time-travel-failure

In this chapter set during the London Blitz of 25 October 1940, Polly discovers that both her and Merope's time travel drops have failed to open, leaving them stranded in the past with no retrieval team arriving. The absence of Mr. Dunworthy and others suggests a catastrophic event in the future, possibly the death of their support team, which means they are trapped with a looming deadline and no way home. Polly's desperation grows as she tries to escape the crowded shelter and come to terms with the possibility that everyone she knows in the future may be dead.