The three of them man-handled the trolley over the barriers without too much trouble, Melody alternately coaxing and bullying the equipment to stay in place. They then had to carry it down the escalator to the tunnels and platforms below, as none of the metal stairways was moving. Apparently the main computers were down. Personally, JC thought they were lucky to still have the lights, but he had enough sense to keep the comment to himself. There was such a thing as tempting fate. JC, Happy, and Melody bumped and clattered the trolley all the way down the unmoving metal steps, accompanied by a certain amount of bruised limbs, trapped fingers, and really foul language, before they finally reached the bottom.

Happy gave the trolley a good kick, on general principles, then stopped suddenly and stood very still, one hand upraised to ward off questions from the others. He frowned thoughtfully, listening with more than his ears. JC and Melody looked at him, then at each other, shrugged pretty much simultaneously, and listened, too. The continuing quiet didn’t seem any different.

“Well?” said JC, after a while.

“I’ve got a bad feeling,” said Happy.

“You’ve always got a bad feeling,” said Melody. “It’s your standard default position. You probably had a bad feeling as you left the womb behind and headed for the light.”

“Something’s down here with us,” said Happy, not listening to her at all. “And it’s not anything I expected. This isn’t like anything we’ve ever encountered before, people. This is something new. Or maybe something very old, come round again. Big and powerful and utterly different.”

“Dangerous?” JC said quietly.

Happy came out of his trance and shot JC a disgusted look. “What do you think?”

“Moving on, moving on,” said JC, heading for the nearest platform. “Do feel free to share your feelings with us at any time, Happy, you know how I value your contributions; but do it on the move, please. I can feel a clock ticking, somewhere.”

“Bully,” muttered Happy.

“Will somebody please help me with this trolley!” said Melody.