Doctor Who_ The Forgotten Army - Brian Minchin [26]
This close to him, Amy could see the Vykoid's features properly for the first time. His skin was tough, like leather left out too long in the elements, and his eyes were mean and dark. The spirit of conquest was strong in him, and Amy felt rebellion rise in her heart - she would not be bested by him.
General Erik didn't talk, he boomed. 'Do you accept our victory?'
'No!' Amy bellowed back. Her breath was so strong General Erik was almost rocked off his feet.
'Analyse her!' he snapped, and in a flash he was replaced with dozens of white-coated Vykoids. Scientist Vykoids, Amy thought, trying to clear her head of the notion that she could feed the Vykoid army for a millennium, should they decide to eat
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her. Or, even worse, they could make their next vehicle inside her... Where was the Doctor when she needed him?
She tried to turn her head but was rewarded with a sharp jab in her ear, and an outraged squeaking from below.
'Sorry!' she called out. 'I can't see you back there, don't have eyes in the back of my head.'
As one, the Vykoid scientists started lifting her hair and examining her scalp for hidden eyes.
Then, as rapidly as they'd arrived, the Vykoids had gone.
Not a squeak to be heard. And it had got dark. Amy realised she had been unconscious - she must have been out for hours.
She lifted her hand and found it was no longer restrained.
Luckily, the Zoo was well lit, so she could see her watch.
She was amazed to see that it was close to midnight. She also saw that her hand had been stamped in bold red ink: 'Not Suitable.'
Amy guessed that this was a good thing. The entire Vykoid army had shipped on out. But, oh, this was much, much worse than she'd thought. They had left her behind, but they had taken the Doctor with them. She was on her own in New York. And the Army of the Vykoids was marching to take Manhattan.
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10
Around her, the animals had gone back to their night-time activities
- meerkats chittering to themselves and giraffes sleeping quietly.
'Doctor!' she shouted into the Zoo, but there was no reply.
She kept thinking his tousled head might emerge, grinning like it was all part of his plan, but it looked like he was really gone. This was hopeless. Amy was going to have to stop the Vykoids alone.
'OK, don't panic.’ she told herself. 'Just think -what would the Doctor do? First off, no talking to yourself, definitely a bad thing...'
She was alone, in a locked cage in a zoo, while an army of tiny soldiers had been let loose in New York. She had no idea what they wanted, or how she was going to find the Doctor.
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'Come on, come on.’ she thought. 'Not done yet. Assets, Assets! OK, no Doctor, no sonic screwdriver, no ray gun... and still talking to myself.'
Amy put her hand into her pocket, and was delighted to find the psychic paper. 'Ha! Just what I need.'
As confident as Amy liked to pretend to be in front of the Doctor, she had rarely been alone in a foreign city before, let alone one being invaded by diminutive aliens.
She told herself she just had to focus on finding the Doctor.
Amy wasn't one for fainting or calling out for help.
So, to her great surprise, Amy found herself searching for tracks in the sawdust and hay of the Zoo, peering into the gloom of the night. Skirting the now quiet and still mammoth, she saw neat rows of tiny footprints and tyre tracks from the miniature jeeps. And alongside was a larger dragging mark, which could only be the Doctor.
Amy fought to keep down her sense of panic. The Doctor had been kidnapped by a tiny alien race, but he was bound to be all right. He'd been through far worse, and even if he was in trouble, he'd be fine as soon as she found him.
Following the Vykoid trail was tricky. They'd darted through tiny openings, and Am y found herself squeezing through gaps, and heading over large objects. At one fence, she was impressed to see that the Vykoids had made time to construct a
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ramp up and down