JIMMY WATSON - His mother, Marion, teases her son about his dreams to build a large robot ant with a drawing of her son riding on the ant's back. Then it comes true.

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CHAPTER 16 - JOHNNY BREAKS INTO JIMMY'S SHED AND IS TASED

One dark November night, the wind howled through the narrow streets of Herstmonceux, rattling loose shutters and sending dry leaves spiraling through the pools of streetlight. Two shadows darted along Gardener Street, moving swiftly but cautiously—Johnny Baxter and Jamie Moonlight. Dressed entirely in black, their balaclavas and gloves made them almost invisible in the night. If not for the occasional flicker of infrared security sensors outside suburban homes, they might have been ghosts.

Clutched tightly in their grip: a small crowbar, wire cutters, and torches. They were prepared. Or so they thought.

As they left the glow of the town behind, heading toward West End, the countryside loomed dark and silent. The only interruptions were the distant rustling of a restless fox and the sudden, sharp bark of a dog. Jamie flinched, stopping dead in his tracks.

Johnny hissed, "Keep moving."

Jamie sucked in a breath and nodded, the fear in his eyes quickly masked by bravado.

"This is it," Johnny whispered as they approached Jimmy Watson’s house, circling behind to avoid prying eyes.

Jamie frowned. "How do you know for sure?"

"I followed Jimmy and Julia here one afternoon. I’m certain this is the Watson place. Julia’s somewhere else." His voice was tight with urgency.

Jamie hesitated, shifting his weight. "You do realize we’re breaking the law? Just standing here with that crowbar is enough to get us nicked."

Johnny shrugged. "If we see a copper, we ditch the gear and run. Separate directions. No one can prove anything."

Jamie smirked. "You really thought this through, eh?" He was gullible, but Johnny wasn’t much brighter—just bolder.

The duo climbed over the fence at the rear of the property, landing with soft thuds on damp earth. In the gloom, they spotted the shed—a looming silhouette against the night sky.

"That’s gotta be it," Johnny whispered excitedly. "I heard Henderson and Rippengall talking about some kind of workshop back here."

What Johnny didn’t know was that the moment they scaled the fence, they had triggered a silent alarm. Somewhere in the depths of the shed, a creature stirred.

Anthony. The DinoBot.

Power surged through the robotic beast as it came out of sleep mode, sensors locking onto the intruders. The ordinary garden security lights flickered out—deactivated deliberately. The boys grinned.

"See?" Johnny said, confidence surging through him. "No security at all."

Jamie chuckled. "Piece of cake, mate."

Then, chaos.

A mechanical growl rumbled from the darkness—deep, guttural, unnatural. Before Johnny could react, a blast of electricity surged through his body, his limbs jerking uncontrollably as he collapsed to the ground. Jamie gasped, panic taking over. He turned to run—only to trip over his own feet in the scramble. The sickening crack of his leg breaking echoed in the still night.

The DinoBot stood over Johnny, fully activated, towering with quiet menace.

THE AFTERMATH

Johnny was detained, zip-tied, and left to await the police. His reckless act had finally caught up with him. When questioned, he offered little resistance—he knew he was for it. The charge: breaking and entering. A path toward borstal, or worse.

THE INTERVIEW

The fluorescent lights buzzed harshly overhead, flickering slightly, adding to the oppressive atmosphere of the interview room at Deer Paddock Police Station in Hailsham. The walls were bare except for a large two-way mirror that loomed over the steel table where Johnny Baxter sat, hands clasped, bouncing his knee nervously. The faint scent of stale coffee and disinfectant lingered in the air.

Across from him sat Detective Harriet Winter, ice-cold and composed, her piercing blue eyes drilling into Johnny’s. Beside her, Inspector Nigel Coltman, seasoned and deliberate, leaned forward, fingers interlocked. A voice recorder sat between them, its red light blinking ominously.

Winter pressed 'record'. "Interview under caution. Suspect: Johnny Baxter. Present officers: Detective Harriet Winter and Inspector Nigel Coltman. Time: 21:37. This conversation is being recorded. Do you understand, Johnny?"

