They walked for what must have been hours, but it was easier. Miriam didn't feel as cold and wasn't getting tired as quickly as she normally would have.

She wondered if Davis's earring was the reason for this. Davis, on the other hand, looked a little smaller than he had previously and he walked slower. It made her uncomfortable.

He had seemed stronger in the ruins. She wanted to ask if her new-found strength came from him if she had become stronger by making him weaker, but she could no longer ask.

She had questions jump out at her from the landscape since they had left the agency. Everywhere she looked she saw something strange and out of place.

What was with the half-buried lights? Was that a statue of a penguin? Was there any more of the creatures that chased her and Echo in the ruins? Where were the stars?

She noticed many things now, not having to think about getting warm or safe and not being in charge of where they were going. She almost asked them too. She had never been not able to ask before. It was a hard habit to break. Frustration grew in her like a spider weaving a web, bigger with every unasked question that she would never know the answer to.

The cat, Caleb, and Echo had no trouble with keeping pace. Caleb only spoke to Miriam to warn her that it would be a long walk before they reached the town. He didn't tell her where they were going, or exactly how far away it was.

Echo ran ahead and stalled behind to look at everything that interested her. The first time it was a firefly, which danced around and in between her fingers as she twirled around and twiddled them. It threw pretty, delicate light on her smiling face when she moved her hand passed her lips and eyes. Miriam couldn't help but smile at the strange sight of the two of them dancing.

Another time she had stopped altogether and stared at a place that looked empty to Miriam. She didn't look like she was breathing, and Miriam watched her but kept walking. She had stayed there until Davis had called her to catch up with them.

Then she startled and ran after them, but she looked back over her shoulder. It made Miriam feel like she had walked through a ghost and she shuddered.

Eventually, Davis stopped and looked at the cat. He was as annoyed as Miriam felt.

"Hey!"

Caleb stopped and turned to look at the boy slowly.

"We've been walking for ages. There was a town closer. Where are we going?"

The cat exhaled sharply and swiftly three times. Miriam realised that this was his version of laughing.

"So you can sense the gathering places then? Well, that explains how you're still alive. We were curious about that."

Davis flushed.

"Where are we going?" he repeated, gritting his teeth.

"You don't need to know where," the cat said, his voice soft and sweet in a mocking way. "Trust us. We will lead you well."

Davis took a step towards the cat, but Echo ran forward and caught hold of his head. His head snapped towards her.

"What?"

She tugged on his hand.

"Up," she said.

"What? Let go."

"Lift," she demanded and jumped on his back.

"GET OFF!"

She crawled up his back, avoiding and ignoring his reach and protests. Miriam had to pinch her arm not to laugh. The cat looked at them, met Miriam's eye and gave her a slow, soft blink, his version of a smile.

Then he turned and started walking again. Davis gave up and let Echo wrap her legs around his back, catching them so she wouldn't fall off. She was delighted with him and showed this delight by hitting the top of his head, giggling madly and pointing after the cat.

Miriam couldn't tell if Davis was more annoyed or not when he spoke again to the cat.

"Why are we going this way?"

"We don't know," said the cat. "We never do. We just know the way. The reason is none of our business."

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"That's not true," said Davis. "There was the Queen's guide. He knew the reasons."

He said it softly, in a tone of voice Miriam had never heard him use. He sounded almost sad.

"Ah yes, there was him. He had his own reasons as well," said the cat. "He wasn't really a guide though. He could have been once. We offered him the job when he was a boy. He turned the profession down. Thought he had greater things in store for him."

Davis laughed. Miriam looked at him, surprised. He had a nice laugh and a pleasant smile. It disturbed her.

"Yet the greatest thing he ever did was guide the Queen."

The cat blink-smiled at him.

"His life is not over yet, boy. He might do more yet."

Davis snorted, as though this made the whole thing funnier. It was common knowledge for them and completely unknown to her. It didn't even occur to them to explain.

She tapped the boy on the shoulder and made a motion with her hand for him to keep going. She wanted to know as much about the Queen as she could find out before she met the woman. His smile vanished and his face hardened.

"Oh. Don't worry about it. It's ancient history now. We probably shouldn't be talking about it anyway."

"No," agreed the cat. "We are too used to being free to speak our mind. "Apologies, we should have remembered and not said anything."

"It's okay," said the boy. "I'm glad you did. I didn't know that."

