One Box at a Time

Text 1: The Lower Archive, by Samira Wren

An original novel extract.

At first, Leena counted.

Four shelves on the east wall. Six blue boxes to a shelf. Twenty-four boxes before she even considered the cabinets. She repeated the numbers as she unlocked the storeroom, giving each one a firm edge in her mind.

The water had already passed beneath the door. It lay across the floor in a shining sheet, no deeper than the sole of her shoe. Leena placed one foot into it. The cold climbed instantly through her sock.

“Begin at the bottom,” she said aloud. Her voice sounded sensible in the empty room. “Work upwards. One box at a time.”

She lifted the first box on to the trolley and then the second. The labels faced outwards, exactly as they should. Behind her, water whispered through the gap beneath the door. It explored the cracks between the tiles, tested the wheels of the cabinets and chose the lowest places to gather.

By the ninth box, the trolley had become difficult to push. By the twelfth, the water was over her ankles. It was no longer clear. Grey threads turned inside it: dust, paper fibres, dirt shaken loose from places that had not been disturbed for years. Leena tried not to imagine the water reaching the shelves, softening the cardboard, finding the folded letters and the careful handwriting inside.

One box at a time.

Something struck the other side of the door. The door jumped in its frame. Leena froze with both hands beneath a box, listening as the water pressed forward, withdrew and pressed again. The numbers scattered. Twenty-four had become twelve, or thirteen, or perhaps she had counted one twice.

She set the box on the trolley. The lights flickered once, steadied, and went out.

In the darkness, the water no longer whispered. It filled the room with the sound of tearing cloth.

“One box at a time,” Leena said, but the words had lost their edges. She reached for the next shelf and felt water touch her knees. Somewhere close by, cardboard gave a small, soft sigh.

Leena stopped counting. She lifted the next box without looking at its label.

How does Samira Wren use language and structure to show Leena trying to control her fear as the danger increases?

You should use relevant subject terminology to support your answer.