Free Payback by Graham Marks

Chapter One
    When Greg finally got himself up, everyone was out — his mum’s scrawled note on the fridge said they’d “GONE 2 TESCO”. That was odd because his mum usually did the shop on a Friday, and his dad liked to read his paper on a Saturday morning. And they must have taken his little sister with them. Also odd, as she only liked going clothes shopping.
     
    A quick check showed there was nothing much to eat in the kitchen. A more thorough search of the house came up with enough spare change for a fry-up at the cafe. Result!
     
    Greg was on the bus before he realised he’d left his phone at home. It was up in his bedroom and still on charge.
     
    Then the bus broke down, so he had to walk the rest of the way into town. And as these things always came in threes, he saw Barry Telford on the prowl and had to take a major detour. Bazz was someone even the plague would try to avoid.
     
    The safer route to town was via various scuzzy backstreets and a passageway, which was more of a dog toilet. It took ages. So when Greg finally got back on track, his stomach was grumbling like crazy and his mouth watering at the thought of egg, bacon and chips.
     
    He was about to cross the road when it felt like someone tapped him on the shoulder with a brick.
     
    “Oi…Greg, innit?”
     
    Greg looked round to see Bazz standing behind him, chewing gum with his mouth open, and lost his appetite.
     
    “Gotta fag?”
     
    “I don’t smoke, Bazz.”
     
    “Lend us the money for one, then.” Bazz put his hand out and wiggled fingers that were like sausages. It was his way of saying “Or else”.
     
    Greg had never heard of anyone saying no to Bazz and getting away with it. Which is why, without any money, Greg was now in the park — on his own and hungrier than ever. If he didn’t think of somewhere to go where his friends might be, he’d end up wasting the whole morning.
     
    He was hurrying down the path that led to the park gate, on his way to try his luck in town, when he saw a glint of light flash off something on one of the benches. Slowing down, Greg walked over and stared down at what looked to be a brand new, very expensive mobile phone.

Chapter Two
    Greg looked round, trying to find the person who’d left the phone on the bench, but there was no one in sight. He was completely on his own, and right at that moment he realised that he couldn’t hear a sound. There was absolute silence. No cars. No birds. It was like everything had just stopped.
     
    A shiver ran down Greg’s spine.
     
    For some reason he remembered a movie he’d seen about the last man left alive, and it made him feel totally spooked. Then he looked back at the bench, half expecting to see the phone had gone, or that it was actually something entirely different. But it was still there, if anything even shinier than it had been.
     
    Checking all around again, and once again seeing nobody, Greg sat down on the bench. The phone was easily within arm’s reach.
     
    It had to be a set-up. As soon as he touched the phone someone would burst out of a nearby bush and accuse him of stealing it. Or reveal that he was being filmed for some rubbish TV show. But then what if someone had just left it behind by accident?
     
    Greg leant sideways and peered down at the phone, looking at it closely for the first time. It was, he now realised, actually just a thin oblong of mobile-sized black plastic, or maybe glass. It probably wasn’t a phone at all. He shook his head, reached out and picked it up.
     
    Whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t made of plastic. The thing felt heavy for its size, and quite cold. Greg turned it over in his hands. He examined it from every angle to see if there was anything on the surface that would give him a clue as to what it was.
     
    Nothing.
     
    Not a mark. No brand name, no “on” button or headphone socket, nothing that looked like a way to open it up to change the battery or the SIM card.
     
    He was about to put