Now it was Sophie’s turn to speak. She’d stayed quiet up until now, but Bernie could tell she’d been listening very carefully and waiting for her moment.

“Can I say something?”

Maxie sighed. “This doesn’t really have anything to do with you.”

“She’s one of us now,” said Ollie.

“Is she?”

“Will you please let me speak, Maxie,” said Sophie, a hard edge to her voice. Maxie looked embarrassed and stared at the floor.

“Go on,” said Ollie.

“As far as I’m aware, I’m the only one here who knows what it’s actually like to kill another kid. I wish I didn’t know how that felt. But I do. It feels horrible. There isn’t a minute goes by in any day when I don’t regret it. Even though I didn’t mean to do it. I’m not going to put myself in a position where it might happen again. Whatever you decide, I’m not going down there.”

“The girl’s right,” said Whitney. “We don’t kill no other kids.”

“I can’t believe you’re even discussing it,” said Maeve.

“Okay, okay, everyone just calm down,” said Ollie. “Let’s not get carried away here. Nobody’s suggesting we go into the squatter camp and kill them all. David just wants a show of strength.”

“We’re just going to shake them up a little,” said Mick.

“But why?” said Maxie. “What are they to us?”

“You know what?” said Lewis, which surprised Bernie, because she thought he’d dozed off. He’d been sitting back against a wall, eyes closed, his Afro bigger than ever since he’d washed it. “I think, in a way, maybe David’s right. If we ever want to go back to any sort of normal life, we have to make everywhere safe. Not just this little part.”

“Right, so we make London safe by attacking people, is that it?” Freak said sarcastically. “Don’t sound safe to me, sounds like war.”

“It’s only war if they want to make it war,” said Lewis.

“Oh, so it’s their fault . . .”

“I agree with Lewis,” said Ollie. “If these squatters listen to us—if they can work with us—then we’ve got allies. We expand, we take over this area properly, then we move farther out—”

“What do you mean, ‘we’?” Maxie interrupted. “You mean David. He’s the one wants to take over London.”

“Why can’t you accept, Maxie,” said Ollie, “that David’s got a good thing going on here? And we can help him build on it. If all the little scattered groups of kids in London can link up, before you know it we’ll have civilization again.”

“So we make peace by making war?” said Freak.

“I guess so,” said Ollie. “If that’s what it takes. Look at the ancient Greeks, the ancient Romans . . .”