The man sitting in the booth opposite caught Sannah's eye and smiled. She looked down at the screen, not smiling back. She hated these dirty Internet cafes. Full of people doing things they shouldn't, the screens all caked with grime.

But she needed to work out how to get to Judit, and the first thing school would do if she disappeared would be to check the browser history on her screen, and then track it to see where it was. So she'd left it behind.

Sannah's eyes flicked quickly between the screen and her notebook. Sherbourne seemed to be pretty proud of this rewilding. There was stuff about it everywhere. The details were pretty shady, though.

She'd found the forest, and a good starting point for where Judit might be: an administrative document, hidden deep in a file of funding information, listed a finance manager's address as a Caledian Forest Field Station.

A quick search of satellite mapping showed a sprawling building tucked into the southern edge of the Caledian Forest, an expanse of green that covered the North of Albia right up to the blue of the sea, like the island was wearing a hat.

Sannah quickly noted down the coordinates and zoomed out on the map to find the nearest town. A bit of scrolling revealed a small settlement, about ten kilometres south. This had a train station, and a quick search revealed she could —yes!—get there from Westway Station. Not too far from here!

The train would take hours and was prohibitively expensive. It's okay, Sannah thought, grimly. I have the money.

There was no question she would spend it to get to Judit, but still...the thought of losing her Sherbourne application fee hit Sannah in the chest like a fist. Ironic, really. She was using the money to get to Sherbourne University, after all. Just not in the way she had imagined.

It's okay, she told herself. There's still weeks before the deadline. I'll get Judit back and I'll make it again. It would take hours of work, but she was young. She didn't need sleep. She'd been asked to write cheat essays once, even first year university stuff, and the money had been tempting. Maybe she could do that. No, she didn't want to. She could make money ethically.

Sannah noted down the train times. The first one was in the morning, at 5.45 am. It would take her about an hour to get to Westway Station, on two buses.

She didn't want to go back to school and try to sneak out in the middle of the night. If she was caught breaking curfew they'd tag her, and then it would be impossible to leave.

No. She'd go now, then pay for her ticket in cash at the station, so her MoneyID couldn't be traced. No one would realise she was gone until alarm call at seven a.m., by which point she'd be well on her way.

It was decided.

Sannah pushed her notes into her pocket and pulled her bag onto her shoulder, lifting the hood of her jacket to hide her distinctive Exotic hair from any drones that might be recording the street.

Going. It almost felt good.

Sannah exited the cafe, studiously avoiding the other customers, all of whom were men. She found a cash machine and, with her heart feeling like it was simultaneously in her mouth and shoes, put in her moneyID and withdrew her life savings.

She folded the notes carefully and put them into the inside pocket of her bag, tucked behind an old paperback book she'd found: if she couldn't have her screen, she at least wanted something to read. She walked towards a bus stop and stood in the dark, calmly going over her plan.

Bus number one. Bus number two. Then she'd get the train to that inconsequential town, get a taxi to the field station. Or even walk. Whatever. She'd cross that bridge—and what to do with Judit when she found her—when she came to it. She'd never not had a plan before, but it was alright. She was taking action. That's all that mattered right now.

She heard people coming towards the bus stop and sank her head down into her jacket collar, until only her eyes were on show. The couple looked at her uneasily as they passed, the woman grasping tighter on her bag. For a fleeting second Sannah felt wretchedly alone.

The bus arrived.

Sannah peeled a note from her wad of money and passed it to the driver. She didn't bother sitting down, standing at the front, swinging with the corners, urging the bus toward her destination, an interchange in an unfamiliar part of town.

She got off, waited at the stop for the next one. It was poor here, the buildings neglected and the shop signs badly designed. It smelled like exhaust and takeaway.

There were more Exotic faces than she'd ever seen before, intermingled with the Generics passing by. That was strange to Sannah. They'd always lived in Generic neighbourhoods, and her mum had no family, no Exotic friends. She felt so Generic that it was easy to forget what she looked like until she saw it reflected in the mistrust in other people's eyes.

A group of Exotic guys were conferring in a tight circle on the other side of the road. They looked at her, and it was her turn to cling to her bag, thinking of the riches within.

