Into the Fire Read Online Free PDF Page A

reminded me of those images you see of the surface of the sun: everything just bubbling away one moment, erupting with rainbows of fire the next. The front walls of several buildings had given way, spilling out across the sidewalk, while the blackened hulks of automatic buses were skewed all along the street, leastways as far as you could see. But you know, despite all the destruction and chaos and the fact that it was probably gonna kick off again later, there were still those determined to carry on with their normal lives. Off to their places of work, the office or store, hell-bent on making it “business as usual.”
    The worst thing was the bodies. I don’t know how many we saw—it didn’t occur to me to count—but it’s a sure sign that civilization’s breaking down when you see corpses in the street. When no one’s come to clear them away. I guess if the kids had come from anywhere but the Island we would’ve done everything we could to shield them from it. But they’ve seen stuff like that all their lives. I don’t think they gave it a second thought.
    There were a few looters already out and busy, very different animals from those who’d rampaged through the previous night. Most of them looked to be old folk, though I didn’t notice any Islanders, which made me wonder how many got away from those Dragonflies. There was something almost apologetic about their behavior. They were skulking from one place to another, their heads held low, as if they really didn’t agree with what they were doing but had realized they had no other choice, that this was just the latest version of survival.
    At one point Hanna stopped, peering into this quaint but rather run-down little store that like a lot of the less impressive-looking places hadn’t been touched. I went back to see what had caught her eye and was met by a slightly faded display of ballet clothes. More particularly a pair of shiny pink satin shoes.
    To be honest, I’m not sure I would’ve said anything if she’d picked up the nearest brick, smashed the window and taken them. For sure I don’t know anyone who’d put them to better use. And amongst all that ruckus, everything that was going on, what would it have mattered? But she just had her fill of looking, turned, smiled at me and carried on.
    The further out we went, into the old migrant suburbs—Chinese, Greek, Italian—the more we got into, well, not exactly home territory, but certainly more familiar. Eventually, despite the dense smoke and the years I’d been away, I began to recognize places: a couple of businesses I used to collect money from for Mr. Meltoni, a pool hall where I used to play as a kid.
    It might sound odd, but in a way I was waiting to see what my reaction would be, how I’d take to my first real memory. But do you know something? No matter where we were, or what we saw, there was nothing. I really didn’t care I’d spent the majority of my life there, that it was my hometown. For sure it didn’t feel like it anymore. All I wanted was to get out into the open spaces, to see a whole horizon contributed to by no one but Nature, and until that happened, I wasn’t going to feel truly free.
    By midafternoon the road began to ascend and we realized we’d reached the more affluent suburbs, that though we might not be able to see them, we’d started to climb the hills that half-cup the City.
    I was reckoning on another three or four hours to get to the other side, but the higher we got, the more difficult the smoke became. It started to really sting our eyes and gouge the back of our throats, and poor old Delilah, with her one lung, was hacking away fit to burst.
    “Clancy,” Lena warned.
    “I know.”
    “She can’t go much further.”
    I turned to Jimmy and he gave me this look, like he didn’t want to say anything but couldn’t put it off much longer.
    “As soon as we’re over the hills, you’ll be fine,” I reassured Delilah, feeling a little guilty. “The