[Sarah Jane Adventures 05] - Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane

by RUPERT LAIGHT

  She sat on the edge of her bed hugging her knees. It was then that she heard a disembodied voice.

  ‘Maria… help me…’ it called.

  It was Sarah Jane. But where was she?

  Maria leapt up and scanned the room, but her friend was nowhere to be seen. Then she saw her. She was in the mirror.

  Sarah Jane looked lost and afraid. She couldn’t see Maria.

  ‘What can I do?’ cried Maria, into the glass. ‘Where do I start? The meteor, I can’t do anything to stop it… why is it only me who remembers you?’

  ‘Maria… please…’

  Maria checked over her shoulder to see if Sarah Jane was in the room with her, but she wasn’t. It was unbelievable how she could see her only in the mirror. However, by the time she turned back, her friend was gone, and Maria was alone.

  She threw herself down on the bed, sad and dejected. She’d been so close to making contact with Sarah Jane, and if she could have made contact, then she could have proved to everyone she wasn’t crazy after all. But it was too late.

  Maria let out a long, weary sigh. Maybe she was going mad.

  But just then her foot brushed against something under her bed. It was the silver box that her friend had given her yesterday. She’d completely forgotten about it until now.

  Maria picked it up and turned it around in her hand. Her face lit up. For the first time in ages she felt there was hope again.

  ‘Yes!’ she called out, triumphantly. ‘I’ve been so thick!’

  ‘You sure you don’t mind giving me a hand?’

  ‘Not at all,’ replied Alan, as he followed Andrea across the road to number thirteen.

  ‘I’ve got this banner, for my birthday party, and I want to put it up over the front door. I need another pair of hands.’

  Andrea went inside the house and brought out a chair for Alan to stand on. Then she handed him the banner with Happy Birthday emblazoned on it, and he climbed up so he was at eye level with the doorframe, and he started to secure it firmly in place.

  ‘I’ve never really gone big on birthdays myself,’ he said, keeping his eyes fixed on his task. ‘I don’t like being the centre of attention really. I used to when I was a kid. I had big birthday parties then, of course…’

  Alan continued to chatter on, but Andrea wasn’t listening any more. She was staring across the road at number thirty-six, where Maria was now all alone…

  ‘Dad, I’ve worked it out!’ crowed Maria, proudly, as she skipped down the stairs and into the hallway. ‘It’s this box — it protected me…’ She trailed off.

  Alan wasn’t there any more. And the house was eerily quiet. What’s more, Maria had a feeling that something bad was just about to happen.

  ‘Dad?’ she called again, freezing at the bottom of the stairs.

  All at once, there was a blinding bright flash of blue light, and a strange vortex formed in front of her. In the middle of it, out of thin air, there appeared a hideous alien creature, the like of which Maria had never seen before.

  No taller than a small child, it had stumpy legs and stubby arms. Its face resembled a goblin, with three tusk-like spikes sprouting from its mottled, bald head. It had sharp, vicious teeth, a pointed chin and beady, staring eyes.

  The monster growled menacingly at Maria and she let out a scream. Before she had time to make a run for it, it had pointed a strange alien gun at her.

  Thinking fast, Maria ducked. Two wires zoomed from the gun’s muzzle and whizzed over her head. But as she dropped to the floor, the silver box fell out of her hand.

  Before the creature had a chance to fire again, she rushed down the hallway and into the kitchen. She fumbled with the key to the backdoor. She had to get out of the house. Turn, for goodness sake, she thought. Luckily, the key soon swivelled round, the door opened, and she dashed outside into the back garden.

  But she’d lost valuable seconds and the alien was hot on her heels…

  Maria raced down the side of the house, along Bannerman Road and around the corner. From the snarling noise she could hear behind her, she knew the monster was close. And when she glanced back over her shoulder, she could see its dumpy little legs pounding up and down. He was gaining on her.

  She had now reached the edge of the local recreation ground, and she raced across the grass, hoping the uneven surface would slow the creature down.

  But it didn’t.

  Maria ran as fast as she could. Faster than she’d ever managed during games at school. Then she had an idea, and took a sharp left into an archway beneath the railway bridge. She hoped this would shake off the alien. But she’d never taken this exit from the park before, and was horrified by what greeted her.

