Doctor Who_ Blue Box - Kate Orman [44]
I woke up as the sound of another car carried through the night air. A moment later we heard the crunch of tires on gravel. I ducked down, peeking through the passenger window. The other car was parking in the lookout, a little distance from us.
‘It’s OK,’ I said. ‘It’s the Doctor.’
Peri and Bob wriggled loose from their sleeping bags and opened the side door of the campervan. The Doctor got inside and closed the door. They scrunched up to make room for him, banging on the back of my seat.
‘Thank you for the postcard, Bob,’ he said.
‘Are you OK?’ said Peri, sleepily.
‘Manifestly,’ said the Doctor.
‘Well, how did everything go?’
‘Almost without a hitch. I did have a little run-in with some officers of the law.’ Peri and Bob’s eyes grew huge.
‘Fortunately, with the device at hand, it wasn’t difficult to persuade them to sit quietly in their patrol car until I had made good my escape.’
‘You did what?’ I said.
He said grimly, ‘I was not exaggerating when I said that, in the wrong hands, the device could be used for mischievous ends. In any case, it’s out of the picture now. The device has been safely returned to its owners, and they have retreated to a safer location. I suggest you all get a good night’s rest, and tomorrow we’ll begin our search for its twin.
Some time later I opened my eyes and saw that the Doctor was standing in the lookout, uh, looking out. His hands were clasped behind his back. Standing so still, in his black suit, he looked like one of the mountains out there in the night, solid and ramrod still. I slipped out of the car, pulling on my jacket, and went to stand beside him.
The air was crisp and clean as though it had just been washed. American forests smell different, they have a rich, dirty, wet smell you could cut with a knife. Australian forests have their own delicate, dry smell. It’s like comparing coffee to tea. And the sky... instead of the sparkling cross, there’s the huge, empty shape of the plough, cranking its way around the northern pole of the sky like a giant handle.
I lit up. In the freezing air, the cigarette felt like it was burning my fingers. The Doctor glanced back towards the car.
‘How do you think they’re managing?’ he asked quietly.
I took – a deep, deep drag of that tasty smoke. ‘They’re knackered,’ I said bluntly. ‘I think the excitement is wearing off, even for Bob. Peri’s just coasting. It’s like she’s used to things sucking, she expects it.’
The corner of the Doctor’s mouth scrunched into an angry look. ‘That young lady has seen me through some very troubled times. And that young man has a great deal of courage and determination. They both deserve better than running from place to place in a constant lather.’
I shrugged. ‘If either of them really can’t take it, they’ll just step out for a packet of peanuts and never come back.’ He looked down at me. ‘They’ll survive,’ I said. ‘They both believe this is incredibly important.’
‘It’s more important than I can tell you, Mr Peters.’
‘Chick. Please.’
‘Chick,’ he said. He looked out across the valley again, breathed in that cold clean air. ‘May I?’ the Doctor reached for my ciggie. I handed it over. He flicked his hand in the air, and suddenly it was gone. He went on as though nothing had happened. ‘It’s so hard to believe this little world is balancing on the edge of a knife. Every day, any day, at a moment’s notice, the sky could fill with deadly lights.’
‘I know. Now this thing with Poland. You know, my neighbour’s kid plays Missile Command. That home video game. He’s still too young to get the joke.’
But the Doctor was shaking his head. ‘It’s not your petty wars I’m worried about,’ he said. That startled the hell out of me: one of the facts of life, living in Washington DC, was knowing you were standing in one of the world