37
With shaking fingers, I struck another match and raised it in front of me. Peering into shadows, I made out a face, the eyes blinking as though dazzled by the flickering flame.
‘Who are you?’ I asked, although I had already guessed the identity of the soiled and stinking creature sprawled on the floor in front of me. ‘You’re Sophie, aren’t you?’
‘Sophie,’ she repeated in a hoarse whisper. ‘Sophie. That’s my name. Yes, I’m Sophie.’
She didn’t seem particularly curious about me, nor did she ask me why I had joined her in this subterranean dungeon. Standing under the air brick, I lit another match and asked her how long she had been there.
She shook her head and her matted hair swung around her ashen face. ‘I don’t know.’ Her voice sounded dry and cracked. ‘I’ve been here for… I don’
