Eventually they quietened and Thea sat back on the bed, holding Rosie’s hand.

‘But – important question’ – Rosie sniffed and smiled weakly – ‘how’s my hair?’

Thea considered the tangle of fluff, wild at the front and flat at the back where Rosie had been lying on it.

‘Best ever.’ Thea returned the smile, but it faded quickly. ‘You know, that day at the monastery, I thought you were … that I wouldn’t …’

Rosie squeezed Thea’s hand, her own so much bonier than it had been. ‘I know.’

She shifted herself on the bed and Rory came over, adjusting the pillows behind her so she could sit up more.

‘It’s all gone to hell, Thea.’ Rosie’s voice slurred a little. ‘Rory’s filled me in a bit.’

Thea tried to keep her own voice steady. ‘Everyone who took part in the trial is dead. Ing Enterprises isn’t in charge anymore; possibly it never was. A company called Aspire owns it all and the trial went wrong – the hallucinations – but not just that. After the hallucinations there is just this … this blankness. The person becomes a living, breathing shell. So, they’ve covered their tracks. Killed them all.’

Rosie took a breath, as if she’d just dipped her feet into cold water.

‘You know they were all pretty much alone?’ This Thea aimed at Rory. ‘No family, no friends nearby, no one to make a fuss?’

He dipped his gaze away again.

Thea clasped Rosie’s hand in both of hers. ‘Has Rory told you about Ethan?’

Rory interrupted, ‘She maybe doesn’t need to—’

‘Ethan’s dead.’ She flicked her gaze to Rory before saying the next part. ‘They killed him too.’

There was no better way of saying it. However you arranged the words or however soft the tone – they still sliced. Rosie looked bloodless.

‘No,’ she whispered.

Thea held her hand tight, hoping that would hold her together.

‘But they can’t all be … And Ethan was so …’ Rosie looked at Thea and what she saw in her eyes made her own harden. ‘Then … we’re the only ones left?’

Thea considered them: a man, one injured woman and another one with an axe. It sounded like the start of a bad joke.

‘There might still be a way out. Delores had a boat hidden for herself, and for me. We could still use it. We’ve just got to get to the beach.’

‘Delores is going to help us?’ Rosie said hopefully.

‘No, she’s dead too. There’s no one to help us. We’re going to have to help ourselves.’

Rory cleared his throat. ‘Why would Delores tell you about this boat?’

The suspicion in his voice made her chest burn. She’d put the axe down beside Rosie’s bed, but suddenly her fingers itched for it.