“That’s it, Mister Fixit.”

“I can’t dream here,” Ronan said, matter-of-fact. “It would be a shitshow of epic proportions. We have to take it down with what we already have. Too bad you gave your sword to the Mods. Do we need to take down the whole building or just everything in it? Bryde?”

But Bryde didn’t reply. He hadn’t joined them at the front of the car.

They turned to look.

The car’s rear door hung open. Bryde had made it out, but not by much. He was sort of crouched in the diffuse shadow of the open car door. Sort of standing. His body was curved in a question mark. It quivered. His fingers were cages over his ears.

He was screaming.

Or at least he looked like he was screaming. With his hands over his ears he screamed and screamed again, but without sound. It was all the agony of a howl without any of the noise, which somehow made it worse. It was like the sound of the server farm and the scream were a thing happening to Bryde; it made him a different person. Somehow less present. Projected in from a different location.

They did not need to be told that it was hurting him.

What do you hear?

Ronan seemed shaken, too, but it was with a voice full of bravado that he turned his face away from Bryde and said, “It’s up to us, then.”

“We can just go,” Hennessy said. “Leave this untouched. Tell him we did it. Maybe he won’t notice.”

Ronan gave her a look. “The car. Let’s drive Burrito through.”

“Through that glass and stuff? Is it tough enough for that?”

“Please.” Ronan gave her another look. “Are you coming or are you waiting here?”

“Are we taking him?”

They looked back at Bryde. It was strange to see him still pinned in place. Was it possible for a sound to kill someone? Was it possible for something to kill Bryde? Older than he imagines, she remembered him saying.

She told Ronan, “Go on, I’ll watch. I’ll give you a score. Perfect ten is the car comes out without a scratch. Nine if you bust a mirror off. It goes down from there. One is if we have to walk through that town, which, I have to say, reminds me of Pennsylvania.”

“We’re in Pennsylvania,” Ronan said.

“That settles it.”