Doctor Who_ Warlock - Andrew Cartmel [93]
Tommy realized he was still holding the scissors in his left hand. They’d come from a drawer in the laboratory and he suddenly wondered if they were the same ones he’d used for decapitating the baby mice. The thought gave him a sudden shudder. Was it possible that he might get an infection as a result of using them? But he’d only cut the very edges of the surgical tape. They wouldn’t come into direct contact with his open wound. The gauze was pressed firmly over that, and he’d got the gauze from a sealed sterile pack.
Nonetheless, Tommy’s skin crawled as he thought of some strange infection invading his body. The revenge of all those baby mice. He hastily set the scissors aside and forced himself to concentrate on the matter at hand.
Things really weren’t so bad, when he thought about it. Pam and the others were still occupied at the big farmhouse entertaining the clients. He just had to make sure he got things tidied up before they returned to the lab.
And there really wasn’t that much to clear up. Blood on his lab coat, but that was nothing new. Some blood on the floor, but he could wipe that away in a minute. The only real problem was getting the cat back in its cage.
Tommy sat on his lab stool, staring down at the far end of the room towards the annexe. It hadn’t made a sound since it had fled in there. Why was he so worried? All he had to do was go around the corner, into the dark, and get it. What was the problem? The stupid cat was probably more frightened than he was.
Tommy’s arm ached, each beat of his heart sending a hot pulse of pain along his hand. This time he’d wear the heavy blue gloves. All he had to do was go over to the bench and slip them on.
But Tommy felt a curious reluctance even to stir from his chair. Maybe he should wait a minute longer –
From the dark laboratory annexe came a loud thudding noise, then another, and another.
Tommy jumped up from the stool and scooped the gloves off the bench nearby. He pulled them on, his bandaged right hand slow and clumsy, as he cautiously approached the annexe. Hesitating as he came around the corner, he made himself step into the darkened cubicle.
Immediately his foot struck something and Tommy almost fell over. He knew the layout of the annexe well enough to navigate it blindfolded. Or at least, he thought he did. Whatever he’d collided with had no business being in the middle of the floor. Tommy bent over and reached down cautiously. He kept listening for the cat. He thought of it coming at him with its claws extended, maybe jumping for his face, reaching for his eyes.
Tommy held one heavy glove in front of his face while he fumbled on the floor with the other. He sank to a crouch and scuttled around in the darkness with his knees bent. It was awkward moving around like this and he was disoriented in the darkness. It took him a long time to find what he’d tripped over. The object was heavy and made a strange wobbling sound as he pushed at it.
Tommy paused and cocked his head in the darkness, trying to listen for the cat. Nothing. He slowly removed the glove on his left hand and reached down to touch the object. It was cool, its ribbed surface beaded with condensation. Tommy recognized it as one of the big plastic refill bottles for the water‐cooler.
The bottles were normally stacked on the floor next to the wall. The cat had somehow insinuated itself between wall and bottle and toppled it over. That had been the first thud he’d heard.
Tommy moved deeper into the annexe, swinging his foot cautiously ahead of him. He felt two more bottles lying in his path. He groped his way towards the wall and found that the remaining empty bottle was still stacked where he’d left it this morning.
It seemed odd that the cat had knocked over three heavy bottles full of water yet had left the lighter, empty one alone. He began to heave one of the full bottles back upright then thought better of it. Now he knew their position he might as well leave them where they were. The bottles were the least of his worries.
Tommy straightened up and