window imploded. Vijay and Trevithick threw themselves Vijay hauled Holly through the door and pulled to the floor as shards of gla.s.s streaked through the air. The Trevithick by the hand till he too was through.
floor was suddenly thick with glittering particles. Vijay "Chairs! Anything! Quickly!" Vijay shrieked as he crunched towards Holly and pulled at her shoulders. "Hol!
slammed the door on the creatures. A mandible caught in Come on, back this way. Come on!" He jerked her round but the jamb and there was a terrifying howl as it shattered into she continued to stare at the gaping window which opened a b.l.o.o.d.y stump.
like a burst eye on to the terrifying sight beyond.
Lungs bursting, Holly and Trevithick reached the TV Standing in a staggered line, their black carapaces glinting room in thirty seconds flat, and dragged three chairs and a in the moonlight, were half a dozen of Trevithick"s monsters.
table back down the corridor. Vijay slammed the table Holly felt her skin crawl as one c.o.c.ked its huge head and under the door k.n.o.b as the woodwork began to splinter. A glared at her with compound eyes, liquorice-black mucus ma.s.s of spindly mandibles erupted through the frame.
spilling from its mouth.
Trevithick hurled the wooden chairs at them.
One, a good foot taller than the rest, jerked its muscle- "It"s no good," cried Holly.
bunched legs forward, crushing gla.s.s beneath its feet. It 210 211.
"Listen," said Vijay, grasping Trevithick by the shoulders.
He grasped the fire extinguisher and hugged it to his "This is a big place. Lose yourself. We"ll have to split up. If chest, then sprinted as best he could towards the lift and you can get outside, you might stand a chance."
pressed the summons b.u.t.ton. There was a distant clunk.
"But surely..."
Couldn"t be far up, he thought. Perhaps most of the "There"s no other way."
complex was underground? Or perhaps - he felt his heart The door shattered and three ma.s.sive insectoid heads sinking -the lift ran all the way to the telescope dish?
punched through. Without another word, Holly, Vijay and He turned and felt sick as the creatures scrabbled around Trevithick turned and ran into the darkness of the corridor.
the corner like monstrous crane flies, their clawed limbs The old man skidded as he reached a corner and held on to skittering against the walls and floor. Trevithick hammered the wall for support, spluttering for breath. His chest felt on the lift doors.
tight and painful. He was too old for this. Far too old.
"Come on! Come on!"
Holly and Vijay had gone in the general direction of their The taller creature crouched low and began to bound rooms. Trevithick glanced after them and headed right, down the corridor towards him. Once it had just been a man catching sight of a lift at the end of a long corridor.
in a rubber suit. Now it was real, a flesh-and-blood killer.
There was a tremendous clatter and disgusting twitter as There was a gentle ping and the lift doors sprang open.
the creatures burst through the door and flooded in.
Trevithick fell inside and stabbed desperately at the b.u.t.tons.
Trevithick threw himself down the corridor, banging into a The doors began to slide closed with agonizing slowness.
fire extinguisher which thudded on to the floor. He stopped The creature slammed into them, its ma.s.sive head beating at sharply and pounded his fists against his temples.
the metal and its mandibles thrashing in fury.
Think. Think.
Trevithick crashed the extinguisher to the floor of the lift A triumphant roar boomed down the corridor. Trevithick and aimed the nozzle at the beast. A torrent of spray fell to his knees, hands clapping on the floor tiles, and erupted into its maw and it howled in protest, head scrambled about for the fire extinguisher. It would do as a cracking against the doors as it fought to clear its vision.
weapon of sorts.
Trevithick pushed his finger on to the b.u.t.ton again and He cast a glance at the lift doors. If the power was off he the doors began closing once more. Still the creature fought was as good as dead. But some of the consoles had come on, hooking its claws around the creaking metal doors.
back to life. There was just a chance...
Trevithick bit his lip and caught hold of its eye with shaking Trevithick strained his old eyes, cursing himself for hands. It was cold to the touch. With a great cry of effort, he leaving his spectacles, and just made out a tiny winking red brought down the extinguisher on to the compound lens light by the lift b.u.t.tons. He sighed with relief and paddled and beat at it repeatedly as the creature wailed and chittered his arms across the floor.
in pain. Again and again he struck till the eye fractured and Got it.
exploded, splattering his coat in colourless fluid.
