attempting once more to enter the courthouse. He had to wait a few minutes before an opportunity arose, and then he rushed through the door before anyone else appeared. As he was walking through the door he could hear from inside the courthouse what sounded like a group of people talking in Chinese who were about to leave. Before he had time to react he found himself in a busy street (much more densely populated than any London street) and was immediately knocked to the ground by a stampede of Chinamen all rushing along the street. Not one of them stopped. They all just looked down at him like he was some stupid foreigner, and tried to avoid treading on him – however they were so densely packed that a few couldn’t help but tread on him, aggravating both his bruises sustained in prison and the gash on his arm that began to bleed again. Josh struggled to get to his feet but it was impossible against the torrent of people all rushing along the street. Instinctively he began to roll to the side to avoid the incessant treading, and a few moments later rolled off the pavement and into a gutter. There was some putrid liquid trickling in the gutter but at least no pedestrians, and he got to his feet. He looked around to see he was in a busy street lined with sky scrapers. There were some advertising banners overhead but he didn’t understand a word. He was completely disorientated and looking around stumbled into the middle of the road where a car screeched to a halt, just scraping his leg. The driver of the car leant out of his window and shouted at Josh in Chinese. Looking around, Josh noticed a Noodle bar about ten metres (30 feet) away and headed straight for the door. However, as he reached the door and went through it there was a family looking at a Menu outside which had some photos of various kinds of fish on it.
Suddenly Josh found himself in a dock or port, but at least there were no more crowds. In fact it was the opposite, as there was no one in sight but rows upon rows of containers – hundreds of them, each about six metres (18ft) high and twenty or so metres long (60ft). Standing out in the open with the sun baking down on him was not a good place to be, so Josh knew he had to keep moving. After walking for about five minutes he came to what looked like a road, and he could see about half a mile away what looked like the sea, with one or two ships docked. He also noticed a sign that was in Chinese, so he realised he must still be in China somewhere.
He was beginning to feel really tired, and hungry, but there was no option but to keep walking towards the docks. “There should be a door on one of the ships.” He thought to himself. It took a long time to reach the dock (about half an hour) as he was tired and bruised and his shoes weren’t designed for long walks on concrete, but eventually he reached them. There were one or two cranes offloading containers onto trucks, and as he looked round he noticed a walkway leading onto one of the ships which he aimed for. Just as he was nearing the walkway a worker in orange overalls and Construction hat shouted out to him. Though he didn’t understand what was said Josh could guess he was trespassing, and shouldn’t be here, but having no choice he ignored the workman and began to board the ship. On seeing Josh boarding the ship the man shouted once more and began running towards him. There was no turning back now, and Josh ran onboard the ship where he was spotted by a member of the ship’s crew, who raised the alarm.
Josh ran along the ship until he saw some steps leading down into the bowels of the vessel. He ran down the steps, which wasn’t easy as they were very steep, and found himself in a narrow corridor. He could hear shouting, both from above and at the other end of the corridor, which he guessed ran along the entire length of the ship so desperately began looking for a door. The first one was locked but the second one wasn’t, and as he rushed through it he found himself back outside the courthouse.
He leant forward and placed his hands on his knees, just like a long distance runner does at the end of the race, and tried to catch his breath. He then looked up at the double doors and let out a frustrated cry. How could something as ordinary as a pair of doors cause so much trouble? He knew somehow that he had to get through them, so this time not only did he wait until there was no one outside but also, before entering, he slowly opened the door (just like he had done in his flat) and checked there was no one inside about to leave. When the coast was clear he carefully stepped through the doors and to his utmost relief found himself inside the courtroom.
There was a Security guard at a reception desk who found this behaviour odd, and got up to challenge him “Can I help you Sir?” Said the guard, looking him up and down suspiciously, with his suit covered in dirt and his shoes covered in sand.
“Umm, yes. I’ve come to see Mr. Banks. I believe he’s in court today?”
