Risk Assessment by James Goss Page B

suggest we look around this towering abomination and then head back to the Hub.’ She swung away, taking the torch with her.
    ‘Great,’ thought Gwen. Immediately, her skin began to prickle, and she became convinced her flesh was dissolving. The sun had set and she was back in SkyPoint and she was about to be eaten alive. Again.
    They made their way around the lobby, aware of the growing volume of dripping and creaking noises. Gwen pointed out a mostly digested electrical socket. ‘It’s been eating the wiring.’
    ‘Ah,’ Agnes nodded gravely. ‘Domestic electricity. I’ve never really had a chance to examine the proliferation of electricity mains in the home environment. In my day it was still something of a novelty. Is there a socket in every room?’
    ‘Several,’ said Gwen seriously. ‘It’s throughout the building. Each wire is insulated with a plastic sheath – and it’s been eaten away, blowing every fuse in the building. It explains why the lighting isn’t working. . .’
    ‘Ah, and accounts for that faintly sulphurous smell of conflagration. I suspect we’ll find a small fire somewhere in the building.’ Agnes looked alarmed for an instant.
    ‘Yeah, well,’ said Gwen. ‘I still think we should have a quick look around, eh? Just a brief look on an upper level.’
    They crossed to the elevator – not only was it not working, but there weren’t even any buttons left to call it. So they crossed to the fire stairs and made their way up.
    ‘If only my parents could see me!’ laughed Agnes as she led the way. ‘I don’t know if they’d be more horrified that someone of my upbringing fought monsters or used the back stairs. Ah well.’
    The first floor was creepy in the extreme, like walking through a collapsing bouncy castle. The noises were building around them, and their feet stuck with every step. Agnes glared down. ‘You use plastic in your carpeting?’ she asked, quietly amazed. ‘One would have thought that nothing could surpass wool, but clearly you have. I fear you may have become over-reliant on a single material.’ And she tutted her displeasure.
    Gwen raised an eyebrow. Truth to tell, she was getting a bit tired of this. Stuck in a dark, dissolving tower block, at imminent danger from flesh-eating bugs or of being patronised to death. ‘Pity a smug-eating alien didn’t land in the Victorian era,’ she muttered.
    Agnes barked a short laugh. ‘You think me a little harsh? Well, perhaps. Every era gets the monsters it deserves. I merely observe that you have a superfluity of the material – which would make you tempting for something that preyed on it. Sadly, Wedgwood china never had the same appeal for an alien predator.’ She spread out a mollifying grin. ‘Bear in mind, a few weeks ago Queen Victoria was on the throne, Gilbert and Sullivan were still the toast of the town, and the biggest threat to civilisation was a revival of The Importance of Being Earnest . It’s been quite a time, I can tell you. Really, Mrs Cooper, you must tell me when I’m being unduly cruel. Unless it’s about Captain Harkness.’
    ‘What is it about you two?’ asked Gwen, intrigued.
    For a moment it looked as though Agnes was about to tell her, and then she shook her head. ‘He deserves that, at least,’ she muttered to herself, and stepped down the corridor. ‘Let’s inspect one of these slum dwellings,’ she muttered.
    Gwen’s phone beeped, and she pulled it out of her pocket. A text from Rhys.
    Agnes glanced over. ‘Your mobile device is made out of plastic?’ she asked, intrigued. ‘As is this torch. . . and neither has been consumed. Finally, something promising. I am beginning to hope that the threat has moved on.’ She strode off, trying the door to one of the apartments. ‘Should your device start to rot, or the light go in either of these torches, then at least we’ll know that we are in serious trouble.’ Agnes sounded pleased.
    She picked the lock with surprising