THE HOUSE AT SEA’S END

a long way off but, at the same time, speaking directly in her head.
    ‘Ruth. Take my hand.’
    It is Tatjana. Why she is here Ruth doesn’t know. It is all mixed with another day, another fire, the flames of aburning town. Tatjana, a gun in her hand, saying, ‘I have to do this, Ruth. Don’t stop me.’
    Now Tatjana too seems possessed of extraordinary strength. She hauls Ruth’s waterlogged body above the water while Ruth herself scrabbles against the sheer stone. Then Ruth is lying face down on the sea wall and Tatjana is still pulling at her. ‘Come on, we can’t stay here.’ Why not? All Ruth wants to do is lie down and sleep, even with the whole North Sea bearing down on top of her.
    ‘Come on, Ruth. We need to get moving.’
    Nelson is floating. The waters are dark and rather soothing. They speak to him in his mother’s Irish voice. ‘It’s all right, son. You’re safe now.’ Then he hears another voice which, oddly enough, belongs to Cathbad.
    ‘Don’t give up now, Nelson. Fight it.’
    Nelson opens his eyes and the sky explodes in front of him.
    Another voice.
    ‘Wake up, boss. We’ve got work to do.’
    Jesus, now he’s hallucinating about Clough. He shuts his eyes again and surrenders himself to the tide.
    Tatjana is wearing a red jacket and Ruth follows it blindly, running back along the wall until they reach the foot of the cliff. Then Tatjana jumps into the next bay.
    ‘Jump, Ruth.’
    Ruth jumps. The water only comes to her knees but the tide is strong, making it difficult to move forwards. Ruth fixes her eyes on the red jacket and struggles to put onefoot in front of the other. It reminds her of that day with Trace, trying to cross the beach as the waters rose. But, unlike Trace, Tatjana keeps looking back, encouraging, cajoling. ‘Come on, Ruth. You can do it. You have to do it. Kate needs you.’ And, every time, that name spurs Ruth onwards. You have to do it. Kate needs you. She keeps going, half walking, half swimming. There’s no sign of Craig. In the distance she can see Sea’s End House, its flag fluttering gaily. If they can just reach that headland, surely they can call for help.
    They are almost at the next wall when he appears, as if from nowhere. Maybe he was hiding in one of the caves. He knows this beach well, Ruth remembers. Now, without speaking a word, he powers towards them through the foaming waves. Ruth screams.
    He throws himself at her, knocking her back under the water. She struggles, kicking out. Then she feels him being lifted away from her. Tatjana must be helping her. She can hear screams, shouting, and another noise, a great mechanical whirring, directly above them.
    ‘Leave her alone!’
    Ruth wrenches herself free and swims towards the noises, the waves suddenly seem incredibly high. Now, other hands are pulling her up onto the sea wall. Tatjana is next to her, putting her arm round her. Craig is still in the water but, as she watches, people are reaching down to him too. A helicopter circles above them, churning the bay into a whirlpool. Now Judy is there, putting handcuffs onto Craig.
    ‘He tried to kill me,’ says Ruth.
    ‘I know,’ says Judy. ‘I saw.’
    ‘You don’t know the half of it.’
    The police launch appears beside the wall, bobbing in the choppy water. Judy climbs in with Craig, and Tatjana and Ruth follow, falling clumsily into its bows. Now they are heading back across the cove. People wrap foil blankets round them and try to give them hot drinks but Ruth suddenly feels exhilarated, invincible. She starts to laugh. Judy looks at her in concern.
    ‘It’s okay, Ruth. You’re safe now.’
    But Ruth can’t stop laughing, it’s all mixed up – joy, fear, exhaustion, and an overwhelming sense of relief that she isn’t going to die after all. Not this time.
    Tatjana puts her hand on Ruth’s arm.
    ‘Ruth. I’m sorry about earlier.’
    ‘That’s okay. You saved my life.’
    ‘You saved yourself.’
    ‘How did you get here anyhow?’
    ‘You rang me.’
    ‘I just pressed random buttons,’ says Ruth, ‘you must have been the last number I called.’
    ‘Well, I thought you sounded like you needed help.’
    ‘Thank you.’
    ‘You should have rung the police,’ says Judy, slightly reprovingly. She is sitting beside Craig who is huddled in his blanket, staring into space. Hard to imagine that a few minutes ago he seemed inhuman, a monster possessed of terrible powers.
    ‘I’m used to taking the law into my own