‘You’re sure?’ Raffy asked, looking at her intently. ‘It’s you and me? You don’t want to stay here because Lucas told you to?’
Evie ignored the sarcasm in his voice. She deserved it, even if Raffy didn’t know why. ‘It’s you and me,’ she said. ‘Only you and me. If you go, I go.’
The words gave her courage, made her feel less apprehensive about what lay ahead. She could see Raffy respond to them too, his eyes softening, his whole face warming.
‘Okay then,’ he said. ‘Just wait for my lead.’
‘You two hungry? We’re eating now,’ Linus called, appearing out of nowhere. An hour before, the sun had been setting; now, already, they were covered in a blanket of darkness that Evie had barely noticed falling.
‘Sure,’ Raffy said immediately. ‘Thanks.’
He walked towards the campfire; Evie followed, but hesitantly. Linus walked next to her. ‘He’s an impetuous young man, your friend,’ he said. ‘Courageous, but impetuous. That isn’t always a good combination.’
Evie bit her lip and stayed silent.
‘You, on the other hand . . . Well, you’re different,’ Linus continued thoughtfully. ‘It’s not because of you that you’re on this side of the City wall, is it?’ Evie didn’t say anything, but it was as though Linus wasn’t expecting her to reply; he carried on regardless. ‘You’re here to protect him. Which is ironic, because he thinks that he’s the great protector. But protection isn’t about strength. It’s about intelligence, understanding. Knowing when to run and when to stay. Don’t you think?’
Evie stared at him and was grateful for the darkness because it hid her burning cheeks. Could Linus really see inside her? How did he always seem to know what she was thinking, the feelings she was hiding deep down in her heart?
Linus chuckled. ‘He’s a good boy. I can see that. But he’s going to get himself into trouble unless you stop him. You know what you have to do. And I think I can count on you to do it. Just like Raffy’s brother counted on you.’
Evie felt dizzy. He knew. He knew about Raffy’s plan.
Linus squeezed her hand gently, then moments later she saw that he was no longer next to her but was striding ahead, joining Angel and Martha around the campfire, proferring a plate to Raffy as he took his seat on the ground. Evie went to sit next to Raffy, her cheeks still hot, her eyes unable to meet his. Because she didn’t know if anyone could count on her any more. Especially Raffy.
Evie tried to eat; she half-heartedly spooned the porridgey gloop that Martha had made into her mouth, but her stomach wasn’t interested in food. It was too busy churning, too busy flip-flopping every time Raffy looked at her, every time Linus caught her eye.
But although she couldn’t eat, in spite of Raffy’s attempts to encourage her, she wanted only for the meal never to end, for Linus and Angel and Martha and the two other taciturn men whose names she had learnt were George and Al, never to go to bed, or to sleep, never to force her into the position of having to make a decision. To leave with Raffy or to stop him from going. To betray him, or to allow him to run to his death – to their deaths.
Linus was the first to stand up. ‘Right, well, I’m off to bed,’ he announced. ‘I suggest we all get a good night’s sleep tonight.’ Was he looking directly at Evie when he said that? She wasn’t sure. She felt like he was, like his eyes were boring into her soul.
Angel followed shortly after Linus; Martha cleared up first, helped by Evie who was desperate to occupy herself, then George and Al grunted goodnight and followed her into the tent. Raffy stood up.
‘Time for bed,’ he said loudly, yawning. ‘I’m exhausted.’
Evie nodded. She knew that Raffy intended her to join in the charade but she couldn’t. Instead, she followed him silently, stepping over the sleeping bags of Al and George, who had positioned themselves at the mouth of the tent, and over to the area reserved for her and Raffy.
And then they waited.
They waited for an hour, until all around them was heavy breathing and gentle snoring. Then Raffy reached over to give Evie a little shake; Evie, who had barely dared blink, immediately sat up, her heart pounding.
Carefully Raffy got to his feet, still crouched down, and started to edge towards the tent opening. Evie followed, trying not to breathe, trying not to think about what they were doing or about what lay ahead. Carefully, delicately, they inched their way forward over sleeping bodies, through the warm, sleepy air of the tent. Raffy stepped over Al and started unlocking the opening; there were three layers with various zips and padlocks, just as there were on all the tents. To keep out the wild animals, Martha had explained to Evie as she’d helped dismantle them. They would have no protection from the wild animals on their own.
