At twelve thirty-five, the last living person on the near roofs reached the inner court.
She came up the ladder with a worker below her and another waiting at the top. Her hands shook so badly she could not release the rung until the upper worker put his hand over hers and told her which fingers to open.
Iven stood clear while they brought her through.
Below, recovery crews kept calling into the broken spaces. No reply came from the nearest wreckage. That was not permission to stop searching. It was a change in what the next team needed to carry.
On the inner landing, someone had put a covered stretcher beside the wall.
Neri went to it.
She lifted the cloth far enough to see Anja’s face, then covered it again. No one told her not to look. No one asked her to tell the room how she felt before the body could be taken to a quieter place.
Iven stood beside her without touching the stretcher.
