Doctor Who_ The Bodysnatchers - Mark Morris [37]
'Locked,' Sam said wearily, eyeing the padlock and bar. 'How predictable.'
'We can either go for the direct approach here or the more subtle. Which shall it be?' mused the Doctor.
'Direct,' said Sam.
'Subtle, I think,' said the Doctor as if he hadn't heard her.'After all, we don't want to draw attention to ourselves.'
He rummaged in the pocket of his long-tailed frock coat and produced what appeared to Litefoot to be a metal wand with a red, egg-shaped bulb on the end.
'Whatever is that, Doctor?' Litefoot asked.
'Sonic screwdriver,' said the Doctor,'but it doesn't exist in this century, so it might be best if you forgot all about it.'
Litefoot's wordless response was an expression of weary disbelief.
'Don't worry,' Sam said, smiling mischievously. 'You'll get used to it.'
The Doctor crouched down, running his fingers over the padlock, looking not unlike a master safe-cracker about to start work.'This may take a few minutes.These primitive locks can be a bit tricky.'
To Litefoot's astonishment the sonic screwdriver began to emit a high-pitched warbling noise, and the bulb in the end started to burn with a light almost too fierce to look upon. The Doctor began to sweep the bulb slowly back and forth across the padlock. Too fascinated by what was happening to worry about the sound the device was making, Litefoot leaned forward, gloved hands on knees.'Incredible.'
'It's simply a case of finding the right frequency,' the Doctor said, as if talking to himself. His thumb manipulated a tiny yet intricate array of controls set into the handle of the screwdriver and immediately the warbling changed in pitch, becoming shriller, more frantic.
Three minutes later the padlock sprang open. The Doctor switched off the device and stepped back. 'Eureka,' he said.
After the trilling of the screwdriver the silence was deafening. Sam, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, massaged her ears. 'About time. That was like listening to a Smurfs cover of a Prodigy song. We would've made less noise if we'd kicked the door in:
The Doctor gave her a look, removed the padlock and bar and opened the door. From the pitch blackness beyond, a breath of freezing cold air wafted over them.
'Ever see that film, The Beast in the Cellar ?' whispered Sam.
Litefoot gave her a curious look.'Film?' he inquired.
'There are candles in here,' the Doctor said. He edged forward in to the darkness and crouched down, groping to his left. 'Here they are.'
A moment later his face bloomed from the darkness, washed by the pale, yellowish light of a candle flame.The flame wavered, tugging at the shadows around his nose and mouth, as if trying to drag his features askew.
He passed the candle in its brass holder to Sam and lit another for Litefoot.
After lighting a third for himself he said, 'Watch these steps, they're slippery,' then began to lead the way down.
Sam, in the middle, watched their shadows balloon and jitter on the wall beside them, animated by the flapping candle flames. Though she had already faced all manner of terrifying situations with the Doctor, she felt increasingly nervous as they descended, a fact which irritated her no end.
Licking her lips, she whispered, 'And to think I joined you so that I could see all the exotic places in the universe.'
The Doctor half turned, smiling. 'With me, I'm afraid you have to take the rough with the smooth.'
'I wouldn't mind that,' Sam said,'if the rough didn't outnumber the smooth by about nine to one.'
The Doctor chuckled.A moment later they were at the bottom of the steps.
'Not much in here,' said Sam, holding up her candle and looking around.
'May I ask what it is you're hoping to find, Doctor?' Litefoot inquired.
'I'm not sure,' the Doctor said.'Help me move these, would you?'
His footsteps echoed hollowly as he crossed the stone floor to the barrels and lengths of timber and bits of old machinery.