“Is it because of your illness?”
“Yes and no.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It’s actually the treatment that did this.”
“The treatment?!” Tom couldn’t believe it. If the treatment did this, then what did the illness do? “But you are going to get better, though?”
The girl shrugged. “I don’t know.” Then she quickly changed the subject. “Do you think you will ever recover from a cricket ball hitting you on the head?!”
Tom chuckled. “I hope not. If I do, then I have to go back to school.”
“I wish I could go back to school.”
“What?” The boy had never heard another child say such a thing.
“I have been in this place for months now. I miss my school. Even the horrible teachers.”
Even though Tom had only just met Sally, it was as if he was talking to an old friend. Then the boy realised he had to leave right now if he was to have a chance of catching up with the others. “I have to go.”
“And you definitely aren’t going to take me?”
Tom looked at Sally. She looked too unwell to get out of bed, let alone go on some crazy adventure. Tom felt guilty to be leaving her behind, but he felt he had no choice.
“Maybe next time,” lied the boy.
Sally smiled. “Look, Tom, I understand. The others have never invited me. You go. But I want you to promise me something.”
“What?” he asked.
“I want you to tell me all about the night’s adventure when you get back.”
“I will,” he said.
“Promise?”
“Promise.” Tom looked Sally right in the eyes as he said it. He really didn’t want to let his new friend down.
Then the boy pushed open the heavy swing doors. Light spilled in from the corridor. Just before he disappeared from sight Sally said, “I hope it’s an awfully big adventure.”
He smiled at the girl before he pushed the doors open and was swallowed up by the light.
Pacing down the brightly lit corridor outside the children’s ward, it suddenly occurred to Tom that he had absolutely no idea where he was going. His new friend Sally had delayed him somewhat, and now the other three children were long gone.
What’s more, LORD FUNT HOSPITAL was a spooky place after dark. Distant sounds echoed down the long corridors. The building was tall and wide. There were forty-four floors of wards and operating rooms. There was everything from rooms for delivering babies to a mortuary where people were taken after they died. The hospital was home to hundreds of patients, and nearly as many staff. At midnight all the patients should be fast asleep, but there would still be night staff, including cleaners and security guards, roaming the corridors. If Tom was discovered out of his bed, he would be in big trouble. What’s more, he was wearing a pink, frilly nightdress. If anyone was to see him, he would have some serious explaining to do.
Tom looked to the direction signs on the wall, which weren’t much help as letters had fallen off.
ENTRANCE & EXIT had become N IT.
ACCIDENT & EMERGENCY was now CIDE R.
RECEPTION read simply P O.
SURGERY now read SU ER.
RADIOLOGY had become RAD LOG, whatever that was.
ADMINISTRATION was now MIN T.
THEATRE was HEAT.
CHILDREN’S WARD read simply WAR, which might not be such a bad description of what it was like in there.
REHABILITATION had changed into HAB IT ON.
PHYSIOTHERAPY had become H OT HEAP.
X-RAY had become simply RAY, so if you were looking for a man called “Ray” all you had to do was follow the arrow.
There was a sign that read IF S which Tom guessed must have been LIFTS at some distant point in the hospital’s past, and so he followed the arrow.
When he reached the lifts, Tom noticed that the arrow above the large metal shiny doors was descending rapidly. He guessed it might be the three children travelling down. The boy watched as the arrow swung all the way down to “B” for basement.
Tom gulped. It was bound to be dark in the basement. And Tom hated the dark. What’s more, the thought of bumping into the porter flashed through his mind. What if Tom felt a hand on his shoulder to stop him and when he looked round it was the terrifying-looking man staring back at him?
For a moment the boy felt like turning back, and then realised that Sally might think he was a scaredy-cat. So, with some hesitation, he pushed the button and waited nervously for the lift to come.
PING!
The doors opened.
PING!
The doors closed.
With his finger trembling, Tom pushed “B” for basement, and the lift trundled down to the darkest depths of the hospital.
With a jolt, the lift stopped.
PING!
The doors opened, and Tom stepped out into the darkness.
The boy was now alone in the basement of LORD FUNT HOSPITAL. His bare feet felt the cold, wet concrete beneath him. Above him on the ceiling was a strip of fluorescent lights, though most had blown, meaning it was all but pitch black down here.
PING!
Tom jumped. It was just the lift doors closing after him.
The sound of water dripping from pipes echoed along the corridor ahead of him.
Slowly Tom made his way along it. When he came to the end, there were four corridors, two to the left and two to the right. It was a maze down here. The boy looked to see if he could make out any wheelchair tracks on the floor. It was hard to see anything with so little light, so Tom bent down to study the floor. At that moment, a creature brushed past his face.
“Aaarrrggghhh!” His scream echoed down the corridor. At first Tom thought it might have been a rat, but he could just see the creature hopping off. It looked more like a bird, but if it was a bird what was it doing all the way down here?
In the dirt on the floor, Tom could see some tyre marks heading down one of the corridors on the right, so he followed them.
After a few paces, he could feel the stale air in the basement becoming warmer. Just up ahead was a giant furnace where the hospital’s waste was being burned. Not far from that, Tom saw a huge basket on wheels. He looked inside. It was full of laundry. Above it was a small hatch. Just then more bed sheets tumbled out of the hatch and fell into the laundry basket. The boy realised that this must be the end of a chute leading down from the wards above.
Every few paces there were doors, and more corridors. Tom followed the tyre tracks as they snaked their way through the basement.
The