‘Fuck!’ she hissed, lowering her arm.

‘What?’ whispered Jennifer impatiently.

‘If I throw this grenade at them, the shrapnel will hit the tanks and blow them up, killing us as well.’

Jennifer looked at the tanks and cursed.

Bailey peeked over the top of the cylinder. She could see the Molloy crew closing in warily. The gas tanks had bought them a fraction more time, but it was running out fast. She looked around desperately.

‘Let’s jump in the river. Swim to safety.’

Jennifer shook her head. ‘We’d be sitting ducks. They’d shoot us to pieces before we got ten feet.’

Bailey knew her sister was right. It looked like all their options had run out. They were truly cornered. Maybe they were both going to die after all.

Then Jennifer’s eyes narrowed as if an idea had occurred to her.

‘Give me the grenade,’ she hissed.

‘What are you going to do?’ said Bailey.

‘Just give me the damn bomb, okay.’

She grabbed Bailey’s wrist and, firmly holding down the release lever, started to prise the grenade out of Bailey’s hand.

Bailey resisted, clutching the grenade tightly.

‘Trust me,’ whispered Jennifer, looking deep into Bailey’s eyes.

And in that moment Bailey was transported back to their childhood all those years ago when Jennifer would lead her on those fantastical adventures with Mister Snigiss. Her sister had that same look in her eyes right now – that enigmatic certainty that always induced Bailey to follow her.

Bailey sagged and let her take the grenade.

Jennifer smiled at her, then she stood up and poked her head over the top of the gas cylinder.

‘What are you waiting for, you pussies!’ she shouted.

‘Come out and surrender!’ shouted Shane.

‘We’ll never surrender!’ shouted Jennifer. ‘Never!’

Jennifer ducked back down behind the cylinder and turned to Bailey.

‘I never forgot you, Bailey. Through all the pain and the darkness and everything that came after… I never once forgot you.’

Then, with a hard shove, she pushed Bailey backwards into the water.

Bailey plunged into the freezing river, stunned not only by the arctic shock of the water but by the unexpectedness of her sister’s actions.

She surfaced, coughing and gasping, the icy current already pulling her downstream, away from the building development.

Moments later, there was a deafening explosion as the three gas tanks erupted into a massive fireball engulfing that whole section of the building development. She felt the scorching heat of the blast on her face as it rolled across the water.

‘Jennifer!’ she gasped.

No one in the vicinity could have made it out of there alive. Not Shane. Nor any of the thugs. And not her sister either.

Bailey gaped in horror, the emotions tearing her apart inside as she floated away down the river, realising that Jennifer had deliberately detonated the grenade and sacrificed herself in order to save her younger sister.

It had been their final adventure and now Mister Snigiss, invisible for so long, had truly disappeared forever.