Graham kept one hand firmly against the small of Ruth's back, guiding her crouched form across the roof. The sweep of the searchlight approached. Crap! Didn't know about that. Ruth slapped at his chest, gaining his attention and pointing in the direction of the air conditioner unit. Changing direction quickly, he pulled her to kneel beside him behind the unit until the light swept past. Peeking around the corner, Graham reached back to take Ruth's hand, sprinting as quickly as possible while staying below the line of sight of those on the ground until they reached the edge of the flat-roofed building. Surveying the ground beneath the fire escape, Graham breathed a sigh of relief when it was clear.
"I'll go first," he whispered. Ruth nodded and he descended, waving her to join him as soon as possible, and then releasing his hold on the lowest rung and dropping to the ground. No problem. Ruth hesitated, looking down, likely seeing the space as a great chasm between herself and Graham's waiting arms.
"Ruth. Now!" he ordered in a terse whisper and she released her hold immediately, landing safely within his grasp.
"You know, you sounded just like your father then," she whispered in his ear before releasing her hold on him.
"Never," he retorted, smiling in spite of himself, gripping her hand tightly and leading her to the corner of the building, pausing and then sprinting to the cover of the woods.
Very quickly, he felt they'd left the compound behind, moving into a small forest of trees until in the dark, Graham walked smash-bang straight into a tree—no, wait, not a tree—a leg? Searching up and up, Graham detected the looming beast before them, and with his eyes adjusting to the darkness, released a short laugh.
"It's a dinosaur!" he exclaimed.
"A dinosaur?" Ruth queried. "What do you—" He heard her hand clap across her mouth. "You're right! It's a life-sized model of a dinosaur. And look over there. There are more of them." Cautiously pacing out into the darkened exhibit, she turned in wonder, surveying the vine-encrusted behemoth surrounding her. "I remember now, George once told me about an abandoned zoo with a dinosaur park to which his father had taken him as a boy. That must be where we are." Thoughtfully pacing between the hind legs of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Ruth spoke in snatches of analysis. "Abandoned zoo…Limassol…southern coast…no wonder!...transported by container ship…met at sea…brought ashore unconscious. Remarkable!"
"Ruth?" Graham interrupted her thoughts, concerned that their escape was taking too long.
"We should be quite near the town of Limassol. From there we can talk a farmer or a fisherman into driving us to Nicosia. The A1 runs right through the town and joins the A5 heading north. We'll be back for Harry by tomorrow at the latest," she informed him confidently.
Using the stars to guide their direction, Graham led Ruth away from the sea and toward the town of Limassol—and then they heard it: howls, yelps and barks, becoming louder with each passing heartbeat.
"Quick!" Graham grabbed Ruth's hand, pulling her into the bush at the side of the path they were traversing.
"Graham, they're getting closer! Dogs! Why did it have to be dogs!" she complained, her voice strident and fearful.
Graham hoisted her up into a low hanging branch of a tree. "Climb higher!" he ordered, frantically searching for a weapon, finally laying his hands on a broken tree branch, levering it off the damaged tree to which it clung with surprising tenacity.
"Climb up, Graham. You need to be safe, too."
"There's nothing but these scrawny, spindly trees around here. I'll have to stand guard."
"Strawberry trees."
"What?" He turned and looked up at her as though she were crazy.
"They're called strawberry trees. Graham—" She paused thoughtfully. "Why aren't the dogs getting any closer?"
"I don't know. You stay here," he instructed her, beginning to move stealthily forward.
"Not a chance. We stay together."
They moved back out to the path, hearing the dog's howls fading into the distance followed by a—car horn?
"The road!" Ruth exclaimed. "We've passed the town and met the highway." She laughed, pacing forward toward the sounds that had previously filled them with such trepidation. Waving down a battered grusty pickup truck, Ruth switched easily into the local dialect, turning back to motion Graham into the truckbed beside the crates of fish as Ruth slipped in beside the driver. Opening the window between them, Ruth declared, "He's going to Nicosia."
Hold on, Dad, we'll be back soon.