‘We’ve all been sleeping in Straybridge, in our houses, and none of us have turned. I have my CPAP at home, so I’ll be safe. Karim, we know your house is clean because your mum only turned when she was locked in the lab. And Kat, your house seemed fine, too. I think animals can sense the spores, and Nugget was acting like his usual self.’

112 ‘But your mum, Lance,’ Kat says. ‘You shouldn’t be around her.’

‘If I don’t go home, she’ll know something’s up. If I go home and act normal, the hive won’t suspect we’re planning anything and we’ll keep that advantage. I can shut myself in my room. And if your mum comes home, Karim, just avoid her as much as possible. She won’t openly attack you – she’ll be pretending she’s still human.’

‘I’m not feeling good about this plan, Lance,’ Karim says.

‘But if you don’t get proper rest and food, you’re done for anyway,’ I say. I see Kat shoot me a quick look, but she covers it. ‘And it’s just for one night. Tomorrow we sort this town out.’

‘But first we have to make it back without being seen,’ Kat says.

‘We’ll wait for the curfew bells, then sneak out the back, cut through the park and graveyard and then follow the river back up to Karim’s estate. There are hardly any houses that way, so we have a good chance of getting all the way to town unnoticed.’

Kat grins at me. ‘We got this.’

‘We so do.’

113 ‘You two are bat-poo crazy,’ Karim says. ‘And I’m only doing your plan because I’m the noob and I don’t know my way around town. And I’m not happy about all the jogging that lies ahead.’

‘Rest up,’ I say. ‘Have another cereal bar.’

‘I’m just gonna lay back a while,’ Karim nestles back against the trunk of one of the larger trees. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll keep my eyes open. Do you think there’s anywhere we can get some water? My mouth is so dry I can hardly swallow.’

‘I think we could risk having a look around in here for something. The door’s locked and we’ll be able to hear if someone unlocks it.’ I’m dead thirsty too, and wishing I had a backpack of supplies like at Crater Lake. ‘You guys stay here and stay alert. I’ll be back in a few minutes.’ I almost add a ‘please look after Karim, Kat’ but think better of it. She’ll look after him without me asking anyway.