“Did Rory think it was real?”

“I think he was just . . . adventuring. That’s what he called it. He had his own crazy theories.”

“Like what?”

“Not proper theories.”

“What did he say?”

“Like maybe people’s souls couldn’t leave the island and that was why the government didn’t let people die here. Stuff like that. He said there were already too many ghosts from the past, and maybe that explained the dead astronaut.”

Kane watched the helicopter illuminating peak after peak of charcoal-gray stone. He felt caught in the webs of someone else’s fever dreams. But all it takes for dreams to become real is for the person to treat them as such. The border dissolved more easily than it had any right to do.

“What else did Rory say?”

“You’re really interested in him, aren’t you.”

“Yeah.”

The boy thought.

“He said the radars and everything, maybe they were connected. They were researching ghosts. Like, they caught voices in the air, stuff like that. He was crazy. He’d wind us up.”

“And the tracking station’s always been like this?”

“As long as I can remember.”

“Who do you think comes up here? Apart from you?”

“No one.”

“But that night, when Petra went missing and Rory killed himself, you came up here. All of you.”

“Yes.”

“What happened?”

“We said we’d show Rory where we hung out, where we’d heard things. And we came up here. And I think the astronaut came out.”

“You saw him?”

“Not exactly.”

“What did you see?”

“Just the door starting to move.” He glanced at the building again.

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah. Hundred percent.”

“Where exactly were you positioned? Can you show me?”

Connor got to his feet, holding the gun as if he’d forgotten about it. He led Kane around to the side of the compound, to one of the large concrete stumps overlooking the building. His bike was propped against it.

“This is where we were that night.”

There was a rock in place, which meant you could climb up onto the old radar base for a sight line to the door of the main building. But from the front of the building you’d have to twist to see anyone up there, and at night they’d be well hidden.

“You were all up here?”

“Yeah.”

“And what happened?”

“When the door opened Petra panicked. She ran. I don’t know. It was chaotic. I ran after her. I got to my bike. A few seconds later I heard her scream.”

“And Rory?”

“I don’t know what Rory did.”

“You got on your bike and started to cycle.”

“Right.”

“Where was Lauren?”

“I thought she’d gone a while back, as soon as we heard the first sounds.”

“What were the first sounds?”

“Doors, metal, banging inside. Lauren ran and I thought she’d gone back home, but maybe she was hiding somewhere.”

“And what happened to Petra?”