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'Wait a minute.' Chloe grabbed her arm. Are you saying you saw me dead?'

Leela shook her head. 'I did not see you at all. 'What could be making such sounds in this empty place? There was nothing moving on the walkways.

No students came and went through the entrances of the deserted buildings. No one else was clumsily clambering up and down the short difficult flights of steps. There were no people to be seen anywhere around.

There was only Chloe and her. 'Why is there no one here?'

'No one here?' Chloe said vaguely.

'Where has everyone gone?' Leela said. The noises got louder suddenly, then faded away into the murmuring background.

'I hadn't noticed,' Chloe said. 'Where has everyone gone? The campus is never completely deserted. Not even at night. They were here when we started. Where did they go? I didn't see them go. This doesn't make sense does it?'

'Yes it does,' Leela said.

'How?'

'I do not know, but it will make sense,' Leela insisted. She could see Chloe was near to panic. 'This makes sense,' she went on, quoting the Doctor and trying to be as reassuring as he could sometimes be, 'because everything makes sense. All you have to do is think and work out how.'

Chloe said, Is this hell? Are we dead, do you think?' YES GIRL,' the voice roared

triumphantly. YOU'RE DEAD, GIRL! YOU'RE DEAD, GIRL! YOU'RE

DEAD!'

Chloe flinched and clamped her hands over her ears. 'Not again,' she sobbed.

Leela undamped her hands. 'listen to it,' she said. DEAD! DEAD!' the voice howled on.'DEAD! DEAD! DEAD! DEAD! DEAD! DEAD! DEEEAAAD!' The last screamed word echoed and reverberated through the empty campus.

Who was it?' Leela asked.

'You mean you heard it too?' Chloe looked hugely relieved. 'So either we're both mad or it's real.'

Cackling laughter broke out. 'YOU'RE BOTH MAD AND YOU'RE BOTH

DEAD! AND YOU'RE BOTH IN MY HELL!'

Do you recognise the voice?' Leela asked.

OR MAYBE YOU'RE ALONE, GIRL!'

'It's the demon.'

MAYBE YOU'RE IMAGINING THE OTHER ONE!'

'There are no demons,' Leela said. 'No ghosts, no walking corpses. There is no magic. Think! Who is it?'

YOU'RE ALONE!' the voice crowed.

'I don't know!'Chloe closed her eyes. 'I don't recognise the voice. It's pain and it's fear and it's nothing else.'

'They hate you,' Leela said.

'Who hates me?'

YOU ARE ALONE!'

Leela could hear the noises again. They were louder now. Whoever is doing this hates you and wants you dead.' The noises faded.

YOU ARE ALONE AND INSANE!'

They hate you too,' Chloe said hopefully.

'Leave her,' a voice which she knew the other girl could not hear whispered in Leela's head. 'Leave her to me and I will allow you to go free. Leave her and I will allow you to be safe.'

Leela put her hand on the hilt of her knife. 'They hate me only because I am with you,' she said. 'That threatens them.'

'You will die screaming in my darkness,' the voice whispered. 'Alone.

Always and for ever alone. Never to see another person again, never to hear another person again, never to touch another person again. Always alone, always afraid, always and for ever in darkness. Leave her to me.'

'They are afraid of you,' Leela said.

Sounds like it.'

Leela said, 'Yes, that is what it sounds like.' She could hear the sounds again now, and much more clearly. On top of the previous roars and hums there were new noises. There were screeches; there were long blaring howls; and there were short sharp hootings.

Chloe snorted. 'Imagine how they'd sound if I didn't scare them. How are they doing it? Is it loudspeakers? Or what?'

Leela felt the sounds were getting steadily louder and sharper, and as they did the campus she saw around her seemed to be growing paler and less distinct. If Chloe was aware of any of this she gave no sign of it. 'Can you hear it?' Leela asked.

'Hear what? What are they doing now?'

'I do not know what it is. It may be the sounds of animals.'

'Animals? Where?' Chloe