“Oh right, let me check.” The guard checked his list for the day. “Yes. He’s in court number two, second on the left.”
“And have they started yet?” Pressed Josh.
“No, I don’t think so. But you’ll have to hurry as they are due to start in about five minutes. Can I let him know who it is?” Said the guard, still not sure of this man in a suit that looks like it could have been worn by a tramp.
“Can you tell him it’s Josh Dagenham.” At this the guard rang a colleague who told him Mr. Banks could see Josh in Waiting Room Two.
Josh rushed towards the Waiting Room as he desperately wanted to see his former boss before the trial began, and as he entered the room a crowd of people came out of courtroom one.
“It’s like a Zoo in there! All that noise coming from the Public Gallery!” Said one of people just as Josh entered the Waiting Room. Instead he looked up to find himself in an enclosure with sawdust spread across the floor. “Where am I now?” Josh thought to himself, as he tried to adjust to another change of scenery. As he looked around he could see he was standing in a concrete enclosure, or room, but with only translucent corrugated plastic for a roof. About two metres (6 feet) in front of him was an opening which he slowly began to move towards. As he peered round the opening he could see a much larger open area (about 20 metres by 30 metres) with a couple of oak trees in it, one of which was only about six metres (18 feet) from where he stood. He looked down from the tree and saw, lying on the ground in the shade of the tree, a Tiger, about two metres (6 feet) long. The Tiger’s senses were clearly much sharper than Josh’s as the Tiger was already aware of his presence. Fortunately though the Tiger had obviously been sleeping and was still a little dozy, so when Josh froze and stared the Tiger just stared back at him. Within a few seconds another Tiger, nearly three metres (9 feet) long, and about 1.5 metres (4.5 feet) tall at the head, emerged from the other side of the tree and was slowly walking towards Josh. At first the Tiger just seemed curious and had obviously smelt something unusual in the enclosure. Josh had never seen such a big cat up close and had no idea just how large these creatures were – its eyes were about level with his shoulders and he could see its black iris’s dilating as it focussed on Josh. The Tiger seemed to smile at him, revealing its canines, at least 10cm (3 inches) long as it moved closer.
Without thinking Josh began retracing his steps whilst keeping his eyes transfixed on the Tiger, nearly tripping over a bucket lying on the floor as he reached the opening to the first enclosure. The fear of falling so close to such a perfect killing machine made Josh lose his cool and he turned and ran, but there wasn’t anywhere to run as the enclosure was only a few metres across. He turned round to see that the Tiger was still moving towards him – it seemed to have a sixth sense that could detect fear in another animal, or prey, and had picked up the scent of a chase. Josh frantically looked for a way out but all he could see was a cage that was securely locked. He knew he only had seconds to live if he did not find an escape route so he scanned the wall in front of him, finally noticing a hatch, about 1.5 metres (4.5 feet) high built into the wall (presumably a shelter for the Tigers or food hatch) which he tried to open. It wouldn’t. He could feel the Tiger bearing down on him. Trying to open the hatch he suddenly realised it probably didn’t open like a no
rmal door but rose like a portcullis which he frantically did and began crawling through. Normally this would have been a tricky manoeuvre for a human but being chased by one of man’s greatest natural predators Josh had no problems, particularly as halfway through he felt something touching his leg and felt the Tiger’s claws slicing through the fabric of his trousers and though his skin like a surgeon’s knife. He jerked his legs into his chest and away from the Tiger, finding himself crawling along the floor outside the courthouse Waiting Room Two.
At the same moment his former boss opened the door and was about to leave.
“Oh. There you are. I’ve been waiting several minutes for you. I’m due in court now.”
“Please Sir, I have to see you. Just give me two minutes.”
His boss was quite angry at having been kept waiting, but thought “Alright. Two minutes. After you?” He gestured for Josh to enter the Waiting Room. Josh hesitated for a moment then limped into the room, with traces of blood dripping onto his socks.
“Go On.” Said his former boss, at which Josh stepped through. To