‘We’ve heard that there have been some disturbances going on in this area for weeks – people seeing things in alleyways. Have you lot seen anything odd?’

The Eldons looked at each other, then nodded.

‘Andrew thought he heard something in the alleyway round the back,’ said Mrs Eldon. ‘A “strange snapping noise”, he said, like a twig being broken, but really, really loud.’

‘When was this?’ asked Ace.

‘Last week, around 1am. I was just coming back from work.’

‘Long hours at the moment?’ queried the Doctor.

‘New mouth to feed,’ said Mr Eldon, looking pointedly at the baby monitor on the table. ‘I’ve started doing late shifts and Tracy has gone back to working part time for the council.’

‘Leaving Kerry here alone a lot the time,’ mused Ace.

‘I don’t mind being on my own,’ piped up Kerry. ‘It’s nice to get some time to myself without the baby screaming all the time.’

Tracy Eldon glared at her. ‘I’ve told you, she’s teething.’

‘Well, does she have to scream about it?’

‘Kerry!’ snapped Mister Eldon. ‘Don’t shout. We’ve got guests!’

Ace winced, remembering similar exchanges from her own childhood.

Kerry sat back sulkily. ‘Well, it’s irritating. Almost as bad as the noise the rats make.’

‘Rats?’ Ace shot a look at the Doctor. ‘You’ve got a problem with rats?’

‘It’s only just started,’ said Mrs Eldon hurriedly. ‘It’s not like the house is infested or anything. Andrew is dealing with it.’

‘They’re having a deck put down in the garden a few houses over,’ explained Mr Eldon. ‘I think that a nest must have been disturbed or something.’

‘Have you actually seen them?’

‘No. But we can hear them … Scratching. Outside the door, under the floor.’

‘It was the noise that the rats were making that woke me up,’ said Kerry quietly. ‘The night … the night it happened.’

‘Why don’t you tell us exactly what did happen?’ said the Doctor gently. ‘Start at the beginning. Don’t miss out any detail.’

Kerry took a deep breath. ‘It started with the dream.’

‘The dream …’ Ace leaned forward. ‘So a dream you’ve had more than once?’

Kerry nodded. ‘I’ve had it six or seven times. I’m lying in bed and suddenly I can feel something pulling at me, pulling me out of my body. It’s like I’m floating, looking back down at myself …’

As Kerry related the details of her dream, a shiver ran down Ace’s spine; the alien world, the screaming people … Kerry was describing the same event as her own dream. Every detail – only this time the ending was different.