 
**North End**

Jason Nevercott

Copyright Jason Nevercott 2008

Published at Smashwords

Chapter One

James Ridley was running – for his life.

He was in a tunnel and could hardly see a thing. He was not a fit 61-year old and was still drunk; his body was also half asleep, and the tunnel's floor was difficult to move on. He could hear 'them' catching up with him.

'YEEEEEWWWWGGHH.' He nearly froze when he heard this weird female scream, which made him feel like he was being hunted _and was nearly caught_. What in the hell is going on? he wondered. Damn, he was out of breath and his body felt wasted; he knew he could not continue for much longer.

Suddenly he felt one of 'them' jump on his back with a triumphant shriek followed by the others. Then one of 'them' clawed his eyes and he fell face down onto the tracks and lost consciousness...

He woke up feeling terrible. His head with its noticeably ginger hair was throbbing with pain; his body felt stiff, dehydrated, and nauseous. This last thing was not helped by a horrible smell of a combination of a cesspit and a rubbish tip, which almost made him choke.

What's happenning to me? he wondered, desperately wanting some water. Am I dreaming, in some sort of nightmare? He began to feel a little panicky and scared. He tried to find out what sort of room he was in by looking around him and realised that his arms were tied behind his back and his feet were bound. It was also too dark to see much, though he felt the room was quite big and had a stone floor.

He heard some noise like that of rats and tried to move in a protective position: the thought of being attacked by them was awful. His body ached with pain but he managed to move himself a little. The rats seemed to scurry away.

He then felt something digging in his side and suddenly jerked away from it; he thought it was a bone for some reason. Why would there be a bone here? he wondered, but he was too frightened to answer this question. He was now up against what seemed like a wooden wall, where he felt a little safer, though still very scared.

He was about to shout out for help, but then realised how pointless this would be; 'they' would also hear him. How in the hell did I get myself in this situation? He could feel the usual symptoms of a hangover and he could also remember having walked unsteadily from pub to pub in Camden Town, after he had finished doing a painting and decorating job. It had been a balmy September night and as usual he could not resist a drink. He had known his heavy drinking would get him into trouble one day and now it seemed this had come.

Suddenly, he heard the room he was in begin to tremble. This became more intense until he realised what it was before its energy became less: it was a tube train in the distance. He breathed out heavily.

He then remembered some of what happened to him after leaving the last pub. He had eventually walked into – or was it stumbled into – Chalk Farm Tube station. He could just about recall barging past the ticket barrier behind someone because he had not bought a ticket.

It had been very late and he had fallen asleep on a bench on the northbound platform, where he hoped to get a tube to Hendon, where he lived. He woke up when one came and he managed to get himself on it before falling asleep again.

In his very thirsty state, he then remembered having half woken up in the tube with its doors open. He had blurrily seen some figures coming towards him. Then he felt himself being carried somewhere. He recalled not liking this, and so he had struggled free, and begun to run.

James now heard a noise from outside the room. He stiffened with fear. He then thought of his wife, whom he knew would be worried sick about him. She was always telling him to stop drinking but he would not listen.

He whispered her name with his trembling lips, 'Sorry, Debs, love...' He was crying now but forced himself to look in the direction of the noise, which he realised was one or some of 'them' opening the door to the room he was in. There were some guttural sounds: 'they' seemed to be talking to each other. James' breath became shorter and his body felt soaked with sweat.

The door swung open suddenly. He saw the glint of a blade and 'them' coming towards him. He passed out. It was the last thing he did.

Chapter Two

Tom Murray finished work and began to walk to Belsize Park station to catch a tube home. It was nearly 11.45 on Sunday evening and he was very tired. It had been an unusually busy night at the pizza restaurant where he worked as a part-time waiter and he had stayed behind to help his manager do the weekly stock-taking. Tom got on quite well with him and had even had a couple of bottles of beer with him before he left. He liked working at the restaurant and as a full-time A level student with limited funds he appreciated the extra money.

It was a cold and wet October night but despite this and the fact he was tired, Tom was happy. This was because he would not be working until the Sunday after next and it was half term at college. He also had the house where he lived only with his mother in nearby Golders Green to himself. She had gone to visit her sister in Essex for the week, partly for a holiday and partly so that he could catch up with his studies in peace. But he was more interested in having a lazy week off with lots of lay-ins and dvds rather than any serious studying. He was looking forward to it very much.

He passed several houses and then shops in the near deserted high street of this mainly upper-middle-class area. He was not hurrying, for he knew he had plenty of time before the last tube went just before 12 a.m. He felt the wind and rain against his face. He would normally have enjoyed this but tonight he was too tired to care; he was also very slightly intoxicated.

He reached the station at about 11.50 p.m., got past the barriers, and began to walk down the stairs to the platform. He would have taken the lift but there was not one ready and he could not be bothered to wait for one. As he neared the bottom of the stairs he heard the rumble of a tube coming. He felt the cold wind of its approach and forced his tired body to run for it.

But he just missed it.

As it moved away, he quickly checked the tube-time-display board to make sure it was not the last one. It was not: the final northbound tube was in about five minutes. He walked over a little out of breath to the last bench on the left of the platform and sat down. He noticed there was no one else on the platform, yawned, and slowly fell asleep...

He woke up suddenly. The tube in front of him was about to close its doors. He quickly jumped up and half ran/half staggered towards them.

He just about made it. He self-consciously looked around him after the doors had closed behind him and the tube moved off. He was in the last carriage of the tube and there was no one else in sight in this one or the next.

He sat down and looked at his watch: it was 11.59 p.m. exactly. He looked around him, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep again. He half woke up when the tube stopped and departed at the next station of Hampstead. He did not want to fully wake up because he felt comfortable in this state, but noticed that no one else had got in the carriage with him. He knew he had a few minutes before the tube reached his stop of Golders Green. He then fully went back to sleep...

'AAAARRRGH! AAAARRRGH! HELP! HELP!' Tom suddenly woke up again but this time to the distant screams of a female. He got up bleary-eyed, still not fully awake. He looked around him. The tube had stopped and its doors were open but only onto an enclosed tunnel, which allowed no space to get out.

The screaming continued and Tom moved quickly into the next carriage, nearly stumbling in his just-woken-up state. There was no one else around. There was also no way out of this carriage, the way this time being blocked by some kind of metal railings, though this area was lit.

He went to the next carriage in the direction of the screams. In this one he could see the last doors on the right opened onto the now widened tunnel. He rushed towards it, still hearing the screams. Where's the driver? he wondered as he left the tube but could see no one.

'AAAARRRGH! AAAARRRGH!' The screams beckoned him on, and he found himself in the dark shell of what seemed like some kind of disused station. But there were no tiles on the walls; only concrete. He could see on the right the partitioned, lit, area, which had blocked his way. But the screams were coming from the left. In this part of the tunnel there was hardly any light and it was cold and a little windy.

His heart was beating very fast; his body full of adrenalin. He continued to run towards the screams. He was so focused on them that he only half noticed that the tube was leaving alongside him.

He briefly hesitated, not knowing whether he should try to stop the tube to get help or carry on. He was still in shock. What in the hell was going on? he wondered. But the screams continued, leaving him with no choice but to follow them, away from the tube.

The floor of the station had a lot of stones and rubble on it and he nearly fell over in his disorientated state when it went down a little to another level. Up ahead to his right the screams were coming from an entrance to a passageway, which he could make out from the disappearing light of the departing tube.

He approached the passageway with caution, looked through it, and saw that it led to another tunnel, running alongside the one he was in. Visibility was now quite poor. The screams still continued from the right. He entered the passageway and rushed towards them but was more careful now that he was fully awake, more aware of the possible danger.

As he got to the end, Tom's pace slowed. His adrenalin was still high but his instincts told him to be careful. In the background he could hear the slightly squeaky whine common to all tube stations and could feel the wind from the tunnel in front.

He also noticed that the screams had stopped.

At the end of the passageway, Tom carefully peered around its corner on the right. It was indeed another tube tunnel with tracks, like the one he had come from. This tunnel was also quite dark but further on there was some light coming out of another passageway on the right. Tom saw some figures now moving into this light. His heart froze with fear as they became clearer. He pulled back his head a little more into the passageway.

He could not believe what he was seeing.

Chapter Three

In the lit part of the tunnel, Tom could now see the source of the screams. There were about five very strange-looking humans (?) of both sexes carrying the body of a teenage girl further into the tube tunnel. They were quite short and skinny and had funny-shaped heads and bow legs with little but long wispy hair. They were filthy and dressed in sack-like clothes. Their eyes were quite big and they were very pale.

They moved passed the lit area and disappeared down the tunnel away from Tom. He did not move; he could not: he was too scared. Tom was no coward and for an eighteen year old he was quite big being just over six-feet-tall with a medium-yet strong build. But he was in shock at what he was seeing. One part of him refused to believe what was happening: it was too incredible; surely he was dreaming. This was the 21st century yet he was looking at some creatures out of a horror story. But another part of him could not deny the reality of it.

He felt very frustrated and ashamed of his fear and did not know what to do. The creatures though smaller than he were wild and evil-looking and greater in number. He also instinctively realised they were capable killers. But he must do something to help the girl.

Eventually, after what seemed like a long time, he gathered himself together and found some courage. He forced himself to move into the tunnel. He carefully made his way to the source of the lit area, a small stairway with railings and a green emergency exit sign with an arrow above it.

He quickly looked through its entrance, which led to some wide stairs going up, typical of a tube station, to the right. But straight ahead, past these, He could see another green emergency sign pointing to the left on some railings. He could not sense any danger from this passageway and moved further down the tunnel, in the direction of the creatures.

He was trying his best not to make any noise but there was a lot of rubble on the floor of the tunnel and he knew that if 'they' were listening they would probably hear him. He put this thought out of his head, as he tried to control his fear; he had to help the girl.

He reached the mouth of the now narrow tube tunnel on his left, which was like an arch in the bottom left of the bigger arch of the 'station platform area'. He was very scared but poked his head into it. But there was nothing to be seen: it was just too dark. He could, however, hear some noises up ahead about twenty metres away. The creatures had seemingly stopped and were hustled together doing something. He strained his head closer but still could not see anything; nor could he hear anything any longer.

He felt that he had to follow them into the tunnel but he was scared about a possible tube coming; for he knew there would be no space to hide if one came. He looked at his watch: it was just past 12.17 a.m. He knew that he had been on the last tube going northbound but was not sure about the last southbound tube. He realised he had not heard any tubes since he had first heard the girl's screams on this tube but was still not sure.

He cursed himself for his indecision and forced himself to move; he knew he had to do something to save the girl.

As he was about to enter the tunnel, however, he again heard something ahead. There was something moving. He stared down the tunnel but again could see nothing in the darkness; he could only feel a cool wind on his face. But the noises were getting closer. Then he suddenly realised what they were: the creatures were returning and could probably see his silhouette from the light behind him!

He froze with fear again. He did not want to move and a part of him was almost happy to wait and see what happened. Tom, you must move! You must get the hell away from here, he urgently demanded of himself.

He finally forced himself to do so, turned around, and began to run in the direction of the emergency exit.

'STAYS THERE! STAYS THERE!' he heard from behind him in the tunnel in loud, rough, guttural shouts. This increased his fear: he had not realised the creatures could speak. It also made him go faster: he did not want to be caught. He reached the lit stair area with the emergency exit sign. The creatures were now quite near to him, well out of the tunnel. He felt his heart beating stronger.

He moved up the small stairway and passed the other wide stairs on his right, which were completely dark. He turned left at the emergency exit sign on the railings in front of him.

He then saw another green arrowed sign pointing down on some metal railings of some kind of bricked-off room. He went down the concrete stairs of these, around some concreted area, and then up some more stairs at the other end. He then continued into some other narrow passageway, before he reached a brick wall with an opening on the left.

This led to some other wide tube station stairs, which like the 'platform areas' had no tiles on their walls. He saw another arrowed sign pointing up on the right-hand one of these.

'COMES BACK! COMES BACK! WE HELPS YOU, BOY!' Tom gulped with fear when he heard this, as he began to run up the stairs; he instinctively realised that he did not want any of the 'help' they would give him, but knew they were going to catch him.

He was running as fast as he could, a little tired and out of breath but not wanting to be caught and then who knew what. He could hear the creatures coming quickly behind him. He ran up the stairs, about fifteen of them, and at the end followed the tunnel that turned right, over what must be a bridge over the tube line.

At the end of it was an open metal door, through which he could see another emergency exit sign which pointed to the left above another railing. He went through it and then tried to pull it shut behind him, but it was heavy.

As he was doing so, he could see the first of the creatures at the top of the stairs he had just come up. It was wild with crazed eyes. A wave of fear went through him. Move, move! he said to himself leaving the door still partly open.

He then saw a very round tunnel up ahead with some stairs veering to the right. He rushed up them; at the end there was a small corridor. At the end of this there was a lift door on his right and a narrow metal staircase going up on his left.

He heard the heavy door he had come through open with a bang behind him. Damn, they are getting closer, he thought. He ran up the stairs, which another green emergency sign had pointed to. Another sign said there were 197 steps.

'COMES BACK! COMES BACK!' He had run up about twenty steps before he heard them. His legs were getting stiff and he was not going as fast as he would have liked but fear spurred him on. The staircase had some railings like the bricked off room he had been in. It was also rectangular-shaped with about thirteen metal steps per flight in a circular shaft, a part of which had also been bricked off for the lift shaft.

He could now hear the creatures running up the stairs behind him, their feet making a clanging sound on the steps. He wondered whether he would be able to escape them, as his legs were now stiff and heavy. He could feel himself slowing down all the time.

How many more steps are there? he wondered. He must have climbed at least six flights by now. He was out of breath and was staggering rather than running up the stairs.

Then, his legs nearly finished, he came to the top of the staircase. There was another lift door on his left and then in front of him another doorway. He went through it, not even bothering to try to close the door behind him, still hearing the pursuing creatures. They seemed to be getting closer and he forced his 'jelly' legs to move a little faster. They mustn't catch me. No way. No way, he thought to himself, exhausted, and almost in pain.

He felt very disheartened when he saw another staircase in front of him. How much bloody further is this exit? he wondered. This staircase was different, being concrete and enclosed by walls. He started to go up it using both the safety rails as he did so. His legs were now hurting and he was well out of breath. But the sight of another green emergency exit sign gave him some encouragement.

After about three flights he came across a small landing with a doorway to a room. He rushed passed it and got back on the stairs. Eventually, after about three more flights – he had stopped even trying to count by now - he came to the top of the stairs and could see a door in front of him with a sign on it saying 'Emergency Exit' and underneath another one saying 'Push Bar to Open.'

He pushed the bar but nothing happened. He felt panicked and could hear the creatures getting closer. 'STAYS THERE! STAYS THERE, BOY!' one of them shouted from behind him in a hideous female voice.

Chapter Four

Tom tried again to push open the emergency exit door, this time putting all his force on it. 'Open, you stupid door!' he shouted out. It did, and he stumbled onto the muddy ground in front of him.

He could feel the fresh but cold air against his skin as he quickly got up and went forwards. It had stopped raining but was damp and wet.

He looked around him and saw that he was in a fenced off area set back from a street. The fence was about five-and-a-half feet high and had a pair of wide locked gates in the middle of it. But it and the gates were made up of green metal spikes too sharp to climb over.

He looked for some other escape route. But as he looked back in the darkness at the small white building he saw some movement at the door he had come from.

Damn! They're here, he thought to himself. He hesitated no longer and quickly grabbed two spikes at the top of the gates, put his right foot through the space where the padlock bolt was, and hurled himself over. The gates wobbled a little and he landed badly hurting his left thigh and knee but got up straight away and ran in the direction he landed.

As he was running – almost staggering now because of his legs - he noticed there was a private housing estate on his right and he could see some tops of houses over the wall on his left. But it was all a bit of a blur; his only thoughts were of escape.

He then realised where he was but continued to run until he got to the end of the road, which he remembered was called Hampstead Way. This led to North End road, which in turn led down to Golders Green, where he lived. At this point he stopped, totally out of breath, his body wasted, and his teeth in pain for some reason. He quickly turned around to see if the creatures had followed him but could not see them. He looked at his watch: it was 12.28 a.m.

He began walking very fast down the hill. He was too exhausted to run anymore but looked behind him constantly to see if the creatures were following him. He knew that he had to get help. The girl was obviously in danger if she were still alive. He reached into his pocket for his mobile phone.

Damn! he said to himself. The front of his phone was smashed: it had been in his left trouser pocket and he must have damaged it when he landed badly after climbing over the gates. He tried to switch it on but nothing happened. He then heard and saw a car coming up the hill: it was the police!

He could not believe his luck and staggered out into the middle of the road, waving his arms wildly for the car to stop. The policeman in the car slowed down and motioned for Tom to go over to the pavement. He then parked his car next to him. He was alone but quite big Tom noticed.

P.C. Terry Roberts got out of the car and walked round it to where the teenager was moving in an impatient and agitated way. 'Take it easy, kid,' Terry said in his quite strong London accent. He kept the teenager in front of him, at the same time looking around him. He then got his name before asking, 'What's happened?'

'A girl's been...kidnapped,' Tom said with an effort, still breathing heavily.

'Kidnapped? Where?' Terry asked looking concerned.

'In the tube station back there,' Tom answered, 'by some creatures.'

'Creatures? Are you winding me up?' demanded Terry.

'No. They're not really creatures but humans. I'll show you. It's back up there down Hampstead Way. Let's go. We can still save her,' Tom said about to move back up the hill.

'Hang on kid. There is no tube station up there, except Hampstead, which is far away. The nearest one is Golders Green, down the hill. D'you think I'm stupid or what?' Terry asked, now beginning to believe that this kid was trying to have some fun with him.

'No. It's a disused one. I've just escaped from it. We must return there now!' Tom said beginning to move up the hill again.

'Stop there! Have you been drinking?' demanded Terry sharply, having smelt some alcohol on Tom's breath.

Tom stopped. 'Yes, but only a couple of bottles of beer. Look I know how this seems. I still can't quite believe it myself. But it _has_ happened and there _is_ a girl in danger. We have _GOT_ to help her before it's too late!' he finished saying this a little too aggressively.

Terry was now annoyed and determined to catch his smart kid out. 'What's the girl's name?' he asked.

'I don't know,' answered Tom in an agitated way, 'I only saw her.'

'All right then, what did she look like?' asked Terry.

Tom seemed frustrated. 'I don't really remember...She had blonde hair, I think...She looked quite short and had a light coloured jacket and jeans on...It was dark.'

'You said it was in a tube station so how could it be dark?' asked Terry now feeling he had caught Tom out. A dark tube station, he thought to himself. Ha, ha, I don't think so.

'But it was a disused tube station. It--'

'Listen,' Terry said firmly, 'It's a criminal offence to waste police time and be drunk and disorderly. So either you start walking home now, or I arrest you.' Terry was now completely fed up with this middle-class kid who had obviously been drinking and was trying to be clever with him. He had seen the type before, and Tom with his educated voice, gelled- spiked-bleached hair, and student-like clothing fitted the description very well.

'I'm not lying!' said Tom in a raised voice, 'I wish I--'

'Be quiet!' demanded Terry. The radio from his car started communicating a message, 'Could all units attend...' Terry went to get back in his car.

Terry noticed Tom a little unsteady on his feet rush round to him as he got back into the driver's seat.

'Please. You must help me. I'm not lying. Honest,' Tom pleaded.

'Go home to mummy and daddy and waste someone else's time, kid!' Terry said before saying something on his radio. As if I haven't got enough problems with real criminals, he thought, as he drove off with his sirens blazing.

Tom watched him go in the middle of the road, feeling his little remaining energy both physical and mental drain away. He turned around and got back on the pavement. I wish I could go home to mummy and daddy, he thought a little sadly.

What can I do now? he then wondered. If the police will not help me then who will? He could not answer these questions and continued his journey home, walking down the hill, still looking around him but not as frequently. The creatures were obviously not following him. There was also no one else around in the cold, damp, and dark night.

He was exhausted and the only thing he wanted to do now was go to sleep. He could not go back to the station on his own: he would be killed. The girl was probably dead by now anyway, so what else could he do? He left the question unanswered and eventually, sometime after 1.30 a.m., got home and went straight to bed.

Chapter Five

Detective Sergeant Harry Edwards was at his desk in Golders Green Police station, looking through some of his missing persons' case files. He had been doing this for over two hours, ever since he had arrived for duty at 7 a.m. on Monday morning. What was more, for the first time since he had joined the Missing Persons Unit just over a month ago, he was excited. This was something he knew his new colleagues would find difficult to believe, as he had given them the impression of being an irritable and cynical old copper just waiting to retire in a year at 60.

When Harry had first transferred to this particular police duty, he thought of it as largely pointless and bureaucratic. After all, most of the yearly quarter-of-a-million or so 'mispers', as the police called them, eventually turned up, and the very small minority of those who did not, who had been murdered or kidnapped were then investigated by other units. Thus it was largely a procedural duty.

This was in contrast to the majority of his over-forty years in the 'force' (he still refused to call it the 'police service'), in which his work had been varied and interesting. After doing his obligatory two years as a uniformed officer, he had joined and worked his way through the CID, being on several high profile murder cases and even in the Flying Squad for a while, driving fast cars and catching armed robbers. He accepted that he was no longer as strong and fit as he used to be, now being just over five-feet-tall with a slim, almost frail build. He had also had a minor heart attack last year. But he still had a good brain and so why could he not have finished his long career doing some other more interesting duty?

But now as he continued to look through some of the case reports, his detective's curiosity was finally aroused in this missing persons' duty. He had a talent of noticing things others did not, which was now displaying itself: he thought he had found a link between some of the cases. There were three of these; so far he had only checked the more recent of the hundreds of files.

The first was a 55 year-old alcoholic woman from Golders Green, called Susan Josephs. From her picture, she did not look like a bad-looking woman, thought Harry. She had white hair and wore glasses but also had a pretty face. It had been her daughter, who had first reported her missing in March of this year. Her picture and details had been distributed and the British Transport police had a report on her, as having been found drunk at stations on two occasions – stations on the Northern Line. Her daughter also confirmed that her mother had disappeared at night sometimes, only to return the next day or the day after.

