After discovering that human minds are created by creatures living in the atmosphere Tonya must discover the truth of who she really is before it's too late.
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Fifteen-year-old Tonya is a neglected teenager from London who...
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It was late as Vish ran up the communal staircase on the side of Tonya's estate and along the balcony to her front door.
After the argument he hadn't gone home. Instead, he'd sat in the park next to Tonya's flat worrying about her. As he ran towards her flat, he practised his apology, hoping she would understand he was just trying to help, but when no one answered he knew instinctively she must have tried to travel outside her mind again.
Panicked that something bad had happened, he tried to barge down her front door by slamming his body against it, but he wasn't strong enough. He grabbed a kid's bike from the communal balcony. A fire engine passed down below, siren blaring. Using the sound for cover he smashed the bike into her front window, breaking the glass in an instant.
Suddenly a voice shouted out on the balcony,
"Oi! Oi! What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" He knew immediately that it must be Tyler.
"Please, it's not how it looks. It's Tonya, she's not coming to the door. I'm worried about her."
"Did you just break the window, you little shit?"
Tyler lunged at Vish, who swerved his punch by an inch. Vish felt anger bubbling up inside him.
"You're the piece of shit. I know what you did to Tonya."
Vish grabbed for a piece of glass in the window and pushed Tyler against the front door, but Tyler was huge compared to Vish and thrust his body round, knocking the glass out of Vish's hand and punching him in the face.
"You get away from my family. My baby boy is better now, you hear me? He ain't got the virus in him no more, and I don't need you and your useless piece of shit girlfriend spoutin' any more of your filthy lies about me."
Tyler pushed Vish to the ground, slamming his cheek against the concrete of the communal balcony. Tyler's words about Tonya's brother not having the virus seeped in, and it sent waves of hope through his body.
He pulled himself up, taking Tyler by surprise. Vish used this moment to punch him hard in his bandaged eye. Tyler roared out, clutching his hand over his eye.
Vish quickly jumped through the broken window. He ran through to the back bedroom and found Tonya in bed. Her body was shaking in a fit, with sweat pouring from her skin. He took her by the shoulders and shouted her name, trying to wake her.
"Tonya, if you can hear me, whatever you did to your brother, he's okay, he's better, he doesn't have the virus anymore. If you can hear me, you did it, your baby brother doesn't have the virus. I was wrong, I'm so sorry. I should have been here for you. I messed up, but I'm here now and I'm so sorry. Come on, wake up, please wake up."
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High above, as Tonya went to grab her thread to take her home, she felt something warm running through her body, as if someone was holding her.
