whine of the alarm sounding. It gets louder and louder, screaming against the night.
Joe says, ‘Come on.’
We run for it.
The rain is horizontal, whipping at our faces. We get to the fence and suddenly it looks so much taller than it did before. It towers above us, a criss-cross of gunmetal wire. I stare up at it in horror until Joe gives me a gentle push and says, ‘Climb!’
To my left, Andjela has already kicked off her shoes, thrown them over the fence into the dense forest beyond and she’s climbing, her white fingers clawing at the metal, and her hair, a dark liquid. I keep my boots on – the papers still tucked inside them – and grip the wet mesh. I haul myself up after Joe. He’s already a few feet above me. The pain in my side bites as I reach upwards, and the wire digs into my hands.
Joe calls out, ‘Don’t look down! Come on Sanda!’
Inch by inch, we leave the ground behind us andcrawl up like insects. Thunder slices the air, and I feel I’m climbing into it: into the sky. I look back at the buildings. I’m level with the first floor now. At that moment, a sheet of lightning illuminates the brickwork. That’s when I see the face, framed in a ground-floor window and lit for seconds by the glow. Watching us. No. Watching me. Her face. My face. She has my face: a shock of short hair, pale skin, a pointed chin. I am seeing myself . She puts up a hand in a kind of salute. A smile and she vanishes.
I hang there, my boots slipping and sliding on the wire. I can’t feel my fingers.
Then I hit the ground with a thud.
Andjela screams and I hear Joe’s voice above me. I hear the sound of it but I can’t make out the words. And then the whack of his feet beside me sending up a shower of mud.
‘What happened?’ he says. ‘Are you OK?’
And then I hear it above the alarm: a high-pitched howl at first, then a baying. The dogs are straining at their chains.
‘Shit! Get up Sanda! Can you get up?’
He helps me up. Pain rips through me like a firework. Another bolt of lightning and I see the window – a black square. Did I imagine it? Joe’s shouting: ‘Come on!’
We’re on the fence again when there’s a wrenching sound, a fierce barking and a cry, and Joe falls back to the ground rolling and clutching his leg.
One of the dogs has got loose from its leash and is snarling and jumping at him, its teeth bone white in a black mouth. I get off the fence and yell at it, wave myarms, but it doesn’t move. In desperation I kick its flank. It wheels round, jaws snapping, then, it turns again, agitated. I pull Joe to his feet and we start up the fence again. I glance at Joe, see the blood washing out of him.
Then the dog comes back at us.
I can see the drool on its jowls, and behind it, something else: a pale shadow advancing. The dog seems to reel. It howls and staggers back. A burst of lightning shows a livid wound across its back that steams in the rain.
It circles and circles and is still.
Joe’s ahead of me, ‘Sanda!’
I have to move. I’m beyond tired and my hands are numb with cold, but I clamber up after him. Andjela’s on the other side, standing back holding her shoes. She looks up, willing us on.
We get to the top, swing over and scramble down the other side. Joe hits the ground seconds before me and takes off towards the pines, holding his calf. As I jump down, I can feel the whole left side of my body tightening, the bruises knitting together so I can hardly move.
I look back through the mesh. On the other side, the carcass of the dog lies on its back, its legs limp and crooked. Someone saved us back there. Someone killed it.
The grim walls of Zbrisć bear down on us.
Who was that?
There’s a commotion then from the other dog, barking and careering blindly, tearing at its leash. I hear shouting.
I look at Joe and Andjela. We run like hell, pitching headlong through wet brush. I hear an engine being startedin the distance, and a thin beam of torchlight strobes the
Joe says, ‘Come on.’
We run for it.
The rain is horizontal, whipping at our faces. We get to the fence and suddenly it looks so much taller than it did before. It towers above us, a criss-cross of gunmetal wire. I stare up at it in horror until Joe gives me a gentle push and says, ‘Climb!’
To my left, Andjela has already kicked off her shoes, thrown them over the fence into the dense forest beyond and she’s climbing, her white fingers clawing at the metal, and her hair, a dark liquid. I keep my boots on – the papers still tucked inside them – and grip the wet mesh. I haul myself up after Joe. He’s already a few feet above me. The pain in my side bites as I reach upwards, and the wire digs into my hands.
Joe calls out, ‘Don’t look down! Come on Sanda!’
Inch by inch, we leave the ground behind us andcrawl up like insects. Thunder slices the air, and I feel I’m climbing into it: into the sky. I look back at the buildings. I’m level with the first floor now. At that moment, a sheet of lightning illuminates the brickwork. That’s when I see the face, framed in a ground-floor window and lit for seconds by the glow. Watching us. No. Watching me. Her face. My face. She has my face: a shock of short hair, pale skin, a pointed chin. I am seeing myself . She puts up a hand in a kind of salute. A smile and she vanishes.
I hang there, my boots slipping and sliding on the wire. I can’t feel my fingers.
Then I hit the ground with a thud.
Andjela screams and I hear Joe’s voice above me. I hear the sound of it but I can’t make out the words. And then the whack of his feet beside me sending up a shower of mud.
‘What happened?’ he says. ‘Are you OK?’
And then I hear it above the alarm: a high-pitched howl at first, then a baying. The dogs are straining at their chains.
‘Shit! Get up Sanda! Can you get up?’
He helps me up. Pain rips through me like a firework. Another bolt of lightning and I see the window – a black square. Did I imagine it? Joe’s shouting: ‘Come on!’
We’re on the fence again when there’s a wrenching sound, a fierce barking and a cry, and Joe falls back to the ground rolling and clutching his leg.
One of the dogs has got loose from its leash and is snarling and jumping at him, its teeth bone white in a black mouth. I get off the fence and yell at it, wave myarms, but it doesn’t move. In desperation I kick its flank. It wheels round, jaws snapping, then, it turns again, agitated. I pull Joe to his feet and we start up the fence again. I glance at Joe, see the blood washing out of him.
Then the dog comes back at us.
I can see the drool on its jowls, and behind it, something else: a pale shadow advancing. The dog seems to reel. It howls and staggers back. A burst of lightning shows a livid wound across its back that steams in the rain.
It circles and circles and is still.
Joe’s ahead of me, ‘Sanda!’
I have to move. I’m beyond tired and my hands are numb with cold, but I clamber up after him. Andjela’s on the other side, standing back holding her shoes. She looks up, willing us on.
We get to the top, swing over and scramble down the other side. Joe hits the ground seconds before me and takes off towards the pines, holding his calf. As I jump down, I can feel the whole left side of my body tightening, the bruises knitting together so I can hardly move.
I look back through the mesh. On the other side, the carcass of the dog lies on its back, its legs limp and crooked. Someone saved us back there. Someone killed it.
The grim walls of Zbrisć bear down on us.
Who was that?
There’s a commotion then from the other dog, barking and careering blindly, tearing at its leash. I hear shouting.
I look at Joe and Andjela. We run like hell, pitching headlong through wet brush. I hear an engine being startedin the distance, and a thin beam of torchlight strobes the
Similar Books
