“You nicked my clothes?” The boy looked incredulous. “And my watch?” He scooted backward on the sand, but struggled to stay covered.
“We didn’t take your clothes.” Natalie’s voice was soothing. “I’m Natalie. I know this sounds crazy, but you came through a wormhole, and your clothes didn’t make it. I’ll answer all your questions in a minute, I promise. But first, where were you when the heat hit?”
The boy flinched. “How’d you know that?” His accent was tough, like a brogue. He narrowed his eyes at Natalie. “Wha’ja do to me?”
“I didn’t do anything.” The edge crept back into Nat’s voice. “The heat, it’s a gate. A portal. A wormhole, and it brought you here. But where were you?”
The boy blinked. “Mykonos. On holiday.”
“Okay.” She nodded, smiling like normal Nat. “Do you remember what day it was?”
“What day?” The rookie looked thrown.
“Try to remember,” Nat urged, gently. “What day was it?”
He told her, and she nodded. “And the year?”
She nodded again. “Okay, like I said, I’m Natalie. What’s your name?”
“Rory.”
“Welcome to Nil, Rory,” Natalie said.
“Nil?” Rory frowned. “Where the ’ell’s Nil?”
“Good question,” Charley said.
Rory jerked his eyes to her, lingering on her legs before traveling north. Watching his lip curl into a smile, I fought the urge to knock him back unconscious.
“Who’re you?” he asked Charley.
“Charley. Been here thirteen days.” Her response killed allthoughts of Rory. How would Charley know the days were so important? “Just thought you’d like knowing you’re not the only one new to the freak show,” she added, smiling.
She doesn’t know, I thought, strangely relieved.She’s just being kind.
Natalie spoke back up. “Nil’s an island. We all got here the same way you did, and we’re all trying to get home. Gates go both ways.” She smiled wryly. “Welcome to paradise.”
“Bloody ’ell.” The boy looked from Charley to Natalie, then swept the rest of us. When he passed over Heesham and Rives, he stiffened, and his eyes flew back to Natalie and settled, hard. “You think I’m a fuckingeejit?” He glared at her. “That I’ll buy this Alice in Wonderland shit yer selling? What’re you blokes really after? Money?”
“Hardly.” Natalie sounded disgusted. “What we’ve told you is the truth. It’s up to you what you want to believe.”
“Bloody ’ell,” Rory said. “I’ve got no bathers, no mobile, no idea where the fuck I am or who the fuck you nutters are.” His fingers gripped the wrap so tightly they turned white; freckles popped out like dirt. “Fucking fairy-tale nut jobs.”
“Like I said, you’re on Nil,” Natalie snapped, “and it’s no fairy tale, let me tell you that. And if you wouldn’t mind, would you please stop using the wordfuckso much? It’s getting on my fucking nerves.” Then she stormed away.
I was shocked. I’d never heard Nat cuss, let alone ditch a rookie.
“Be right back,” I told Charley. Then I glanced at Rives, who was eyeing Rory with a mix of contempt and pity. “Rives, you got this covered, eh?”
“Yeah.” Rives nodded. “Go.”
I had to jog to catch Natalie. “Nat, you okay?”
She turned, and I was stunned to see tears streaming down her face. “I can’t take it anymore. People come, people go. Jerks drop in,and Kevin’sgone.” Her voice cracked. “I’m done. I want out. I want Kevin, and I want to go home.”
She looked ready to break, or maybe she had.
“I know. Hey—” I moved to hug her, but she held up one hand. “No. I’m fine,” she said, sounding remarkably steady. “Get back to Charley.”
