We’re too late. Please don’t let it be their bus. But it is their bus. I recognise it. The flames are climbing. Black smoke swirls upwards. Don’t let Ilex be dead. But he must be. Everyone on that bus must be charred to their bones.

‘Can you see any guards?’ Ven says, looking over his shoulder. His voice sounds strange, as if I’m in a cave.

‘I . . .’

I can’t speak. I can’t think. They can’t be dead. Ilex and Robin and all those kids.

Ven pulls on to the grassy bank a short distance behind the burning bus.

I fumble to open the door. My hands are shaking so badly that I can hardly grip the catch. I turn to the bus; can we put the fire out? What good would it do anyway?

‘Ven! Blake!’ someone shouts.

I turn around and there at the edge of some trees is Ilex waving his arms. He’s alive. And he’s not alone. Emerging from between the branches are more Resistance members. Thank God. I struggle to catch my breath.

I see Robin at the same moment that Ven does. We both sprint towards her; Ven gets there first.

‘Where’s the bracelet?’ he says.

‘He made us get off the bus,’ Robin says, pointing at Ilex who is striding in our direction. ‘And then . . .’ her eyes blaze ‘. . . and then he stole my bracelet and threw it away.’ She looks at us to share her outrage.

‘Blake!’ Ilex says.

‘Ilex, how did you know?’

‘I listened to you talking to Robin about that shrap – that . . . bracelet and I knowed you were thinking it was bad. I gived it to Patrick and he looked and seed the thing, that tracker thing, and we . . .’ He mimes throwing the bracelet away.

I’m beaming. ‘I told you you’re smart. Where did you throw the bracelet?’ I ask.

‘On to a lorry!’ Robin snaps. ‘He shouts and bosses me about just like the rest of you and—’

‘Be quiet,’ Ven says in a dangerously low voice. He takes Robin by the shoulders and looks her in the eyes. ‘You were very nearly responsible for the death of everyone here – and you still might be. Shut up and think about that.’

Robin looks thunderous, but she closes her mouth.

Patrick jogs up behind Ven.

‘Patrick said to do the burning of the bus,’ Ilex says. ‘When guards come they’ll maybe be thinking we’re all dead.’

‘A guard van started shooting at us,’ Patrick says. ‘We lost Hannah. What’s going on, Ven?’

Ven’s eyes flash. ‘What’s going on? I was hoping that on account of you being in charge you might be able to tell me that, but perhaps you consider your title of captain of this team to be a merely decorative one.’

Patrick colours. ‘We found a tracking device in Robin’s bracelet and—’

‘I know they were tracking Robin. I knew that despite the fact that I was miles away from you, and despite the fact that apart from her torrents of abuse aimed at me, I have rarely spoken to Robin; the question is why you, the captain of her team, who was sat on a bus with her, did not.’

‘I didn’t—’

‘No, you didn’t and that’s the problem. This is an efwurding shambles! I should have worn a paper bag over my head while I was delivering those lectures on looking after your team because then you wouldn’t have been mesmerised by my good looks, which you clearly were, because I can think of no other good reason why someone who calls themselves a member of the Resistance would fail to listen to the basic rules of leadership.’

Patrick looks like he’s going cry.

Ven lifts both his fists and for a moment I think that he’s going to strike Patrick, but then he throws his hands to the side in a gesture of frustration.

‘Tell them what to do,’ Ven growls at me as he turns away. ‘I need to think.’ He stalks off back to the car.

For a moment I feel lost. I’ve become used to following Ven’s orders. What should they do? They can’t stay here. I look around. We’re only a mile or so from the district.

‘Split into groups,’ I say to Patrick. ‘You’re too conspicuous all together. Stick close to the trees for cover and head for your original targets in the Media sector. You’ve still got time.’

Patrick nods. ‘We’ll get back on track, I promise.’

‘Blake!’ Ven shouts. ‘We’ve got other problems to deal with!’ He’s already back in the car, holding open the passenger door for me.

‘Good luck,’ I say to Ilex and Patrick. I run over to the car and jump in.

Ven puts his foot to the floor and we speed away.

When we hit the district’s shopping sector Ven says, ‘Do you think Nard would definitely be able to make an actual bomb? He’s not on the Defence team.’

I’m surprised by this question. ‘I think Nard knows a fair bit about explosives. And guns. And weapons in general. Nard is pretty much into anything that can kill someone.’

‘How do you know?’

‘Apparently he talks about it a lot. Haven’t you heard him?’

‘I can’t listen to the babbling of every member of the Resistance. I’ve got a filter. When people like Nard speak, it just sounds like buzzing to me.’

‘Don’t you remember him going on about Plan Scarlett – which I heard involves blowing the Leadership up with a ton of explosives. You said it was a no-go.’

‘I vaguely remember that.’

‘I’m surprised that someone of your intelligence would forget a thing like that.’

He takes his eyes off the road to give me a heavy-lidded stare. ‘Blake, I have to apply my brilliance to any number of plans that are actually occurring. I don’t waste time on the ones I’ve rejected.’

Now isn’t the time to get into an argument with Ven so I content myself with saying, ‘Maybe sometimes you should give a little more thought to the ones you’ve rejected.’