Heart of Stone / Death Riders Page 3

‘Be even better when the Death Ride opens,’ Harby told them. ‘Won’t be long now. If they can get the health and safety stuff sorted.’

  ‘Yes,’ the Doctor agreed. ‘Health and safety do tend to look a bit more closely at anything that has a title including the word “ride”.’

  Harby explained in excited tones, helped by a few interruptions from Vosh, that the Death Ride was a roller coaster that the Galactic Fair set up wherever they went. They built it into the landscape – or in this case into the tunnels. ‘Must come in prefabricated sections that can be adapted to each location,’ Rory said.

  ‘They have all this track,’ Vosh said. ‘And, like, ramps and jumps and stuff.’

  Harby nodded excitedly. ‘They’re using the steep tunnels, and even drilling through to other levels so they can do the bumps and drops. The best tunnels for that are all Off-Limits though. But they’re using tunnels close to Off-Limits when they can.’

  ‘So why are some tunnels off-limits?’ Amy wanted to know. ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘They’re dangerous,’ Harby explained. ‘Not properly held up, or so old and worked out they might collapse. We’re not allowed in them. No one is, except for inspection.’

  They talked a bit longer, but the two boys were obviously getting keen to return to the fair. The sideshows had reopened and the stalls were doing brisk business. When the jugglers returned from their break and asked if the Doctor, Rory and Amy would please get off their stage, the boys said their goodbyes and hurried away.

  ‘I can juggle,’ the Doctor protested as he jumped down from the stage. ‘Balls, skittles, plates, sonic screwdrivers. I can juggle anything.’

  ‘Really?’ one of the jugglers asked. He sounded genuinely interested – like he was about to ask the Doctor to prove it.

  ‘Really,’ the Doctor insisted. ‘But quite busy just now, actually. Maybe another time.’

  After stopping several people to get directions, they were soon heading out of the fairground cavern and off down one of the tunnels.

  ‘Hey, you know what?’ Amy said. ‘I think I’ll stay here and look round a bit more. Maybe I can find out about the man who died. What sort of accident he had – if it was an accident.’

  ‘You’re not interested in the Death Ride?’ the Doctor asked, disappointed.

  ‘From what those kids said, it’ll be like Rory setting up his train set. Only bigger.’

  ‘What’s wrong with that?’ Rory asked. ‘You often used to watch me setting up my train set.’

  ‘Not through choice.’ Amy said.

  ‘I thought you enjoyed it.’

  ‘I was bored almost to tears.’

  Rory was aghast. ‘You never said.’

  ‘Well, I’m saying now. Train sets are for boys. Girls find them boring. I only stayed so you’d agree to come shopping in Gloucester.’

  ‘Children!’ the Doctor warned, grinning. ‘Right then, Amy can stay here and investigate the poor dead Rodge. Rory and I are going to see how building the great big dangerous train set is going. Agreed?’

  On their way to the tunnels where the Death Ride was being set up, the Doctor and Rory passed through part of the mining community. Rory was amazed at how the people lived. There were wooden buildings set up within the wider tunnels, fixed to the tunnel walls. It was like a Wild West frontier town, but underground.

  More surprising and impressive was that some of the buildings were actually cut into the rock walls of the tunnels. The front of a house, complete with windows and door, turned out to be made of rock – actually carved into the side of the tunnel. Behind it, the Doctor explained, a whole house would have been excavated, hacked out of the asteroid. That would have been a huge achievement in its own right – but the house was just the first of a whole tunnel-street of buildings.

  ‘They’ve been here for a while,’ the Doctor said. ‘You humans get everywhere.’

  ‘I wouldn’t want to live here,’ Rory decided. ‘Never seeing sunlight, always underground. Everyone is so pale and there’s dust everywhere. What if you were allergic to it? You’d be sneezing all the time.’

  ‘Like everything, it depends what you’re used to, what you know. These people don’t know any other life. They probably think you’re weird for wanting to look at an empty sky and spend time in bright light without a reassuring roof over your head, even when you’re outdoors.’

  ‘I suppose,’ Rory said. But he wasn’t convinced.

  They could hear that they were approaching the work on the Death Ride. The clank of metal on metal and the rumble of the machinery echoed along the tunnel. They turned into yet another wide tunnel, and Rory could see a huge mesh of scaffolding rising up almost to the high roof.

