people.
I stepped forward and took his hand, saying quietly, ‘Now then, soldier, you just come with me.’ I put his hand on my shoulder and we fought our way along. At least, now most people were going in the same direction. I found another young lad, on his knees, trying to get up. I reached out a hand. ‘Come on, lad, up you get. Can you walk?’
‘A little,’ he replied, teeth chattering. ‘Not very fast.’
So that was three of us and we found another one on the way, bent double and coughing up a lung. We carefully picked our way towards the main drive and a mud-covered ambulance drew up. One of Sussman’s mates jumped down. ‘Get them in the back, miss. Quick as you can.’
We yanked open the doors and willing hands pulled them in. ‘You too, miss,’ he shouted.
‘No,’ I yelled back. ‘Get this lot to the main gates. I’ll go back for any stragglers.’
‘You don’t want to do that, miss. That whole section’s going to come down.’
‘I must,’ I said, desperately. Our pod was there. I had to get back. ‘Go! Get these men to safety and come back for more.’ I turned and ran back before he could argue.
It was like a scene from Dante’s Inferno. The courtyard was full of smoke, from which ghostly figures appeared and disappeared like ghosts. I could see orange and red flickers as the flames rose higher. The shouting seemed more purposeful now. Two columns of men filed out towards the gates. Many were being carried in makeshift stretchers or slung over shoulders. The initial panic was over. People were helping each other.
The young major was still directing the evacuation. I ran to him and said, ‘Sir, there’s at least one ambulance on its way here. They can take the most seriously wounded if we can get them all together.’
He nodded. ‘Stand here, nurse. You can be our collection point.’ He ran off, gesturing to two sergeants nearby. In hardly any time at all, I had half a dozen men gathered around me, sitting or lying in the mud and more on their way. A sergeant came back and handed me a whistle.
‘Keep blowing, miss. Let them know where you are.’ I blew and blew, turning all the time. They brought up another man, but he was already dead. We left him. Eventually, the ambulance came back. We were loading people on board when the major turned up again. He clambered in after the last man and turned to me reaching out his hand. ‘On board, nurse, and that’s an order.’
I couldn’t go with him and if I ran back into the courtyard he’d come after me, so I said, ‘Yes, sir. I’ll go in front with the driver,’ and slammed the doors on him. I slapped the side and it disappeared into the murk.
The two sides of the building were well ablaze now and even I could see the east wall was going to come down any minute. The heat hurt my face. It was like an oven. Terrible noises came from the third side of the courtyard, the stables over which Sussman lived. There was no chance of getting the horses out, none at all. They screamed in fear and panic and I could hear them kicking against their partitions in their desperation to get out. The building was almost engulfed in flames. There was nothing I could do. I turned and ran.
I knew someone was in the pod, because the scrap had been kicked aside, exposing the door. I picked up my skirts and really ran for it, months of physical training paying off at last. I heard a shout behind me. Thank God, it was Kal. Her hair hung down; she was bleeding from a nasty scalp wound, and smeared black with smoke and soot. I reached out, took her hand and we ran to the pod together. Sussman had the door open, ready. We fell, gasping, into the pod and as we did, I saw the east wall sway, lean impossibly, and then come down with a crash and a great shower of sparks and burning debris. The door closed, shutting out the roaring flames, screaming horses, and the sound of people burning alive.
And then there was silence.
Sussman was white-faced. ‘Max?
I stepped forward and took his hand, saying quietly, ‘Now then, soldier, you just come with me.’ I put his hand on my shoulder and we fought our way along. At least, now most people were going in the same direction. I found another young lad, on his knees, trying to get up. I reached out a hand. ‘Come on, lad, up you get. Can you walk?’
‘A little,’ he replied, teeth chattering. ‘Not very fast.’
So that was three of us and we found another one on the way, bent double and coughing up a lung. We carefully picked our way towards the main drive and a mud-covered ambulance drew up. One of Sussman’s mates jumped down. ‘Get them in the back, miss. Quick as you can.’
We yanked open the doors and willing hands pulled them in. ‘You too, miss,’ he shouted.
‘No,’ I yelled back. ‘Get this lot to the main gates. I’ll go back for any stragglers.’
‘You don’t want to do that, miss. That whole section’s going to come down.’
‘I must,’ I said, desperately. Our pod was there. I had to get back. ‘Go! Get these men to safety and come back for more.’ I turned and ran back before he could argue.
It was like a scene from Dante’s Inferno. The courtyard was full of smoke, from which ghostly figures appeared and disappeared like ghosts. I could see orange and red flickers as the flames rose higher. The shouting seemed more purposeful now. Two columns of men filed out towards the gates. Many were being carried in makeshift stretchers or slung over shoulders. The initial panic was over. People were helping each other.
The young major was still directing the evacuation. I ran to him and said, ‘Sir, there’s at least one ambulance on its way here. They can take the most seriously wounded if we can get them all together.’
He nodded. ‘Stand here, nurse. You can be our collection point.’ He ran off, gesturing to two sergeants nearby. In hardly any time at all, I had half a dozen men gathered around me, sitting or lying in the mud and more on their way. A sergeant came back and handed me a whistle.
‘Keep blowing, miss. Let them know where you are.’ I blew and blew, turning all the time. They brought up another man, but he was already dead. We left him. Eventually, the ambulance came back. We were loading people on board when the major turned up again. He clambered in after the last man and turned to me reaching out his hand. ‘On board, nurse, and that’s an order.’
I couldn’t go with him and if I ran back into the courtyard he’d come after me, so I said, ‘Yes, sir. I’ll go in front with the driver,’ and slammed the doors on him. I slapped the side and it disappeared into the murk.
The two sides of the building were well ablaze now and even I could see the east wall was going to come down any minute. The heat hurt my face. It was like an oven. Terrible noises came from the third side of the courtyard, the stables over which Sussman lived. There was no chance of getting the horses out, none at all. They screamed in fear and panic and I could hear them kicking against their partitions in their desperation to get out. The building was almost engulfed in flames. There was nothing I could do. I turned and ran.
I knew someone was in the pod, because the scrap had been kicked aside, exposing the door. I picked up my skirts and really ran for it, months of physical training paying off at last. I heard a shout behind me. Thank God, it was Kal. Her hair hung down; she was bleeding from a nasty scalp wound, and smeared black with smoke and soot. I reached out, took her hand and we ran to the pod together. Sussman had the door open, ready. We fell, gasping, into the pod and as we did, I saw the east wall sway, lean impossibly, and then come down with a crash and a great shower of sparks and burning debris. The door closed, shutting out the roaring flames, screaming horses, and the sound of people burning alive.
And then there was silence.
Sussman was white-faced. ‘Max?
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