Doctor Who_ Halflife - Mark Michalowski [106]
The Doctor stared blankly at Fitz, and Fitz wished he wouldn’t. It was almost as if he’d run out of answers himself, and was looking for more in him.
Which was never a good sign.
‘So you’re telling us that, on the off-chance that we were here to take you away, you condemned every Esperon to being chewed up and moulded into part of one huge organism. That you were too scared to wait and see who we were. I’m not finding this very easy to believe, Tain.’
‘You doubt me, Doctor?’
‘I doubt anyone who’s spent centuries killing and murdering, Tain. For all I know, you came here to Espero hoping to set up your own empire. Maybe you’re nothing more than a war criminal who’s decided to get out while the going’s good.’
The Doctor stopped his diatribe sharply, as an odd tremor passed through the chamber. The image that, unfortunately, sprang to Fitz’s mind was not his earlier one of a heart, but of a stomach suddenly wrenched with cramps. The floor beneath them rippled sinuously, and both of them were thrown against the walls – which undulated again before becoming still.
‘Tain?’ called the Doctor as the chamber’s spasms faded. ‘Tain!’ There was no reply. He tried again, but the only answer was a very loud silence.
‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’ whispered Fitz, suddenly aware of how claustrophobic the tiny little cell was.
‘The Trojan?’ said the Doctor with a sigh. ‘Yes, I rather think I am, Fitz.’
‘Which would be bad, wouldn’t it?’
190
In the crepuscular gloom, the Doctor nodded slowly – and pointed towards the wall, close to where they’d entered the chamber. Fighting its way into the world, a writhing, flexing hand was being extruded into the heart of the bioship.
191
Chapter 22
‘Imagine having your whole life to live over again.’
Calamee and Sensimi backed away as the levicar came to a halt a foot above the ground, and Trove, with surprising elegance for such a large man, sprang over the side. He straightened his lapels and took a couple of steps towards them, adjusting his cuffs foppishly.
‘Where is the Doctor?’
Calamee didn’t answer – neither did Sensimi.
‘I applaud your loyalty and your bravado,’ Trove said. ‘But only I know how to stop this thing, the bioship beneath our feet. I can stop the wave that’s approaching the city, save the Esperons.’ He looked expectantly at Sensimi.
‘Don’t trust him,’ Calamee whispered.
The Princess shook her head. ‘What if he’s telling the truth?’
‘Sensimi, come on! He wouldn’t know the truth if it dressed in a frock and danced around in front of him. He’s after this thing for himself.’
‘Time is running out, Your Highness,’ Trove warned, his hands clasped behind his back.
‘I think we’ll just wait for the Doctor, thanks all the same,’ Calamee said, feeling the wobble in her voice. She didn’t know where the Doctor and Fitz were – or even whether they were alive. The last they’d seen of them, the night beast had been bundling them into the trunk of a tree. For all she knew, they might still be in there, slowly suffocating.
‘Ahh,’ said Trove suddenly, looking behind her. ‘Doctor!’
Calamee spun around, and as she did, she heard Sensimi yelp. She turned back to see Trove with his arm wrapped around Sensimi’s neck, something metallic that she couldn’t see properly in his hand, just a foot away from the princess’s face.
‘Now,’ he said calmly ‘Where is the Doctor?’
Calamee looked desperately towards the Palace Guard, still on board the levicar. They were hefting their guns and staves nervously, unsure of what to do: they couldn’t risk firing at Trove in case they hit Sensimi.
‘If this girl here doesn’t answer my question in the next ten seconds,’ Trove shouted to the Guard, ‘I want you to kill her. And if you don’t, I shall kill your beloved princess.’
193
He smiled at Calamee. ‘Now,’ he said. ‘Where is the Doctor? I’ll find him sooner or. . . ’
His voice tailed off as he saw that two of the Guard were staring back the way they