But she would have Raffy, she told herself. They would be together, and free, just as they had always dreamt.
She had taken a slightly different route from Raffy; she had wanted to keep as far away from Linus as possible, so had tiptoed behind Martha instead. Now she stepped towards George anxiously; he was broad and tall and his form took up a huge section of the tent. She couldn’t cross him. She couldn’t hope to; her legs weren’t long enough. She would have to jump. Raffy looked up and saw her dilemma; he turned, tried like her to find an alternative, but the only other route would mean retracing her footsteps to where they’d been lying, to follow the path Raffy had taken. Evie took a deep breath and leapt; Raffy’s eyes widened and they both held their breath. Then she landed, colliding with the tent wall slightly, but not enough to wake anyone. She smiled. It was a good omen. They were going to be fine.
Raffy finished unlocking the tent. ‘Are you going to lock it again afterwards?’ Evie whispered. He shook his head.
‘No time.’
‘But they’ll be vulnerable to attack,’ Evie said, guilt flooding her veins once more. ‘We have to.’
‘They’ll be fine,’ Raffy replied, his eyes clouding slightly. ‘They’re in the tent, aren’t they? And it’s their fault for capturing us in the first place. They weren’t worried about us when Angel was beating me, were they?’
Evie shook her head. She supposed he was right. She reached out, took his hand and felt a reassuring squeeze. Then, cautiously, she followed him out of the tent into the crisp night air. The ground was moist beneath their feet – it must have rained whilst everyone was sleeping, but any water had been greedily absorbed by the land; all that remained was a vague dampness.
‘This way,’ Raffy said authoritatively, pointing to the way they had come. ‘We want to get as far from Base Camp as we can.’
‘But that’s back towards the City,’ Evie said. ‘Let’s go north. That’s the way Lucas said we should go.’
‘And that led us into Linus’s hands,’ Raffy snapped, his mouth tightening.
Evie stared at him. ‘Lucas didn’t know that,’ she replied.
‘What if he did? What if he wanted Linus to do his dirty work for him,’ Raffy said, his tone cutting.
‘And what work would that be?’
They froze as a voice they recognised all too well rang out clearly. ‘You think your brother sold you out?’
In the moonlight Evie could see the anger and desperation on Raffy’s face. And she knew it was her fault. She shouldn’t have argued; they’d have been away by now. Had she done it on purpose? Did Raffy suspect as much? If he did, he didn’t show it; he wasn’t even looking at her. He was looking at Linus, all his energies directed towards him. Raffy looked ready to pounce, to run; all his muscles looked taut and ready to spring into action.
‘Let us go,’ Raffy said hoarsely. ‘You don’t need us. We don’t need your protection. We can look after ourselves. Let us go.’
Linus looked thoughtful for a few seconds. ‘You really want to go?’ he asked. ‘You really want to fend for yourselves? Evie, is that what you want too?’
Evie hesitated, long enough for Raffy to turn and glare at her. ‘Yes,’ she said then. ‘Yes, I do.’
Linus nodded slowly. ‘I see.’ Then he shrugged.
‘So we can go?’ Raffy asked, a measure of hope in his voice. ‘You’ll let us leave?’
Linus’s eyes gleamed in the moonlight. He looked wise, Evie found herself thinking. But whilst his eyes were twinkling, it wasn’t with joy. It was with something else. She recognised it. It was pain. Then he shook his head slowly.
‘Angel?’ he called softly; his henchman immediately appeared. Raffy tried to run and cried out to Evie to run with him, but it was no use; Angel grabbed Raffy first, handing him to Linus before capturing Evie. She watched as Linus pressed Raffy’s face into the earth as he tied some rope around his wrists. Angel then tied her wrists together.
‘You’re not going anywhere unless it’s with us,’ Linus said quietly. ‘You try to leave this camp again and you’re dead.’
‘Why?’ Raffy fumed. Angel was holding him tightly and he was resisting, straining. Evie stayed still; she knew when a fight wasn’t winnable. ‘Why won’t you let us go?’
Linus shrugged. ‘Because I made a promise to your father a long time ago,’ he said quietly. ‘And I don’t break promises. Promises are the last bastion of civilisation; if we can’t keep them, we’re doomed.’
