Free Out of Time by John Marsden Page A

microscopic life in the world had changed their attitudes. Did they know that every time they moved they destroyed masses of minute creatures? Just to live was to cause pain.
    Coming from the classroom block was Dr Matheson, a teacher whom James liked. James was approaching the buildings at a tangent: he had circled from the swing around the back of the boys’ toilets. Nevertheless, their paths were going to cross. He became nervous as the encounter grew closer. But he stopped when they met, and stood looking at the ground.
    â€˜Hello James,’ Dr Matheson said in her husky voice. ‘I’ve got something here I thought you might be interested in.’
    James looked up and saw a small flat object in her hand. She held it out to him and he took it. It was a maze, three-dimensional, fully enclosed, containing a metal ball which had to be guided through many objects and traps to reach a central spot. It appealed to James, who liked challenges of a mechanical kind. He smiled. Dr Matheson was delighted.
    â€˜Take it,’ she said. ‘Keep it for a few days, or untilyou’re sick of it. Later I’ll give it to my niece. She enjoys that kind of thing too.’
    James walked on, clutching it to his chest. He bypassed the classroom and went to the janitor’s cupboard. Knowing that the class after lunch was Divinity and he would not be missed he stayed there until his next lesson, at 2.15.
    â€˜WHEN THE WAR is over,’ the girl thought, ‘I will lie under a tree chewing on a piece of grass. I will kick a pebble along a street. I will plant a flower garden and water it and keep it free of weeds. I will smell ripe peaches.’
    She closed her eyes again, hoping that the next time she opened them she would not see only darkness, only cold and hard rock. Her leg hurt a lot but the hurt had settled into a dull ache, instead of the spectacular flaring pain that had savaged her for many hours. She preferred the dull ache.
    She had been hungry for a while but the hunger passed. She did not know how long she had been there but thought it had probably been all day. The worst thing, perhaps, was the silence, which was terrible.
    She passed into a kind of sleep again. If anything had happened she would have been aware of it. But nothing happened. She slept because there was nothing else to do.
    *
    DOUG MOTTRAM WAS a tall, balding man, a solicitor who lived in the city, drove a Saab, and loved to windsurf and play squash. He was married to Cathy and was the father of a son, Andrew.
    Cathy Mottram was a tall, clear-skinned woman, a dentist who lived in the city, drove a Volvo, and loved to ride horses and play squash. She was married to Doug and was the mother of a son, Andrew.
    One day Cathy had to drive across town to a nursing home to treat an elderly patient with toothache who was too frail to travel to her. On the way, by arrangement, she picked up Andrew as he came out of school. Andrew sat in the car and did his homework while his mother went into the nursing home. Afterwards Cathy drove back through the city, stopping at a medical supply company to purchase some goods. She parked at a meter about half a block away, telling Andrew again to wait in the car.
    Cathy was away about ten to twelve minutes. When she returned Andrew had gone.
    â€˜Was anything missing from the car?’
    â€˜His lunchbox. A street directory.’
    â€˜Where did he keep his lunchbox?’
    â€˜Well, it was normally in his schoolbag, which was still in the car. But his lunchbox wasn’t in it any more, so we assume that’s when it went missing.’
    â€˜Did he seem upset about anything?’
    â€˜No, quite the contrary.’
    â€˜Was he the kind of boy who might run away?’
    â€˜No, he’s a happy, confident child.’
    â€˜Has he ever run away?’
    â€˜Oh, just the usual tantrums when he was younger. He went round the block a couple of times.’
    â€˜Did you have any