Long deep cracks had formed in the mud at the edge of the lake, green algae stretched across the gaps in places, dried-out clumps of weed poking through, dead-looking. Perhaps the rain, when it came, would rejuvenate the plants after the long, dry summer; or perhaps it was already too late. Lauren looked out across the still water and for a moment there was peace. She took a breath, a lungful of the warm fresh air, a short respite before the next part. Her arms were burning inside and out, from the sun, from carrying the boys all this way. It had to be more than an hour since she’d ducked out of the gate with them. The babies hummed and chewed their fists, looking across to each other, and up at her with something like anticipation. As she approached the reservoir they started wriggling, the humming sound getting louder. They knew where they were, how close they were to the end of all this madness. This realisation gave her strength. But the doubts were still there, and growing. She’d been so sure that this was the right thing to do, that she’d ignored a small voice within her that told her she was wrong. What if the voice was her sanity, trying to talk sense to her? What was it the nurse had said? The ones who deny it the loudest are the most insane, in my experience.

The small doubting voice spoke to her now. Look at the babies, it said, they’re your boys. They’re not changelings; it’s just your mind playing tricks. Think about it. If you put them under the water, they will drown.

She heard the helicopter before she saw it, a faint disturbance in the air that became an oppressive pressure in her ears as it drew closer. The arrival of the police didn’t come as a surprise, as she knew that once they realised she’d escaped they would be searching. She resented the helicopter for pushing her on, for reminding her that the authorities were doing everything they could to stop her. The creatures gazed up at her, and she did her best to dismiss the doubting voice. They looked a lot like her boys, sure, but they didn’t behave like Morgan and Riley. Besides, she’d come too far to stop now, to consider fully whether she was, in fact, as mad as the doctors seemed to think. There was little time and absolutely no choice.