Doctor Who_ Bad Therapy - Matthew Jones [108]
‘But you will not take his life?’ she said, as if she had suspected this all along.
‘Not while there is another way. While there is any other way.’
The woman nodded. ‘There is no time to argue. Our husband’s creatures are very close. Come, we will show you the way to the surface.’
The last stretch of the tunnel was an almost vertical climb. The tunnel narrowed towards the end, it was like trying to climb up the inside of a wine bottle. Twice Jack had been sure that he was completely stuck, and in danger of toppling back down. On both occasions, the Doctor had lowered his umbrella and allowed Jack to pull himself up on its handle. It was as if the Doctor could somehow sense when Jack was in difficulty.
They were nearing the patch of sky revealed at the end of the tunnel when Jack, who was bringing up the rear, caught sight of blank-faced mannequins below them. The creatures were moving quickly, scrambling up the sides of the steep tunnel with no care for where they found their footing. Several of them missed their grip and fell back only to start climbing again, immediately, their place on the rock face quickly taken by another creature.
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Jack felt a thrill of fear. They were like soldier ants, relentless and determined. He looked up at the mouth of the tunnel. He wasn’t going to make it.
If he tried to move any faster he was going to fall. Fall down amongst them.
He shivered and continued to climb.
He was within a yard of the top when he felt something grasp hold of his ankle. The grip was so tight it hurt.
‘Doctor!’
He glanced down at the empty face staring up at him. Despite having no mouth, the creature let out a whinny of triumph and started to pull him down.
Jack lost his grip on the tunnel wall and his fingers scraped over the rock, painfully. He reached up with his hand for the Doctor’s umbrella handle. It was just out of reach, the tips of his fingers brushing against it.
No chance.
‘Jack!’ The Doctor yelled, stretching down as far as he could. ‘Jack!’
When Jack caught sight of the look of impotent rage on the Doctor’s face, he realized that his friend didn’t know how to rescue him. The Doctor wasn’t going to be able to save him this time.
Bizarrely, Jack found himself wanting to apologize to the Doctor. The words were forming on his lips when something blocked the light from the tunnel mouth. At the same time, he was yanked down roughly by the creature which had now reached up and gripped hold of his belt. And then, seemingly from nowhere, strong hands gripped him under his arms. He heard the whine of a strange engine straining, and then he was shot up, out of the tunnel, like a cork from a champagne bottle.
‘It’s OK. I’ve got you,’ Gilliam said, as they bobbed up and down above the English countryside.
Jack looked down to see the Doctor staring up at them, a look of profound relief on the little man’s face. ‘You’ve got me?’ Jack asked incredulously as the wind whistled around them. ‘Then who’s got you?’ Was this somehow the Doctor’s doing? Part of his alien powers? ‘Has the Doctor got you?’
‘Yes. I guess he has,’ Gilliam said, hugging Jack tightly with one arm and adjusting the null-gravity belt controls with her other hand. ‘And he’s a lucky bastard.’
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13
Alone
Chris woke to find himself alone in the large double bed. He could hear the sounds of someone preparing food coming from downstairs. Was Patsy making him breakfast in bed? He was surprised. This was a side to her which he hadn’t encountered before.
His clothes were still scattered across the bathroom floor. Not bothering to search them out and dress, Chris made his way down to the kitchen. The elderly woman washing up took one look at his nakedness and started to scream. His immediate reaction was to move closer to the matronly woman as he tried to explain who he was. But the nearer he got the more panic-stricken she looked and the louder her screams became.
Chris was backing out of the room apologizing when he heard the front door slam. Patsy appeared a few seconds later, clutching two packets