Page 172 of Serenity Falls

‘Our brains are more susceptible to suggestion while we’re sleeping.’

‘They’re brainwashing people?’

‘I think it’s more like a form of hypnosis. You notice those weird-ass pictures hanging in your house?’

‘Yes,’ her dad says fervently.

‘I’m pretty sure they’re part of it. Like the music they play everywhere. It’s all designed to keep people compliant and unquestioning.’

‘Plus, if everyone is asleep at night, they can do what they want without anyone noticing,’ Davey adds.

Sadie lets that sink in. ‘But it doesn’t work on everyone?’

‘No. I think the younger you are, the more resistant you are. And you two are new. They’ve had less time to work on you.’ She nods at Davey. ‘And of course Davey doesn’t have a bracelet.’

‘I guess they must have removed it when they took me away.’

Sadie looks at Stella. ‘Did your dad know about Davey being alive?’

‘I think my dad kept a lot of secrets. And that’s probably why he’s dead.’ She pauses. ‘When I took over, I started to notice the accidents. Most folk who died, I was told not to bother with an autopsy. Just prepare the body for the funeral. I tried to ignore it, but once you notice something, it’s like pulling a thread on a jumper. You can’t help picking at it. But I had no one to go to. No one I could trust.’

‘Couldn’t you talk to someone outside of Serenity Falls?’ her dad asks.

‘Well, aside from people thinking I was batshit crazy, every time I tried, something would stop me leaving. I’d get a call or there would be an accident on the highway, or my car wouldn’t start. Always something.’

‘Like they knew,’ Sadie murmurs.

‘Yeah.’ Stella sighs. ‘And I’m not immune to these.’ She holds up the wrist with the bracelet on. ‘After a while, it’s a struggle to keep pushing back.’

Sadie gets it, she supposes. Red pill. Blue pill.

Davey clears his throat. ‘We should hurry. The Conservators will have noticed your bracelets aren’t checking in by now.’

‘But we can help,’ Sadie says.

Stella shakes her head. ‘You need to leave. Unless your dad gets away from Serenity, even without the bracelet, he could have another attack. You can’t risk it.’

‘What about you?’ Dad asks.

Stella purses her lips. ‘Not your concern. We probably shouldn’t have dragged you into this.’

‘So why did you?’

‘Because you’re the first new people here in a long time. And it seems like you’re important to the Conservators.’ She pauses. ‘I guess I thought if you started asking questions, we might just crack the dam and maybe get some justice for Frankie and the others …’ She shakes her head. ‘But it doesn’t matter now. Okay, is there anything you need to get from the house? Clothes? Passports?’

‘We’re packed,’ Dad says.

‘Well, then …’ Stella breaks off and glances at Davey.

‘Shit,’ he mutters.

Her dad frowns. And then Sadie hears it.

The distinctive chimes of an ice-cream van.

51

When I was a kid, I would sit on the wall outside our house and wait for the ice-cream van to come round every Friday after tea. I remember the feeling in my stomach. Excitement, anticipation and then joy when I saw it appear around the corner of our road.