The second missing person was a very tall and skinny man called Ian Thomas, aged 68, from Camden Town. He looked very frail in his picture, thought Harry, with his 'turkey' neck and drawn face. He was on medication, being a diabetic and suffering from a kidney complaint, according to his daughter, who had reported him missing the day after he had visited her in Morden in May of this year. After the release of his picture and details, a member of the public came forward saying he may have seen him asleep on the day of his disappearance on a late tube at Warren Street station _on the Northern Line_.

The 'final' missing person was called James Ridley, a painter and decorator from Hendon, who had noticeably ginger hair and was 61 years of age. His wife, who reported him missing one month ago, said he had probably been drinking the night he had gone missing. She said he was not an alcoholic but 'like a lot of men he enjoyed a drink now and again'. His details were distributed and the British Transport police had him on CCTV getting on a tube at Chalk Farm tube station _on the Northern Line_.

Harry got up from his desk in the large half-noisy office he shared with several other CID detectives on the first floor of the police station in the Community Safety Unit. He wanted a cigarette, one of his few remaining enjoyments in his life, despite what his doctor said. He put on his beige Mac-like overcoat and checked his watch: it was 9.12 am. One of his colleagues, Detective Constable Sarah Rockford, made some comment about his having to pay the price for his addiction. But Harry with his interest in his job re-awakened did not for once mind having to go downstairs to smoke in the wet and windy weather.

As he paced around the police station's car park, he again thought about what the last three cases had in common. Apart from the Northern Line travelling and living links, the two males were last seen on the Northern Line; in the female case, she was known to have been found on the Northern Line and lived in a place served by it. There was also in the second male case and female case the heavy drinking; the first male was on medication, which could mean similar effects. Finally, the two missing males were last seen late at night; in the female case, she was known to have gone missing late at night at times.

All these things could be co-incidences, Harry thought. Lots of 'missing' people must use the Northern Line all the time to get around in London, especially if they live near it; they also sometimes like a drink or are on medication, and do so late at night. Lots of such people also go missing without any crime being involved. But the fact in particular that the two males were last seen on the tube and the female one having some history with it helped to convince Harry that there was something sinister about these cases; the only question was what? Were the missing people abducted from the tube? Did they disappear in the tube system in some ways – suicide; accidents, perhaps?

These were all possibilities but before Harry could attempt to explore them, Sarah, the female Detective Constable from his office, interrupted his thoughts. She poked her head around the door to the car park. 'Harry, there's just been a report of a misper, a teenage female.'

Harry quickly stubbed out his cigarette and returned to his office.

Chapter Six

Tom woke up just before 1 p.m. that day. All the events of last night came back to him as though he were suffering from a hangover. Physically, he ached all over, his left knee and leg hurting a little. Mentally, he still could not believe what had happened: the tube stopping in the disused station, the girl screaming, and then the creatures! The unbelievable bloody creatures out of a horror story. And at the end the policeman not believing a word he was saying. What a night!

He kept his eyes closed and turned over onto his chest, not wanting to get up yet. The questions, however, would not go away. Did it really happen? Was it not just a bad dream? How could such things happen in north London in the 21st century? Who or what were the creatures? He had never heard of any such things before. They looked human but maybe they were not. Or maybe in the poor light he had not seen what he thought he had or the two beers he had had affected his brain. He just did not know what to think.

Then he thought about why the tube had stopped in the first place. He knew that the tube did sometimes stop in the tunnel before Golders Green station but that was usually during rush hour, wasn't it? And why were the doors open, and where was the driver? Was he involved? But how could he be involved with such creatures?

The questions went on. Had the girl been on the tube when it had stopped? Or had the driver seen something and stopped to investigate but could find nothing? But Tom had heard the screams, and so the driver must have, surely. Also, why had the creatures not followed him from the fenced-off area? Did they only stay underground?

Then the most important question came into his head: was the girl still alive?

A wave of negative emotions came over him when he thought of this question. Whether or not she was alive when he last saw her being carried down the tube tunnel by the creatures, he doubted she was now. After all, they had taken her for a reason, and what could the reason be for such creatures other than - he could just about finish the thought – to kill her for food?

He then felt that he should have done more. He was bigger than they and he could have fought them. He should have at least shouted at them. Perhaps they would have panicked and dropped the girl. Maybe she would have gained consciousness or woken up while he was doing so and escaped and...He left the thought unfinished. He knew he should at least have gone back and tried to save her instead of going home to sleep.

He told himself to shut up. There was nothing more he could have done. He had been tired, disorientated, and in shock at what he saw. Anyone else in his situation would have done the same as he and no more. It was easy to say in hindsight what he should have done. He had tried to help by responding to the screams, and had even attempted to follow the creatures down the tunnel. But he did not want to die as well - he gulped, as well as...He left this thought unfinished as well. For God's sake, he had even tried to get the police to help. What more could he do? he wondered.

He angrily forced himself out of bed and put some jeans and a t-shirt on. He then went down the stairs of the big four bed-roomed 1930s semi-detached villa in Hoop Lane, Golders Green, where he lived. On his way down he refused to think anymore about what had happened and reassured himself again that he had done all that he could. He went into the kitchen and made himself a black coffee and some toast. He then went into the lounge and switched on the tv. He looked at the time: it was 2.14 p.m.

He flicked over the channels to see if there was anything good on to distract him. But it was no good: apart from there being nothing worth watching at this time, he knew that what happened last night did happen and he could not just forget about it.

He turned off the tv and went back to his bedroom. His body still ached as he climbed the stairs. He thought again about trying to contact the police but decided against it. They simply would not believe him, just like the policeman did not last night. It was crazy what had happened to him and no one could possibly believe it unless they saw it for themselves. He also did not want anyone to judge him harshly for not having done more. But what would be the point anyway? he wondered. The girl had to be dead by now.

Instead of going back to bed he went to his computer and turned it on. He decided he would try to see if there was anything on the internet about the disused station and possibly but unlikely its strange inhabitants. The thought of doing this made him feel better.

He typed in 'disused station on Hampstead Way' in the search engine. It came up with over 12,000 results. He clicked on one of them and read through it. 'North End Tube station' was to have been the deepest station on the tube network at 221 feet deep. It would have been between Hampstead and Golders Green. Work on it had begun after 1903 when the platforms and its lower levels were excavated. However, this stopped in 1906 when the then Northern line's owners thought that there would not be enough passengers using it.

At this time there were no shafts to the surface or indeed any surface building. This changed in the early 1950s during the Cold War when North End was to be a flood control centre for the rest of the tube network. The surface building was disguised as a sub-electricity station with a lift and some stairs leading down to the bottom. Tom found this last bit interesting because that was exactly what he had thought it was until last night.

The site he found went on to say that the station was now used as an emergency exit from the Northern line and was apparently called 'Bull & Bush station' by London Underground staff because it was so near to the pub of the same name, a pub Tom knew quite well.

There were links to other websites on this site, and Tom searched them in the hope of finding anything about any creatures. But as he predicted there was nothing, only pictures and descriptions of the disused station, which he now remembered with no fondness.

He had been on the internet for over an hour and his eyes were getting tired. He was also hungry and went downstairs to get some food. In the kitchen he got a half-eaten pizza out of the fridge and reheated it under the grill. He then went into the lounge and ate it. It was 4.46 p.m.

While he was eating, he checked the phone for messages. He remembered now that his mobile phone was not working and he was sure that he had heard the phone ring a couple of times while he was on the internet engrossed in his research. There was a message from his mother asking if everything was ok. Tom was an only child and there was just him and her: his parents had divorced when he was ten, and he could not remember the last time he had seen his father.

There was another message from one of his friends from college, mentioning some party at the weekend. He put the phone down and finished his pizza. He did not take much notice of the messages: he just could not stop thinking about what happened last night. He returned upstairs to the internet, still feeling that he should have done more for the girl.

This time he typed in the keywords 'ghosts and creatures on the northern line.' He was successful. He found one site giving details about some kind of mythical creatures living in the tube system and sewers, who evolved from humans a long time ago. They were either outcasts or were originally trapped underground. They apparently no longer spoke English, and lived off the scraps left at tube stations, and – Tom swallowed with fear – unfortunate humans in the form of tramps, drunks, and isolated late night travellers.

Bloody hell! he thought. These mythical creatures were real and he had encountered them.

He carried on searching for information on them with a greater interest. However, he did not find much more. There was only a 1970s film based on these myths called 'Deathline' and a 1990s tv series about some weird humans living a parallel life underground called 'Neverwhere.'

He continued to search using various keywords and phrases until his eyes and brain had had enough. He could not find anything else of any substance. He looked at the time: it was 10.32 p.m. He switched off his computer, feeling with relief that he was too tired to think anymore, and went to bed.

Chapter Seven

Tom woke up suddenly. It was 4.15 a.m. He was sweating and full of fear. He had just dreamt that some vampires were chasing him and the girl, who was slowing him down. They were in some kind of tunnel and did not seem able to escape.

He looked around his bedroom, the rest of his mind now realising that the nightmare was over. Then the feelings of last night returned. The shame at not having done more for the girl was mixed with that of guilt. He sat up and thought about his just waking up from a nightmare while the girl could still be in one. Yes, he thought to himself, the girl could still be alive.

He got up, went to the bathroom, and got a glass of water. He could no longer just assume the girl was dead. He could not say that she was definitely dead when he saw her being carried off by the creatures. Furthermore, he could not say with certainty that they had already killed her. There was a possibility they had not.

This meant that he had to do something else for her, but what? The authorities had already shown that they did not believe him: it was too fantastic. This meant all he could do was...was to return to the station himself. No, he could not do this. It would be too dangerous...too...He could not finish this thought.

He returned to his bed, just wanting to go back to sleep so that he did not have to think anymore about the situation. But he could not and after a few minutes of fidgeting he told himself that yes he would return to the disused tube station. But before he did so he would do an observation of it by riding through it by tube. This satisfied him from the point of view of helping the girl and that of keeping safe, at least for now. He set his alarm for 8 a.m. and shortly afterwards went back to sleep.

As soon as he heard his alarm go off he got up. He still felt tired but knew that he had a lot to do that day. He admitted to himself that he did feel better now that he had decided to return to the station to help the girl if she were still alive. His body also seemed to have nearly recovered from Sunday's events. He had a shower, got dressed, and then had some breakfast.

While he was eating, he phoned his mother at her sister's house, telling her he was studying hard, eating properly, and that he had not made too much mess. It had not even occurred to him to tell her about Sunday's events and what he intended to do today. She would not only think him crazy but would worry about him and perhaps come home. He got dressed and left his house at about 9.15 a.m.

It was a little cloudy but not too cold for an October morning. He turned right outside his house, crossed the road, and then walked down the next road on the left. After about five minutes he was in Golders Green High Street. It was fairly busy with quite a lot of traffic and mainly middle-class people going about their business. Little did they know, Tom thought, about the nasty business going on not too far from them.

The entrance to Golders Green over-ground tube station had its usual suspicious-looking characters hanging around, perhaps waiting for their friends or family, perhaps not. Tom walked past them and joined the queue of people at the ticket barrier. He then got past this and went up to the southbound platform.

There were lots of people around but Tom felt quite nervous. He knew he was only going on an observation trip but his memories of what had happened to him on Sunday, the last time he had taken a tube, were not good. He did not even think about what he would have to do later.

He looked at the tube-time-display board: there was a southbound tube in one minute. He paced around nervously wondering if this were a good idea after all. What if the tube stopped again at the disused station? Damn, he thought, this had not occurred to him. He looked at his watch; surely a minute had passed by now. But London Underground's minutes always seemed to be longer than everyone else's.

He then heard and saw the tube coming. He could not back out now, he thought. He had to do something for the girl. He made sure he was with some other people, which was not difficult at this time in the morning. As he got on the tube, his worries lessened a little. As well as there being lots of people it was broad daylight. The creatures couldn't do anything now: it would be too risky, he thought.

He sat down in the middle of a row of seats on the right so that his back would be towards the disused station. He wanted to be able to turn around and put his face close to the window so that he could get a good view of the station as the tube passed by it. He noticed that there were about fifteen-to-twenty people in the carriage, five of them sitting in his section of the tube.

The tube making its clickity-clack noise entered the tunnel to go underground, and Tom's heartbeat went up a little. He quickly glanced around him at the other passengers but they did not seem to be worried by anything. He then turned around and looked out of the window: blackness, blackness, and more blackness with some large wires on the side of the tunnel.

After a minute or so of this the tube began to slow a little. Tom got as close as he could to the window, not wanting to miss anything. Then suddenly he saw it, the disused station where he had followed the creatures to, before they chased him. He felt excited but did not see much in the few seconds he had: mostly just the emergency entrance which led to the other stairs he had seen. He then looked at his watch and began to count down the seconds until the train got into Hampstead station. It was 9.36 am and 38 seconds.

He turned away from the window when his carriage reached the lit station; it took just over a minute-and-a-half. He had not realised 'North End tube station' was about half way between Golders Green and Hampstead. All the times he had travelled past it before he had not really given it much thought, just thinking it was, well, a disused station. What was the big deal?

He got up and waited for the doors to open and when they did left the tube and headed for the northbound platform. He could hear a tube coming and he rushed for it. He got there as it was just pulling in. It stopped and he walked onto it. He saw there were only three other people in the carriage, a young couple sitting at the other end and an old lady at his end. This bothered him a little but he was soon reassured as he noticed there were some other people in the adjoining carriages.

He sat down as the tube left the station and moved his head close to the window again. About a minute-and-a-half later, the northbound side of 'North End' rushed passed him as the tube went by it. Again he did not see much: just some of the shell of the station. He shuddered a little at the memory of his being there the other night. He then sat back again, beginning to seriously wonder if this observation trip had been a good idea.

I mean, what have I seen? he asked himself. Not much was the only answer to this question. He looked over at the old woman and the couple in the other part of the carriage. Well, I suppose one thing I have achieved not being scared to go on the tube again, he thought.

He continued to question the point of the trip until he returned to Golders Green tube station. But he decided that as he was here he might as well do one more round trip. He did so with the same results: two brief glimpses of two sides of a disused station.

Just after he had passed the northbound side of the station on the return journey to Golders Green, he noticed a newspaper on the seat in front of him and picked it up, wanting some distraction. He opened the first page and scanned through the articles. One of them soon caught his eye, 'Girl goes missing after night out'.

He quickly read through it. A 17-year-old girl called Jodie Simmons from Brent Cross had been out with some friends in the West End of London on Sunday night but had failed to come home. Tom then swallowed hard as he read the description of her. She was about five feet in height with short blonde spiky hair. She was wearing jeans with a short white jacket. Bloody hell, he thought to himself, It's the girl!

The tube was by now pulling into Golders Green tube station. Tom had been so engrossed in the article that he had failed to notice the tube coming out of the tunnel. He looked up at the other passengers almost in a challenging way. He now realised that he could no longer delay trying to help the girl. He could waste no more time: he had to return to North End and try to find the girl - whether she was dead or alive.

The tube stopped and Tom walked out with the paper still in his hand. He checked his watch: it was 9.52 a.m. He walked quickly towards the exit stairs with a new resolve. But he was not so absorbed in what he had to do that he did not have the feeling someone was watching him.

He looked around him to see if he could see anyone. But all he saw were some other passengers and some London Underground staff, including a small, slightly fat, and odd-looking driver with intense squint-like eyes. None of them seemed to be looking at him, however, and he thought nothing of it and continued on his way.

Behind him, however, the odd-looking driver again intently followed Tom's movements with nothing but ill will behind his squint-like eyes.

Chapter Eight

It was 9.58 a.m. on the same day and Harry Edwards had just put down the phone on his desk in Golders Green police station. So excited had he been with the phone call that he stood up soon after he received it, much to the surprise of his colleagues, he noticed. It had been the British Transport police, who had given him some very interesting information on his latest misper.

Harry and his female Detective Constable colleague Sarah had interviewed Mr and Mrs Simmons yesterday soon after they had reported their daughter Jodie missing in the morning. They had both been naturally distressed and worried about her but perhaps not as surprised as they should be, Harry thought.

They then explained that Jodie had gone out with some friends the previous night, which was typical behaviour for her at weekends. She did sometimes stay over with friends after parties without calling and had a small problem with alcohol. But this morning one of her friends 'Jenna' called to say that Jodie had disappeared last night. (Why did teenagers have such strange names these days? Harry had asked himself.)

Harry got the details of 'Jenna' and he and Sarah interviewed her with her parents in her house nearby. She seemed reluctant to talk at first but after her mother told her how serious the case was, she eventually revealed what had happened.

They had all been on a mini pub crawl in the West End of London. Sometime after 10 p.m. Jodie, having had too much to drink, had disappeared. They had not realised this at first and when they did were too drunk to inform anyone. It was only the next morning that Jenna did so out of guilt and concern after calling Jodie's house to find she had not come home. Harry had read that most teenagers who disappeared were female and this drunken behaviour now seemed typical of them.

Harry then went through the rest of the missing persons procedure with the help of Sarah. Because the weather could be quite bad at the moment, and Jodie was under 18 and could have been vulnerable because of alcohol, he assessed her as a high risk case, which meant greater priority.

Harry next informed his superior, a Detective Inspector, who had to supervise the case. After this, Harry arranged for Jodie's details to be put on the Police National Computer. He then circulated them to other forces, the National Missing Persons Helpline, and the Police National Missing Persons Bureau. As a part of procedure, Harry also had had to supervise a search of Jodie's house, which her mother in particular had found upsetting.

In the meantime, Harry's superior, the Detective Inspector, had circulated Jodie's details to the local media, which would begin to report her missing that day. Harry eventually got home just after 11 p.m. that night and went straight to bed, exhausted.

Now, some eleven hours later, having put down the phone in his office, he got ready to meet the witness, a tube station assistant that the British Transport Police said had last seen Jodie on Sunday night. He would also view the CCTV footage they had.

He was very excited: he knew there was a good chance he could discover more about these 'linked' missing persons' cases now there was a fourth one. She too had last been seen on the Northern Line, near to which she lived, late at night, and probably been intoxicated. The only difference was that she was significantly younger than the others at 17. But any further information he got could prove he was right in feeling that the links between the cases were more than co-incidences and help to find out what had happened to the missing people.

Harry phoned his superior to tell him what he was doing. He had not told him about the possible links with the other cases, for it was still only a theory, which he wanted to prove himself before the cases were transferred to another department. He got his overcoat, and left the police station to go to Leicester Square Tube station on the Northern Line, where the witness was. Sarah gave him a lift to Golders Green tube station. He decided it would be quicker to go by tube. Besides this, it looked like a big storm would start some time that day, which he did not fancy driving in. It was now 10.02 a.m.

Chapter Nine

Tom got home at about 10.11 a.m. He had hurried because he wanted make the most of all the available daylight and he only had about six hours of it left. He knew he had to return to North End to find out what had become of the girl, or Jodie as he now believed her name to be. But he did not want to do so while it was dark. This was partly because he felt that the creatures were nocturnal and partly because like most humans he felt much safer during the day. The fact that he would be underground did not change the way he felt about this.

He also had to hurry because in the unlikely event that Jodie was still alive after one-and-a-half days, every minute could now be her last. This last thought made him hurry more. He quickly changed his trainers for some sturdy walking boots, and his fleece for a t-shirt and an army style jacket with lots of pockets.

He then went to the kitchen to get his mother's small but sharp kitchen knife for protection. It had its own cover and he put it in the inside pocket of his jacket next to the small crow bar he also took, to open the emergency exit door of North End's surface building. In his other inside pocket he put his sheet of paper which had the downloaded times of tubes between Golders Green and Hampstead - for some reason London Underground did not produce a timetable. He also put his long powerful torch, which could be used as a weapon, in this pocket.

Just over a half 'n hour later, he approached with caution the fenced-off area of the surface building of North End. He had thought about entering the disused station from Golders Green tube station by running down into the tunnel when no one was looking. But he felt it would be too risky. It might have taken a tube about two minutes or so to get to the disused station but he would obviously be slower. No, he would have to enter the tube tunnel from the disused station: it would not be as dangerous.

It was 11.11 a.m. He almost smiled when he saw a sign on the right-hand gate saying 'Keep clear Exit from emergency escape route.' Yes, he thought to himself, it truly was an emergency escape route. But he was not in the mood for brevity and was feeling quite nervous and scared, now beginning to realise just how dangerous what he intended to do would be. He also noticed that the clouds in the sky were much darker than before and that it would probably rain. He hoped this was not a bad omen.

He looked around him and could not see anyone else. He then looked at the houses above the wall opposite across the road from where he was, to see if anyone was looking but could see nothing. After this he quickly grabbed two metal spikes at the top of the wide green gates, put his right foot in the hole where the padlock bolt was, and heaved himself over into the fenced off area.

This time he landed safely, and quickly got up and looked around him in the direction he had come to see if anyone had seen him. He then looked back at the white surface building of North End. There was a door in front of him but the door he had escaped from the other night was further to the left hidden from outside the fenced off area by some trees. He went over to it, still looking furtively around him.

As he got closer he could see that the door was still open a little. He stopped, tense and afraid, and got his mother's kitchen knife out of his pocket in case there was anyone or 'anything' there. He then grabbed the door with his left hand and slowly pulled it fully open, at the same time using it as a shield in case there was any danger. His heart beat was becoming very fast, his body full of adrenalin, and he had the knife in his right hand at the ready.

But there was no one there.

The small landing with the steps leading down from where he had staggered up the other night was empty. He breathed out heavily with relief and entered the building. He then decided to shut the door in case someone noticed it from outside. This was unlikely but he did not want to take any chances.

He put his knife away, got his torch out, and turned it on. He then closed the door as quietly as he could and went to look at some signs in front of him. From below he heard a tube coming. Then suddenly he got a fright as the door behind him opened again. His ears popped with the change of pressure and he panicked as he quickly looked back at the now open door.

