The Deviants

The Deviants
C.J. Skuse

‘A tale of revenge, righteousness and recovery with a heart-stopping twist – The GuardianBefore you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two gravesTHENElla, Max, Corey, Fallon and Zane.The Fearless Five, inseparable as children growing up in a sleepy English seaside town. But when Max’s older sister is killed, the friendship seems to die with her.NOWOnly Max and Ella are in touch, still best friends and a couple since they were thirteen. But Ella is hiding things – like why she’s afraid to take their relationship to the next level. And when underdog Corey is bullied, the Fearless Five are brought back together again, teaming up to wreak havoc and revenge on those who have wronged them.But when the secrets they are keeping can no longer be kept quiet, will their fearlessness be enough to save them from themselves?’Electrifying, bold, brilliant’ -Amanda Craig

C.J. SKUSE is the author of the YA novels PRETTY BAD THINGS, ROCKOHOLIC and DEAD ROMANTIC. She was born in 1980 in Weston-super-Mare, England. She has First Class degrees in Creative Writing and Writing for Children and, aside from writing novels, lectures in Writing for Children at Bath Spa University where she is planning to do her PhD. THE DEVIANTS is her fifth novel.

For my Auntie Margaret and Uncle Roy Snead,

Thank you for the days, those sacred days you gave me.

Contents

Cover (#u6020edcf-21ce-5048-b6e1-90671fdec15c)

About the Author (#ua5ac1856-8fef-5b8b-a05f-006d25a21874)

Title Page (#u56a2239d-68d6-5b7d-b12e-6741337cc9c6)

Dedication (#u4f259e66-0452-5a90-b9d9-c29383b2d2dc)

1. A Day at the Beach (#ulink_d960c521-d6a9-5afa-9fbf-31b0b769ef4f)

2. Moonlight Adventure Saturday, 1 August (#ulink_e52bce9d-bb11-511e-b0be-bb5b920553db)

3. Thumping Good Fun (#ulink_a1ef4b37-c276-572f-81c0-a20034c5edea)

4. The Mystery of the Disappearing Cat (#ulink_575540c9-c07e-554f-99e8-1a7642436eee)

5. An Old Friend One month earlier – 9 July (#ulink_3c818527-9a3c-51e7-be7a-3c62efe1264e)

6. An Adventure Beckons (#ulink_2471e04a-0cb6-5b6c-8331-23352249bd89)

7. Back at Whitehouse Farm (#ulink_a3d89b6d-7a90-51cd-8f08-2815ed15eb61)

8. Jolly Good Fun (#ulink_4c4181e2-d467-512e-8032-c677acc68860)

9. A Little Upset (#litres_trial_promo)

10. A Horrid Shock (#litres_trial_promo)

11. A Smashing Time and a Piece of Advice (#litres_trial_promo)

12. Ella Thinks Up a Plan (#litres_trial_promo)

13. Up To Mischief Tuesday, 4 August (#litres_trial_promo)

14. A Shock for Max (#litres_trial_promo)

15. A Rather Unpleasant Meeting (#litres_trial_promo)

16. Junior Springs a Surprise! (#litres_trial_promo)

17. Five Go Adventuring (#litres_trial_promo)

18. Curious Discoveries (#litres_trial_promo)

19. A Rather Splendid Party Friday night, 21st August (#litres_trial_promo)

20. A Mystery is Solved (#litres_trial_promo)

21. Mostly About Ella (#litres_trial_promo)

22. Back to the Island (#litres_trial_promo)

23. A Nasty Surprise (#litres_trial_promo)

24. Discoveries at the Witch’s Pool (#litres_trial_promo)

25. Several Things Happen (#litres_trial_promo)

26. One Goes Down to the Sea (#litres_trial_promo)

27. A Shock for All (#litres_trial_promo)

28. Away on Their Own (#litres_trial_promo)

29. Five Have a Wonderful Time (#litres_trial_promo)

Acknowledgments (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

1 (#ulink_bc4fc478-21cc-5a74-be5e-10139c78412d)

A Day at the Beach (#ulink_bc4fc478-21cc-5a74-be5e-10139c78412d)

I’m sitting beside the café window when I see the man running up the beach and I instantly know it’s washed ashore. The sand flicks up behind him as he sprints. And he’s screaming.

His face is alive with fear. He’s running so hard to get away from it, what he’s found. In those brief moments, I am the only person in the café to see him. But, within seconds, the quiet crumbles into chaos.

‘Somebody! Help!’

‘What’s he saying?’

‘Did he say a body?’

Someone calls my name, but I don’t turn around. I keep walking, out of the café, into the morning air, along the Esplanade, down the steps and onto the wet sand, like the sea is a magnet and I am metal.

People overtake me. Someone shouts, ‘Call the police.’ Thudding footsteps, snatches of breath. The sand’s covered in a billion worm hills and tiny white shells. A group of crows squawks nearby. They’re all clustered around an object, pecking at it.