‘Well, at least I won’t have to go and look for Dieter. Half of St Mary’s will be outside by now.’
With sudden anxiety, I said, ‘Take care, Leon. The Time Police might still be here.’
‘I’ll turn the screen so you can see what’s going on. Back in a minute. Do not open that door.’
He disappeared. And reappeared.
‘Don’t say anything. To anyone. You’re too sick to speak – understand?’
‘Yes.’
He sighed in exasperation. ‘What did I just say?’
‘How should I know? I wasn’t listening.’
He disappeared again.
TB2 was our big pod. Designed to carry large numbers of people or specialised equipment, it was easily able to accommodate one small pod. There was enough light to enable me to make him out. I watched him walk to the doors. He looked back once, to check the pod door was still closed, let down the ramp, and disappeared. The ramp came up again and I was on my own.
Our pod was suddenly very empty.
I lay for what seemed like a very long time with no clue as to what was happening out there. Had he been arrested? Had the Time Police pounced as soon as he exited TB2?
‘No,’ said a rarely heard voice of reason. ‘Otherwise they’d have been in here and shot you by now.’
True.
I didn’t dare take my eyes off the screen. I could feel waves of hot, dark pain washing over me and I knew that, in a few minutes, I’d be walking in shadows again, and I couldn’t afford that. I had to stay alert. I stared at the screen as if my life depended up it, which it might, and tried not to worry. I concentrated on lying still because the least movement sent ripples of red-hot pain surging up my arm.
Come on, Leon.
I felt sweat run down my back. My scalp prickled with it. I was drenched again. I jerked open my eyes.
Come on, Leon.
I swear I never took my eyes off the screen, but suddenly, the pod was full of people.
I saw Dr Foster. She had short hair. It suited her. I saw Nurse Hunter, a little plumper than the one I remembered, but she still smelled of baby powder. I had forgotten that. Dieter was there, as well, big and blond, arms folded, guarding the door.
Outside in TB2, two other medics were setting up some sort of temporary hospital area. I looked at Leon. I couldn’t leave. Had he forgotten?
No, of course he hadn’t.
Hunter began to unpack her kit. Helen knelt beside me. ‘My name is Dr Foster. I’m just going to take a look.’
I flinched. I couldn’t help it.
She carefully folded back the blanket. The dressing fell off by itself and we all stared at my arm.
No one spoke.
Helen broke the spell.
She smiled reassuringly at me. She was being kind. Now I knew I was in another world. Or dying. ‘It’s a bit of a mess, but we’ll get it cleaned up and make you feel more comfortable.’
I’d never heard her speak so quietly. She seemed very … restrained.
She turned to Hunter, issuing instructions, still in the same level tones. I searched for Leon, who stood nearby.
She stood up stiffly and moved towards Leon who drew closer to listen.
She belted him. She fetched him a wallop that I myself would have been proud of. He actually staggered.
‘Ow!’
She hit him again.
I tried to lift my head.
She was incandescent. She was absolutely furious. For one moment, she seemed to struggle for words. But only for a moment.
‘You imbecile! You cretinous, moronic imbecile! Of all the idiotic, half-witted, brainless, irresponsible … I used to think that apart from me, you were the only person in this entire establishment who had more than one brain cell. What the hell did you think you were playing at? Let me make it simple. I’m the doctor. You’re the engineer. I’m the one with all the years at medical school. You’re not. Do I ever swan down here to Hawking, rip the front off a console, and go at it with a 5lb lump hammer and a bent paperclip?’
Wisely, he made no attempt to reply, but she swept on, regardless.
‘No – I do not. Because I don’t know the first thing about electronics and you don’t know the first thing about medicine. Do you? Did you seriously think you could get away with surgery in this … this …?’ She waved an arm. ‘Look at the state of this pod. This place is Ground Zero for every infection in the universe. Did you think you could pick up a copy of Surgery for Dummies and blindly undertake what amounted to a major procedure? How stupid are you? Look what you’ve done. A tag is the size of a grain of rice, for God’s sake. Was it really necessary to open her arm from elbow to wrist?’
She had to stop for breath.
‘I couldn’t find it,’ he said, defensively, keeping his distance.
There was the same sort of pause you get before a major volcanic event. And I should know.
She struggled for calm, speaking with a restraint that was terrifying.