But again there was no one there and he quickly realised that he obviously had not closed the door completely; it must have opened with the force of the wind coming up the shaft. Bloody Hell, he thought to himself, at this rate I'll have a heart attack. The tube then completely passed, he calmed himself down, and pulled the door closed again, this time properly.

He looked closely at the signs. One of them was a map of the shaft and the lower levels. He examined this, seeing if it differed in any way from the memories of his last visit and what he had seen on the internet. It did not seem to and he looked at the other two, which said the depth of the shaft was 35 metres and there were 197 steps.

Tom remembered those steps very well from the other night with no fondness. He then began to slowly and as quietly as he could walk down them. His senses were very alert and every small sound he heard made him tenser. He heard another tube pass down below, feeling the cold wind on his skin.

After a few flights of the stairs in this narrow rectangular staircase he came across the doorway he had hurriedly passed the other night. He waited for another tube to pass and then opened the door. Inside the room on a low platform was a large engine, probably that of the lift which he remembered was a little further below. He flashed his torch around the room again just in case and then closed its door, quietly.

He moved on down another few flights until he encountered another door, this time open. It moved in the wind from a passing tube below. He remembered that this was the door he had been too exhausted to close the other night. It led out to the lift and the long open circular shaft with the metal stairway.

Here he stopped and took some deep breaths. His body felt tight with fear and was a little wet with sweat. He decided he had better turn off his torch in case 'someone' saw its beam from below; he realised he should have done this before. He then passed through and looked over the railing down into the middle of the staircase, seeing if he could see any signs of movement. He also looked at the lift door, thinking how good it would be if it worked. He then breathed deeply again and began the journey down into the darkness.

He walked as quietly as he could but he knew that 'anyone' listening down below would probably be able to hear him. Visibility was not good but his eyes were now quite used to the darkness. Every few minutes or so he could hear and feel tubes passing below. Gradually he reached the bottom flight of stairs. He had walked down about 120 steps and there were about ten to go. He stopped and gathered himself. He knew he was near the disused station proper and there was a long way back up to escape to the surface.

He got his knife out again in his right hand, putting the torch in his left hand, and walked down carefully. As he turned onto the final few steps, another tube passed. He stopped, waited for it to go, and then listened for any signs of movement. He could not hear anything and descended to the bottom, his eyes quickly darting around him.

He passed the lift door and then approached the narrow staircase which veered to the left. He could hear his heart beating now and feel his breathing became shorter. He went down the 12 or so steps and crossed over a small safety ramp, which he had not noticed before, covering a crack in the ground.

At the end of this passageway he could see a room with a sign on it saying 'control room' past the door leading to the bridge to the platforms. He cautiously approached the bridge door and peered through it to see if 'anyone' was there. There was not and moved over to the control room' door, which he tried to open. But it was locked. He exhaled with relief at this, for it meant he did not have to explore another room.

He then returned to the door leading to the bridge over the southbound tunnel. He remembered having tried to close this heavy door the other night before he saw one of the creatures chasing him. He shuddered a little at this. Another tube passed by. When it left he entered the bridge passageway. He moved quickly to the end of it at the point it sharply turned left to the wide staircase leading down to the platform level. He crouched down and slowly poked his head around the corner. He wanted to have a good look at the bottom of the stairs, which formed a t-junction between the north and southbound tunnels of the disused station.

He waited here, looking down intently for any signs of movement. He then got up and walked down. He could feel the tension growing in him as he reached the bottom. He quickly looked round the corner on the right to see if 'anyone' was there. There was no one.

He then quickly went to the left of the stairs, where he had noticed there was a hole in the wall, which must lead to the southbound 'platform area', where the creatures' den was. He looked through it and waited a few seconds to see if he could hear anything; he certainly could not see much. There was nothing. He moved on back to the right of the stairs.

He was now at the northbound platform area that had been bricked-off and at the open part railed-off from the tube part of the tunnel for safety. He went down the stairs quickly in a half-crouched stance, and then rushed past the small concreted area on his right over to the stairs leading back up. Here he stopped and cautiously peered over the floor level at the top of the stairs through the mesh grill of the stair railings.

He stayed there, admitting to himself that he was more frightened than he had ever been and debated about going back. The girl was probably dead by now anyway, he thought. He continued doing this for what seemed a long time until another tube approached and passed by. He then cursed his cowardice and forced himself to move.

He was still in a half-crouched position and quickly went over to the entrance on his right leading to the other double-staircase, which was completely dark. At the bottom of this he looked up but could see nothing. He now knew that this led back over the southbound tunnel to a dead end a level below the lift shaft. Because it did lead nowhere he thought he would be safe here.

He quickly went over to the emergency stairway to see if any of the creatures were around in the 'southbound platform area'. Satisfied they were not, he returned to the wide staircase, where he sat down. Here, he got out his paper showing the tube times and then checked his watch: It was 12.02 p.m. Hell, he thought, it had taken him nearly an hour to get down here.

He examined the paper with the tube times in the half light with his torch. According to it a tube had just left Golders Green and would reach Hampstead tube station at 12.04 p.m. He drank some of the bottled water he had bought from a shop on the way and waited for the tube from his position at the bottom of the stairway. He still looked around him carefully, his nerves on edge.

Just after 12.02 p.m. he could hear the tube coming. As it passed he checked the next times. He had already done this on his way to North end from his house but now as he was about to risk his life he wanted to be certain. There was another tube leaving Golders Green at 12.05 p.m., then another at 12.09 p.m. This gave him about four minutes in the tunnel to find the creatures' hideaway. It could of course be more or less time than this depending on how well the Northern line was running that day.

It was now 12.05 p.m. and he knew that he could not wait too long before he went into the tunnel: the longer he waited the more he would convince himself not to carry out his plan. He put his knife, water, and 'timetable' back in his jacket. He would have to act fast and could not have both his torch and his knife in his hands. He then went down the small emergency stairway into the southbound 'platform area'.

He quickly but carefully made his way to the mouth of the tube tunnel, where the creatures' den was. Just in front of it to the right there were some tarpaulin-covered bricks. He sat down in front of these, facing the tunnel. He tried to keep his fear at bay but did not really succeed.

He could hear the tube coming. He became even more tense. He was not worried about being seen from the tube as he was hidden by the tarpaulin and the tube would pass by too quickly. But he wanted to be able to see down the tunnel as much as he could from the lights of the tube before it went in. It got louder and windier and then it came.

His eyes focused on the tunnel in front as the tube noisily approached. He could see about ten metres ahead but there was no sign of an entrance to any hideaway. All he could see were the small rectangular metal sections of most of the tunnel looking like an inside out rubber bicycle handle. He knew the entrance was there, however, and when the tube passed he got up and ran behind it.

He could not go too fast because of the tracks underneath and his having to carry his torch. He was careful to avoid the two live rails and kept in between them. His adrenalin was now running through his veins and his only thoughts were to find the entrance to the creatures' hideaway. He moved on pointing his torch to the left and right of the tunnel. He was very tense and wanted to find it as soon as he could. He did not want to die under a tube.

After he had been in the tunnel for about a minute and gone about 20 metres, he started to panic a little. It must be here somewhere, he thought. The other night the creatures had not been far when he heard them hustled together. He checked his watch: it was 12.09 p.m. Damn, he thought. There would be another tube in a minute or so. He even thought he began to hear it coming in the distance, or was it the wind?

He looked around him. Where was the bloody entrance? he asked himself. It must be here somewhere but all he could see were the metal sections making up the tunnel. He could now definitely hear the tube in the distance, getting nearer all the time, and he could feel the wind picking up in the tunnel. If he had known it would have taken this long to find it, he would never have attempted this.

He then decided to run back towards the platform area. It was about 25 metres away. But it was too late: he could now see a faint light in the tunnel of the tube coming down the tunnel straight at him. He panicked. Bloody Hell! he thought. I am going to die.

He looked all around him for some place he could squeeze into for safety. The tube was getting closer and closer and he began to hear its noise and could feel the wind now blowing on his face.

Then when it was about 40 metres away he noticed a small part of the bottom of the wall of the tunnel, flapping a little on his left. It was about three metres away. He had not noticed it before: the tunnel walls near the floor had seemed to be all complete and without any holes or openings. But he could see now that it was some kind of thick black material covering some kind of opening.

He rushed towards it. He nearly got there but the tube was coming too quick. Now it really was too late.

Chapter Ten

Tom threw down his torch and rushed for the small piece of flapping rubber-like material at the bottom of the tunnel. It was getting noisy and becoming brighter with the tube's lights and he could feel the wind getting stronger. The tube was getting closer all the time: 10 metres, 8 metres, 6 metres...

He grabbed at the material and pulled at it. It was a little heavy; it covered the edges of a part of the metal tunnel wall to hide the fact that this was a door. He got it open...

...4 metres... He put his head under it, then through the hole it revealed, and pushed his body through it in a dive...

...2 metres...He felt the ground tremble as he landed inside and the tube rushed passed noisily in its clickety-clack way.

He made it! Relief went through his body as he got up off the ground, breathing heavily, when the tube had passed. He brushed the mud from the floor off his body and tried to see what sort of place he was in. But it was too dark, even for his eyes, which had now been in darkness for over an hour. Then he remembered that he had just lost his torch. He considered going back to get it but thought it might be damaged or that he would not be able to find it. He also felt that it might be too dangerous to use it anyway, as its beam could be seen from a distance.

He felt around him. He was in a dusty narrowish passageway: wide enough for two people of average size to stand side by side. The walls were made of wooden planks kept in by some thicker wooden posts. These supported the ceiling which was also made of wooden planks and about eight feet in height.

He moved forward, his relief now replaced by the realisation that the creatures could catch him at any time. He felt his body suddenly freeze with fear at this. But he had felt this way before and knew that he could not give in to it. He got his knife out and continued to move on. The air was musty and closer than that of the tunnel he had come from. He also noticed that the passageway seemed to be going down. His head then hit something. He felt what it was: an old oil lamp. Obviously no longer in use, he thought, as he rubbed his head.

The passageway seemed to have been built a long time ago, he thought, judging by its state and the lamp. There were lots of cobwebs, though no spiders yet. A tube approached and passed by behind him making the passageway tremble. After a few minutes the floor became level and he came to a wider opening, which seemed to have some other passageways leading off it. There were two in front of him. They both seemed to be built the same and were the same size and he wondered which one he should take.

Another tube went by. After it passed, he entered the first passageway on his left. He could not hear or see anything but could smell what he thought was a sewer up ahead and there seemed to be a little breeze.

He moved to the next one. This time the air seemed stuffy and much closer with a hint of something unpleasant. His foot then hit something on the floor. He picked it up. It was an old-fashioned man's shoe. This made up his mind: someone had come this way before.

He moved forwards, his knife at the ready. He felt with his head some more cobwebs on another oil lamp and avoided hitting it. He was still scared but was now resolved to find Jodie dead or alive. After a short time he felt he was going around a bend. He also began to smell more strongly the unpleasant odour up ahead: not quite a sewer or a rubbish tip but something in between.

As he got around the bend he thought he could make out some kind of ending with a doorway. He slowed down a little becoming more tense. The nasty smell was getting stronger and nearly made him cough. Yes, he said to himself, I'm still scared but I have to go on.

He approached the doorway with caution, ready to defend himself if necessary. It was lighter now or his eyes were getting more used to the dark and he could see that the door to it had broken off and was on the right side of it. He entered the new passageway, his heart beating much quicker, his breathing much shorter, and his body cold with fear. In the distance behind him another tube passed by.

The new passageway was the same as previous one except that it had concrete slabs on the floor instead of just mud. Tom was much more alert now and also much slower in his movements: careful to make as little noise as possible. He moved forward. Then suddenly he heard and felt something at his feet. He was a little shocked: it was some rats. EEERRGH, he thought: like most humans he felt nervous and disgusted by these animals. He could feel himself sweat more, but he did not take out his water.

He encountered another doorway on his left, also with a door leaning and not hanging against it. He tried to look inside it and could make out the shapes of some old style wooden beds and some other furniture. He could discern no sign of life and it seemed to be a kind of a store room. It smelt of damp and was full of cobwebs. He moved on. His body was a nervous wreck but his mind was focused.

There was another doorway on his left, this time with no sign of a door at all. He looked inside and could make out old clothes, shoes, some tables and chairs, and an old mirror. Like the previous room everything was on top of itself. There was also a smell of damp and some more cobwebs but still no living being. He continued his journey in the passageway.

He then began to hear some kind of rhythmic groaning noise coming from a room on his right. He realised with a little shudder that it was something or some things sleeping. He swallowed hard, his throat now very dry. He knew it was probably the creatures. He forced himself to move towards the room, trying not to remember his previous encounters with them.

He got nearer and could feel the panic return to him as he was about to look into the room. This one also had no door. He peered around the corner, feeling more scared than ever. Inside, he was a little surprised to see some bunk beds, lots of them with no space for anything else.

On them he easily saw the sleeping shapes of the creatures under some dirty blankets. He forced himself to count how many there were. It was difficult and he felt that at any moment they could wake up and see him and then...He did not finish the thought and counted five or six before he could stand it no longer. They looked disgusting and the room stank of damp and dirt. The usual cobwebs were everywhere.

He then moved passed the room and breathed a big but silent breath. He remembered when he had first seen the creatures there had only been about five or six so it was possible there were no more left. This and the thought that his nerves could not take much more of this made him hurry up. He went over to the next room on the left and quickly looked inside. There were cupboards and tables and chairs but these ones were arranged as though they were actually used and not just stored. Like the other rooms everything had a dirty feel and look.

In front of him there was a kitchen with an old wood burning stove, some old dressers with plates and knives, and a table with some black pots on it. He shuddered at the thought of what might have been cooked here. To the left of this there was another passageway, which he now went down. The disgusting smell was now almost unbearable: he was obviously getting closer to its source.

At the end of this short passageway there was another turning to the right. He rushed towards this now being less careful. As he turned the corner the nasty smell of a combination of something rotting and some human waste hit him. It was now too much and it slowed him down. It was obviously from some kind of waste and cesspit. He put his left hand, the one without the knife, to his mouth.

The thought occurred to him that this was where he might find Jodie or what was left of her. He felt very discouraged at this. He nearly turned back but noticed there was a doorway on his right. This one was closed. As he got nearer to it he could see that it had a piece of wood across it which slotted in at either side, keeping the door locked.

He went over to it, put his knife in his pocket, and eased up the piece of wood as carefully as he could. He put it to the side of the door. He was quick but constantly looked around him for any danger.

He then got his knife back out and started to open the door. It creaked a little and he knew that the noise could wake up the creatures. He then decided it would be better to open the door as quickly as possible to stop the creaking. He held his breath and then gave it a firm pull to open it. He succeeded and breathed out.

Inside the room was totally black but also smelly: like but not as strong as the smell at the end of the passageway he was in. There was urine, shit, but also a bad meat type of smell. He thought he could see something on the floor. His body tightened and he clasped his knife tighter. He approached it, and then as he got nearer he realised it was Jodie!

He could not believe it. He had always assumed at the back of his head that he would not find her. But now he could recognise her jeans, short light jacket, and blonde spiky hair. The question was, however, whether she was alive or not.

He crouched down by her, put his knife on the floor, and got ready to put his hand over her mouth. She was tied up. He thought that if he just pushed or prodded her, if she were alive she could scream and wake up the creatures. So he thought he would first make sure she could not make a sound.

He quickly put his hand on her mouth. She reacted with a struggle. She was alive! Thank God, he thought. She was quite strong, however, for someone so small. He whispered 'It's ok, Jodie. I'm here to rescue you. Please don't make a sound or they'll hear us.'

She then stopped and looked at him with amazement. He let go of her mouth and whispered, 'My name is Tom. I'm going to untie you. Please try to be quiet. They are asleep now and must not hear us.'

She sat up and murmured, 'Ok...But I need some water.'

This had not occurred to him. He was thirsty himself but quickly got his bottle out of his pocket and put it to her mouth. She gulped what little there was of it down. 'Is there any more?' she asked with a dry raspy voice.

'No. Sorry. But we'll soon get some more,' he said to encourage her. He then cut the cord that bound her hands and legs. 'Are you ok to walk?' he asked hoping the answer was yes.

'I think so. But I'm quite stiff,' she said.

He helped her up. 'Stretch your legs a little. They'll feel better.' She tried to and then nearly fell down. He caught her.

He held her up again. 'Try to walk on the spot,' he whispered with a little urgency in his voice. He was now beginning to wonder whether he would have to carry her. Moreover, he was scared that the creatures might wake up at any moment.

After what seemed like ages but was about a minute she whispered, 'I think I'll be ok. But I'll need some water soon.'

He then whispered a lie to her, 'Ok. It's not far to get out of here. But we must hurry, Jodie. Stay behind me and tug at my jacket if you have any problems. When I tell you to do something you must do it; especially when we get near to the creatures. Ok?'

'Ok,' she whispered back.

'Right. Let's go,' he finally whispered.

He put his knife back in his right hand and left the cell. All he wanted to do now that he had found Jodie was to get to the surface as soon as possible. He watched her as she left the cell, trying his best to ignore the strong smell. She seemed a little unsteady but considering the ordeal she had experienced she was doing quite well, he thought. They moved on, he leading with her right behind.

They turned left around the corner of the next passage leading to the kitchen. He looked back at her to see if she was ok. She gestured for him to carry on. He wondered whether she would be able to make the whole journey back.

They went past the kitchen and then the kind of dining room on the right of them. After this Tom went a little slower and held his knife tighter: they were approaching the creatures' bedroom. He slowed right down before the doorway and looked back at Jodie, pointing at the bedroom and then gestured with his hand up to be careful, _very_.

He poked his head around the doorway, feeling his body tighten with fear. It was worse this time, now that he had to take care of Jodie as well. He could see the creatures' shapes on the bunk beds, two of them sharing one together but the others having their own beds. They were all sleeping on the bottom bunks. He could hear their weird groaning sounds as they slept, a kind of a snore.

Then suddenly one of them seemed to move. Tom froze with fear and felt Jodie tugging at his jacket. Damn, it's waking up! He stared at it. It was definitely moving. He wished Jodie would stop tugging his jacket. It might hear her.

But it made no further movements and after a few seconds Tom forced himself to look away from it. He grabbed hold of Jodie's hand which was still tugging at his jacket and moved carefully past the bedroom. Bloody hell, I can't take much more of this, he thought, as he breathed a little heavier.

He was going quite fast now and was still holding onto Jodie's hand. He was concerned about whether she could keep up with him but knew he had to hurry before the creatures woke up. They were certainly not safe yet; far from it, he thought.

They passed the first store room on the right and Jodie stopped. He looked back at her, feeling frustrated. What was it? Did she not realise that she was still in danger? She looked at him and was exhausted. He then felt very sympathetic for her and realised that she had had a terrible time and must be feeling awful. He held out his hands in a gesture of understanding.

After what seemed like ages, Jodie indicated that she was ready to move on. Tom took her hand again and they continued past the final storeroom. They then went through the doorway to the passage with the mud floor. Tom kept Jodie moving until they came to the opening of the other passageways. Here he let her rest again a little. Another tube went past.

He looked at his watch: it was 1.18 p.m. He glanced at Jodie. She seemed like she was in a semi trance. She was not interested at all in the environment she was in and merely stared ahead. Not many people will have experienced what she has, he thought, poor girl. They moved off again, Tom more eager than ever to get out of this place.

A few minutes later they reached the opening to the tube tunnel. They had to crouch down to get to it, as it was a hole cut into a bottom section of the metal tunnel. Tom could hear a tube approaching. He spoke quietly to Jodie, 'We'll have to wait until it passes before we can enter the tunnel. We then have about four minutes--'

'AEEERRRGGHH! AEEERRRGGHH!' Some piercing shrieks interrupted him from behind – the creatures' hideaway. They were far away but their sound was terrible. Tom was almost paralysed with fear. Jodie had her hands on her ears. The creatures had obviously discovered that Jodie had escaped and would now be coming after them.

Chapter Eleven

The shrieking continued as the tube went past, but the tube's noise drowned much of it out. This was enough to get Tom moving out of his half paralysis. He grabbed Jodie. 'Come on. We've got to go. They'll be here soon!'

He pushed her up through the hole and quickly followed after her. He then took her arm and hurried in the direction of the disused station on the left. He could see its lights at the end of the tunnel. His heart was racing: he had the creatures after him and the possibility of getting run over by a tube in front of him in a few minutes.

Jodie was slowing him down. She was obviously exhausted, but Tom had to ignore her weak state; for her own good, he thought. She then stopped moving and Tom had to force her to do so again. This seemed to take ages. He was now almost dragging her. He could see she was weak but he had no choice.

They reached the 'southbound platform area' and Tom could hear another tube coming. 'Come on, Jodie. We're not far now,' he said, as he pulled her away from the track, towards the left-hand side of the station. All the time, Tom looked behind him for any sign of the creatures coming.

The tube was getting louder and the tunnel windier all the time. They were now five metres away from the emergency stairway. Tom could see the tunnel begin to get a little brighter up ahead.

They then reached the stairway. Tom helped Jodie up and onto the bottom of the wide stairs on the right. Here they rested as the tube went noisily by, the tunnel now very windy.

Looking at Jodie, Tom recovered his breath and wondered whether she could go any further and if he would have to carry her after all. She looked awful, completely exhausted and obviously very dehydrated. He did not even bother to ask her how she felt. He could hear the tube rumble on in the distance.

'We've got to go now Jodie. I know you don't feel good. But the creatures will probably be here soon,' he said as he got up and looked down at her. She said nothing and did not even look up at him.

'Come on, give me your hand,' he said reaching his down to her. He pulled her up and they went towards the bricked-off part of the tunnel. He could not hear the creatures behind him but was certain they would soon be there. They went down the stairs, round the concreted-off area, and then up again. After this they went through the t-junction passageway and up the 15 or so steps of the double staircase.

They were going too slow, thought Tom; even he had to use the stair rail to help him ascend.

They passed over the bridge passageway, half jogging/half walking; in the case of Jodie half stumbling. But the fear of the creatures kept Tom going with Jodie. As they left this passageway, Tom stopped and pulled shut its heavy door. He was tired and should not have really expended the energy in doing this but he remembered the last time he had been chased by the creatures. Their opening of this door had alerted him to how far they were behind him. This would be useful information.