  It wasn’t an exit at all. She’d landed herself with a dead end. The archway led only to a high metal fence with no way through. She was trapped.

  She span around and, just as she feared, the hideous alien was advancing on her from behind, closing in, with his gun pointing squarely at her.

  What could she do? Nothing!

  Sarah Jane had taught her to always look her enemy in the eye — and that’s just what she did. If nothing else, she was going to go out with dignity. And even in that most terrifying moment, she still found the strength to smile. Perhaps it was the ridiculousness of the situation. Or maybe it was how daft the little alien looked.

  Maria held her breath.

  The creature let out a cackle and fired its weapon. Two wires sprang out and attached themselves to Maria’s jacket. Then, in the blink of an eye, both she and the alien had become nothing more than a whirl of vapour. And then that too had disappeared.

  Chapter Six

  The time slip

  Alan was standing in the hallway of number thirty-six Bannerman Road. ‘Maria?’ he called. ‘Are you okay?’ Silence. ‘Maria?’ Then his foot stubbed against something. He looked down at the floor. There was a silver box lying there. He picked it up and examined it closely.

  It was like nothing he’d ever seen before. It looked bizarre. So strange, in fact, it could have come from another world. ‘Maria?’ he called again, but there was no reply.

  He turned his attentions back to the shiny object in his hand. What could it be for, he wondered, and how did it get into the house?

  Suddenly, it began to glow with a peculiar blue light. The light flickered across Alan’s face and, as it did so, he lost his balance and staggered backwards. The room faded in and out of focus, everything was spinning, losing its distinction and blurring into one confused mass. The sounds Alan heard were distorted and strained. He felt sick inside. What was going on?

  If he’d been able to concentrate, Alan would have seen all the photographs of his daughter on display in the room, suddenly vanish. The ones on the sideboard, on the mantelpiece and on the windowsill all evaporated into thin air.

  It was as if Maria had never existed.

  ‘Alan?’ called a distant voice. ‘Alan!’

  He sank to his knees, terrified, woozy.

  And then the storm in his head subsided, and everything suddenly seemed even calmer than it had before.

  ‘The backdoor was wide open.’ It was Chrissie. ‘You wanna be careful.’

  ‘What was that?’ asked Alan, still dazed and spinning from the avalanche in his head.

  ‘What was what?’ Chrissie looked confused. ‘Come on, let’s go over to Andrea’s.’

  ‘And what about Maria?’ Alan wondered where his daughter had got to.

  ‘Who?’ she asked. ‘Don’t say you’ve finally got yourself a new woman.’

  ‘Maria was in here. I think she’s run off.’

  ‘What, already? Sensible woman, whoever she is. It took me fourteen years.’

  Alan couldn’t understand what she meant. ‘I mean Maria. Our Maria.’

  Chrissie frowned. ‘What do you mean — ours?’

  ‘Our daughter!’ insisted Alan, starting to get frustrated. What was the matter with the woman today?

  ‘Oh, Alan, don’t sta
rt messing about. I know you wanted kids, but I never did. As if I’ve got a maternal bone in my body!’

  ‘Chrissie, stop this now!’ He was really exasperated. Why was she being so contrary? ‘Maria is our daughter!’

  There is no Maria. Maria doesn’t exist!’

  Alan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This was madness.

  Maria looked around her, blinking. She was on a strange, stony pathway suspended in midair, with nothing holding it up. Where was this place, she wondered?

  In front of her was the creature with three tusks, and he was towing Maria along behind him using the two lengths of wire that were still attached to her jacket.

  ‘Where are you taking me?’ Maria demanded.

  The little alien did not reply, but she knew that wherever it was, it wouldn’t be pleasant.

  She had to escape.

  Summoning all her strength, both physical and mental, she yanked violently at the wires that held her. They snapped off with an echoing clack and immediately her body started to tingle all over. Her captor and the rocky pathway disappeared, and she felt herself falling, falling, falling through space. Her stomach leapt up into her mouth, leaving her breathless and frightened.

