One

They couldn't answer. There was the slightest creak. Jane turned to see the heavy door to the X-ray room widen, a grimy hand with split nails white upon its edge. Before he could raise his hand, a woman with wild eyes came out of the darkness and slammed the end of a desk lamp into the side of his head.

Jane touched the compress to the lump above his ear and winced. 'What are you doing here?' he asked. They were in the X-ray room. The woman had apologised profusely, assured him it was a case of mistaken identity. A boy sat in a plastic chair, his arm in a muddy-coloured cast. He watched Jane with big hopeful eyes, a child who has seen Santa unmasked and doesn't want to accept the truth.

'I work here,' the woman said. 'I'm a radiographer.'

'What happened?'

'I don't know. Fire. An explosion.'

'How did you and the boy . . .?'

'The shield we use, for the X-rays. Aidan here, I was showing him what I do, to calm him down. I was showing him the buttons I needed to press before giving him his X-ray. Then there was this flash. I thought it was the machinery. A malfunction. But there was thunder in the corridors. I thought the whole building was going to come down.'

Jane told them about his own experiences, toning it down for the sake of the boy. The woman shook her head throughout. He thought maybe it was in astonishment, but it turned out to be a rehearsal for her answer when he asked if she and Aidan were ready to leave.

'I haven't been out since it happened,' she said. She gave Jane a loaded stare, gesturing lightly towards the boy. 'Not sure how good an idea it would be. Maybe best to wait for help.'

Jane drew her to one side and lowered his voice. 'What's up with him?'

She shrugged. 'He's been having a series of tests. Doctors are worried he might have some kind of blood disease. It's early days.'

'And now, what? We won't know?'

The woman shook her head and turned to regard Aidan. He was flicking switches on the malfunctioned control panel. 'He's always been a sickly child, according to his reports. Maybe things will iron themselves out over time. Maybe not. There's no help for him now, if it's serious.'

'It might be that we're as much help as you're likely to see,' Jane said. 'There's a lot of . . . casualties out there.'

'But we're fairly safe, secure here. There's plenty of food and water. Medical supplies. People will come to the hospitals. You proved it.'

'If there are people, they will come.' He lowered his voice. 'I'm not sure how many people are left.'

Aidan watched them owlishly. He seemed fascinated, as if he were being read some amazing bedtime story. Jane wondered about the boy. About his parents.

'I'm on my way to London,' Jane continued, as if that alone might be inducement enough.

'Long way,' the woman said.

'Have you been out at all?' he asked.

She shook her head. 'I prefer to stay with what I know.'

'What about home? Family?'

She shook her head again. He could tell she resented having to explain to a stranger, no matter the extraordinary circumstances. 'My parents died when I was in my teens,' she said. 'I have brothers and sisters, but nobody local. I never married.'

Cruelly, he imagined her shaking her head whenever she was asked.

'What about you, Aidan?'

'Mum and Dad. Kerry, my sister.'

'You tried to get home to see them?'

He shook his head. 'They're here.'

Jane felt the air stiffen around him. 'OK,' he said. He wanted to move on, but Aidan was making things difficult. He felt perfectly happy about leaving the others to fend for themselves, but Aidan was Stanley's age. He couldn't abandon him without making some effort to get him safe.

'What about looters?'

The woman sighed. She still appeared nervous, uncertain about Jane. Her gaze flickered to Chris and Nance, who were dithering by the door, trying not to look at the stiff, shrouded body in the waiting area.

'A couple of days after it happened – I think, perception of time all messed up – I heard a bunch of people come in here, running around the corridors. I thought help had arrived, but they were screaming, laughing. We hid. They must have been pissed or drugged up. Plenty of free goodies on offer now, I suppose.'

'You saw them? They still around?'

'They moved on,' she said. 'I think they were just kids.'

'What did they take?'

The woman shrugged. 'The pharmacy has been raided. A lot of uppers and downers gone. The snack machines have been emptied. I saw a lot of empty wallets and purses lying around.'

'You can't buy anything, actually,' Aidan said. 'Actually, they're just idiots.'

The woman laughed, a little too breathily, a little too close to tears, but it broke the mood. She realised she was still holding the crutch and tossed it to one side.

'How's your head?' she asked.

'I think I need an X-ray.'