"You've seen what can happen, upstairs, this evening." "But we stopped them." "Held them." "Took the trigger away from them." "The trigger?" "Yes, the final ingredient." "A certain traditional nursery rhyme spoken in a certain room." "Mama?" "Daddy?" "No pictures." "No pictures, Rebecca." "# Ring-a-ring o' roses" "# A pocketful of posies... #" "That's why we tore it out." " # Ring-a-ring o' roses... #" " Burned it." "# Atishoo!" "Atishoo!" "We all fall down #" "That's why Sapphire and I..." "# The king has sent his daughter To fetch a pail of water" "# Atishoo!" "Atishoo..." "# The wedding bells are ringing The boys and girls are singing" "# Atishoo!" "Atishoo!" "We all fall down" "# The birds upon the steeple sit high above the people" "# Atishoo!" "Atishoo!" "We all fall down" " # The cows are in the meadow... #" " Helen!" "# Atishoo... #" "'All irregularities will be handled 'by the forces controlling each dimension." "'Transuranic heavy elements may not be used where there is life." "'Medium atomic weights are available." "'Gold, Lead," "'Copper," "'Jet, Diamond, Radium," "'Sapphire, Silver and Steel." "'Sapphire and Steel have been assigned. '" " # We all fall down... #" " Sapphire..." "# Atishoo!" "Atishoo!" "We all fall down" "# Wedding bells are ringing... #" "# Atishoo!" "Atishoo!" "We all fall down #" "Now!" "# Atishoo... #" "Hold her!" "# Atishoo!" "Atishoo!" "#" "Ringing are bells wedding the" "Singing are girls and boys the" " Tishoo-a, tishoo-a..." " Becca!" "I said hold her!" "Atishoo!" "Atishoo!" "We all fall down" "Ring a ring o' roses" "A pocketful of posies" "Atishoo!" "Atishoo!" "We all fall down ...lying fast asleep" "Hush, hush... hush, now..." " The child memorised the rhyme." " Yes." "How many more have you learned?" "You keep her with you at all times." " Has the child other dolls?" " Yes." " Downstairs?" " Next floor down, yes." " Find her one from there." " Is that how my parents disappeared?" "Yes." "And you almost went the same way." "Until I say differently this part of the house is out of bounds." " But my mother's still in there!" " Not any more." "I heard her!" "I heard her voice!" "I did, I heard her!" " No." " I did, in that room." " It wasn't her." " It was!" "Tell me what you saw." " In the room?" " Yes." " I saw lots of things." " People?" "Yes, people." "And things." "But all very quickly." "Well, I didn't actually see her, I saw a shadow of her." "Her voice, that's all." " That wasn't her?" " No." "Mummy's coming home?" "Not yet." "Soon?" "Yes, soon." "Well, I don't trust you." "I mean, I can't trust you, either of you." "I don't know who you are or where you come from." " How can I trust you?" " You have to." "First a wall, then a room." "You have to trust us." "Come on." "Breakfast?" "Um..." "I'm not hungry, thanks." " What is it?" " What?" " What can you see?" " Nothing." "Just looking." "Oh, Steel wants you - he asked me to tell you." " Yes?" " He's at the top of the house." " What does he want me for?" " He's not likely to tell me, is he?" "'I sent no message. '" "No." " Rob, what are you?" " Shh!" "Put this on, Helen." " But I don't want to." " Put it on!" " I'm eating my breakfast." " Well, you can leave that." "Here." " No!" " Shh!" "Please, we've got to be ready." " Ready?" " We're leaving." "The policeman's coming." "Upstairs, I looked out of the window." "I saw the ferry crossing the bay, the policeman's car was on it." " Oh." " He has to be coming here." " Are we going to meet him?" " Yes, so hurry." " Did you tell Sapphire?" " What?" " About the policeman?" " No." " But she'll be cross." " Come on!" "They're nailing up the door of your room, Helen!" "Nailing it." "So that no one can get in." "And no one can get out." "Is that the way to bring Mum and Dad back?" "It's all right." "The policeman's coming, it's all right, Helen." "Listen." " I didn't even speak to him." " I didn't think you had." "This time it's worse than the ship." "This time it can think, it can reason things out." " What kind of things?" " Method." "Listen." " Like a record that's stuck." " Yes." "It's not, it's marking time." " The boy must've heard the car." " Yes." "I'm sorry, he just doesn't trust you." " Does he trust you?" " A little." " You're the diplomat." " Amongst other things." "The one that sweet-talks kids like that," " reassures them." " I manage." "So we can get on with the job and win the battle." "It's nearly here." "Then the last thing we need right now is someone here who doesn't know, being helped in turn by someone who doesn't understand." " Will you handle that policeman?" " No." "You do it." "Stay there." "I have to do it." "It's my home." "I live here." "I have to tell... someone else." " Are you speaking for both of you?" " Yes." "I don't think you can." "Come on, Helen." " It doesn't matter." " No?" "No." "I'm still gonna tell him about my parents, about that room and what I saw." " Do you think he'll listen to you?" " Yes." "That policeman knows me." "Go on, then, try to tell him." "Hello, Rob." "Hello, Rob." "Hello, Rob." "I can keep going." " Hello, Rob." "Hello, Rob." " As long as it takes to stop you." "So be fair, hm?" "I'm sure the poor man has better things to do." "Hello, Rob." " He..." "Oh." " Yes?" "Oh, that... that's