Doctor Who_ Just War - Lance Parkin [16]
She leant over and whispered in his ear, ‘I’m not wearing anything at all apart from this dress.’
Gerhard fumbled for his wristwatch. ‘It’s about midnight.’
‘Just before or just after?’
‘Just before.’
Celia nodded thoughtfully. ‘Shall we go for a swim? We could go behind those rocks and get ready. We won’t need costumes, it’s so dark and there’s no one else around.’
Gerhard nodded dumbly, and followed her. They worked their way across the sand, reaching a pile of rocks that had fallen from the cliff last winter. Behind the largest of these they were sheltered from the worst of the storm. Celia leant against the cliff face. Gerhard stood close, mesmerized.
‘What’s the time now?’
‘Why worry about — ‘ He edged closer. Celia pushed him away.
‘Just tell me the time.’
‘Just gone midnight. For God’s sake, why?’ Gerhard was baffled. Did Englishwomen have to wait until a certain time at night? It wouldn’t surprise him. Before he could formulate any suspicions, Celia was speaking again.
‘Can you hear something odd?’ she asked softly, her head cocked to one side.
Gerhard listened, but all he could hear were the waves and the wind. No. There was something else. A noise from the sky. It was too quiet to be a plane... it was unlike anything he had heard before. He glanced at Celia who was staring over his shoulder, a look of astonishment on her face.
Gerhard turned.
There was a huge explosion.
Gerhard’s training kicked in automatically and he fell to the floor, his hands over his head. It had been a comet, or some shooting star. A blossoming orange light, burning his eyes. It was too high up to be a shell or a bomb. Celia was already crouching alongside him, covering her ears, staring past him. Gerhard kept his head down. A deep resonant boom echoed from the granite cliffs, repeating and repeating.
The ground rocked in sympathy. Celia stood shakily, dusting the sand from her skirt.
Something hit the sea.
There was a terrifying crashing noise, Gerhard could hear the waters surge and boil. A small tidal wave washed across the beach, swirling over Celia’s bare ankles, drenching him as he cowered at her feet. A second later a rumbling underwater explosion sent plumes of water dozens of feet into the air. Tiny fragments of what looked like wood and leather clattered against the cliff face. Red-hot pieces of metal rained from the sky. There was the unmistakable smell of death.
Celia stood pressed against the cliff face watching this scene. Finally she said something and Gerhard didn’t understand it.
‘Cruk!’
Bernice Summerfield watched the fire falling and felt the adrenalin that she had spent so long trying to suppress flow through her, warming her. For three months she had not dared to think like this: she had hidden herself in someone else’s clothes and someone else’s name. The beach was lit now by hundreds of tiny burning pieces of debris that threw evil shadows across the cove. She could feel the heat from here; she could feel the rain and the wind and the rock against her skin. The earth still trembled from the explosions.
God, she felt younger already! Gerty had scrambled to his feet, but now stood watching the spectacle, his mouth open.
‘I suggest you get out there and see what’s going on,’
Benny said, trying to look suitably apprehensive.
Gerhard looked at her for a second, then nodded, scurrying across the beach to the shore. The Doctor’s note had warned Benny about the explosion, but that hadn’t stopped her jumping out of her skin when it actually happened. And she had absolutely no idea what was going on, as per usual. For starters, it would be nice to know exactly what had exploded. Well, there were enough clues lying about.
While Gerhard busied himself, Benny looked around. It didn’t take her long to find a flat piece of metal debris. It was still red-hot despite the driving rain, so she piled wet sand over it with her hands to cool it down. After a minute she retrieved it, slipping it into her dress pocket. She could feel it warm against her leg. Gerhard was peering out to sea, but it wouldn’t