  The next thing she knew she was hitting the ground, like she’d tripped over, or had woken too quickly from a dream.

  Maria lay motionless for a second or two, checking to see if she’d broken anything in the fall. Surprisingly, she was fine.

  She slowly hoisted herself up, dusted off her clothes, and looked cautiously around. ‘Where am I?’ she murmured, under her breath.

  She was standing on the concrete promenade of a seaside town. But which seaside town? There was a long pier stretching out to sea. There were people on the beach and swimming in the water. Others were wandering up and down the promenade. Kids ran about holding huge clouds of pink candyfloss, while elderly men sat and read newspapers under knotted handkerchief hats.

  But there was something weird about it all, she thought. Something wasn’t right. Maria had been to the seaside plenty of times, but it had been nothing like this.

  A young couple walked by listening to music. But instead of having their mobiles turned up, they were carrying a massive, old-fashioned radio — the type you see in junk shops. And the song playing was from years ago. What’s more, their clothes were all wrong. Like something out of a dull, Sunday afternoon film. The cars, too, were out of date, and so were the bicycles… and the hand-pulled cart of an ice-cream seller. Where was she?

  Two teenage girls walked past wearing matching bright yellow summer school dresses and brown cardigans.

  ‘Come on, it’ll be a laugh,’ one said to the other. ‘Better than that crummy museum.’

  ‘But it’s dangerous,’ replied her friend.

  Maria had to speak to someone, find out where she was and what was going on. She walked up to the schoolgirls and stopped them mid-conversation. ‘Excuse me,’ she said, awkwardly. ‘I’m going to sound mad… but where is this?’

  The one with red hair looked Maria up and down, disapprovingly. ‘You’ve got a nerve, going out dressed like that. Look at her!’ And she nudged her companion and giggled.

  ‘Don’t be so rude,’ chided her brown-haired friend. ‘Are you all right? You look a bit lost.’

  ‘I think I am,’ said Maria. ‘I was in London… I’m Maria Jackson.’

  The brown-haired girl held out her hand. ‘Pleased to meet you,’ she said with a smile. ‘I’m Sarah Jane Smith.’

  As Maria took the outstretched hand, she realised the truth. It was almost unbelievable, totally impossible, but it had happened. She had gone back in time to 1964. And this was Sarah Jane when she was young.

  If it hadn’t been for the fact that she’d left her own time under deadly threat from a meteor, she would have relished the chance to visit the past and find out what life was like back then. Back now. However, things were too serious for her to take a holiday.

  ‘Hello, Sarah Jane Smith,’ she grinned. It was impossible not to grin. There she was, all those years ago, pretty much the same age as Maria was now. And she had that old familiar expression, the one Maria knew so well — serious yet reassuring. And the same inscrutable eyes. Even her hairstyle hadn’t really changed.

  Sarah Jane smiled back.

  Maria turned to the other girl. ‘And you’re Andrea Yates?’ she asked.

  ‘So what if I am?’ she replied, sulkily. I don’t know you. How come you know my name?’

  Maria bit her lip. Even if she did try to explain how she knew, the girl would never believe her. After all, it was a ridiculous idea — to have travelled back in time. Maybe she was dreaming it. Or perhaps it was all a trick. A sinister, staged illusion. She needed to make sure this really was the past, so she looked around her for evidence. Lying on the ice-cream seller’s cart was a newspaper. She scooted over and glanced at the front page. The date at the top read: 12th July 1964. So it was true.

  ‘I’ve gone back in time!’ She couldn’t help saying it out loud. This was so remarkable. ‘Sarah Jane, I will know you.’

  ‘She’s a loony!’ laughed Andrea. ‘Come on, leave her alone. Those people don’t know their own strength.’

  ‘Don’t be so mean,’ said Sarah Jane, frowning at her friend. She turned back to Maria. ‘If you’re lost, I’ll take you to our teacher.’

  ‘We’re not going back — it’s boring,’ sighed Andrea.

  And you’re going down the pier?’ asked a panicked Maria. ‘Right now?’ This was the very day the accident happened that led to one of the girls dying. She had to do something to stop them.

  ‘It’s closed off,’ said Andrea.

  Good job too, thought Maria.

