Code Zero – Paul Orton

Ryan pulled a face, but didn’t make any sound. ‘Carry on, Jacobs.’ As soon as Sarrell had left the bathroom, Ryan slumped back down. That boy was going to destroy him. Picking up his pen, he started afresh. I am lazy, cheating scum and I deserve to be punished. His stomach felt tense, but he was too tired to hold on to the anger.

After a while, he grew numb to the pain inside. I am lazy, cheating scum and I deserve to be punished. Every line hurt. Every line was an accusation. A confession. A revelation. I am lazy, cheating scum and I deserve to be punished. As he wrote it, tears formed in his eyes and he brushed them away with his dirty sleeve. I am lazy, cheating scum and I deserve to be punished.

He began to wonder if it was true. *** Ryan made his way to the gym in the darkness, his muddy trainers in his hands. He almost hadn’t bothered to bring them, but didn’t want to give Sergeant Wright any reason to increase his punishment. Not after he’d spent the rest of the night writing lines. Despite the early hour, he felt strangely upbeat. With the academy in lockdown, at least he wouldn’t have to do the run. He may have to do laps of the sports hall, or possibly spend time on a running machine, but either of those was better than having to run through the cold, dark woods with a killer robot on the loose.

He yawned as he pushed through the double doors that led to the sports department. He knocked on the door to Sergeant Wright’s office. It flung open; the sergeant seemed annoyed at being disturbed. ‘I brought the lines, sir.’ Ryan held them out. Behind the sergeant, he could see a soldier. He’d interrupted an important meeting. ‘Wait for me in the sports hall, cadet. Stand to attention.’ ‘Yes, sir.’

Ryan stood like a statue, staring it down. The red eye glared back, daring him to run. But that would be suicide. How long would he have to stand here? An hour? Two? He breathed slowly, afraid that even the rise and fall of his chest would be enough to trigger the motion sensor. It wouldn’t be so bad if he wasn’t desperate to pee. There was no way he could hold it. He had to hope that Sparks could put their plan into action or he was in for a very uncomfortable night.

If he so much as sneezed, he wouldn’t live until morning. Come on! His stomach tightened with frustration, the tiredness already wearing away at his resolve. The longer this went on, the worse his chances. But there was nothing he could do except stand here, frozen to the spot. The worst part? Even worse than having to ignore every itch and the urgent need to use the bathroom?

Deep down, he knew this was his fault. He’d messed up. This time, he had no-one to blame but himself. 1kitap1.com/en 1. KIT Ryan stood against the wall, stifling a yawn. Sergeant Wright glared at him. ‘So, you managed to put your kit on correctly today, Jacobs?’ ‘Yes, sir.’ The teacher peered at Ryan’s rugby shirt.

‘And it looks clean. Did you remember your sock ties today?’ ‘Yes, sir.’ ‘Show me.’ Ryan lifted the top of the yellow football socks, showing the velcro ties underneath, holding them in place just below the knee. ‘It’s not hard, is it Jacobs?’ ‘No, sir.’ ‘So, why didn’t you manage that yesterday?’

‘I don’t know, sir.’ The truth was, he’d left the socks down on purpose. He wasn’t in the mood to conform. Now he was regretting it. He didn’t understand why he had to pull the socks up; he couldn’t see why it mattered. But Devonmoor Academy was not a normal school: it was strict.

If you stepped out of line, you got punished. For someone like Ryan, that was bad news. Following the rules was not in his DNA. That was why he had to report to the gym stupidly early this morning.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: be3ba813bc8a5dea
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 1,929,925 bytes (1.841 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 131
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 181.55 minutes
• Total Words: 36,310
• Total Characters: 200,928
• Average Words per Page: 277.18
• Average Characters per Page: 1533.8

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