Diggers by Terry Pratchett

Author:Terry Pratchett
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, azw3, pdf
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

The truck rolled down the lane and onto the main road. A car skidded into the hedge to avoid it; another truck managed to stop at the end of four long streaks of scorched rubber on the wet road.

None of the nomes in the cab noticed this at the time. All they felt was another thump as the truck bounced gently off the far side of the road and down the lane that ran toward the railway. Where, with red lights flashing, the barriers were coming down.

Sacco peered out of the stricken doorway.

“We’ve just crossed over a road,” he said.

“Ah,” said Dorcas.

“I just saw a car run into the back of another car, and a truck ended up going sideways,” Sacco went on.

“Ah. Lucky we got over, then,” said Dorcas. “There’s some dangerous drivers around.”

The gritty sound of the flat tires rolling over gravel gradually slowed down. There was the snap of something breaking behind the truck, a couple of bumps, and then another thump that brought them to a halt.

They heard a low, booming noise.

Nomes hear things differently from humans, and the shrill clanging of the grade crossing’s warning alarms sounded, to them, like the mournful tolling of an ancient bell.

“We’ve stopped,” said Dorcas. He thought: We could have pressed the brake pedal. We could have looked for something to press it with and pressed it. I must be getting too old. Oh, well. “Come on, no hanging around. We can jump out. You youngsters can, anyway.”

“Why? What are you going to do?” said Sacco.

“I’m going to wait until you’ve all jumped out, and then I’m going to tell you to catch me,” said Dorcas pleasantly. “I’m not as young as I was. Now, off you go.”

They got down awkwardly, hanging on to the edge of the sill and dropping on to the road.

Dorcas lowered himself gingerly onto the brink and sat with his legs dangling over the drop.

It looked like a long way down.

Below him, Nooty prodded Sacco respectfully on the arm.

“Er. Sacco,” she said, nervously.

“What is it?”

“Look at that metal rail thing over there.”

“Well, what about it?”

“There’s another one over there,” said Nooty, pointing.

“Yes, I can see,” said Sacco testily. “What about them? They’re not doing anything.”

“We’re right in between them,” said Nooty. “I just thought I should, you know, point it out. And there’s that bell thing ringing.”

“Yes, I can hear it,” said Sacco irritably. “I wish it would stop.”

“I just wondered why it was.”

Sacco shrugged. “Who knows why anything happens?” he said. “Come on, Dorcas. Please. We haven’t got all day.”

“I’m just composing myself,” said Dorcas quietly.

Nooty wandered miserably away from the group and looked down at one of the rails. It was bright and shiny.

And it seemed to be singing.

She bent closer. Yes, it was certainly making a faint humming sound. Which was odd. Bits of metal didn’t normally make any noise at all. Not by themselves, anyway.

She looked up at the truck.

As she stared at the truck stuck between the flashing lights and the shiny rails, the world seemed to change slightly and a horrible idea formed in her head.

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