‘Are they coming?’
‘Don’t know.’
I had to get him out of here. Never mind getting him back to his people, Leon would be turning up any minute now – if he wasn’t here already – and it would ruin everything if any member of the Time Police caught sight of him picking me up. It was vital everyone thought I’d died here. Looking on the bright side, that could still happen.
I decided to compromise. I’d get him away, leave him at some mid-point where he could easily be found, and leg it back here as fast as I could.
‘Can you contact them?’
‘Not really. The eruption is affecting our equipment.’ He looked at me. ‘We can’t find you at all.’
That settled it. I hoisted him more securely. ‘Come on,’
He could be lying, said my three o’clock in the morning voice. I told it to shut up and keep its eyes peeled.
I dragged him along as best I could. We tripped on things concealed under layers of ash and pumice. Initially, I thought it would be a good idea to keep to the walls as much as possible, for guidance and shelter, but after the third roof tile had just missed us, we moved out into the middle of the road. I could hear people in their houses and shops, barricading their windows and doorways. They would all move upstairs, thinking they’d be safer there, and so they would be until all the roofs and upper stories caved in under the weight.
I coughed and coughed. I’d been out in this stuff for hours now. My chest was on fire.
He said, ‘Wait,’ leaned against a wall and pulled out a knife.
Told you , said my nasty little voice.
He cut and ripped at his cloak and handed me a square of material. ‘Put that over your face.’
It made very little difference, but the thought was there.
We struggled on. The heat was unbearable. I had a while to go before the pyroclastic flows killed everyone who wasn’t already dead, but the heat trapped among the buildings was intense. Sweat was pouring off me, mingling with the ash. If it hardened to a crust, I’d be a statue.
I had no idea what to do with him. I couldn’t march up to them and say, ‘Hey, is this one of yours?’ I couldn’t just abandon him. It had to be somewhere they could find him. We paused at a corner while I tried to think.
He solved my problem for me.
‘Leave me here.’
‘Are you sure?’
He nodded and pulled a gun from his pocket.
A voice in my head demanded to know why I never listened.
‘It’s a flare. We’re close enough for them to see.’ He hesitated. ‘You should go.’
I was under no illusions about the magnitude of the favour he was doing me. I know I’d saved his life, but even so … ‘Thank you.’
‘No. Thank you.’
‘What’s your name?’
‘Officer Ellis.’
‘No, your real name. What does your mum call you?’
‘A pain in the arse. Go.’
I took two steps back and he was practically invisible. As best I could, I ran back up the street and paused on the next corner to look back. I could see a red glow, lighting the ash around and silhouetting a black figure. I hesitated, but I couldn’t do any more for him. Sending up a quick request to the god of historians, I left him.
I was nearly blind. My eyes were stinging. Tears ran down my cheeks, mingling with the dust. I was burned, exhausted, dehydrated, and desperate. If Leon wasn’t there, then I was finished. I’d left it far too late to leave the city. No one could go more than a few yards in this. If I wasn’t buried alive then I’d be crushed by falling buildings and if I survived that then I’d be a very spectacular human torch for one, maybe two seconds and then that would be it. I struggled past the wine shop, now almost completely obscured under a drift of ash and rubble, and turned the corner.
The pod was there.
There are no words to describe the relief … the sheer, blessed relief. I vowed never to have another brilliant idea again.
He hadn’t been there long – there was only a very slight covering of ash and stuff on the roof.
I staggered dramatically across the street, all ready to give him a piece of my mind.
The door opened. Someone swept me off my feet, said, ‘Door,’ and a second later, the door closed, shutting out the noise and the ash and the smell and there was silence.
He dropped me on the floor where I curled up and coughed.
‘Computer, initiate jump.’ and the world went white.
Chapter Seven
The first thing I noticed was the smell of burning. Was I on fire?
I sat up and looked around. He’d obviously had nearly as bad a day as I had. The front panels were off the console. Two of the boards had been removed. One of them was a melted mess. My technical knowledge is limited to switching things on – and occasionally off – but I’m pretty sure boards shouldn’t look like that.
A large number of red lights flashed angrily, demanding action of some kind.