There were a couple of rapid bursts of gunfire in the distance, audible even over the racket around me, then a really long, sustained one. They were out there, and they were getting closer.
I joined Silky, who was with two other guys dressed off the same rack. The three were trying to help an old man gather together a few rags and a cooking pot. I put my hand on her shoulder. ‘You and I have to go. Let this lot follow. Everybody knows where they’re going. All they’ve got to do is follow the river.’
She didn’t look up at me, just continued helping the old man. She seemed so different with her hair wet and greasy after the long walk in and her nails grimed with mud. That faded lemony smell had been replaced by the stink of wet clothing and sweat. ‘Nick, I’m staying until we get these people moving.’
I stood there in frustration as people ripped off what little covering they had over their igloos and bundled it under their arms. Fuck them, they could sort themselves out. I just wanted to drag her away, get her back to the mine, collect the other two and go for it.
I pulled one of the kids to his feet so hard I nearly threw him into the air. I grabbed bundles of clothes and shoved them at him. ‘
At last some of the walking wounded were up and moving. They didn’t need to be told twice about getting to safety. ‘Faster! Go! Go!’
They shuffled through the mud towards the river, by which time I was almost pushing the confused and frightened kids out of the tent.
Tim rushed around, getting anyone who seemed remotely healthy to grab a bag of rice or anything useful.
There was another long burst, a fraction louder. It wasn’t a trick of the terrain: they were getting closer. ‘Tim, let’s get a move on! Let’s go!’
It was another twenty minutes before the last patient was on their feet and the confusion had died down. Finally everybody knew what was going on, and everybody was being helped. Some kids were too fucked to move on their own, even though they weren’t injured, really skinny bodies, swollen bellies, but somehow they were all gathered up in cloth wraps or in people’s arms along with the odd scrawny chicken and a handful of other prized possessions.
I wanted to grab Silky’s hand and drag her to the front of the column, but she was too busy helping everybody else. Fuck ’em. Why didn’t she and Tim just make their own way now? Why couldn’t they be happy that everybody was moving towards the mine and leave them to it?
I stood there feeling very pissed off with her as these people stumbled past. Why had she put herself in so much danger, and made me come out here to drag her back? What the fuck had been going through her mind? And why had she just left like that? Weren’t we supposed to be together?
And why was I feeling the way I did? I was starting to get myself really revved up, when surely I should have been relieved that I’d found her . . .
Gunfire cracked off again. It was still on the other side of the river, but definitely closer; probably the poor shits crossing the bridge were getting zapped. It made me cut away from the other stuff.
Fuck her, fuck the situation.
I moved off the track, scrambling through the foliage, trying to get to the front. Being aggressive about this was the only thing that would make me feel better – and it was the only way I’d keep them pushing to the mine. If the price I had to pay for showing her this side of me was going to be that I was history, then fine. At least she’d be alive to bin me.
PART SIX
1
It took more than two hours for the first wave to stumble to the valley entrance. The really sick and injured trailed way behind, but at least it had stopped raining on them. I’d moved up to the head of the column in case there was a reception committee. Who knew who was guarding the perimeter, and what their orders were?
As we came into the mouth of the valley, the high ground on both sides of us was a hive of activity. The patrol was setting up defensive positions, horseshoe-shaped sangars built with piles of red rock. They wouldn’t stop anything big, like an RPG or 7.62 from a GPMG, but they’d make the guys feel a bit safer, and they could throw a shelter sheet over themselves to try to keep dry while they sat on stag for however long it took. Along with the squaddies already at the mine, the defenders probably numbered thirty or forty. Where were Standish and his lot? They should have been here by now.
I had moved the first two hundred metres into the valley. The main encampment was ahead of me on the knoll, still another two hundred away. The squaddies stopped sangar-building and looked down on us from both flanks, as if they weren’t too sure what was going on.
‘Nick! Nick! Nick!’
The shout came from up to my half-right. Crucial was slipping and sliding down the hill towards me. He fell on his arse but kept his arm in the air, away from trouble. The injury would-n’t have taken the strain.
By the time he got to the bottom he looked like one of the miners, orange mud in his hair, more mud in his eyebrows. Even the cross round his neck and his new arm dressing were covered in it. The only things that were still their natural colour were the whites of his eyes.
‘What happened? Why so long?’ He glanced behind me. ‘Where’s the woman? Where is she?’
‘Back there somewhere, with the rest of this lot. The kids, too. They were with the sick guys.’
Crucial looked as happy as I was pissed off. ‘Standish isn’t going to like it.’
‘I know, I know – but fuck him. This lot’ll be slaughtered if they don’t come in. Where do I dump them?’
He peered beyond me at the human snake, trying to work out where he wanted them.
‘Where’s Sam?’
He nodded back at the tents.
‘I’ll be a minute or two, mate.’
I turned and moved back down towards the river to find Silky. My legs felt heavy. I’d been tabbing since yesterday afternoon. I needed rest, but that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. This was turning into the Mercy Tab rather than Flight, that was for sure.
I got to the river and leaned against one of the rocks, watching the line of people shuffling along the track. I could see her, one side covered with mud where she must have fallen. Her hair was orange with the stuff.
I waited for her to come to me. I was too knackered to do anything else, and in a fair amount of pain. The friction burns felt like they were bleeding now. At least when it was raining the water kept everything rinsed and cool, but now I was covered with sweat and grime and my shirt was rasping against the rash, like working parts rubbing together without gun oil.
What made me feel even worse was that I could see Tim now, coming out of a dip way behind her, bringing up the stragglers. He got me thinking again. I couldn’t help myself. Stefan was right. There was so much I didn’t know about her. Maybe she did run away from things if they didn’t work out the way she wanted them to. Maybe we didn’t know each other that well. She’s flapping about me turning up with an AK, and there’s me getting pissed off that she’s not throwing herself into my arms and chatting excitedly about the fun times.
Fuck it. I didn’t want to think about that any more. We had a job to do.
I felt weird as she approached. I didn’t want to say anything personal to her. It was suddenly like she was a work colleague rather than someone I’d been sleeping with. ‘I’ve got the first lot in and everything’s OK.’ I paused. ‘You OK?’ As if the answer was going to be: ‘Why yes, and you?’
She didn’t look up, didn’t make any sort of personal connection as she over-concentrated on helping a woman along the track. ‘Thanks, I’m fine.’
I stayed with her, not holding her, not helping her, just being with her as we turned into the valley and entered the sangar protection zone.
We made our way to the others, who were being directed by Crucial into a small re-entrant on the right-hand