  Several men and women were manoeuvring metal rails into position on top of the scaffolding, which was shaped like an enormous ‘S’ lying on its side. The rails they had already positioned plunged down through a large, dark hole in the tunnel floor. The sound of more machinery came from the lower level.

  Robot vehicles moved back and forth, bringing more scaffolding and rails. Everything was being supervised by a man wearing what looked like a circus ringmaster’s uniform, complete with top hat.

  ‘That’ll be the Fat Controller,’ Rory said.

  ‘He doesn’t look fat to me,’ the Doctor said. ‘I think it’s more likely to be the supervisor who sets up the Death Ride wherever the Galactic Fair goes.’

  ‘Sort of what I meant, actually,’ Rory told him.

  A woman with her hair tied back in a ponytail and wearing the usual overalls of the local inhabitants came over to ask the Doctor and Rory what they were doing. She seemed happy enough to let them watch the work.

  ‘Lots of the children wanted to watch when we started,’ she told them. ‘We had to make sure they didn’t get in the way. But the novelty has worn off now. They’ll be back as soon as the Death Ride opens.’

  ‘And when will that be?’ Rory asked.

  ‘Very soon, I hope. This is the nearly the last section.’

  ‘I was talking to someone earlier,’ the Doctor said, ‘who mentioned that the ride was supposed to go through some of the Off-Limits tunnels. Is that right?’

  The woman pulled a face. ‘That was the plan. It sort of fell through, though. But the Galactic Fair’s Ride Master is still hoping we can get permission. That’s him over there.’ She pointed to the man in the ringmaster’s outfit.

  ‘And will you?’ Rory asked.

  ‘In my opinion? No chance. We’ve already got a replacement section planned that goes through the On-Limits section close by. It won’t be as exciting, as it’s not nearly so dark, and we can’t get quite the same depth of plunge.’

  ‘Shame,’ Rory said, rather unconvincingly.

  ‘So it’ll soon be ready, then?’ the Doctor said. ‘Tickets available, trains leaving, kids screaming sort of thing?’

  ‘Dicing with death on the highway to hell,’ Rory added.

  ‘We can’t wait, can we, Rory?’

  Rory was about to disagree, but the woman said, ‘I’d better get back. We’re bringing in the last few sections of track now. I want to get them in position before Perpetual Pete turns up and gives us more grief.’

  ‘Perpetual Pete?’ the Doctor asked.

  ‘He’s responsible for the safety of the mine. He’s the one who won’t let us go Off-Limits, even though Rodge said he was sure the tunnel we wanted to use was safe enough.’

  ‘Rodge,’ Rory remembered the name. ‘Isn’t he the man who died?’

  ‘That’s right. He was surveying the tunnel, although Pete told him he wasn’t to go down there.’

  ‘And that’s where he died?’

  ‘No. Like I said, that tunnel’s safe. He was on his way back to file his report. Took a short cut through another Off-Limits. One that obviously wasn’t safe. Perpetual Pete found the body.’

  ‘Why’s he called Perpetual Pete?’ Rory asked, hoping he wasn’t going to get another smart reply like he had from Clueles
s the Clown.

  But the woman didn’t seem interested in being funny. She wiped a grimy hand across her face and stifled a yawn. ‘Because he’s been here forever.’

  ‘I think we should talk to this Perpetual Pete,’ the Doctor said, watching the woman walk back to the scaffolding. ‘As you and I both know, “forever” is a very long time.’

  CHAPTER 6

  PERPETUAL PETE

  They spent a few minutes talking to some of the other people working on the Death Ride. The Doctor was interested to find out all he could about Perpetual Pete.

  ‘If he’s warning people away from the tunnels where poor Rodge died, maybe he knows more than he’s saying.’

  ‘Or,’ Rory pointed out, ‘it could be that he’s warning people away from a dangerous tunnel where people have died because – get this – it’s dangerous.’

  The Doctor considered. ‘Could be,’ he admitted, but quickly went on: ‘But we can’t just guess without finding out the facts. Got to dot our Ts and cross our Is. No, Rory, not cross our eyes – stop that, really.’

  An older man with a clipboard entered from a side tunnel. He looked annoyed, muttering and shaking his head as he checked his clipboard.

