Doctor Who_ The Green Death - Malcolm Hulke [35]
The delicious flesh had suddenly gone from the maggot’s view. And now it sensed danger from this mountain of flesh that had entered the room. The maggot arched its back, and instinctively realised that its way out of danger was to leap.
As Jo screamed again and again, the maggot leaped at Hinks, wrapping its slimy body round the man’s head. Hinks fell to the floor, at first cursing, then screaming, and finally moaning.
The maggot bit into the flesh of the neck. The taste of the man’s blood was very enjoyable, and the maggot would have happily eaten right through the neck. But the man kept writhing about, squashing the maggot against the hard floor. And the other supply of food, the one in the chair, continued to make a frightful noise. The maggot recalled the ease with which it had devoured the mouse. The french windows were open, letting in the smell of all sorts of other foods that existed beyond. Reluctantly but prudently, the maggot released its hold on the man’s neck, and crawled as fast as it could into the safety of the garden.
The Doctor and Professor Jones were the first to answer Jo’s screams, followed by a group of Wholewealers in their night clothes. Jo, now weeping with fear, pointed to the slime trail left by the maggot. The young man who had been an army colonel rushed into the garden in pursuit of the maggot. While Nancy rushed to the phone to call an ambulance, and Professor Jones took Jo into his arms to comfort her, the Doctor examined Hinks.
‘Who is that man?’ asked Jo, bewildered.
‘One of Dr Stevens’s strong arm men,’ said Professor Jones. ‘How is he?’
The Doctor straightened up. ‘Weak, and getting weaker.’
The young ex-colonel came back from the garden. ‘There’s no sign of it.’
‘No,’ said the Doctor. He pointed to the slimy trail that the maggot had left across the floor. ‘But at least we can analyse that. It could provide the answer to everything.’
8 The Maggots
The Brigadier felt much happier now. UNIT soldiers had arrived in force at dawn. At 8 a.m. he had been called to Dr Stevens’s office, where the Director of Panorama Chemicals had the Minister of Ecology on the phone ready to speak to, and give orders to, the Brigadier. On the face of it, the Brigadier agreed with the orders he was given. Aided by Sergeant Benton, he had quickly carried out the first part of the orders. Explosive charges were laid down the mine shaft, and, as the Brigadier stood by the pit head watching his men work, wire was attached from the explosives to the plungers that would detonate them. And then the Doctor arrived, driving his vintage car Bessie.
‘Morning, Doctor,’ called the Brigadier cheerfully. ‘Glad to have her with you, are you?’ He indicated the Doctor’s beloved car, which the Brigadier had had brought from London by a UNIT driver.
‘Very thoughtful of you,’ said the Doctor. ‘Now what’s all this about blowing up the mine?’
‘Best in the long run,’ said the Brigadier. ‘Anyway, orders are orders. Those maggots you saw in the mine, we’ll seal them in for good.’
‘But I need one,’ said the Doctor.
‘What on earth for?’
The Doctor got out of Bessie and explained. ‘Professor Jones and I put some of the cells from the maggot’s trail—the maggot that almost attacked Jo last night—with some human body cells. The maggot cells changed the internal structures of the human cells into their own nature.’
‘If you’ve discovered all that,’ said the Brigadier, ‘why do you need another maggot?’
‘Because we don’t know enough. So kindly don’t do anything stupid, like blowing up the mine, until I’ve been down there.’
‘Out of the question,’ said the Brigadier.
Sergeant Benton ran up to them. ‘Everything’s ready, sir.’ He saw the Doctor and grinned. ‘Hello, Doctor.’
‘Good morning,’ said the Doctor. ‘Very pleased to see you here, Sergeant. But not very pleased about what you’re going to do.’ He turned back to the Brigadier. ‘When do you intend to commit this particular folly, Brigadier?’
‘I shall carry out my orders,’ said the Brigadier sternly,