Doctor Who_ St. Anthony's Fire - Mark Gatiss [48]
‘How do we get off this thing?’ she cried above the roar of the engines.
Liso pulled himself to his feet and swung out of the ship by holding the hatchway with his claw. He pointed upwards.
Bernice poked her head out, the wind screaming around her, and gazed over the copper mesh to the broad, flat back of the dirigible. Attached to the outer skin was a small, compact machine like a gyrocopter. Its brass rotor blades and wooden, concave hull did not inspire much confidence in her.
‘Ah,’ she said, the wind flapping through her hair. ‘Lifeboat.’
‘Come on then, if you’re coming,’ said Liso, grasping her hand. Bernice was surprised at its warmth.
They struggled out of the hatchway onto the surface of the vessel, clinging onto the copper mesh until it bit into their hands. Climbing upwards was surprisingly easy and Bernice was soon able to flop onto the back of the dirigible and catch her breath.
The copter was tantalizingly near. Bernice rose to her knees and could see Liso staggering over the mesh towards the small craft. Two parallel brass rails covered the whole of the larger ship’s spine, presumably acting as some kind of runway for the escape vehicle.
Bernice managed to stand and cast a fearful look upwards, but the ship was all but invisible now in the night sky. The reflected flames of Porsim merely hinted at the ship’s enormity. It was like glimpsing the base of a huge, rusty storm‐cloud, she thought.
Liso was already climbing into the copter. Bernice was about to follow when a change in the pitch of the relentless throbbing made her turn her head.
The vast black ship was bearing down on them at incredible speed. Bernice felt irresistible pressure on her head and back as she was pushed downwards by the approaching ship. She scrabbled at the collar of Liso’s tunic and pulled him bodily from the copter. ‘Look out!’
They tumbled back against the mesh and rolled almost to the edge of the dirigible, just as the pincer of the black ship scraped over the surface of the balloon.
There was an immediate rush of escaping gas. Bernice stumbled away from the copter, shielding her mouth with the sleeve of her coat.
The world dropped like a stone. Her stomach lurched and she fell to her knees, gripping the copper wire with shaking hands.
Senses reeling wildly, Bernice slipped her arms through the mesh and clung on for dear life as the dirigible began to fall.
‘Liso?’ she bellowed, looking round.
He had rolled to the edge of the balloon’s broad, flat back and was hanging on by one arm, seemingly unconscious.
Bernice looked back immediately towards the copter. The impact of the great black ship, still hovering massively above them, had crushed the escape vehicle. With upsetting speed, it was easing free of its moorings.
Bernice sighed hugely as their only means of escape flopped out of its housing and plummeted towards the ground in a mass of twisted metal. She watched it explode as it hit the city below, one more fire in the inferno which had been Porsim.
* * *
‘I thought I’d find you here,’ said Maconsa as he clomped down the temple stairs.
Grek was sitting at the base of the shrine, a circle of candles around him giving fitful illumination. Thoss was asleep at his side.
Grek grimaced. ‘Don’t imagine I’m taking refuge in religion, Maconsa,’ he said defensively. ‘I was just…’
He faltered, looking across at the old man’s sleeping form.
‘What’s the matter with him?’ asked Maconsa.
‘I don’t know. If I didn’t know better I’d say it was shock. But it seems deeper. Almost as if he were possessed.’
Maconsa allowed himself a weary smile. ‘Possessed? And I thought you weren’t getting religious.’
Grek stood up decisively. ‘Yes, well I’ve been thinking. Maybe Liso was right. I have let things slip.’
He straightened his tunic and cleared his throat. ‘It all stops right now. I’m taking a firm grip of the situation. How’s the infirmary?’
‘Oh, the infirmary’s fine, Grek. The Cutch shelling has stopped completely. The rest of the men are holed up in their quarters.’
‘Yes. On my orders. We’re going