The Power of Five Oblivion

could, Scarlett searched for them in the dreamworld, only to find herself utterly alone in the arid landscape. Just once she glimpsed someone and hurried towards them, but even as she drew close, she realized it was the man in the shirt and waistcoat who had made his first appearance when she was in hospital. Once again he turned his head and she saw his dark glasses and gold teeth and heard him mutter the same word: “Five!” She was glad to wake up.
    During the day, she and Richard could spend a whole hour in silence, staring out at the endless sand as if just wishing it could make Matt and the others appear. The sand blew. Distant gunfire rattled through the streets. From time to time a jeep would come racing in and a broken, bloody body would be unloaded onto a stretcher and rushed into the hospital. But whatever was going on around them, they weren’t part of it.
    And then there was the question of Scarlett’s power. Would she really have been able to do what Tarik demanded? Richard had to ask her – and did, while they were having lunch together.
    “I don’t know, Richard,” Scarlett replied. Lunch was flatbread, some cheese and a dip made from chickpeas and garlic. “I think I do still have some sort of power. Do you remember this morning – about eleven o’clock?”
    “The storm stopped for a few minutes. I could actually see some blue in the sky.”
    “That was me. At least, I think it was. I was just experimenting really. I wanted to see what would happen so I sort of willed the sand to stop blowing. And it did for a bit. I was only able to keep it up for about five minutes though…”
    “Well, I’d keep practising if I were you. If we’re going to bust out of here, we’re going to need all the help we can get.”
    That had been the day before. And now, here was Samir; a thin, serious man who had been a student at Cairo University when the war began and, with his wispy beard and wire-framed glasses, still looked like one. He had been wounded in some of the earlier fighting. Scarlett had once seen him with his shirt open. The front of his chest was a mass of scar tissue. But he never complained. He was devoted to Tarik. He, more than any of them, had been shocked that Scarlett had refused to do what she had been asked.
    He didn’t greet them. He made no attempt to be friendly or polite. He simply marched in with two soldiers alongside him and Albert Rémy following behind. “You are leaving Cairo tomorrow morning,” he said.
    “Where are they going?” Rémy asked. It seemed to Richard that the Frenchman had aged since they had arrived. He looked tired and there were more creases in his face.
    “To Dubai.”
    That made a certain amount of sense. The rebel army received its supplies from Dubai, as Rémy had already explained. It was still an independent country with a government in control and a working airport, although little had been heard from there for a while now. But at the same time, there was nothing for them there. It was a long journey to nowhere.
    “What’s the point of sending us there?” Richard asked. “The door is here, in Egypt, at the pyramids. That’s our way out.”
    “It has already been explained to you, Mr Cole. An assault on the pyramids is not feasible. They are too well guarded.”
    “Then how are you going to get us to Dubai? Are we taking the bus?”
    “You do not need to know that. Transport has been arranged. All you need to know is that you will be leaving here at first light. Six o’clock. Tonight you will return to your rooms early and you are not permitted to go out. Tarik will be coming here tomorrow morning and he will travel with you on the first leg of your journey.” He turned to Rémy. “You will also go, Mr Rémy. You are no longer required here and you have no reason to stay.”
    “Of course. My place is with Scarlett.”
    “So what happens when we get there?” Richard asked. He wasn’t sure why, but there was something he didn’t like about this and he was unable to keep the suspicion out of his voice.
    “That is not our business. You wish to find your friends. You can start from there. Six o’clock tomorrow. Be ready.” Samir and the other two men wheeled round and left.
    Scarlett didn’t look much happier than Richard, but Rémy was delighted by the news. “I told you that Tarik would come through!” he exclaimed. “You have no idea how much it will have cost him – the time and the resources – to arrange this for