‘I’m going,’ said Soldier John, turning back to us, ‘because this is dangerous. And, because if it works, we’ll need somebody who’s prepared to return again after reaching the shore.’

Another corpse landed nearby, its head lolling.

‘And I will return. If we make it to the shore, I will come back for you.’

Chapter 24

24

To survive here you can’t think too much about reality. And maybe that’s OK, because for the past few years, reality hasn’t thought too much about us either. Maybe you can go on for a time ignoring life, and the world, and how things really are. But at some point reality does hit you, with its many tentacled, dripping, mucus-y, monstrous arms, whether you’re paying attention to it or not.

There was too much reality now. Too much.

Next to us, on the mesoglea, there was that pile of bodies.

They looked even worse now, dripping and wrinkled with saturated water where they’d been submerged, but wizened and leathery in the parts that had stayed dry. You could see where the crispy flaps of dried flesh were starting to peel away from the bone in that way that they do, particularly on the scalp. The knowledge that we were now sharing our living space with them was not a pleasant thought.

Even so, it was hard not to notice that the corpses were better dressed than us, and had much nicer hair. The Jellyfish people looked dirty, cold, ragged, sore and . . . just hopeless. They looked small too. I get that I’ve grown bigger since I’ve been stuck on here, I do know that. But when you have to think about the world out there, and then you compare it with the world on board this floating bogey . . . well, you know.

Everything out there’s just a lot bigger than us.

From the deck of the boat Soldier John held up his hand. ‘I’ll come back,’ he said again. ‘If this works, I’ll come back for you all. If it doesn’t work, then . . . keep trying. Something’s going to work. Somehow you’re going to get off this thing. Good luck to you all.’

He looked at Old Albert and gave him a nod. Old Albert and a few of the others started to push the boat away. Beneath them, James cut away at the jelly which was clasping the bow to its mooring. With a final glooping suck, the mesoglea released and the boat was free. Giving it a hard shove, Old Albert and his team moved away from the edge of the Jellyfish, and returned to sit with us, near the Big House.