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her on. ‘Keep moving, don’t look back, don’t use
your cellphones – it slows up those behind you.’
    Three more
floors had to be negotiated before she found herself back in the lobby,
paddling through inches of water, and on past the express shuttle elevator that
had whisked her up to her office only a couple of hours before. Suddenly even
more sprinklers jetted down from the ceiling above, but Anna was already
drenched to the skin.
    The orders
bellowing from the megaphones were becoming louder and louder by the moment,
and their demands even more strident. ‘Keep moving, get out of the building,
get as far away as you possibly can.’ Not that easy, Anna wanted to tell them.
When she reached the turnstiles she’d passed through earlier that morning, she
found them battered and twisted. They must have been brushed aside by wave
after wave of firemen when they transported their heavy equipment into the building.
    “
Anna felt disorientated and unsure what to do next. Should she wait for her
colleagues to join her? She stood still, but only for a moment, before she
heard another insistent command that she felt was being addressed directly at
her. ‘Keep moving, lady, don’t use your cellphone, and don’t look back.’
    ‘But where do we
go?’ someone shouted.
    ‘Down the
escalator, through the mall, and then get as far away from the building as
possible.’
    Anna joined die
horde of tired savages as they stepped onto an overcrowded escalator. She
allowed it to carry her down to the concourse before taking another escalator
up to the open promenade, where she often joined Tina and Rebecca for an al
fresco lunch while they enjoyed an open-air concert. No open air now, and certainly
no calming sound of a violin – just another voice bellowing,
    ‘Don’t look
back, don’t look back.’ An order Anna disobeyed, which
not only slowed her down, but also caused her to fall on her knees retching.
She watched in disbelief as first one person then another, who must have been
trapped above the ninetieth floor, jumped out of their office windows to a
certain death rather than face the slow agony of burning. ‘Get back on your
feet, lady, and keep movin’.’
    Anna picked herself
up and stumbled forward, suddenly aware that none of the officers in charge of
the evacuation was making eye contact with those fleeing from the building or
even attempting to answer any of their individual questions. She assumed this
must be because it would only slow things down and impede the progress of those
still trying to get out of the building.
    When Anna passed
Borders bookshop, she glanced in the window displaying the number-one
bestseller, Valhalla Rising.
    ‘Keep movin’,
lady,’ a voice repeated, even louder.
    Where to?’ she
asked desperately.
    ‘Anywhere, but
just keep goin’.’
    ‘In
which direction?’
    ‘I don’t care,
as long as it’s as far away from the tower as possible.’
    Anna spat out
the last bits of vomit as she continued to move away from the building.
    When she reached
the entrance to the plaza, she came across firetrucks and ambulances that were
tending to the walking wounded and those who just simply couldn’t manage
another step.
    Anna didn’t
waste their time. When she finally reached the road, she looked up to see a
sign with an arrow covered in black grime.
    She could just
make out the words ‘City Hall’. Anna began jogging for the first time. Her jog
turned into a run and she started to overtake some of those who had departed
earlier from the lower floors. And then she heard another unfamiliar noise
behind her. It sounded like a clap of thunder that seemed to grow louder and
louder by the second. She didn’t want to look back, but she did.
    Anna stood
transfixed as she watched the South Tower collapse in front of her eyes, as if
it had been constructed of bamboo. In a matter of seconds, the remnants of the
building came crashing to the ground, throwing up dust and debris that
mushroomed