Sir Thursday(24)

Otherwise it wouldn’t have known to be careful. It had been on Earth since at least five past seven the night before, so it could already have spread the mould to lots of people.

There was another twisted door farther along, then two more on the fire stairs. Leaf followed the Skinless Boy very cautiously, listening for its footsteps. At the peeled-back door that led to the Lower Ground Three floor, she stopped and peeked around, rather than going right through.

The Skinless Boy was in the corridor, outside a door that she felt must be close to the linen storeroom the Atlas had recorded as being its lair.

The Nithling stopped and suddenly looked back towards the stairs. Leaf froze, hoping it hadn’t seen her.

For a moment, she thought she was safe. Then the Skinless Boy hissed – a sound Arthur would never make – spun on its heel, and came sprinting down the corridor towards her.

Without thinking, Leaf ran down the fire stairs, because that would be quicker than going up. She’d only jumped down four or five steps when she realised her mistake. All the doors going down would be locked. There would be nowhere to go.

She was trapped, and in seconds the Skinless Boy would be on the stairs behind her. Panicked, Leaf tried to go even faster, tried to jump too many steps at once – and fell.

She fell headfirst, hit a step hard, and slid down to the next landing.

The Skinless Boy stopped five steps above her and looked down. It saw Leaf lying still, blood trickling from under her hair. But her chest still rose and fell, indicating that she was breathing. The Nithling hesitated, then it slowly walked down the remaining steps and extended its hand, brushing its palm against the back of her outstretched hand. Satisfied, the Skinless Boy returned back up the stairs, eager to commune once more with the sor-cerous scrap of material that was the source of its identity.

Leaf returned to a consciousness dominated by pain. Her head really hurt and there were aches and pains all down her left side, from ribs to ankle. She was disoriented, for a few seconds thinking she was back aboard the Flying Mantis.

Have I fallen from the rigging? she thought. But it wasn’t the deck beneath her, it was a concrete floor. And it wasn’t Pannikin shouting at her. It was … a loudspeaker.

Leaf rolled over and sat up very gingerly. A voice was booming through the stairwell, coming out of the emergency speakers that dotted the ceilings of each landing.

‘… check for indications of the bioweapon code-name Greyspot. The indications are grey spots on the hands, neck, face, or other exposed areas of flesh. If you have the grey spots, do not approach anyone else. Move immediately to Level Three for treatment. If you had the grey spots but they are now gone, move immediately to Level Five for treatment. If you do not have the grey spots and did not notice them previously, stay where you are. Avoid skin contact with all persons. Do not attempt to leave the hospital. This hospital is now zoned as a Red Biohazard Area under the Creighton Act and anyone attempting to leave will be shot and flamed.’

The voice was followed by a loud pulsing tone, then the same message started again.

Leaf touched the sorest part of her head, at the back. Her skull was intact as far as she could tell, but when she looked at her fingers, there was partially dried blood all over them.

She rolled her hand, looking at the blood and feeling sick. Then she froze, staring not at the blood but at a small patch of skin behind her knuckles. The skin was brown, like every other part of her that had been exposed to various suns aboard the Flying Mantis. But right in the middle there were three small grey dots.

Suddenly everything came rushing back. The Skinless Boy turning to chase her. Her fall down the stairs.

Then … while she was unconscious, the Nithling must have infected her with the spores. It would only be a matter of time before the Skinless Boy would be able to read her mind and make her do whatever it wanted.

It would learn everything. It would totally control her.

Leaf struggled shakily to her feet and started climbing the stairs, only managing to keep her balance by gripping the handrail. The warning message kept repeating, echoing around the stairwell, making it even harder for Leaf to think.

She had to get the pocket and find the House. Dr Scamandros would … might be able to cure her.

By sheer force of will, Leaf managed to get her pain-wracked self back up to Lower Ground Three, arriving at the same time the recorded message stopped blaring out through the loudspeakers. She rested for a few minutes on the landing there, gathering her strength and her thoughts.

But she couldn’t think of anything to do other than to go to the linen storeroom and try to find the pocket. This would be hopeless, if the Skinless Boy was there. But if he wasn’t, and she could get the pocket, then …