The eight of us piled down the small staircase into the field. The rain whipped against us; I’d forgotten how strong it could be. Within seconds, my clothes were stuck to my skin.

The lights of the plane cast an eerie glow, but it made visibility easier. The field was surprisingly lush, although there didn’t seem to be any crops in it - looted by soldiers, perhaps. Palm trees swayed menacingly around us, and the air was thick with the buzzing of mosquitoes.

‘Be careful,’ said Gunner, as we stalked through the field. ‘There may be rebels close by. But there may also be our own soldier - so look before you shoot!’

After about a mile, we reached a small dirt track, which Gunner decided we should take. It was the right move, as it led us straight into the centre of the nearest town.

If you could still call it a town. It seemed completely abandoned, and the unmistakable stench of decaying human flesh hung in the air - we all took care to breathe through our mouths. We walked through streets littered with spent ammunition, broken bottles and the occasional corpse, grey and inflated. The buildings were almost all ruined. One still bore a sign reading ‘Bank of Biafra’, while another had been a cinema: I glimpsed a poster advertising a showing of James Stewart in It’s a Wonderful Life flapping from an empty window frame.

There were plenty of vehicles around, but they were either charred to a cinder or missing wheels. The lights of the buildings were all out - it didn’t look as though there was any electricity here at all. My hopes of jumping in a jeep and driving off to Udi were looking pretty slim. The main road had been cut anyway, with trees laid across it at regular intervals, so even if I had found a working set of wheels, I’d have had difficulties getting anywhere.

Suddenly the wind intensified, bringing the rain up off the ground. As I struggled to keep my footing, I saw Gunner raising his arms and gesturing at a nearby building, which looked like nothing but a small hut with an open entrance. I reached it just after him, with Isabelle following close behind me.