Doctor Who_ Earthworld - Jacqueline Rayner [3]
With a horrific screeching noise, an enormous leathery creature glided down from a rocky outcrop. Bigger than an eagle – than two eagles – and with the ugliest long pointed mouth thing – not exactly a beak, and with hundreds of tiny, pointed teeth. . .
‘It’s a pterodactyl,’ said the Doctor helpfully.
‘I know that! But they weren’t around with cavemen!’ Anji said, trying to concentrate on keeping her footing and not pulling all three of them over. Without turning round she could hear the grunts that told her the caveman was still behind them, not distracted by the huge flying reptile.
‘So it could be a parallel Earth, then!’ The Doctor sounded quite excited.
‘And are giant dinosaur bird things less ferocious on parallel Earths in general? Is it likely to attack us?’
‘No idea!’ He still sounded as if he was having a great time. ‘But just in case, keep runni– Oof! ’
‘ Oof! ’ echoed Anji and Fitz, unable to separate in time. All three sprawled on the ground.
‘What was that?’ yelled Fitz, obviously forgetting that he knew everything.
Anji clambered off Fitz, whose expression was alternating between fear and
‘hey, there’s a woman on top of me’, and narrowed her eyes, peering ahead.
Sand. Rock. Thin air. For the life of her, she couldn’t see what they’d banged into.
The Doctor put a hand tentatively forward. The air around it shimmered, like a heat haze. ‘Energy barrier,’ he announced.
‘Here comes the caveman!’ Fitz shouted. ‘And he’s got a club from somewhere! Use your sonic screwdriver, Doctor!’
10
EarthWorld
‘What for?’
‘To disable the barrier!’
‘How?’
‘ Aaaaargh! I don’t know!’ Fitz seemed a bit stressed. ‘You’re the genius!’
The Doctor had brought his screwdriver thing out of his pocket and was staring at it.
The caveman was slow and lumbering – they could probably dodge it for a while – but unless they got back to the TARDIS there was nowhere really to hide. The pterodactyl was swooping around – interestingly avoiding the barrier.
The caveman had stopped, too, but lurked menacingly a short distance away.
Perhaps they could sense the barrier. But the Doctor, Fitz and Anji couldn’t.
And if they kept bumping into invisible barriers, and the caveman and the flying dinosaur got over their wariness. . . The Doctor had to get them through it.
‘I’ve seen you use the sonic screwdriver before,’ Anji said, trying to sound encouraging. ‘You just seemed to know what to do without thinking about it!’
‘Yes!’ the Doctor beamed. ‘Good point! If I don’t think about trying to use it and concentrate on something else instead – that pterodactyl, for example.
It’s not actually a dinosaur or a bird, did you know that? And, interestingly, no one’s worked out how they managed to take off from ground level. I wonder if it’ll land so we can find out? Also –’ he was pointing the sonic screwdriver at the barrier, but looking at Anji – ‘they probably ate fish and carrion, so we should be in no danger.’
‘Oh? Really?’ said Anji, remaining unconvinced as she watched the reptile swooping around. She made encouraging noises as the Doctor waved the sonic screwdriver around behind his back.
‘And they could have a wingspan of fifteen or so metres. This one’s just a baby,’ the Doctor continued. Anji wondered if she was supposed to be grateful for that.
Fitz gave a sudden whoop. ‘That’s it!’ he cried. There was a swirling, shimmering hole appearing in front of them, a sort of air-whirlpool, pale blue and the size of a dinner plate – a car tyre – a car door. Incredible. Fitz was on his feet and through it in an instant; it looked like he’d walked into a cloud. ‘Fitz!’
Anji called, alarmed – did he always jump into things without thinking first?
There was a whistle of astonishment from the other side of the barrier, and then she heard Fitz’s voice. ‘I’m OK!’ he was saying. ‘Come on!’ A hand appeared through the swirling blue and made beckoning gestures at them.
Anji turned to congratulate the Doctor. ‘You did