by Kay Woodward
They emerged on to a high platform to be greeted by an ominous yellow sign: DANGER OF DEATH.
Connor gulped. He didn’t need reminding.
‘We’re in an electricity substation on the surface,’ Ryan barked into his radio. ‘Seal all exits immediately. Repeat, seal all possible exits.’
From up here, Cutter had a bird’s-eye view of the enormous room. Thick cables snaked from the floor up the walls and into ceramic fuse boxes, while a grey metal cube as big as a family car dominated everything. He knew that this was the transformer – a device that transferred electrical energy from one circuit to another. Mounted on the wall was a metal grid housing the fuse box. More signs warning of the massive voltages travelling through this room were displayed all around.
Connor eyed the warning signs nervously, tripping over an upturned metal stool as he made his way round the transformer box. He picked up the stool, brandishing it in front of him like a lion tamer’s chair. Meanwhile, Ryan cocked his rifle.
They went forward, Cutter still leading the way. The first corner was clear, then the next. Finally, there was only one corner of the platform left to check. And that’s where the Arthropleura was waiting for them. The monster lay curled round the base of the huge transformer. Lazily, it lifted its head, a ripple spreading through its vast, segmented body. Connor paled, dropping the metal stool, which fell to the floor with a resounding clang.
The noise sent a tremor through the creature. With lightning speed, it darted forward, hurtling straight towards Cutter. Not even attempting to avoid the attack, the professor stood his ground, flinging up an arm at the last second in what appeared to be a futile gesture of self-defence.
With an audible crunch, the centipede sank its pincers into Cutter’s forearm, the force of the assault knocking him to the floor, where he writhed helplessly under the sheer weight of the huge creature. Connor leapt forward and battered the Arthropleura with the stool, forcing it to relinquish its grasp on the professor’s arm. The animal retreated to a corner.
Nursing his arm, Cutter ripped aside the damaged material of the protective jacket to reveal, strapped to his wrist, a clear plastic container filled with cloudy liquid. The huge pincers had punctured the plastic – leaving the deadly venom to collect inside.
Connor grinned – his plan had worked!
There was no time to gloat. The monster was readying itself for another attack. Ryan raised his rifle, but registered the yellow warning signs and thought better of shooting in such a dangerous environment.
But Cutter was the target, not Ryan. The centipede loomed over him, poised to strike, when Connor came to the rescue. He dashed forward, keeping the creature at bay with the metal stool. The Arthropleura opened its mighty jaws wide, preparing to retaliate – and that was just the opportunity Connor needed. He rammed the stool between the creature’s jaws.
It stuck fast.
And that was when the giant centipede’s luck really ran out. As it slithered past the fuse box, there was a moment of contact – metal stool and metal fuse plate touched. At once, there was a fizzing, popping sound and an explosion of sparks as 750,000 volts coursed through the fuse plate… along the chair leg… and into the creature’s mouth.
Zap!
The centipede was flung into the air as a massive bolt of electricity surged through it. The creature from the far side of the anomaly was history. Or rather, it was charcoal.
Connor and Ryan stared aghast at the smoking remains of the Arthropleura, covering their noses against the terrible smell. But Cutter didn’t have time to linger. Clutching his precious container of venom, he began his long scramble back up the tunnel.
‘How are you feeling?’ asked Claudia.
Stephen groaned. ‘Like I gargled with sand and slept inside a tumble drier.’ He lay back against the cool cotton of the hospital pillowcases and glanced at the drip that now hung empty beside his bed. Thanks to Cutter, the antivenin had done its job, dragging him back from the brink of death. He grinned up at Abby, who was watching over him protectively.
Claudia smiled, then studied the patient thoughtfully. ‘So, tell me about Helen,’ she said.
‘What about her?’ asked Stephen, a frown creasing his pale forehead.
‘You saw her.’
‘I saw her? When?’
‘In the tunnel,’ Claudia spoke clearly and slowly, as if Stephen were still drugged up. ‘That’s what you said.’
He shrugged. ‘I must have been off my head. To tell the truth, I don’t remember anything. I was probably just hallucinating.’
