Doctor Who_ St. Anthony's Fire - Mark Gatiss [74]
‘You look a right state,’ she said. ‘What’s been going on?’
The Doctor detached himself from her. ‘Later, Ace. I’m more concerned about you.’
‘I’m fine,’ she muttered, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
The Doctor shook his head. ‘No. No, you’re not. They must have used some pretty unsavoury methods to be able to brainwash you.’
Ace clenched her fists and closed her eyes. ‘I can’t… I can’t seem to… There’s a barrier. I… Oh Christ!’
She thumped the mattress, her eyes flashing with anger.
‘All right,’ said the Doctor soothingly. ‘Let’s take it from the beginning.’
He fixed Ace with a penetrating stare. His dark eyes seemed to turn a watery grey, then emerald green, or were they blue? Perhaps bluey‐green, like the sea, or…
She felt herself go limp and relax back against the wall. ‘Take it easy,’ murmured the Doctor. ‘Take… it… easy…’
Ace felt waves of reassurance pass through her mind and the Doctor’s voice calling as though from a long way off.
The Doctor ran his hand through his muddied hair, speaking calmly and clearly: ‘Where are you?’
Ace’s voice was quiet, almost serene: ‘Where you left me.’
‘Massatoris?’
‘Yes. It’s beautiful. I want to stay here a while. Things to think about.’
The Doctor nodded to himself. ‘Bernice and myself have left you there. We’ve said goodbye. What’s happening now?’
Ace’s face was wreathed in shadow. ‘The TARDIS has gone. I’m on my own again. But there are people near. They’re very friendly. I like them,’ she said simply.
‘And do you stay with them?’
‘Yes. For a long time. All through the night. Then it’s morning and the sun… it’s reflecting off the lake. I’m going to get water and food with a girl. Can’t remember her name. Then –’
She scowled and looked frightened. The Doctor leant forward. ‘Then?’
‘They’ve come! Something in the sky. There are men everywhere. The Chaptermen. Killing. Killing so many. Or taking them. For conversion. I can’t see…’
‘You must,’ insisted the Doctor. ‘Go on. Go on.’
‘The black ship is in the sky. Something’s coming out of it. Boiling away the lake. The forest’s on fire. Oh, God, Doctor. It’s fire. Coming out of the ship. Fire!’
Ace leapt to her feet and screamed in the Doctor’s face. He snapped his fingers and she crumpled in a heap at his feet. He put an arm around her and made gentle, soothing sounds. ‘It’s all right now, Ace. Shhh.’
She looked up. ‘They took me. Strapped me down. I remember now. I remember!’ Her voice shook with relief. ‘They’ve got some kind of machine. They… changed me. I tried to resist but… I’m one of them. I can’t help it!’
The Doctor patted her back. ‘Not any more.’
He got to his feet, frowning. ‘They must select a few they think will make good converts and cull the rest.’
Ace rubbed her red, swollen eyes. ‘But what are we going to do? Where are we?’
‘We’re moving back to the place Bernice and I came to. Betrushia. It has its own problems.’
Ace nodded absently.
The Doctor made for the cell door. ‘I want you to stay here for now. There’s just a chance I can persuade the Magna not to visit any further destruction on this planet.’
Much to the Doctor’s relief, Ace nodded slowly and sank back onto the bunk. In a few moments she was asleep.
The Doctor smiled as he left. ‘Sweet dreams,’ he murmured.
* * *
Ran made his way through the steaming jungle towards the Ismetch dug‐out. In his claws he carried a bulky crystalline box, its rounded edges covered in a long oily cloth.
He looked down warily at the snaking lianas at his feet which might trip him up. This cargo was too precious to drop. The obvious trembling of the ground beneath his boots and the unhealthy electric charge in the atmosphere were inescapable.
The Doctor’s prophecy of doom seemed to be coming to pass. Pockets of steam were belching through the jungle floor and the noonday sky was thick and threatening.
Ran stopped abruptly as he noticed something else in the greasy, cloud‐heavy sky. For a moment he took it for the rings but whatever