Doctor Who_ Deep Blue - Mark Morris [27]
The wind ruffled her hair as she began to walk and made her shiver slightly. It was chilly, but at least it might help clear the remnants of the alcohol which still befuddled her thoughts. It was unwise to make any decisions about her future now; she would sleep on it, think about it again in the morning One conclusion she did come to, though, was that whatever was happening here, she would let the Doctor deal with it on his own. She had no intention of breaking her date with Andy tomorrow.
She came to a halt, wondering whether she ought to head back to the hotel. How long had she been gone? Ten minutes? It wasn‟t much of a statement, was it? About five hundred yards away, moonlight was washing across a set of caves, their yawning mouths pooled with shadow. She would walk as far as the caves and then slowly back, she decided.
Her ears filled with nothing but the foaming rush of the sea, she trudged unhurriedly towards them.
Deep in the shadows at the back of the largest cave, something stirred. Its spiny flesh rasped the stone wall it had been slumped against as it emerged from its fevered sleep.
The smell that had roused it - coppery, pungent, and oh so deliriously, unbearably sweet - made it salivate, tremble and jerk with excitement. It hauled itself forward to the cave mouth, its stertorous breathing audible only to itself beneath the constant frothing hiss of the waves, and peered out.
A woman was approaching along the sand, the wind plucking at her hair and clothes, her outline backlit by the moon. It was her blood that the creature could smell; it was beating off her in waves. As she drew closer, so the smell intensified, until the creature was almost crazed by it. Slowly it levered its body up on its eight legs, tensing itself for the kill...
Part Two
Breaking Out
Turlough shouted her name again, but Tegan didn‟t respond.
Either she was wilfully ignoring him or she couldn‟t hear him above the crashing of the waves. He made an exasperated sound and resumed his shambling run. He had always hated physical exercise; if you had to exert yourself to get something you wanted, then it probably wasn‟t worth getting in the first place.
He shouted her name a third time, and on this occasion, to his relief, she stopped and turned round.
„What do you want?‟ she asked discouragingly as he drew near.
He thumped to a halt and bent double, hands on his knees, out of breath. After a moment he gasped, „I came... to see... if you were all right.‟
„Did the Doctor send you?‟ she asked suspiciously.
„No. But I do think you ought to come back and talk to him.
Clear the air.‟
Obstinately she folded her arms. „Why?‟
„Well, because... because you and the Doctor are the only friends I‟ve got. I don‟t like ill-will between any of us.‟
She snorted. „That‟s rich, coming from someone who was trying to kill him not so very long ago.‟
He looked shame-faced, hurt. „You know I was tricked by the Black Guardian. Besides, that‟s all in the past now. I‟m doing my best to make amends.‟
„Is that so?‟
„Yes! Look, I don‟t suppose I can blame you for not trusting me, but we got each other out of Sea Base Four alive, didn‟t we? There‟ll be no more lies, I promise.‟
„We‟ll see,‟ said Tegan, though her voice was softer now.
Turlough extended a tentative hand towards her. „ Please come back to the hotel.‟
Tegan sighed and glanced towards the Lombard. She could see the lights in its windows glowing some distance away, up beyond the promenade.
„He treats us like children,‟ she said. He doesn‟t tell us what‟s going on.‟
„He‟s not like that all the time,‟ said Turlough.
Tegan gave him a sharp look. „Why are you defending him?‟
„I‟m not. It‟s just...‟