Night had fallen when Tancredi was awakened by a jolt. The ground was shaking beneath him. Moonlight streamed through the throne-room windows, illuminating the scene of his torment. He was in agony; he had no idea how many bones had been broken. Instantly he thought of Cocomo. His face flushed hot, he was about to panic; he had to find her. He forced himself up and lurched out of the throne room, dragging his foot behind him. When he reached the courtyard, he was again thrown to the ground. Surprise was about to go supernova. The Universe was beginning to implode.

He staggered out of the palace. The guards had abandoned their posts and linked arms, about to perform the death-defying dance. Tancredi laughed through his pain. He hauled himself down the lawn and found the pathway. There he stumbled across a body. Knowing immediately who it was, he fell to his knees.

Tancredi took Cocomo in his arms, wiping the blood-stained hair from her face. He hung his head low, breathing in her smell, and buried his face in the torn clothes on her chest. He gasped. He couldn’t breathe, an unbearable pressure was building within. Tears streamed down his face. His body tensed, then came the release. A burst of agony issued into the night sky, the sound of a breaking heart in a broken body, Tancredi calling to Cocomo.

The planet began to convulse. He couldn’t stand to think about what had happened, then he remembered Tamany. He looked at Cocomo’s beautiful face illuminated by the moonlight. He would carry this image with him in the few minutes remaining. He kissed her for the last time.

Tancredi forced himself up, and limped down the path. His mind was blank, numb with pain. The best he could do was listen out for sounds like a primitive beast. He picked up distant screams, and followed them to the play area where he had left his friends. He stumbled towards a group of women gathered at the cave, enclosed now by the boulder. They were clinging onto one another, pounding on the rock, shrieking in hysterics.

‘What’s happened?’ ‘shouted Tancredi. Are the children trapped?’

The women pointed to the window. Tancredi rushed over to look. The cave’s interior was dimly lit, but he could see the children within. They were running about screaming. He caught sight of Tamany, clearly panic-stricken. He yelled at him, rapping on the window. Then he saw the cause of the children’s consternation. The General was in the cave, stumbling around as if drunk, grabbing at the children.

Tancredi struck again at the window, this time in rage. The General looked up and their eyes met. He laughed, then lunged at Solange and caught hold of her yellow and brown shuka. As a shockwave rocked the planet, the General locked his arm around her neck. Solange screamed and writhed in his grasp. Tancredi felt sick. With all his heart he wanted to tear at the beast.