Mike Dixon

The torch reached the boards above David‟s head and illu-
minated
the cement slab at the bottom of the stairs. A foot ap-
peared, silhouetted against the light of the torch. It landed
on the first step and was followed by another. David leveled
Humphrey‟s gun. It wasn‟t what he had anticipated. He was
geared for a shootout. Killing a man in cold blood had never
occurred to him. His hand trembled and he almost shouted
out, telling the man to drop his weapon. Then something in
his mind clicked.
Fire! Don‟t wait any longer.
He pulled the trigger and the explosion was still resonating
in his ears when the legs crumbled, the torch fell and a
body tumbled onto the concrete slab at the bottom of the
stairs. David dashed outside stripped the man of his weap-
ons and ran back into the building to find Anne.
N oelene peered across the mudflat. She had a turtle
shell and was using it as a sort of shield. They‟d
found the shell earlier and Janet had cut a slit in it. She said
people stand out like beacons when seen through infrared