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I don’t get what she means.

‘If the other Johnson can jump into your mind then there’s no way we can have you around us.’ She wipes her eyes and her lower lip is trembling. ‘He’ll know exactly
where we are through you. Won’t he? Which means they’ll come for the Moth.’

I feel a shiver run up and down my spine as Billie’s words sink in. Johnson is starting to understand exactly what Billie means and his face tightens.

I look at him, hoping no one is going to say the words I know are coming. ‘Wait. I’ll get in the boot, I don’t care,’ I say desperately.

‘But it’s when you get out, Rev. That’s when he’ll know where we are.’ Billie is wiping more tears away. Her logic is crippling her. She’s back to being my
best friend again. At least I hope she is.

I fall silent, imagining that I can think of some brilliant way out of this.

‘Christ.’ Johnson’s voice is gentle.

‘No. No, you don’t know that,’ I tell them. ‘You really don’t know how far he can see.’

The Ape’s eyes loom in his rear-view mirror and I wonder if even his dinosaur-sized brain is spotting a major problem. ‘So he’s in your head?’ he says.

‘No. Well yes. Maybe.’

‘Does he know your bra size?’

Billie reaches over and pings the Ape’s ear, flicking it hard. ‘Don’t you get how serious this is?’

‘Ow.’

‘Do you even know what we’re saying?!’ She is furious with him.

‘Yeah, course.’ The Ape pauses. ‘Other-Johnson can tell bra sizes.’

Billie pings his ear again, totally driven mad by him.

‘Ow!’

‘Rev, tell us what to do,’ she says. ‘Tell us if we should keep on going or – or what?’

The question stumps me. I know what I want to say but I also know what I should say.

‘We’ll risk it,’ says Johnson. ‘We’ll just have to.’

‘Risk what?’ the Ape asks, but by now he’s irritating everyone and together we ignore him.

‘Yeah, that’s what we’ll do.’ Johnson’s face loses its earlier tightness. ‘Yeah.’ He smiles back at me as if that’s it, discussion over.

‘No. We can’t do that,’ I say as it becomes so clear now that I cannot stay with them. ‘We can’t risk it,’ I say slowly, ‘can we?’ No one answers
and there’s a feeling in the car that wasn’t there before. It’s like they know I’m doomed no matter what anyone says. ‘I should get out of the car.’

Billie huddles up on the back seat. ‘Why did I go and say anything?’ she mumbles. ‘Forget I did. Just forget it, Rev. You’re staying with us.’

‘Can’t, can I?’ I tell her. ‘It’d be crazy.’

‘But we’re not leaving you, Rev.’ She wipes her eyes again.

‘No way,’ adds Johnson. ‘That’s not happening.’

‘Stop the car, Ape,’ I say.

‘No.’ Johnson tries to be firm with me. ‘Conversation over. Ape, keep driving.’

‘Stop the car.’

‘You need a leak?’

‘I’m going to flick your ear right off!’ Billie’s anguish is almost too much for her to bear.

The Ape keeps driving, but the tunnel seems endless, as if we’ll never get out of it. I don’t remember it being this long.

‘I’ll jump out,’ I threaten, taking hold of the door handle. ‘I will.’

Johnson and Billie share an ominous look.

‘It’s got to be this way,’ I tell them. ‘It has to.’

‘But they’ll find you,’ whimpers Billie.

‘But more importantly they won’t find you or the Moth,’ I reply.

‘But we still need your dad’s papers. We’ll have to get them somehow.’ Billie is clinging to anything that can provide her with hope.

‘You can do that without me. You can sneak up on them, set a trap, whatever, but you can’t do any of that while I’m with you.’

Johnson has fallen silent and looks distraught. It takes him a good long moment before he speaks. ‘You’d better stop the car, Ape.’

‘I’m staying with you,’ Billie says to me.

‘No,’ I respond.

‘Course I am. BFF, remember?’

‘You’re going with the others,’ I tell her. ‘That’s what a real best friend would do. No point in us both . . .’ My voice trails off.

‘Give Rev your weapon, Ape,’ says Johnson.

‘No way.’

‘Do it.’

‘It’s my best ever weapon!’ the Ape says protectively. He still seems to be on another planet altogether.

‘Pull over,’ I tell him and he finally starts to slow.

Billie is gripping my hand tight. ‘I wasn’t thinking. Just talking aloud.’

Johnson looks away from me, clearly not wanting to watch me collapse in on myself. The car slows to a halt in the tunnel. The Ape glances at me again in the rear-view.

