Alexander Smith - Lockdown

Zee kept running but I slammed to a halt and grabbed his sleeve.

"We'll never make it, that thing's going too fast," I said, pulling him back to the staircase we'd just left. "We need to go up."

Zee started to argue but I held up my hand.

"Trust me."

We reached the staircase seconds before the first dog. It thrust its giant muzzle through the stairs from the platform below, twisting the metal and almost shearing off my foot. I leaped over it as it struggled to pull its wedged jaw free, and looked back to see that the second dog was retreating to the far staircase.

Leaping up the last couple of steps we raced down the seventh-level platform. A howl from behind us signaled that the creature was hot on our heels, and up ahead I saw the second dog emerge from the stairwell and crash down the walkway in our direction. In a matter of seconds we were both going to be Pedigree dog food.

"What now?" Zee screamed. I stopped running and placed my hands on the railing that separated the platform from the yard seven floors below. The view made my stomach twist unpleasantly, and for a second I didn't think I could do it. But the dogs were closing in, fast. We had no choice.

I started clambering over the railing. Zee just stared at me.

"You can't be serious," he said.

The dogs were ten steps away at most, bounding along the metal so fast it looked like they were flying. Zee stopped arguing, swung a leg up and threw his body over the railing so we were both standing on the other side, hovering above the drop.

"It's only one floor," I said. "Just drop and grab."

"I can't," he said.

But he could. At that instant the dogs reached us, launching themselves toward the railing in a frenzy of teeth and claws. I couldn't have held on to that bar even if I wanted to, my strength giving out milliseconds before the dog's jaws snapped shut where my head had been. The second creature threw itself at Zee but he managed to let go. It soared over his head, snapping at us relentlessly as we all plummeted earthward.

There was barely any time to react. The railing of the platform below shot toward me like a bullet. I reached out a hand and more from blind luck than anything else managed to grip the metal bar. It felt like my arm had been wrenched out of its socket but I held on tight. Zee had missed the bar but held on to the floor, his legs dangling helplessly above the void.

The dog wasn't so lucky, hitting the ground below with a dull thud. It whimpered as it struggled to its feet, the sound of broken bones grinding against one another setting my teeth on edge. It wouldn't be long before its friend worked out where we were, so I pulled myself over the banister and reached down for Zee. Donovan appeared at my side, grabbing the boy's other hand, and together we pulled him to safety.

"Quick," Donovan shouted, sprinting back down the platform to our cell. The door was still open, the automatic mechanism whining as it strained to slide shut. There was a howl behind us and I snapped around to see the remaining dog charge along the platform. I could swear that its face was twisted into an expression of fury at what we had done to its brother.

We jumped into the cell, Donovan coming in last and wrestling with the toilet seat. I helped him, gripping the stained metal and pulling with all my might. The dog was gaining. We were going to be trapped inside the cell with the creature at this rate.

But when all seemed lost the toilet seat popped free, sending Donovan and me flying backward onto the bed. The cell door slid home, bolts securing it in place, and the dog crashed into the bars. They bent alarmingly, but they held. The creature thrashed against the metal for a few seconds before the siren cut through the prison again. It stood outside the cell, fixing us all with a silver glare like it was remembering our faces. Then it howled and fled back to the staircase.

I'M NOT ASHAMED to say that I spent the next few minutes crying my eyes out. Zee did too. We sat huddled on the bottom bunk sobbing helplessly, our exhausted bodies and fear-stricken minds unable to do anything else.

As soon as the dogs had vanished back inside the vault door-the injured one barely able to drag itself over the threshold-Donovan started shouting at me, telling me how utterly stupid I had been to start a fight I couldn't win. But after a couple of insults he stopped, staring at us both like we were a couple of upset toddlers, his expression half frustration and half pity. Eventually he just shook his head and climbed onto his bunk.

I wept solidly until I felt like I'd cried out my very soul, until it seemed as if there was nothing left inside me. Then I lay back on the bed, staring into space and trying to forget that I even existed. I don't know whether it was minutes or hours later that I finally remembered my manners.

"Thanks," I breathed, little more than a whisper. "Thanks for saving our lives."

The bed creaked as Donovan shifted his weight above me, and I heard a grunt that might have been an acknowledgment. There was a gentle cough from my side and I turned to see Zee looking at me expectantly.

"Oh, yeah, thanks to you too," I said, recalling the events in the trough room, events that seemed like they belonged in another lifetime. "You saved my ass, Zee."

"You owe me one, big-time," was his reply. But his mouth was bent up in what I thought was probably a smile. "Big-time."

"At least we made it," I said. "We survived."

I was surprised to hear Donovan laughing, a chuckle that was entirely devoid of humor.

"You made it, yeah, but for how long?" he asked. "Those dogs don't forget a face, especially when you leave one of them with broken legs. And as for the Skulls…"

He didn't need to finish. I knew that as soon as I got out of my cell they would be coming after me. I mean, we'd just got one of their number killed. I was truly Skull Fodder now. Part of me started wishing that the dogs had eaten all of the gang members from the canteen, but the thought made me feel sick.

"Do you see now?" Donovan continued. "This place isn't a joke. It's not some film or book or computer game where you get infinite lives. You foul up out there, then you die. It's as simple as that. And you two fouled up today, big-time." He echoed Zee's accent. "Big-time."

"What happened to the other Skulls?" I asked, trying to change the subject. "The ones from the trough room."

"Holed up someplace, probably trembling in their little bandannas. Guards'll flush 'em out in a minute."

"What about us, will we get punished?" asked Zee. I suddenly pictured what Donovan had said about solitary confinement, tried not to think about going mad in a lightless pit at the bottom of the world.

"Maybe, maybe not," he replied. "You never know what's gonna happen in this place. Could end up in the hole, could just be left alone. Could be taken tonight. All a mystery till it happens."

The siren pierced my skull as once again the vault door opened. This time two blacksuits strode out, armed with shotguns, and made their way toward the canteen. They passed the pool of dark liquid that was all that remained of the Skull, then vanished through the wall. Less than a minute later the three remaining Skulls emerged from the trough room, hands clasped above their heads, one of the shotguns pointed at their backs as they marched toward the stairs. They disappeared from view, but I heard one of the blacksuits shout out a cell number followed by the muffled sound of a door opening.

It happened twice more, then the thunderous sound of the blacksuits' boots began to get louder as they made their way along our platform. I pressed myself back against the far wall, but there was nowhere to go and I was helpless as the two grinning faces appeared at the bars.

"Always the fresh meat," said one. "New kids, think they can cause trouble."