She retreated upstairs. This time she went room to room in search of an escape route. At the back of the house were a small bathroom and kitchen, which, save for a quietly humming fridge, were as bare as the bedroom she’d woken up in. The only other room on the first floor, between the bedroom and bathroom, had been set up as a kind of living room. There were two chairs, a low table, and a large shelf full of well-worn books. They were all in English—the first real clue Valera had found about where she was.

The living room also had a large sash window. This one looked out onto a narrow, shaded yard. Valera shook the frame, trying to force it open, but it wouldn’t shift. She hit the glass with her fist, but it didn’t shatter. She even picked up one of the chairs and hurled it at the window. It fell onto the floorboards without leaving a scratch. She dragged it into the bedroom and tried to launch it out into the street, only succeeding in breaking one of the legs.

She was starting to feel claustrophobic, her deep tiredness beginning to creep back. She went back to the kitchen, still hunting for anything that might help her get out of this strange, empty house. She scoured the cupboards, but they were all bare. She tried the tap in the sink. A thin dribble of lukewarm water came out. It felt like she was back in her house in Povenets B.

She felt a familiar pang in her stomach and opened the fridge. Astonishingly, it wasn’t empty. On the middle shelf was a small plate of sandwiches, half a loaf of bread, and a jar of jam. Valera inspected and then discarded the bread and sandwiches. She didn’t trust them—the bread was too white and neat, the sandwiches filled with some kind of square-cut, processed meat. But she couldn’t resist the jam jar. She picked it up, unscrewed the lid, and inhaled the rich, cloying smell of sugar and berries. Her sense of smell was dulled from the burning embers she’d breathed in as she’d searched the ruins of Ledjo’s school but the pungent aroma was still almost enough to overwhelm her. Then she scooped a handful of the cold, sticky substance into her mouth.