  ‘Looks like a jobsworth,’ Rory told the Doctor. ‘I just bet that’s Perpetual Pete.’

  ‘Could be. Let’s find out.’

  The Doctor hurried over to the man. He stood on tiptoes to try to lean over and read what was on the clipboard. The man looked up slowly, frowning. The Doctor smiled and took a step backwards.

  ‘Not good?’ he asked.

  The man shook his head again. ‘Not good.’

  Rory joined them.

  ‘It’s not good,’ the Doctor told him solemnly.

  ‘Not good,’ Rory echoed. ‘Right.’

  ‘Perpetual Pete?’ the Doctor asked.

  ‘Absolutely,’ the man agreed. ‘Who else?’ He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder, pointing back along the tunnel he’d just come down.

  ‘Need a lift?’ the Doctor asked. ‘Or what?’

  ‘What?’ the man responded, puzzled.

  ‘Perpetual Pete,’ Rory started.

  ‘Back there,’ the man interrupted.

  ‘What?’ Rory said.

  ‘Don’t you start,’ the Doctor muttered.

  ‘Perpetual Pete,’ the man said, ‘is back there. He’s insisting that the linkages be checked again. For about the thousandth time. And he’s still not happy about the track going through that Off-Limits section of Green Nine. I’ve told him … ’ the man said, nodding this time. ‘Told him a hundred times.’

  ‘A hundred?’ the Doctor sounded impressed.

  ‘At least.’

  ‘We need to see Perpetual Pete. Down here, you say?’

  The man didn’t answer. He was making his way across to the scaffolding, still checking papers on his clipboard and shaking his head.

  ‘Tell you what,’ the Doctor said to Rory, ‘you stay here and find out all you can about this Perpetual Pete. I’ll go and talk to him.’

  ‘Can’t I come and talk to him too?’ Rory asked.

  The Doctor tilted his head to one side, looking at Rory with what might have been pity. ‘And frighten the poor old man? You ask around here, and I’ll go and talk to him. I bet he’s lovely really. Just misunderstood.’

  The Doctor strode off down the tunnel, hands in his pockets, as if he hadn’t a care in the universe.

  ‘I’m lovely really,’ Rory said to the Doctor’s back. ‘Just misunderstood.’

  The Doctor removed one hand from his pocket and waved. He didn’t turn round. Rory watched him disappear into the distance, then sighed and looked for the man with the clipboard.

  It was easy to spot Perpetual Pete. Apart from the fact that he looked like someone who was checking ‘linkages’ – whatever they were – he was also by far the oldest person the Doctor had seen since he arrived.

  He was dressed much like the other citizens of Stanalan, in plain overalls with lots of useful pockets. The Doctor didn’t like the dull grey colour much, but he envied the number of pockets. Pete was not a tall man. He looked stooped and slightly shrunken within his skin so that it no longer quite fit. His face was lined and sagging, and his straggly white beard had more hair in it than was left on the man’s pale skull.

  ‘Perpetual Pete, I assume.’ The Doctor held out his hand.

  ‘More complaints and interruptions, I assume.’ Perpetual Pete ignored the gesture.

  He was intent on a device about the size and shape of a large TV remote control. It had a small screen set into the top half and buttons below. The Doctor peered over the old man’s shoulder at the device. Pete turned slowly to see what the Doctor was doing, and the Doctor caught a whiff of sour breath. Actually, now he was close to the man, there was a definite niff coming from his whole body. The Doctor took a step back, wondering if there was such a thing as ‘up-wind’ in the tunnels.

  ‘Checking the linkages, I see,’ the Doctor said brightly.

  Pete’s already small, sunken eyes narrowed still further. ‘What do you know about it?’

  ‘Nothing at all. I mean, excuse me for asking, but what are these linkages you’re checking?’

  Pete gave a snort of mocking laughter. A string of spittle dribbled from the corner of his mouth and caught in his beard. ‘You must be new here. Or stupid.’

  ‘New – definitely new. And I was just asking. It’s the only way to learn. I mean,’ the Doctor went on, ‘I assume that as there are no pit props, there must be some form of reinforcement to prevent the tunnels collapsing. There’s no obvious forceshield, so it’s probably a molecular bond that’s woven into the top layer of rock when the tunnels are drilled out. The fluripsent light crystals are probably built into that same layer. So, is it molecular linkages you’re checking on?’

