It wasn’t deserted any more. There were more bee-brains emerging from the shadows all along the far shore of the river. Instead of stopping at the water’s edge, they kept coming, tumbling mindlessly into the cold and brackish water in their determination to catch us. I looked back the other way, and saw that the first patrol was doing the same, tumbling and sliding off the jetty and into the water. Above the rooftops, the bulk of the nearest Hive glittered in the night.

I remembered the map and realized that we were caught on the border between the two rival Hives. I wondered if I had the will or the courage to force myself to dive deep beneath the water and stay there until I drowned, rather than allow those things to catch me.

‘Go towards the bridge!’ I heard Nadia yell. ‘Towards the bridge!’

Lucky was still powering towards the opposite shore. I saw her merge with the advancing bee-brains, her huge jaws gaping as she disappeared in a flurry of water and inhuman but vulnerable flesh.

I looked around until I saw Nadia and swam towards her. I could see she was struggling to make any progress, but she still tried to wave me away.

‘Wrong way, Jerry!’ she gasped.

‘Not without you,’ I shouted at her, grabbing her under one arm. ‘Come on.’

She shook her head. ‘I can’t make it.’

Most of the night patrol simply sank to the bottom of the river, their limbs thrashing mindlessly, but the rest clearly retained enough muscle memory from their previous existence to be able to swim. I thought of ants bridging a stream by climbing on the bodies of their compatriots.

I led Nadia towards the centre of the river, keeping as far from either shore as I could as I aimed for the bridge. Oskar powered past the both of us as he, too, headed for the bridge.

There wasn’t any sign of Lucky. I kicked hard at the water, seeing some of the stronger bee-brains were drawing uncomfortably close.

Something grabbed at my ankle from behind and I screamed, kicking wildly until I was free. Nadia slipped from my grasp as more hands reached up from beneath, dragging her beneath the surface.

I sucked in air and dived down to search for her, thrashing like a demon whenever I felt the hands of the creatures brush against me. I surfaced once more, gasping for air.

I couldn’t find her.

Oskar had continued on, oblivious to what had happened. I saw him swim towards an abutment at the base of the bridge, far from either night patrol.