Doctor Who_ The Bodysnatchers - Mark Morris [45]
Emmeline, however, shook her head.'No, sir. It is a kind offer, but my mind is made up. I believe it is my duty to avenge my mother's death.As I say, I would wish to accompany you, but if you will not allow me to do so, then I will be obliged to go alone.'
'Oh no, Miss Seers, I cannot permit you to do that!' exclaimed Litefbot.
'Sir, I do not need your permission to do anything. I believe I am free to act as I please.'
'She's right,' said Sam.'You can't stop her from doing what she wants.'
'Then you will allow me to accompany you?' said Emmeline.
The Doctor wafted a hand wearily. 'It's a free cosmos.'
Sam grinned and turned to Emmeline.'Don't worry, Em, you just stick with me.You'll be all right.'
Emmeline looked up, her gaze lingering on each of them in turn, before pushing herself to her feet.'Yes,' she said, her voice as determined as it had been since she had entered the house, 'I am sure I shall.'
Chapter 5
In the Belly of the Beast
Forty minutes later, the four of them were standing on a thin, muddy strip of riverbank behind and below the factory, which they had reached via a narrow set of slippery stone steps leading down from the towpath. Behind them, lapping almost at their heels, was the Thames, its black skin leavened by the occasional glint of light; directly in front of them was a high stone wall crusted with silt. Sure enough, as the Doctor had predicted, there was a waste pipe inset into the wall. Nothing more than a stone-lined tunnel some seven feet in diameter, the section of wall beneath it was caked with a thick, evil-smelling sludge.
Sam peered into the tunnel, but the blackness beyond the first few feet appeared absolute. She glanced behind her at the Thames, thinking about the cyborg that had killed Tom Donahue, and the one that had attacked them in the factory earlier, wondering how many more of them there were like it. If one of those creatures should rise from the water behind them now, they wouldn't stand a chance. But life with the Doctor was like that, she thought, a mad dash from one life-threatening situation to the next, relieved only by the occasional tea break. She had more or less grown used to the constant adrenaline rushes, though every so often the excitement caught up with her and she ended up having to sleep for twelve or fifteen hours.
She gave Emmeline an encouraging smile. Professor Litefoot had managed to find the girl some clothes; in fact, he claimed they had been part of a job lot bought for the 'other' Doctor's companion, a girl called Leela, but that she had departed suddenly without claiming, or even wearing, them.
Litefoot peered dubiously into the tunnel, sniffed, then pulled a face.
'Incredible as these cases always turn out to be, Doctor, why is it that somewhere along the way there is invariably a sewer pipe involved?'
'We're just lucky, I suppose,' said the Doctor solemnly, then stepped up and heaved himself into the pipe. The sludge squelched and slurped around the soles of his shoes.'Come on in,' he called, his voice echoing off the curved walls, 'the water's lovely.'
Sam climbed into the pipe after him, and turned to give Emmeline a hand, leaving Litefoot to bring up the rear. On the way over here, Sam had tried to explain to Emmeline what to expect, but the girl had seemed confused, unable to grasp the concept of aliens with organic technology and giant lizards that were part machine.
Oh well, Sam had thought, hopefully she'll pick it up as we go along. She was worried, though. Spirited though Emmeline undoubtedly was, her imagination seemed pretty limited. There (was simply no way of knowing how she would react should her narrow world-view be not only challenged but blown apart, as it almost certainly would be before much longer.
The four of them began to plod forward, heading into the darkness, the gunk that was either raw sewage or industrial effluent (or perhaps both) clinging to their feet as if attempting to drag them back.As