CHERUB Max Carter Chapter 2
Max woke up in a new bed, in a new room. He sat up and saw a laptop lying on a desk, a sofa, a TV, a mini-fridge and a door leading to an ensuite. Max also saw some clean clothes at the end of his bed. Lying on top of them, was a note. It said 'Hello Max. Put these clothes on when you are ready to get up and then go to the end of your corridor and go into the lift. Go into the lift and press the ground floor button. Go to reception and tell the lady who you are.'
Max put on the clothes, brown combat trousers, and an orange T-shirt. Max went out of his room and immediately came across a boy, a little older than himself. 'Hi.' said Max.
'Can't talk to Orange.' Said the boy, who then opened a door and walked in. Max found this odd and looked down, expecting to see himself painted orange, but no. The only orange thing was his t-shirt, which now he looked closely, had a logo on it. A baby with a helmet and bow and wings sitting on top of a globe. There was a box though the globe and in it, in bold print, was the word CHERUB.
Max took the lift to the ground floor and walked over to the receptionist. 'Hello Max,' she said, 'I trust you found your way okay? I guess you're wondering what's going on. Well you are at a place where children, like yourself, are trained to be spies. Speak now if you do not wish to join CHERUB. But before you do, keep in mind you can quit later, once you make up your mind.'
Max did not speak.
'Okay. Now that's cleared up, you must change your name so that no one recognizes you on missions. Most kids keep their first name and change their second name, which is compulsory. What would you like to be called from now on?'
'Well,' said Max, 'I've always wanted to be called Matt Grant, if that's okay?'
'Sure,' said the receptionist, 'now follow me. You'll have to meet the chairwoman.
One Week Later
'Well Matt, you have passed all our tests! Congratulations!' said the chairwoman, Zara Asker.
'Oh good!' said Matt.
'So Matthew we have signed you up for Basic Training in a weeks' time. Is that okay?'
Matt nodded vigorously. 'Off you go and tell your friends now!'
Matt raced out the door and bolted back to his corridor. He knocked on his best mate Jake's door.
'I got in! I'm in Basic Training next week!' Matt cried happily. 'That's great! But not the Basic Training bit. It's absolutely HELL.'
Matt rushed off to tell another friend (and a crush) called Ella. 'That's great! Congratulations! I'm doing Basic Training next week too! I walked out last time. Kazakov was hell. I put him in a bad mood. I was paired with him in martial arts because my partner walked out. I kicked him in the balls.'
The next week
Matt ran full pelt to Basic Training. He was going to be early, and so set high standards. The gates to Basic Training closed at 6am. This was the start of hell.
Over the next 90 days, Kazakov and Pike put them through the toughest 90 days of their lives. Then they announced that they were going on an 8 day expedition of the Himalayas. Matt and Ella flew out that day and arrived in India that night. They were taken to a very fancy hotel.
Matt, Ella, Kieran, Chloe, Nico and Luke messed around the whole night, doing things like peeing in the kitchens and chucking rocks at people in the pool. Then the morning came and they climbed into a helicopter. Matt, his partner had walked out, was paired with Ella. They jumped out of the helicopter first.
They landed with a thud and Matt pulled out the instructions, which were written clearly in English. They said 'climb the saddle of the mountain directly east and stay in the Hut.' They started to walk.
They headed up the mountain directly east of them. The packs they had been given were incredibly heavy and when Ella opened hers a whole load of crap fell out, such as magazines and dog food. They discarded them in the snow and continued climbing the mountain. They soon reached the hut. There was nothing in the hut but a piece of paper, everything written in what looked like a mixture of German and French, Ella having learned German and Matt French.
They managed to work out their instructions, which said 'Spend the night in the hut. Then go out and go to the top of this mountain. Travel west until you reach a sign saying Reena Village. Follow the signs and stay at the village.'
Matt looked at Ella. 'Want to stay in the hut?' he asked her. 'Not really.' She replied. They took their stuff and moved on. They didn't climb to the top of the mountain but just headed west until they found the sign. They kept following the signs, until when it was getting dark, a little village came into view.
They soon found the little house described in the instructions. They translated the next set of instructions, which told them to cross a nearby lake then climb another mountain. They slept in the house and got up early next morning.
They crossed the lake in a small dingy they found and climbed the mountain quickly. They translated the instructions. 'Sleep in the hut and descend to the bottom of the mountain.'
This went on for the next few days and they finally reached the 100th day of Basic Training.
'Congratulations for getting this far.' Said Kazakov. 'Now just 1 more challenge. I will put an incredibly dangerous scorpion on your hand and you must itch your face. Good luck.'
Matt and Ella came back to friends waiting and cheering at the gates. They were congratulated and hugged. Finally they broke free of the crowd and went to go have a shower, however in the corridor in front of Ella's room Matt stopped her.
'Well done Ella.' He said. And before she knew it they were snogging, standing in the hallway snogging. They broke apart and Ella grinned. They both went to have a shower.