Doctor Who_ Nightshade - Mark Gatiss [9]
again. He could see the pool of yellow light from the same Their breath hung in the air like smoke. After several streetlamp. Nothing there now. He glanced at his old brass snowball fights their hands were red raw and cold as alarm clock. Half past four.
marble. Warming them by the fire induced a delicious And suddenly there was a voice. A shocking, twisted tingling pain, soon sorted out by a little ginger wine. Then rattle of a voice, like dead air expelled from the lungs of a there would be steamy stuffing smells and the King on the drowned man.
radio. The last bits of rationed chocolate left over from the
‘Night... shade...’ it hissed. Chuckling, chuckling.
morning’s gluttony would be consumed as Uncle Louis’
A dreadful smell - a rancid stench like bad meat - blasted tuneless singing drifted in from the kitchen...
through the smashed window. Trevithick felt his head Holly sighed. That was all such a long time ago. It made becoming insanely light, almost as if it were about to leave her think of another Christmas. Her first without James.
his shoulders and fly away. He felt sick and dizzy all at once.
And how Louis had comforted her as she wept into his Then the chuckle came again and the fearful stink rose up in cardigan, orange firelight glowing around them.
26
27
DOCTOR WHO: NIGHTSHADE
DOCTOR WHO: NIGHTSHADE
‘It’s all right, Holly, love, it’s all right. Shhh now...’
Holly checked her files and joined Hawthorne.
A klaxon wrenched Holly from her thoughts, its violent
‘Erm... quadrant...’
screech echoing through the station. Holly stood up too
‘Come on, woman.’
quickly and banged her knee against the console.
‘No change. It’s Orion. Same as before, Dr Hawthorne.’
‘Bugger!’
‘You haven’t changed the scan?’
The klaxon wailed at her accusingly. She whirled around, Holly shook her head. Hawthorne whistled. ‘I don’t trying to locate the source of the emergency. The banks of believe this. Get on to Cooper would you?’
lights twinkled on in innocent placidity and the ink-tracer
‘Righto.’
continued to draw its steady line.
‘Where’s Sabu?’
Holly dashed to the window and strained to make out Hawthorne shot a nasty look up at Holly. She took a anything in the gloom. Still the klaxon blared on.
sharp intake of breath, almost wincing at Hawthorne’s Theoretically, it should only be triggered by a breach in the transparent racism.
security fence. Holly swallowed. There was no way she was
‘Vijay’s asleep. I relieved him.’
going out there on her own.
‘Did you now?’
Without warning, the ink-tracer began to oscillate crazily.
Holly ignored him. She turned her attention to a stream of The line broke up, rose and fell, creating an astonishing printout which was piling at her feet.
pattern of curves and waves in a seizure so rapid that the
‘Why’s the klaxon going?’ she said distractedly.
pen could hardly keep up with it. New information flooded Hawthorne shook his head and tapped a series of figures through the monitors. Screens flared with light and energy.
into the console. ‘I don’t know. Why don’t you find out?’
Dr Hawthorne tumbled into the room, a heavy jumper Holly let out an exasperated sigh and stalked off towards over his pyjamas and his steel-rimmed glasses hanging off the internal phone. Shaun, the new security man, should’ve the end of his nose. He struggled to get the wire arms reported in by now.
hooked over his ears.
Holly called Dr Cooper, who was none too pleased to be
‘Kidd! What the hell do you think...’
woken up, and then Vijay shambled into the room, his face He swung his head towards the ink-tracer and then over slack and drunk with sleep.
to the screen which crackled with data.
‘Holly? What’s going on?’
‘Grief!’ he said, swallowing hard. ‘Where’s all this coming She hugged him, grateful for an ally, and led him back from?’
into the main room.
Holly looked at him dazedly. The klaxon was still blaring
‘We’re getting massive emissions on the feed. Piles of data.
in