I yell an expletive and try to kick with my other foot to get away. I look around for a weapon, but all I have are my feet. Maltez immediately runs over. He grabs the thing and sends it flying to the back of the room.

It comes back screaming. I realise I have my hammer on my belt. I grab it and stand between Maltez and the danger. I send a blow right through the middle of what appears to be the roaring man's head, stunning the attacker long enough for me to grab Maltez's hand and get out of the room. The screaming has brought the others in. I yell at them to all get out.

— This is the thing that attacked me before Christmas. Get out now. I tell the teacher as I run outside.

The person in charge makes us gather in the street. He assigns the surveillance of the house to four guys who stand at the corners and watch. Maltez, Thibaut and Alex try to calm me down while the teacher calls the police. We hear heart-rending screams as if an animal is being tortured, and then an eerie silence.

Thibaut examines my leg. My gaiters have protected me. Human teeth marks are clearly visible. Fuck, my protectors are dead. They cost a fortune, I'm going to slaughter this thing. The bites didn't penetrate the thick leather. My calf is safe. My heart is pounding. I don't let go of my bloody hammer. I remain in combat stance, my muscles tense and ready to act.

Maltez questions me. He has heard what I told to the professor. At a sign to Thibaut and Alex, he leads me away from the others. He takes me in his arms and cradles me to stop the tremors that agitate me, without real success. I am not afraid, I want to fight, Maltez must not understand anything. In a low voice, I decide to tell him the truth, what happened before Christmas.

I tell him about the attack in the forest. The chase that followed and the humanoids hungry for blood. He shudders at the thought of the fight in the stable and the bits of humans strewn on the ground. The secrecy demanded by the police makes him grit his teeth in anger, as does the Internal Security who interrogated me and Naya. But when I confess to him that I have confided in Richard, my grandfather's friend who is making enquiries, Maltez congratulates me.

He is shocked by the enormity of what is happening. Like the old soldier, he does not question my words, especially as he has seen one of these things with his own eyes. Maltez is a thoughtful person. I ask his advice. I don't want to create panic, but something abnormal is happening. He is not a conspiracy theorist. I need an objective opinion. He promises to call his father, who has an important position in the Ministry of Defence.

The police arrive ten minutes later. They isolate me and Maltez and set up a security cordon around the house. Armed policemen replace the boys for surveillance. This is too much for a simple mugging. No cops enter the house. I grab Maltez's hand so we can stay together. Not out of fear, but to make sure nothing happens to him. He too smells something fishy. Less than twenty minutes later, an army commando arrives. We were hallucinating, they surrounded the house as if they were taking hostages. I recognise the assault techniques of elite troops. We hear more screams, a burst of machine-gun fire. The soldiers come out and carry two body bags. Then they pick up my pile of rats.

The people present are questioned separately. The others are sent back to school. Me and Maltez are examined from every angle by a doctor. Our clothes and the bloody hammer are also requisitioned. We get a disinfectant military shower and nice new green clothes. I float around in mine. I look like a little girl who has stolen her daddy's clothes, which makes me fume and Maltez smile. He sends a text message to his father discreetly.

The military will explain the situation. In any case, they have no choice. I warned them that I had sent the photos to someone safe. I've dealt with this twice and Maltez is the son of a big shot, so the military agrees to give in to my threat. We wait quietly. A helicopter arrives and lands. Maltez's father gets off and also my old friend.

I jump on Richard's neck without thinking about the people around us. He kisses my forehead like Papinou did to warn me to be careful. His presence makes me immediately leave my fighting posture. Richard approaches some of his former colleagues among the troop that has just stormed the house. He introduces me as his goddaughter and the granddaughter of Papinou aka General Farmer. The soldiers all know Papinou and Richard by name. An aura of seriousness surrounds me when the fighting men realise who I am. One of them jokes about blowing a creature's head off and being a soldier ready for action. Another about my rat genocide. Richard is proud of me. He hugs me like a father would.

We are called into the command area. Richard signals me to stay calm. I sit down next to him. A tall man starts to speak. The military spokesman looks at Richard with a worried expression. The man knows he cannot lie to a man like Richard. The creatures found in the first attack have been studied. They are human beings, suffering from a strange form of disease. A kind of cancer that has never been seen before, altering the appearance, but more importantly the brain and behaviour.

The Ministry of Health, the OMS, Homeland Security and Defence are on the warpath. This cancer seems to be contagious. We don't know what it is exactly, it's very dangerous. So far, there have only been three "outbreaks". The forest, this house and a building on the other side of town. We have to keep it secret so as not to create panic. Throughout his speech, Richard stares at him and scrutiniseshis attitude. He is unsettling him to find out the truth.

After two hours of promises on honour, we can leave. Maltez and Richard look worried. We don't believe the speech we have just heard. Unfortunately, we have no choice. I am well aware that a military man does not betray a secret. I am not a soldier. So I don't have to take orders from them. With Richard's agreement, Maltez and I decide to inform our friends of the truth in secret. Mélia, Fleur, Lilou, Sarah, Blaise, Thibaud and his father, Naya and her father, Clarissa and Petunia as well as two other basketball players are informed. We are not at peace.

For the next few days, we are all on the lookout for what's going on in town. Richard and some of his friends walk around and ask around incognito. Nothing filters through. Access to the forest and also to the area around the infected building is forbidden. A curfew is put in place over the city. As soon as the sun goes down, everyone must stay at home. The army patrols the whole city. Officially, this is because of the presence of delinquent groups or even terrorists. Even the national news does not mention this military surveillance. At night we hear gunshots in the distance.

The boys can no longer reach us via the roofs. The access doors have been locked. The riding lessons are monitored by the military. We no longer have access to the stables outside the lessons. I tried to use my surname to break the rules a little. The best I could get was close combat training with a former colleague of Richard's to let off some steam. He's the only military man who talks to me. To me and Melia, not to the other 'kids'. The situation is not nearly as calm as the news reports.

When he is with other soldiers, we talk about Papinou and Richard. He pretends to tell us anecdotes from missions, as an ex-colleague or subordinate. Memories of our grandfather, secrets to blackmail Richard. The other soldiers leave us alone, thinking that Richard has asked the man to keep an eye on us.

In reality, he is passing on information to Richard, via a secret code between them. Melia or I text Richard with an innocuous phrase that is actually encrypted. The man still obeys Richard. Richard and Papinou saved his life. They did the four hundred tricks together. He is devoted to them for life and death. The real situation is very serious. The government is endangering the lives of civilians. So he feels he is doing his duty to protect them by informing Richard.