The bell rang and everyone piled out of the class, fighting for the door. The teacher shouted at them but it was the last day of the school year and his pleas went unheeded as thirty pupils attempted to squeeze through a three foot wide gap in the wall and escape to six weeks of school-less bliss.

A head appeared between the forest of legs, fear etched onto his face. The boy stared over his shoulder and struggled, wriggled and forced himself through and out into the corridor. He was a skinny kid which only made getting out of the scrum easier. The moment he was clear, he sprang to his feet and bolted.

A yell from behind him urged him to speed up as Barker fought his way out, literally. A few loud yelps from the other children in the scrum and he sprinted after his prey.

Mike had been bullied all his life but Barker was the worst by far. If he didn't take different routes out of school and run whenever he saw him, he always ended with a bloody nose, a black eye or worse. The teachers seemed incapable of handling the moron.

The doors to the outside crashed open and Mike slammed them shut before hitting the brakes and changed direction as quickly as he could. If he'd learnt one thing during his three years at Kenmoore comprehensive, it was where best to hide. All the hiding places near every exit to every building were familiar and he'd chosen the exit with the most this time. He scrambled around the corner and ducked into a little brick alcove where the drainpipe came from the roof. Shielded from sight in three directions, he held his breath and waited.

The door slammed as Barker ran into the playground. "I'm coming to get you, ya little shit!"

The sound of footsteps beat a path to the side exit in an attempt to catch up. The sound increased in the school yard as children gathered, chattering away before departing. He waited another ten minutes, sneaking the odd look to see if all was clear.

In all the excitement he hadn't even noticed the weirdness of the weather. An eerie mist roiled around his knees. The sounds around him had a muffled quality. Mike reckoned he could’ve just lain in the mist and Barker would've run right past him. He maintained his air of caution as he ran to the rear exit, sprinting from corner to corner, furtively peeking around each until the gates were in sight, he bolted through and headed to the fields that lead to the bus stop.