‘Now wait! Janie, I got to talk to you. I—‘
She whirled on him like a fighting animal. She spoke with such intensity that her words blurred. ‘Don’t talk! Don’t ask me. I can’t tell you; you wouldn’t understand. Just get out of here, get away.’ With astonishing power her hand closed on his arm and pulled. He took two running steps or he would have been flat on the floor. She was at the door, opening it, as he took the second step, and she took the slack of his shirt in her free hand, pulled him through, pushed him down the hall towards the outer exit. He caught himself against the doorpost; surprise and anger exploded together within him and built an instant of mighty stubbornness. No single word she might have uttered could have moved him; braced and on guard as he was, not even her unexpected strength could have done anything but cause him to strike back. But she said nothing nor did she touch him; she ran past, white and whimpering in terror, and bounded down the steps outside.
He did the only thing his body would do, without analysis or conscious decision. He found himself outside, running a little behind her. ‘Janie…’
‘Taxi!’ she screamed.
The cab had barely begun to slow down when she had the door open. Hip fell in after her. ‘Go on,’ said Janie to the driver and knelt on the seat to peer through the rear window.
‘Go where?’ gasped the driver.
‘Just go. Hurry.’
Hip joined her at the window. All he could see was the dwindling house front, one or two gaping pedestrians.’ What was it? What happened?’
She simply shook her head.
‘What was it?’ he insisted. ‘The place going to explode or something?’