The City

the trucks we can think about trying to get out of here.’
    They stood and watched for a minute longer before turning and running back to the others.
    Less than a quarter of an hour later the entire university complex was rocked by a sudden and unexpected explosion.
    Survivors dashed to the nearest window to see what had happened.
    ‘Bloody hell,’ Nathan Holmes spat, ‘what did you two set fire to?’
    Clare shrugged her shoulders, almost embarrassed. Donna peered out into the darkness as a second, smaller explosion ripped through the night, rattling the frame of the window she was looking through. The blaze they’d started in the storage building had been unchecked and it had only been a matter of time before the flames had reached something flammable. She had hoped it would happen. The bigger the distraction, the more chance they had of getting over to the trucks and getting away.
    ‘Why don’t you just shut up, Nathan?’ she snapped. ‘How can you criticise us? What were you doing while we were out?
    Fuck all as usual. What have you ever done to help round here?’
    ‘Why should I help? What’s the point?’
    Donna sighed and turned to face him. She stared into his wide, angry eyes.
    ‘The point is,’ she began, her voice trembling with rage, ‘that we might still have a chance to get out of here with something.
    We might be able to get out of here before this whole place comes crashing down and…’
    ‘But why? Why are you bothering?’
    ‘We’ve talked about this a hundred times before…’
    ‘But why are you bothering?’ Holmes demanded again, his voice hoarse and cracked with emotion.
    ‘Because I’m not prepared to sit here and wait for…’ she couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.
    ‘Wait for what?’
    ‘Wait for the end. Wait for something to happen that’s going to…’
    ‘What you’re doing,’ Holmes said, taking a few steps closer to Donna, ‘is running around and risking your lives like a bunch of fucking idiots. Whatever you do, none of it’s going to make any difference. Get yourself out of this mess and you’ll just end up in another fucking hole. It’ll go on and on and on until…’
    ‘Just shut up,’ Donna interrupted. ‘There are frightened people listening to you. You’re not helping the situation.’
    ‘You’re creating the fucking situation! And I know there are frightened people in here because I’m one of them.’
    Holmes’ final comment stunned and silenced Donna and stopped her in her tracks. For the first time she could remember Nathan Holmes - the difficult, obnoxious, offensive and weak little man who had caused more than his fair share of ill-feeling and resentment within the group of survivors - was apparently being candid and honest. For the first time she could remember he seemed to be allowing his public image to drop and his true feelings be seen. Perhaps the realisation that the status quo had been challenged and that, no matter what he decided to do next, his situation was inevitably about to change had brought about this sudden and unexpected change of heart. Whatever the reason, Donna felt sick to her stomach because he had made her think. For a moment he had made her question what they were doing. Was there really any point in doing any of this?
    Outside in the back of the truck Baxter, Cooper and the others had heard the explosion too. Croft cautiously peered through one of the small, dark windows in the side of the prison van.
    ‘Christ,’ he muttered.
    ‘What is it?’ Armitage asked, immediately concerned.
    ‘Fire,’ he replied. ‘Look, over on the far side of the university. Something’s on fire.’
    ‘Where?’ demanded Cooper, leaning over to his right and craning his neck to look out through another window.
    ‘What’s going on?’ said Heath, immediately fearing the worst.
    For a moment no-one spoke, each man privately contemplating what had happened and fearing the worst. Croft was the first to try and make sense of the situation.
    ‘They’ve started it on purpose, haven’t they?’ he said quietly, turning back around to face the others. ‘They must have. I think that fire is close to the medical school. It’s certainly nowhere near the part of the building we’ve been using. They must have started it deliberately.’
    ‘But
    why?’
    The doctor sighed.
    ‘Isn’t
    it
    obvious?’
    It clearly wasn’t.
    ‘Jesus, look at the bodies,’ Baxter said excitedly as he moved to look out of a third