furniture has been moved and the door is open.