Doctor Who_ Lungbarrow - Marc Platt [112]
'I'm here now,' he said. 'I'll put this right, I swear to you all.' But he could hear nothing from them.
He pushed through the crowd until he saw a figure hunched on the cavern floor.
177
The Doctor crouched beside Chris. The young Adjudicator's hands were covering his head. He was shaking. 'I'm sorry,' he pleaded. 'I'm so sorry.'
The Doctor reached out with his own mind and unlocked Chris's thoughts.
The force of his Cousins' contempt knocked him backward. The hatred for all the torment he had given them and all the things he had made them lose.
He did not belong to their Family. They rejected him utterly.
***
'They came this way,' said Leela.
There were fresh footsteps in the white dust where one of a cluster of bulbous fungi had exploded. The tracks followed the course of an indoor stream, through an open gate, until it reached a cavernous flooded hal .
Dorothée pointed to a group of boats on the far side. 'Fancy a swim?' she said.
Leela eyed the black water warily.
'I wouldn't if I were you,' said a familiar voice.
Romana was walking down the passage towards them. Her hair was down and she wore a scarlet tunic with grey trousers and practical boots.
The principal-boy look, thought Dorothée.
'This time I real y am here,' Romana said and shook hands to prove it. 'Have you found him yet?'
Dorothée and Leela exchanged glances.
It was easier than Glospin expected to get the Doctor's TARDIS upright. Owis, who had the digestive system of a gullet-grub and was already sufficiently recovered from poisoning himself, soon managed the job with Rynde's assistance.
'You'l still need a key to get inside,' said Captain Redred.
Glospin examined the ship's doors. 'Not necessarily,' he said. He pushed the door with his finger and it swung open. 'Someone forgot to secure it.'
His Cousins clustered at his shoulders. The hum of instruments came from the dark interior.
A sudden gasp of air stirred the hangings around the Hall and sent little dust devils spinning across the floor. A fresh shudder ran through the House.
'What's that?' said Rynde, peering up at the galleries. 'Feels like a warning.'
Glospin nodded across the Hall.
The Drudges had turned to stare at the glass casket on the dais. The hologram of Quences had finally guttered out. The dry skeleton lay in its place.
There was a sound like indoor thunder.
'I don't like the sound of that,' said Romana once she had listened to Leela and Dorothée's story.
'Why have you followed us?' said Leela.
Dorothée grinned. 'Having a spot of bother at home?'
178
Romana looked embarrassed. 'Yes, actually. The truth is I'm on the run. Andred and Ambassador Whitecub barely got me out alive. Lord Ferain's seized control. He's trying to legalize my impeachment, so I'm not sure if I even have a Presidency by now.'
'Is Andred safe?' said Leela.
Romana levelled at her. 'He's admirable. But your running off like that didn't help matters.'
'The Doctor needed me,' Leela protested.
'So do we al ,' said Romana sternly.
The House boomed and rumbled. Little waves began to slap in at their feet. Across the water, a crowd of ragged figures was gathering on the half-submerged staircase.
'I think the Doctor's found his Family,' said Romana.
'They will never get across in those boats,' Leela said.
The House shuddered. A rain of plaster and wood began to fall from the atrium's dome, splashing into the lagoon.
The white branches that held up the roof were twisting and tearing themselves loose. The three companions watched as two treetrunk pillars, one on either side of the water, wrenched themselves free of the walls and tilted inward. Branches crackled and snapped as the massive growths wound and matted themselves together into a single span over the lagoon.
Immediately, the crowd began to shuffle over the new bridge.
'Where's the Doctor?' demanded Romana as the first Cousins reached the near side.
None of them answered. Their eyes were empty. Load of zombies, thought Dorothée, watching the procession until the last skeletal stragglers had passed.
'Come on,'