Oh, no.
“Is he still breathing?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Binnie said, but uncertainly. “ ’Ow long do I got to push on this bandage?”
“Till we get there,” Eileen said. “You can’t let up for even a moment, Binnie.”
“I know.”
“Go down there,” Alf directed, pointing along a street that led downhill toward the river.
“You’re certain this is the shortest way, Alf?” Eileen asked, veering to avoid an incendiary in the middle of the street.
“Yeah. We got to go round the fires.”
Which was easier said than done. New waves of planes flew overhead every few minutes, followed by scattered spurts of white and then yellow flame at a dozen places among the roofs. We’ll have to drive to Dover to get around all these fires, Eileen thought.
“Now down there,” Alf said.
“The bandage is bleedin’ through,” Binnie said.
“Keep pressing. Don’t let up.”
“The blood’s comin’ through to my ’ands. It’s all over ’em!” Binnie said.
“Can I see?” Alf said eagerly.
“No,” Eileen said, dragging him back down into the front seat with one hand. “I need you to navigate. Binnie, press hard!”
“I am.”
“I am.”
“Good girl. We’ll be there in a bit,” she said, even though she didn’t believe it, even though it seemed she would spend the rest of eternity turning down street after street at Alf’s direction while all around them London burned to the ground.
“There’s blood all over,” Binnie said, and there was a tone of desperation in her voice that was totally unlike her.
Eileen pulled the car over to the curb, stopped it, and climbed over the seat to look.
Binnie was right. There was blood everywhere. Binnie was pushing down manfully, but she wasn’t strong enough to stanch the bleeding. “Here, let me,” Eileen said, and Binnie immediately let go and scooted aside. Blood spurted.
“Wow!” Alf exclaimed. “Lookit that!”
Eileen pressed down on the towel as hard as she could. The bleeding slowed but didn’t stop. She got on her knees, bent forward so her full weight was over the officer, and pushed down.
“It’s stoppin’,” Binnie said.
But how did that help? The moment she let up on the towel, the wound would begin spurting again, and they couldn’t stay here indefinitely. The lieutenant’s only hope lay in their getting him to hospital, and soon. “Binnie? Do you think you could drive?” Eileen asked.
“A’ course,” Binnie said, and scrambled over the seats and into the driver’s seat.
“Do you remember where first gear is?”
In answer, Binnie stepped on the clutch, put the car in gear, and shot down the street at breakneck speed.
She’s going to get us all killed, Eileen thought, but she didn’t tell her to slow down. Speed was their only hope, both for the officer and the driver, who looked as though she was already dead. Even bending over her, Eileen couldn’t hear her breathing.
“Go right,” Alf said. “Now down there. Now bear left.” Binnie was apparently going the way he told her because he didn’t call her a noddlehead.
She hoped to goodness he knew where he was going and wasn’t only making it up as he went along. But he only hesitated once, to say, “It’s the next one, I think, or the one after. No, go back, it was the first one.” Binnie threw the car into reverse, backed up, and turned into the street he’d indicated.
Eileen didn’t have time to ask if they were getting close. She had her hands full with the lieutenant, who was coming back to consciousness and attempting to pull away from her, and it was all she could do to keep the pad in place.
“Now bear right down that lane,” Alf said, “all the way to the end.”
There was a brief silence, and then Binnie said accusingly, “You told me wrong. There ain’t no way out, just buildin’s.”
“I know,” Alf said. “We’re ’ere.”
Eileen bent forward to look out the front window. They were. The stone buildings of St. Bart’s towered beautifully ahead of them.
“Which door do we go in?” Binnie asked Alf.
“I dunno,” Alf said. “Eileen, where do we go?”
“Binnie, come back here and take over,” Eileen said. Binnie scrambled over the seat and took Eileen’s place, and Eileen squeezed past her into the driver’s seat, but in the darkness she couldn’t tell which door she should pull
