‘His mum’s already turned,’ Kat hisses at her. ‘He had to spend last night in the same house with her while she tried to feed him soup, climbed over the roof and in through his bedroom window at four a.m. and hung upside down from his ceiling to damage his CPAP while he was sleeping so that he’d turn too. And after all that, he thought we should come to you to make sure you’re OK.’

‘And to see if you’ll help us,’ I add, because that’s the truth, and it feels dishonest to say I’m only there to be kind.

173 Ade looks from Kat to me, and back again, her face unreadable. For about thirty seconds, no one says anything. I hear Ade’s music rumbling on – the kind I’m not allowed to listen to at home cos of all the swears. Every now and then one of the twins roars so loudly downstairs that it echoes up to us. It sounds dumb but until this moment, I have never doubted that Ade will come through for us. I hope this is gonna go the way I want.

‘Your mum is one of them?’ she says. ‘Hunter or worker?’

‘They’re different this time,’ I say. ‘There aren’t workers like there were at Crater Lake. The people we’ve seen that have changed have been something else.’

‘I’m sorry, Lance,’ Ade says. ‘I can’t imagine what you’ve been through, and I shouldn’t have said that you suck at everything. You don’t.’

‘It’s cool, Ade,’ I say. ‘But will you help us? We know quite a bit, but there are gaps – things we can’t work out. We could really do with a smart-arse like you.’

‘Of course I’ll help.’ She goes back into her room and switches off the music. ‘You’d better tell me everything.’

174 ‘We’ll tell you on the way,’ I say, ‘to get the others.’

Ade sighs. ‘Do we have to go to his house?’

‘We’re not leaving anyone behind,’ Kat says. ‘Whatever’s happened between you and him doesn’t matter. If I can get over things enough to come here, then you can get over whatever beef you have with Mak. We’ll get Chets first, and then we’re going to Mak’s.’

I literally have no idea what beef they’re referring to. Karim looks at me and I shrug.

‘Fine,’ Ade says. ‘Let’s go.’ She grabs her puffy coat from her room and we all walk down the stairs. Well, me and Karim walk, and Ade and Kat stomp. There’s a pretty awkward silence.

‘My mum’s turned, too, in case anyone cares,’ Karim says. ‘Just putting that out there.’

And I probably shouldn’t, but I snigger cos the way he says it is just funny. Then Kat snorts out a laugh, and Karim grins.