Johnny swallowed hard, nodding stiffly.

Coltman’s tone was heavy with authority. "You’re looking at detention, son. Young Offenders’ Institution. You know what that means?"

Johnny barely breathed. "Y-Yeah."

Winter folded her arms. "Then explain yourself. You were caught inside private property. Crowbar in hand. Balaclava. Gloves. You didn’t just wander in, did you?"

Johnny hesitated, his pulse thudding in his ears. He could feel Coltman’s gaze tightening on him. "Speak, Baxter."

Johnny sighed. "I—It was a stupid idea. I wasn’t gonna take anything."

Winter scoffed, leaning in. "Oh really? Because breaking into Jimmy Watson’s shed in the middle of the night screams innocence, doesn’t it?"

Johnny squirmed. "I—I just wanted to mess with him. That’s all."

Coltman tilted his head. "Mess with him? Mess with what? His project? His work?"

Johnny hesitated, guilt flashing across his face. "Yes."

Winter exchanged a glance with Coltman before leaning back. "You realize the consequences, don’t you? This isn’t schoolyard nonsense. It’s breaking and entering. It’s criminal intent. If Jimmy presses charges, you’ll be remanded into custody, sitting in a cell awaiting sentencing."

Johnny’s throat tightened.

Coltman’s tone grew colder. "Tell us everything. Start from the beginning."

Johnny took a deep breath, voice shaky. "I followed Jimmy home one day. I knew he had something special in that shed, something big. And I—I was jealous. I didn’t want him to succeed. So I planned to wreck it."

Winter didn’t blink. "And Jamie Moonlight? What’s his role?"

Johnny shook his head, his voice barely audible. "Just followed my lead. He didn’t even ask why."

Coltman nodded slowly, tapping a pen against the metal table. "So it was your idea. That means when the sentencing comes up, you take full responsibility?"

Johnny shivered, but nodded. "Yeah."

Winter sighed, closing the case file in front of her. "Right. Here’s how this goes. You’re being charged with breaking and entering. You’ll be released on bail, but this isn’t over. We’ll be seeing you in court."

Johnny felt the weight of the words crash down on him.

THE RELEASE

Outside the interview room, Johnny’s parents waited anxiously. His mother’s eyes were red, his father’s jaw clenched with frustration. As Johnny stepped out, his mother rushed forward.

"Oh, Johnny—how could you?" she whispered, voice trembling.

His father offered no words, just a deep sigh before nodding stiffly at the officers. "We’re sorry for this. He’s let us down completely."

Winter exchanged a glance with Coltman before addressing Johnny’s parents. "He’s on bail. But let’s be clear—if he steps one foot out of line again, detention is the least of his worries."

Johnny lowered his head, knowing there was no escape from what he had done. As they walked out of the station, the cold night air hit him harder than ever.

For the first time, Johnny understood the real cost of his jealousy.

LATER

Jimmy Watson was furious. Not because of the intrusion, but because Johnny—despite all his irritating bravado—was just a lost kid, consumed by jealousy. As Jimmy later confronted him, defying bail conditions to do so, Johnny broke down.

"I—I couldn’t stand it!" he sobbed. "You’re clever, you’re gifted, and I—I just wanted to ruin it for you. It wasn’t fair. You always have something special, and I have—nothing."

Jimmy stared at him, his frustration dissolving. "That’s no excuse to destroy things. If you ever want to be good at something, you have to work for it. Sabotage doesn’t make you smarter—it makes you worse."

Johnny swallowed hard. "I’ll stop. I swear."

Jimmy made him promise never to pull another stunt like this, and when Johnny apologized to the police, Jimmy refused to testify, allowing the charges to be dropped.

From that night forward, Johnny changed. He became one of Jimmy’s biggest supporters, never causing trouble again. And Jamie? Well, he got the harshest lecture of his life.

Jimmy’s parents, Tim and Marion, were proud—not because he had outsmarted thieves, but because he had changed a life.

And Johnny’s mum and dad? They thanked Jimmy, Tim, and Marion, knowing their son had been saved from a dark path.

>> CHAPTER 17

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