He grabbed Jodie again and moved off. She was nearly finished and he felt that he would have to carry her at any time. They reached and ascended the narrow staircase which led to the bottom of the shaft leading to the surface. Tom reluctantly stopped for a rest; Jodie could go no further.

'This is the final part, Jodie. At the top of these steps lies freedom. We can do it.' He was exhausted and dehydrated but he knew he had to encourage her somehow.

They then began the long journey up the 197 steps. As before, Tom was in front pulling or mostly dragging Jodie behind him. After about six flights, Tom heard something which nearly made him fall backwards down the stairs: the door to the northbound bridge passageway door had just opened with a bang. The creatures were after them!

Tom recovered himself and continued ascending the stairs. The creatures were still quite far away but he knew they would be in better shape than he and especially Jodie. They had to hurry or they would be caught.

They got to the top of the staircase, and Tom stopped and looked down, catching his breath. His legs were now completely stiff and every step was an effort. God knows how Jodie is managing, he thought. She was sitting down with her arms around her knees, getting her breath back.

He could see and hear some movement at the bottom of the stairs. He pulled Jodie up and they moved off past the lift door, through the open doorway to the final set of stairs. He felt Jodie stop behind him.

'I can't go on,' she said in a weak dry raspy voice. 'I'm...finished.'

'Jodie, you must. Look, it's only a few more flights of stairs and then we are out,' Tom responded.

'No...You go on...Save yourself,' she feebly said.

'Don't be stupid. I'll carry you,' Tom said. He then put his head down, balanced her on his shoulder, stood up, and wrapped his right arm around the back of her legs to hold her. She was not very heavy, about seven stone, Tom thought. But it would be a long ascent up the stairs.

He began. One step, two step, three steps, he counted in his head; he dared not think too far ahead. He used his left hand pulling him up to help his legs. He was exhausted but was determined to finish this rescue of Jodie. There was no way the creatures would get her again.

After doing this for what seemed like ages, Tom came to the landing where the room to the lift engine was. His legs were completely stiff, his throat dry, and his lungs nearly finished, but he did not rest. The final hurdle, he thought to himself as he approached the last staircase. Jodie was silent.

Each step was now a great effort and he thought the ascent would never end. He could hear the creatures behind him and knew they were getting nearer and nearer. He tried to put this out of his mind. Every part of his body ached and he had never felt so exhausted before. Finally, he was on the last flight and could see the small landing at the top.

When he got there he balanced himself. The creatures were now only a couple of flights down. He approached the door with his left hand ready to push down the exit lever.

'COMES BACK! COMES BACK!' the creatures screamed below. He gulped with fear and rushed at the door. This time he put some force into it and it opened straight away. He stumbled outside, nearly falling down and dropping Jodie. He regained his balance but put her down. It was now raining quite heavily.

'We've got to get over those gates,' he shouted helping her and moving towards them. 'Quick. They'll be here soon. Put your foot in here,' he said indicating the padlock hole. 'Take hold of these spikes.' He pushed her up. 'Bend your knees before you land,' he said quickly as she fell to the ground.

He looked behind him. The creatures, thank God, had not arrived yet. He then hauled himself over the gates of the fenced off area of the surface building of North End.

Chapter Twelve

When they were both outside the fenced off area, Tom asked Jodie, 'What d'you want to do now? Hospital, the police, or your parents - or back to my house to get cleaned up first?'

They were both mentally and physically exhausted and Jodie was now in tears. But Tom knew that she was not injured apart from this and her dehydration and hunger. She failed to answer.

He had a lot of sympathy for her but looking back at the surface building said, 'You've got to decide quickly, the creatures could be here any minute.' He thought the creatures would not follow them outside of North End; they had not come after him before but did not know for certain.

'Your house,' she mumbled. 'But...must have some water.'

'Ok. We'll go to the park on the way. There's a water fountain there,' Tom said. They moved off. It was only 2.16 p.m. but it was quite dark because of the rain. Tom constantly looked behind him in case the creatures were following them. He also took off his jacket and put it over Jodie's head. He did this partly to protect her from the rain and partly because she looked so dirty and unkempt. This might attract unwelcome attention.

They reached the park and then its fountain and toilets, and Jodie finally quenched her thirst. Tom did the same, while Jodie went to the toilet. When she came out he could see that she had cleaned up her face and hair. In fact apart from her dirty clothing she looked almost as if she had just got caught in the rain without an umbrella.

They walked slowly out of the park. It was still raining and there was hardly anyone around. They then went down a short cut alleyway to the upper part of Tom's road, Hoop lane. As they walked down, they passed Golders Green Crematorium, where Tom remembered that the writer of Dracula, had been cremated. And they say that life can be stranger than fiction, Tom thought.

He looked over at Jodie and asked, 'So what happened before the creatures kidnapped you?'

But she did not answer him. She looked down and was still sobbing quite a lot. He left her alone, realising that she was obviously physically and mentally exhausted. They finally crossed over the Finchley Road to the lower part of Hoop Lane, and then went to Tom's house.

When they got there, Tom took Jodie straight to the kitchen and gave her a towel to dry herself. He then gave her some more water, and made her a sandwich, which she quickly ate with a couple of packets of crisps. He also dried himself off.

'Where's your bathroom?' she asked

'Upstairs. First on the left. I'll show you,' he replied.

'I must get cleaned up and wash my clothes,' she said.

'I tell you what. You have a shower and give me your clothes and I'll wash them. My mother's got one of those washer-dryers, so it won't take long,' Tom suggested.

She nodded and he took her upstairs to the bathroom. She gave him all of her clothes except her underwear. Tom handed her his mother's dressing gown. He then went downstairs and washed her clothes, something which unlike most male teenagers he knew how to do. He had to with his mother being a busy career woman.

He also made some soup, not really knowing what else to do. Jodie came down about half 'n hour later. 'D'you feel better?' Tom asked.

'A bit,' she whimpered and then started to cry again.

Tom did not know what to do. Should I hug her or leave her alone? he wondered. In the end he just touched her shoulder. 'Come and sit down. I've made some soup for you,' he said.

'Thanks for saving me,' she said as she sat down and continued to cry.

'Don't be silly. I should have helped you sooner. Have some soup,' Tom said.

She ate the soup, still hungry. 'How did you know my name...and that I was in danger?' she asked no longer crying.

He then gave her a summary of how he had woken up on the tube and heard her screams and been chased by the creatures and then read in the newspaper about her being missing. When he finished he asked 'So what about you?'

'I don't...remember much...don't want to think of it now,' she said.

He did not pressure her and knew pretty much what had happened anyway. But he said 'Jodie, I know you are upset but you've got to tell your parents you're safe. They'll be worried sick about you.'

'I'm scared to,' she eventually responded. 'They always say that I cause them too many problems and am always getting into trouble. They'll be angry with me. They think I'm an alcoholic and drug addict.'

'Yes, but they're your parents and have a right to know you're well,' he said.

'What shall I say to them?' she asked.

Well, you could tell them the truth. But it's unlikely they'll believe you. As I told you, I tried to get the police to help me after the creatures had chased me but the copper thought I was bonkers. And bearing in mind what your parents think of you they will definitely think you're lying.'

'So what do I say then?' she pleaded.

'I know; just say you were upset and stayed with a friend but don't go into details. As you say they will probably think you were up to no good; so it doesn't matter what you say. If the police want to speak to you just say you are too upset, which you obviously are anyway,' he said.

'Let me get dressed first,' she said. Tom got her clothes from the washer-dryer then left her in the kitchen to get changed alone. She came out a few minutes later where he was waiting in the hall. 'Ok. I'm ready,' she said.

Tom took her to the lounge and gave her the phone. 'Before you dial your number press 141 so they won't know where you're calling from,' he requested. 'Tell them you'll make your own way home. I'll take you there in a taxi. If you need me I'll be in the kitchen.'

'Ok. Thanks,' she said and started to dial her number.

Tom could hear her from the kitchen. She did not say much except for 'Yes I know. I'm sorry' a few times. She also cried quite a lot.

When she finished he ordered a taxi and it came about 15 minutes later. During the journey to her house they did not say much. She was obviously still upset and now nervous about seeing her parents. When they got to her street she told the driver to stop, a few houses away from her one.

Tom paid for the taxi and they both got out. 'I'll wait here until I see you go in,' Tom said. Until her parents took her back he still felt responsible for her. 'Here's my number. Call me when you feel better,' he said as he wrote his contact details down, gave her them, and touched her goodbye.

'I will. Thanks again,' she said, looking very down, thought Tom.

He then saw her go to her front door where her worried-looking parents met her with relief. He turned around and began to walk home. He was exhausted but did not want to catch a tube from the nearby Brent Cross tube station: he had had enough of tube stations. He could have waited for a bus but did not have the patience. In any event, he did not live far away. On his way back he felt much better about himself: the shame and guilt was now replaced with relief and satisfaction; he even felt a little heroic.

He got in at 6.37 p.m. and went straight to bed.

Chapter Thirteen

Harry and Sarah were on their way to Jodie's house in Brent Cross. It was just after 3.20 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon. Jodie's parents had informed the police that Jodie returned home the previous night and Harry wanted to interview her. This was standard procedure, to ensure the missing person had been found and to discover why he or she had gone missing. But Harry also wanted to interview Jodie because she might be able to help him with his theory that the missing persons who shared the characteristics of last being seen on the Northern Line, near to which they lived, late at night, and intoxicated had something else in common.

Intoxicated was something Jodie had certainly been. Harry had interviewed the tube station assistant at Leicester Square yesterday and seen the CCTV footage. Jodie had been unsteady on her feet and even a little abusive according to the witness; the CCTV footage confirmed at least the first part of this with Jodie falling against walls and stumbling at times as she made her way down to the northbound Northern Line platform.

But none of this information meant Harry was closer in proving the links between the cases were more than coincidences. He had been a little disappointed, even though he knew that detective work could be a long slow process and required persistence, which he had.

He parked his car outside Jodie's house and he and Sarah soon found themselves each with a cup of tea in the lounge of her house seated opposite her and her mother; her father was at work. Jodie was very upset but physically seemed fine, thought Harry.

'Well, it's good to see that you're ok, Jodie. The reason Sarah and me are here is so you can tell us what happened in your own words,' said Harry.

'I...I can't remember too much...I'd had too much to drink,' said Jodie, obviously embarrassed and upset, looking briefly at her mother and then beginning to sob. 'I just left my friends at the pub and then went to see another one...who I stayed with for a couple of nights.'

'Why did you leave without telling your friends?' asked Harry.

'...don't remember,' said Jodie.

'Ok, why didn't you phone your parents to tell them you were ok?' asked Harry.

'I...I felt too guilty; I thought they would be angry with me.'

'Can you tell us the name of this friend, Jodie?' asked Harry.

Jodie looked away from Harry and buried her face in her mother's chest. '...don't want to say...don't want to get my friend into trouble.'

'Your friend won't be in trouble. We just want to confirm that nothing bad happened to you,' said Harry.

Jodie said nothing.

Harry was getting frustrated with Jodie's answers or rather the lack of them. He had thought she would be difficult but not this bad. He looked at Sarah for some help.

'Is your friend male or female?' asked Sarah.

'Female.' answered Jodie, a little too quickly, thought Harry. Her face was still buried in her mother's chest.

'Where does she live?' asked Harry.

'Golders Green.'

'Jodie, I know you are upset and it may be embarrassing, but if you tell us everything that happened you may help others who have gone missing,' said Harry. 'Can you please tell us if anything bad happened to you?'

Jodie stopped sobbing and looked at him almost angrily. 'Look, nothing happened to me. I just had too much to drink and left. I then stayed with a friend. That's \--'

'Did anything happen on the tube with anyone?' asked Harry.

Jodie seemed a little stunned at this, he thought. 'No,no,no' said Jodie eventually, and then got up. 'Nothing happened. Look, I've had enough of this; I'm not a criminal. Just leave me alone,' she finally said as she got up and stormed out of the room in tears, going upstairs.

Her mother looked apologetic and got up to go after her. 'I'm sorry about this. She gets like this sometimes.'

'No, its ok, Mrs Simmons. Jodie's obviously very upset,' said Harry as he got up followed by Sarah. 'Look, here's my card with my mobile number on it. Please give it to Jodie and tell her she can talk to me about what happened at any time. Thanks again for the tea'. He and Sarah then left.

On the way back, Harry thought about what Jodie's answers or lack of them meant for his belief that there was something sinister about all these 'Northern Line' cases. He had been sure Jodie would have told him something which had happened to her on the tube, which might explain the other cases in some way. She was obviously hiding something, to judge by her evasive answers, but this could be nothing more than teenage embarrassment about her private life.

Sarah agreed with him here saying there was no way that Jodie would have said anything in front of her mother. Sarah also said there was probably nothing more to her disappearance than being drunk and perhaps having a boyfriend her parents did not know about. Harry thought she might be right about this, though his instincts continued to tell him there was more to his missing persons' cases and Jodie did have some useful information for him.

But then again, he thought, I could be wrong and there may be nothing sinister, after all, about the other cases with the same characteristics of last being seen on the Northern Line, intoxication, and late night travel; they could just be co-incidences. Maybe, thought Harry, as he looked at his watch; it was 1.17 p.m. Maybe.

Chapter Fourteen

The creatures were not happy. With the young female escaping, they had lost their food supply. They were supposed to get some on Friday, in two days, but this was too long to wait for them. But they still remembered how to hunt...

The creatures were descended from the original tunellers of the underground system. These people had been poor and began to live underground when doing their work but when they lost their jobs stayed there as they could find no other employment on the surface. At first they used to go above ground to steal food but gradually they grew afraid of doing this and ate leftovers at stations and even mice and rats to survive.

But as time went on they started to eat the bodies of suicides and then when these became hard to find began to hunt vulnerable people late at night at tube stations. They knew the tube system intimately and would scurry along its tunnels, avoiding tubes, at night when their victims were mostly available.

It was now 'quiet time' on the Underground, when the electricity to the lines was turned off. This was when the creatures were most awake, and when they normally ate their food.

It was also the time when the maintenance workers began their shifts on the tube, checking and repairing any faults with the tracks.

Micky Ford had been doing this job for over twenty years. A 55-year-old, short, and wiry man, he was nevertheless fitter and stronger than his small frame looked. Like his other colleagues, he had his safety hat with torch on, orange luminous safety vest, and tools. It was just after 1 a.m., when they all began to walk down the Northern Line's northbound tunnel at Hampstead.

Just under an hour later, when they approached North End, John, the foreman, said to them, 'Be careful, lads, the Ghoullies might get you if you're not careful'. The other workers let out a laugh but Micky only half joined in; like them he knew there was something weird about North End but he had also seen 'something' moving there one night, something which was not quite animal but not human. The memory of this made him shiver, and as they passed through the disused station with him at the back, he constantly looked behind him, just in case.

The creatures slowly crept through the passageway separating the north and southbound lines, as they heard the workers pass. They then entered the northbound tunnel. The only prey they could now 'hunt' were the workers with 'bright lights'. This would be risky but they knew that the tube platforms were watched at night by 'glass spies', and so they could not hunt there anymore. They also did not particularly want to go up above ground, a world they knew little about but where the people would catch them and hurt them. No, the tunnels around North End were their territory and here they did the catching and hurting.

They could see the workers' lights in the distance, bobbing up and down. The eldest male and elder female creature led followed by the other remaining female and two males – they all hunted together as a family.

Micky got up after making a minor repair to the track and quickly looked down into the tunnel he had just come from. What was that? he asked himself; he was sure he had seen something move. He looked at his colleagues who were in front of him further up the line; he was always taking slightly longer than they in doing his job, for he liked to be thorough. He then looked back again.

There it was once more. Now he was definitely sure he had seen something; he had been underground for too long for his eyes to be deceived. He quickly got his tools together and moved off closer to his colleagues. He was scared but he did not want to embarrass himself by telling them anything; he just wanted the security of their company. He reasoned that whatever 'it' was, it would not attack a team of workmen; he had not recalled it doing so the last time he had seen it.

He and his colleagues moved further down the line, and eventually, nearly an hour later, Micky lost his fear and relaxed. This was to such an extent that he again allowed his colleagues to get quite far in front of him.

It was now just after 3.20 a.m. and his work on the tracks would end in less than an hour. The electricity was turned back on at 5 a.m. for the first tubes and Micky and his team had to be off the lines before then. They would finish up at Golders Green. In fact they would soon be out of the tunnels and into the open air above ground near to this station. This also made him feel better.

Micky continued to inspect the tracks but was so bent down at one point that he could not defend himself - when the first creature attacked.

The elder female put her arm around Micky's neck and then her hand around his mouth before he could make any noise. The eldest male creature then grabbed Micky's legs and the remaining creatures his body.

Micky was too shocked to say anything and just froze. This is not happening to me. No way, he thought. This is north London...

But as he realised 'they' were taking him back down the tunnel he had come from towards North End, he began to struggle with his arms and legs. 'G...off..m..', he tried to mouth out past the female creature's dirty hand with too long fingernails. But 'they' were too strong for him.

'Quiets, man, or we kills you,' the female creature whispered to him in a hideous raspy guttural voice.

This made Micky even more scared but he continued to struggle and then bit her hand. She let out a horrible scream, 'EEEEYYYWWW!'

'Help! Help! Hel...' Micky then shouted before the female's bloody hand eventually shut him up again. It tasted disgusting and he felt like being sick. 'They' continued to try to move him down the tunnel, now with a greater urgency it seemed to Micky.

But the other workers must have heard the creature's and his screams, because Micky could now hear them behind him, coming towards him, shouting his name. 'Micky, Micky, where are you, mate?'

Micky felt the grip on him becoming less strong as the creatures tried to run faster with him. He could also hear his colleagues catching up. Micky made a final effort to break free with his remaining strength.

He succeeded. But he landed badly and fell unconscious.

He woke up and quickly looked around him. With relief he realised he was in a hospital. His wife was by his side and soon told him what had happened to him. His colleagues had found him on the track with a bloodied head and mouth. They then took him to Golders Green station, where an ambulance took him to the Royal Free hospital in Hampstead. The time was now 7.15 a.m.

'Did they catch them?' Micky asked his wife.

'Catch who, dear?' she asked in turn.

'The things...creatures that tried to kidnap me, who else? Micky responded angrily.

'Creatures? Have you lost your mind, luv?' asked his wife.

'How do you think I got injured? I was attacked... _they_ tried to take me' Micky said almost having a fit. He then realised his wife must have thought that his bang on the head had affected his sanity. He knew it sounded crazy but it _did_ happen. He calmed down as he realised people were starting to look at him and that no one would believe him anyway.

In fact, most of the other patients and people in the room were now looking away from Micky, but one of them approached his bed. It was a journalist from the local newspaper.

Chapter Fifteen

On Thursday, two days after Tom had seen Jodie to her house, she phoned and arranged to visit him. In the time since he had last seen her, Tom's positive feelings of relief and happiness at rescuing her were replaced by the realisation that the creatures still existed and, therefore, still posed a danger to others. This meant that, although he did not like to admit it, he had a moral duty to do something about them. The only question was what?

He went over in his head what the options were and when Jodie telephoned him he decided that he would discuss them with her. She came around just after 2 p.m., looking much improved, thought Tom. She had her blonde hair newly spiked up, had plenty of makeup on, and wore a short denim jacket, a t-shirt, and some jeans. There were no signs on her of her ordeal. He made her a cup of tea and they went into the lounge.

'So, did your parents give you a hard time?' he asked.

'You can say that again,' she said. 'They just wouldn't leave me alone from the time that I got home. They asked me where I had been, who I had been with, whether I had taken any drugs, how much I had had to drink...I felt like I was being interrogated.'

'Well. I suppose it shows they care about you,' he said.

'Yeh, but it was bloody embarrassing. I mean they also asked me if I had been raped or was with a boy. After about half 'n hour of it I just said I was tired – which I was – and went to bed. Then yesterday a policeman and woman came and repeated the process. I told them I was with a friend and had been upset and so didn't contact anyone. I didn't give any details, and to be honest I was still upset and so cried a lot. Eventually, I just stormed up to my bedroom.'

'You weren't tempted to tell the truth?' Tom asked.

'At the time I felt "No way". My parents already thought I was into alcohol and drugs too much. That would only have confirmed this even further. But, it's funny because the male detective seemed to know that something had happened to me on the tube by his questions. And afterwards, I thought I maybe should have told the truth, or some of it at least.'

'Well, I don't blame you for not doing so,' said Tom. 'I mean if you think about it, it's completely unbelievable. In the 21st century in North London there are creatures who eat humans. I had difficulty believing it myself after I'd seen them for the first time, taking you. Anyway, I'm glad you've recovered from your experience. You look like you feel 100 times better.'

'The first night I got back I just slept until about two the next day. When I woke up my mum was there looking at me as though I were coming out of a coma. But I felt ok. Yes, it was a bad – very bad experience – but I still couldn't believe it happened, you know, like it was a bad dream. So after I woke up and realised that it was over, I felt fine.

But later after the police went I did feel a little weird and that I could very nearly have been killed and then...well, who knows what. Then I did feel very upset again and I couldn't stop crying at the thought of it. But after I'd spoken to my friend Jenna and some others, and watched a bit of tv I felt better again and now I'm sort of ok.

Anyway, I decided I had to contact you again,' she finished. 'I had to thank you again for what you'd done. Without you I would now be dead.'

'Look, as I said on Tuesday, I should've helped you sooner. So don't feel like you owe me anything. But I would appreciate it if you would tell me all that you can remember about Sunday night,' Tom said.

'Well, I can't say I remember everything about that night because I was pretty drunk. I'd had an argument with one of my friend's friends at the pub we were all at and was so pissed off that I left to go home. But I didn't tell anyone and just left. I remember walking around for a while trying to find a tube station. Then I can just about remember getting on a tube at Leicester Square and falling asleep. I do recall there weren't many people around on the tube that night.