212.
213.
With one final heave, he pushed the great head back into It"s going to get through. It"s going to get through.
the corridor and the doors clanged shut. A beautiful Trevithick gave up on the door and looked around the lift.
humming silence met his ears and he slid to the floor. The There was a knee-high tubular ashtray in one corner. In the lift went up.
ceiling was the familiar escape door he"d seen in countless Something bulky was pressing into his side and he films. He"d even crawled through one in some cheap grabbed at his jacket to remove the obstruction. With a sigh American picture his wife had persuaded him to do in order of disbelief, he pulled out his service revolver. Curse his to pay for a new fridge.
useless memory! All this time attacking the thing with a fire But this was now, this was real. Could he even squeeze extinguisher when he could"ve...
through the hole? And what would he do when he got there?
There was a dull thud below. The lift shook slightly but Trevithick jumped as the creature ripped through the continued its flight upwards. Trevithick looked at the floor floor. The bristly head lolled back mockingly.
indicator. He had been on Level 8, it appeared, so there Trevithick gave it two bullets in its uninjured eye.
were seven floors below ground. The indicator went up to The creature bellowed in pain and fell back some way 27. Right the way up to the dish. He swallowed nervously, through the hole in the floor. Fist-sized lenses spattered never having been good with heights. In his agitation he against the walls.
had pressed randomly. Level 15 was his destination, but Trevithick pulled at the ashtray which fell and spilled its that was bound to be beyond the creatures" reach, wasn"t it?
contents. He picked it up and jammed it against the wall, At Level 15, the lift shook again. Trevithick frowned, got pocketing his revolver and casting an anxious glance at the to his feet and waited for the doors to open. Nothing hole in the floor. The creature"s claws were scrabbling about happened. He placed the flat of his hands against the cool again, making a fresh attempt to pull itself into the lift.
metal and tried to push the doors apart.
Trevithick tore at the expensive lining of his jacket until it With a terrifying screech, the lift floor buckled as the ripped across, then stuffed the fire extinguisher inside. It creature attempted to punch its way through. Trevithick was bulky and heavy but, once he was out of bullets, it was gave a little whimper and thrust his fingernails between the the only weapon he had.
doors. He had been so desperate to get in, now...
Without another moment"s hesitation, he climbed on to Please, please, please...
the wobbling ashtray and reached towards the ceiling hatch.
The creature must have forced its way through the He pushed with his fingertips but the hatch resisted. Why exterior set of doors and clung to the bottom of the lift as it was nothing going right for him?
ascended. Trevithick felt his pulse hammering in his temple.
With a roar, the creature hauled itself over the lip of the He looked down at the floor which had cracked right across.
hole and clawed at the carpet, dragging its disgusting body A harpoonlike claw was thrashing through the hole, inside. This was all the incentive Trevithick required. He attempting to gain purchase on the floor.
punched the hatch out and gazed through at chilly darkness.
214.
215.
[image]
The creature had one leg through now, sliding through the hole like a monstrous dragonfly sloughing off its old skin.
Trevithick managed to get his arms through the hatch up to the elbows and howled with effort as he tried to pull himself through. The ashtray below him shook unsteadily as the beast fell inside the lift. Trevithick was through up to his waist, his old arms seared by pain. Cold sweat flooded down his face.
The creature stood upright, uncurling its enormous body and chittering in triumph. Trevithick thanked G.o.d he was wearing his steel-toed boots, and kicked it savagely in both wounded eyes. It lashed out instantly, ripping through his trousers to his bare flesh underneath. Trevithick cried out in pain and kicked again, struggling to retain his fragile grip on the top of the lift.
Again it fell, spraying the lift walls with black blood.
The creature"s maw dripped with fluid as it thrust its head Trevithick looked about him desperately. The lift shaft was towards Trevithick"s legs. With a t.i.tanic effort he pulled totally dark. His only choice was to attempt a climb up to himself right through the hatch, curled around, pulled out the next level and somehow prise open the doors which led his revolver and pumped two more bullets into the creature.
to safety. But, in his heart, he knew this was impossible. He hadn"t the strength left and his plans failed to include one thing. The creature.
It was roaring and slamming at the ceiling hatch now, determined to break through and find him. Trevithick shivered, half through fear and half through cold. He glanced at his old revolver. Two bullets left.
