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other.’

    Cian starts to gibber nonsense sentences, then he curses and whimpers. Awnya lays down her torch, massages his shoulders with both hands and sings to him, an old ballad which I vaguely recognise. It should be laughable but it’s strangely touching.
    ‘Do you want me to leave?’ I whisper between verses.
    ‘Not unless you feel awkward,’ Awnya says and carries on singing.
    I lay my head against the wall and listen to the song. I’d like to close my eyes but I can’t. Instead I study the shadows thrown across the room by the torch. There are cobwebs running along the top of the skirting board opposite us. The world has gone to hell, but life goes on as usual for these spiders. They know nothing of zombies, mutants, God. They just spin their webs and wait for dinner. Lucky sods.
    Cian eventually stops snivelling and sits up. Herubs his cheeks and smiles shakily at me, embarrassed but not mortified.
    ‘We’re lucky,’ Awnya says, brushing Cian’s blond hair out of his eyes. ‘We have each other. I don’t know how the rest of you cope.’
    I shrug. ‘You learn to deal with it.’
    ‘It’s because we’re the youngest,’ Cian mutters. ‘Dr Oystein says that a year or two makes a big difference. He says we can go to him any time we want, for comfort or anything else, but he thinks it’s better if we can support ourselves.’
    ‘This is a hard world for the weak,’ Awnya notes.
    ‘We’re not
weak
,’ Cian snaps.
    Awnya rolls her eyes, then squints at me. ‘Did Dr Oystein tell you everything?’
    ‘Yeah.’
    ‘It’s brilliant, isn’t it?’ Cian says. ‘Being on the side of God and all.’
    ‘I think it’s scary,’ Awnya murmurs.
    ‘That’s because you’re a girl. Girls are soft,’ Cian sniffs, apparently forgetting that moments earlier hewas whining like a baby. ‘I’m not afraid of the Devil, Mr Dowling or anyone else.’
    ‘Of course you are,’ Awnya says. ‘We all are. And we’re right to be afraid, aren’t we, B? You met the clown. He’s as scary as Dr Oystein says, isn’t he?’
    I nod slowly. ‘He’s a terrifying bugger, there’s no doubt about that. But as for him working for the Devil, don’t make me laugh.’
    ‘What do you mean?’ Awnya asks.
    ‘You don’t really believe that, do you, about God and the Devil?’
    ‘Of course we do,’ Cian says stiffly. ‘Dr Oystein told us.’
    ‘And you buy everything he says?’ I sneer.
    ‘Yes, actually,’ Awnya growls, pushing herself away from me.
    ‘Dr Oystein saved us,’ Cian says.
    ‘He gave us a home,’ Awnya says.
    ‘He’s a saint,’ Cian says.
    ‘Our only hope for the future,’ Awnya says.
    ‘Yeah, yeah,’ I rumble. ‘He’s doing a fantastic job and he’s a first-rate geezer, but that doesn’t change thefact that he’s crazy. If God is real, He doesn’t get involved in our affairs. This is all about what our stupid scientists and armies have done to the world, not about a war between God and Satan.’
    ‘Hmm,’ Awnya says, pretending to think hard. ‘Who should I trust? A genius who’s been working for decades to try and save mankind, or a girl with a chip on her shoulder?’
    ‘What chip?’ I grunt.
    ‘I don’t know,’ Awnya says. ‘But you must have one, otherwise why are you saying nasty things about Dr Oystein? You’ve only been here five minutes, yet you’re telling us we’re stupid, that we should listen to you instead of the man who loves and protects us.’
    ‘I’m just saying it’s madness,’ I whisper.
    ‘Dr Oystein’s maybe the only person in this world who
isn’t
mad,’ Cian huffs. ‘God spoke to him, touched him, changed him. He’s the best of us all.’
    ‘You really believe that?’
    ‘Yes,’ Cian says.
    ‘Absolutely,’ Awnya says.
    ‘One hundred per cent,’ Cian adds, in case there’s any doubt.
    ‘Fine,’ I shrug and get to my feet. ‘I wish I could believe it too. I’m not trying to stir things up. I just can’t see it. I want to but I