Doctor Who_ Alien Bodies - Lawrence Miles [124]
‘I can’t carry here alone, can I? Come on. Help me.’
‘F’get it,’ Manjuele said, with the faintest of grins.
Homunculette clenched his fists. ‘Listen, you little primitive –’
‘Look out!’
Justine spun around. The Doctor stood next to her, his companion at his side, the Relic hovering at his feet. Qixotl and the UNISYC Colonel were close at hand, and all of them were staring up the corridor. Justine followed their lead.
There was something at the end of the passage, standing at the point where the corridor turned a ninety-degree corner. At first, Justine thought the creature was E-Kobalt, but she soon realised it was larger, bulkier, than the Kroton commander had been. Its body was bloated, covered in shapeless bumps, the front of its torso plated with panels of silver-white armour. Instead of legs, it had a single gigantic tread. Its shoulders were huge, almost touching the opposing walls of the passage. Justine was reminded of one of the war machines described in the works of Mr Wells. Tanks, she’d heard them called.
Like E-Kobalt, the monster had two flexible limbs extending from its body. However, both of these arms ended in open tubes. The being’s tiny head rotated on top of its gigantic body.
‘What –’ Justine began.
Before she could say anything more, something knocked her off her feet. In the moments that followed, she worked out that it had been the Doctor. He’d moved backwards down the corridor, away from the war machine, sweeping Justine along with him. When Justine regained her senses, she found herself leaning against the wall at the other end of the passage. The Doctor and his assistant were nearby, while Qixotl and Kortez were already hurtling off along a side-tunnel.
As Justine watched, the corridor in front of her was filled with what looked like a thick white mist. She saw Manjuele sprinting towards her, the wave-front of the gas at his back. The Little Brother looked terrified. It was the first time Justine had seen him like that, and it was amazing how pathetic he suddenly seemed.
There was a groaning from the other side of the vapour, the sound of the monster trundling forward. Justine saw the casket vanish amidst the puffy white clouds. It had tried to follow the Doctor, but it hadn’t been fast enough.
‘Move!’ the Doctor shouted.
So Justine moved. She made for the side-tunnel, the same way Qixotl and the Colonel had gone, the Doctor and the girl in front of her. The Cousin’s skirt wrapped itself around her legs as she ran, so she had to hop some of the way to stop herself toppling over.
‘What is it?’ the girl asked, as she headed up the passage.
‘Another Kroton,’ the Doctor told her. ‘Full battle dress, this time. It’s the kind of body they wear when they want to make an impression. Not very energy-efficient, though.’ He stopped, without warning. Justine very nearly ran into him. ‘Which way to the shrine?’ he asked her, urgently.
Justine pointed. ‘But the Relic –’
‘Too late. We’re going to have to tackle the problem at the source.’ He took his companion’s hand, and dragged her away around the corner Cousin Justine had indicated.
Manjuele appeared at Justine’s side. His eyes were bulging out of his head, and he looked like he was ready to start crying at any moment.
‘S’no good,’ he blabbered. ‘No good. S’like home. S’just like home. Riot tanks. Oh God. Oh Jesus Christ.’
Cousin Justine slapped him. Once, on the cheek, as hard as she could.
‘We have a duty to the Grandfather,’ she said, sternly. ‘Had you forgotten?’
Manjuele looked down at his shoes. A grimace settled on his face.
Justine surveyed the passage. The Doctor and his friend were long gone. Kortez and Qixotl had vanished, too. Behind them, the rumbling had stopped, and the gas wasn’t following them around the corner.
‘What d’we do?’ Manjuele asked, feebly.
‘The Spirits will guide us,’ Justine replied. Amazingly, she managed to make it sound like she really believed it.
The Kroton’s designation was I-Coda-Minor. It had been one of the four units manning the lead ship of the Warspear, and like its cell-mates, it