While Maeve gave Robbie another painkiller, Samira, Ella and Jibber-jabber hurried off to get everything ready. Maeve was left to try to keep Robbie’s spirits up. She chatted to him about his old life as a way of distracting him. Sometimes kids found it too distressing to remember the past, and all they’d lost, but Robbie was clearly relieved not to have to think about his present situation.

He told her how he’d grown up in Hammersmith, to the west of the museum, with one older sister and his mother. How they’d both got sick and died. It gave him some comfort to think that they hadn’t become sickos. At least they’d found some peace. He’d been driven eastwards in the early days of the disaster, travelling with a group of friends to find somewhere safe.

‘Hammersmith was mad back then,’ he said. ‘Battles in the streets. Not just sickos, but looters, criminals, gangs, rude boys. It was like a war. Bare dangerous. We had to get out. Only just made it too. Got me nose busted up by a gang who didn’t like the look of us. Eventually we rocked up here. Met Justin and his crew, who’d arrived from south London in a big old supermarket lorry. We helped him break in and we been here ever since. What about you?’

‘I grew up in the countryside,’ said Maeve. ‘I’m not a Londoner at all. We were visiting friends when it all kicked off. I’ve been wanting to get out of London ever since. Can’t find anyone to go with me, though. Einstein’s expedition, they’ve gone west, haven’t they?’

‘Yeah. Probably out through Hammersmith, then along the M4 to Heathrow somewhere.’

‘Well, when they get back they can tell us what it’s like,’ said Maeve. ‘What the roads are like. If it’s safe. I really, really don’t want to stay in the city any longer. It’s crazy. Out there, there are farms, animals, fields, proper places to grow food, space.’

‘Yeah,’ said Robbie. ‘And sickos as well, most like.’

‘Can’t be any worse than here, can it?’ said Maeve. ‘We were persuaded to come into the centre of town by this weird guy who calls himself Jester.’

‘I know him,’ said Robbie. ‘He’s David’s poodle at the palace.’

‘Yeah, that’s him. I tried to argue against it, said if we were going anywhere we should go to the countryside, not into the middle of town. I was shouted down. And here we are. And it’s crap. No offence. Just more of the same. Getting from one day to another, slowly being killed by grown-ups.’

‘Tell you what,’ said Robbie. ‘If you can fix me up, make the pain go away, give me back my leg, I’ll personally escort you.’

Maeve gave him a twisted smile.