Doctor Who_ The Doomsday Weapon - Malcolm Hulke [33]
Jo sat back, her hand bruised and the manacle still on her wrist.
'Why not give up?' advised Winton. 'If you jerk that box you could blow us sky high.'
Jo looked at the box. Its light was still flashing regularly. The thought crossed her mind that she had no idea whether the box really contained an explosive charge. Still, she thought it best to treat the box with great respect. One sudden jerk on the chain connecting the box to their manacles and it might blow up. Then she noticed the grease on the box; it ran in a long blob down one side and might have been some kind of packing grease. She reached forward to get same of the thick grease on to her fingers.
'Be careful!' said Winton. 'Don't touch that thing!'
'I am being careful,' she said, and rubbed the grease all over her trapped hand. With her free hand she gripped the manacle, only to realise that the grease on the fingers of her free hand wouldn't allow her to get a good hold on the manacle. 'You try,' she said to Winton. 'Keep your fingers away from any grease, get a good grip of my manacle, then pull!'
'I don't want to hurt you,' he said.
'And I don't want to freeze to death in this place tonight,' she said. 'Now do as I ask you.'
Winton crawled over to Jo and got a firm grip on the outside of her manacle. He pulled. Nothing happened. 'Put one foot into my armpit,' she said. 'Then you'll have something to pull against.'
'I might pull your arm out of its socket,' he said.
'Will you please do as I ask?' Jo pleaded.
Winton worked his way round so that he could put one foot under her armpit. Then he pulled on the manacle. Jo tried not to show the pain of having her arm pulled, in case any reaction from her might deter Winton. Little by little the manacle cane down over her folded hand until she could feel the bones being crushed together. 'Keep pulling,' she said, holding back tears of pain. All at once the manacle slid over the knuckles, and her hand was free. 'Thanks,' she said.
'You'd better run for it,' Winton said. 'Find your way back to the main dome and tell Ashe.'
'Not without you,' she replied. 'If the grease worked for me, it can work for you.' She reached forward to get grease to put on to Winton's still manacled hand.
'My hands are much bigger than yours,' he said, holding up the fettered hand.
She looked. It was true. His hand could never slip through the manacle. 'Then I must break the chain,' she said and started to hunt around for a couple of rocks of the right shape and sire.
'Far better you get on your way,' he said.
But Jo had found what she wanted. She placed one rock under the chain to Winton's manacle, then used the other as a hammer. The chain showed no signs of damage, so she bashed harder and harder with her make-shift 'hammer'. Suddenly, the chain slipped off the rock the was using as an anvil. For a moment the suddenly-taut chain pulled at the box, and the box moved slightly. They both looked at it in horror. The light on the box started to flash at high speed, as though it were transmitting some warning.
In the IMC ship's control room, a light on the main control console flashed on and off at short intervals. Morgan was the first to notice it. 'Captain,' he said, 'something's happening with that explosive charge.'
Dent grabbed his console microphone. ' This is Captain Dent to Security Guard Allen. Notify location. '
Nothing for a few moments; then Allen's voice from the loudspeaker. ' On the way back to the ship, Captain. '
Dent said, ' Go and re-check your prisoners immediately. '
Allen's voice replied, ' Message understood. '
Jo looked with delight at the broken links of Winton's manacle chain. Winton was already on his feet. 'Come on,' he said, 'let's go.'
They ran out of the ruined little house, then stopped. 'Which way?' said Jo.
Winton looked up at the sun. 'I reckon that way,' he said, and pointed.
They started running. As they began to climb