They came to a footbridge and, still led by the will o' the wisp, crossed over the river. Their footsteps clumped loudly on the bridge's wooden slats. On the other side, the light moved purposefully into the darkness, away from the river, always toward the buildings.
They went in silence. The path cut through a field of rough, hummocky grass. She couldn't see Danny any more, nor hear him on the soft ground.
“Danny?”
“Yeah?”
“I'm sorry about this. About all of this.”
She heard the grin in his voice as he replied.
“It's fine. Really.”
The helicopter's engine clattered in the clear air, circling towards them. Its searchlights pointed at the ground, as if they were the machine's spindly legs. It seemed to survey a wider and wider area, away from the distant ring-road.
“Is it looking fo