strange." " What is?" " Well, it..." "Must've been the long drive up here." "But I could've sworn I..." "Well, I thought that door had already been opened for me once." "No." "Only after the call I thought I'd come and see if everything was OK." " Everything's fine." " Good." " And you are?" " A friend of the family." "Here for some... peace and quiet." "Well, that's all right, then." " But how can you do it?" " I just did it." " But how?" " It doesn't matter how." "Shall I start it all over again?" " Let him get on with his business." " This is his business!" "No." "Suppose I climb through that window?" "I might make you spend the next few hours climbing through and not getting anywhere." " If you can make time go back..." " Who says I can?" "You just did it out there." "And last night when you kept changing clothes." "That was an illusion, they were things I'd worn in the past." "I was projecting an image for you." "But just now - that wasn't an illusion, was it?" " No." " You were making time go back." "Yes." "Sit down and eat your breakfast." " Why can't you take it back a day?" " More milk?" "Back before yesterday when my parents were here?" "I haven't the power to take time back that far." "If I had, don't you think I'd have done it?" "I suppose so." "Imagine a rubber ball - imagine a rubber ball bouncing." "The first time the ball hits the ground is the incident, the bouncing that follows is just the echo." "Momentum." "I'm able to keep the momentum going longer, that's all." "Just long enough." "It helps." " Does anyone have the power to?" " What?" "Well, to take time back further?" " Something does, yes." " Something, not someone?" " Something." " In the corridor?" "It can take time backwards or forwards or any way." "If it's allowed to." "Only there's no sense to it." "Not sense as we know it." "And no purpose, only its own purpose." " What I saw in Helen's room..." " A fraction, just a peep." "But stopping it is our job and that's all we're doing here." "So please stop fighting us and try to believe in us." "We're all you've got on your side." "First a wall, then a room..." "What then?" "A house, a road, a village, a town..." "What next?" " I need a room to work in." " What sort of a room?" "Do you know which is the youngest room in the house?" " Youngest?" " The last one to be built." "My father had a small office built last year." "Show me it." "Please?" "When you said you did a job like this once on a ship..." " Yes." " What happened?" "We had to sink the ship." "'For it's own good, of course. '" "'And it's not as easy to sink a house. '" "Hmm, this is much better." "And what about this?" "40, 50 years old?" "1938." "And this." "That must be all right." " Six months, most of it." " Most of it?" "There are some recycled elements - one's a good hundred years old." " So nothing's safe." " No." " Rob!" " Yes?" " Everything." " What?" "I want an empty room." "They do clutter their lives, don't they?" " Sorry." " Get the waste-paper basket." " What was the trigger?" " What?" "When you said time broke through in Helen's room, you said there was a trigger to make it happen." " That's right." " What was the trigger on that ship?" "Oh, an out-of-date ship's log." "The captain liked nautical heritage." " Oh." " He collected old things from ships." " Not so silly, then, are they?" " Who?" "These creatures trying to break through the time fabric." "A ship's log at sea, a nursery rhyme in a child's room." "It sounds to me as if they know what they're doing." "What's wrong?" "Just something the boy said." "It reminded me of something you said." " Me?" " Yes." "About methods being used." "Rob?" "Rob!" "And downstairs..." "Upstairs..." "Upstairs..." "And downstairs..." " Rob!" " Mum!" " Mum?" " Just what is going on, Rob?" " Oh, Mum!" " Open this door at once!" "Of course!" "Oh, it's nailed up." "Nailed up?" "What have you been doing?" "Mum, let me explain..." "Explain when I'm out of here!" " Helen will be so pleased!" " Will you open this door?" "!" "Yes, I'll fetch Sapphire and Steel." "There's no need to fetch them." "How do you know them?" "Well, whoever they are." "I don't know, friends of yours, I suppose." "Now, open this door!" " I can't open it without help." " You can, it's very simple." "Just kneel down by the door, just outside the door." "Come along, Rob, kneel down by the door!" "It's easy enough to open the door, to let us out." " How?" " Put your face close to the door." "Come along, Rob, you can do it!" "That's right." "That's fine." "Now, then, all you have to do is to say a rhyme." "A nursery rhyme." "An old one." "Any one, providing it's old." "Well, can't you remember one?" "Then just say it, Rob, just say it." "Say it!" " I can't!" " Say it!" "I'm too old to say nursery rhymes!" "Well then, let's call it history." " You're old enough for history." " Yes." "A lot of nursery rhymes are history, I taught you that, didn't I?" " No!" " So say the one in your head!" " Which one?" " The one in there now." " Think of the soldiers." " Soldiers..." "Climbing the stairs, swords in their hands, searching for people!" " Goosey goosey gander!" " That's the one!" "Where shall I..." "Whither shall I wander?" "Upstairs and downstairs..." "In my..." "No!" "Sapphire!" "Steel!"