Down the road towards Maybury Bridge there were voices and the
sound of feet, but I had not the courage to shout or to go to them.  I
let myself in with my latchkey, closed, locked and bolted the door,
staggered to the foot of the staircase, and sat down.  My imagination
was full of those striding metallic monsters, and of the dead body
smashed against the fence.

I crouched at the foot of the staircase with my back to the wall,
shivering violently.