Doctor Who_ The Doomsday Weapon - Malcolm Hulke [6]
The Doctor strode off towards a small hill. Jo had had enough of all this. She turned to go back inside the TARDIS. The door was closed. She tried it, but it was locked. 'Doctor,' she called, 'come and open this door at once!' But the Doctor was already out of earshot, half way up the slaggy little hill. In sudden anger Jo raced after him, stumbling over the rocks. 'Doctor,' she called as she ran, 'I think this is all some big trick. You hypnotised me, and now you're making me think I'm on another planet!' At last she was up beside him. 'Do you hear me! I want to go home!'
But the Doctor was gazing in wonder into the distance. 'Look over there, Jo.' He pointed to a valley now visible from the hilltop. In the valley was a dome-shaped object as big as a very large house, and next to it what might be a spaceship. The dome and the spaceship were about two miles away from where they stood. 'We could easily walk over there,' the Doctor said with almost childlike enthusiasm. 'It wouldn't take more than an hour.'
Jo said, 'I want to go back to your TARDIS.'
'But Jo, there may be some different life form over there, something neither of us has ever seen before in our lives, and will never see again.' There was pleading in the Doctor's voice.
'Have you really done this sort of thing before?' asked Jo. She was beginning to feel less scared of the Doctor, even a little sorry for him.
'What?' he said, as though his interest had suddenly darted off in another direction. He had picked up a small piece of rock and was examining it with great curiosity.
'This space travelling,' said Jo. 'Have you done this tx fore?'
'For years I roamed the Universe,' he said. 'Then the Time Lords cought me, exiled me to Earth, and immobilised my TARDIS. You see, I don't really want to work for UNIT. I want to be free.' He paused, looking up from the piece of rock in his hand. 'We could get to that valley in an hour or so, have a look round, and then go back to TARDIS and get back to Earth. What do you say?'
Jo gave in. 'All right. But I still don't believe any of this is really happening. I expect to wake up any moment and find - '
' Stand where you are! '
The gruff male voice shouted from behind them. Both the Doctor and Jo remained absolutely still.
'One move,' said the voice, 'and I'll shoot!'
Jo heard the man's booted feet on the rocks as he circled round them. She didn't even dare to move her head to look at him. The man circled them at a distance to bring himself facing them. He was a rough-looking man wearing heavy boots, blue denims, and an old battered hat. He held a futuristic-looking shotgun, which he kept trained on the Doctor and Jo.
'Inspecting rock samples, eh?' said the man.
'What?' The Doctor looked at the piece of rock in his hand. 'Oh, yes. Could you point that gun the other way?'
'Bit of prospecting, eh?' said the man, more as a statement than a question.
'Is there anything to prospect for?' asked the Doctor.
The man gestured with his gun. 'Start moving.'
'That's most kind of you,' the Doctor said. 'You see we have our means of transport not far from here. Come along, Jo.' He grabbed Jo's hand, and turned in the direction of the TARDIS.
'Not that way!' said the man. 'Straight ahead. I'm taking you in as prisoners.'
'We haven't done anything wrong,' Jo said 'We don't even want to be here.'
'Move,' said the man, 'or I shoot.'
'I think we must do what he wants,' the Doctor said. 'This way, Jo.'
Jo clung to the Doctor's hand as they moved forward. The man followed behind, his gun on their backs all the time. Despite the Doctor's efforts, he refused to be drawn into conversation. He only spoke to tell them to bear a bit more to the left or the right. First they