Minutes or hours later, when I opened my eyes, I saw Joshua and Hagar making a mad dash towards the now-deserted road, hand in hand. I was cheered. If they could make it to the other side they were safe; there were so many alleys and doorways they could duck into. But just as they reached the road, Joshua turned and stared back at the still-ongoing struggle. I saw the indecision on his face. But Hagar was still running, and she was in the centre of the road before she discovered that she was alone; she slowed down, turned and stopped. She opened her mouth – that was how the car hit her, with Joshua’s name on her lips. The dull, loud impact dislodged me from the top of the tree and I tumbled down, hitting branches and leaves, nearly concussing myself on the hard, jutting-out root at the base of the tree. Then I was up and running for the road, tripping over prone bodies, clumsily dodging rifle butts. I met Joshua on the other side; he had dragged Hagar to the sidewalk and was seated on the ground, her head in his lap. He looked up when I stood beside him, his eyes were wild, all the earlier assurance and recklessness replaced by fear.

‘Oh, my God! Oh, my God!’ he muttered over and over again. His hands left bloodstains on her face as he brushed the hair tenderly from her eyes. There was a huge bleeding gash beneath her right ear; her leg lay at a twisted, awkward angle beneath her. She was unconscious.

‘See the blood,’ he said, unsuccessfully trying to stem the spurting stream beneath her ear.

‘We must go,’ I said. A policeman was staring at us from across the road; soon he’d cross over. ‘We have to get her to the hospital.’

‘Yes.’ Joshua stood up. He looked at the deserted road helplessly; the hit-and-run car was nowhere to be seen. ‘We must get a taxi.’

‘Wait.’ I dashed into an alley-mouth and soon reappeared on another street. I flagged down a taxi and hopped in. I directed him back to where Joshua was once more kneeling beside Hagar. When the driver saw the blood, he shook his head. ‘No. I no wan trouble O!’

I remembered the four thousand in my pocket and took it out. I thrust half of it into his hands and said, ‘Please, it was an accident. She is dying.’

I opened the door for Joshua. He sat in the back, with Hagar’s head in his lap. But just as we were about to pull away, a running figure came to a stop beside us, panting heavily, staring over his shoulders.

‘Please, I must come with you… they are after me…’

It was Lomba. I opened my door and he tumbled in beside me. We pulled away.