Doctor Who_ Dinosaur Invasion - Malcolm Hulke [30]
‘Creating monsters in Central London is the work of lunatics.’
‘That is how it may seem to you. But there are very good reasons for it. When you understand everything you will be eternally grateful. Believe me, my dear, and try to trust me.’
‘They’ll find me,’ she shouted. ‘You’ll be sent to prison. The Doctor and the Brigadier will be searching for me! ‘
‘I very much doubt it,’ said Sir Charles. ‘And certainly not where you’re going.’
Sir Charles nodded curtly and Butler slammed the door.
Sarah paced angrily about the tiny room. How stupid to have walked straight into the trap! It was the same with that tyrannosaurus rex—she had brought it all on herself. The bump on her head was throbbing and she felt very fed up. She sat down on the chair and tried to stop herself from crying.
A light set in the metal wall opposite her started to blink on and off, red and green and orange. She moved the chair round to face a different wall. There another light was blinking, pink and blue and mauve. She moved the chair again, and found herself facing yet another light. And this time the light began to fascinate her. In a moment she was staring fixedly at the blinking light, and all the anger and fear drained from her mind.
6 The Space Ship
Sarah opened her eyes. A very handsome young man was smiling down at her. His glinting fair hair was cut short; his cheeks glowed with good health.
‘Welcome to the people,’ he said gently.
‘Who are you?’
‘My name is Mark.’
She turned her head to look about her. The walls and ceiling made one huge curve—it was as though they were inside a tube. She realised she was lying on her back on a trolley.
‘Where is this?’
‘The space ship,’ replied Mark. ‘You see it’s all come true.’
Sarah struggled to sit upright. She looked down at herself. She was wearing a very plain blue denim tunic. Mark was similarly dressed.
‘What’s going on?’ she asked, trying to conceal the panic in her voice. ‘Where am I?’
Mark smiled again. ‘We left Earth three months ago. Come and look.’
With his help, Sarah got down from the trolley. Her legs were unsteady, as though she had just awoken from a very deep sleep. ‘This way,’ said Mark, leading her to a porthole set in the curved wall. ‘Isn’t that wonderful?’
Sarah looked through the porthole on to the black vastness of Space. Distant suns showed as pin-pricks of light. ‘How did I get here?’
‘You must have forgotten. It’s understandable. But the Elders will explain everything. Let’s go and meet them. Come.’
He held out his hand. Cautiously Sarah took it, and allowed herself to be led through a curved metal corridor. They entered a large communal area with many portholes, tables, and chairs. A middle-aged man with white hair and a white goatee beard was seated at a table carving a wooden bowl. Close by, a tall, rather beautiful grey-haired woman was making cloth on a treadle weaving machine. Both wore blue denim tunics.
‘Here she is!’ Mark announced.
The man and woman looked up and smiled. The woman left her weaving and came over to embrace Sarah.
‘You’re the first to recover,’ she said, kissing Sarah lightly on the cheek. ‘Welcome back to the people.’
Sarah pulled away from the woman. ‘Who are you?’
The white-haired man came over to her and extended his hand. ‘My name is Adam. This is Ruth.’
Sarah looked at them in astonishment. ‘Surely those aren’t your real names!’ She turned to the woman. ‘I interviewed you about that Bill of yours in the House of Lords against the pollution of rivers.’ She pointed to the man. ‘And you’re Nigel Castle, the novelist.’
‘Not any more,’ said the man who liked to be called Adam. ‘Now I work with my hands.’
Sarah turned back to look more closely at the young man called Mark. ‘And now I remember you, too. You’re John Crichton. You ran the three minute mile. What are you all doing here?’
‘The same as you, my dear,’ said Ruth. ‘We are on our way to New Earth, a small planet similar to Earth but at an earlier stage of development.’
‘You’ve been in suspended animation for three months,’ Adam informed her. ‘But