Neverwhere

 

«There was a faraway screaming noise, thin and mindless, like an idiot child deprived of its toy. The smoke-tentacle let go of Richard’s ankle, and slid back over the edge of the platform, and it was gone. Hunter took Richard by the scruff of the neck and pulled him towards the back wall, where Richard slumped against it. He was trembling, and the world seemed suddenly utterly unreal. The colour had been sucked from his jeans wherever the things had touched him, making them look as if they’d been ineptly tie-dyed. He pulled up the trouser-leg: tiny purple welts were coming up on the skin of his ankle and calf. ‘What was that?’
 
Hunter looked down at him impassively. Her face could have been carved from Brown Wood. ‘I don’t think it has a name’, she said. ‘They live in the gaps. I did warn you.’
 
‘I’ve… never seen one before.’
 
‘You weren’t part of the Underside before,’ said Hunter. ‘Just wait by the wall. It’s safer.’
 
The Marquis was checking the time on a large gold pocket-watch. He returned it to his waistcoat pocket, consulted the paper Lear had given him and nodded, satisfied. ‘We’re in luck,’ he pronounced. ‘The Earl’s Court train should be coming through here in about half an hour.’
 
‘Earl’s Court station isn’t on the Central Line,’ pointed out Richard.
 
The Marquis stared at Richard, openly amused. ‘What a refreshing mind you have, young man,’ he said. ‘There really is nothing quite like total ignorance, is there?’
 
The warm wind began to blow. An Underground train pulled up at the station. People got off and other people got on, going about the business of their lives, and Richard watched them with envy. ‘Mind the Gap,’ intoned a recorded voice. ‘Stand clear of the doors. Mind the Gap.’ Door took one look at Richard. Then, worried about what she was seeing, she walked over to him, and she took his hand. He was very pale, and his breath was coming shallow and fast. ‘Mind the Gap,’ boomed the recorded voice again. ‘I’m fine,’ lied Richard bravely, to no one in particular.»
 
Neil Gaiman
Neverwhere