“Courtney!’ he shouted, but didn’t know if she could hear him. Where was she?‘Courtney!’There. He forced his way over to her and pulled the sickos from her back. She was bleeding from small cuts all over her, and her right arm was red from shoulder to fingertips, but she was still battling with her knife. DogNut took hold of her and started to drag her away, ignoring the sickos that grabbed at him from all sides. All his energy was ebbing away. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep this up. ‘Come on, Courtney,’ he said. ‘Don’t give up. You and me, girl. You and me.’‘You and me, Dog,’ said Courtney. ‘Love you, girl…’‘Love you, too…”

− Charlie Higson −