Doctor Who_ The Nightmare of Black Island - Mike Tucker [46]
Rose hurried back to her. ‘I’ve found something. I just want to check it out.’
‘You’re not gonna leave me here, though!’
‘I’ll be two minutes.’
Ali caught her arm. ‘Please!’
Rose sighed. Ali was right. She couldn’t just leave her here. ‘You still got that key?’
Ali pulled the heavy brass key from her pocket and held it out to Rose.
‘Right. Let’s try and delay them finding out we’ve gone for a while.’
Rose locked the door, then slipped the key into her back pocket. Hopefully when the nurses next came to collect her they would forget that they’d left the key in the lock and spend precious moments 110
searching for it. That might give her and Ali some extra time to work out where the cables went and get out of the house.
‘Right,’ said Rose. ‘Now, follow me, but quiet.’
The two of them crept along the corridor, wincing at every creak of the ancient floorboards. If anything the upper part of the house had seen less maintenance than the lower level. Wallpaper bulged alarmingly in several areas and huge brown patches on the once white ceiling showed that water was getting in from somewhere. The floor was thick with dust and footprints were clearly visible down the length of the corridor, following the trail of cable and wiring. Rose strained to hear any sign of life, but her head was still muzzy, her ears ringing.
They rounded a corner. The corridor in front of them ended at a tall, elegant door, its once pristine varnish now scuffed and faded. A ragged hole had been torn through the wall next to the frame and the cables wound their way through the broken plaster. Rose chewed her lip nervously. The corridor was a dead end. If someone came up behind them now, they would be trapped, but she was damned if she was going to leave without finding out what was on the other side of that door.
A sudden thought struck her. When she had been at the back of the house she’d noticed a fire escape. If she had the layout of the house right. . . She crossed to a window and peered out into the wet night. The fire escape was right there! Rose gave a smile of satisfaction. They wouldn’t have to go out through the cellar after all. If only the window would open.
She pulled at the catch. It was stiff but it moved. Ali gave her a curious look.
‘What are you doing?’
‘Getting us a way out, I hope,’ said Rose. ‘Let’s see if our luck is holding, shall we?’
She gripped the bottom of the old sash window and heaved. With a terrible rattle, it slid upwards. Cold air and rain swirled in. Rose could have cried with relief. She stuck her head out of the window. The courtyard below was dark and empty. A badly fixed 111
security light banged back and forth in the wind, sending fingers of light dancing across the wet flagstones.
Rose ducked back inside, crouching down and gripping Ali by the shoulders.
‘Right. There’s a ladder out there. A fire escape. I want you to climb down, get over to the tunnel and go!’
Ali looked frightened. ‘What about you? What are you going to do?’
‘I need to look inside that room.’ Rose nodded over at the door. ‘As soon as I’ve seen what’s inside, then I’ll follow you.’
Ali shook her head. ‘I want to stay with you.’
‘No.’ Rose’s voice was stern. ‘You’ve got to go! If I don’t get out, if they get me again, then you have to find the Doctor and tell him where I am.’ She ruffled Ali’s hair. ‘I need you to do this for me. I need to know that you’re safe. OK?’
Ali thought for a moment, then nodded solemnly.
‘Good girl.’
Rose caught Ali under the arms and swung her up on to the window sill. Ali grimaced as rain splashed against her face, ducked through the window and carefully lowered herself down on to the metal platform of the fire escape. The ladder vibrated alarmingly.
‘It doesn’t feel very safe.’ Ali looked up at Rose nervously.
‘You’ll be fine.’ Rose tried to sound confident. ‘These things always wobble a bit. Now go. Quick as you can!’
She watched as Ali turned and made her way unsteadily down the rickety fire escape, brushing her wet hair out of her eyes. She reached the bottom and hovered nervously next to