The next thing that happened is I was waking up and being dragged out of the tube into a tunnel by a very strange-looking man who I now think must have been the driver of the tube. I struggled and shouted but then the creatures took me off him. They were hideous but I couldn't get away from them. I screamed for help but they kept on carrying me somewhere. In the end I must have passed out because my next memory is waking up in the room where you found me.

It was dark and smelly and I could hear rats scurrying around. I was thirsty but there was no water and I was tied up. I could also feel some things like bones on the floor. I just freaked out and passed out again. Then I woke up again just before you rescued me. I thought you were one of the creatures about to kill me,' she finished.

'This driver, could you describe him?' Tom asked, now excited.

'Well, I didn't really see much of him. But he wasn't very tall...he had a bald patch and a funny kind of rat-like face. He was also quite fat and his eyes were...also very intense and squint-like,' she replied.

'I saw this driver at Golders Green station on the day I rescued you!' Tom said. 'It was when I was leaving the station just before I went to North End. I thought someone was staring at me and looked around but I couldn't actually see anyone looking at me. But I did see him. This means that he must have seen me before or the creatures must have given him my description...God, this is mad!'

'So the driver is involved with the creatures. He finds them victims and meets them at the disused station?' Jodie asked.

'Yes, it seems that way. It now all makes sense. I thought the driver might've been involved but I just couldn't believe it. But now we know it's definitely true,' Tom said wondering why he had not worked it out before. 'The question is what do we now do about the driver and the creatures? I mean you were probably not their first victim and you certainly won't be their last unless someone does something about them first.'

'Actually, I was thinking along the same lines myself,' said Jodie. 'I mean we can't let anyone else suffer. I know what I think I should do but what about you?'

'Well, I thought of several options after I'd dropped you off the other night. The first one was to go to the police again and tell them exactly what happened. I would now have had you to back me up,' Tom said. 'But then I thought they still wouldn't believe us – it's just too crazy.

Jodie responded. 'Not necessarily.'

Tom ignored this, thinking Jodie obviously wasn't thinking clearly. 'Well...I then thought I could get a video camera and film the creatures in their den. Then they would have to believe us. We could also show this to the media. This would force the authorities to do something and would also warn people about the creatures.'

'Yes, but that would be dangerous,' said Jodie. 'You could get caught. The creatures will probably now be much more alert than before. We were probably the only people to have ever been in their den and got out alive.'

'You're right but we – I – must do something. The creatures must be stopped. The only other option is to return to North End and kill the creatures myself,' said Tom.

'Listen,' said Jodie. 'I'm in this now with you. You saved my life, and I don't want anyone else to go through what I had to. We do have to do something but there is no reason to risk our lives again unless we really have to.'

'All right then so what do we do?' asked Tom.

'I think we should contact the male detective again and just tell him the truth. We could now back each other's stories up,' said Jodie.

'Yes, but there's no way he'll believe us,' replied Tom. Why didn't Jodie realise this? he asked himself. 'Look, I told you about the policeman that I spoke to after I first saw you and escaped from North End. The detective'll also wonder why you did not tell him yesterday when he interviewed you. No, we'll have to think of something else.'

Tom then had an idea. 'I know: why don't we try to get the driver sacked? That way, he won't be able to bring any more victims for the creatures. The only other alternative would be to kill him as well as the creatures. But I don't think we are at that stage yet.'

'No, let's not go down that road, but how could we get him sacked?' asked Jodie.

'Good question. I don't really know. I didn't consider him before when I was thinking about what to do,' replied Tom.

Another idea suddenly came into Tom's head. 'Why don't you say that he attacked you? You obviously wouldn't mention the creatures. You could say you escaped from him but was so embarrassed about it and being drunk that you stayed with your friend.'

'Yes, but the detective will want details, which if I get wrong will make him think I am a complete liar. Then he won't do anything. And anyway, the creatures would still be free and could escape somewhere else. No, I think I should just tell him the truth. That way, there won't be any inconsistencies.'

'Well, I don't agree,' said Tom, still thinking that Jodie would make herself _and him_ look stupid, without first getting further evidence of the creatures' existence. 'There's just no way they'll believe you.'

'Look, the detective who interviewed me did seem to think that something had happened to me on the tube: he specifically asked me this, and also said something like I could help him find the reason for other missing people. I know what happened to us was crazy and, yes, unbelievable, but I have a feeling that this detective will believe our story. And if he doesn't then at least we will have tried.'

'Well, I still don't agree,' said Tom now realising that Jodie was too strong-minded a girl for him to change her mind. 'But if that's what you want to do, I'll back you up.'

'Come to think of it, the detective also gave my mum his card with his details,' said Jodie now getting the card from her handbag. 'Ok. I'm nervous but I'll call him now'. She then dialled the number on the detective's card, but it went straight to his answer phone.

Tom gestured for her to end the call, thinking he could still change her mind, but Jodie blurted out a very short version of what had happened to her and Tom.

Tom listened to her, thinking how strange it would sound to someone who had not witnessed what they had. When she finished, he said, 'Well, at least he'll have time to reflect on what you've said without ruling it out straightaway. But in the unlikely event he does believe our story we still have to do something ourselves in the meantime. The driver could catch someone tonight for the creatures. We'll have to follow him; maybe see where he lives and what he gets up to. We might even be able to get some other evidence of the creatures to back our story up.'

'That's not a bad idea and could help the police to catch him and the creatures quicker. But we'll have to be careful,' Jodie said.

They then decided on their plan of action. They would hang around Golders Green tube station until they spotted the driver and then follow him. They would start doing this today. It was 4.36 p.m.

Chapter Sixteen

At the same time Tom and Jodie were discussing what to do about the creatures and the driver, he was thinking about them. He was at work on his final journey to and from Morden from Golders Green and he now deeply regretted having taken Jodie for the creatures Sunday night and not noticing the boy on his tube on Sunday.

She was not the typical victim he chose for them. She was young and decent-looking and would probably have a family who would notice her going missing quickly and go to the authorities. The usual people he selected were old tramps or alcoholics who had fallen asleep on the tube or in a tube station, people whom he thought nobody would miss much.

But that night he had been in a reckless mood with his so-called work colleagues having been nastier to him than usual. He was doing his usual late shift, which was partly why the other drivers made fun of him all the time, calling him 'tube rat' and other not so nice names. But they also liked to swap their late shifts with him, and so they tolerated him to an extent. Why did they have to be so cruel to him? he asked himself; it was not his fault he looked a little odd. He would show them one day, or rather, he smiled to himself, the creatures would.

It had also seemed too good an opportunity to miss. The girl had drunkenly got on his tube at Leicester Square. She was, like his usual victims, intoxicated and quite vulnerable-looking and so would be easier to handle.

The arrangement he had with the creatures was that he would stop if he had someone for them but if not would just pass through. The circumstances had to be right with no one on the tube except the victim, so it did not happen very often. He could not stop long at the disused station. In fact doing so was quite risky, as everything that happened on a tube was recorded on a black box just like on an aeroplane. He and other drivers did stop in the tunnel in between Hampstead and Golders Green sometimes when there was another tube in front of them but not usually with the doors open.

The creatures were in the usual place in the shell of the unbuilt northbound platform of North End, or Bull & Bush as he and his colleagues called it. When he got there he stopped the tube and went to the carriage where the girl was asleep in her drunken slumber. He knew from experience that surprise and speed were necessary if he were to get the victim to the creatures quickly.

He grabbed the girl and put her over his shoulder. She was in a deep sleep but when he got to the carriage's doorway she woke up and started to struggle and scream. But the creatures were there and soon grabbed hold of her and the driver quickly returned to his cab, closed the doors, and moved off. It had gone quite well; only just over a minute.

But now as the driver was on his journey from Morden back to Golders Green, he reflected on when his second mistake of not noticing the boy had become apparent. This was when he had passed through North End the following day on Monday. He saw that the creatures had left the signal that they needed to contact him: a red rag tied to the lower safety rail of the northbound platform area.

He met the creatures that night, and they told him about the boy who had seen them and escaped from them. They described him. He could not believe he had been so careless as to not to have noticed him on the tube yesterday on Sunday. He told them to stay close to their den until Thursday when he would meet them. He was scared that the boy had informed the police and that they would search the disused station. He also thought that the police might work out that he was involved.

He did not know what to think and then the next day, Tuesday, just after he started his rare early shift, he read about the missing girl in a newspaper and was even more confused. If the police knew then why did the story just mention that the girl was missing? Why did it not say she was kidnapped or murdered and they were searching for the killer creatures? It did not make sense.

He pondered this all morning and then while he was at Golders Green, having his sandwiches, he saw a boy matching the description of the creatures, leaving the station after just getting off a northbound tube. He became further confused and thought the police might be trying to trap him. He stared at the boy with his bleached-blonde spiked hair intently until he looked back in his direction when he looked away.

After the boy had left he still did not know what to do. He thought about running away or even going to ground with the creatures. No, he could not do this, he thought; too much of him was still human. He then had to quickly decide because he was due to take out another tube. If the boy had gone to the police they why was he on the tube? he asked himself. It did not make sense. It could mean the police were up to something but he could not be sure.

In the end, he decided that the police might know something about the creatures but probably not him yet; otherwise they would have arrested him by now. He thought that if he stayed away from the creatures then he just might be safe.

But at 3.14 p.m. that day when he was driving his tube through North End, he saw the red rag signal again. He was both angry and scared. What had happened since yesterday? Had the police been searching the disused station? Had they arrested one or some of the creatures?

But he could not come up with any answers about what could have happened: there were too many possibilities. He next reasoned that if the creatures had been able to put the red rag on the rail then maybe the police had not searched the station. He felt a little calmer.

After he finished his shift he met the creatures again at North End in the northbound platform area. They told him that the girl had escaped with help, probably the boy. Damn, he thought. The boy must have rescued the girl after he had seen him at Golders Green station. Surely now the police must know. He and the creatures were finished.

But then he thought about the situation. It was now 5.56 p.m. and the rescue must have taken place before 3 p.m. The police would surely have been here by now if the boy and girl had gone to them. Indeed, they would even have arrested him. But he had noticed nothing at Golders Green station when he had finished his shift. This meant that the teenagers had not yet gone to the police or had not yet convinced them about the creatures and their activities – not yet!

He told the creatures he would now meet them on Friday night but until then unless anything happened they were to keep to their den. But they were not happy: they had lost their food. He told them he would bring them some meat Friday. He then went home thinking about what to do now with the troublesome teenagers, who knew far too much about North End, the creatures, and him. He concluded that he had to find them.

The next day, Wednesday, was his day off and he spent it walking the streets of Brent Cross and Golders Green where he knew the teenagers must live somewhere. But he did not find them. And now just after 5.15 p.m. as he pulled out of Morden to finish his shift at Golders Green in about an hour, he knew he would have to come up with some other way of finding them. He also knew exactly what had to happen when he did find them: before the teenagers did tell the police or convince them about North End's secrets, they had to be killed!

Chapter Seventeen

Tom and Jodie got past the barriers at Golders Green station. It was dark and a little cold. The time was 5.17 p.m. Tom went left to go to the northbound platform while Jodie carried straight on to the southbound one. They had decided that if they both just concentrated on one line each they would be less likely to miss the driver if he were working that day.

They both sat down on their respective station benches and pretended to read something while the tubes came in and out of the station every couple of minutes. After about 20 minutes they moved to other benches to avoid attracting attention.

If they spotted the driver they would phone the other on their mobile phone; they had both just replaced their old ones. Jodie would also call Tom if the detective had returned her call. After about an hour, Tom called Jodie. 'I've just seen the driver pull in.' There could be no mistake: there was no one else who could possibly look like the driver. It was 6.14 p.m.

The driver got out of his cab onto the opposite platform to where Tom was. This platform was where the staff cafeteria was and allowed no access to the public. Another driver got into the cab of the tube, not greeting the driver in any way. The driver had his black shoulder bag that all tube drivers seemed to have. He looked around him. Tom quickly put down his phone and lifted his magazine to cover his face.

The driver then began to walk down the stairs. Tom phoned Jodie again, 'He's on the move and could be headed in your direction; there's no reason for him to come onto my platform. Move away from sight of the stairs in case he comes up. I'll phone you in a minute when I know what's going on.' Tom was nervous: if the driver noticed them then he might realise what they were up to and try to trap them.

Tom went down to the bottom of the stairs to see if he could see anything but the driver did not come his way. Tom's phone then rang; it was Jodie, 'He's just come up the stairs. Come quickly. A tube's coming.'

Damn, thought Tom, the driver might recognise Jodie. He hurried towards the southbound platform. As he got to the bottom of its stairs, he could hear a tube pulling in. He then rushed to the top of the stairs and could just see the back of the driver getting onto the tube. Jodie was at the top.

'Quick,' she said. 'We mustn't lose him.' They both got on just before the doors closed.

As the tube moved off they entered the carriage next to the one where the driver was. They went to the door leading to it and looked into it. The driver was sitting on the left in the middle of the carriage reading a newspaper. They could see they were not the only people looking at him; other passengers also gave his odd looking appearance the occasional glance. The tube had entered the tunnel and was by now getting near to North End. When it passed it the driver looked up from his newspaper. He seemed to have a concerned look on his face when he did this, Tom thought.

As the tube passed through North End, the driver remembered when he had first encountered the creatures and made his arrangement with them. It was twelve years ago, after he had become a tube driver. His tube had been passing through the southbound platform area of North End and he had seen someone run through the platform area. It was not a tube worker because the person did not have any safety clothing on. He did not think much of it, but a short time later when his tube was waiting for another tube to leave Hampstead, he saw a 'person' stick its head out of the bottom of the tunnel in front of him. He could not believe it.

He then took an interest in North End and learned its history from his local library and other drivers who also mentioned they had seen some strange things at the disused station. One day he managed to steal the keys to the entrance to its surface building from a tube engineer in the Golders Green staff canteen and began to explore it. After a few late night visits he encountered the creatures. They looked at him and he at them with fear and amazement. But the creatures did not attack him and even tried to communicate with him; it was as though he was related to them in some way.

From what he could make out from their guttural English with a very limited vocabulary, their habits were sleeping during the day and scavenging for food at night. With their misshapen heads and bow legs, the driver assumed they had rickets, not having any or much access to daylight. Their eyes were also very large, which he thought was understandable because of the darkness. Their lean bodies were probably because their diet did not have many carbohydrates.

He was happy that he had found the creatures. They were something no one else knew about. What was more, they were the only people who did not treat him harshly or make fun of him. In fact, apart from his mother, who had died some years ago, they were the only friends he had.

Over a period of time he fully gained their trust and brought them food. But they said they preferred human food. He had been surprised at how frank they were with him about this, as though they knew he would not mind about such things. Then gradually because he did not want them to be discovered he told them he would bring them such food. They were his only friends and their so-called victims came from a world that despised and mocked him.

These people got what they deserved from the creatures; just as the pesky interfering teenagers soon would, thought the driver, as the tube pulled into Camden Town tube station.

The driver got off and headed towards the High Barnet branch of the Northern Line. Jodie and Tom followed from behind at a safe distance in the busy station and got on the northbound tube that came a short while later. They again watched him from the adjoining carriage; he did not seem to notice them following him.

At Highgate, he got off again, went up the escalator, turned right, and then went up the final escalator to the high street. This is where he must live, thought Tom excitedly. Jodie's phone then buzzed. Jodie probably thinks it's the detective, to judge by her face, thought Tom. He looked at her while she listened to the phone message. But she silently mouthed that it was only her mother.

Tom and Jodie continued to follow the driver until he went into a small block of flats in a small council estate just round the corner from the tube station. They could go no further without risking his seeing them or arousing suspicion but after a couple of minutes a light come on in a first floor flat. It had dirty-looking windows with old net curtains, and as Tom was assuming this must be where the driver lived, he confirmed this when he came to the window to close the heavier curtains behind the net ones.

'Let me see how many flats the doorway he went through has,' Tom said. 'Stay here.' When he did this he came back. 'There are four flats, 21, 22, 23, and 24. It looks like he lives at 24. I can check on the electoral role on the internet, who lives in this flat.'

They then continued to watch the windows of the flat. The light went off then another in the window next to it went on. After a few minutes it also went off. Tom waited for about half 'n hour before deciding that the driver must have gone to bed, for he had not come back out of the entrance. It was 8.06 p.m.

'Come on. Let's get a drink at the pub we passed by the tube station,' said Tom. They entered the Woodman pub on the corner of the high street and Tom got them both a drink: a pint of Guinness for himself and a half a lager for Jodie. The pub was not particularly busy and they sat down.

'Did you see the way the other passengers looked at the driver?' asked Jodie.

'Yes,' replied Tom. 'He certainly looks odd and even evil-looking. In fact when I saw him at Golders Green, changing with another driver, the other driver did not even greet him. Maybe that's why he does the things he does with the creatures because no one else seems to like him.'

'He seems to look like them a little or has the same sort of feel as them, don't you think?' asked Jodie.

Tom responded, 'There does seem to be some kinship between them and him. But they say that pets start to look like their owners and--'

'The owners look like their pets,' finished Jodie. 'Look, I'm just going to phone my mum. She left a message for me to call her earlier and will definitely be worried.'

'Ok,' said Tom and watched her as she went outside. It's funny, he thought, how much had happened to them both in the last week and here they were now having a drink in a pub; almost like nothing bad had happened - almost like they were a couple on a date. Tom felt embarrassed by that last thought. He had never really had a girlfriend; he always felt shy with girls.

Jodie returned and sat down.

'Anything from the detective?' asked Tom without much hope.

'No,' said Jodie. 'It looks like he does think I'm a little crazy.'

'Maybe he'll call tomorrow,' said Tom unconvincingly.

'Maybe,' said Jodie. 'Anyway, what about your family; won't they be worried about you?'

'My mother is with her sister until Sunday and thinks I'm studying. She's the only one I live with. My father left a long time ago and I have no brothers or sisters,' replied Tom.

'I'm sorry about that,' said Jodie. 'What about a girlfriend?'

Tom's felt his face go red. 'I don't have one at the moment.'

'Oh,' said Jodie. 'Well, not to worry I don't have a boyfriend either. So that makes two of us.'

Tom felt suddenly quite happy when she said this. 'Anyway, I'll check the electoral register tonight or tomorrow to see if he's on it,' he said. 'I will then see what else there might be on the net about him. You never know. But we'll have to follow him again tomorrow in case he gets up to anything.'

'But what if he does something tonight?' asked Jodie.

'Well, we can't possibly watch him 24/7. You have to go home to your parents and I have to get some sleep, besides which there's no place for me to watch his flat without attracting attention,' replied Tom.

'Yeh, I suppose you're right. We'll just have to hope we get lucky again tomorrow,' said Jodie finishing her drink. 'Let's go. I told my mum I would be home in about an hour.'

'No problem,' said Tom as he finished his Guinness.

They got back on the tube and Tom saw Jodie safely back to her street in Brent Cross. They agreed to meet at his house at 2 p.m. the next day. On his walk home he thought about the events of the day, especially her. He reached home at about 10.30 p.m. and went straight to bed. He would look on the internet tomorrow, he thought tiredly.

Chapter Eighteen

It was Thursday night just after 10.45 p.m. Harry was listening again to the mobile phone message that Jodie had left him earlier in the afternoon - he must have been in a mobile phone black spot when she phoned him. But he still did not know what to think of it – a tube driver and some cannibal creatures were apparently responsible for Jodie's going missing and probably that of some or all of his other missing persons on the Northern Line late at night. Surely this must be a big wind up in very poor taste, thought Harry; it could not possibly be true.

He had not really thought much of Jodie since his interviewing her yesterday, other than that she had not told him the whole or any of the truth – just as she was also not doing so now, he thought.

But why would she make such a story up? he asked himself. Then he thought of her behaviour while he and Sarah had been interviewing her: she was obviously very unhappy at being asked about her disappearance; she had also not liked some of their questions. Furthermore, she was capable of being nasty, to judge from her abusive behaviour the night she had gone missing. Yes, Harry thought, Jodie was capable of trying to make a fool out of him and the police to get some kind of weird teenage revenge for being embarrassed.

And yet...although she was obviously nervous she did sound so convincing in the message saying that this other teenager called Tom had rescued her after the tube driver and the creatures had kidnapped her, and that the only reason she had not said this before was because of it being too unbelievable. Yes, it was certainly that, he thought. He then remembered what good liars some people could be, especially young teenage girls.

No, he thought, there was obviously no way what she said could be true: this was north London on planet Earth, not the world of some teenage horror novel. Why he was even wasting his time thinking about this? he wondered as he got ready for bed. He was not starting his shift until tomorrow afternoon but felt very tired. His doctor had told him he had been overdoing it recently and should take a holiday, but as usual he had ignored him. He fell asleep soon after his head hit his pillow.

Jodie and Tom met again the next day on Friday, just after 5 p.m. the day after they had followed the driver. Before this Tom had searched the electoral role on the internet but could not find the name of the person who lived at the flat they saw the driver at.

They went to Golders Green station again and followed the same routine as yesterday. This time they had to wait about two hours before they saw the driver. During this time, Tom was worried that the tube staff would notice them and talk among themselves about them, which might alert the driver.

At 7.21 p.m., he again pulled in on a southbound tube, left his cab, and went down the stairs. Tom assumed he was going to the southbound platform as before and quickly alerted Jodie. But after a couple of minutes he saw that he had not yet reached this platform. He called Jodie, 'He should be there by now but he's not. I'm going to go to the station entrance to see where he is.'

'Ok, I'll wait here,' said Jodie. 'Be careful.'

Tom carefully approached the entrance but there was no sign of the driver. He looked round the corner to the tunnel leading to the southbound platform in case the driver had stopped on his way there for some reason. He saw Jodie at the bottom of the stairs and went to her.

'Did you see him?' asked Jodie.

'Jodie,' Tom said a little annoyed. 'I thought you were going to stay where you were. He could've seen you. No, I haven't seen him. Come on, let's go and look outside the station.'

They rushed towards the entrance then slowed when they got near the barriers in case they attracted attention. Outside, they quickly looked around them but could not see much as there were lots of people about as well as some buses in the bus station in front of the station. It was also now quite dark.