  ‘But well get through,’ continued the redhead, defiantly. ‘I want to explore.’

  ‘But you mustn’t!’ cried Maria. ‘Sarah Jane, you’ve got to believe me! You mustn’t go down there!’

  ‘Why not?’ asked Sarah Jane, looking confused.

  ‘It’s today, the accident.’ She was frightened now, worried for her friend’s life. ‘It’s about to happen. Look, I shouldn’t be here, but I was travelling with this… thing…’ She was speaking more and more quickly. ‘It’s too complicated to explain, but I broke free, and I must have ended up here because this was the last place he came to. Because he was here — in 1964. He must’ve been. He swapped you two.’

  ‘Hang on,’ said Sarah Jane, shaking her head. ‘I’m not getting any of this.’

  ‘There’s nothing to get,’ interrupted Andrea. ‘She’s creepy.’ And she grabbed hold of Sarah Jane’s arm.

  ‘Just listen to me!’ insisted Maria, in a high- pitched voice. ‘It’s not safe! Go back, both of you, Find your mates! Just get back on the coach to school! Go home!’

  ‘I told you she was mad,’ said Andrea, tugging roughly at her friend. ‘Come on, leave her!’ And she pulled Sarah Jane away.

  Maria stood alone, watching the girls as they walked off towards the pier. There was nothing she could do to stop them, short of physically restraining them. But that would only cause a scene and would get her nowhere.

  Just then there was a flash of light and the pintsized alien appeared on the promenade. The second Maria caught sight of him she turned to run, but she wasn’t quick enough, and she felt the impact of the two wires as they once again gripped onto her jacket. Then the hold on her tightened and she was whizzing through the blankness of time. Oh, no. Not again, thought Maria.

  Standing at the sealed-up entrance to the pier, emblazoned with an authoritative NO ENTRY sign painted in red, the young Sarah Jane glanced back for a final look at the strange girl wearing strange clothes.

  But she was nowhere to be seen.

  ‘Where did she go?’ she asked Andrea.

  ‘Who cares?’ said her friend, without looking round. She rattled the iron gates that separated her from the pier. ‘What a creep!’

  ‘She said we shouldn’t — ’

  ‘Don�
�t be so dull!’

  ‘But she was scared. It’s weird. I sort of believed her.’

  ‘You’d believe a Triffid was going to come and get us if someone told you it was.’

  Sarah Jane watched as Andrea heaved one of the gates open a crack, and discreetly slipped through.

  ‘Just follow me — I’ll look after you,’ said Andrea.

  Sarah Jane glanced around her guiltily. Then she squeezed through the gap and onto the deserted pier.

  Chapter Seven

  The land of limbo

  Maria found herself lying at the tusked creature’s feet. He disconnected the wires that held them together and immediately teleported off.

  She was now alone — or at least she assumed she was — in a completely white field. Or was it a held? It wasn’t really anything. It was just a vast, endless quantity of nothing. Like a room the size of forever, thought Maria, without walls, without a ceiling, without a floor. She could see for as far as it was possible, yet there was nothing in sight.

  ‘Where is this?’ she asked herself out loud, starting to get scared.

  ‘You tell me,’ came a voice.

  ‘Sarah Jane!’ Maria span round, and there, standing right behind her, was her friend. They ran into one another’s arms and hugged for a long time.

  ‘I thought I’d never see you again,’ stammered Maria, so relieved to be with Sarah Jane again. So she hadn’t imagined her after all. ‘It’s so good to see you.’

  ‘It’s good to see you, too. I was all on my own.’ Maria pulled away and looked around her. ‘Where are we?’ she asked. ‘Is this a different planet?’

  ‘I don’t think we’re anywhere at all. We’re in limbo.’

  What does that mean?’

  ‘It’s nowhere, it’s nothing,’ said Sarah Jane, sadly. ‘We’re lost.’

  Back in the present day, at number thirty-six Bannerman Road, Alan stared into his ex-wife’s eyes. He couldn’t believe she was behaving so oddly — pretending Maria didn’t exist. ‘But you came here earlier to see her,’ he appealed. ‘It’s our own daughter, Chrissie, she’s disappeared!’