Doctor Who_ Longest Day - Michael Collier [92]
The Doctor turned to Nashaad.'Stay here!' he ordered, and sprinted over to Anstaar, trying to pull her clear. But the Kusk had seized her leg now, and was twisting it round savagely. She screamed and tried to turn with it, her face and hair grinding into the spongy soil, spitting out clods of earth as she was pulled towards it and out of the Doctor's grasp.
'No!' he cried, and ran at the creature as hard and fast as he could. He bounced off almost comically as he impacted with the hard, cold shoulder, and a swipe of its skinny arm sent him sprawling away. It still held on to Anstaar, who kicked out at it in her panic, aiming for the eye but missing, hitting instead the fierce crack of the mouth.
The Doctor tried attacking again, from behind this time. He reached an arm round the neck but it was almost too thick to get in a hold of any description. He yanked back with all his strength but the hulking creature seemed barely to notice.
'Please,' he yelled, attempting to reason with it. 'Let her go! She's done you no harm!'
The creature turned its head sharply, cracking its skull against the Doctor's.
He fell back, stunned, while the creature looked evilly at him and then twisted harder on Anstaar's leg. Where her trouser suit had been ripped away from the leg he could see the muscles and sinews moving round the bone, and a dark stain forming on the skin under the Kusk's fingers.
As the creature opened its mouth in amused enjoyment, a metal foot crashed down on top of its head and punctured its huge eye. It screamed in agony and clawed at its assailant's legs. Nashaad was brought down hard to the wet earth.
'Get away, Nashaad!' yelled the Doctor, running for the Kusk once again.
Anstaar was free, and started to drag herself away from the creature. As she did so, she kicked out with her other leg, catching the Kusk a glancing blow that distracted it just long enough for the Doctor to grab its right arm.
He tried to keep it from seizing Nashaad's neck, every muscle straining, but the Kusk suddenly swung out its arm and sent him flying backwards into the cave opening.
But Nashaad had used the few moments the Doctor had bought him to get out of reach. The Kusk was furious, its great dark body thrashing about as it struggled to free itself from the earth holding its leg.
The Doctor crawled out to Anstaar, who was moaning and whimpering with pain. Her leg was twisted almost right round, swollen and badly cut, the foot sticking out at an unnatural angle. Anstaar wondered whether she was meant to deliver some brave, humorous line at this point to make light of her injury and pain. Nothing sprang to mind, so she just lay there.
'The platform's more or less intact,' whispered the Doctor to her, excitement on his face. 'That Kusk must've been guarding it when the landscape regressed around it. 'Come on, quick! We can make it.'
'I can't move , Doctor,' Anstaar whimpered.
The Kusk was still thrashing and roaring as it struggled to free itself, pounding the earth beneath it, its remaining eye rolling round in its huge socket.
'Come on, Nashaad, quickly! Over here!'
But Nashaad didn't answer the Doctor. He stood watching the Kusk, baffled and upset. He stepped a bit closer, holding an arm out to it.'Sorry,' he said.'Didn't mean to hurt you -'
With a triumphant screech the Kusk freed itself and hurled its bulk at Nashaad's slender form. He had time for one short, high-pitched scream before the monstrous body crushed him into the earth, the brown scabrous arms reaching for his throat.
***
Sam had taken the guns from the dead K'Arme guards. She didn't want to use one, but the size of those giant creatures -and their violence - scared the hell out of her. And she had Tanhith to protect. And that Fettal, whom, against her better judgement, she was helping along even now.
She remembered trying to convince a Thai