Annie had fallen on the main pile of burning paper; her body had stopped it burning. Paul crawled towards his wheelchair. He had strained his back, there were blisters all over his right hand, his head ached and his stomach rolled with the sick-sweet smell of burned flesh. But he was free. The Dragon Lady was dead and he was free. He was halfway to his wheelchair when Annie opened her eyes. Paul watched, unbelieving, while she got slowly to her knees. Perhaps she could not be killed! Her eyes were staring and horrible. A huge wound, pink-red, showed through her hair on the left side of her head. Blood poured down her face. 'Durd!' Annie cried through her throatful of paper. She began to crawl towards him. Paul turned away from her and started to crawl for the door. 82 He could hear her behind him. He started across the broken glass and then he felt her hand close around the stump of his left ankle. He screamed. 'Dirt!' Annie cried. Paul looked round to see whether she had spat out the paper, but she hadn't, and her face was starting to turn purple. It was easy for him to pull his leg out of her grasp because there was no foot for her to hold on to. But she reached out again and seized him higher up the leg. Some broken glass stabbed into his elbow as he continued trying to crawl away. 'AW . . . GAW! OOO OW!' He turned again and now her face was nearly black. He reached for the doorframe and pulled hard on it to try to escape, but her hand closed on his thigh. 'No!' he cried in fear and desperation. He felt her hands run like spiders up his back and reach his neck. He felt the weight of her body on his legs, pinning him to the floor. She moved further up his body, trapping him. It was difficult for him to breathe. 'GAW! OOO . . . BIRT! DIRT!' The Dragon Lady, on top of him. She seemed dark and immense. The air was driven out of her lungs as she fell on to him, and her hands dug deep into his neck. He screamed: 'Die! Can't you die? Can't you ever die?' Suddenly her hands went loose and she lay heavily on top of him. He pulled himself out from underneath her body and crawled into the hall. Annie lay silent and face down in blood and spilled champagne and pieces of green glass. Was she dead? She must be dead. Paul did not believe she was dead. He shut the door and reached up to turn the key in the lock. He lay down, in pain and exhaustion, on the floor. He stayed there, only half conscious, for an unknown period of time. He only moved eventually when he heard............