Doctor Who_ Beyond the Sun - Matthew Jones [41]
Someone on the other side of the crowd started yelling frantically to get off the streets. She heard the word ‘sunless’ repeated over and over again as if it were a warning of some kind.
Maybe it was.
And then she was grabbed roughly from behind, and almost pulled off balance. This was the last straw. ‘Leave me alone, asshole!’ she screamed and turned around and smacked them in the face.
The woman who had manhandled her fell back on to the floor, yelping and cradling her bloody nose. ‘Tameka!’ the woman yelled. ‘That hurt!’
Tameka stared down at the woman in shock. It was her tutor. It was Bernice.
8
THE LAND OF DO AS YOU PLEASE?
‘They’re here,’ the reptile man whispered.
Standing next to him at one of the low windows of the stone igloo, Bernice tried to follow his gaze. She kept being distracted by the pain in her nose. ‘Where?’
‘At the far end of the street.’
‘What do they look like? Wait, I think I see them.’ The street had emptied. Most people had hurried inside after the arrival of the Sunless had been announced. Bernice caught sight of a few figures who weren’t wearing the now familiar wasp-stripe outfits.
At first glance, in their dark-grey combat fatigues and tough black boots, they reminded Bernice of mercenaries. Their hair was crew-cut, but carelessly so. Their heads were almost skeletal: snow-white skin drawn tightly over their skulls. Their features were sharp and quite striking, almost beautiful.
Angels of death.
Bernice became aware of cold sweat trickling down the middle of her back.
Their movements were coordinated, like machines running smoothly. Their lifeless eyes scanned the faces of the crowds. Evidently they were searching for something or someone.
It occurred to Bernice that if they had followed the flight of the haulage ship then they would know that it had made planet-fall in this region.
The people remaining on the street moved aside to let the grey figures past, careful to avoid eye contact. Only the children stared openly at them and pointed. The Sunless ignored the attention of the children. They seemed oblivious to the effect they had on the people around them, which only made them appear more frightening. There was no trace of arrogance in their manner and they didn’t seem to take pleasure in the dramatic effect they had on the population.
Not stupid, then.
‘They don’t usually come out this far,’ the lizard man beside her whispered.
The group of Sunless reached the far end of the village and disappeared through the trees.
Bernice let out a sigh when they had gone, realizing only as she did so that she’d been holding her breath.
‘They’re probably looking for us,’ Bernice replied, feeling responsible. She turned away from the window. The tall reptilian humanoid was staring at her with his bulbous eyes. They were so wide in proportion to his thin face that he looked to Bernice as if he were perpetually surprised.
‘I’m sorry if we’ve brought them to your town,’ she said, quietly.
She was surprised when his eyes opened further. ‘What have you got to be sorry about? You didn’t make them come here.’
‘Didn’t she?’ A new voice demanded angrily. Bernice turned around and saw the old human woman who’d fought with Scott on the street. Margaret was staring defiantly at her, her knuckles white where they gripped her walking stick. ‘Well what other reason have they got for coming out this far? That’s what I want to know.’ Bernice met the woman’s gaze, but didn’t say anything. She wasn’t sure what to say. For all she knew the woman was right.
The large stone igloo was full of people who’d hurried off the streets. Large dark pots were bubbling over an open fire, which burnt in the middle of the room. Tameka and Emile were sitting at one of the nearby benches,