VIRGIL DROVE THEM IN the Sienna, his eight-seater minivan. Javier sat up in the passenger seat and they talked the whole way, hurling insults at each other. It seemed half-hearted, though. They were nervous.

Amber lay with a blanket on top of her, jammed in tight with Milo and Kelly. Kelly passed the time by tapping her fingertips on Amber’s arm. It was a nice sensation. In the row in front, Two was licking Linda’s face, much to her quiet disgust.

The Sienna pulled up. Nobody moved.

“Looks clear,” said Javier.

“No one around,” said Virgil.

The others sat up. They were parked in the alley behind the hardware store, separated only by a wall that even Amber herself could scale. Like Virgil and Javier had said, there was no one around.

“We’ll wait here for you,” said Virgil. “If we see anyone coming, we’ll honk the horn and look nonchalant. Better hurry, though. Anyone comes through the front door and you’re on your own.”

Ronnie was the first out, then Warrick and Linda and the dog. Before he left the car, Milo leaned towards the driver.

“Mr Abernathy,” he said, “I’m a big fan. I used to watch your show all the time. I think.”

“You think?”

“I don’t remember much about my life up until twelve years ago. But I remember your show.”

“Well, hell, I guess it’s something to be remembered by an amnesiac.”

“Do you recognise me?” Javier said, smiling.

Milo frowned. “Should I?”

Javier’s face soured. Amber nudged Milo and he climbed out. She followed, and Kelly closed the door after them.

They climbed the wall, congregated round the store’s heavy rear door. Kelly gave the place a quick scan. “No alarm,” she said. “I love small towns.” She took a black pouch from her pocket and knelt by the door.

“Locks are her specialty,” said Linda.

Kelly looked back at Amber and grinned. “I break into a lot of places.”

Ronnie was looking at Milo. “I’ve been thinking about your plan,” he said.

“Not my plan,” Milo replied. “Her plan.”

“Well then, Amber, I’ve been thinking about it,” Ronnie said, “and I have a question. What happens if it works and the barrier does come down?”

“Uh, then the Hounds come in and the people tear them apart.”

“That might solve your problem, but so what? We drive off, but next year it happens all over again.”

“Not with Jesper dead.”

“But there’ll still be the Narrow Man. What’s to stop him from sacrificing more kids?”

“I don’t … I don’t know.”

“You’re doing this for yourself,” Ronnie said. “I get that, I do. But we’re not leaving here until Austin is safe and this whole Hell Night thing is dismantled. Having you two around would give us a much better chance of doing that and getting out of here alive.”