Doctor Who_ The Forgotten Army - Brian Minchin [8]
Strebbins gaped, but the Doctor hadn't finished.
'And you're forgetting just how clever and brilliant those people in there are. If they're as good as I think, they'll have run to the top floor, only sensible thing to do when a prehistoric animal comes back to life...' His binoculars shifted up, where he saw a group of schoolchildren waving. 'There they are! Safe on the top floor, probably looking at the crustacean exhibit, lovely seahorses... So, Commander, you were saying?'
32
THE FORGOTTEN ARMY
Commander Strebbins stared back at the Doctor for several seconds. I’ll give you thirty minutes. If you get in trouble in there, you're on your own.'
Three minutes later, the Doctor was ready to enter the Museum. Strebbins had reluctantly ordered her marksmen to crawl back from the steps, the armoured trucks had been withdrawn, and the Doctor had given out instructions on how to safely trap a mammoth. Under his keen eye, officers were busily scattering hay over a flatbed truck, and loading up tranquilliser darts.
'This is only a precaution,' the Doctor told them cheerfully.
'We'll lead it out. Probably. My friend here is an expert on wild animals.'
The Doctor nodded at Amy. From the way the police officers looked her up and down, Amy guessed she wasn't their idea of a zoologist. She nodded back, trying to radiate a convincing air of professional beast-tamer.
The Doctor turned back to the men and told them exactly when they should open the doors, and what to have ready for when the mammoth emerged.
'Is this going to be like Time Lord horse whispering?' asked Amy. 'Are you going to talk to it in its own special language?'
The Doctor shook his head. 'Nah, nothing like that. But tusks and guns - not a good mix.'
Amy nodded her agreement. 'Let's go get our mammoth!'
33
DOCTOR WHO
Together, they bounded through the police cordon and up the steps of the Museum. Above the enormous doors were carved three words: Truth', 'Knowledge' and 'Vision'.
The Doctor nudged Amy. 'Also, Mammoths.'
Amy looked up. 'I think I recognise this place from Grand Theft Auto.'
As they reached the doors, two armed police officers clad in black pulled the doors back, straining with effort. The Doctor and Amy stepped through, and the doors closed again with a massive clang.
'Plus - when you're going in to face an impossible creature it's best to be absolutely defenceless,' the Doctor remarked conversationally, as if it were an obvious point. "That way we won't be lulled into a false sense of security.'
"Thought you had a plan?' said Amy. 'You told that lot it would be over in minutes.'
The Doctor grinned at Amy. 'I might have exaggerated the plan part a bit. But don't worry. This is what makes things fun!'
34
Chapter
3
'Whoa...' the Doctor breathed. 'This is not looking good.'
In front of them, the entrance hall of the Natural History Museum had been trashed beyond recognition. The once spotless polar habitat display was smashed, and its cubes of fake snow were scattered across the marble floor. The neat rows of red chairs had been knocked skewiff as the audience fled, and the massive drapes lay in velvet tatters on the floor.
There was no sign of the audience, and heavy wooden and iron doors had been shut all around the huge Grand Hall - locking the miraculous mammoth inside.
Amy heard a heavy clang, and saw that the entrance doors had been closed behind them. They were locked in with a prehistoric monster.
35
DOCTOR WHO
Amy was impressed by the scale of the damage. 'Where is it, then? How can it hide?'
The Doctor scanned the room with his sonic screwdriver.
'Never mind that. Lots of places to go in this Museum... Come on, this way.' He was heading for the edge of the room.
'How do you track a mammoth, anyway?' Amy asked. 'I thought you'd be on your knees using your Time Lord tracker senses or something, listening for mammothy sounds?'
The Doctor was thinking out loud. 'Why would it do this?
How could it come back to life? We need to work out the precise order of events, but that's