  Pete nodded. ‘Top of the class, lad.’ He turned away.

  ‘So why do they need checking?’ the Doctor wondered. ‘Unless – ah! Do they become unstable over time? Molecular decay. But that would take … ’ He counted rapidly on the fingers of both hands, several times. ‘These tunnels must be very old,’ he decided.

  ‘Some of them. The older ones are off-limits until I’ve checked them.’

  ‘Well, quite right. You wouldn’t want people wandering about if the roof’s going to fall in.’

  Pete gave the Doctor a look that suggested this was more than obvious.

  ‘Wouldn’t want a Death Ride rollercoaster going through them either, I’d guess.’

  ‘Is that why you’re here?’ Pete demanded suspiciously. ‘You one of the fair people, come to ask about Green Nine again? Because the answer’s still no.’

  The Doctor held up his hands in mock surrender. ‘Not me, no siree. I’m not any sort of people. But if this Green Nine section is unstable, can’t you just realign the molecules and re-bond the membrane? I assume that’s what you do when the linkages break down.’

  ‘You know all about it then, do you?’

  The Doctor just smiled.

  ‘Well, Mr Clever … ’

  ‘It’s Doctor, not Mr,’ the Doctor told him. He smiled again. ‘Doctor Clever.’

  ‘Well, whoever you are, if it was just a case of the linkages, then yes, we could go to the expense and trouble and hassle of re-bonding the tunnel. It would take longer than they can wait, but we could. But unless we’re now going to check the Off-Limits for oxygen seepage, pressure leaks, toxic gas incursion, structural instability and a hundred other things that can go wrong with a tunnel, there’d be no point really. Would there?’

  The Doctor nodded. ‘Suppose not. Fair point, actually. Good point even. So, these Off-Limits places, they’re tunnels that aren’t needed any more, and so they just get minimum maintenance and you check they’re not going to destabilise the rest of the asteroid, but otherwise don’t bother to keep them too safe? Hence “Off-Limits” because no one’s allowed down there except, I assume, for you. To do your checking.’

&
nbsp; ‘Absolutely right. So how about you let me get on with it?’

  ‘Sure thing. Absolutely. Only … ’

  Perpetual Pete sighed. ‘What?’ he asked with forced patience.

  ‘Only, how come poor dead Rodge was found in an Off-Limits tunnel if no one’s allowed down there?’

  ‘Rules don’t stop people being stupid.’

  ‘And if the tunnel was unstable and he died in a rockfall, or from lack of oxygen, or toxic gas… How come his body was ripped to pieces?’

  ‘Is that what they’re saying?’

  ‘You found his body,’ the Doctor said quietly. ‘What are you saying?’

  ‘My job’s to keep the main tunnels safe, and warn people which sections are Off-Limits. I’m saying he shouldn’t have been down there. I’m saying it doesn’t matter how he died, it just goes to show that off-limits means off-limits. I’m saying that sending a fairground ride close to areas that are Off-Limits is dangerous and irresponsible and if someone pays me to do a job they should listen to my advice.’

  The Doctor nodded. ‘Doesn’t answer my question, but all very reasonable. Who does pay you to do the job by the way? Just out of interest.’

  ‘He’s paid by the company,’ the man with the clipboard said. His name, he’d told Rory, was Korl. ‘Perpetual Pete is the Health and Safety Executive. Every mine has to have one. Usually they only stay for a few months before they transfer out. It’s a boring and unrewarding job that new recruits do before being promoted to management roles.’

  ‘But not Perpetual Pete?’

  ‘He’s been here longer than I have. Hence his nickname.’

  ‘And how long have you been here?’

  Korl laughed. ‘I was born here.’ His laughter died away. ‘Funny,’ he said. ‘I never thought about it, but I’m one of the most senior miners now, and Pete’s been old for as long as I can remember. Maybe we should call him “Ancient Pete.” ’

  Rory didn’t think he’d find out much more, and Korl had work to do. Perpetual Pete evidently kept himself very much to himself. Aside from the mystery of just how long he’d been here and how old he was, he wasn’t a very popular person. The miners generally felt he was too strict in his safety rulings and tended to keep tunnels Off-Limits when there was no real need – tunnels that could make things easier for the miners if they were opened again. And he was smelly.