“I’ve been away from this place for a while.”
“Doesn’t seem the time to go on vacation.”
“I was kidnapped when I was on a supply run,” Kirsty said. “Been away from here for a month now. Came back and found… well. This.”
“My mum,” Iqrah said. “My dad. Are they…”
She couldn’t finish. But she didn’t have to. Kirsty knew what she meant. Everyone knew what she meant.
But then she said something that Noah didn’t expect.
“They moved on from here,” she said.
Noah frowned. Couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. Especially when he’d prepared himself for the worst.
“What do you mean?” Iqrah asked.
Kirsty tightened her grip even more. “There’s… there’s a place. A place you should know about. A place you should both know about.”
“What kind of place?” Noah asked.
“A safe place. A good place. A place where people can be trusted.”
“Bullshit. I’ve heard of enough safe places over the years. They all have one thing in common. They’re never safe.”
“This place is different,” Kirsty said.
“So different that you came back here?”
“We discovered this place while we were on the road. Me. Khaled. Dina. Iqrah’s parents. They both made it. I was tasked with heading back here to let the others know. But I ran into trouble. And here I am.”
The hairs on Noah’s neck stood on end, and he knew for a fact it wasn’t just from the wind chill. Something wasn’t right about this. He didn’t trust Kirsty one bit. Something just felt off about her story. About her.
“Bertie,” Iqrah said.
Kirsty’s eyes widened. She opened her mouth. Closed it. Looked at the ground. “Gone,” she said.
Iqrah sighed. And Noah felt it, too. The pain of losing a kid. It must be the worst thing to handle.
“I’m sorry,” Noah said.
She nodded. Eyes glassy, clouded over. “It’s okay. I… We’ve all lost. But I’m getting by. In my own way.”
He nodded. Wanted to believe her. Wanted to trust her.
But something still didn’t feel right.
“Where is this place?”
“Up towards Morecambe. About twenty miles north of here, up the coast.”
“And why are we expected just to believe you?”
For the first time since meeting her, a smile crossed Kirsty’s face.
A smile that Noah was sure was intended as friendly, as trusting.
But a smile that unnerved him even more.
“What other choice do you have?” she asked.
She held on to Iqrah.
Overhead, storm clouds rumbled.
By his side, Bruno stood his ground, stared at Kirsty, and he growled.
What other choice do you have?
Chapter Ten
“So what do you think?” Noah asked.
Iqrah sat by the side of the promenade on a bench. Her eyes were wide, but Noah could tell she still couldn’t see. Sunlight peeked through the clouds. The breeze blew strong waves against the coast. Silence filled the streets, as the dead remains of old arcades and funfairs stared back at them, ghostly, haunting.
Kirsty stood at the other side of the street. Bruno sat by her side, the little traitor. She had her arms folded. She said she’d give Noah and Iqrah a minute but said she didn’t feel comfortable with Iqrah being with Noah on her own—something Noah found vaguely insulting considering how much time he’d spent on the road with her. But at the same time, reassuring. At least Kirsty seemed to have the girl’s best interests at heart.
Iqrah shrugged. Sighed. “I mean… I know what I want.”
“I know you want to find your family. I know Kirsty says your parents are there. But…”
“But?”
“Do you really trust her?”
Iqrah stared out down the promenade into the darkness of her blinded eyes, which she still seemed to be coming to terms with, still caught in shock about. “I can’t see. I’m useless. And I don’t… I don’t know where else we’d go. Even without my parents.”
“But do you trust Kirsty?” Noah asked.
“Yes,” Iqrah said. “She was always kind. She… she was one of the later people here. But she was like a family to the kids right away. She used to be a teacher in the old world or something. Said it was important kids stayed educated, ’cause they were the future. And without education… there is no future.”
“Sounds like something a cult leader would say.”
“What?”
“Nothing. I just…”
Noah looked across the road. Caught Kirsty glancing over. Their eyes met. She half-smiled at him, then looked away, sensing his gaze.
“I just want to know this is the right call, Iqrah. I worry we’re going to get to this place, and it won’t be what we’re looking for. Or the people who kidnapped Kirsty. What if they catch us?”
“I’m sure we can rely on our Society friends coming to rescue us, right?” Iqrah said.
Noah sighed. “You shouldn’t say things like that.”
“Why? It’s true. No point denying it. The Society isn’t going to stop chasing us. And now I’m blind, and if I lose you, I…”
She stopped.
“Is that what this is about?” Noah asked. “Your blindness?”
“It’s something I have to think about. I still… I don’t know how long it’s going to last. If it’s ever going to go away. I haven’t even had time to feel sad about it yet. But if something happens to you, and we’re out on the road… you’ve got to remember, Noah. That’s it for me. I can’t survive like this. So I need to find somewhere. We both do. Fast. And if Kirsty says there’s somewhere safe twenty miles from here—somewhere my parents went over near Morecambe—then I have to believe her.”
Noah took a deep breath. Swallowed a lump in his throat. He didn’t like giving up so much control. He didn’t like putting his faith in strangers’ hands. Especially when he’d been so screwed so many times in the past.
But Iqrah was right, and he knew it. If this blindness was a thing, then every second alone with him out here was lethal. They needed to find somewhere safe. They had the location of somewhere safe. Somewhere Iqrah’s parents supposedly were, nonetheless.
They had everything they needed on a plate.
But why did it feel so wrong?
Why did it feel so… off?
“Besides,” Iqrah said. “What
