Doctor Who_ The Ice Warriors - Brian Hayles [10]
‘I don’t know, Storr old son,’ cheerfully replied Penley, shrewder and more thoughtful. ‘Arden must’ve found something buried in the ice, something to take home to Clent.’ He smiled knowingly. ‘It won’t be appreciated though...’
Storr glowered, his wild beard making his fierce gaze look even more ferocious. ‘Why don’t they leave well alone?’
Penley knew all about Storr’s hatred of technology. He tried to explain what he knew would be in Arden’s mind—a quality he’d once admired when they’d been working colleagues.
‘Arden was always a searcher. He was an archaeologist once.’
‘Archaeology!’ sneered the burly hunter. ‘What good’s that?’
‘It’s good to know things, Starr—even if they’re dead.’
‘Nothing’s sacred to you blasted scientists, is it?’
‘It’s in my character to ask questions, I suppose. Sorry.’
‘You swore you’d give all that up! Changed your mind, have you?’
Penley turned to Storr, his dirty face full of patience—
and determination. ‘Look, old son, discovery is as exciting and purposeful to me as hunting game is to you.’ He could see that Storr wasn’t convinced, and continued sarcastically,
‘We’re not all like Clent, you know. He’s the kind that uses scientist’s skulls as stepping stones to the top jobs...’
Story smiled at this manifestation of Penley’s bitterness and then changed the subject.
‘Come on, we’ve got to move. Let’s leave them to their stupid games!’
He turned away from the sight of the scientific party loading their airsled, and moved skilfully across the snow, followed by Penley. Coming to a small crevasse, he paused.
Beyond it was a glacier overhang that would give them all the cover they’d need. But to get there would mean a leap across the open fissure that would bring them into full view of the scientists. Story motioned Penley to wait, and watched for the moment when the distant trio, who were still working on the upper glacier face, were turned away from them. Suddenly he saw that something had distracted them. Pushing Penley ahead, he prepared to spring across the gap...
It was Davis who first heard the ominous rumble. He looked up, and saw a tell-tale spume of blinding snow was almost on top of him! Of the three, his position on top of the ridge of ice was the most vulnerable. He screamed a desperate warning to the other two below, then dived for cover.
‘Avalanche!’
Arden simultaneously heard the cry and the terrifying roar of approaching snow and ice. He instinctively looked upwards to locate Davis—but he was hurled to the ground and dragged into the shelter of the airsled by Walters before he could catch his breath to reply.
The avalanche, sweeping diagonally across the ice face, caught up Davis and continued towards that same crevasse that Storr and Penley were on the point of crossing.
Storr thrust Penley violently forward into the protection of the overhang, and tried to hurl himself forward after him.
Penley watched in horror, as the ice and snow, raging over and past him, caught Storr’s arm and shoulder, and snatched him into the drifts farther down the slope.
Suddenly the avalanche had passed; all was still once more. Half afraid of what he would find, Penley staggered out from safety to look for Story—but it was Davis he reached first. The angle of the technician’s neck told him there was no hope there. Hearing a growl of pain to the left, Penley scrambled through the churned-up snow and found Storr struggling to dig himself free. His left arm hung ominously limp and twisted.
‘Storr!’ gasped Penley. ‘Are you all right?’
‘My damned arm...’ groaned the hunter. ‘It’s broken.’
Penley strapped the shattered arm as tight as he could against Storr’s body.
‘You’re lucky,’ he gasped. ‘There’s one over there who’ll be staying on the mountain for good.’
Storr shook Penley off, and lurched to his feet. ‘Come on,’ he gritted through the haze of pain, ‘they’ll be here any minute, looking for him. Let’s get away from