Luckily the bus came quickly. The driver ignored her, shaking his head at the gang of men through his windscreen. It felt hostile, as did the dark eye sockets of the tired workers in the bus seats, so she headed away from their accusatory eyelines, to the top deck.

The top was empty save for a group of Exotic teenagers, two girls and a boy, with their feet up on the front seats, and a couple of Generic men sitting silently in the shadows at the back. The teenagers were laughing and looking at their screens, dressed in that off spec, gaudy, Tahki Leoni style that was popular with young Exotics.

The Exotic boy shot Sannah a suggestive smile as she emerged from the stairwell. She averted her eyes quickly and moved towards the back of the bus, where she slid into a seat and fixed her face on the window.

Occasional yellow lights distorted though the misted glass, but she couldn't see anything else of the outside world. She had a moment of panic that she wouldn't know when the bus arrived at the train station and would miss her stop.

"Hey."

The Exotic guy at the front of the bus was talking to her. Sannah pretended not to notice.

"Hey you! Why don't you come sit with us?"

He ducked his head towards the window, and Sannah couldn't help but catch his eye. She looked down. She could hear the girls giggling, and clutched the strap of her bag tighter.

He was more insistent the next time.

"Hey, little lady! Come sit with us, eh?"

He patted the seat next to him. Sannah smiled tightly and shook her head, the movement barely perceptible.

"Aw, come on." His voice was soft and persuasive. "Come sit with us. I really think you should. Don't you, Gamma? She should sit with us."

He motioned to one of the girls with him. She looked at him pointedly before turning to face the front of the bus.

"Come on. Where you going tonight? Come sit here and tell me."

He beckoned her with a big looping movement of his hand.

"I'm fine. Thank you."

Sannah's voice echoed formal and unnatural in the quiet bus. She pulled out her paperback, almost sending her money onto the bus floor, and pretended to read it in the hope he would leave her alone. He didn't. If anything, his insistence stepped up a notch.

"Come sit with us, yeah? I really think you should. Come on, sit here."

He stood up as if to come to Sannah, then seemed to think better of it. He hesitated, his eyes flickering from Sannah to his female companions, from the stairwell to the men at the back of the bus.

"Come on. You know you should. Let's...chat. I'm a nice guy. I've got no harm. I'm licit, aren't I? I'm good to know."

He looked to his female companions, who ignored him. One took out her screen and began scrolling, her eyes fixed on the glowing rectangle in her hands.

"I'm fine," Sannah said firmly, emboldened by his momentary show of weakness. "Thank you."

She lifted her book and put on a show of reading, watching him with her peripheral vision. She saw one of the girls put her hand on his arm and, with a pointed look, pull him back into his seat. Their heads were together for a moment, whispering. He twisted to give Sannah one more glance, his brow knotted, then turned toward the front of the bus.

Sannah's shoulders relaxed, and the line of text she'd been staring at in her book swam into focus. She read it again and again.

She realised her breath was coming very fast, and tried to slow it. Where were they? She put the book back into her bag and leaned into the window to try and get a glimpse of the landscape. The bus was about to enter a brick tunnel. This wasn't the station. They weren't there yet. Someone behind her rang the bell.

It happened so quickly that Sannah didn't realise what was going on.

"Give us your money."

Hands grabbed each of Sannah's arms from behind, pinning her to the bus seat. One of the men from the back of the bus was in the aisle next to her. He had her bag. It must be the other one holding her down, his fingers painful in the soft flesh of her upper arm.

"Scream and I'll cut you," her captor hissed. "Where's your screen?"

"I don't have one."

Sannah heard her own voice like it was a stranger's. The man in the aisle pulled her bag with him as he moved quickly towards the front of the bus. His hands went straight for the pocket. He must have seen the cash when I took out the book. Was she going to die? Her throat was sore with fear.

The bus began to shudder to a halt. The man with her bag disappeared down the stairs. The brakes screeched, and her captor released her and followed him. It was seamless. Before she had time to think or breathe or curse herself for her stupidity, the bus was moving again and they were gone.

Gone. Her money was gone. The reality of the situation opened up around Sannah like a chasm. She couldn't catch her breath.

They had her money. (They couldn't have!) Everything was gone. (It can't be!) The plan was over. (There must be something!) There was nothing. (There must be something!) There was nothing. This was the end. It can't be the end. It was the end. The end of everything.