The Power of Five Oblivion

hope of starting a new life. Some of them have come from as far away as Africa and India. Every night, hundreds of them die on the streets of this city and when the winter comes it will be even worse. There are huge camps out in Aversa and Arienzo – tens of thousands of people – but the authorities do not really want to help them. They would prefer them to die. Some say the camps are there to help them on their way.” He paused. “You don’t know any of this?”
    Pedro shook his head. “No. I don’t understand. What you’re saying … the world isn’t like that!”
    “What are you talking about? What do you mean?”
    “I’m talking about the world that I knew. I saw the newspapers. I saw television. There was nothing about any fighting…”
    “There are no newspapers and how can there be TV when we have no electricity?” Francesco examined Pedro carefully. “What you are saying is mad and I do not know if we should trust you. But Giovanni says that they are afraid of you and that is enough. We must help you. And my father, who once studied theology in the University of Rome, becomes interested when you talk about the five of you.”
    “Cinque!” The old man repeated the word again, vigorously nodding his head.
    “But whoever you are and whatever reason you are here, you cannot stay in Naples. That is the first consideration before all else. I have to think about the safety of my family. You may believe it would be impossible to find you in a city with so many poor people who have no addresses and no identities. You even look Italian. But you have no idea what you are about to unleash. If you are who my father thinks you are, the police will tear down whole buildings and drag away everyone inside them to find you. And any one of the people who saw you tonight will be glad to sell you for the price of a meal. So far they have been slow because they did not expect you to find a way out of the Castel Nuovo. Unlike Giovanni, they did not know about the old sewer system. But soon it will begin and by then you must be gone.”
    The old man spoke again and Francesco raised a hand, silencing him.
    “It is too dangerous for you to travel by land. There are checkpoints everywhere. But we can talk to Angelo. He has the boat. He can take you up the coast to Rome and there are friends there who will shelter you. All that matters is that you leave here as soon as you can.”
    Pedro tried to take all this in. The trouble was that it was all happening too quickly; first the prison, then the escape, Giovanni, the nightmare of the sewer, the city and now this family, sitting in the half-light of an empty flat, telling him what he had to do. Nothing added up. Naples was a big European city, a place where people went to art galleries and smart restaurants. He had seen pictures of it in magazines. But this Naples seemed to be nothing more than a giant camp for refugees – and all these things that the man was talking about … flooding and wars. Whatever Francesco was telling him, Pedro had watched television when he was in Nazca with Matt and Richard. They had read the news and surfed the Internet. There had never been anything about any of this. Why were the schools closed? And how could a boy as young as Giovanni end up working in a kitchen? In Lima that might be possible, but not here. Was this man lying to him? He surely didn’t have any reason to and he genuinely seemed to want to help. But nothing he had said had any connection with the world that Pedro knew.
    Only one thing was certain. He couldn’t leave. Not on his own.
    “I have to see Scott,” he said.
    Giovanni had understood nothing of the conversation but the mention of the name caused him to look round sharply. “Scott?” Francesco asked.
    “He was a prisoner with me. He’s my friend. I can’t go anywhere without him. I certainly can’t leave him with them.”
    “Is he in the castle?”
    “Yes. He was in my cell but then they took him away. I have to go back for him…”
    Pedro hadn’t touched his second bowl of soup, which had gone cold in front of him. He was still hungry but he slid it towards the two girls, who glanced briefly at Francesco for permission. He nodded and they began to eat greedily, attacking the bowl with their spoons.
    “You broke out of the Castel Nuovo by a miracle and only because you happened to meet my nephew. He brought you across the city to one of the few places where you would be safe. And you want to go