Oskar nodded his agreement. ‘It’s just about the only place Casey could be, assuming there’s something there he can use to wipe out the Authority. And Casey has been on missions here more than anyone else, if I think back.’

I looked back across at the ruined, collapsing city and the ramshackle Hives rising above its skyline, and shuddered.

‘You know,’ said Oskar, rubbing at his chin, ‘it just hit me that maybe we don’t have to go chasing after Casey at all.’

‘How do you mean?’ asked Yuichi.

Oskar pointed to the stage. ‘That’s the only way in and out of this alternate, right? If Casey wants to go anywhere – the Authority, the island or anywhere else – he’s going to have to come back here, surely? So maybe all we need to do is sit tight right here and wait for him to show up.’

‘He’s got a point,’ said Yuichi, looking at me and Rozalia. ‘We’d have a hell of a welcoming party set up for when he did show up.’

‘I don’t see any problem with that,’ said Rozalia, nodding towards the supplies tent. ‘We’ve got food and water to keep us going for a while, not to mention that we’re a good safe distance from the Hives.’

‘What about the night patrols?’ I asked. ‘Could they come this way?’

‘It’s possible, but not very likely this far from either Hive,’ she said. ‘Besides, we’re way out in the open here and we’d see them coming from a long way off. And even if they did, we could transfer back across to the island in a pinch.’

I felt myself begin to relax for the first time in a long while. Maybe things were going to work out okay after all, and Casey had painted himself into a corner, trapped on this world with no way past four heavily armed Pathfinders.

Yuichi shrugged, unslinging his rifle before walking inside the supplies tent. He returned moments later with an armful of cans.

‘If anyone fancies cooking some of this up,’ he said, ‘I’ll take first watch.’

‘Hey,’ said Rozalia, not long after. ‘Incoming.’

Yuichi and Oskar had gathered up some loose wood and made a campfire. It was getting gradually lighter as daybreak approached. At that moment, I had been close to dozing off. Yuichi was sitting quietly nearby, looking contemplative, while Oskar stood on the roof of the EV, scanning the horizon with a pair of binoculars.