Doctor Who_ Storm Harvest - Mike Tucker [57]
The creature paused for a moment. In the gloom the Doctor could see the outline of the thing’s head. He stared down at the dead creature on the bench. The same species...
The thing sprang forward, its hands clutching at the Doctor’s neck.
The Doctor threw himself to the floor and crossed the room on all fours. He crawled beneath the table.
The monster seemed disorientated. The Doctor stood up on the other side of the table.
‘What is this?’ he demanded. ‘Some kind of field experiment?
Revive the Krill, test their battle effectiveness against the colony, then press them into service? You’ve let the genie out of the bottle. And ancient weapon or no ancient weapon, you’re not going to be able to stop it.’
With a snarl, the figure lurched across the room. The Doctor gripped the edge of the table and heaved it into the alien’s path. The alien slammed into it and stumbled. The table collapsed under him, and he crashed down, wrestling the corpse to the floor.
The creature froze. It was staring at the rancid body, at the half eaten meal. The expression on its face was unmistakable – nausea; disgust.
With a bellow, it threw itself backwards from the corpse and, staggering to its feet, disappeared through the door.
The Doctor straightened his tie and recovered his hat. The weapon wasn’t here. The colony was practically defenceless. He’d failed.
Ace and Rajiid never got beyond the hotel bar. They tried – but every door had an armed police guard who, while remaining very polite, absolutely refused to let anyone leave. They could hear the roar of the pulse lasers outside, and the screeching of the Krill attempting to breach the storm defences. Rajiid was pale and sweating, his head jerking up at every noise. Ace placed a hand on his arm.
110
‘It’s OK, the Doctor will do something’
Rajiid smiled grimly at her. ‘Will he? Face it, Ace. He doesn’t know how to deal with these things.’
There was a muffled explosion outside and the sound of running feet.
‘The police aren’t going to keep them out for ever. The Krill will get in eventually. They’re bound to.’
‘Just shut it, all right?’ Ace snapped at him. Rajiid looked at her, surprised, and she shook her head. ‘I’m sorry. I don’t mean to take it out on you. I’m just not used to sitting back and waiting.’
The confusion of voices was almost deafening. Hotel staff rushed about trying to placate guests. Dolphins scuttled about on their walkers, chirruping angrily, and packed the pool in the middle of the bar shrieking at one another.
‘They’re an incredibly quarrelsome species,’ Rajiid said. ‘We learnt to communicate with them – taught them to speak – and you know what we found? They’ve got nearly three hundred sounds for insulting members of each other’s immediate families.’
Alarm was beginning to spread through the bar. Hardly surprising, thought Ace. The holidaymakers were finally realising that all the chaos and commotion meant the colony was under attack.
‘Why else would they be doing all this?’ someone said. ‘There have been storms here before. They’ve never cleared the streets.’
‘Those noises... what is it out there? Why is there shooting?’
Ace got up from the bar and walked out through the restaurant to the balcony. A police sergeant guarding it looked at her, fingers tightening on the trigger of his gun. ‘Sorry, Miss, I can’t let you out here.’
Ace smiled at him in what she hoped was a reassuring way. ‘It’s OK.
I know about the Krill. You don’t have to keep it from me.’ He relaxed and smiled back.
Ace stepped on to the balcony. ‘How’s it going?’
The policeman shrugged. ‘They’re not in... yet.’ The sky was lit up by the flashes from the lasers, the tang of blood drifted on the sea air.
Ace crossed to the railing. She could see the harsh line of the repulsor field cutting across the harbour. Beyond that line the sea boiled with Krill. The gunmetal of the storm shutters glinted through the trees. She could see men running to and fro, blazing away at the murderous creatures that struggled to get in.
The streets of the colony were deserted. Everyone was cowering