Doctor Who_ Winner Takes All - Jacqueline Rayner [31]
* * *
Rose had forgotten that the doors opened from the inside. She hit the control and dived out of the booth, praying that the Quevvil wouldn’t follow her. It wouldn’t, would it? Wouldn’t want to make a fuss, make people think there was something odd going on, that they weren’t what they said they were…
She stood by the booth, not knowing what to do next, panic threatening to overwhelm her. She wanted to throw more things.
Then a voice somewhere nearby said, ‘Rose? Rose, sweetheart? Is everything all right?’
Of course everything wasn’t all right, and it took Rose a few moments to calm down and pay attention to the tremulous voice. She finally turned round, to see an elderly lady wearing a pink plastic mac, a flowered headscarf tied over her white permed curls. It didn’t register initially. And then she realised, hardly daring to let herself hope. ‘Dilys?’ she said. ‘But… but I thought you were going on this holiday with my mum…’
Dilys looked worried. ‘I couldn’t go on my own, Rose, love. Since my Harold died, you know I don’t like going places on my own, not even the bingo.’ She held out a hand in which was a familiar piece of cardboard. ‘I just came here to see if there was anything they could do about it, about your mum’s. Shame she has to miss out.’ She pushed the scratchcard towards Rose. ‘Look, would you take this, Rose, dear? I feel so bad about what happened. I couldn’t go now. Maybe your mum’ll still want to, though, later. She can have this one, I know they said we had to go today, but you never know…’
Rose took the card, not really understanding what Dilys was saying, but the hope was growing, blossoming inside her. ‘You mean my mum didn’t go on the holiday either!’
But Dilys was still looking worried. ‘You mean you don’t know? They said they’d phone you, promised they’d let you know.’
The hope was being replaced by an ache, a heaviness in her stomach, and she blurted out, ‘Tell me what, Dilys? Who was supposed to tell me what? Please, tell me!’
And poor Dilys, nervous and stuttering, began to tell her. ‘I’m so sorry, Rose, love. I’ve got bad news…’
* * *
The Doctor had made it through the newsagent’s cellar and into the shop without hearing any more from the Quevvils, save a few shouts and thuds. The newsagent had a big promotional Percy Porcupine poster on the wall, and the Doctor let out a few feelings by ripping it down and shredding it to bits. What the newsagent would think in the morning, he didn’t really care. The door to the street was locked, but this presented few problems to someone who’d picked as many locks as the Doctor had. It was also alarmed, but the sonic screwdriver took care of that.
The street was fairly quiet when he stepped out of the shop – a few youths hanging around, drinking cheap lager out of cans; an occasional shop worker heading home. The booth where the Quevvils handed out their deadly prizes seemed deserted – whatever had caused the noise obviously long gone. The Doctor decided to leg it before they thought to pop out that way to pursue him. He ran off down the high street, heading back towards Rose’s flat.
* * *
TEN
Rose looked at all the tubes and things leading into her mum, and felt sick again. Her mum was so protective of her, always had been. If Rose scraped her knee, Jackie’d be there to pick her up. She’d be down the school if anyone had had a go at Rose, have a word with whoever, not let Rose be left out or upset or picked on. It’d been embarrassing at times, but your mum protected you, that’s what mums did.
But looking at her mum lying on the hospital trolley, black eye and purple cheek and dried blood under her nose, knowing that her mum was just a fragile human being, not a superhero, that was the worst feeling in the world.
And on top of that, now Rose was the one who was trying to save the world, and part of the world that had to be saved was her mum. That was so wrong.
Jackie’s eyes flickered open. She smiled