Doctor Who_ The Bodysnatchers - Mark Morris [70]
The movements, continual and prolonged, almost dislodged Litefoot from his perch. He clung on, desperately hoping that the frightful disturbances would soon pass. He couldn't help but wonder, however, whether the shaft was convulsing because of his presence. If it was, then he was in dire trouble indeed.
All at once he heard a rushing sound beneath him and glanced down. Next moment an incredibly powerful blast of stinking air raced up the shaft - so powerful, in fact, that it tore Litefoot from his perch and propelled him upwards at an astonishing speed. A single thought leapt into his mind - I'm being sneezed out! -before suddenly, shockingly, he found himself immersed in black, freezing-cold water. His entire body clenched; for a few seconds his heart seemed to freeze, and he honestly believed he was about to die.
Then his heart gave a kick and began to thud hard in his chest. His limbs seemed to unlock, his extremities tingling inside even as the cold water numbed them. He forced himself to open his eyes wide and look upwards, vainly searching for the surface. He saw nothing but blackness, but began to swim anyway, kicking his legs, shovelling water aside with his hands as though it was earth he was burrowing through.
It was no use. The climb up the shaft had exhausted him, his sodden clothes ballooned about him, weighing him down, and his body quickly used up what little oxygen had been stored in it prior to entering the water.
As he began to panic through lack of air, his movements first became frantic and then turned languid, his limbs becoming leaden and unresponsive. A great dark pressure grew inside him, crushing his brain and his lungs; black shapes swarmed in his vision and seemed to cut him off from his thoughts. Just before unconsciousness engulfed him, he saw a bright glittering light shining somewhere ahead of him, spinning like a whirlpool. Thinking dreamily that the light was the single most beautiful sight he had ever seen, he imagined himself stretching out his arms towards it.
Chapter 7
A Place of Evil
In the main control room of the Zygon ship, a Zygon warrior suddenly hissed,'Commander, Veidra's synchron response has ceased.'
'What?' screeched Balaak, twisting its upper body towards its subordinate.
The warrior flinched but repeated the information. Balaak's black, deep-set eyes seemed to flare orange as it stumped across to the console manned by the warrior and examined the readings. Instantly the Zygon warlord made a sound like a spitting cat. 'Veidra must have been eliminated. Zorva, I want you and Schivaal to go up on to the surface and assess the situation. Bring Veidra's remains back here.And if the perpetrators of this outrage are still in the vicinity, destroy them.'
'Immediately, Commander, said Zorva, and stalked from the room together with another Zygon warrior.
'Chumaak, what is the status of the human captive whose body print Veidra was using?' asked Balaak.
A Zygon scientist twisted a number of controls on a nearby console and examined a veined, bubble-like screen. Its eyes widened and its delicate features quivered. Timorously it said, 'Veidra's elimination has induced a Trauma One response in the assimilation system's protoplasmic core, Commander.All systems are non-functional, including the Response Monitor. It therefore seems reasonable to assume that the human subject is now conscious and at liberty.'
Eyes blazing, Balaak let loose a gurgling roar that reverberated around the console room. 'Alert all stations. I want the human creature recaptured at once.'
'Yes, Commander.' Chumaak scampered across to what appeared to be a gnarled conglomeration of tubers on spiny stems that were growing from the wall and began to knot them together in a complex pattern. Then the Zygon scientist pressed a