I slid down on to the van floor between the crates.

Of course she doesn’t want to be my friend. I handed her over to the mayor. Got her home destroyed and her dad beaten up.

Mr Opal.

I still had his knife.

I pulled it out from the front of my trousers.

“Here.” I knelt up and passed it to Una. “Your dad’s knife. It doesn’t belong to me. You should have it.”

“Is that a good idea, Maggie?” Lindi kept her eyes ahead. “I mean, if she’s a—”

“She’s a good person,” I said. “The best.”

Una took the knife.

“Maggie? S’that you?” Jed sat up, tried to stand. “Where’s Lindi? Where is she? Where’s Lindi?”

“Sit down, Jed,” I called over. “Lindi’s fine. She’s up here, driving the van.”

He collapsed back down. “Driving? Driving where? Aaaaargh.” He held his head. “I’ve got the worst headache.”

“Here.” I pulled another banana from the nearest crate and crawled back to him. “I’ll get you some more to eat.”

“Thanks, Maggie.” He rolled on to his side. “Then can you tell me what on earth is going on?”

“Yeah,” I said. “OK.”

I looked out through the window at the back of the van. A pink line shimmered across the treetops in the distance. The darkness was starting to lift.

I sat down next to Jed. Una said something to Lindi, and pointed ahead. Couldn’t tell what she was saying – all I could hear was engine noise – but Lindi nodded and steered the van jerkily round to the right.

I peeled the banana, broke it in two, and passed half of it to Jed.

Drive fast, Lindi.

Fast as you can.

I need to get home.

“Look.” Lindi peered ahead. “Is that Fennis Wick?”

I scrambled forwards.

Thick smoke billowed up against the pale morning sky.

Fire.

Mum. Dad. Trig.

“It’s our house,” I said. “Mayor Anderson’s set fire to our house. Quick, Lindi. Quick!”

Lindi raced the van into town, past the mill and the fields and the dairy, into the square. She screeched past the laundry and swung to a stop round the corner.

Jed stood up in the van, all wobbly. “I’m coming. Don’t worry, Maggie; I’ll save them. I’ll save them.”

His knees buckled underneath him and he crumpled to the floor.

I flung open the back door, stepped over him and leapt out.

CHAPTER 34

Our house – groaning and roaring with flames and heat and smoke. The roof – buckled and broken. People – gathered along the road in dressing gowns and boots.

“Mum! Dad! Trig!” I screamed their names. “Let me through, let me through!

Mum was slumped on the ground. Doctor Sunita, bent over her. Dad sat next to them, coughing.

“Mum! Mum!”