stops three inches from ruining GG’s blemish-free face by taking his head off.
GG is all heaving breath and trembling limbs as he gets to his feet and staggers towards us, like a man finding an oasis after a day in the desert. He opens his arms wide to us. ‘I’m
not alone,’ he wails. ‘I’m not alone.’ He collapses into Johnson’s arms and hugs him as tight as he can. ‘I’ve been staring out of that window for hours.
Oh, poor GG. Stranded. Abandoned. Cast adrift from humanity.’
Johnson holds the overwrought wreck. ‘It’s OK, we’re here.’
GG raises his head and takes in the rest of us. ‘My saviours.’ He goes to me first and hugs me tight. I have to fight back the pain as he squeezes my burns. My eyes water and I try
and ease away from him.
‘People! At last.’ He looks like he doesn’t know whether to cry or laugh.
He grabs Billie and hugs her as well. ‘When I saw you I just screamed. I didn’t know what else to do.’
He turns his focus on Carrie but she quickly puts up a hand to ward him off.
‘Don’t touch me, I’m bruised all over,’ she says.
GG turns to the Ape.
‘No, homo,’ the Ape says simply.
GG can’t stop babbling. ‘Where is everyone else? I mean this is the weirdest day of my life. I trot through town, thinking: do I really like this yellow on my nails? I get home and I
think: yes, yes I do like it. But then no one else comes home. I start phoning round—’
‘D’you have Lucas’s number?’ Johnson cuts in.
‘Lucas? Oh, I wish. How cute is that boy? But really – do any of you know what’s happened?’ GG looks at us, hoping for an answer.
‘No one has a clue, GG,’ I say with a heavy intent.
Apart from the Ape, this is scaring us big time. Finding GG has made everything seem even weirder, not better. Is Johnson right? Have we all been selected? Chosen? And if so, for what?
Carrie lowers herself gingerly to the kerbside. ‘I’m exhausted. Everything aches and I’m not taking another step.’
‘You didn’t take any, anyway. The Ape was carrying you,’ Billie reminds her.
‘I’m not moving. All right?’
‘OK, see you around.’ Billie makes to walk off.
But Johnson catches Billie’s arm, gently stopping her in her tracks. ‘GG, can we go up to your place?’ he asks.
‘Come up, come up. Chez GG awaits you.’
‘We should take some time out.’ Johnson studies us and knows that we are at breaking point. ‘It’s getting late and we’re all strung out, but we need to work out how
to find the others.’
‘There’s others?’ GG asks hopefully.
‘Lucas and the Moth. Least we’re pretty sure of it.’
‘Let me go up first – have a quick tidy round.’
‘That doesn’t really matter.’
‘It always matters,’ GG says as he hurries back towards the block of flats. ‘Flat ninety-eight,’ he calls back. ‘Wipe your feet on the mat.’
Carrie is taking up the entire sofa by lying stretched out across it. She is looking at her twisted ankle which it turns out isn’t at all twisted. The Ape is flicking
through television channels but there is only static.
‘Nope,’ he says. ‘Not that one either. Nope. Nope. Nope.’
GG’s flat is immaculate and I have no idea why he thought it needed tidying. There are three bedrooms. His parents’ room, his twin sisters’ room where there are bunk beds, and
then there’s GG’s room. He has a dressing table with a huge mirror and, sitting on it in neat little rows, is more make-up than Billie and I own put together.
He has a double bed and a great little sound system plugged into his Mac. His wardrobe is bursting with clothes and right now he is busy searching through it.
‘I’m going for that end-of-the-world look,’ he jokes.
‘It’s not the end of the world,’ Billie says.
‘It will be if I don’t find the right jacket.’
He grins, then finds a combat jacket, which I would never have thought he’d have owned in a million years, but when he turns it
GG is all heaving breath and trembling limbs as he gets to his feet and staggers towards us, like a man finding an oasis after a day in the desert. He opens his arms wide to us. ‘I’m
not alone,’ he wails. ‘I’m not alone.’ He collapses into Johnson’s arms and hugs him as tight as he can. ‘I’ve been staring out of that window for hours.
Oh, poor GG. Stranded. Abandoned. Cast adrift from humanity.’
Johnson holds the overwrought wreck. ‘It’s OK, we’re here.’
GG raises his head and takes in the rest of us. ‘My saviours.’ He goes to me first and hugs me tight. I have to fight back the pain as he squeezes my burns. My eyes water and I try
and ease away from him.
‘People! At last.’ He looks like he doesn’t know whether to cry or laugh.
He grabs Billie and hugs her as well. ‘When I saw you I just screamed. I didn’t know what else to do.’
He turns his focus on Carrie but she quickly puts up a hand to ward him off.
‘Don’t touch me, I’m bruised all over,’ she says.
GG turns to the Ape.
‘No, homo,’ the Ape says simply.
GG can’t stop babbling. ‘Where is everyone else? I mean this is the weirdest day of my life. I trot through town, thinking: do I really like this yellow on my nails? I get home and I
think: yes, yes I do like it. But then no one else comes home. I start phoning round—’
‘D’you have Lucas’s number?’ Johnson cuts in.
‘Lucas? Oh, I wish. How cute is that boy? But really – do any of you know what’s happened?’ GG looks at us, hoping for an answer.
‘No one has a clue, GG,’ I say with a heavy intent.
Apart from the Ape, this is scaring us big time. Finding GG has made everything seem even weirder, not better. Is Johnson right? Have we all been selected? Chosen? And if so, for what?
Carrie lowers herself gingerly to the kerbside. ‘I’m exhausted. Everything aches and I’m not taking another step.’
‘You didn’t take any, anyway. The Ape was carrying you,’ Billie reminds her.
‘I’m not moving. All right?’
‘OK, see you around.’ Billie makes to walk off.
But Johnson catches Billie’s arm, gently stopping her in her tracks. ‘GG, can we go up to your place?’ he asks.
‘Come up, come up. Chez GG awaits you.’
‘We should take some time out.’ Johnson studies us and knows that we are at breaking point. ‘It’s getting late and we’re all strung out, but we need to work out how
to find the others.’
‘There’s others?’ GG asks hopefully.
‘Lucas and the Moth. Least we’re pretty sure of it.’
‘Let me go up first – have a quick tidy round.’
‘That doesn’t really matter.’
‘It always matters,’ GG says as he hurries back towards the block of flats. ‘Flat ninety-eight,’ he calls back. ‘Wipe your feet on the mat.’
Carrie is taking up the entire sofa by lying stretched out across it. She is looking at her twisted ankle which it turns out isn’t at all twisted. The Ape is flicking
through television channels but there is only static.
‘Nope,’ he says. ‘Not that one either. Nope. Nope. Nope.’
GG’s flat is immaculate and I have no idea why he thought it needed tidying. There are three bedrooms. His parents’ room, his twin sisters’ room where there are bunk beds, and
then there’s GG’s room. He has a dressing table with a huge mirror and, sitting on it in neat little rows, is more make-up than Billie and I own put together.
He has a double bed and a great little sound system plugged into his Mac. His wardrobe is bursting with clothes and right now he is busy searching through it.
‘I’m going for that end-of-the-world look,’ he jokes.
‘It’s not the end of the world,’ Billie says.
‘It will be if I don’t find the right jacket.’
He grins, then finds a combat jacket, which I would never have thought he’d have owned in a million years, but when he turns it
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