Her dad pulled over. They got out. Valkyrie winced with every movement, but she limped to a small tree in someone’s front garden and pulled three long twigs from it. She kept one for herself and gave the others to her parents.

“Hold these with your thumb pressed against it,” she said. “Like this.”

“Will this ward the Remnants off?” her mum asked.

Valkyrie shook her head. “We don’t have anything to fight them with. Look, Remnants are little shadowy creatures that fly around and when they possess you, when they’re inside, it’s instantaneous. One moment you’re you, the next you’re not.”

“How do they get inside?”

“They attach themselves to your face and force their way down your throat.”

Her dad clamped his hand over his mouth.

“That won’t do a whole lot of good, Dad. The point is, if we’re spotted, a Remnant could possess one of us in a matter of seconds and the rest of us wouldn’t know it. So, if you see one, you break the twig, OK? Just press your thumb down and the twig will snap. An unbroken twig means we’re all who we say we are. A broken twig means one of us isn’t.”

Her mum suddenly hunkered down. “Oh, I don’t feel well. My legs are weak. They’re all wobbly.”

“Then stay in the car,” Valkyrie said.

“No, no. It’s just nerves. It’ll pass. Look.” She forced herself to stand. She was so pale.

“Mum, I know you want to help, but if you’re not ready for this you’re going to be a hindrance.”

“I won’t be,” her mum said. “My daughters need me. Lead on, Steph.”

Reluctantly, Valkyrie started forward.

Their progress through the town was slow. They darted, as best they could, from cover to cover, but all too often they had to cross a lot of open ground without anything to hide behind. Thankfully, there was no one around to see them and raise the alarm, but the closer they got to the town centre, the warier Valkyrie became. She stopped at a corner, the hairs on the back of her neck prickling. There. A woman holding a crowbar, standing with her back to Valkyrie. A sentry.

Valkyrie put her finger to her lips and motioned for her parents to crouch down, then she passed her twig to her dad and left them there. She moved silently. The woman tucked the crowbar under one arm and blew into her hands a few times to keep them warm, allowing Valkyrie to sneak up right behind her.

The shock stick was fully charged and ready to go, but she left it where it was. There was no telling when it might come in useful.