"That's good," Melanie says in approving response to his stated ignorance. If he doesn't know where he is (aside from a dream, anyway), then he'll have a hard time trying to find her, even if he's inclined to look. "You shouldn't know where I am." It's much safer for everyone this way.

She gives Daniel a searching look, wondering how much she can get away with telling him. Maybe if she keeps it very simple and vague, like she's telling a story for very young children, she could get the point across without getting everything across.

"In my universe," she starts with the same sort of tone that Miss Justineau used for 'once upon a time,' "there was a very bad disease. It turned people into monsters. Everyone caught it, in the end." Everyone but Miss Justineau. Melanie had seen to that. "Some people - children, like me - could carry it inside without being monsters." That part is important. She might not be a proper little girl, but she's not like the other hungries, either. "But I still have it. And if it gets out, it'll kill everyone, just like before."

She shrugs and spreads her hands a little, the universal gesture for 'what can you do?' "So if you want to help me and everyone else, the best thing you could do is just leave me here."