Doctor Who_ Combat Rock - Mick Lewis [28]
There it was again: a crimson plume rose from the head, which was cocked, watching her. It danced along a bough, then popped just out of vision again.
Was it playing games with her? She stepped around the twisted bole of some alien tree, and the bird made a series of odd beeping noises at her, followed by a mocking whistle.
She was in a tiny clearing now, and could study the bird closely. She smiled, heart filling with wonder.
And a hand closed over her mouth, stifling her breath, stifling her scream.
The Doctor was frantic.
‘But you must have seen her, Jamie!’ He stumbled around the clearing where they had lost Victoria, while Jamie watched helplessly.
‘Och, I thought you were keeping an eye on her,’ he threw back defensively. He glanced anxiously around, searching for any traces of broken branches to indicate which way she might have gone.
Ussman said, ‘She was right behind us for a while. When we were listening to Kepennis’s story. That was the last time I saw her.’
The Doctor bounded forward, searching the spot behind the trader. And sure enough, there was a small area of crushed grass, leading into deeper jungle. Jamie followed him as he ducked into the foliage. Kepennis and Wemus looked at each other. Then the bearded guide moved swiftly to follow.
He was just in time. Jamie’s mouth was open, and he was just about to let loose a highland bellow. Kepennis dapped him hard on the shoulder, pulling him around and placing one finger on his lips.
‘Do not call out,’ he said quietly. ‘There are many you would not like hear us.’
The Doctor looked at him like a child who’s lost his parents. ‘W– well, we can’t simply do nothing.’ Then he pulled himself together. He faced Kepennis with a determined look on his face. ‘How far is the Mumi village from here?’
‘Not far. Ten minutes’ walk.’
‘Then the most logical thing to do would be to go there and look for her. Maybe she got lost and...’
‘Och, we should split up and continue searching,’ Jamie interrupted.
‘No, Jamie. I think for once we should let common sense hold sway over our emotions. Splitting up will only get some or all of us lost.’
‘We have two guides now,’ the Scot argued.
It was probably the only time he could think of in his chequered history with the Doctor when Jamie actually realized it made perfectly logical sense to split up. But the Doctor was determined.
‘We check the village first. If she’s not already there, maybe there will be somebody left alive who can tell us if they’ve seen Victoria. If not, then we can split up.’
Jamie looked undecided. But the Doctor was already signalling to Kepennis and Wemus to lead the way.
Reluctantly he followed. When he saw the slinking smirk on Drew’s face he briefly considered smashing it off, but that would only be wasting more time.
Of course, there was no sign of Victoria, and no-one left alive to ask. Akima was a dead village.
The Mumi was still burning.
The flames had reached the preserved corpse’s neck now, the rest of the body an outline of ash against the earth of the village compound.
Kepennis raced forward, hands stretched out to retrieve this relic of revered ancestry from immolation. The Doctor was not far behind.
Budi, Ussman and Santi were staring at the bodies.
There were a lot of bodies. Some merely charred heaps, others relatively unburned, but just as dead. Men, women, children. An entire community. Drew stood back, a little smile on his face, as if he was at a particularly entertaining village fete. Wemus was quiet, standing to one side, not looking at the bodies, not looking at anything. Wina approached him and, without saying a word, put a small hand on his bare shoulder.
The Papul guide turned and there were tears tracking silently down his cheeks. He shook his head and pulled gently away from her.
Wina saw Jamie looking at her, and she smiled a painful, sad smile. He nodded and went to join the Doctor.
‘Now, this is very interesting.’ The Doctor was fiddling with the mummified head, trying to remove something from the base