Doctor Who_ Enlightenment - Barbara Clegg [20]
‘It’s beautiful, isn’t it?’ she heard Marriner saying. ‘I can see in your mind you find it so.’
Tegan tried to keep her breathing as calm and even as possible, determined not to give in to the mild claustrophobia that the space helmet induced in her.
‘You may remove it if you wish.’ Marriner as usual knew exactly how she felt. ‘The atmosphere is breathable. It’s maintained by an invisible energy barrier.’ And then, before she realised what he was about to do, he clicked her helmet open. Every nerve in her body jerked as she waited for annihilation, but nothing happened.
‘You like giving people shocks, don’t you!’ she snapped crossly.
‘I wanted to show you I was telling the truth,’ Marriner said. ‘You can trust me now.’ He smiled sweetly at her.
‘The helmets are simply an extra precaution.’ He removed his own helmet as he spoke, and bent closer to look into her mind.
The two figures leaning against the rail were the first thing the Doctor spotted as he and Turlough emerged, and Tegan turned and saw them almost at the same moment.
She waved and started to cross the deck. She was saying something, but Turlough suddenly found that he could not hear her. He could hear nothing but a dull booming in his ears, which made him feel as though his head was going to burst. Then, within the terrible pounding, he began to distinguish a voice.
The Black Guardian was speaking. ‘Boy... boy...’ it vibrated inside his skull. ‘You are doomed... you have failed me...’
Turlough saw that the Doctor and Tegan had met now –
they were looking at the ships lying astern – they were saying something – but still he could not hear. In agony, trying to shut out the dreadful voice, he clapped his hands to his ears and stumbled away. The others did not even notice, they were engrossed in studying the other contestants. Turlough lurched against the ship’s railing in pain. ‘You will now see my wrath,’ boomed inside his head.
‘You will live aboard this ship in perpetual torment for the rest of your natural life.’
Turlough screamed.
The others turned, startled. By then he was already climbing the rail.
‘No!’ the Doctor shouted, and started to run.
Turlough was over the safety-rail by the time the Doctor reached him. He shook off the restraining hand, and, still screaming, hurled himself into space.
7
Man Overboard!
‘Man overboard!’ the Doctor’s cry was taken up by the lookout on the fo’c’s’le-head, and there was shouting as several sailors came scrambling up from below. Jackson was the first through the hatch. ‘Who is it?’ he yelled.
‘Where?’ Tegan pointed, mutely. A small figure was floating gently in space behind them, and getting smaller every minute as the ship moved away at speed. ‘It’s Turlough!’ the Doctor was unfastening one of the lifebelts as he spoke. In a few seconds he and Jackson had torn it loose and hurled it over the side. Tegan grabbed Marriner’s arm and almost shook him.
‘Don’t just stand there!’ she shouted. ‘Do something!
Stop the ship! Turn back!’
‘It would be ridiculous to risk losing the race for an Ephemeral,’ came the calm reasonable reply. Tegan could hardly believe her ears. ‘You can’t just leave him!’ she gasped. ‘He’ll die out there.’ Marriner patted her hand. ‘It will be over for him quickly,’ he said, soothingly, ‘His oxygen supply is very small.’
Tegan flung away from him in disgust and hurried to join the others at the rail. They were all staring after the lifebelt as it floated towards Turlough, the line it was attached to snaking out behind. Turlough stretched his arms towards it, and they held their breaths. Then, as it