Doctor Who_ Delta and the Bannermen - Malcolm Kohll [37]
Although he thought perhaps it was a little unkind, he considered Hawk’s unfortunate accident to be a useful lesson and one that he hoped the others had learned from.
The Doctor stood staring at the TARDIS for a moment, a maze of complex options whirling through his brain.
Finally, he decided on the simplest. He picked up a long stick and started to cautiously approach his spaceship.
At Goronwy’s place Gavrok dropped his hand. ‘Open fire!’
he cried and a withering burst of sustained fire ripped out of the trees towards the cottage. Window panes smashed and the walls were pock-marked by explosions as the ear-splitting cacophony continued. At last, Gavrok raised his hand as a signal for the men to stop firing.
The silence was eerie. Gavrok was the first to emerge from the trees, his weapons raised. He and his men fanned out as they carefully approached the cottage. Gavrok felt certain that no one could have survived the firestorm but his instincts told him to he wary.
He and his lieutenant flanked the front door. Gavrok poured another volley of fire through the door then kicked it open. He and his henchman rolled inside, firing wildly, hoping to eliminate any opposition before they had a chance to fire back.
The cottage seemed empty. Gavrok led his men from room to room, finding nothing. His face grew darker with each disappointment until he reached the rearmost room in the house. ‘Blue Moon’ was playing on the radio.
Gavrok put his finger to his lips signalling silence then crashed through the door, firing. The only victim was the old wooden radio with its fretwork grille, which was blasted into smithereens by the furious Gavrok. He whirled on the terrified Callon, standing quaking behind him.
‘Where are they, scum?’ demanded the leader of the Bannerman warfleet. "They... they were here, sir,’ sputtered Callon, fearing that unless he found some trace of the Chimeron Queen, and found it fast, his life would terminate swiftly and painfully. ‘Maybe... maybe they’re outside, sir,’ he gasped. Gavrok glared at him and turned on his heels.
Once outside Gavrok scanned the skies, thinking that they may have escaped vertically, but then something caught his eye. Projecting from under the door of the barn was a scrap of brightly-coloured material. Gavrok smirked and tiptoed up to the locked door. He blasted the heavy brass padlock with a single shot and rushed inside, followed by his men.
Another anti-climax! The barn was empty. Gavrok was about to leave when he heard a sound. A faint rumbling which grew swiftly in intensity until it was like the galloping of a multitide of horses. Gavrok and his men all looked up at the same moment in time to see a wooden feed chute swinging towards them. And tumbling down the chute was the source of the noise – about ten thousand jars of Goronwy’s finest honey. Gavrok opened his mouth to shout but was too late. An instant later the bottles hit their target and smashed, coating them all in gallons of viscous honey, so thick that they could barely move.
Gavrok and his men staggered from the barn in slow motion, trying desperately to see and breathe through the glutinous liquid. When they had managed to wipe the sticky mass from their faces, they proceeded with the task of trying to pick shards of glass from their skins and clothes. Gavrok roared in frustration and cursed the Doctor to the heavens.
However, there was worse to come. As Gavrok and his men slowly made their difficult journey towards the water’s edge they became aware of a distant droning, getting louder each second. Gavrok’s face twisted up towards the new sound and froze in horror. The very sky seemed to darken as a monstrous buzzing filled the valley.
A vast swarm of bees converged on the honey-covered Bannermen.
The Bannermen, who until now had seemed as incapable of movement as flies in amber, were suddenly galvanized into action by the bee attack. They flayed