‘Do not panic up there. I repeat: do not panic. The experts will soon be here.’
Harris swore under his breath as the voice droned on: ‘We believe they are bringing gas to deal with the problem. Please keep calm. They will not be very long.’
The teacher groaned aloud. How long would it take those monsters to gnaw their way through a door?
They weren’t ordinary rats; they had intelligence, system. It would only take one of those monsters to get through to create havoc amongst these kids.
‘Listen,’ he called out again. ‘The hoses! Flood the basement! Flood the lower classrooms! At least it’ll panic them?
He saw the policeman, whom he assumed was a Chief Inspector conferring with a fireman. The firemen suddenly burst into activity, and began unwinding the long, thick hoses. Meanwhile the dogs were yelping excitedly, straining at their leashes, eager to tackle the black creatures. Two burst loose and streaked across the playground towards the thronging rats. The first, a hefty Alsatian, picked up one of the rats by the neck, shook it violently, and threw it into the air. The second dog, a massive Doberman leapt into the thick of the furry mass, snapping its huge jaws in all directions.
But they were soon covered by the rodents, being pulled down, their coats covered in blood. Several times they rose, but always they were dragged back to the ground. The other dogs were turned loose, about ten of them, and they flew into the melee. One actually trampled over the backs of the rats and scrambled through the small basement window.
Harris, watching from above, shuddered at the thought of its fate.
Although the dogs were brave, they were no match for the vast number of giant rats. Soon they were either lying on the ground being torn apart or trying to hobble back to their grief-stricken trainers. The men themselves had to be ordered back by their Chief-Inspector. He alone amongst them knew the risk involved, of the deadly disease carried by the vermin, and had no intention of allowing his men to lay down their lives until it was entirely essential for the sake of the children.
Suddenly, the hoses came into action. They swept through the playground, icy torrents of water, clearing a path clean through the rats, tossing them against the brick wall of the school building. They scampered in all directions, scrambling over each others backs, fighting amongst themselves to get away. The blood from the dogs was soon washed away by the steady flow of water.
A jet was aimed at the basement window, pushing several rats inside but preventing any more from entering.
The children, who had by now crowded round the windows, cheered at the sight of the disrupted vermin.
As the rats began to disperse, most running towards the coal bunkers, another jet of water was directed at the downstairs windows. The crash of glass as it showered into the classrooms brought grins of delight to many of the pupils.
Harris turned away from the window and walked across the room, gently pushing his way through the throng of children.
‘Where’s the Headmaster?’ he asked Grimble.
‘You should know. He was with you,’ was the curt reply.
‘Pull some of these desks back. He must still be in his study with Ainsley.’
The desks were pulled back allowing him just enough room to open the door and slip through.
‘I’m going to see if they’re okay, then I’ll check the doors in the corridor,’ he said. ‘Push the barricade back after me.
If I come back fast and bang on the door, tell them to get those ladders up here. But don’t open the door
- I’ll go into the Headmaster’s study and get away from that window.’
He closed the door behind him and heard the grating of the desks being pushed against it. He noticed the door of the Headmaster’s room was wide open. Hurrying to it he breathed a sigh of relief when he found old Ainsley still fussing over the injured Principal.
‘He - he seems fine now, Harris,’ Ainsley said, mopping the Headmaster’s face with a wet flannel.
‘Good. I’m going to check all the doors now and I want you to shut this one after me. Stay here, and if there’s more trouble...‘ he paused, not bothering to explain what he meant by ‘more trouble’, but letting the silence do it for him. ‘If there’s more trouble, go to the window and call to the firemen. They’ll get a ladder up to you.’, He didn’t suggest they join the others in the classrooms - the sight of the blood-soaked Headmaster would frighten them too much. Up to now, the children had been remarkably controlled, but the sight of blood could easily push them over the edge.
He closed the door and walked quickly to the stairs. He opened the door fractionally and peeped through. All clear.
Good. He went through, closed it, and crept down the stairs.
Water was seeping underneath the door at the bottom. He opened it cautiously. The corridor was empty of life. One of the dead rats that had attacked the Headmaster lay in the water. For a moment, Harris thought he saw it move, but realised its body was merely being stirred by the surging water.
He splashed down the corridor, remembering to dose the door behind him but opening all the classroom doors to allow the water to flow more freely. He passed the staffroom and thought he heard noises. The basement was the more urgent problem at the moment. That was where he’d seen most of the rats disappear. He had to make sure the door was still firm, maybe shove some more furniture against it.
He could come back and deal with the staffroom door later. He descended the stairs to the basement, taking care not to slip in the gushing water. He suspected more fire-engines had arrived and the forces outside were using more hoses to completely flood the lower floors.
He reached the bottom and waded towards the door. He could hear frantic scraping, scratching. He leaned forward to listen more intently above the noise of the swirling water.
Yes, they were trying to scrape their way through the door.
He eased the desk back slightly to see what damage they’d done. Christ, cracks were beginning to appear already. He could hear them gnawing at the wood now. Dropping the desk back he plodded to the storeroom. He looked around.
Just the thing, heavy drapes. Old curtains that had been used in the school hall. He dragged them down from the shelf where they’d laid for the best part of a year, ready to be used for the next end-of-term prize-giving. They were heavy, but one would be enough for his purpose.
He left them draped over a bench, to prevent them getting wet and thus heavier, and went to a stack of blackboards.
They were of the old type - they had to be used with easels - and took two. Carrying them outside, he leaned them against the wall. Then he pulled the radiator and the desk back away from the basement door.
He saw bulges in the wood where the rats had nearly eaten their way through. God, they must have strength in those jaws! Quickly he went back to the storeroom and gathered up the curtain. He hurried back in time to see the wood beginning to splinter.
Almost in a panic, he stuffed the material in the crack beneath the door, folding it to make as many layers as possible. He grabbed the blackboards and slid them up against the door, as close to the bottom as the curtain would allow. Then he pushed the table up against the door, and the radiator against that, re-enforcing the barricade with chairs and boxes - anything he could find from the storeroom.
At last satisfied, he leaned back against the wall and regained his breath. He thought he could hear squeals from inside but wasn’t sure if it was his mind playing tricks on him.
By now he was knee-deep in water. He waded to the stairs and climbed up. As he gained the top step he heard a cracking noise coming from the staffroom door. He saw a long black pointed head emerging, still gnawing at the surrounding wood. He stood frozen to the spot. Would it never end?
He looked around desperately and caught sight of the heavy poker he’d used before, still lying in the corridor, almost hidden by the streaming water. He sprang forward, slipped in the wet and fell headlong.
Glancing back, he saw the rat’s shoulders emerge from the widening hole. Frantically, he stumbled forward
