Doctor Who_ The Devil Goblins From Neptune - Keith Topping [24]
The stars overhead were untouched by cloud, and the temperature had dropped alarmingly. The cold was keeping him clear-headed, for the moment, but he knew he must get back to civilisation soon. The Doctor paused again, listening intently. A fox yelped somewhere in a field, but beyond that it was completely silent. Except... Yes, just the merest hint of traffic, a swish of rubber on tarmac. Very distant, but still his best hope. Not a busy road by any stretch of the imagination
- especially not at this time of night - but the Doctor counted about a car every five minutes as he strode purposefully towards it.
He moved across the fields towards a lane, and then followed that to a junction with the main road. It was just as quiet and desolate as he'd feared. If he started walking - he glanced swiftly overhead, establishing which direction would be best - then he assumed that someone would eventually find him.
The first five cars to pass him didn't even slow down -
one gleaming Jaguar even seemed intent on running the Doctor off the road - but the sixth driver at least had the courtesy to slow a little before deciding against giving him a lift. Encouraged by this slight sign of interest, the Doctor gestured with his thumb enthusiastically when the next vehicle passed. It was a clapped-out old Volkswagen van, its pockmarked, rust-etched surface covered with poorly painted flowers against a purple starscape. It screeched to a halt, then backed up at such alarming speed that the Doctor began to fear for his life. The brakes slammed on again just in time. The passenger door flew open. 'Get in, man.' came the strangled-sounding voice from the front.
The Doctor hauled himself into position with his most winning smile fixed to his face, but found he had little need to impress.
'Wow, man,' said the hippie at the wheel, staring at the Doctor's clothing. 'Dig the groovy gear.'
The Doctor smiled and thanked the man profusely, pulling the door shut. Next to him, on the double-sized passenger seat, was a young pregnant woman who wore similar beads and loose clothes to those of the driver. Both seemed happy to see him - the woman immediately started talking, as if they were long-lost friends - and the Doctor's relief at getting out of the cold was genuine.
'So, you're coming back from the specially extended happening, too?' asked the woman, cranking up the van's heater another notch.
The Doctor smiled. 'Let me put it this way - I had quite an experience today'
'Far out sighed the girl. 'Good to see the breadheads didn't win out today. Why shouldn't Rose do what he wants on his land?' 'Absolutely.' The Doctor nodded. 'Decent enough chap, Rose.' 'That's what they reckon,' said the driver.
The young woman noticed the red patch on the Doctor's jacket for the first time. 'Hey, man, are you all right?'
'Oh, don't worry about that,' replied the Doctor. 'I just caught myself on some barbed wire, that's all.'
'Bad karma,' replied the driver. 'Man, me and my chick were at Tamworth for the Byrds. It was heavy.' wire everywhere. Too many day-trippers. We had to blow the scene, the vibes were wrong.
The girl rummaged in the pockets of her kaftan. 'Smoke?'
'No, thank you, my dear. I've had quite enough excitement for one day.' The Doctor held his hands in front of one of the warm air vents. 'Tell me, did you see the lights in the sky on Thursday night?'
The couple both grinned like children, nodding furiously.
'It was, like, so together,' said the driver, tapping with the wheel to a half-remembered beat. The lights were groovy stars, all dancing their thing.'
'Really. And did these "stars" fall to Earth?'
'Yeah,' said the woman. 'Right at the end. They came down in the sea.'
'They?'
'The dwellers in the celestial temple, man,' said the driver, smiling, as if stating the obvious. 'They wanted to communicate.'
'Talking of which,' said the Doctor brightly, 'I see from that sign there's a phone box