Doctor Who_ Hope - Mark Clapham [8]
Look! bellowed the Doctor from nearby as Fitz barely kept his footing, a gulf of liquid bubbling up next to him, chunks of ice drifting away. The ice was breaking up with terrifying speed, and soon there would be nowhere safe to stand, nowhere to run. Tearing his eyes off the ground, Fitz looked ahead at what the Doctor wanted him to see. They were heading towards a mass of girders, some kind of structure stretching into the fog to both their left and right, tall enough to disappear into the mist twenty feet or so from what Fitz supposed must be sea level. The struts of this giant, pierlike building were large, but not beyond climbing. As they cleared the final few feet, Fitz had to jump as the ice gave way beneath him, throwing himself forward on to he nearest girder and hanging on for his life.
He looked to his right, and saw the Doctor helping Anji up. As Anji caught her breath, Fitz saw the Doctor looking out to sea. Somewhere out there, Fitz realised, the TARDIS was sinking to the bottom of the sea, howevermanyfeet of polluted liquid stopping them from retrieving their ship, their way out of this horrible place. But for the Doctor it was a far greater loss. The TARDIS was his home, the centre of his existence. Without it he was lost, in body and spirit.
Will the TARDIS survive sinking into that stuff? asked Anji, between breaths.
Yeah, said Fitz. The problem is getting it back. He turned to the Doctor. But we will. Well get her back. He pulled himself up into a more comfortable position. Theres signs of life here, someone ran past us. This must be some kind of building. All we need to do is find someone with... a submarine.
Fitz, said Anji harshly. Theyshot at us. I dont think theyre likely to lend us any naval vehicles.
No, said the Doctor firmly. Fitz is right, we have no choice but to try. Someone here must have the equipment we need to retrieve the TARDIS. He looked around the structure they were perched in. This place didnt build itself.
So, asked Anji. Where do we go from here?
All three of them gradually looked up at the body of the structure they were on. There didnt seem to be any option.
We go up, said Fitz.
Chapter Two
The Only Way is Up
Anji had rockclimbed in the past, back when she was a teenager. She had even done a bit of climbing at the gym, clambering up the odd artificial rock face they had for such exercises. But climbing the struts and girders wasnt like that at all. There was no safety rope, no one had been over the territory to check whether it was safe, or indeed climbable at all. She slipped a couple of times, trying to keep a grip on the oily girders, but Fitz or the Doctor were always there to steady her, to stop her from falling into the hostile waters below. When she reached the top they helped push her over on to the ledge and from the other direction, strong hands pulled her up.
In spite of her limbs begging her just to relax, to rest on the platform after her ordeal on the ice and the long climb after that, she forced herself to roll into a crouch and face the residents of wherever she was, ready to flee.
The row of gun barrels she faced were an incentive not to make any sudden moves. The men holding the guns didnt seem too friendly, wrapped as they were in heavy clothing, swaddled up with goggles covering their eyes. Anji should, she thought, have tried to give them a winning smile or engage in some witty banter. Instead she looked at the gun barrels blankly, gawping at them.
Behind her she could hear the Doctor and Fitz being dragged up on to the ledge although a walkway was probably more accurate. Still crouching down, she looked at the wellworn panels, seemingly of different materials and ages, that were patched together to make up the path they were on. What sort of place was this?
Thank you, said the Doctor. Its not too pleasant down there. Seemingly ignoring the guns pointed at them, he helped Anji to her feet. Im the Doctor, this is Anji and the gentleman