The North Slope

Text 1: The Survey Room, by Daniel Rooke

An original novel extract.

At dawn, a red line crossed the map on Leila’s desk. The warning had come overnight; now the station windows faced a slope of dark earth where the footpath used to run. On the wall, three years of survey sheets rose in a neat column, each page marked in her small, careful hand.

The radio clicked once, then crackled into a voice. A second message followed, broken by static. Leila lifted the metal case from the shelf and laid the sheets inside. One corner caught on the lid. She eased it free, smoothing the crease with her thumb, while dust tapped against the glass.

Outside, the fence posts vanished beneath another slide of earth. Leila stayed at the desk until the room began to shake. She could hear the others calling from the doorway, but their words arrived in pieces. On her final sheet, the pencilled line stopped halfway across the page. The case shut with a small, clean click. Everything beyond the window had changed; that thin grey line was all that remained of the slope she had measured.

How does Daniel Rooke use language and structure to show the impact of the landslide on Leila?

You should use relevant subject terminology to support your answer.