‘Probably.’ Claudia smiled briefly and nodded a goodbye before leaving the room.
Stephen looked at Abby. ‘What was that all about?’
She hesitated before replying. ‘You really can’t remember anything after you were bitten? None of the things you said in the ambulance?’
‘Why?’ he said, his expression blank. ‘What did I say?’
‘Oh, just… stuff,’ murmured Abby. ‘I thought some of it might have stuck…’
Stephen shook his head. ‘No. Was it important?’
Abby shrugged casually to hide her disappointment. ‘Not really,’ she said. If Stephen couldn’t remember their conversation after his accident, she certainly wasn’t going to remind him. She didn’t want to look a fool.
‘Thanks for looking after me,’ Stephen said, smiling gratefully. ‘You’re a mate.’
A mate.
It was all Abby could do to smile back.
The wartime bunker was still buzzing with activity. Soldiers and scientists vied with each other for elbow space, every person intent on completing their own vital task before the bunker was sealed up for good.
Cutter ignored them all. There was only one thing in that underground room that held his interest – the anomaly. He stood gazing at it, a weary tension in his face, gradually becoming aware that someone was standing beside him.
‘I just wanted to check…’ Connor ventured hesitantly. ‘Am I back in?’
The professor sighed. ‘Can we keep you out?’
Connor tried again. ‘I only want to help.’
‘You did a good job,’ admitted Cutter.
The student grinned proudly. ‘All my life I’ve wanted to be in a crime-busting gang,’ he gabbled, almost incoherent with excitement. ‘And now I am. Sort of… I don’t suppose you’d consider giving me a cool nickname?’
Cutter just stared at him.
‘I thought not,’ said Connor, grinning. Then with uncharacteristic sensitivity, he abruptly realized that his tutor wanted to be alone – and left.
The anomaly shivered, enticing Cutter closer. He walked forward, staring fiercely into its glittering core as if sheer will could help him to see through to the other side. He touched its surface, watching the air ripple around his skin.
‘Where are you, Helen?’ he said softly, his voice too low for anyone else to hear. ‘What do you want?’ He glanced around him. Everyone was preoccupied. No one was taking any notice of him. He could just walk through the anomaly – and disappear.
But he couldn’t move.
The past stood before him, enticing him with echoes of his lost wife. But behind him was the future – a world of uncertainty but also filled with hope.
Whichever way he chose to go, he was on the verge of something big.
List of Illustrations
As Abby clutched Rex, a menacing growl filled the forest.
‘Your wife went missing here, didn’t she?’ Claudia asked Cutter.
The team looked up to see the dead cow suspended in the branches.
The needle on the compass was spinning around like crazy.
The mighty predator stalked through the school, looking for its prey.
‘I’m going through the anomaly,’ Cutter told Lester.
Abby couldn’t help but worry as the scientists examined Rex.
The massive Gorgonopsid chased Stephen down the school corridor.
The professor gazed
around the bleak Permian landscape.
Vast herds of prehistoric creatures were dotted about the hills.
Cutter was overwhelmed with relief. The skeleton wasn’t Helen.
Something was down in the long-abandoned tube station.
The bunker came alive with a seething mass of giant spiders.
The giant centipede prepared to strike.
As Abby clutched Rex, a menacing growl filled the forest.
‘Your wife went missing here, didn’t she?’ Claudia asked Cutter.
The team looked up to see the dead cow suspended in the branches.
The needle on the compass was spinning around like crazy.
The mighty predator stalked through the school, looking for its prey.
‘I’m going through the anomaly,’ Cutter told Lester.
Abby couldn’t help but worry as the scientists examined Rex.
The massive Gorgonopsid chased Stephen down the school corridor.
The professor gazed around the bleak Permian landscape.
Vast herds of prehistoric creatures were dotted about the hills.
Cutter was overwhelmed with relief. The skeleton wasn’t Helen.
Something was down in the long-abandoned tube station.
The bunker came alive with a seething mass of giant spiders.
The giant centipede prepared to strike.
