Doctor Who_ Dinosaur Invasion - Malcolm Hulke [4]
‘There’s no need to be funny,’ she said. ‘Come on, we’ll press ahead.’
As they started off again they both heard the sound of the lorry. Without a word they stopped, listened intently.
Sarah said, ‘Where is it?’
The Doctor put his finger to his lips. ‘Shhh!’
The sound of the lorry altered as its driver changed into reverse gear.
‘That street over there,’ said the Doctor, pointing to a side street, ‘and it’s backing up for some reason.’
They hurriedly crossed the main road to the opening of the side street from where they could hear the lorry. As they entered the side street, the sound of the lorry’s engine stopped.
‘We’ve lost it,’ said Sarah.
‘I don’t think so,’ said the Doctor. ‘Look down there.’
Half way down the street of little houses a large warehouse was set well back from the road. Big double doors stood wide open and the nose of a lorry protruded out on to a tarmac apron. The Doctor and Sarah ran down the street towards the lorry. Sarah had forgotten all about her tiredness. As they approached the open double doors the Doctor started calling.
‘Hello? Anyone at home?’
There was no response. The Doctor put his hand on the bonnet of the lorry. ‘This must be the one we heard,’ he said. ‘It’s warm. The engine has just been running.’
Cautiously they edged along the side of the lorry into the warehouse. It was filled with racks of expensive fur coats.
‘With London deserted, why should anyone want to make a delivery of fur coats?’ Sarah sounded puzzled.
The Doctor looked at an untidy heap of fur coats in the open back of the lorry. ‘I don’t think they were making a delivery,’ he said, ‘but more a collection. I mean they were stealing these furs.’
Suddenly two men, one gripping a vicious-looking jemmy, leapt out from behind one of the fur racks. Sarah screamed. The jemmy cracked down on the Doctor’s mop of curly hair. Gripping his head in agony, he fell to the ground. The two men ran down by the side of the lorry and escaped into the street. As Sarah knelt down by the Doctor, he opened his eyes and put his hand to his head.
‘That’s going to be a nasty bump,’ he said. With Sarah’s help he struggled to his feet, a little unsteadily. ‘At least they’ve provided us with some transport. Let’s see if they left the ignition key.’
The Doctor started to edge down the side of the lorry towards the cabin. But Sarah was staring towards a gloomy far corner of the warehouse. Something was moving there.
‘Doctor,’ she said, quietly, ‘I think there’s someone over there.’
The Doctor turned. ‘Hello?’ he called. ‘If you’re another fur thief, we really don’t mean you any harm. All we want to take is the lorry. The furs you can keep.’
With a shriek the thing in the far corner floated up into the air. Sarah couldn’t believe what she was now seeing—a pterodactyl, the flesh-eating flying reptile that was once the master species on Earth. Its leathery wings, eight feet wide, flapped and its toothed mouth was wide open as it dived down towards the Doctor and Sarah.
‘Get in the cabin,’ shouted the Doctor.
Sarah struggled into the lorry’s cabin and hastily slammed the door behind her. Outside, the Doctor grabbed one of the furs and flapped it at the attacking pterodactyl. The flying reptile pulled back and hovered for some moments before attacking again. But the pause gave the Doctor the vital seconds he needed to get into the cabin and behind the driving wheel. The ignition key was in the fascia and he turned it. The self-starter worked, but the engine didn’t fire. As the Doctor tried again, the pterodactyl landed on the roof of the cabin and leaned over to look at his prey through the windscreen. On the third try, the engine sprang into life. The Doctor slipped the lorry into gear and roared out of the warehouse into the street. Through the rear mirror he saw the pterodactyl turn and fly off in the opposite direction.
Sarah, petrified, stared straight ahead. ‘I can’t believe it. I simply can’t believe it. Those things died out millions of years ago.’
‘During the Earth’s Cretaceous period to be correct,’ shouted the Doctor