Doctor Who_ St. Anthony's Fire - Mark Gatiss [43]
Grek cast his eyes quickly over the papers and looked up. ‘And then?’
‘They reported the city destroyed, sir. Totally. That was the last we heard.’
Grek let out a low groan and rubbed his crest in naked despair. ‘Has… has Ran found the Doctor yet?’ he managed at last.
‘I don’t know, sir.’
‘And you? What about General Hovv? Have you done anything?’
‘Sir, I…’
Grek’s blue eyes flashed. ‘What is going on here? Is this a command or a shambles? Do I…’
He sighed, his sudden fury abating, and placed a kindly claw on Priss’s shoulder.
‘I’m sorry lad. Just keep me informed. All right?’
Priss saluted and then shrank back as forked lightning lashed the sky.
‘Looks like quite a storm coming,’ said Grek, lowering his eyes.
* * *
The Doctor trotted in front of his captors, hands above his head. Ran smiled grimly as they moved down the corridors.
‘Sedition. Espionage. Sabotage. It’s all becoming clear, Doctor.’
The Doctor puffed angrily. ‘Really, I haven’t time for this nonsense. The situation is far more important than your petty little war, Portrone.’
They rounded a corner and approached a ladder which rose up into the roof and out onto the surface. It was Number Seven; now the only way into the maze of Ismetch tunnels.
‘We’ll have to go this way,’ said Ran. ‘The earthquake has blocked the other route.’
The Doctor was forced up the rickety ladder, its rungs slimy with moisture.
The ladder emerged through a rough hole in the muddied field. Barbed wire was ranged around it in effort at camouflage.
Ran reached the surface first and scowled as rain lashed down onto his crested head.
‘Come on!’ he ordered, dragging the Doctor off the ladder.
The guards emerged behind him and all four set off across the blasted landscape towards the main trench and Grek’s quarters. Rain sliced through the sticky air. Lightning bleached the sky.
The Doctor kept his head down, his shoes disappearing in the liquid soil. Ran continued to berate him above the howl of the storm.
‘I shall have that old fool Thoss shot too. And that female when she returns.’
The Doctor looked over. ‘Bernice? When she returns from where?’
Ran smiled, his twitching face it up by flashes of lighting. ‘Of course, you can’t know. Your friend has gone on a little trip.’
The Doctor looked suddenly furious. He glared gravely and threateningly into Ran’s twitching eyes. ‘I should get that seen to if I were you.’
‘Really, Doctor. I’m above these little jibes of yours.’
The Doctor jumped over a clump of wire. ‘Portrone, I’m not here to insult you, but to warn you. Look around. This planet’s days are numbered. If your people are to survive then you’ll need my help.’
Ran blinked away the rain which coursed down his face. ‘A few earthquakes and meteorite showers don’t constitute a terminal crisis in my book, Doctor.’
‘It’s more complicated than you think. Can we talk inside?’
He gazed levelly at Ran. The Portrone considered the Doctor’s words and then, shrugging, pointed ahead.
The Doctor bowed his head as the wind howled around them and made to move towards the crescent‐shape of the main dug‐out.
Suddenly, he was pulled up sharply by Ran’s claw on his arm. The two soldiers had also stopped and were listening attentively. Apart from the familiar crump of shells, the Doctor could hear nothing.
All at once, Ran pushed him into the mud as a meteorite screeched through the clouds and hammered into the soil, sending a spray of super‐heated water into the air.
The Doctor rolled over and curled into a ball, his hands cupped over his head. Ran was craning his neck upwards and throwing anxious glances towards the dug‐out.
‘Move!’ he ordered, grabbing at the Doctor’s shirtsleeve.
The two soldiers scurried anxiously behind, all the time gazing at the rain‐heavy clouds.
A hail of meteorites began to crash all around them. One soldier yelled as he was hit on the back of the head. He slid into the mud, blood pouring from his shattered skull.
The Doctor moved to help him but Ran propelled him towards the dug‐out.
‘Inside! That’s an order!’
Reluctantly, the Doctor scrambled