Red looked around at the group of faces, the same faces that had trusted him to keep them all safe for so long. The crushing weight of responsibility weighed heavily on his heart, however, now was not the time to dwell on feelings, rather it was time to engage the head and the street smarts that had served him well over the last few years. As he looked, each face told a different story, yet each had the same fear, concern and determination etched behind the grimy smears, along with just one or two tears.

Without any further fuss, Seb carefully climbed back up the embankment, making sure to keep his head below the level of the low nib wall. Once he had taken a moment to take a couple of deep breaths and settle his thumping heart, he cautiously peered over the wall. All was quiet and deserted on the road above. He could see the stairs leading down to the station just a few short metres away. He signaled all clear to the others below. The first two boys made their way up the embankment, with Seb silently motioning at them to stay low. Once they were at the top, Seb carefully looked over the wall to check again. All was clear and quiet. He tapped the first two on their shoulders.

The first two climbed over the wall and made a dash for the underground stairs. In a moment the entrance had swallowed them, and they were lost into the darkness. This same routine was repeated until it was just Red left at the bottom of the embankment. Seb signaled one last time for Red to come up and join him below the wall.

Once again, Seb peeped over the wall, to check if it was all clear. He climbed over and in moments he was at the entrance to the stairs leading down into the station. He had just passed into the relative safety of the darkened entrance, and down the first few stairs when he heard the deafening roar of engines coming up the road and the light of multiple headlights flashed above the underground entrance. He spun around and looked back up the stairs. To his abject horror, he could see Red near the entrance, but he was still fully out in the open and was now bathed in the harsh light of the Marauder’s vehicle headlights.

In reality, what happened next was all over in the matter of seconds. For Seb however, it was a scene that would stay etched in his mind, to be re-played over and over, in slow motion, for a long time to come.

Bathed in light and fully caught out in the open, Red locked his eyes with Seb for just a split second and he made an ever so slight shake of his head. He then turned about face and ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

Red did not stop.

The sound of rapid gun fire rang out, and it bounced around the tiled walls of the stairway, in a terrifying cacophony of sound.

Red fell to the ground dead.

How Seb made it to the bottom of the stairs, past the turnstiles and on down the dark corridor that led to the station platform he never knew. How he did it didn’t matter; for the moment, nothing else mattered except to find the rest of his friends and get as far away from this place as fast as they could.

Whether the Marauders were unaware that a dozen or so boys had just disappeared down into the darkened depths of the underground station, or whether it was that their blood lust had just been satisfied with a kill, the boys never knew. Whatever the reason, the Marauders never bothered to search the underground. For the moment the clan was once again safe, with the exception of their leader.

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Next: SS2.4 – Walking Underground