‘So you’ve got to get out?’

I nod.

‘Cos that other Johnson can see inside you?’

I nod again.

The Ape weighs it up for a moment. ‘I’d better stay with you then.’ It surprises me as he stares back at me. ‘We’re a team.’

Inside I’m trembling. ‘You can’t . . . They need you.’

‘We do, Ape. As much as I hate to say it,’ says Billie. ‘We need you to drive and to be violent.’

‘You stay with Johnson and Billie,’ I tell him and pat his huge shoulder. ‘For me. Can you do that for me?’

‘She flicked my ear!’

‘Ape, please.’

Eventually he shrugs. ‘You can hold my weapon,’ he says and then chuckles as he realises he’s accidentally said something that amuses him. ‘Grip it nice and
tight.’

I don’t smile, I’m way beyond the Ape’s laboured innuendo.

‘And go for the throat. Think stab, think throat.’

Johnson turns back to me.
This is it
, I think.
This is goodbye and I never did get to tell him what I feel. But what’s the point now?

‘Rev?’ For a second it looks as if Johnson’s about to say something profound. But then his face clouds over as he backs away from whatever he intended to say and just gives me
a lingering look instead, like he’s taking a mental snapshot of me, something he can dredge up on a sleepless dark night long after I’m gone. ‘Stay on the phone,’ he says
finally.

I nod, almost too choked to speak. ‘I will. Promise.’

Billie throws her arms around me and hugs me tighter then tight. She has more tears in her eyes and I hate myself for ever thinking she was ready to sacrifice me so that she could have Johnson
all to herself. ‘Dunno what to say.’

‘Just get home.’ I hug her back and then climb out of the car.

The Ape lowers the electric window and looks out at me. ‘Bummer,’ is all he says. I know he wants to say more, but as usual he can’t find the words. ‘Big bummer.’
But it’s in his eyes, the sadness he is feeling, and his simple words somehow mean the world to me.

Johnson is still staring at me through the window, drinking me in, but I step back out of his eyeline. It’s too much. This is beyond even Johnson.

The car pulls away and then after it has travelled a few metres the Ape’s weapon is tossed out of the driver’s window. It clatters to the ground and immediately breaks in half. I
watch the car head for the end of the tunnel and as it disappears around a long slow bend Other-Johnson’s voice enters my head.

‘Almost.’

Surprisingly it doesn’t even scare me.

‘Thought you might be there,’ I say.

‘Seriously?’

‘Why d’you think I got out of the car?’

‘Really thought they were going to talk you into staying with them.’

‘I figured that.’

‘You’re smart. I’m impressed,’
he says.

‘Is this going to take long?’ I ask him.

‘We’re already on our way,’
he tells me, although he doesn’t sound that happy about it.

‘I’ll be waiting.’

He signs off or whatever it is he does and I feel him leave me. He has no need to be inside me any more – they know I’m stuck in an empty tunnel and that the very best I can do is
stall them before they head on towards London to track down the others. I’ll probably use up all of five seconds of their time.

I start walking and without realising it at first I am heading back towards town. I’m going to meet them head on rather than run. But then again I know there’s no point in running
when they’ll always know where I am.

It’s the weirdest feeling knowing you are about to die and that there is nothing you can do about it. I want to break down and cry but there’s something about not giving them the
satisfaction of seeing me curled up in some pathetic runny-nosed state. I’m going to go with dignity I decide. I will try talking them out of it, but mainly so I can buy the others some time.
Then when the moment comes I will not go quietly. I will do everything I can to hurt them.

My phone vibrates in my pocket and I instantly remember Other-Johnson’s hand pushing in deep against my thigh. It was electric and if sparks did literally fly then we would have lit up the
sky.

I pull it out and answer.

‘It’s me.’

‘Hey, Johnson.’

‘We called GG and we’re going to meet them. I uh, I can’t tell you where obviously, but just wanted you to know that we’re still here, so stay on the line,’ he
says.

‘Will do.’

‘And listen . . .’

‘Yes?’

‘I did a callback on the number that phoned the Ape earlier.’

My heart races as a glimmer of hope appears. I’d forgotten about the phone call the Ape had – maybe someone can save us after all. ‘And?’

‘Was an automated voice offering free calls and texts.’

‘Why doesn’t that surprise me?’ I almost laugh.

‘I know.’

‘So no one’s out there? Just a computer.’

‘Looks that way.’

It’s official then. No one is coming to save me.

