The whole way I kept having flashbacks, like a particularly bad case of déjà vu, to my last visit. My blood near as damn curdled when I once again saw swarms of bee-brains, still dismantling the multistorey car park near the bridge. Most of the structure’s upper floors had already been demolished; I couldn’t imagine how the creatures managed to do so much, with nothing more than their bare hands and the crudest of tools – and neither did I want to know.

The building soon receded into the distance, and I banished it from my thoughts.

It wasn’t long before we were making our way down the same avenue near where Oskar and Nadia and I had been forced to abandon the other SUV. I kept leaning forward to glance up at the rooftops, in case I saw more improvised missiles ready to be dropped on our heads. Instead the streets around us seemed quiet and deserted, and yet I knew from bitter experience how deceptive appearances could be.

‘We’re nearly there,’ I said, nodding at the road ahead. ‘See that pile of rubble scattered across the avenue? That’s why we had to take a side route, to get past it.’

‘Take it easy,’ said Rozalia, looking at me with worry. ‘You’re shaking.’

‘Am I?’ I looked down at my hands where they gripped the wheel. They were, indeed, shaking, and quite badly too. ‘Well, hell,’ I said.

I turned into the same side street Nadia had taken us into, and saw the chunk of masonry that had landed right on top of us. I’d have recognized it anywhere, even without the presence of the other SUV, still lying tipped over nearby.

‘We’re here,’ I said, the words like dull thunder in my mind.

‘Good driving, Jerry.’ Rozalia pushed open the door on her side, reaching at the same time into her jacket pocket and extracting a slim leather case. ‘Come on. You can keep an eye out for trouble while I take a look at that car.’

I grabbed the two rifles out of the rear of the car and handed one to Rozalia. I scanned the streets and rooftops as I stepped out, but the only sound was that of the wind sighing between the buildings. Of course, after my last visit, I knew that didn’t mean a damn thing.

I glanced towards Rozalia, seeing her unzip the leather case before lifting out a glass vial and a long thin metal instrument that glittered in the midday sun.

‘What is that?’ I asked.

‘Sampling kit,’ she said, dropping down on one knee next to the toppled-over SUV. I watched as she peered closely first at the vehicle’s undercarriage, then at the tyres, wondering just what the hell she was looking for.