We See Everything

Welcome to our regular feature showcasing the talents of the nation’s best writers.

Idon’t know if I can go through with it.

Pressed against a shrapnel-pitted wall, I stare out over the expanse of collapsed brick, crumpled tarmac, crushed concrete and twisted steel at the blackberry bush I spotted yesterday, a short distance into the exclusion zone.

I could run there in a few seconds. Anywhere else it would be so easy. But anywhere else, the berries would be gone.

A woman with grey-streaked hair, wearing a thick winter coat despite the bright September warmth, emerges from the apartment block behind me. She eyes me warily before shuffling away.

You don’t see many people on the streets round here, at the outer edge of London. That’s why I come, to look out at the exclusion zone and feel briefly alone, away from the noise and crowds of the city. I don’t do it often – it’s an eerie place – but there’s nowhere else to catch a breath of wind or look at anything further away than the other side of the street.

All night I’ve been turning over whether I dare risk going out into this lethal, barren area between me and the fence, wavering one way then the other, but even now, having returned with bags to collect the berries, I still can’t decide.

Is it really likely that someone is watching this desolate space all the time, alert enough to spot one teenager breaking cover for a few seconds? If they did see me, would they really shoot?

I look beyond the wasteland towards the nearest watchtower, attempting to gauge the distance, scanning for a flicker of movement or a flash of reflected sunlight, but the concrete and tinted glass give nothing away.

When my eyes fall back to the bush, picking out the glisten of dark, ripe berries, my mouth begins to water, and all the dire warnings I’ve heard about entering the exclusion zone evaporate from my mind. After a whole night of anxious wavering, my legs rather than my brain seem to make the final decision.

About the author

William Sutcliffe is the author of the international bestseller Are You Experienced? His first YA novel, The Wall, was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal in 2014 and his second, Concentr8 ,was shortlisted for the 2016 YA Book Prize. He lives in Edinburgh. We See Everything is published by Bloomsbury on 21 September, price £12.99