‘I heard from him, the Other-Johnson. We were right. He was listening in the whole time,’ I tell Johnson.

There’s nothing but silence and I can almost see Johnson’s face as he tries to process what I’ve said.

‘What did your dad write about, Rev?’

‘I don’t know, I really and truly don’t.’

‘The Moth’ll figure it out.’ Johnson is trying his best to keep my spirits up. ‘Somehow.’

I nod, but as I do I think I see movement in the tunnel. I stop, wait for a second and then decide it’s just a gust of wind. ‘He’d better,’ I say. I start walking again,
but something darts from one shadow to another. Even with the artificial lighting it’s too murky to see clearly. ‘Johnson.’

‘Yeah?’

I want to tell him, I have to tell him. ‘You know if things were different . . .’

There’s more movement and I trail off.

‘Rev? You still there?’

Non-Lucas appears from the shadows and stands in the middle of the dual carriageway about a hundred metres away. I’m amazed it’s just him on his own and already I’m turning
back to see where the Ape’s smashed weapon is. If I could reach that and somehow use what’s left of it then I still have a chance.

‘Rev?’ Johnson asks.

‘I’ve got company.’ GG got overexcited when he said that yesterday – only yesterday? – but for me it doesn’t feel nearly as brilliant or cool.

‘This is crazy. We’re coming back.’

‘What?’

‘Turn round, Ape, turn round!’

‘No!’ I yell.

I hear the car brakes squealing over the phone just as Other-Johnson appears from the shadows. He’s as snake-hipped and lithe as ever, calmly coming my way. I may have had a chance with
just Non-Lucas, but I doubt I’ll have a hope in hell now there are two of them.

‘Listen to me, Johnson,’ I say into the phone. ‘You’ve got to go. You hear me? You have to stay away. That’s the whole point. Just like we did when the Ape was
buying us time.’

‘Can’t do that.’

‘Yes. Yes you can! Tell him, Billie! Foot down and go!’

I wait and the moment expands into an eternity as Non-Lucas and Other-Johnson take their sweet time reaching me. Why wouldn’t they? There’s no hurry.

‘Please, Johnson. Please.’

With that I hang up on him and hope to God he gets the message, because I’m already taking off for the broken weapon. I don’t care that I don’t have a chance. I’m not
going to make it easy for them.

Non-Lucas sails clear over my head and lands behind the fallen weapon. He flips it up with his foot and catches it. His every movement is pure physical poetry. ‘Looking for
this?’

I skid to a halt and know that Other-Johnson is already closing in on me from behind.

‘Catch.’ Non-Lucas flicks the sharp half of the weapon towards me and I catch it gingerly.

‘Got to make it interesting, right?’ He grins and again I see the metal in his mouth. His skin ripples and thickens like it did before.

‘You want interesting?’ I say, gritting my teeth and brandishing what’s left of the weapon, turning in a slow semi-circle so both Non-Lucas and Other-Johnson know I mean
business.

‘I know your weakness,’ I tell them.

‘Ooooh,’ laughs Non-Lucas.

‘Thing is, Rev,’ calls Other-Johnson. ‘We’ve got Billie, so weaknesses don’t count.’

‘I’ll get you both. Hide your bodies.’

‘God loves a dreamer,’ smiles Non-Lucas.

They are circling me now, like cats with a cornered mouse.

I look at Non-Lucas and try my best to throw him off balance. ‘We got your best pal.’

He stops. I can tell that Other-Johnson hasn’t revealed this to him yet. ‘That’s right,’ I continue. ‘Show him, Johnson.’

I’m buying time, trying to calculate how far a car can travel in the few extra seconds I’m gaining them. If the Ape put his foot down they could be halfway to London by now. Assuming
they haven’t done something stupid and turned back for me.

‘Johnson!?’ Non-Lucas is worried now, needs answers.

‘Why’d you go and do that?’ Other-Johnson asks. He can see that I’ve bought myself three times as much pain and misery as before.

‘Show me, Johnson,’ Non-Lucas demands.

Other-Johnson does exactly that and images are wrenched out of my head and make me cry out in pain. But that’s when I take my chance. I push out other images at him too and all of them are
of me and him kissing. His eyes filled with love and passion. His desire for me breathtaking. Overwhelming.

‘She telling the truth?’ asks Non-Lucas.

But Other-Johnson is lost to the images I’m sending him. My body close to his. His arms around me, holding me. His breath on my neck and shoulder. The caress of his lips on my exposed
skin.