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and Grandpa are going to help me get better and then I can come home and we can start trying to get back to normal again. It won ’ t be for long. Please, my darling, please be strong for a little while longer. ’
    She sounds like her old self but I can see in her face that these words are costing a lot of effort. She looks tired and old. Her make-up doesn ’ t enhance her features, it just sort of sits on top of them like a mask. The panic and anger leaves my body and I suddenly feel so tired I want to curl up into a ball and sleep for a year.
    ‘ Okay. ’ I don’t look at her when I say it.
    ‘ You ’ re such a good girl. I’ll be back soon, I promise. Now come and give me another hug. ’
    That afternoon, Pa comes out into the garden and tries to be happy for my benefit but I can tell he’s upset by the way he keeps clenching and unclenching his fists and sticking his chin out in an almost defiant way, like a little boy.
    It’s a stiflingly warm day and the wind from the copter blades does nothing to relieve my hot exhaustion. It whips my sleek, newly straightened hair all around my face and the noise irritates me. Pa speaks and I only catch a few words above the noise.
    ‘ Stupid idiots. They put it down too near the roses. They ’ll be blown to bits. ’ But whereas a couple of months ago he would have been purple with rage. Today he just murmurs sadly. The fight seems to have escaped from Pa like air from a shrinking balloon. Before all this, I would have laid bets on him roaring and threatening throughout the Perimeter to get Skye ’ s killer recaptured, calling in favours, leaving no stone unturned. But Pa’s a broken man.
    He carries Ma ’ s cases across the lawn and helps her up into the plush cabin where two guards are already seated. She blows us kisses through her tears and then, just like that, she is gone.
    Pa and I watch the copter lift off into the air and bank north westwards. I want to go back into the house. I don’t want to watch it disappear into the empty blue sky. But Pa takes my hand and holds it tight. Makes me stay.
    ‘ Just you and me now, Riley, ’ he says, contemplating the silent garden.
     
    *
     
    In the months after the terror attacks, there were looters on every corner. Violent gun battles were an everyday occurrence between the police and the criminals who were previously denied the opportunity to be this bad.
    Those members of the police force who survived the horror realised they were fighting a losing battle, so they threw away their badges, kept their guns and joined the remaining civilians trying to make a new life for themselves.
    Vicious gangs patrolled the streets recruiting new members by force, and prostitution rings sprang up everywhere. Nobody was safe unless in the company of armed guards or privateers. The army was a presence but there weren ’ t enough troops to keep order everywhere.
    Luc ’ s and my own parents set up our own Perimeter quickly and efficiently, guessing that things had gone too far for them to recover any time soon. They went from door to door in our neighbourhood, explaining what they planned to do, giving each householder a chance to contribute or move out. Not a particularly friendly approach but, as Pa said, there was no time for niceties. Only a few people left the area. Most stayed and are now indebted to Pa and Eddie Donovan.
    So everyone has had to adapt to this new, harsher life. We barricade ourselves away with other decent people and those who can afford it hire professionals to protect them. The roads are rarely used anymore, but they still carry dangers from raiders, hijackers and other equally unpleasant characters. The army patrols half-heartedly, but its number has dropped as army conditions worsen and the lure of guards ’ pay becomes more enticing.
    Now England is among the most shut-off countries in the world. Closed borders, no transportation - only a select few own motor vehicles, as most people can’t get hold of