Mine Skiff

A narrow, flat-bottomed river craft carved from dark wood and reinforced with iron strapping, the skiff sits low in the water, its single mast and tattered sail long discarded for clandestine metalworking in the mines. Narrow enough to slip between flooded tunnel ceilings, its sides bear fresh gouges from passage through jagged rock. Sarah Jane wades into the rising water, scrambles aboard, and propels the skiff with a makeshift pole through the flooded tunnels, the current carrying her faster than any foot pace could manage. The vessel’s hull shudders as it scrapes cavern walls, its aged timbers groaning under the strain of escape from Cybermen pursuit.