‘I can’t.’

‘You must.’

Reluctantly, Karin left the stranger and began her search. She felt in her pocket for her phone to use as a torch, only to realise it was in Beth’s bag, but at least she had her keys. The key ring torch was the last of a job lot Declan had given her. They weren’t particularly reliable and when she switched it on, she was relieved to find it worked.

As she climbed the mounds of rubble, Karin was terrified she might be stepping on the girl, but there wasn’t time to clear a path. The rest of the ceiling could come down at any moment, exits could become blocked, the fire could spread. There were no end of reasons why Karin should abandon her quest, but she was too scared to think beyond finding the girl.

It was when she moved a scorched piece of timber that she saw a small hand, but it was too soon to know if this was a cause for celebration or sorrow. Tentatively, she cleared away more debris until she spied the top of a head. She pointed the torch and miraculously, the head tilted up towards her. The girl was alive. Karin wanted to laugh, but it caught in her throat as the head slumped forward again. She heard the thump as the girl’s forehead hit masonry.

‘Please wake up. Oh God, please wake up,’ Karin urged. The child couldn’t die now.

The head moved again. ‘Mum?’

‘It’s OK, I’ll have you out in no time.’

As the girl flitted in and out of consciousness, Karin clawed away at the debris. She didn’t feel the cuts and scratches, or the burning as she pulled away glowing pieces of timber, but she couldn’t keep hold of the torch for long and gave it to the girl to hold. She felt reassured each time the light flickered across her face.

The child was hanging on, but only just, and when Karin pulled her from her tomb, the shock and pain must have been too much for her broken body, and she passed out. Karin retrieved the torch and, as she prepared to lift her casualty, she refused to accept that she didn’t have the strength. Rising unsteadily to her feet, she began the trek back towards the exit. She could see a scattering of survivors rushing towards the same destination and one of them, a short, bald man, stopped to look at her.

‘Help me!’