The Power of Five Oblivion

adapted remarkably quickly. There had been no hysterics, no tears. At the end of the day, she had actually saved them all, using powers that she had never known she had.
    From one fifteen-year-old to another. It seemed to Lohan that Matt was very different from Scarlett. There was something detached about him, an inner strength and certainty that made him quite difficult to understand. When the two of them had found themselves together in Belém, with water lapping at the buildings and rotting corpses floating past in the gutter, he hadn’t even seemed surprised. And although Lohan was a lot older than him, with all the experience that his life in the Triad had brought him, it was Matt who had taken command.
    Matt was still the one making the decisions. They were going to Oblivion. It didn’t matter that it would be almost impossible to get there and that anyway it was the worst place on the planet, even more dangerous than Brazil. He didn’t care that the ice and the cold would kill them even if the Old Ones didn’t. That was their destination.
    And there was something else. Lohan was aware that Matt had changed since the business with Fernandinho. Maybe it was something he had seen or heard in the dreamworld. There was definitely something he wasn’t saying.
    Tired and footsore, they had reached a shabby, whitewashed village where a slave market was actually about to start and that was where they were now, watching from the edges. As far as Lohan could see, it was ideal. There were just a few children for sale, as well as some animals and a one-armed man who probably wouldn’t raise as much as five dollars. But the very fact that it was quiet and out of the way was in its favour. If Fernandinho was looking for them, he would be unlikely to find them here.
    Matt was leaning against a wall, looking weak and exhausted after the long walk. It occurred to Lohan that his value was probably going down with every day that passed, although the fact that he could pass as an American still added to his price. American slaves were highly prized. “I think we should go somewhere bigger,” he said.
    “Why? This is perfect!”
    “We’ll get a better price in a town.”
    “I can sell you here for a hundred dollars. Then I can pull you out and sell you again for two hundred dollars when we get to a town. We might as well get all the money we can.”
    “No, Lohan.” Matt shook his head. “We’re just wasting time here. Let’s keep going.”
    Lohan was astonished that he could be ordered about in this way. Just six months ago, he would never have dreamt that such a thing could happen. But there was something in Matt’s voice that told him there was no point arguing. They turned away from the slave market and set off again.
    It took them three hours to arrive at a much busier town, a place called Jangada, which stood at a busy intersection, with houses and shops piled up on each other like a traffic accident. There was a football stadium with broken floodlights and mouldering grass and even as Lohan and Matt arrived, another, larger slave market was about to begin. Once again, Lohan was suspicious. Could it just be coincidence that had brought them here? Or had Matt somehow known that the market was taking place?
    A large platform had been constructed in the stadium, with twenty men and a dozen boys aged from about eight to eighteen huddled together in shared misery. There were no women for sale. Jeeps and trucks were parked along the edge of what had once been the football pitch and there were groups of men – the buyers – already examining the merchandise. The whole place stank of animal dung and there were flies everywhere. It occurred to Lohan that even slavery might be preferable to life in this drab, forgotten place.
    Matt and Lohan were standing out of sight at one of the entrances, with empty seating rising above them. Lohan had brought a rope with him from the abandoned jeep. He began to tie a noose.
    “It may not be so easy to find me this time,” Matt said. “But don’t give up.”
    “Why should it be any more difficult than the last three times?” Lohan asked.
    Matt didn’t answer. Lohan lifted the rope over his head and pulled it tight around his neck. Matt flinched. He knew what was coming next and although he didn’t like it, he knew it had to be done. “OK,” he said. “I’m ready.”
    Lohan hit him across the face. Matt jerked backwards, making no sound. They both knew what they were