‘My . . . father?’ Raffy asked, the words barely audible. ‘What do you mean? You don’t know my father. You don’t—’
‘You don’t know what I know,’ Linus said evenly. ‘Now, I’m going back to bed and you are too. Get some sleep. We’ve got a lot further to go in the morning. Please don’t disturb us again.’
Before Raffy could press him for more answers, Linus disappeared back into the tent. Angel motioned that they should go back in too. Stumbling, they made their way to their sleeping bags and fell in a heap on the floor. They didn’t say a word, but Evie wriggled forward so that her forehead was pressing against Raffy’s back, so that he could feel her and know that she was there, that she understood – or wanted to. And Raffy wriggled backwards so that his back was pressed against her stomach, so that his warmth felt like a blanket. And like that, their bodies pressed together, they lay still until it was morning again.
‘Come on. Quickly.’ Evie woke abruptly to see George poking them through their sleeping bags with his foot. He saw her eyes open and stepped back. ‘Linus says we leave in five,’ he announced with a shrug and walked away. Immediately Raffy pulled himself up. He looked as though he hadn’t slept, even though Evie had been comforted by his heavy sleepy breathing through the night. His eyes had dark shadows around them; they seemed darker than usual, more tortured.
He didn’t mention Linus or what he’d said the night before; he just got up and packed away the sleeping bags. By the time they were ready to leave the tent it had been dismantled around them. Angel untied their hands; Martha gave them a hunk of bread each and some water, and then it was time to go. Raffy and Evie hadn’t exchanged a word; she watched him carefully but she wasn’t sure what to say. She couldn’t speak before he did. And Raffy showed no sign of wanting to say anything. His eyes followed Linus like a hawk, furtively sometimes, more openly at others as they marched across the barren landscape towards the place that he’d feared, that he’d been so determined to run from.
They stopped briefly for lunch when the sun was at its hottest, taking some shelter under a patch of trees for an hour or so. But then it was straight back to marching, Martha at the front with Linus, Angel to the rear, George and Al just in front of Evie and Raffy.
And then just before sundown, Evie saw something in the distance. A hill, a tall hill that wasn’t covered in trees but in . . . She squinted, tugging at Raffy’s sleeve. In tents. Structures. Raffy’s eyes followed hers and he stopped briefly, causing Angel to bump into him. The man swore, then saw what Raffy was staring at and grinned. ‘Home,’ he breathed. ‘Home at last.’
He motioned for Raffy to start walking again and after a brief pause, he did. Evie kept shooting worried looks his way but the closer they got, the less agitated Raffy seemed.
‘There’s no wall,’ he said, frowning, as they approached Base Camp. It was an appropriate name, Evie found herself thinking – it wasn’t a City, the structures were all temporary. And it was nestled a little way up the hill.
‘Don’t need a wall,’ Linus said, turning, and for the first time that day, looking at Raffy and Evie, his face crinkled into its now-familiar grin. ‘Got the natural landscape and watchtowers for protection, but we don’t imprison our people. That’s not our way.’
Silently they walked past the first watchtower and into the camp. People in overalls bustled around, serious looks on their faces which broke into grins when they saw Linus. There were strange greetings that Evie had never come across before; clapping of hands, slapping of backs. She braced herself, but no one clapped her hand or her back, just Linus and Angel, George and Al. Martha, they hugged, spun around, kissed on the head. And Evie and Raffy they just looked at, cautiously.
‘What is this place?’ Raffy breathed.
‘This place?’ Linus asked, suddenly appearing behind them. ‘Son, this is army headquarters. We’re preparing for battle and pretty soon we’re going to be ready. I have a feeling it might be sooner rather than later.’
There were about a hundred people in the camp in total, each of them gainfully employed. But where the City was divided into different working quarters for the different trades, which were divided by gender – male stonemasons, female breadmakers – Base Camp seemed to throw everyone in together. Everywhere Evie looked she could hear talking, arguing, laughing. People sang as they worked, men and women joshed together, sharing jokes and teasing one another.
And there were no labels.
She found herself staring as she walked around; Linus noticed and looked at her. ‘Not what you were expecting?’ he asked.
Evie reddened. ‘They made us think that everyone outside the City were savages,’ she said quietly. ‘That people were evil. But they’re not. Are they?’
‘No, Evie, they’re not,’ Linus said. Then he put his arm around her and Raffy. ‘Come with me. I want to show you something.’
He walked them down between two large tents and along a passageway to another tent with reinforced walls and a guard outside, carrying a rifle.