‘But she’s a Gem,’ Katie says. ‘Is she a prisoner or something?’
Alice scoffs. ‘Keep up. She’s on team Imp. They created her, they looked after her – she hates the Gems.’
‘And this zombie will tell us how to get home?’ Katie asks.
‘That’s the plan,’ Nate says.
‘She’s our best shot?’ Katie says. ‘Our best shot at going home? A really, really old woman called Baby?’
I glance at Nate and Alice, who both offer stilted nods and mutter, ‘It’s Baba.’
Katie laughs – a sad titter. ‘We are so screwed.’
We pause in front of a sagging building. I recognize it from the film: Zula’s Tavern. Saskia and Matthew took Rose there after she released the thistle-bomb to celebrate her first successful mission, and to give her some courage before meeting Thorn. At least, I think it’s the same tavern; it looks dirtier and ready to collapse – the door is riddled with woodworm, and a sap-like substance oozes from the brickwork. It actually looks more like I imagined when I read the book, before it got the old Hollywood makeover. I notice the poster of President Stoneback hangs from the wall, softened by rainwater and torn by the wind, same as the film. But this President has horns drawn on his head and a noose scribbled around his throat; detail which didn’t make it into the book, or the film, or my own mental image. Detail which makes it all seem scarily real.
‘Zula will fix up that arm of yours,’ Saskia says to Matthew.
This confirms my suspicion, and I realize I stand exactly where Rose stood, just left of the door. I get this creepy feeling like I’m retracing the footsteps of a ghost.
Matthew nods at Alice. ‘You think it’s wise, flaunting a Gem-lookalike under their noses? There’s a bad crowd in there some days, and even in them overalls, I don’t think she was fooling anyone out on the street.’
‘You got any better ideas?’ Saskia replies. ‘You’re not going to make it across the city bleeding like that.’ She looks Alice up and down. ‘He’s right though. You still look like a Gem.’
‘Not with this thing on, surely.’ Alice scans the overalls, her nose wrinkling with disgust.
‘We could knock a couple of your teeth out,’ Saskia says.
Alice’s hand flies to her mouth, partly from shock, partly to protect it.
‘That’s a bit extreme, isn’t it?’ I say.
Saskia grins. ‘You won’t be saying that if the Imps think she’s a Gem. You’ll be wishing I’d knocked her teeth out.’
‘Steady, Saskia,’ Matthew says. ‘If you bloody up her mouth now she’ll attract more attention.’ He places his hands on Alice’s shoulders. ‘You can slouch, yeah?’
Alice adjusts her posture so she’s an inch or so shorter.
Saskia laughs. ‘Well that did a lot of bloody good.’ She sidesteps Matthew so she can inspect Alice more closely. ‘That hair’s gotta go, tucking it into your overalls like that . . . it just looks like you’re hiding summit.’
I think Alice may whimper. ‘Not my hair.’
‘Blondes are unusual in the city, hair dye’s pretty low down the list of necessities, but we can hack it off.’ She pulls a knife from her belt and begins to wipe it on her shirt-tail.
All the colour drains from Alice’s face, leaving only two streaks of blusher that stare from her cheeks like war paint. ‘You can’t be serious.’
‘It’s only hair,’ Katie says. ‘It’s better than the alternative.’
‘Yeah, come on, Barbie,’ Nate says. ‘Let’s see you work a basin cut.’ But even he sounds a little afraid.
Saskia approaches Alice with the knife, and this time Matthew doesn’t intervene, obviously considering this a sensible idea.
I see Alice’s coral lips quiver, her whole body fold in on itself. And suddenly I’m seven years old, sitting behind her braiding her hair, the scent of cherry blossom and lemongrass, the strands slipping through my fingers and catching the sun like threads of gold. I want to grab that knife and throw it into the mud, but something stops me. Fear, I think – the way those Imps looked at her on the street. The hate in their eyes.
‘Hold still.’ Saskia bundles up the ends of Alice’s hair and pulls her head back.
Alice starts to struggle, pawing at the air before her. ‘No, no, please.’
‘Bloody hell,’ Saskia says. ‘Grab her will you, Matthew, and make her shut it.’
But before Matthew can move, I’ve clasped Alice’s arm and begun whispering into her ear. ‘You always wanted short hair, remember? Like Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face. It will show off your bone structure and that lovely long neck of yours. And when we get home, I’ll take you to Toni & Guy and get it tidied up. You’ll look amazing, I promise.’ I feel her body relax a little. ‘It’s for the best – you need to blend in right now.’
Tears sparkle in her inky eyes, but she stops struggling and squeezes my hand. ‘OK, OK, I get it. I’m just too beautiful for this dump.’ She kneels, demonstrating her cooperation.
Saskia pulls the sheet of gold taut and begins to lop off great chunks. They float towards the ground like yellow feathers. When Saskia’s done, Alice runs her fingers through her cropped hair, her face rigid. She then puts her hands over her face and begins to weep.
‘Oh, for God’s sake,’ Saskia says, tucking the knife back into her belt. ‘You keep crying like that and you’ll wash away the dirt. Then I’ll have to rub your face in the mud.’
Katie and I help Alice up. It’s as though she’s wounded on the inside, as though she’s Samson from the Bible. Even Nate must understand how hard this is for her, cos he smiles and says, ‘You look great, Alice, honest.’ Though he can’t resist adding, ‘And if the career in writing fails, you can always get a part in the next Lego movie.’
‘It suits you,’ Matthew says.
Saskia frowns and plonks her hands on her hips. ‘Right, keep quiet, all of you, if you make a break for it, you know what I’ll do, yeah?’ She knots her long, streaked hair into a loose bun like she’s getting ready for business. She did this in the film, and it strikes me as odd that in spite of the changes caused by our arrival – Rose’s death, the hanging of the nine Imps – we still seem to be in sync with canon. My thoughts topple like dominoes: in canon, a controller lurked behind that tavern door. I know the passage from the novel backwards. Controllers – self-appointed enforcers of Imp-city law. Of course there is no law, only their greed and their twisted desires. They took a shine to Rose, got a little too friendly, and she had to use her last thistle-bomb as a decoy so she, Saskia and Matthew could make their escape. They ended up hiding in a bricked-up doorway down some alley to avoid being lynched. At least Rose isn’t here to catch the controller’s eye – only Alice. My heart sinks.
Saskia’s about to lean into the door.
‘Wait,’ I say.
Nate’s eyes widen and I can tell he’s connected the dots too.
‘What now?’ Saskia pauses, half in, half out.
‘We don’t know who’s inside . . . they may be dangerous,’ I say.