Free Dark Sun by Robert Muchamore

then
    mimicked the gruff voice of a CHERUB instructor.
    ‘This is tough but cherubs are tougher,’ he said. Andy laughed, but that made the torn muscles in his stomach hurt even more.
    ‘I’ll take a shower and nick a clean pair of shorts from George’s wardrobe,’ he said. ‘You find a bandage or something to stop your foot from bleeding. Once we’re cleaned up, we’ll drag Sophie on to her bed.’
    ‘Fair enough,’ Greg nodded. ‘Then what?’
    Andy glanced at his watch. ‘It’s only one fort yfive. Nobody will be waking up for at least three hours, so we go back into Kurt’s study, make the last fort y-three revisions to the centrifuge design and then turn in for whatever’s left of the night.’
    ‘Sounds like a plan to me,’ Greg nodded, as he started hobbling towards the bathroom.
    93
    HS1829_WBD_Cherub.p65
    93
    10/29/2007, 11:56 AM
    10. R AGE
    Earthquakes are measured on the Richter scale, tornados on the Fujita scale, and there’s an Explosivit y Index for volcanoes. Andy and Greg weren’t sure what scale was used for enraged mothers, but whatever it was George’s mum hit the top level when she woke up at half-past seven that Saturday morning.
    ‘Get your arses downstairs,’ Dr Lydon screamed, as she yanked George out of a gentle slumber. Being gassed had left her with a bad headache, which made her mood even worse. ‘Mind your feet, there’s broken china all along the passageway.’
    She’d seen the carnage in the hallway, but only learned of the busted hedge when she threw 94
    HS1829_WBD_Cherub.p65
    94
    10/29/2007, 11:56 AM
    open George’s window to clear out the smell of beer and pizza.
    ‘No more sleepovers, ever,’ she screamed. ‘This is way beyond a joke.’
    Apart from the hedge, ever ything had been fine when George and Zhang dropped off to sleep. George was stunned when he saw the state of the hallway.
    ‘It wasn’t me!’ he protested meekly.
    Across the hall, Sophie emerged with her hair pointing in a thousand different directions, still dressed in her black dress and stockings, but now accessorised with dried-out vomit. ‘What’s all the noise?’ she moaned. ‘I need sleep.’
    ‘Sleep,’ Dr Lydon screamed, as George and Zhang scrambled down the stairs in a state of complete panic. ‘Young lady, nobody in this house is getting sleep until every speck of this mess is cleaned up.’
    Sophie tutted. ‘Don’t blow your stack, Ma. It’s not my fault if the geekboys decided to get drunk.’
    ‘That was you!’ George’s mum shouted, pointing at the puke on the carpet. ‘It’s all down your dress. Get down to the kitchen and grab the cleaning 95
    HS1829_WBD_Cherub.p65
    95
    10/29/2007, 11:56 AM
    stuff from under the sink.’
    ‘You’re so sexist, just because I’m a girl.’
    ‘Oh don’t you worry,’ Dr Lydon hissed. ‘George is doing his share of the cleaning too, and you’re both paying for the damage out of pocket money and birthday money. And that includes new carpets if we need ’em, so you’d better scrub hard.’
    Down in the kitchen Zhang was helping himself to Coco Pops and seemed to find the whole scenario quite amusing. ‘Pit y you’re not coming to China with me, Georgie,’ Zhang laughed. ‘It’s about the only place you’d be safe from that crazed mother of yours.’
    George was less concerned with Zhang’s
    teasing than with the breach of trust by his new friend Greg.
    ‘I’ve had loads of sleepovers before, and nothing like this has ever happened,’ George yelled. ‘What the hell were you guys playing at?’
    Greg tried to act innocent. ‘Your sister came home drunk and couldn’t get into her room. Andy knows how to pick locks so he tried to help, but Sophie went psycho when we opened her door.’
    George wasn’t sure he believed this. ‘What about 96
    HS1829_WBD_Cherub.p65
    96
    10/29/2007, 11:56 AM
    the massive stain on my carpet? That must have been you guys, and why’s Andy wearing a pair of my shorts?’
    ‘Because your