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smoke still climbed from it here and there, and that fires burned within the metal shell. But we did not pause, I was deep in thought and much of it ill. We left the wreckage behind along with the fields and the cows and the long dead horses.
    I'd never been a violent man, in the old world it had filled me with revulsion and on the rare occasions when I was confronted with it I often felt sick and dizzy. These days it seemed that all you had to step out the front door and violence would find you. There was no time for dizziness and sickness, I could not revile something which I was forced to do with such regularity lest I end up reviling myself.
    I told myself over and over that we were still good people, that my sons were good men, men of necessity who in another life would be writing bad poetry, serenading pretty girls and buying flowers for their mum. But there was always that nagging doubt, that same voice which had fallen silent with death of principle, the one which looked on in horror from behind the red mist as my sons sliced peoples faces in half with meat cleavers and beat them to death on the open road. What were we becoming?
    The maudlin lay heavily on me in a mirror of the sky above which darkened as we drew closer to out target. The pitter patter of the rain did not comfort me as it once had, I heard Ellie complain as the droplets came in through the broken window, this was not what she needed right now, the sooner we found that hospital the better, provided there was any one there to help of course.
    Between the grand lakes of Windermere and Ullswater there is a lesser know and inferior body of water called the Ravenpool, named as such for its popularity with ravens which inhabited the area. The dark wings could oft been seen flitting here in there on the banks of the Ravenpool, taking on water and keep a wary eye on the long grass for enemies.
    It was next to this body of water, just off the beat and track for a way that the settlement of Ravensburg could be found.
    We turned off down the road towards the dwelling, a number of large buildings could be seen on the other side of the lake. The sky had darkened to an angry, inky black and the steady downpour was illuminated by the car headlights. I would one day look back on this moment and curse my own stupidity. I would curse myself for not asking a very simple question, why on earth would such a small and remote place have its very own hospital? We were about to find out.

Chapter 5, Ravensburg
    The first impression was not great. It might have been dampened by the weather unfolding in the sky above us but Ravensburg did not have the look of a functioning anything about it. The huge gates which sat across an opening in the equally foreboding walls had been torn off their hinges by a tremendous impact at some point. They lay bent and mangled on either side of entrance and their demise made our passage onto the grounds of Ravensburg that much easier.

    Following our trauma on the road and the fact that poorly blocked window frames were letting in water I was keen to get inside as soon as possible. For that reason I did not take the time to clarify the rain blurred signs which I squinted at as the land rover bumped its way through the puddles of the hospital car park.

    What we were looking for was not hard to find anyway, the grand entrance to the hospital was marked by the tall doors beneath the colonnade and the intimidating statue of a raven with its outstretched wings which sat above it. Below the bird in large letters written across the lintel were the words 'Healing begins in the mind'. A nice little aphorism probably coined by one of the hospitals patrons.

    The rest of the family disembarked and huddled in the shelter of the large grey columns while I parked the car. I even managed to park between the lines. Why? I do not know, for not a single other vehicle could be seen there, but old habits die hard. I got a strange feeling as I jogged through the rain