Adam didn’t wait for the voice’s owner to reveal himself. His trainers churned up the sand as he sprinted off down the beach. Feeling dangerously visible on the deserted shoreline, he scrambled up into the dunes, plotting a tortuous course through the shallow valleys and waist-high beach-grass. This had to be some kind of sick joke, Adam told himself frantically as he ran. There was no way this could be happening for real.

A guttural bark brought Adam to a halt; diving behind the nearest dune, he peered over the top. His heart sank at the sight of a line of men fanning out across the dunes between him and the main road, the beams from their torches sweeping methodically over the hillocks.

“Anyone see him?” one of them called out.

“I lost the little bleeder in the dunes,” another replied, a large German shepherd straining at the leash in his hand. “But he’s here somewhere. Rex’ll sniff him out.”

Fear trickled like cold water down Adam’s spine. Danny had been telling the truth – this was nothing to do with him. It was much, much worse than that. Who were these men? And what did they want with him? Panicking, Adam fumbled for the mobile phone in his pocket, only to discover that there was no signal: he was too far from town. Adam cursed and crept away from the dunes, trying to stay as low as possible. With the main road blocked off, his only hope of making it back to safety lay along the beach. Adam scrambled down on to the shore and was jogging towards the distant lights of town when a movement out over the sea caught his eye. He stopped in his tracks, a look of horror on his face.

The rain clouds had parted, revealing a black behemoth of a craft flying towards him. It was a long, cigar-shaped balloon fashioned from leathery canvas, powered by two giant propellers affixed to its rear.

“Help!” Adam shouted desperately, at the top of his lungs. “For God’s sake someone help me!”

There was a loud clank, and a searchlight burst into life on the airship’s prow, the froths of the waves glinting in the glare of its powerful beam. Adam stumbled away, racing full-pelt along the beach until his lungs were near bursting, too scared to look back at whatever might be following him.

There was a loud bark to Adam’s right; a low shape bounded out on an interception course from the dunes. Automatically Adam zigzagged away from the dog towards the sea. He made it knee-deep into the shallows before the German shepherd barrelled into him, knocking the pair of them underwater. Freezing cold seawater rushed into Adam’s mouth and nose as he sank below the
surface. He struggled up for air, only for a wave to break over him before he could take a breath, knocking him back underwater.

The dog pressed down on him, barking triumphantly. Adam’s head was growing woozy, and his limbs were weakening. Suddenly a strong hand reached down, grabbed him by the hood and dragged him out of the water. Adam collapsed in a sodden heap on to the sand, coughing violently. He was aware of a group of men dressed in dark clothing standing over him. The German shepherd had followed them out of the shallows and was waiting obediently by their feet, its eyes warily fixed upon Adam.

“This one’s a bit of a sorry state,” a man’s voice said.

“Serves him right,” another replied, panting. “I hate it when they run. Come on, let’s get him out of here before someone sees us.”

As Adam was hauled to his feet, he saw the airship swoop in over the beach like some giant mythological bat, its searchlight sweeping over the sands. Summoning his remaining strength, Adam lashed out with his foot, and was rewarded with a shout of pain and an oath.

“He’s still kicking!” someone warned.

A scrum of hands descended upon him, each grabbing for a limb. As he was hoisted into the air, Adam twisted his neck and clamped his teeth down on the hand near his left shoulder.

“Aah!” a voice howled. “The little sod bit me!”

“Right,” came the grim reply. “Enough messing around. Hold him steady.”

Adam blinked as someone shone a bright shaft of light into his eyes. The last thing he saw was a man’s arm coming sharply down, and then something heavy cracked into his temple, and he spiralled into unconsciousness.