Doctor Who_ Winner Takes All - Jacqueline Rayner [19]
Now came the next part of her plan, the part that relied totally on luck. Because if this bit didn’t work, she might have to turn criminal for real, to get her hands on a winning scratchcard. But before that, she’d give it a go. She pulled the pound coin out of her jeans pocket, and strode back into the newsagent’s.
‘A hundred penny sweets, please,’ she said.
* * *
Rose’s fifty‐eighth card was the lucky one. She was getting pretty fed up with scratching off the silver stuff only to find the inappropriately jolly message, ‘Sorry, you’ve not won this time! Please try again!’ She’d ‘please try again’ed until she thought her fingernail was nearly worn down to the bone.
But here it was. Here was the winning card. She’d won a games console.
Rose hurried across to the prize booth. There was no queue. She placed her card in the slot, and after a few moments’ delay the door opened up. She went in. Inside was a counter, and behind it was a Quevvil, its mouth twisted in what might have been meant to be a friendly smile. ‘Congratulations!’ it said. ‘You have won! I will fetch your prize.’
It moved away from the counter, and Rose leaned over to look. There was a tiny room behind it, with another door at the back – and on the floor, a trapdoor. That was it! That must be the entrance to the corridor under the ground! Time for the final phase of her plan – if only it worked…
She stepped back from the counter, trying to keep as far away from it as possible. Then she removed the giant salt shaker, and sprinkled a tiny bit on the floor.
The reaction was almost instantaneous. It was much, much more than she’d hoped for. The Quevvil began sniffing. It raised its nose in the air like an ugly, spiny Bisto kid. Then it darted forwards, scrabbling over the counter, ungainly and desperate. As the creature sank to the floor, its black tongue darting out to lick up the treat, Rose followed its route in reverse, diving over the counter into the little room beyond. She tried the trapdoor, but it seemed locked from this side as well, and she didn’t have time to experiment. So she upended the salt container, and scattered it all over the floor, making sure that some of it trickled down the sides of the trapdoor. And then she ran out of the far door, offering up thanks that the alien locks must only work from the outside, and she didn’t have to make her way back past the maddened Quevvil scrabbling on the floor. She slammed the door behind her, and, ignoring the interested looks from passers‐by, hurried back across to the newsagent’s.
‘Look, I’ve only got a limited number of them cards,’ the newsagent said. ‘If you’re going to do that again, you can just buzz off somewhere else.’
Rose gave the man her most charming smile. ‘Just browsing,’ she said. She waited till he was once more distracted with a customer and then, praying he didn’t have CCTV installed, nipped back through the door to the cellar.
She opened the door to the corridor and peered through the gap. Her plan was working! Boy, those giant porcupines must really love their salt. All four Quevvils were on the ground below the trapdoor, licking at the floor like thirsty puppies. As she watched, one of them got to its feet and started climbing awkwardly up the ladder, then the others followed. She couldn’t see what the first one did to open the hatch, but open it he did. All four climbed through, and before it was shut again, she could hear an explosion of snuffling sounds from above, as the rest of the salt bounty was discovered.
The instant the trapdoor was shut, Rose moved. She gazed up as she reached it, but had no idea how to activate the alien lock. She gave the ladder a quick tug, but it was bolted too firmly to the wall. She had to keep the Quevvils at bay for as long as possible, though… She plunged her hands into her pockets, looking for inspiration. She couldn’t afford to waste time… Only one thing occurred and she did it as quickly as possible, before hurrying into the first room, the one they’d teleported into. She locked