Doctor Who_ Full Circle - Andrew Smith [42]
At the workbench, Adric took notes at the Doctor's dictation. 'So,' he said, pointing to a couple of slides in front of him, 'you've got spider tissue, and the marsh creature...'
Varsh stepped between them, handing the Doctor another of the slides he had been preparing. 'And here's the first slide of Batch Three.'
The Doctor accepted the slide and held it up to the blue lamp above their heads. 'Alas,' he said. 'Poor Dexeter. Reduced to a tangle of stained chromosomes.'
Behind them, the whirr of the centrifuge stopped. Keara lifted out the test-tube and passed it over to the Doctor. 'It's ready, Doctor.'
'Good,' said the Doctor, taking it. 'That should put Romana to rights.'
A cupboard which had been propped against the doors came crashing to the ground, making the youngsters start. Slowly, the shadows from the overhead lamp shifting across his face, the Doctor turned his head.
Bang. Bang. Bang. The blows fell time and again on the door. The barricade reverberated under the assault. The Marshmen had come to get them.
Adric and Varsh ran forward to add their strength to the barricade, but just as they reached the doors they burst open, sending the youngsters reeling back amid the tumbling equipment they had stacked up.
The Marshmen entered slowly, sucking in noisy, laborious breaths, their gleaming black eyes set on the humanoids before them.
'Adric. Varsh. Back here,' the Doctor ordered, and the youngsters came to his side.
'Don't let them touch you,' the Doctor instructed, surveying the creatures. There were three of them. It was enough. 'You understand? Avoid all contact.' Slowly he edged his way round the table. 'The rest of you, stay there.' Looking down, he saw a stack of oxygen cylinders lying at his feet. He snatched one up, then moved further across the room, the eyes of the Marshmen on him.
One by one, mimicking the Doctor, the Marshmen went to the pile of clyinders and lifted out their own. This done, they turned back to face the Doctor.
The Doctor's hand found the release valve on the cylinder. He turned it, and with an angry hiss a spray of oxygen shot out towards the Marshmen. They squealed, terrified, and backed away.
One of them twisted at the valve on the cylinder it carried. Over-zealously, for the valve came away and there was an eruption of oxygen straight into the creature's face. It hollered piercingly and sank to its knees, dropping the cylinder.
The Doctor turned his cylinder on the other two creatures. They shrieked, dropping their cylinders and backing away. A wide smile split the Doctor's face. 'It's the oxygen!' he cried. 'It's too rich - they can't adapt quickly enough!'
Immediately, Varsh, Adric and Keara leapt forward and snatched up cylinders for themselves. They turned them on the marsh creatures, herding them towards the doors.
The Marshmen, all three of them, backed away helplessly under the assault.
The Doctor placed his cylinder down and nipped over to the workbench. There was no time to lose. Leaving the youngsters to deal with the Marshmen, he inserted one of the slides into the microscope and bent over it.
He was unaware of the face which appeared suddenly behind the grill of a ventilation opening on the wall next to the bench - the face of Romana.
Her hands came up, grasped the grill, and ripped it free. Staring fixedly at the Doctor, she emerged from the ventilation opening. With the noise of the cylinders filling the room, he was still unaware of her presence.
Her hands rose threateningly, and she stalked towards the Doctor.
Keara was the first to see her. 'Doctor - look out!' she cried.
The Doctor jerked up from the microscope and saw Romana descending on him. 'Not again,' he sighed, backing away from her.
Adric leapt between the two of them, shooting a jet of oxygen up towards Romana's face. She swiped at him, annoyed by the blast, but Adric avoided her attack and continued to direct the oxygen at her.
Romana's arms waved feebly, her eyes started to flutter. Without a sound, she collapsed on the floor.
Adric switched off his cylinder.
The Doctor patted