The Fandom(81)

‘And sleep.’

He watches me for a moment. ‘Violet?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Do you ever have . . . any really weird dreams?’

I shift my weight against the cab. ‘All the time.’

‘No, I mean, insanely weird dreams, where you hear . . . voices. You know, like they’re real.’

‘Mum and Dad?’

He looks excited. ‘Yeah, saying things like, Wake up, Jonathan, you can do it.’

I nod. ‘And sometimes I can smell the inside of a hospital.’

Nate bites the skin around his fingers, nudging his lip as the truck hits a bump. ‘Do you think this is the dream?’

I wish he hadn’t said this. The thought has plagued me since we arrived in this world, but it messes with my head, so I’ve dampened it down, shoved it to one side, just trying to maintain my sanity. I study the stars for a minute. Is earth – our earth – really up there somewhere? Eventually, I speak. ‘Like a coma-induced dream, or something?’

‘Maybe.’

I consider telling him about the pips of the hospital machine and about the fairy tales. About my sash and Rose’s belt of blood. About his Frankenstein insult and how it may have created the Dupes. But my head hurts from thinking, from the relentless wind pushing through my pores and under my skin, and I can feel the idea gradually undoing me at the seams. No, this can’t be a dream, it’s too bloody scary.

The braking of the truck pulls me from my thoughts. It slows and turns down an alley, the glow-worm-headlights expanding into white, sparkling plates. We grind to a halt, hemmed in by two crumbling brick walls. A line, heavy with washing, blocks out the stars.

Nate sighs. ‘I love this truck.’

‘I’ll get you one for your birthday.’

‘Nah. DeLorean all the way.’ He pats the side of the cargo area. ‘No offence.’

I feel the air – hot against my cheeks – as the hovercycles approach, disturbing the water in a nearby drain, chucking up mud particles and slime. The rebels dismount, checking their weapons and talking in hushed tones. I look for Ash, but I see no signs of the Humvee.

Thorn slams the truck door and hauls me from my perch, the sharp edge of the truck’s side scraping against my shin. ‘You can play canary,’ he says.

‘What?’ I try to straighten myself, but I feel like I’ve stepped off a fairground ride.

‘You know, in the old days, before the Gems, when people were just people, they’d send canaries into the mines first to see if the poisonous gases would kill them.’

I must still look blank, because he rolls his eyes and says, ‘You’re going in first, Violet. This was your idea, you pay the price if you’re wrong. You pretend you’re one of the girls, then you slip this into the Gems’ drinks.’ He pushes a vial of orange liquid into my hand. ‘You’ve got ten minutes, then we bust through the doors and the windows. Just keep yourself out of trouble until then.’

I silently curse. In canon, Saskia went in first – conned her way past the guards, drugged the Gems and summoned the troops, all in less than ten minutes. I’ll never manage that.

Thorn fluffs Nate’s hair. ‘You do a runner, Violet, you turn us in, and I’ve got my own little canary right here.’

Saskia dashes towards us. ‘Let me go first, she’ll only balls it up like everything else.’

Thorn shakes his head and grabs a shotgun from the back of the truck. ‘I want to see what our Little Flower here’s made of.’

‘She’s only seventeen.’ She grabs Thorn’s arm, her eyes wide. ‘Please.’

Her concern surprises me. I feel a sudden rush of tears. It’s like I’m eight again, falling off my bike and walking two miles home with a busted-up knee, only to start crying when I see Mum.

But Thorn seems unmoved. ‘The Gems will think her a tastier piece of meat.’

Saskia doesn’t argue, but her disapproval stiffens the muscles around her jaw. She begins fussing around me, pinching my cheeks and detangling my hair with her fingers. ‘You sending Ash in too?’ Her voice sounds clipped. ‘Cos he’s only eighteen, you know. They’re both just kids.’

‘He can come along with the rest of us,’ Thorn says. ‘But don’t take your eyes off him, I’m not having the lovebirds running off together in the commotion.’

I catch Nate’s eye. Current-Thorn is smarter than canon-Thorn. But then I remember the main difference: he trusted Rose, he doesn’t trust me.

Saskia lowers the zip on my overalls and frowns at my lack of cleavage. ‘Pretend you belong, that’s the secret,’ she whispers to me.

I try not to laugh – that’s what I’ve been trying to do since I arrived in this world.

‘And if you get into trouble,’ she says, ‘knock the main light off, OK? We’ll come for you.’

Ash jumps out of the Humvee. ‘What’s going on?’ He dashes towards me.

‘I’m the canary,’ I reply.

‘The canary?’

‘You know, they’re going to send me in first to see how safe it is.’

‘No way. I’ll go,’ Ash says.

‘Well, well, quite the little hero, aren’t we?’ Thorn waves a hand and several rebels surround Ash, preventing him from reaching me. Thorn turns to me and shrugs, a tight smile gripping his mouth. ‘Turn left at the end of the alley. Thirteen rows, remember?’