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  ‘I know!’ said the Doctor delightedly. ‘How easy was that?’

  ‘Not making it better, Doctor,’ said Yaz, through gritted teeth. She gave Ryan a sheepish look. ‘I did get stuck in a creepy corridor.’

  Ryan sniffed. ‘I hardly think that compares to what we went through. Do you?’

  They went inside the TARDIS and gathered in the console room, as the Doctor began to hit switches with her usual enthusiasm. The controls hummed with power, the noughtweed already a distant memory.

  ‘So, where to next?’ asked Ryan.

  The Doctor didn’t seem to hear the question. She paused over one particular instrument panel, studying it intently. ‘Hmm.’

  ‘What is that?’ asked Graham. ‘Service indicator?’

  ‘The distress-signal receiver. Clever piece of kit. Capable of tuning into signals sent from anywhere in the universe.’

  The three companions clustered round, and Yaz motioned to a pulsing section of the display. ‘I’m guessing the blinking light means someone’s in distress?’

  ‘Then what are we waiting for?’ said Ryan.

  ‘Whoa!’ said Graham. ‘What’s the rush? “Distress” doesn’t necessarily mean life or death, right? Come on, we’ve literally just saved the universe. Don’t we get some time off?’

  Ryan threw up his hands in frustration. ‘Graham!’

  ‘Don’t “Graham” me. It could also be a trap. Right, Doc?’

  ‘Could be,’ agreed the Doctor brightly.

  ‘That’s not going to stop you rushing headlong in, though, is it?’ added Graham miserably.

  In answer, the Doctor shot him a grin.

  ‘Ignore him, Doctor,’ said Ryan. ‘So, where to this time? Past, present or future?’

  Yaz chimed in. ‘Desert planet? Underwater city? Hogwarts?’

  ‘That’s just it,’ said the Doctor, turning to stare with a mixture of puzzlement and unease across the console room. Slowly, she walked to the very edge of the room and gazed down the long passage that led to the deeper recesses of the ship. ‘Based on the co-ordinates, the signal is coming from inside the TARDIS.’

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  David Solomons is the bestselling author of the My Brother Is a Superhero books, which have won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2016, the British Book Industry Awards Children’s Book of the Year 2016 and the 2017 Laugh Out Loud Book Awards. He has been watching Doctor Who from behind a sofa since Jon Pertwee regenerated into Tom Baker. Writing The Secret in Vault 13 fulfils a lifelong ambition.

  In addition to his acclaimed children’s fiction, he has been writing screenplays for many years – his first feature film was an adaptation of Five Children and It, starring Kenneth Branagh and Eddie Izzard. He was born in Glasgow and now lives in Dorset with his wife, the novelist Natasha Solomons, their son, Luke, and daughter, Lara.

  ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATORS

  Laura Ellen Anderson is the author and illustrator of the Amelia Fang series as well as the creator of Evil Emperor Penguin for The Phoenix comic. She illustrated Sibéal Pounder’s Witch Wars series and CBeebies presenter Cerrie Burnell’s picture books and fiction series. Laura’s first author/illustrator picture book, I Don’t Want Curly Hair!, was published in 2017. She has recently created new cover illustrations for Terry Pratchett’s Tiffany Aching series, and Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books. When not working, Laura enjoys doodling for fun, making 3D models of her characters, creating Harry Potter fan art, baking and making ‘To Do’ lists. She lives in North London.

  www.laura­ellenand­erson.co.uk

  @Lillustrator

  George Ermos is an illustrator, maker and avid reader from England. He works digitally and enjoys indulging in (and illustrating) all things curious and mysterious.

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