Sandy fell onto the ground as his injured leg gave way. There were lights everywhere which provided a huge contrast to the dark interior of the restaurant which had been lit only by the soft but ominous glow that had spread quickly. He took off his jacket and laid it over his wife: he saw the blood all over her body and the piece of the glass the size of the palm of his hand stuck in her stomach. He stroked her face, his hands covered by her blood and his own.
'Baby, wake up. Don't do this, come on.' He whispered in a voice taught with pain. He looked back at the jagged hole through which they had come and saw, illuminated in the orange light, a silhouette that was struggling to climb out of the burning room. He looked back at his wife and yelled at a shocked young couple nearby to help her. They nodded at him blankly and came to sit down by her motionless figure. The young woman retched at the sight of her wounds but the man nodded at Sandy as if he understood. Then Sandy rose painfully and staggered back to the window. He recognised the figure as the old lady who had been sitting next their table and who had been obsessed with her flower bed. She was gazing hopelessly at the edge of the broken window, making no progress as the flames made their way towards her.
'Hey! Hold onto me. Be careful- the glass is very sharp.' She looked up at him with tired eyes:
'I can't get over here I'm afraid. Don't worry about me.' Sandy grabbed her by the armpits and started to haul her through the hole. She said nothing but gazed at him with wide eyes. When half of her frail body was through the window Sandy put his arms round her waist and heaved her clear of it, beyond caring how many cuts and gashes she sustained. He lay on the ground once more with the body of the old woman lying across him. Then, astonishingly, she got up and although wobbling unsteadily with her breaths coming short and ragged from her throat she said:
'You wait there. You've done enough. I'll go to find someone.' Sandy watched helplessly as she tottered off. He immediately thought off his wife, lying cold and injured on the ground, but when he tried to get up his mind blacked out because of the pain and he fell back onto the ground.
At the same time, two more ambulances arrived at the scene, bringing the total count to six. The young couple, still sitting by Kirsten, lifted their arms in the hope of attracting help, as they were unable to speak due to shock and the amount of smoke in their lungs. A man rushed over to them and swore at the sight of the body lying there. He yelled to someone to come and help him and soon two more strained looking ambulance workers hurried up, carrying a stretcher. One of them led the young couple away whilst the other two lifted the light body of Kirsten onto the stretcher, the original man swearing again at the amount of blood she had lost. Five minutes later the ambulance containing Kirsten was speeding down the streets, sirens blaring, followed by a convoy of similar vehicles containing shocked and injured people who, half an hour previously had been enjoying an expensive but delicious meal.
Sandy woke up, the mists of his mind gradually fading away but the pain of his leg growing steadily stronger. He could hear voices quite close to him and the merciless crackling of the fire which had haunted his sleep had vanished. He tried to look at his leg but was unable to twist round and get a proper look at the damage that was causing him so much pain. No more surfing for a while then, he thought. In a more successful attempt to get up, Sandy held onto a pillar that was stuck in the ground next to him, and looked around. It was still quite dark but he could see the ruined building whose blackened walls stood only five metres from here he was. Suddenly a beam of bright light hit him straight in the eyes and, shutting them, he felt immediately dizzy and clutched the pillar.
'Oh my God, look at this.' The firefighter was staring in disbelief at the dark stains all over the ground and the burnt remnants of varying outfits and their accessories. However his partner, who was wielding a torch, spotted Sandy cowering from the light and rushed forward to support him.
'Hey, Fred, get some of those doctor people over here. This one needs some help.' Fred departed but soon returned with the same ambulance man who had led the guardians of Kirsten's body to an ambulance.
He hurried over to Sandy, who was still swaying on the spot, and peered into his eyes.
'How the hell did we miss him?' he spoke more to himself than anyone else. Then, bending down, he looked at the mess on the back of Sandy's leg and took a short intake of breath. He looked at Sandy's unfocused eyes once more, saying:
'Sir, stay with me ok? You've lost a lot of blood. We need to get you to hospital before that leg becomes septic..' he supported Sandy by holding him under his armpits and yelled in the direction of where he had come from:
'Guys I need help here right now. Bring a stretcher and for God's sake hurry up.' Sandy's vision was starting to cloud over with the same mists of pain and dizzyness that he had experienced before. Just in time, two men ran up with a stretcher which supported him as he toppled over, and he knew nothing more.