VI. End of the Line
Some fifteen minutes later, Brian Mayhew was still overseeing an endless parade of children marching up the ramp. Many of the children were frightened, some were crying, but otherwise they were remarkably calm. There was only one disturbance, when a boy of about fifteen was not allowed to board the ship with his two younger siblings.
Mayhew hated tearing the boy away from his sobbing little brother and sister, hated leaving a kid behind to die. But rules were rules and the regulations said “children twelve and younger first”.
“I’m very sorry,” he said to the boy, “But you’ll have to wait for the next ship.” He softened. “Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of your brother and sister.”
The quakes were coming more frequent now and they were increasing in strength, too.
