Doctor Who_ Storm Harvest - Mike Tucker [40]
‘Ah...’ he said. ‘I see. Yes, yes, it all fits.’
‘What all fits?’ asked Q’ilp, a little irritably.
‘The murals show that the race who built this gloried in war. Their holy symbol, it seems, is a weapon. Some kind of biogenetic weapon...
‘What kind of screwed-up people worship a weapon?’ the dolphin whistled.
‘You recall Earth history?’
‘Human history?’ Q’ilp queried.
‘Eh, yes... quite,’ said the Doctor. ‘The Crusades. A very unfortunate time. The swords of the crusaders were sacred to them, shaped like the cross, and treated with equal veneration. Curiously, their Muslim enemies’ swords were crescent-shaped...’
75
‘Doctor,’ Q’ilp cut in, ‘I hate to interrupt, but I think something’s happening. Vibrations...’
The Doctor paused, listening...
The faintest rumble, the faintest of vibrations beneath his feet.
‘Good grief,’ he whispered. ‘The sonic disruption... We’ve got to get out of here!’
The floor was definitely shaking now A thin shower of dust fell on to the Doctor. He lifted the weapon from the plinth and began edging his way back along the ledge. He stopped to pick up his diving helmet and gloves, and put them on.
‘Come on!’ he shouted as he lowered the helmet over his face. ‘I think the whole place is about to cave in!’
He jumped into the water next to Q’ilp. The dolphin circled him twice, then vanished beneath the surface. Clumsily the Doctor tried to follow. He could dimly see Q’ilp’s tail cutting through the water in front of him. The dolphin dived into a narrow tunnel; the Doctor struggled to follow him. The heavy, awkward weapon made movement even more difficult. He didn’t dare let the dolphin out of his sight –
he’d never find his way out of these tunnels.
‘Q’ilp!’ the Doctor called. ‘Slow down...’
Only then did he remember that his helmet communicator was lying at the foot of the hidden door above. He was cut off.
Stones and rocks were falling into the water, plunging around him.
He flailed and tumbled in their wake. They began to hit him. He could no longer see Q’ilp. He felt his diving suit tear under the impact of the avalanche and begin to fill with water. The seeping cold shocked him.
His mind raced – the helmet would fill in moments. He hugged the weapon to his chest and steadied his breathing. His breaths became slow and shallow... Slower...
The water inched up his chin, over his mouth and nose, his eyes...
The green world swam before his eyes and turned inky black.
76
Chapter Nine
Ace was in a bad mood. She’d missed her date with Rajiid, lost Bryce and been taken for a prostitute. Now, for want of anything better to do, she picked her way along the warm, dark streets to the main admin building. She swiped the plastic card the Doctor had given her across the main door and it slid silently open for her. A security guard nodded as she passed him.
She entered the lift and ascended to the third level, then tried to find MacKenzie’s laboratory. The building was empty, the corridors unlit.
She located the lab and groped for the light switch. Where the hell was it? As her eyes became used to the ring-lit darkness she peered about the room. It was a mess. Benches and cupboards were overturned. She felt her way to the big table on which the alien body had lain.
Something was wrong. The body was gone.
Ace froze. She wasn’t alone in the room – she could sense it. She began to grope her way towards the door. Somewhere she could hear breathing. It sounded like an animal.
It was coming from the door.
She edged backwards. She could hear heavy, shuffling footsteps coming towards her in the darkness. There was a musky, animal smell.
She peered round, desperate to find another means of escape. She tried to dredge a picture of the laboratory from her memory.
There was a long window dividing it from the next lab. Ace groped for one of the tall metal stools that were scattered about the room. She tested its weight in her hand. She sprang forward, swung the stool over her head and hurled it at the glass. The window shattered into tiny fragments.
The thing in the