They stumbled to the front of the compound, the four of them, Bette, Nyah, Kamau, and Elijah. The second water tower loomed ahead, half-concealed by travelling smoke, but still intact. It stood behind the house, perched on a gentle slope that angled downward toward the compound’s burning heart.

If they could drop it forward, send the thousands of litres crashing down that incline, the surge might sweep through the worst of the remaining blaze. Might.

But if they misjudged it, even slightly, the flood would wash right into the house itself.

”If it goes wrong,” Nyah shouted, voice sharp with urgency, ”the house is gone. We can’t control the direction of the water once it hits that slope!”

Bette didn’t hesitate. Her jaw was a clenched line of soot and fury. ”If we don’t try, the fire takes everything. We cut the front beams and guide it with a rope. Kamau… Elijah… get to work on the sides. Nyah, with me.”

They fanned out like soldiers in a warzone. The tower stood like a powerless giant anchored to the ground waiting to be felled.

Bette slammed her axe into the nearest beam, once, twice, wood cracking and splintering under the strain. Nyah flanked her, hacking rhythmically, the vibration of each strike buzzing up her arms like static.

Sweat poured down their faces, steam rising from their backs as the heat intensified. Sparks floated down like fireflies as the inferno started creeping closer behind them, its crackling roar a deafening backdrop.

Kamau struck too high on one post and his axe bounced back. He cursed, reset, and drove the blade deeper. Elijah focused on the cross-bracing, tearing it away in violent jerks.

But even as the tower swayed, it held firm.

”It should be moving!” Elijah shouted.

”The rear beam is catching!” Nyah barked. ”Too much weight holding it back. We need to pull it forward… now!”

”We need a rope,” Bette said, spinning, eyes scanning the blackened ground. Nothing but broken fencing, charred grass, and smoke.

”I don’t see anything we can use,” Nyah snapped. ”We’ll lose the whole place if we wait.”

Kamau’s eyes locked on the smouldering remains of the treeline, where something caught the low light. A few yards away, half-hidden in the smoke and dirt, the hessian sack that had fallen from Chang’s belt lay collapsed. Next to it, was what looked like a thick, black rope.