Tunnels 06 - Terminal

heard a single vehicle come this way for weeks now.’
    Will nodded. ‘It’s a long story.’
    The man glanced past Will to look out through the windows into the garden. ‘Well, if you’re not intending to go back out there while it’s light – which would be a very fast way to get yourselves killed – I suggest you both follow me.’
    The man didn’t wait for a response as he walked straight past Elliott and left the kitchen, heading for a room towards the front of the house. Here he went over to a heavy tapestry on the wall behind a large dining table and lifted one corner to reveal the door hidden there. ‘Welcome to my lair,’ he said.
    Once Will and Elliott were down the steps, the man swung the thick metal door shut behind them, bolting it at the top and bottom. Switching on his torch, he then escorted them along a corridor, pointing at the various doors that led from it. ‘Cinema, wine cellar, and this is the bathroom. There’s been no electricity or gas for a month now, but the water seems to still be on.’
    He stopped beside a substantial door and slapped it with the palm of his hand. ‘And this is the panic room.’
    ‘What’s that?’ Elliott asked quickly.
    ‘It’s a safe room where you can lock yourself away in an emergency. I had it installed for my family after there was an armed robbery at a neighbour’s.’ The man was silent for a moment, as a shadow passed over his face. ‘I’m telling you about it because along with a telephone line direct to the police station, it had full access to the house CCTV system. And before the power went off for the last time, I was able to watch what was happening in the street …’
    ‘So what did you see?’ Will asked.
    The man shook his head. ‘There were things – I can’t really describe them – moving in the road, but it wasn’t so much what I saw, but what I heard that night. The screaming and the cries for help.’ He looked down at his feet. ‘It was terrible.’
    Then the man seemed to pull himself together as he continued along the corridor. ‘Anyway, these are a couple of storage rooms where I’ve stashed all the food, and this is where I’ve been living,’ he said, playing his torch on the double doors before swinging them open. ‘The games room.’
    ‘Cool,’ Will whispered as they entered. Lit by a paraffin lamp hissing away on a table in the centre, the room was almost the size of a basketball court.
    ‘This was an indulgence for my kids,’ the man said.
    At one end of the room stood a table tennis table and a large television with some video consoles. The other half of the room was less cluttered, with a bed pushed into the corner and several crates of clothes and books. ‘Amazing. So has this always been here?’ Will asked.
    The man shook his head. ‘I had the basement dug outwhen my family were still living here. He indicated the vents above their heads. ‘Although there’s been no electricity for the fans, fresh air still comes in through those.’ He indicated the ceiling with both hands. ‘You see, where we’re standing right now, we’re directly beneath the garden.’ Then he looked around the room. ‘When I heard all the screaming in the road, I’m ashamed to admit I ran straight down here. And I’ve been hiding here ever since.’
    ‘I don’t blame you,’ Will said.
    The man glanced in the direction of a radio beside the unmade bed. ‘I thought I’d wait for some news before I ventured outside, but all I can get are European stations, and they don’t seem to have any idea about what’s going on here in the UK.’ He removed the clothes from a couple of chairs for Will and Elliott, then perched on the edge of the bed as he continued to talk.
    The man’s name was David, and it was obvious that he was grateful for some company. He said he lived alone at the house as his wife had left him, taking the children with her. ‘They went six months ago, and I suppose I haven’t been out of the house much since. But when I—’
    ‘What’s this?’ Will interrupted him. He’d begun to wander around the room and had spotted an ancient-looking map in a frame on the wall. ‘ Bishops Wood ,’ he said, squinting at the name written across an area of woodland. Because the legend was Bifhops with an f instead of the first s , Will knew from what Dr Burrows had told him that it had to be several centuries old. ‘That’s interesting. We’re in Bishopswood Road, aren’t we?’
    ‘Yes, the name