There was a sudden shifting of masonry and a cloud of dust swirled through the broken gap where Maxwell’s head was. ‘I’ve got one leg free,’ he hissed. ‘The other one’s broken, but I think I’ll—’ He screamed then and suddenly slumped over the sill of the window, his face running with sweat that dripped down on to us. It was only a momentary black-out for a second later he was hauling himself forward.
He fell head first on top of us, tumbling us in a heap. We scrambled up and dragged him clear of the wall. ‘We must get him to the car,’ Zina said.
We were on a path and I could see gates wide open leading to the street. ‘I’ll get the car,’ I said. ‘Hilda. Give me the rotor arm.’
She stared at me. Then her mouth fell open. ‘It — it was in my bag. I put it in my bag — the one you filled with petrol.’
I stared at her blankly. I felt dazed and sick with tiredness and the reaction.
‘You don’t need to worry about the cars,’ Hacket said. ‘There aren’t any cars. Come on. Help me get him up. We got to get away from the lava.’
‘No cars?’ Zina exclaimed. ‘But we’ve two cars here. We parked them—’ Then her eyes widened as she realised that the courtyard was now buried under the lava. She began to cry. ‘Get me out of here. Get me out of here can’t you. You brought me here. You made me come. Get me out—’ Hilda slapped her twice across the face with the flat of her hand. ‘You’re alive and you’re not hurt,’ she snapped. ‘Pull yourself together.’
Zina gulped and then her face suddenly seemed to smooth out. ‘Thank you — for doing that. I’m not frightened. It’s just my nerves. I’m a — a drug addict, and I haven’t—’ She turned away quickly. She was crying again.
‘Only a nurse would have known what to do, Miss Tucek,’ Hacket said. ‘You have been a nurse, haven’t you?’
Hilda turned to him. ‘Yes. During the war.’