‘All right. June, I apologize for any inconvenience you might have faced at the transit tent. The arrangement is only temporary.’ He glanced at Albert. ‘You too, Albert. I trust you were not too uncomfortable.’

‘Not at all,’ said Albert untruthfully, casting aside the memory of untold minutes tossing and turning on a thin mattress with the seemingly magical ability to make one feel as if it wasn’t actually there. It had literally been like sleeping on the rocky ground underneath. ‘It was fine.’

Father smiled at him. ‘I see. It’s where we house those who come in until we can relocate them, and at the moment it seemed the best option, too. You sorely needed the rest, all of you. But I hope you are feeling better now.’ He waited for them to nod, and went on. ‘Very well then. Until your companions—’

He broke off as they heard the sound of feet outside the tent. A moment later, Colby, Kieran and Joe entered. Albert smiled, genuinely glad to see that they were all right. June was smiling, too.

Colby nodded at them. ‘Glad to see you all made it.’

In the meanwhile, Theo appeared to be dealing with conflicting emotions, seemingly unsure whether to bow to the prevailing sentiment or not care about her former adversaries. She decided to settle for the middle path. ‘I don’t mind that you ain’t dead,’ she said.

‘Thank you,’ said Colby politely.

One of the men sitting on the cushions spoke up. He was thin and tall, with a straggly beard and dirty blond hair tied back in a bun. ‘Where are the rest?’

Colby turned to him. ‘That’s it.’

The man’s eyes burned with sudden anger. ‘What happened?’

‘Patience, Ucho,’ said Father. ‘We shall get to the bottom of this, never fear. Only wait for everyone to get here first.’

The man swung round on him. ‘Didn’t you hear him? There’s no one else! Except that—’

‘Except me,’ said a soft voice, and Marcus stepped through the entrance of the tent.

The man checked himself mid-sentence, almost embarrassed. ‘Oh, it’s you! Didn’t hear you outside—’

‘If you talked less you would hear more,’ said Marcus, turning to Father. ‘I am here, as you asked.’

‘Thank you, Marcus,’ said Father. ‘All right, everyone. Now, the reason we’re all here is to try and find out what exactly happened out there today.’

‘We were sold out’s what ha—’ started Kieran heatedly, biting back the rest of his sentence as Colby put a warning hand on his arm.