Then a wild idea lit up his brain. He scrabbled about inside his jacket and pulled out the fire extinguisher. The creature was half blind now anyway. All he needed to do was complete the process and then... It was too perfect! The extinguisher didn"t spray foam; it was for electrical fires, 216 217.
obviously the main worry in a place like the tracking station.
and stabbed his finger decisively on to the Level 18 b.u.t.ton.
So it contained carbon dioxide. Compressed carbon dioxide!
The lift began to ascend immediately, stranding the creature Trevithick checked his gun again unnecessarily. Two on the cable, its claws sc.r.a.ping and slipping on the metal.
bullets. He would need only one. He tore off his jacket and Trevithick lay down by the hole and took out his revolver crouched by the hatch, holding his breath. The creature"s with careful deliberation. He gazed through the hole in the head was through now, peering about in the gloom to locate floor and watched the creature diminish in size.
him. Trevithick slid across the lift so he was behind it, At Level 18, the lift stopped and, to Trevithick"s relief, the holding his jacket in one hand and the extinguisher in the doors sprang open. Instantly, he slid the tubular ashtray on other. He said a silent prayer and then launched himself at to the threshold to prevent the doors closing, then looked the creature.
back down the hole.
He delivered a kick to its eye and instantly sprayed its The creature was struggling up the cable, the shiny entire head with carbon dioxide, then coc.o.o.ned the head extinguisher glinting on one of its hooked spines. He c.o.c.ked with his jacket and flung himself and the creature back into his revolver and took aim.
the lift.
The creature"s head rolled back as it saw his face. It roared Trevithick"s whole body screamed in pain but he in fury and redoubled its efforts, wrapping its vicious claws wouldn"t give up now. Whilst the creature thrashed about around the cable.
the confined s.p.a.ce, utterly disorientated, he fired one more Trevithick had been a crack shot during the War, had bullet into its head. It reeled and fell to the floor.
even won medals for it. But this shot had to count. Had to.
Summoning all his strength, Trevithick fell to his knees and He aimed for the extinguisher and pulled the trigger.
barged the creature through the hole it had ripped in the The bullet hit the compressed carbon dioxide and floor. Its claws clattered desperately for purchase. Trevithick Trevithick was out of the lift in seconds, wrenching the looked at its k.n.o.bbly back and at one hooked spine in ashtray away so the doors would shut.
particular. That would do very well, he thought.
The creature was instantly consumed by fire, guttural Dodging to evade its razor-sharp claws, Trevithick screams forcing their way through its dreadful gullet. It let hooked the extinguisher on to the creature"s back and then go of the cable as flames tore through every fibre of its body, jumped on to the huge black head like a child on a falling backwards and down, down into the shaft like a trampoline, beating and beating till his boots sank into the shooting star.
brittle tissue. The creature screeched, twisting around in an Trevithick watched the lift doors close and listened to the effort to save itself. Trevithick gave one last kick and the satisfying roar as the extinguisher exploded. He dragged thing slid through the hole into the shaft.
himself to the wall and closed his eyes.
Immediately, it lashed one claw on to the cable and tried Did it. Did it.
to haul itself back inside. Trevithick was prepared, however, He allowed himself a little smile.
218.
219.
The monastery had lost all the cheeriness of his earlier It was almost dawn as the Doctor pulled open the doors of visits. Now it was a cold and lonely place. No wonder the the monastery. The hinges had buckled and the wood itself Abbot had seemed so maudlin.
seemed to have expanded against the stone frame.
The Doctor looked down at the dusty flagstones, half-The room beyond was unnaturally quiet, lit only by a reminded of something. There was another smell in the air: couple of stubby candles. The smell hit the Doctor almost a musty, neglected smell so common in old religious immediately and he thrust his coat sleeve across his face.
buildings.
Over by the long-extinct fire, several indistinct shapes There was a sudden, distinct plop as a rain drop fell to the were huddled. The Doctor picked his way through the floor. The Doctor gazed up at the darkened roof. Another smashed furniture, steeling himself for what he knew he drop fell and splashed coldly on his forehead.
would find.
Leaking roof.
Three monks lay curled like embryos. The Doctor All at once, he knew what it reminded him of. A recognised them only by their scorched habits. All other forbidden place. A chamber with a secret door, the key to features were ravaged and wasted, skeletal hands projecting which he had once stolen. Such a long time ago...