‘That’s your room. He made the bed up for you a couple of days ago. Do you want to see it?’

‘Not really,’ Meggy said. ‘But I guess I’ll have to.’

They shifted rooms again. Here was another single bed. A poor excuse for a pillow, one sheet on the mattress, another to sleep under, then two blankets on top.

‘It doesn’t get too cold at night. You’ll be all right,’ Elspeth said. ‘Look in the wardrobe.’

Again, no doors on the huge wardrobe, but metal plates on the wall ensuring it couldn’t be pulled over. There was a pile of soft toys, another of board games, and finally girls’ clothes, some obviously too small or too big, but all pink. Every shade of it. Even a pink hat, scarf and mittens set ready for winter.

‘Winter’s, like, three months off. I can’t still be here then. What can he do with us for that long? Shit.’ She kicked the wardrobe. ‘Shit, shit, shit!’

‘We can play a game if you like.’ Elspeth’s smile was a wobbling crack in her face.

‘Why would we play a game?’ Meggy shouted. ‘He’s going to come back. Sooner or later he’ll come back, and we have to be ready for him. I’m not staying here. This isn’t where I live. Those aren’t my clothes. And those stupid dresses on the wall in your room are just as freaky.’ She kicked the wardrobe door one more time. ‘Why aren’t you fighting him? I’m a kid, and I know you have to fight. You can’t just let people hurt you, or they just keep on doing it.’

‘I know,’ Elspeth whispered. ‘I know I should fight, but he scares me. It’s easier if I don’t react and he doesn’t get mad at me. Sometimes I think maybe he’ll let me go if I do everything he wants. Perhaps he’ll get bored, or I’ll make him better. He’s sick. Really ill.’ She checked the doorway for signs of imminent entry before leaning close into Meggy’s ear. ‘He told me he’s dying. If he dies, we can escape. We just have to be patient.’

Meggy slapped her. The sound was a footstep too far on a frozen pond.

‘If he dies and we’re not found quickly enough, we die, too,’ Meggy hissed, ripping the plug from the socket and walking away, not caring if she collided with the wall or anything else, leaving Elspeth trailing after her in the dark.