By the time Finn came out of the bathroom, Faye had got dressed in wonderfully clean clothes. She’d chosen a pair of cut-off jeans and a fitted purple cotton shirt that was cool in the relentless heat. She smiled at Finn as he rubbed a towel through his damp hair, then waved at the open case and the mass of stuff inside.

 

‘This is amazing,’ she told him. ‘Liz has put literally everything we could possibly need in here. Look – there’s a torch, a penknife, a map . . . about a million things to wear. Oh, and there’s even a pair of Jimmy’s jeans for you.’ She picked them up and threw them to him. ‘They should just about fit. They’ll be better than those ones, anyway. They’re not covered in blood!’

 

Finn caught the jeans in one hand and she found herself smiling into his eyes. There was an awkward moment. Not long ago, they had been having the worst argument they’d ever had.

 

‘I’m sorry,’ Finn told her. ‘For earlier. The Lucas thing. I was tired, and I’d had this dream . . .’ He shook his head, trailing off as he sat down on the edge of the bed. He put his head in his hands – Faye could see how tired he was. ‘Anyway, I’m just sorry. I seem to be saying that a lot recently, don’t I?’

 

Faye crawled onto the bed behind him and put her hands on his shoulders. He smelled of soap, clean and fresh. She kissed the back of his neck.

 

‘It’s OK,’ she said quietly. ‘I’m sorry too. Maybe I’m completely wrong about the connection. Maybe Lucas really has gone off on his bike. Like you said, he’s used to being independent. He might not even have thought to let us know. But even if he hasn’t, I shouldn’t have bothered you with it when your men are missing.’

 

Finn twisted round to look up at her, taking her hands in his. ‘No,’ he said. ‘No, that’s not—’ He froze.

 

‘What?’ Faye frowned as he stared at something behind her. She turned to look too, but couldn’t see anything except the ventilation grille, high on the wall. ‘Finn, what—?’

 

A sound filled the room, echoing from the vent. It was a scrabbling, whirring whine, growing louder and louder . . .

 

Finn stood up, pulling Faye to her feet as something pushed its way through the metal grille. It dropped onto the floor, fat and black. One of the bugs!

 

It was caught in the carpet, spindly legs writhing as they struggled to get free of the weave. Its pincer snapped uselessly at nothing. The sound grew louder as another bug squeezed through the vent, followed by two more – no, three . . . four . . .

 

Faye screamed as the room began to fill with insects. Finn jumped up from the bed, stamping on one that he knocked off her arm and lunging at others too – but there were too many.

 

‘Where are they coming from?’ Faye cried.

 

‘I don’t know – they must have been hiding, or trying to find another way inside the motel. We have to get out of here.’ Finn grabbed her arm, making for the door.

 

‘Wait,’ she said. ‘Wait – the case. We’ll need it!’

 

She pulled her hand out of Finn’s and ran back to the bed, forcing the case shut and hoping there were no bugs caught inside. She dragged it after her, but it was so heavy she nearly fell. One of the creatures landed on her chest, its feet scrabbling against the thin cotton of her shirt. Faye swatted it away as Finn grabbed the case from her hand and pushed her back out into the corridor.

 

They ran for the motel’s reception, the bugs following close behind. Faye threw the room key at the desk and then sprinted ahead and pulled open the glass doors. They both headed for the car, the bugs thudding against the glass behind them.

 

‘I’ll drive,’ Finn shouted at Faye as he threw the case into the back. ‘We have to get out of here fast. It won’t take them long to find their way out of the motel again!’

 

Faye didn’t argue, sliding into the passenger seat as Finn started the engine. They skidded out of the empty parking lot and onto the deserted road in a screech of burned rubber.

 

Faye turned to look over her shoulder as they roared away, wondering how much distance they needed to put between them and the bugs before they’d give up and look for new quarry.

 

‘It was almost as if they were hunting us,’ she said, shivering at the thought. ‘Finn – do you think they were?’

 

She looked back to see him hunched over the steering wheel. He glanced in the rear-view mirror with a shake of his head. ‘I don’t know, and I hope we don’t find out.’

 

The road ahead of them stretched away into the barren distance. Faye squinted into the sun, wishing she’d had time to find some sunglasses in Liz’s case.

 

‘Look,’ she said after a while. ‘There’s something on the horizon.’

 

The ‘something’ turned out to be the Black Dogs they’d lost during the bug chase. Finn flashed his lights on and off – it was a code that he used when he wanted to signal to the pack, Faye remembered. The men pulled over when they realized who was behind them, waiting for the car to catch up. Finn rolled to a stop and got out, Faye following suit.

 

‘Are you OK?’ he asked Hopkins, one of the younger bikers – he looked younger, anyway; Faye had no idea how old he really was.

 

Hopkins nodded. ‘We’re fine. Opened up our engines and managed to outrun the little freaks. What the hell were those things?’

 

Finn shook his head. ‘Nothing good. I’m glad we caught up with you – I wasn’t sure we would. We stopped at a motel back there, hoping that the storm would pass.’

 

Faye saw Hopkins raise his eyebrows, laughter in his eyes. ‘So you and Faye stopped at a motel, huh? Thought there was time for a kiss-stop, did ya?’

 

Faye felt herself blush, but Finn just looked annoyed. ‘The car couldn’t outrun them. We thought the motel would be safe to hide in, but we were wrong. It was like the Mary Celeste – totally abandoned. Maybe the bugs had chased everyone away.’

 

Hopkins’s expression changed from teasing to serious. ‘That doesn’t sound good. We should get out of here.’

 

Finn nodded. ‘Agreed.’

 

‘So you’re still on their trail?’ Faye asked. ‘You didn’t lose it in all that?’

 

Hopkins grimaced. ‘Actually, we did. Had to race right out into the desert – only rejoined the road a while back. By the time we did, the trail had gone cold. Sorry, boss,’ he added. ‘How about you? Have you got anything?’

 

Finn shook his head. ‘Nope. The scent has gone.’

 

Faye rubbed a hand over her face. ‘Then what are we going to do? We’ve got no idea where we’re going, or what we’re looking for. Do we?’