Doctor Who_ The Devil Goblins From Neptune - Keith Topping [88]
'Why the Venus People and all the other hippies?'
'Drifters in society,' said the Doctor. 'If Benton hadn't radioed in the attack might have gone unreported for a number of days.'
"Chen the Waro have done their homework,' said Mike.
'Well, somebody is guiding them.' said the Doctor.
'Benton might have some idea. Have you found him yet?'
Yates shook his head. 'We'll find him soon enough.' His voice wavered slightly, betraying his true uncertainty.
'Of course.' said the Doctor. 'Have you discovered anything else?'
'The boffins are reporting higher-than-normal radiation levels.' stated Yates, pointing across the field to a white tent, surrounded by plastic-suited figures who were taking samples from the soil and overseeing the removal of the bodies from the site.
'You don't need to be a rocket scientist to work out that it's not the radiation that killed these poor people,' remarked the Doctor. Then a thought struck him. 'Before I left,' he said,
'didn't Lethbridge-Stewart want me to investigate unusually high radiation levels in the Solent?'
Yates nodded, remembering the Brigadier's note and the file that he'd sent Benton to collect.
'I glanced at the report just before we departed for the Soviet Union.' continued the Doctor. 'South-east of the Earl of Norton's land. Something did come down in the sea during the pop concert.'
'When Benton and I interviewed the Venus People a few days back.' said Yates, 'we came to the conclusion that they'd seen something land in the water. It wasn't just their overactive imaginations.'
The Doctor nodded. 'Time for a swim, Mike. Do you think you can arrange -'
Without warning a figure lunged at the Doctor from the hedgerow, arms flailing. 'You've got to do something!'
screeched the man.
'Sergeant Benton?' asked the Doctor, holding the man's arms tightly until he sank to his knees. 'John?'
He wore some sort of kaftan or smock, his legs blue with cold. It looked like he'd been sleeping rough for a week, not a single night. His eyes were distant dull-grey circles, the rest of his face covered with dirt and dark bruises.
'Doctor?' said Benton. 'You've got to do something.'
The Doctor crouched down in front of Benton. 'All right, old chap, don't worry. We'll sort everything out.'
'Goblins!' screamed Benton suddenly, his eyes looking through the Doctor, no doubt towards the events of the previous night. 'They came out of the stones, out of the sky.'
He began to sob uncontrollably. 'And the screaming... ' He twisted his head quickly from side to side, as if pinpointing a noise. 'There! Someone's still screaming. They need our help.' He tried to get up.
Yates laid a comforting hand on the man's shoulder.
'Easy, John. There's nothing more you can do.' He turned away bitterly. 'Nobody here needs our help.'
A horn blared into Liz Shaw's slumber and she woke with a start, swerving the car away from the oncoming truck. She swore under her breath, her heart beating rapidly The lorry driver appeared to be gesticulating in her direction, but Liz ignored the man, and concentrated on the road.
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all, she thought. Corporal Bell had offered to drive her up to Cambridge, but Liz was determined to do something without UNIT mollycoddling her. And, anyway, her Mini Cooper hadn't been out of the garage in weeks.
Liz had assured Bell that she wasn't feeling tired, despite the long flight back from Siberia, and that she knew the route well. She'd be there in no time, she had said.
Or in the morgue, if you're not careful, she thought as she wound down the window and pushed the slider on the heater towards cold. A few minutes later she turned the car in the direction of St Leonard's, thankful that the roads from here were much less monotonous. The melancholy she felt, passing the landmarks that she knew so well, was even greater than that she'd experienced during