Doctor Who_ Storm Harvest - Mike Tucker [41]
The thing roared and lumbered after her, smashing everything in its path. Ace found the door and tugged on it.
It was locked.
She rattled the handle frantically, uselessly. The thing was in the 77
room with her now, bearing down on her. She could feel its ragged breath from halfway across the room.
She ran across to a window and hurled it open.
‘Oi!’ she yelled into the darkness. ‘I could use a hand here!’
There was a walkway outside the window. A good old-fashioned fire escape. She clambered through the window and dropped on to it, breaking immediately into a run. She could feel the vibrations as the creature lumbered after her and began to follow her as she raced along the walkway looking for a ladder.
There was no way down. The ladders were all retracted behind transparent casings. She tugged vainly at one. She couldn’t spend all night running around the walkway. She glanced back over her shoulder. She could see a silhouette in the ringlight. The thing was huge.
She began tugging and pushing at windows as she passed them. All were locked.
No – one was open. She heaved herself through it. She was in a storeroom – for chemicals, judging by the vats lining the rows of shelves that divided the room into half a dozen aisles. She found her way to the door. Once more, it was locked.
The thing clambered into the room after her. It lumbered along the rows, sniffing.
It had her scent.
Suddenly it surged forward, running, snarling, straight at Ace. She ran backwards and darted into a neighbouring aisle. The thing followed her, elbowing the shelves, upsetting vats which fell and smashed on the tiled floor.
She began to get an idea.
Even in the darkness she could see which vats contained hazardous materials – the warning stickers glowed in the dark.
She edged her way as quietly as she could into the next aisle and positioned herself next to the lethal liquids. She lifted a jeroboam down to the floor and stuck her head through the gap it left in the shelf. In the next aisle the creature stood, its back to her, sniffing the air.
‘Oi, gruesome!’ she yelled.
The thing spun round and sprang forward, roaring. Ace pushed with all her strength at the tall shelves. With agonising slowness they toppled forward, crashing down on the creature. Its arms flailed, smashing open the deadly vessels that fell with the shelves.
Chemicals hissed and slewed over the creature. It let out a bellow of pain and staggered backwards. It let out one final, savage roar, then lurched away into the darkness. Ace heard the door to the room 78
splintering as it was torn from its hinges. And then nothing.
She remained motionless for long minutes, her heart pounding. At last she crept towards the door.
There was something in front of her. She yelled and leapt backwards.
The room was suddenly flooded with harsh light. Garrett was standing in the doorway.
‘What are you doing here?’ he asked.
‘That... thing...’ said Ace. ‘Did you see it?’
‘I saw nothing,’ said Garrett. ‘I heard a commotion coming from in here... And I found you.’
‘There’s... something in here with us,’ said Ace. ‘It tried to kill me.’
‘Very inventive, said Garrett. He was pale, stiff and sweating profusely.
Are you all right?’ Ace asked. ‘You look terrible.’
‘I’m tired, and I’ve got a bad back. It’s the middle of the night. And now I’m faced with a case of breaking and entering and vandalism.’ He slammed his palm against the wall. ‘I don’t need this.
‘Didn’t you hear what I told you?’ Ace shouted. ‘We’ve got to see the co-ordinator. We’ve got to tell her...’
‘Oh, don’t worry’ said Garrett. ‘That’s exactly where we’re going.’
Brenda Mulholland listened impassively to Ace’s story. Garrett scoffed throughout.
‘All right, Phillip,’ Brenda said at length, ‘what’s your version?’
‘I really am sorry to have bothered you with this, said Garrett. ‘I should probably just have called the police, but given her companion’s