“Anyway, it reminded me of home and so I decided to go check it out.” He laughs softly. “I climbed to the top of one of the coasters. It was the most amazing sensation being alone out there staring at the horizon.” His eyes lose their faraway look. “That was when I saw the ship. It was beached in the shallows down the shore a ways.”

He shrugs. “I just wish I knew how to get us there. I can stock it with food and water, but what good is that? I can’t get it up the river to the Sanctuary by myself, and I can’t figure out how to get you and the others there safely.”

I poke at the bag of herbs, letting it bob and sink in the water. Watching little dried pieces of leaves tremble along the surface. Floating. It makes me think of the other night when I heated the air in the fabric bag and sent it drifting away. How I haven’t told Catcher my thoughts on how to escape.

How maybe I can get us to his ship. “I think I have a way off the island,” I say hesitantly.

Catcher freezes, his breath held as if he isn’t sure he heard me correctly.

I pause, a bit uncertain about how to voice my thoughts. “The other night I was on the roof and I made a balloon out of a cloth bag and hot air from the fire. I was thinking about balloons from the before time—pictures I saw in a museum when I was a child—and I wondered if I could make it work. I think …”

I walk over to stand next to him by the window, staring at the darkness outside. “I think we could make them big enough to carry us off the island. It could be really dangerous and stupid but …” I look up at him, at the hope in his eyes. “But I think it might be worth the risk.”

Reaching out, I trace the shape of a balloon where my breath fogs the window. “We’ll need more supplies.” I draw the lines, the basket, a cauldron for the fire. “We can seal the seams with fat or oil. We need ropes and wires and light wood to make the basket. Something big to hold the fire.”

I look around the room, trying to take stock of what we already have. “Some of this stuff we can scrounge up here, but you might need to get the rest in the Dark City. And you have to tell the people over there how to make their own so they have a shot at escape as well. We’ll have to hurry.”

He stares at my crude diagram. “I can’t leave the three of you alone again. Not so soon with the Recruiters and Ox. Not after what I did to Conall. They’re going to want some kind of revenge.”