Tom thought he saw the back of the driver to the left of him. 'Jodie. Here. Follow me,' he said and they went after the person they thought might be the driver.

It was the driver and he was walking towards North End Road in the direction of North End. What's he up to? Tom wondered. He's not going to visit the station is he? The driver disappeared around the corner, as Tom checked his watch: it was 7.27 p.m.

It was just before 7.30 p.m., and Harry was in his office in Golders Green police station, looking through the case file of another missing person who shared the characteristics of last being seen on the Northern Line late at night while being intoxicated. His detective's instincts would not let him give up on these 'linked' cases.

He yawned as he looked at her details. Her name was Margaret Tooley, a 60-year-old teacher from Hendon, where one of the other victims, James Ridley, was also from; she had gone missing in December of last year. Her ex-husband had eventually reported her missing a week after he was supposed to meet her. She was caught on CCTV at Camden Town tube station. From her picture, Harry could see that she had an unhealthy almost drawn face, which fitted in with her being an alcoholic.

He was now convinced again that the links between these cases that he had found, including Jodie's, were more than co-incidences. But he certainly did not believe Jodie's story which would explain the links. He did now think, however, that there could be some truth in it. Perhaps Jodie had been so intoxicated by drink or even drugs that she misinterpreted what she saw. It was possible that she was just attacked by the tube driver she mentioned. Harry knew he had to speak to her alone without her parents. He would call her.

But before he did this he got up from his desk and stretched; he wanted a cigarette. He looked out of the window and noticed the black clouds in the sky: there would be a big storm soon, he thought. But he still went down to the car park. On his way he popped into the canteen, where there were a couple of his fellow detectives and some uniformed officers just starting the late shift. Harry ordered a cup of coffee; while he was waiting he overheard a conversation between a couple of the uniformed officers.

'I'm telling you, last Sunday there was this teenage boy telling me he had seen a girl being kidnapped by some creatures...it must have been the same girl who'd been reported missing but I'd completely forgot about this teenage boy...'

Harry's interest was suddenly very great.

'...just the same as this crazy story here...' the policeman continued to tell his colleague.

Harry now looked intently at P.C. Terry Roberts, who was showing his colleague an article in a newspaper about Micky Ford the night-time tube worker who claimed to have been attacked by some creatures.

Harry rushed over to Terry, who told him in greater detail about what had happened last Sunday. Harry then went back to his office with the newspaper, now forgetting completely about wanting a cigarette. His heart was pumping, as he tried to phone Jodie. Her phone went straight to the answer phone.

'Damn,' he said to himself as he put the phone down. He then phoned her parents, who said Jodie had said she was visiting a friend. He could not believe his bad luck. He told her parents as calmly as he could to get her to call him when she returned. He still did not know whether or not to believe Jodie, but after what P.C. Terry Roberts had said and the newspaper story he knew there was some truth in what she was saying, and he needed to speak to her about this before anyone else got hurt.

He phoned the newspaper and eventually got hold of the journalist, from whom he got Micky Ford's telephone number and address. He arranged to meet the tube worker at his home in Hampstead in half 'n hour. He grabbed his coat and rushed down to his car. It was 7.51 p.m.

Chapter Nineteen

Tom and Jodie had followed the driver up North End Road until he turned left into Hampstead Way. On the way they had turned off their mobile phones in case he heard them in the increasingly dark and cloudy night.

'Quick. Let's get to the corner of the road and watch him,' Tom said.

They hurried there and peered around the corner. The driver was definitely heading to North End, thought Tom. They continued to follow him, being as careful as they could. They got to the drive of a private estate on their left, which was quite near to North End. There they stopped. From this point Tom could see the driver turn the corner, just around which was the white surface building of North End.

'Come on. Let's see what he's up to,' said Tom.

They both went towards the fenced off area of the surface building, slowing down as they got to the corner before it. The gate was closed and there was no one around. Then Tom quickly pulled Jodie back to the private housing estate's small car park which they had just passed and which was adjacent to the surface building.

It went down below pavement level but there was a wall at the end of it, at the top of which the ground was at the same level as the surface building. There was a bin enclosure here, which had a fence surrounding it at the top of the wall, which they could hide behind. They got behind it and up against the fence separating North End from the car park.

Tom pulled himself up to see over it but could see no signs of movement, though he could see that its door was closed. The driver must have gone inside, thought Tom. He got down and told Jodie what was going on but she had already found a small gap in the fence and seen everything for herself.

'We'll wait here until he comes out,' he whispered. 'No one will be able to see us. We'll be safe.'

'Are you sure he's in there. I mean we didn't see him. Anyway, I hope he hurries up because it's bloody cold tonight,' said Jodie quietly. 'Looks like it's going to rain a lot soon as well, judging by the clouds.'

Tom looked up at the sky and then at his watch: it was 8.06 p.m.

'He must be there,' said Tom. 'Otherwise we would have probably seen him around the corner.'

'Why d'you think he's come here?' asked Jodie.

'Probably meeting the creatures or checking on something,' replied Tom wondering why the driver would do these things.

An hour later, after Tom and Jodie had to crouch down a few times because of people parking their cars in the car park below them, the door of the surface building begin to open. 'Tom, he's coming back. Look,' Jodie whispered.

Tom joined her looking through the gap in the fence and he could see the driver come out.

He closed the door behind him, pushing it firmly twice to make sure. He then approached the spiked fence with caution, looked around him, and, satisfied, opened and closed the left padlocked gate. Tom and Jodie then turned around and after a few seconds, the driver went past the opening to the car park they were in.

They let a few more seconds pass and then followed him. He was about twenty metres in front of them and seemed more focused and, Tom felt, happier than before he had gone into North End. Just before he got to the end of Hampstead Way he looked around slowly. Tom and Jodie were in the drive of the posh housing estate and quickly hid themselves. Then after a few seconds they peered around the wall to see what he was doing now. He was crossing Hampstead Way going towards Hampstead and not back down the hill to Golders Green.

Tom was a little surprised at this but assumed the driver had decided to walk up the hill towards Hampstead tube station, which was further away than Golders Green, but perhaps the driver fancied a walk, thought Tom. When he was out of sight they rushed after him. From the corner Tom saw him about to cross North End Road on a zebra crossing. There were a few other people around now, some going home, some going to the nearby Bull & Bush pub.

At the other side of the road, the driver walked up the hill a little. But then he confused Tom again; this time in a more worrying way. Instead of carrying straight on up the hill, the driver turned right into a narrow road called Sandy Road, which led into Hampstead Heath.

What was the driver playing at? Tom wondered. He looked at Jodie. Tom knew they had to continue to follow him. He might be up to something. They went after him. Sandy Road turned right sharply right after a few houses and Tom saw the driver disappear from view. They rushed to the corner. The driver was continuing to walk down the road which now turned into a pathway leading into the Heath.

They made their way after him and Tom could just about see him in the darkness ahead. The pathway was quite narrow at first but then it became wider and more road-like again. The wooded Heath was on the left and Golders Hill Park was on the right, after some trees and a fence. Tom tried to keep about twenty metres behind the driver.

The driver looked around him again, as before in a slow fashion. There was now no question that he was definitely up to something, thought Tom as he and Jodie ducked behind a tree. The driver moved on again until he disappeared from view around a bend.

Tom and Jodie hurried to the corner where the path veered to the left. They watched from the bushes. There was a wide opening on the right but the driver was now looking at the ground on the left in front of him, like he was searching for something. Then he stopped. He must have found what he wanted. But what could he want out here? Tom wondered.

Tom looked around him; he could see no one else around in the darkness, though he could feel the air becoming tenser with the approaching storm. He could also hear some traffic behind them on North End Road.

The driver looked around again but they were now too hidden to be seen. He then took out two rod-like tools with triangular handles from his black shoulder bag.

'What is he up to?' whispered Jodie.

'I don't know. Let's wait and see,' replied Tom. The driver then inserted the two tools into the ground and pulled on the handles of them. Tom saw that he was lifting up a manhole cover. The driver moved it to the side of the hole. He then looked around him again before taking out a torch. He had another final look around and then descended into the hole, which Tom now thought must be a sewer.

Jodie tugged at Tom, 'Let's get closer and see what he's doing,' she whispered.

'No. Not yet, Jodie,' Tom said. But it was too late; she had already begun to move towards it. He followed after her, now understanding a little the problems such a strong-minded girl must cause her parents. He got his Swiss army knife out and opened the biggest blade, cursing himself for not bringing his mother's more lethal kitchen knife. He reached the hole and crouched down next to Jodie. He was aware the driver could return at any time.

He gave the knife to Jodie, got down on his belly, and put his head into the sewer. Yes, it was definitely a sewer, he thought, as his nose caught its smell. He could not see much: a ladder leading down a small shaft leading to the main tunnel and the glint of some 'water' at the bottom. He knew he would have to enter the tunnel. He got up in a crouched position, took his knife back off Jodie, and put his legs onto the ladder.

'Be careful,' Jodie whispered. 'It might be a trap.'

Tom gave her what he thought was a reassuring look and descended into the tunnel. When his head got to the top of the tunnel's ceiling, he peered around him and saw in the darkness the moving beam of a torch, very probably that of the driver, quite far away to his left. He could also hear and much better see the sewage glistening below him. The tunnel was arched-shaped and about six feet by six feet. The torch beams then disappeared and he waited a couple of minutes to see if they would return.

They did not and he climbed back up to Jodie to tell her what was happening. 'The driver has--'

'AAAARRRGGHH. AAAARRRGGHH.' Tom was interrupted by the screams of a female from somewhere inside the sewer. No. No. Not again, Tom thought as he looked at an also shocked and scared Jodie.

Chapter Twenty

The screams continued 'AAAARRRGGHH. AAAARRRGGHH.' Tom and Jodie were still looking at each other.

Tom did not know what to do. It might be a trap. The creatures could be waiting for them. But the girl was obviously in danger. They had nearly killed Jodie because of his fear and indecision. He had to do something. He broke away from Jodie's stare. 'You stay here and call the police on your mobile,' he said as he began to descend into the sewer.

'No. I'm coming as well. We're in this together,' she said as she followed behind him.

At the bottom of the ladder Tom stepped into the sewage with not a little disgust and helped Jodie down. He realised that Jodie was not the sort of person you could tell what to do, and so had not even bothered trying to stop her. He also remembered that she had told him she had felt afraid and powerless against the creatures before and wanted to rid herself of these feelings.

The screaming continued 'AAAARRRGGHH. AAAARRRGGHH.' Tom hurried in the direction of it with Jodie behind. Visibility was not very good but navigating through the tunnel was not difficult with it being so narrow.

After about 30 metres, Tom noticed that the tunnel, which was not exactly straight, began to veer to the left. They were both making a lot of noise running through the sewage but Tom could still hear the screaming, which was getting louder all the time. They passed a tunnel leading off the one they were in. The smell of the sewer was terrible and their jeans and trainers were soaked but they carried on.

They were going so fast that they nearly passed the opening in the tunnel where the screaming was coming from. Tom stopped and Jodie rushed into him. Tom could see that Jodie was just as out of breath and as sickened by the smell of the sewer as he. They went towards the opening. It was a small hole in the wall of the tunnel. They climbed into it without hesitation.

The new tunnel was not part of the sewage system, for the ground was solid mud and the walls and ceiling were wooden, exactly like...the creatures' hideaway, thought Tom suddenly. But Tom had stopped worrying about whether it was a trap or not; all he cared about was saving or trying to save the girl who was obviously in danger. He did feel scared for Jodie but he knew that he could not stop her from helping him.

They hurried on towards the screaming, which was now very loud. Tom knew they were getting near to it, and he had his knife ready. It was dark, however, and he could not see much. His adrenalin was high and he knew that any at any second they could be in danger.

Then suddenly the screaming became too loud and Tom tripped over something on the floor. Jodie nearly fell on him but managed to pass over the top of him. The screaming then became muffled and was coming from where Tom had fallen over.

Tom got up and bent down at the object making the screams. He picked it up: it was a tape recorder. He turned it off quickly, for its noise was too much for his ears and nerves to bear, and dropped it on the floor. Damn, he thought to himself, it was a trap after all!

He looked around him with his knife at the ready, and then at Jodie. He wondered where the driver or, he gulped, the creatures were. He then heard the answer. From ahead in the tunnel but still quite far away he could hear the sounds of footsteps – coming quickly towards them.

'Quick, let's go before they catch us!' said Jodie. She pulled him away and they started to run in the direction they had come. Tom overtook her and grabbed her hand to help her go faster. They reached the end of the tunnel.

But the hole had disappeared; there was a wooden wall where it should have been. How could they have been so stupid to have allowed themselves to be trapped? asked Tom in his head, as he tried to force himself against it. But it would not budge.

The footsteps were much louder now and so not so far away. Jodie pulled Tom out of the way. 'Let me have a try,' she said. Tom saw Jodie begin to feel around the wooden wall for some kind of catch before he turned towards the approaching footsteps to protect her.

'I've got it!' she said. Tom went back to her. She then moved some kind of lever and the wooden wall came back a little. She grabbed its edge and pulled it towards her.

'YEEEEEWWWWGGHH.' Behind her came the screams of one of the creatures. Tom turned around to face it with his knife, but it jumped on him before he could do anything. It was crazed and ripping at Tom's head with its nails, screaming its horrible voice. 'YAAAAAWWWWGGHH.'

Tom tried to stab it but it was all over him.

In his struggle he saw Jodie with a rock from somewhere. She came over to the creature and smashed it on the head. The creature then stopped for a moment, then turned to face Jodie.

Tom pushed its body away from him. Jodie then hit it again and it immediately went still and fell to the ground. But Jodie was not finished and continued to hit it with the big stone. Tom could see all her anger at the creatures came out and she would not stop. 'Now who's scared and powerless, you filthy creature! Die, die, die!'

'Jodie, stop. The others will be here soon. Come on, let's go,' said Tom, as he got up, grabbed her, and pushed her through the hole to the sewer. He went after her and could now hear the other creatures right behind them.

They ran back the way they had come in the wet sewage. Tom was leading as usual and holding Jodie's hand so that she kept up with him.

'EEEERRRGGHH! EEEERRRGGHH!' The creatures screams were horrible in the echoey tunnel: a mixture of shock, anger, and grief. Tom assumed they were because the creatures had found the probably dead other creature.

Tom pulled Jodie on as fast as he could but he was still cautious about what was in front of them. Tom had also not seen the driver in the tunnel. After what seemed like a couple of minutes, Tom heard the creatures behind them running and screaming. This made him move a little quicker. Eventually they came to the ladder down which they had first entered the sewer.

Jodie went up it first. 'The manhole cover's been replaced. I can't push it open: it's too heavy,' she said after a short time as Tom climbed up alongside her. The creatures were getting louder and nearer and could catch them at any time.

Tom helped her to push it up. It was too heavy, however, and they could not get it open. Tom then heard some splashing footsteps getting nearer: the creatures were almost here.

Chapter Twenty One

The driver was walking towards North End Road. It was raining heavily but he was happy: he was finally rid of the teenagers, whom the creatures would now have caught and...He did not finish the thought, though he did smile to himself. He then reflected how he had been totally preoccupied yesterday by how he could find the teenagers and what he would do to them when he got on a tube to go home at Golders Green after finishing his shift.

He had not been sure if they had already gone to the police or whether the police had not believed them, but he thought the teenagers would probably not just forget about him and the creatures. They would try to find some way of convincing the authorities or try to do something themselves. In fact as he had looked up at North End as the tube passed by it in the tunnel, he almost resigned himself to being at the mercy of the teenagers and eventually getting caught.

Then when he got off at Camden Town to change over to the High Barnet branch of the Northern Line he had the feeling he was being followed. This feeling continued as he got off the tube at Highgate, where he lived. He became nervous and thought it could be the police. He did not look around, however, in case he alerted them, and continued to go home to his flat.

There, he tried to act as normal as possible by looking as though he had got home, got undressed, and went to bed. But from his bedroom window he looked outside to see if whoever was following him was still there. Then, he saw who was trying unsuccessfully to not be seen watching his flat: the teenagers!

He was nervous then excited. The teenagers' following him probably meant either that the authorities had not believed them or the teenagers had not gone to them. There was the possibility that the police were using the teenagers to trap him, but this did not make sense. If the police did know about the creatures and him, they would surely have searched North End and arrested them by now as well as him. No, he concluded, the teenagers were trying to do something themselves.

He then realised that he could finally rid himself and the creatures of these troublesome teenagers: he could lure them into a trap. He wondered how he could achieve this. He did not want to kill them himself, for this was not something he did: he only caught people for the creatures. No, he would have to get them to come into North End somehow, and then the creatures would deal with them. But was it likely that the teenagers would go into the disused station again after their experiences there? he wondered. Probably not.

He then remembered there was another tunnel the creatures used, which led to the surface via a sewer. They did not actually go to the surface, which scared them, but used the sewer to get water.

But how to get the teenagers into it? wondered the driver. After a few moments the answer came to him. It was so obvious and so clever. He would record the screams of a girl from one of the horror films he had on dvd and then play it in the creatures' tunnel leading to the sewer. The teenagers who would probably be following him would then come into the tunnel to try to save the girl they would believe was in danger.

It was a perfect plan, thought the driver, because even if the teenagers did not come into the tunnel they had no evidence of any wrongdoing and if they tried to get the police involved they would look like fools.

The driver would visit North End tomorrow after his early shift and tell the creatures what he was planning and what they had to do. In fact, he had been so confident in his plan that he decided not to get the creatures the animal meat he had promised them: he knew they would be happier with that of two fresh humans.

Yes, he thought as he now reached the bend in Sandy Road, leading to North End Road, the teenagers would not only be gone but would also give him more time before he had to get another victim for the creatures.

His plan had gone so well, he reflected. After he had lured the teenagers into the creatures' tunnel, turned on the tape machine, and waited for them outside the tunnel to enter it, he had closed it behind them and left the sewer, putting the manhole cover back on. Yes, he was happy that he now had his old life back.

It was 10.33 p.m. Harry got into his car in the pouring rain outside Micky Ford's house. Micky had just told him everything that had happened to him on Wednesday. He also told him about his previous experience of seeing 'something' at North End. This was crazy, totally crazy, thought Harry, as he began to drive.

But he also felt that Micky believed every word he was saying. This with Jodie's message and P.C. Terry Roberts' account of his encounter with Tom last week confused him more than anything he had ever investigated in his over 40 years' career in the police. He had to speak to Jodie and this Tom to see if what they said tallied exactly with all the details that Micky had told him – if it did then the world in particular north London was in for a very big shock.

Harry reached the bottom of East Heath Road; he was on his way to Jodie's house in Brent Cross, where he hoped she would eventually turn up. Her parents were expecting her but she was not answering her phone for some reason.

Chapter Twenty Two

As Tom was trying with Jodie to get the manhole cover open, he saw that one of the creatures had got to the bottom of the ladder. It tried to grab his leg but he quickly moved it away. He shouted to Jodie, 'Come on, they're here. One more try!' He climbed another rung of the ladder and heaved his body and arm up under the manhole with Jodie.

Their effort now had more urgency behind it and the cover opened. Jodie helped Tom move it to the side of the hole. She then climbed up and got out first. It was pouring of heavy rain.

But before Tom could get out the creature at the bottom succeeded in catching hold of his leg. He tried to shake it free. He knew that if it pulled him back into the sewer, the creatures would rip him to pieces. He succeeded just before the creature could get its other hand to it. Tom then saw the remaining creatures arrive at the bottom before he clambered up the ladder to the surface.

But the creatures were coming quickly up the ladder as well. 'COMES BACK! COMES BACK!' they shouted. 'WE KILLS YOU! WE KILLS YOU!'

Jodie helped Tom get up as he got out of the hole.

'Quick, we've got to hurry; they're behind us,' he shouted as he got to his feet. They ran in the direction of North End Road but Tom soon heard the creatures behind them. Tom was tired but full of adrenalin and fear, which kept him going in the horrible weather.

'COMES BACK! COMES BACK!' the creatures screamed. They were now very close behind Tom and Jodie and would soon catch them up if they continued to run in a straight line. Tom then pulled Jodie to the right and they left the path, going uphill into the wooded Heath.

The Driver had just walked around the bend on Sandy Road in the direction of North End Road, when he heard some noises behind him. He turned around and saw in the rainy darkness the teenagers quickly emerge from the sewer and run towards him - chased by four of the creatures.

He was stunned. What in the hell was going on? he wondered as he saw the teenagers run up into the woods on his left. He was also curious as to why the creatures had bothered to chase the teenagers out of the sewer, for they were very scared about coming up to the surface. And where was the fifth creature? Something bad must have happened, he concluded.

He knew he would have to stop the creatures; otherwise they would surely be caught and then the authorities would know what had been going on at North End - would know about his involvement.

Tom and Jodie continued to run through the woods with the creatures noisily following behind them. It was dark and continuing to rain heavily but Tom took as much care as he could. This did not stop him and Jodie from nearly crashing into a tree, however. They then found themselves on another path, curvier than Sandy Road.

The creatures were not as close as they had been; they did not seem to be as quick as Tom and Jodie in the hilly woods. Tom continued to pull Jodie behind him. They were both out of breath but obviously did not want the creatures to catch them. The creatures seemed more crazed than before, thought Tom as he ran. Jodie's hurting/probably killing one of them might be the reason for this.

They continued to run uphill and the wide stony path was getting narrower and steeper. It was very difficult to navigate and they crashed into some more bushes a few times. Behind them the creatures had stopped screaming but were still making a lot of noise as they ran on the path. Tom was aware that if he and Jodie slowed down the creatures would catch them.

The driver was trying to follow after the creatures. 'Stop. Stop! Before someone sees you!' he shouted, but they either did not hear him in the heavy rain or did not want to stop. He was not used to running and so found it difficult but he knew he had to try to keep up with them. He fell over a few times, once into a bed of nettles. He was now completely soaked. It's too bloody dark as well, he thought to himself.

