‘Are you fucking deaf or what? I asked you a question.’
‘Leave her be, Wesley. Can’t you see she’s in shock?’
‘So what? I still don’t understand why you had to stop and pick her up.’
‘I told you. If I’d left her in the road she would have been trampled on, and probably killed. And I couldn’t let that happen. I’ve got a sister about her age.’
‘So now you can tell your little sis that her brother Ryan is a superhero. That’s pathetic, man.’
‘Oh, come off it. You’re acting like it’s a big deal. And you’re forgetting she’s not the enemy. The coppers are. This kid was out there with the rest of us. I’m guessing she got separated from her mates or family. All we have to do is leave her here.’
Chloe could hear every word because they were standing right in front of her. She could also see their faces through the tears that clouded her vision.
She was sitting on the floor with her back against a wall inside a small gift shop that had been wrecked. There was enough light coming from somewhere to show up the stuff scattered across the floor and all the damage to the display cases and shelving units. The front door had been smashed in, along with most of the glass in the window. Through it she could see that a fire was raging close by, but she couldn’t tell if it was a car that had been set alight or another shop across the road. People were running past in both directions and there was still a lot of noise outside.
She remembered clearly how she’d ended up here and why she was hurting all over. Every time she closed her eyes she felt as though she were back in the stampede. In the chaos she had twisted her ankle and fallen onto her face, which was why her chin was so painful. Someone stamped on her outstretched right arm and whoever it was swore at her, but didn’t stop.
That was when the sound of her own screams filled her head and she began to feel weird and dizzy. She remembered being lifted off the ground suddenly by a man who kept telling her to stop crying. She could only just hear his voice above the shouting, the sirens, and the crackling roar of a helicopter.
As he carried her into the shop, she realised that he wasn’t by himself. There were two of them and she heard them saying how much they hated the police and how great it was to have seen a copper get shot.
That was why she wasn’t responding to their questions about who she was and why she was by herself. She was scared they would hurt her if she let slip that her mum was a detective.
Both were young black men wearing dark coats and hoods. The one named Wesley had a mean face and a loud, angry voice. Ryan was the one with the sister who had stopped to help her. He had a kinder face and a softer voice, and his compassion reminded her of the woman who had helped her earlier after she was hit by the motorbike.
Ryan knelt down beside her now and touched her arm.
‘I can’t help you any more if you won’t speak to me,’ he said. ‘But I get it because I can see that you’re scared of us, and I don’t blame you. You’re far too young to be out by yourself on a night like this.’
Chloe was sobbing and shaking, but she was also hoping that this man Ryan would tell her that he would take her to a safe place even though he was one of the people causing all the trouble.
Instead, he stood up, and said, ‘You’ll be safe here at the back of the shop until things quieten down. Then go out and find your way home. And try not to fall over again.’
His pal gave him a pat on the back. ‘Well that’s your good deed for the day, bro. Now let’s get back out there before we miss all the fun.’
A rush of panic propelled Chloe to her feet and helped her find her voice.
‘Please don’t leave me,’ she screamed. ‘I can’t …’
But she never got to finish the sentence because at that moment a bottle with a flame coming out of it flew through the shop window. It hit the floor just in front of the two men and exploded on impact. Flames shot up, and it was Ryan who couldn’t move away quickly enough.
Chloe screamed, a shrill wail of terror, and then pushed herself back against the wall from where she watched as first his trousers caught alight and then his coat. Within seconds his whole body was engulfed in flames and he was screaming as he threw himself onto the floor and rolled around in an effort to put them out.
Wesley tried to help him, but he couldn’t get close enough, and when he realised his own sleeve was alight, he jumped back so that he could struggle out of his coat.
By this time the flames had spread quickly through the shop, thanks to the mess on the floor and all the gifts that were made of wood, paper and cardboard.
Chloe started to gag and cough as smoke and intense heat consumed her. She tried to cry out but it proved impossible because of the fumes that clogged up her lungs.
She saw that Ryan was no longer moving, and his body was being devoured by the flames. She could see no way out for herself and she thought that she was going to die too.
And she almost certainly would have if Wesley hadn’t suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the wall.
‘Come with me,’ he shouted above the fierce crackling of the flames. ‘There must be another way out.’
And he was right.
There was a door behind the counter that she hadn’t spotted and it led to a short corridor. At the end of the corridor there was another door. It was locked, so Wesley had to let go of her arm in order to kick it open.
Moments later the two of them stumbled out into the night, leaving behind a man whose name would later appear on the list of those who died in the riots.