‘Apologies, sir,’ Jason says, stiff in his seat, fixing a stare past the head at the wall.

‘Goodness, young man,’ the head says, eyes blazing at me. ‘No need to apologise for your sister. They look a little alarming, don’t they? Blown clean off, I’m afraid to say. I was unlucky not to retain my knees … but lucky to preserve so many other necessary functions, and the support of the military, of course. We know this is a possibility in combat. We sacrifice ourselves for the good of others, and we are only ever proud of this.’

He peers closer at me, lips stretched around his teeth like he’d be laughing if someone wound him up again. I don’t dare move or breathe. I wonder whether he will fall out if he leans too far forward. Even the weird speaker is quiet for a moment as we sit, frozen in position.

‘I understand you know some of our finest young recruits, Carly,’ he says after a moment. ‘Block 16 is home to our elite intelligence unit – a breeding ground for some of the British military’s finest warriors. They speak very highly of you.’

His eyes rake me up and down as heat spreads from my neck to my face.

‘Come now, young lady. This is a matter of pride, too. It is important to us – it should, of course, be important to us all – that our fighters relax when they are off-duty. We ask so very much of them, after all. So very, very much…’

He cocks his head to the side as he pauses. Silence spreads 62through the room again, until the box squawks in the corner. I stare at his legs, or where they are supposed to be. I can’t help myself. Is this really what Jason thinks I should be proud of? When this happens to people. And for what?

‘You see, Carly,’ he continues, ‘it is a tragic consequence of defending our country that some of us end up like this.’ He gestures to his stumps, pointing towards me like weapons. ‘And particularly now, of course. I ask you, has there ever been a more testing time for the British military? I expect Jason has told you all about the cuts we have had to contend with. Such challenges lie ahead … such extreme challenges. But we will not be defeated … Would you like some water?’

He wheels away from me as I nod, stealing a glance at Jason. If it wasn’t for the muscle twitching in his cheek, he could be made of stone.

‘Jase!’ I whisper as, back to us, the head opens a small fridge next to the bunk on the other wall. The muscle starts to jerk like a spasm as he ignores me. I jump as the head appears at my other elbow, having wheeled almost a full circle back around us before I can so much as blink.