Tom and Jodie came out of the bushes and found themselves in an open area: the Hampstead Heath Pergola and its gardens beneath it were in front of them. Tom now knew roughly where they were; they would soon emerge onto the upper part of North End road. He pulled Jodie after him and had to duck his head to avoid an overhanging branch of a tree, as they went back into the wood. They began to descend now on a very narrow path.

'COMES BACK! COMES BACK!' shouted the creatures behind them.

Tom and Jodie came to the end of the woodland part of the path, which now turned to the left and rose up steeply towards North End road. Tom could hear a little traffic ahead of them. He dared not look behind him, for he knew the creatures were beginning to catch up to them. He rushed towards the road, pulling Jodie behind him. She was obviously as exhausted as he, and Tom knew they could not go on for much longer at this pace.

Harry had just passed the roundabout that led to North End Road. His windscreen wipers were on full. Damn, he hated driving in this weather, he thought as he passed Jack Straw's Castle pub and entered the road – he could hardly see a thing in this poor visibility.

The creatures were now about five metres behind Tom and Jodie. 'WE KILLS YOU! WE KILLS YOU!' they screamed.

Tom saw the road in front of them; there was a car coming from the right a little too close for them to cross but he knew they had no choice. They quickly ran to the other side and up its bank, and found themselves facing a wall. Tom went left along the pathway alongside it, pulling Jodie behind him.

Harry could not believe what he had just seen. He had been driving at about 35 miles per hour; normally in this bad weather he would have driven slower but he was on the verge of completing the answer to the strangest investigation of his career and he could not wait to speak to Jodie. His heart was pumping with adrenalin and his eyes were focused intently on the road ahead.

Suddenly, two figures had run out in front of him. It was unbelievable: one of them looked like Jodie. There was no way he could mistake her distinctive petite figure. She was running with some male teenager. He briefly wondered if this was Tom, when he suddenly saw some other figures run out in front of his car.

Tom and Jodie suddenly heard a car skid and hit something behind them with a thud. 'EEEERRRGGHH! EEEERRRGGHH!' It was the creatures making similar shrieking noises they had made in the sewer when they had found the creature Jodie had probably killed. They were horrible piercing sounds of shock, anger, and grief.

Harry had braked as quickly as he could. But it was too late and he had skidded straight into the two creatures. One of them had ricocheted off to his left but the other landed on his windscreen.

Its face seemed to be staring straight at him, as Harry's car came to a stop. Harry was astounded at what he was seeing. He was in shock and frozen in his seat; he could not stop staring at the creature, seemingly doing the same to him.

He felt his chest tighten and his breathing get shorter. He also felt some pain. There was no way these creatures could exist; it was not possible, he thought. But he could not deny what he was seeing.

Bloody hell, he thought, Jodie was telling the truth after all. He then saw two other of these 'creatures' pull the staring creature off his car, the rain washing its blood from his windscreen.

The driver had watched as the creatures got run over. He had been shocked and then approached the accident scene with caution. When he had got there he hid himself from view and saw the two remaining creatures pulling their now obviously dead brother and sister away from the road back to the pavement. They were screaming with grief.

The tube driver saw that the driver of the car, an elderly man, was in shock at what he was seeing and just stared at the creatures. The tube driver looked around him but could see no one else.

He shouted at the creatures, 'Bring the bodies back here, away from the road!' He had to do this three times before they obeyed him in their emotional state.

He then asked, 'Where did the kids go?'

The remaining two creatures pointed to the woods across the road. The driver could see they were now totally disorientated.

'Right. Take the bodies back to the sewer. I'll try to meet you there later but if I don't, stay hidden in your den.' The tube driver then walked past the still stunned car driver who was now just staring straight ahead. He must be dead, the driver thought.

Harry was still alive, and had seen the creatures take the others away into the Heath on his left. The pain in his chest was getting worse, however, and the last thing he noticed before he passed out was one or maybe two figures quickly cross the road in front of him in the direction of the teenagers.

Chapter Twenty Three

P.C. Terry Roberts arrived at the accident scene at the top of North End Road just before the ambulance. He saw Detective Sergeant Harry Edward's car with its lights and windscreen wipers on, parked mainly on the road but a little on the pavement. He parked his own car with his flashing lights behind it to protect it from being hit. He then rushed to it and opened its driver's door.

'Harry, can you hear me?' he asked, as he undid Harry's seatbelt and assessed if he had any injuries.

Harry's eyes opened and he started to say something. Terry moved his ear closer to Harry's mouth. He could hear the ambulance coming now and he had to concentrate.

'Th.. te.nag..s,' mumbled Harry breathlessly.

'The who?' asked Terry, who could hear and now see the ambulance park alongside Harry's car.

'The teen...ag...ers. You must hel...p them...danger.' Harry then moved his head to the right and indicated with his finger. 'They we..nt..woo...ds'

'Ok, Harry. I understand,' said Terry as he got away from the car and let the ambulance men do their job. He then heard another police car coming.

He quickly spoke to the ambulance men and his police colleagues before heading into the woods, where Harry had indicated the teenagers who were in trouble went. It was just after 11 p.m.

'The car must've run them over,' said Jodie out of breath as they ran on. 'But there are still some alive judging by the screaming. Come on. Let's hurry before they come after us.'

They then turned right where the wall ended, deeper into the wood. It was very steep going down with lots of nettle bushes in the way. The path then twisted and turned upwards before becoming a little more level and wider.

After a couple of minutes Tom stopped, breathing heavily, his body exhausted. He could no longer hear the creatures behind them. He also noticed the storm had stopped and could see the moon in the sky.

He now recognised where they were in the semi-darkness; there was a wide path ahead of them, which ran roughly parallel to Spaniards Road. 'This path will take us to the park I took you after we last escaped from North End. We can get some water there and then go to my house. Let's try to hurry: the creatures could be anywhere,' Tom said.

'Ok. I could certainly use a drink and something to dry myself with,' said Jodie, 'though the rain has cleaned most of that nasty sewage from my trainers and jeans. But we should call the police first,' said Jodie. 'They must know something now anyway with the car accident and if the creatures are around they could help us.'

'Yeh, I suppose you're right; you do it: it'll sound more convincing coming from you,' said Tom looking around him for any signs of the creatures.

Jodie got her mobile out and tried to call but Tom could see there was no reception.

He tried his as well to no avail. 'We'll try again when we get out of the woods,' he said. He then thought of something, 'Oh, sorry, I'm forgetting my manners'. He took off his jacket and put it around Jodie's shoulders.

'Oh, my hero,' Jodie said somewhat sarcastically, thought Tom. But this changed their mood for the better, as they moved off. They no longer ran or jogged but walked. They still looked behind them a lot as they walked along the path, which gradually veered to the left. But they could not see or hear anything coming after them in the darkness.

The wood then became less dense as they walked up another hill and then passed by a pond on their right. They could easily make out where they were going now and began to descend. It was cold but they were still hot after their exertions.

They were nearing the bottom now and Tom thought he could make out the road which separated the park from this wood through the trees. He was about to tell Jodie this when he suddenly saw someone run out in front of him with a heavy branch of wood: it was the driver!

The tube driver had found Tom and Jodie eventually after jogging down a few paths in different directions and falling over again in the darkness. He got lucky and saw some shapes, which looked like them, walking down the hill. He then worked his way around them to the bottom before they got there.

He had been out of breath but had known he had to act. He grabbed a big branch from the floor and hid behind a tree he thought they would come towards. He was nervous about what he had to do, for unlike his usual 'surprised' victims on the tube, there were two of them and they would be more alert. But he knew he had no choice, if he wanted to rid himself of them.

'Run Jodie. Get help!' shouted Tom as the driver came at him with the branch. Tom tried to move away from it but it was too late. The driver whacked him on the head and he fell down. He felt his head spinning and he was quickly losing consciousness.

He tried to get up as he saw the driver going after Jodie. The driver was a little uncoordinated and breathing heavily.

Jodie backed away from him and started to scream. 'Help! Somebody help!' She was shocked and scared. She also looked back at Tom but he knew he could not help her as much as he tried to with his remaining energy.

The driver swung the branch towards her. She ducked and continued to move backwards, seemingly looking around for a branch for herself but could not see one.

'Get away from me you freak. Help! Help!' she shouted.

She then fell over a log behind her. The last thing Tom saw before he lost consciousness was the driver moving over her and whacking her on the head.

The driver looked around him, threw the branch down, and got his breath back. Apart from the girl shouting, that went better than he had thought. He quickly opened his bag and got out some string, constantly looking around him in case anyone had heard anything. He used his grand dad's old bayonet as his cutting tool. He went over to Tom and tied his hands and legs up. He also got some Duct tape out of his bag and put some around Tom's mouth. He then did the same to Jodie and dragged their bodies into some bushes in case anyone found them.

He looked at his watch: it was 11.37 p.m. Hell, it had been a stressful day, he thought, as he began to make his way back to the sewer to meet the creatures, still looking around him for signs of danger.

When he got there, they told him what had happened in the tunnel before the teenagers had escaped. He then realised he had made another mistake: he should have waited for the creatures in their 'sewer tunnel' before he turned on the tape recorder.

He also understood why the creatures had chased them on the surface: the teenagers had killed one of the creatures, a female. What is more, the only other female creature was killed with her brother by the car.

The remaining two creatures were distraught. 'ONLY US'S LEFT. LAST WOMENS GONE!' They obviously wanted revenge.

'Don't worry, I've got the kids that did this,' said the driver.

'WHERE? WHERE? WE KILLS THEM!' They obviously wanted to get at them straight away.

'Calm yourselves down,' said the driver. 'You'll soon get your revenge. Take your brother's and your sister's bodies out of the sewer and meet me at the entrance of North End as quick as you like.'

He then left to return to North End himself but by the over ground route. It was 12.37 am.

Chapter Twenty Four

Terry got back to his car at 12.46 a.m. It was now on its own: Harry's car had been driven away to Golders Green police station. Harry himself was now in Intensive Care in the Royal Free hospital in Hampstead. He had suffered a severe heart attack and it was not certain that he would survive the night.

Terry had walked through the woods, eventually calling out for anyone to respond to him, but no one did and he encountered no one. He thought he had heard a female screaming but could find nothing when he went to investigate. But Harry had said there were teenagers in trouble for some reason, and so he decided he would now drive around the area in case he could find them or anything.

It was just after 1 a.m. when the driver heard the two remaining creatures come up the final steps to the landing at the top of North End's Surface building. They were still very upset and angry. 'WHERE? WHERE? WE KILLS THEM! WE KILLS THEM!' they shouted.

'Calm yourselves down or you won't get any revenge – you'll just get caught!' he told them. 'Come on. I'm going to need your help to bring them here. They're in the woods nearby.' The driver knew there was a risk someone could see the creatures and him with the teenagers but he could not manage both of them himself.

He opened the exit door and went outside with the creatures behind him. He then opened the gate to the fenced off area and looked around him for signs of people. He could see no one and beckoned the creatures to follow behind him.

It was no longer as dark with the rain gone and so he had to be careful. He turned left and crossed over the road half walking/half jogging. The creatures were looking all around them at what was still an unfamiliar world to them. They had calmed down a little now and were quite nervous, he thought. But then he knew they were very scared of being on the surface.

After a couple of minutes they got to the wood, which was a short distance on their right, and reached the place where the teenagers were. The driver stopped the creatures. 'Don't do anything here; someone'll hear us!' he said.

The creatures agreed but were now more agitated. The driver then grabbed Jodie while the creatures both took hold of Tom. The teenagers still seemed to be unconscious.

They made their way back to North End with the driver in front. He was very nervous and listened carefully for any cars or people. Then as they were about ten metres from the entrance, the driver heard a car coming.

He quickly put Jodie down behind a car, crouched down, and gestured for the creatures to do the same. He knew that if the car stopped, its occupant or occupants would see them.

The tube driver looked up from behind the car as it got nearer. Damn, he thought, it was the police! He quickly ducked down and tried to control his breathing. Hell, it was all going wrong tonight, he thought. The police car seemed to slow down. The tube driver could hear his heart beating.

The car then went on its way. The driver breathed out with relief. He quickly grabbed Jodie and with the creatures carrying Tom crossed the road to the fenced-off area. They entered the surface building. The driver put down Jodie and let the creatures pass him. They then threw Tom down on the floor almost on the stairs and were about to attack him.

'No. Not here! I've told you already. It'll be too messy. You'll have to wait until you get them in your den,' said the driver to the creatures urgently. He knew he would have a lot of trouble stopping them from losing control.

Tom regained consciousness as he heard the driver say this to the creatures, who seemed to listen to him. Tom then remembered how the driver had ambushed him and Jodie with the branch. He recognised where he was now – back in bloody North End again! He could feel the pain in his right shoulder which he landed on when the creatures dumped him on the floor. His head was also throbbing where the driver had hit him with the branch.

He looked over at Jodie to the right of him in the semi- darkness. Her hair seemed matted probably from blood and she was still unconscious; he prayed she was still alive. He then tried to loosen the string tying his hands and feet. His feet seemed tightly bound but the string tying his hands was not as tight as it should have been.

The driver and the creatures then came over to him and Jodie. He could see the driver picked up Jodie and put her over his shoulder. The driver then seemed to wait while the creatures grabbed hold of Tom, one taking his upper arms the other taking his legs. Tom pretended to still be unconscious. The creatures smelled strongly of old dirt, body odour, and human waste and Tom could easily have passed out again.

They handled him roughly and he could feel their hatred of him as they said to each other, 'We kills this one first'.

They began their descent down the stairs. The creatures went first with Tom, who could hear that the driver had a little trouble keeping up, with Jodie over his shoulder. 'Slow down,' he demanded of the creatures.

After a few flights of stairs they reached the room where the lift engine was. 'Stop here for a minute,' the driver said to the creatures as he put Jodie down. Tom could hear the driver breathing heavily. The creatures looked back at the driver with impatience and dropped Tom on the floor again. This time he landed on his side without any pain.

'Come over here, you two,' the driver said to the creatures. Tom heard them go into the lift engine room.

Tom knew the driver did not trust them not to attack him and Jodie. But Tom used this break to further unloosen the string tying his hands. He knew he could probably get them free with one more last effort. His whole body ached and was stiff. He looked over at Jodie and could see that she was at least breathing, which made him feel much better. The driver and the creatures then came back, picked them up, and continued their descent.

After a few more flights of stairs they went through the doorway leading to the disused lift and final stairway. 'Stop,' the driver said; he was even more out of breath than before, thought Tom.

Tom felt the creatures eventually look back at the driver. They were obviously impatient to get to their den to – to – Tom could not finish the thought.

'I said stop,' the driver said. 'Don't worry, when you get to your den you can do whatever you want to these two, but until then you'll have to wait. I'm not clearing up your bloody mess.'

Tom opened his eyes a little to see the creatures looking at each other. They then dropped Tom again with impatience and anger. They also stomped on the landing at the top of the stairs with frustration.

The driver, who had already put Jodie down, said, 'Come back here, before you do anything stupid,' and beckoned them back through the door to the previous stairs away from Tom and Jodie.

Tom knew that this could be his only opportunity to escape and started to try to unloosen his hands again. He quickly succeeded and then tried to untie his feet. But it was no good, there were too many knots. He then remembered his Swiss army knife in his pocket and quickly got it out and opened its biggest blade.

He quickly cut away at the string and then ripped the gaffer tape off his mouth. He tried to be as quiet as possible; he knew that the driver and the creatures could return at any time. He could hear them arguing about them through the door.

He went over to Jodie and cut through the string on her hands and then feet. She started to move and looked up at him. He could see her eyes staring at him as he gave her what he hoped was a reassuring look. He then pulled the tape off her mouth and helped her up.

They were both a little unsteady on their feet and leaned against the lift door while their legs got back to normal. Tom had his knife at the ready in case the driver and creatures came back: he was not going to be caught without a fight. He then looked at Jodie to see if she was ready to move, before helping her to the top of the stairs.

Suddenly the driver and the creatures returned.

Chapter Twenty Five

Instantly Tom knew that if they both ran then the creatures would catch them up. He therefore pushed Jodie in the direction of the stairs and shouted 'Run!' at her. He himself ran at the creatures with his knife.

He crashed into them and they all fell on the ground in the passageway where the lift was. Tom was on top of them but lost his knife in the struggle.

He punched at the creatures as many times as he could; they were writhing wildly trying to get their hands on him. They clawed at his head and body. They were smaller than he but much stronger than they looked.

The driver, who had backed away when Tom had run at the creatures, moved past this struggle and went towards Jodie, who had not run down the stairs. Another thing going wrong, he thought, as he saw she was very angry. He also noticed she could see Tom's knife on the floor between her and him. He went to kick it away but she ran for it before he could do this.

She grabbed it and came towards the driver with it. He backed away towards Tom and the creatures. But Jodie was too quick and stabbed him in the thigh. The blade went all the way in.

'Ow, you bloody cow!' shouted the driver with pain at her and clambered back over Tom and the creatures through the door. He could feel and see lots of blood coming from his leg.

Tom had been aware that Jodie had attacked the driver. He then saw her come towards the creatures with her knife.

'Get off him you bloody freaks!' she screamed.

Tom, scratched and bloody, managed to free himself from the creatures. 'No, Jodie. Down the stairs. Run for it!' he said as he pulled her away from the creatures. He knew the creatures would have eventually got the better of him and he did not want Jodie hurt. They began to run down the stairs.

The creatures screamed behind them as they chased after 'YOU'RE DEADS, DEADS! WE KILLS YOU!' Tom had hurt them a little but they were very angry obviously wanting revenge for the death of their family members.

Tom and Jodie were running for their lives and they descended several flights of stairs without the creatures catching them. But they were getting closer all the time. Then, when they were about half-way down, Tom felt one of the creatures jump on him, making him and Jodie fall forward down the stairs.

They landed on the one of the wide corner stairs and the creature began to claw wildly at Tom, who was now on top of Jodie. The other creature then joined in screaming loudly.

Tom felt Jodie crawl out from under him. He tried to get up and turn himself around. He then saw Jodie stabbing at the creatures several times on their arms and backs. They shrieked with pain.

They then got off Tom and went for her. They were crazed with anger but so was she and she continued to stab at them. But they soon overcame her, knocked her down, and pounced on her ripping at her wildly. Tom managed to get up and went to help her. He ached and was in pain but his adrenalin was pumping through his body. There was no way he would allow Jodie to be hurt.

'Get him as well,' Tom heard the driver shout. He quickly looked up and saw the driver was holding his leg now with some kind of make-shift bandage covered in blood. He was also trying to get something thing out of his bag.

'Quick, he's coming for you,' the driver said to the creatures.

Tom ignored him and attacked them. 'Get off her, you bastards. Fight me!' he said as he pulled one of them off Jodie. It was covered with blood but still had a lot of energy left. He pushed it aside and began to get the other one off Jodie.

Then the first one jumped on his back and tried to claw his eyes out. Tom staggered back against the safety rail of the stairway.

'Kill them. They murdered your family,' shouted the driver in a pained croaky voice. He was now sitting on a step, still trying to get something from his bag.

The other creature also got off Jodie and went for Tom but Tom saw Jodie come after it, stabbing at it with the knife. It then turned back towards Jodie and jumped on her. She landed on her back, losing the knife.

Tom then grabbed the hands of the creature still on his back, pushed them away and turned around. The creature was now almost seated on the safety rail. It struggled against Tom. But he knew what he had to do. He put his head down, bent his knees, and put all his remaining energy into pushing the creature over the rail. He succeeded and he briefly watched as it tumbled down the well of the staircase, screaming with shock and fear.

He quickly turned around to where Jodie was with the other creature. It was on top of Jodie, trying to claw her eyes out. Tom was out of breath and energy but pulled it off and smashed its head into a metal railing of the staircase. It slumped to the floor and began to move spasmodically, like it was having a fit, before it was still with its dead eyes open.

Jodie then shouted, 'Tom, quick run!'

Tom looked in the direction she was staring, to see the driver coming down the stairs. He was holding his leg with one hand but had a long knife like a bayonet in the other.

Jodie grabbed Tom's hand and they ran down the stairs.

'Get back here, you two, and get what's coming to you!' shouted the driver sounding out-of-breath and in pain but continuing to come after them.

Tom was almost finished: he had no strength left; he could see Jodie was in a similar if not worse state. He knew the driver could hurt them if he caught them, and he now had no weapon after Jodie had lost his knife. They were no longer running but almost stumbling down the stairs.

'You're dead meat when I get you!' shouted the driver from behind them.

Tom was now almost dragging Jodie by the hand. He was not sure how long he could continue himself. They got to the bottom of the stairs and continued into the disused station, past the control-room entrance, and over the bridge that led down to the platforms.

As they got to the Northbound platform, Tom stopped so they could catch their breaths before they made one last effort. 'We have to...have to...go into the tunnel to Golders Green...There's no other way,' Tom finished almost breathlessly as he continued to look back the way they had come.

He then saw some movement and Tom helped Jodie down onto the tracks. They then entered the tunnel.

They continued to stumble through it until they reached its entrance at Golders Green. Tom felt like it had taken them forever and did not know how much further they could go without passing out with exhaustion. He should have felt relief at being above ground in the open air but was not sure if the driver was still pursuing them. Tom had not heard anything but he was not certain.

He dragged Jodie to the left. 'Let's go this way,' he said, now no longer even looking at Jodie. He did not want to go into Golders Green station. For one thing the driver would be able to easily spot and catch them if they went that way; for another he was fed up with not being believed anymore by the authorities and did not want to look a fool again. This was even though he was desperate for some water.

He got behind Jodie and pushed her up the bank. He then pulled her along a fence for a while until he dragged her through a gap he found in it. They emerged onto the car park of the Golders Green Hippodrome, which was next to the tube station.

Tom put his arm around Jodie, who could not even open her eyes, and they walked on a little bit longer until they were on North End Road again. They then fell over exhausted. Tom looked in the direction they had come but there was nothing and no one. He then looked at his watch, as he pulled Jodie to sit alongside him against a wooden fence. It was just after 3.15 a.m.

Tom put his arm around Jodie to comfort her. She looked up at him. 'Is it over? Are we safe?' she whimpered.

But before he could answer, he heard a car coming in their direction. He looked up: it was the police! The car stopped in front of them. Tom began to get up.

