‘Here you go,’ said Eva, dropping the backpack Jahmin had taken from the crash site at his feet. ‘I got everything. Clothes, knife. If it makes you feel sick going down into the cave, that’s good, right? That’s sort of lifelike.’
Jahmin opened the backpack and checked the contents. ‘Not sick, exactly. Slow. Like, when a battery runs out and the screen fades.’ He looked up at her and narrowed his eyes. ‘Why have you got that?’
Eva casually adjusted the straps of Mandy’s grey backpack across her shoulders. ‘I’m coming too. You can’t go by yourself.’
Jahmin didn’t even bother replying. He closed the zip, slid the backpack on his back and started off across the clearing.
‘No, wait,’ said Eva, hurrying after him. ‘You might get hurt, you might get caught. They’ll put you in a lab and do weird things to you. And what if the ship makes you go loopy? What then? And …’
Jahmin groaned. ‘Shut up, you stupid lesbo. We’ve been through all of this. It’s too risky for you. The ship will make you hallucinate, and I can’t look after you. I have to find out the truth.’
‘Please don’t leave me here with them. I can’t stand them. I really can’t.’
‘Seriously? You’d rather risk getting shot than hang out with Devin and Rocky?’
‘Can’t you tell they’re getting together?’ Eva demanded. ‘It’s sickening. She stares at him like a bitch on heat.’
‘You know adversity is supposed to bring out the best in people, right?’
‘I know, and they’re being complete dicks.’
‘I was talking about you.’
He glared at her, and she dropped her hand.
‘Sorry. I didn’t mean it. I’m just scared for you.’
He held out his arms, and she stepped into them. He hugged her tightly. As always, there was something vaguely repellent about the coldness of his body, the lack of … what had he called it? That little internal drumbeat. She ignored it and hugged him back fiercely. ‘Two days. Tomorrow and the next day.’
‘And if I’m not back by sunset, just go as fast as you can in the opposite direction, all right?’
‘All right.’
‘And in the meantime, try and be nice. Okay?’
Eva didn’t reply. She wasn’t promising anything.
With a grunt of exertion, Devin emerged from the sinkhole, followed by Rocky. Devin settled down on the ground, her body half turned away, effectively closing herself off from the others. Her long fingers plucked restlessly at the grass, her eyes firmly focused on nothing. She had reverted to the Devin that Eva had always known, the lesser version. Eva felt a twinge of conscience. Was it her fault? Had she done that? It was just a stupid argument.
Rocky broke the uneasy silence. ‘You off, bro?’
Rocky leaned in and then checked himself and stepped back. ‘Take care.’
Jahmin’s jaw was tense, his expression carefully blank, as he nodded. ‘Always.’
He gave Devin a quick thumbs-up, met Eva’s gaze for one brief moment and vanished into the trees.
Eva turned on Rocky. ‘Why did you do that?’
‘What have I done now?’
‘Were you too scared to touch him? He’s still your friend, isn’t he?’
A look of belligerence came over Rocky’s face. ‘Yeah, but I can’t … you know. Hongi him.’
‘Why not?’
‘You wouldn’t understand.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘It’s the breath of life! It’s a sacred thing! And he’s dead!’
‘So what? You can’t compromise your precious principles for one stinking farewell? You hurt his feelings! And he might never come back!’
‘Lots of our mates will never come back,’ Rocky said, and his voice broke a little. ‘He’s not the only one. And maybe it’d be better if he didn’t. No matter what you say, it’s wrong. It’s just wrong.’
Eva looked over at Devin for support, but the fall of Devin’s dirty blonde hair covered her face, and Eva couldn’t catch her eye. She did see, however, two sparkling drops land on Devin’s knee, just before Devin got up and left.