Miriam glared at them and turned away, falling back so that she was no longer walking with them. They walked until Caleb decided that it was time for them to rest. He did this without telling any of them and allowed them to stand, waiting for him to finish licking the back of his paw for a few minutes before deciding that they were annoying him.

"Sit down while you have the chance. We won't be letting you stop often so make the best of it."

Echo jumped off Davis and walked around them in a circle three times, dragging her foot along as though marking a circle. Davis didn't say anything, just examined Caleb with a slow smile spreading across his face. He looked at him, with his head tilted slightly to one side.

"How old are you?" he asked the cat.

"We are older than you," said the cat.

"Were you always a guide?"

"No, but all we remember of that is milk and mother."

"Where are you from?"

"A gone place."

Miriam watched the exchange with interest. Davis had ignored Caleb and everyone else in the agency and now seemed to be overly interested.

Was it something about Caleb knowing the Queen's guide? Or was he trying something else?

"Why are you a guide?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time. We do not like being around too many people and we liked to travel."

"Liked?"

"The world was nicer in the before."

"How do we know you aren't leading us to our deaths? It's clear you don't give a shit about what happens to us. Why should we follow you? I've already made it clear that I could take us to other towns. How do we know we're safe with you?"

He looked at Miriam when he asked the last question, but she was looking at Echo. Miriam smiled at his obvious tactic.

He would try to get her to think that Caleb was not trust-worthy and then suggest she leave with him. Maybe he thought she forgot easily.

"It is true. We do not care if you are damaged. But if this damage is because of us, we are no longer a guide and will be unable to find our way to our home and our Ebb."

Davis had nothing to say to this so he turned away from the cat and lay down.

"Go to sleep," he told Miriam. "You're tired."

Miriam didn't feel tired, but she lay down all the same. She knew she wouldn't get much time to rest on this journey and she may as well make use of it. As soon she closed her eyes, she fell into a deep sleep.

______________________________

In the dream, she opened her eyes. She couldn't smell the lavender incest that burned on her mother's bedside table. Her mum was asleep over her blankets, fully dressed.

It is one of the few times Miriam has seen her mother without makeup on. Clear tear tracks ran down her face. Her sleeping hand was still lightly catching her phone, and Miriam's lay on the bed next to it.

Miriam tried to call out. She felt the words pass her lips. She whispered and she screamed but she didn't make any sound.

"I'm here. I'm here. I'M HERE!"

She banged on the glass and her mother moved slightly. Miriam screamed and banged on the glass again The glass cracked. Her mother woke up. But so did Miriam.

___________________________

Davis was shaking her shoulder. She looked around for Echo and found the girl jumping back and forth over the line in the sand she had drawn earlier.

"Are you okay?" Davis asked Miriam, and when she nodded he gave her some dried fruit. She wanted to ask how long she had been sleeping. "You're hungry. Eat."

She wasn't hungry, but she took the food anyway. The fruit exploded on her tongue and she ate four pieces before she was satisfied. He said nothing, just passed her the food silently until she was finished.

She noticed that she didn't ask him for more food or indicate that she was done. The small, invisible hairs at the back of her neck rose and a quiver ran through her stomach. He had just known. How had he just known?

She was glad, hours later, when they stumbled onto a wide path. Davis jumped over a wall first and caught the rest of them as they jumped down.

Echo went first. She climbed up so she could jump off again so she went last too. She went to do it again but Caleb yelled at her. He told her that they would not wait for her. She pouted and tugged at his tail, causing him to hiss and spit, but she didn't climb the wall again.

Davis walked next to Miriam and leant down to whisper in her ear.

"I think she likes me," he said, with a hint of something she didn't want to hear in his voice. "Does that mean you like me?"

Miriam stopped, looked him in the eyes and smiled until he was smiling too. Then she shook her head and gave him the finger. He didn't understand the gesture but she could tell that he got a general idea.

Caleb had called it a town, but it wasn't really.

There were people and buildings, but the buildings were collapsing and the people lived in brightly coloured tents. A hundred lights or more moved through them, making spots of fabric shine brightly against the night and making it easy to see how many people had gathered.

There was a night-time market happening, and even from a distance, it was one of the most wondrous things Miriam had ever seen. She wanted to run off and explore it. Like she did as a small child when her mother took her to car booth sales.