Chapter Twenty-SevenIn his desperation to get away, Ben did not notice the world changing all around him. Night slowly replaced by day, the many blasts and crashes disappearing into the mists of the past. The present had returned.
Unaware of any of this, dazed, confused and frightened, he pounded on the front door.
It opened and Nan's welcoming face appeared. Ben fell into her arms, sobbing uncontrollably, a stream of tangled words spilling out of him.
She helped him inside and sat him down at the kitchen table, then took a flannel and ran cold water through it. She bathed his forehead, the soothing coolness revitalising him and slowly his sobs subsided.
“Try and tell me what happened, Ben.”
He shook his head, breathing through his mouth, lips tender, face tight, painful. Nan went out