'I don't bloody believe it! It's you again!' said the policeman Tom now recognised as the one he saw last Sunday after he had seen Jodie being taken by the creatures.

Chapter Twenty Six

Tom got up with a struggle to greet the policeman. 'Have you got...any...water?

The policeman went back to his car and got Tom a large bottle of mineral water. 'Are you both ok. D'you need any medical treatment?'

'No, we're fine; just a few bumps and bruises' said Tom feeling his head. 'Here Jodie...drink this,' he then said as he gave the bottle to Jodie. After she had finished quenching her thirst she gave it back to Tom, who did the same. He felt much better after this.

'So, what has happened to you two?' asked the policeman, whom Tom could see was looking at and smelling his and Jodie's thirstied, bloodied and dirtied appearances. 'Aren't you the girl who went missing?' he then asked Jodie.

Jodie got up. Tom could see she was also feeling much better after the drink, though she rubbed her head a little where the driver must have hit her.

'Yes, but we haven't got time. We _MUST_ go back to North End station before the driver escapes,' she said to the policeman.

'Driver. What driver?' asked the policeman.

'He was the one who attacked us,' said Tom, who realised that the policeman might now listen to him and return to the station. They could not only capture the driver but also have evidence of the creatures.

'What, he's still there?' asked the policeman.

'Yes,' Jodie and Tom both answered. 'Quick, let's go.'

The policeman opened the door to the back seats of his car, got in the front, and sped back up the hill to North End, which Tom noticed he now knew the location of. As they passed Wellgarth road, the policeman introduced himself and asked them their names. Then he asked, 'So what happened with Harry? Has it got something to do with these "creatures"?'

Tom and Jodie looked at each other as Terry explained how he had read a story about a tube worker claiming to have been kidnapped by some creatures. He then told them how he had found Harry in his car at the top of the hill and that Harry had told him to go after the teenagers who were in danger. He also told them Harry was now in Intensive care in the Royal Free Hospital after suffering a heart attack.

Tom hadn't realised it was the detective who had run over the creatures; how strange was that? He hoped he would survive.

'You'll see what happened when you get to North End,' Tom finally said as he saw they were now approaching the station. 'You didn't believe me before and won't until you see it for yourself.'

'Looks like the detective finally realised I was telling the truth,' Jodie said to Tom. She then said to Terry, 'Maybe you should radio for some extra help; it could be dangerous.'

'No time for that,' said Terry as he parked the car outside the still open gates of North End. He grabbed his torch and they all got out.

Terry led the way, as Tom saw that the door to the station was also still open. He felt safer with the policeman, but was still nervous as he remembered some of the bad things that had happened to him and Jodie here.

They entered the passageway at the top of the stairs and slowly went down into the disused station. They were not particularly noisy but if the driver were in the station, he would probably hear them, thought Tom. Just before they reached the door to the lift engine room, he said to Terry, 'Be careful; he could be in there.'

Terry pushed the half-opened door completely open and searched around for a light. He could not find one and so flashed around his torch for any signs of anything. Tom and Jodie peered nervously into the room themselves but could see nothing. Tom then checked his watch; it was 3.51 a.m. Terry closed the door and they continued walking down the concrete stairs to the final metal ones.

Behind another door to the room Terry had just left, the driver breathed with relief as he got out his bayonet from his bag, which he had not had the time to get out when he first heard them coming down the stairs. He had not thought they would be here as quickly as that. He had entered the lift engine room and then the other, which hardly anyone knew adjoined it.

He had not bothered to chase the teenagers into the tunnel earlier: with his bad leg, he would never have caught them and they may have even overcome him, angry though he was, especially with the girl, who had stabbed him. He had known that the teenagers would get help as soon as they reached Golders Green station and so he felt he should escape.

But then he thought that the teenagers would still need proof of what happened, for the only other person who had seen the creatures was the car driver and he was now dead. The authorities would not believe what happened unless they saw it for themselves and the driver still had time to destroy the proof.

And now as he realised there was only one policeman and just the teenagers, he became a little excited: If I can kill them, I could yet escape from this situation, he thought, as he slowly opened the door and left the lift engine room himself. He was injured and exhausted, but still had a little hope. He had his bayonet in his hand at the ready.

Tom glanced at Jodie as Terry carefully opened the door leading to the last staircase going down to the platforms. He could see her take a deep breath as Terry finally went through it. But there was no one there.

'It was further down where we fought with the creatures,' said Jodie whispering. 'One of their bodies should still be there.'

Terry looked at her in a concerned but sceptical way, thought Tom, as they began to walk down the metal stairs. Tom was at the back, looking around him all the time, now feeling less and less safe as they approached the scene of their final struggle against the creatures. He realised it was possible that the driver had disappeared by now but he had a feeling he was somewhere in the station. They reached the spot but there was no sign of the creature or indeed of any struggle – no blood, nothing.

'Are you sure this is the place?' asked Terry looking around him, as he flashed his torch at the stairs and landing.

Tom and Jodie also looked around. 'Yes,' said Jodie. 'This was definitely it. I remember it being about half way down. She looked up to the large corner step they had just come from and then walked further down. Tom followed quickly after her. But there was nothing there and they came back up to Terry.

'Hang on,' Terry said 'Where's this water come from?'

Tom saw Terry touching the banister and the floor of the spot where Jodie said they had fought.

'The driver!' said Jodie excitedly, no longer whispering. 'He must have washed away all the blood.'

Tom knew she must be right. The driver must also have taken the body away, but surely would not have had time to get rid of the other as well. 'Quick, let's get down to the bottom. The other body of the one that I pushed down the well of the stairs may still be there!' he said, as he began to rush down the stairs. Jodie followed him.

'All right, you two, slow down,' said Terry from behind.

When they got to the bottom of the stairs, they also saw nothing. Terry flashed his torch around, to no avail. They did, however, notice that there was some water here as well.

'He's obviously cleaned up everything,' said Jodie.

'But there's no way he could hide the entrance to the creatures' den in the tunnel,' said Tom. 'Come on let's go there; that's where he's probably taken the bodies to the...cesspit.' This last place Tom remembered only too well but still rushed towards it.

From the top of the metal stairs, the driver heard the teenagers work out what he had done with the creatures' bodies and mess. With an effort because of his injured leg and exhaustion, he had carried the body of the creature on the stairs and the one at the bottom into the tunnel to the creatures' den. He had felt a little depressed as he did this: the creatures had been the only life he really had and North End had been his second home – what would he do now? he had wondered.

He left their bodies just inside the entrance to the tunnels leading to their den; he knew he had to be as quick as possible, which was difficult as he tried to catch his breath. He then got a bucket of water from the disused toilet at the bottom of the stairs to the platforms and washed away all the blood he could see on the stairs and at the bottom.

Down below, he could now hear the teenagers and the policeman at the bottom of the stairs, presumably going down to the platforms.

The driver was not sure what he should do now and hesitated a while. He knew that if he followed after them, they might return while he was on the stairs. He would probably not be able to ambush them successfully on the stairs if they did this. Moreover, they would certainly hear his walking back up the stairs if they did return while he was there. He also realised that he should save his little remaining energy for when he could confront them successfully.

He could still hear the distant echoes of their speaking below but could not make out what they were saying. He wanted to know if they had found the creatures' bodies. He was also listening for any noises above showing if anyone else was coming from there. His nerves were almost finished but his adrenalin was pumping through his body. He tried to force all thoughts except how he could ambush them out of his head, while he continued to wait at the top of the stairs.

Chapter Twenty Seven

Tom looked behind to see Terry following after him and Jodie. But he could see from his face that he no longer seemed as keen as he was to be in North End. He was also looking at his watch. Tom himself felt tired and his head was pounding a little but his adrenalin kept him going, probably like Jodie, he thought.

They approached the Control room and Terry insisted on trying to open its door but it was locked, like before. They then walked over the bridge that led to the disused platforms. They checked both until Tom showed Terry the tunnel where the creatures' den was.

Just as Tom was about to descend into it, Terry stopped him. 'look, kid, I do believe something has happened to you two tonight, not only because Harry told me you were in danger but also because of your appearances. I still don't know what did happen, but anyway it's obvious to me that this "driver" is not here anymore. And so there's no bloody way I'm going into a rat infested tunnel to waste my time trying to look for him.'

'But, we can show you the creatures' den and the prison where I was held near the death pit,' Jodie implored. 'Then you'll—-'

'No, no.' said Terry. 'Look I've had enough. I'll take you home and you can come to the station to make your statements tomorrow. Come on, both your parents must be worried, especially yours.' He looked at Jodie before moving in the direction of the stairs to the emergency exit.

But Tom was not happy. 'We can't go now; there's proof down there. Come on, we're tired as well but we've got to see this through to the end.'

'Tomorrow!' Terry said, obviously very irritated, with his back to them.

Tom knew from his previous experience with Terry that there was not much point in arguing, besides which he no longer had the energy to do this. He then remembered the long walk up the stairs and his heart sank even further.

He took Jodie's hand and reluctantly followed after Terry. Tom was exhausted as he walked up the long stairs, again pulling Jodie. When they got to the large corner step where they had fought the creatures successfully, they rested. Jodie was almost asleep. Terry was also very tired, Tom could see.

He then thought he had to try one last time to change his mind. 'Look, if we go now, the driver may get rid of the evidence in the creatures' den. You said yourself that you'd read in the local newspaper about someone else having encountered the creatures, so it's not just me and Jodie who say they exist. And what about the detective, Harry? He ran over two of them.'

'All this can be done tomorrow,' said Terry, 'after you've made your statements.' He got up. 'Now, come on. It's late and I've had a long eventful night.'

That makes three of us thought Tom as he accepted defeat. He helped Jodie up, and they then ascended the rest of the stairs.

The driver had forced himself to wait a little longer and was rewarded when the teenagers and the policeman walked up the long staircase again and then rest. The creatures' den not being discovered and the teenagers' having to make a statement gave him a little hope: it seemed the police still did not believe the teenagers' story. He knew he had done the right thing with his hiding the bodies of the creatures and cleaning up the blood.

He ascended the concrete stairs away from the teenagers and the policeman to the lift engine room, where he intended to ambush them.

As Terry, Tom, and Jodie approached the door to the engine room, Terry said, 'That's strange; I could have sworn I closed this door.'

Tom became scared and looked around him. He also got closer to Jodie, while they all looked into the room again. This time, Terry found the light switch, which he turned on, much to the relief of Tom, who could now see there was no one in the room.

But Terry said, 'Hang on. What's this?' as he walked towards what Tom could now see was another door in the room. This one was closed. Terry opened it and entered it.

Tom became tense and got in front of Jodie. Terry seemed to take ages in the room and Tom's eyes darted around him.

'Nothing here,' Terry said as he eventually emerged from the small room.

Hell, Tom thought, he could sleep for a week after all this mental and physical stress. They all then walked up the stairs to the exit. When they were outside the surface building, Terry closed its door. They then left the fenced off area. 'I'll call the British transport police before I finish my shift to get these gates locked,' he said, as he closed them with Tom's help.

After this Terry took Jodie home, much to the relief of her poor parents, thought Tom. Terry then dropped him off at his house. 'Come to the station tomorrow,' said Terry. 'I'll leave a message for Harry's colleague, Sarah. Take care.' He then drove off.

Tom opened his door and quickly went straight upstairs to bed. It was 5.56 a.m.

The driver had decided not to ambush the teenagers and the policeman. He had begun to have doubts about doing this as he had walked up the stairs to the lift engine room. Even if he succeeded in killing the policeman and teenagers, he would have to dispose of their bodies in the creatures' den. He would also have to destroy the den. How could he achieve these things in his current physical state in the time he had? The police would obviously do a search of the station when the policeman failed to return to his car.

Furthermore, while he was intrigued by the creatures' apparently having attacked someone else \- he had thought they seemed a little shifty when he visited them after work yesterday - he also realised that this added to the case against him. This would also be helped by the person who had run over the creatures being a detective, who could still be alive – what coincidence was this he wondered, as he remembered the car driver staring transfixed, like he was dead? No, he thought, even without the teenagers and the policeman, it was only a matter of time before the authorities knew what had been going on.

Chapter Twenty Eight

Tom woke up to the sound of his phone ringing downstairs. He quickly got up and rushed towards it. As he went down the stairs he could feel his body aching and he almost stumbled in his just-woken-up state. He quickly picked up the phone in his sitting room: it was Jodie, which made him feel better straightway.

'What, not awake yet, sleepyhead?' asked Jodie.

Tom liked the way she called him this. 'What's the time?'

'Oh, not too late, only twenty-past-eleven in the morning. Yes, I know it's early and believe me I'm bloody tired myself – my body feels like it's been run over by a big truck and my head still hurts – but my mum got me up. After I told my parents last night the police wanted us to make a statement today they insisted I do so as soon as possible. My dad even tried to wake me up at 8.30 a.m. would you believe?

Anyway, I thought we could go together; otherwise, my mum will insist on coming with me. What d'you think?' Jodie finished.

Tom's tired brain was still waking up. 'Yes, of course, we'll go together. It'll be safer this way, just in case the driver has managed to find out where you live. I tell you what I'll pick you up at your house in about an hour.'

'Oh, you really are my hero,' said Jodie. 'All right then, I'll tell my mum you're coming round. She's never met one of my boyfriends before. See you later.'

Tom felt extremely happy when she said this. He knew it was strange for him to do so in the circumstances he and Jodie were in but the thought that she considered him to be one of her 'boyfriends' made him wake up very quickly with some positive energy. As he had a shower and got ready, however, he felt a little negative about the 'one of...' What was it about girls: they always messed with your mind, he thought.

He met her just under an hour later at 12.15 p.m. and after being introduced to her mother, who told him to make sure she returned before 6 p.m., he left with Jodie to go to Brent Cross Tube station. He would have gladly got a bus, but Jodie insisted they go by tube to Golders Green, to exorcise their fear of the tube.

They pulled into one of the southbound platforms of Golders Green tube station at 1.05 p.m. There were not many people around at the station at this time, as they got off the tube and walked towards the exit stairs.

But as they got closer to them, Tom thought he could make out a familiar figure coming towards them. No, no, he couldn't believe it. He got in front of Jodie to protect her. It was the driver!

Earlier that morning, the driver had been out of breath as he went through the gates to North End and towards the woods leading to Highgate, where he lived; he had wanted to avoid all the roads he could in case he was seen. His leg was throbbing with pain but he forced himself to move forwards in the damp night.

There he remembered having heard something the previous morning about the creature attack on a tube worker while he had been changing tubes at Golders Green. But he had been so absorbed in his plans for the teenagers that it did not register. Hell, nothing was going right for him at the moment.

As he continued his journey through the dark and wet woodland, he felt sad and lonely. His only friends in the world, the creatures, were now gone and the authorities would soon discover what had gone on.

He would also soon lose the only job he had ever done and liked – this, even though his colleagues had given him a hard time because he was a little different. These colleagues would love it when they discovered what he had been up to; 'tube rat' and his creature friends would provide them with much entertainment for years to come, he thought bitterly, as images of their making fun of him and laughing came into his head.

He also realised that he could go to prison for a long time for what he had done. This filled him with dread.

Why oh why had he kidnapped the girl for the creatures in the first place? he asked himself. He had known that she as a young person would mean more attention. Damn, he had been stupid. And the boy! He should have gone after him when he recognised him from the creatures' description at Golders Green; just as he should have killed the teenagers sooner or allowed the creatures to do so. Yes, it would have been messy, but he could have cleaned it up – as he had just done with the creatures.

Why did nothing go right for him in life? he wondered, now feeling completely depressed. Not only was he a little strange-looking but good things never seemed to happen to him. He did not deserve such bad luck. Ok, so he was not the best person in the world in terms of his morals; he had been involved with many deaths with the creatures. But these people were mostly looking for death anyway, being alcoholics and down-and-outs. Anyway, which humans were completely good? Certainly not his work colleagues who mostly made fun of him and ignored him; likewise other people, who gave him funny looks all the time. No, he was not the worst person in the world, he felt, as he finally reached his flat.

Before he went to sleep, he checked on the internet about the creature attack story in the local newspaper. Bloody hell, he thought, as he read about Micky Ford's account, it really was over now. This made him even more depressed as he went to his bedroom. On the way, he noticed the picture of his now dead mother, which he had on his mantelpiece - the only other person who had had any time for him apart from the creatures.

When he got to bed, he fell straight to sleep in his clothes; so tired was he that he did not care if the police did come to arrest him.

But a few hours later he woke up and could not get to sleep again, even though he was still very tired. The pain in his leg had eased, though it was now quite stiff, but this did not prevent him from fidgeting to try to find a comfortable position to sleep again. Eventually, he decided it was pointless trying to do this and that there was only one thing he could now do. He felt very depressed and lonely about it but knew he had no choice. He checked the time: it was 12.02 p.m.

Just over an hour later, the tube he was on pulled into Golders Green tube station. He got off it, ignoring, as he usually did, the funny looks he got from others. He knew he now looked worse than he usually did, for he had not washed or shaved or even changed his dirtied and bloodied clothes. Don't worry; not long now, he said to himself, as he walked down the stairs to the southbound platforms, where it would be easier to do what he wanted.

As he reached the top of the southbound platform stairs, he almost fell back with shock: it was the teenagers – the damned teenagers who had been responsible for destroying the only life he had!

Then he calmed down a little. Maybe, this is not such a bad thing, he thought; he could get some kind of revenge on them as well, after all. He walked towards them, staring with ill intent.

Tom knew he had no weapon on him but got ready to defend himself and Jodie against the driver. But she moved alongside Tom, even though she was obviously just as scared as he – and looked it. He then heard a southbound tube about to pull in.

The driver noted Tom and Jodie's fear with some satisfaction: he might be a freak but he still had the power to scare people. He then turned towards the fast approaching tube, whose driver he now spotted as one of his main tormentors, who would do for his purpose.

He had known what effect he was about to do would have on his fellow drivers; some gave up the job because of it, some took weeks off as a result of it - but all were affected badly by it. Ok, it would not be the perfect revenge on this so-called normal human being, he thought; only the creatures could have done that for him. But it would be some kind of punishment on him as well as the interfering teenagers now. In any event, there was no way he was going to rot in prison for the rest of his life while being the object of ridicule.

The driver then had one last look at the teenagers before smiling leerily and running and jumping in front of the oncoming tube.

Tom saw the tube hit the driver, who then fell under it. Some of the passengers on the platform screamed. There was blood on the front of the tube and then some more spurted upwards from the tracks as the tube screeched slowly to a halt. Its driver looked red-faced and tense, obviously in shock.

Tom experienced the whole thing in slow motion and felt as if his stomach was in his mouth. But he quickly recovered himself and held on to Jodie, who seemed equally affected. He then sank down with her onto a nearby bench, still not exactly believing what had happened, even after all the events they had experienced in the last week.

He found himself holding Jodie's hand. 'It's unbelievable.' He looked at her and then the halted tube.

'At least it's finally over, Tom,' Jodie said. 'He was the last one.' She seemed a lot calmer than him, thought Tom, as she stared at him. Tom then hugged her, no longer bothering about the increasing pandemonium around them; only concerned about finding comfort and giving some in return.

Chapter Twenty Nine

Tom checked his watch: it was 7.20 p.m. on Saturday evening, a week after the driver had committed suicide. He was outside Belsize Park tube station. It was dark but dry and not very cold, as Tom looked at all the passengers emerging from underground. Why was she so late? he wondered, getting a little worried.

As he continued to wait, he put this question out of his head and went over all the events since he had last visited this tube station on his way home from work nearly two weeks ago. He wondered if this horror story had really happened. I mean, he thought, was it possible that he had seen Jodie being taken down a tunnel in the disused station of North End by some dark creatures - creatures that kidnapped and ate tube passengers late at night, aided and abetted by a tube driver? And did he really rescue her and with her put an end to them and their helper? It was just too crazy to believe.

But Tom knew that it had happened and he had the scars both mental and physical to prove it. Now, however, he wondered if this horror story was really over. Firstly, there was the evacuation of Golders Green station after the driver's gory end – Tom still could not get the driver's final leery smile out of his head before he jumped in front of a tube and fell into the appropriately named suicide pit.

Then he and Jodie had given their full statements to an increasingly sceptical female detective called Sarah at Golders Green police station. She had eventually let them go, almost with relief Tom had felt, saying the police would be in touch.

Next, later in the week on Tuesday, a Detective Inspector had contacted them both and interviewed them again with another senior-looking colleague. He told them that they must not tell anyone else about what had happened, especially the media, or the police would be forced to act against them on possible murder charges.

This scared them a little but they had no intention of telling anyone else in any event, as people would think they were crazy. Jodie had not even told her friends or parents and Tom had no intention of saying anything to his mother, who was due to return home tomorrow from Essex. One piece of good news the Detective inspector did tell them about was that Detective sergeant Harry Edwards was out of intensive care and would recover.

After this, Tom was a little distressed that Jodie had not contacted him for a couple of days, but then on Thursday she phoned him, suggesting they meet at his restaurant on Saturday to celebrate their nearly-two-weeks anniversary of meeting each other.

He had not wanted to go there to eat: after all it was his job and he was due to return to work there Sunday night. But it was only right, she had said, that they should meet in the restaurant where it 'kind of all began' for their first proper date. 'Proper date' Tom had recited to himself as he put the phone down – yes, he had a proper date with his first girlfriend!

And now as he saw Jodie eventually emerge from the station – only half 'n hour late, he thought sardonically - he was very happy to see her looking extremely attractive with her short blonde hair spiked up with plenty of makeup and an unseasonal short skirt. And now, as she kissed him on the lips, he knew that this horror story was definitely over...

Later that night in a disused tube station not too far away from Belsize Park, the old man who had had too much to drink that evening before waiting to get a bus home woke up - or was he still in a dream? Several strange-looking creatures with skinny bodies, large eyes, and wispy hair were carrying him down into a tube tunnel.

No, he was definitely dreaming, he thought to himself as he went back to his semi-comatose state. Hell, he thought, before he finally passed out again, he had to give up drinking one day - before it killed him.

