Stan explained the situation urgently. The face nodded acceptance of what had happened.
"Can you get out of the city?"
The sounds outside were a steady roar now. Stan hesitated a moment, then said yes.
"We'll try to pick you up. Take the main artery out of the city to the small wooded park."
"What are you going to do?"
The lines in the man's face deepened. "Outside of pick you up, there's nothing we can do."
Stan flicked off the switch and started for the door. So there was nothing they could do. Nothing they could do to save a world or to save Avis.
Well, that remained to be seen.
He opened the street door and was almost swept into the tightly packed, fast moving throng. He stepped back into the doorway for a moment, letting the fighting, struggling mob sweep by. A father held a squawling baby high above his head. A woman was crying, hugging a small bundle of clothes to her as she struggled on. Suddenly she slipped and fainted and slid beneath the thousand feet of the mob. Stan didn't see her reappear.