Doctor Who_ The Ice Warriors - Brian Hayles [35]
‘It has to be a space craft of some kind! And big enough to hold six of those hulking brutes—as well as the girl!’
Suddenly, Jamie groaned, and half-opened his bloodshot eyes. ‘Where... am I?’ he whispered hoarsely.
‘Never you mind,’ growled Storr. ‘Somewhere safe...’
‘You’re suffering from severe shock, lad,’ soothed Penley. ‘Take it easy.’
‘What happened? Where’s Arden?’ Jamie’s eyes flicked nervously from Storr to Penley.
‘Dead,’ replied Penley quietly. ‘You were both shot down by the warriors. He got the worst of it.’ He frowned, remembering that horrific moment. ‘Some sort of ray gun, I’d say.’ ‘So we failed then...’ Jamie murmured bitterly.
‘Came to rescue the girl—is that it?’ demanded Story.
Jamie tried to sit up, his eyes bright. ‘Have ye seen Victoria? Is she alive?’
The effort was too much and he fell back—but Penley’s words eased the pain. ‘Yes, she’s alive all right—but you just take it easy, lad.’ His face looked grave. ‘She’s a prisoner.’
‘Then we’ve got to save her!’ exclaimed Jamie. ‘Help me—please!’ He began to slip back into unconsciousness.
‘We’ll discuss it later,’ soothed Penley.
Storr looked from the prostrate boy to Penley, who shook his head solemnly.
‘I don’t know what his chances are, Storr,’ remarked the scientist. ‘As for the girl...’ He looked down at Jamie sadly,
‘there’s nothing we can do...’
Inside the spaceship, Victoria was waiting for her opportunity. Although still feigning unconsciousness, she was now sharply alert and determined to escape. She had to know if Jamie was alive or dead—and somehow she had to let the Doctor know about the aliens and the plan she had overheard them discussing earlier.
‘Will there be more Earthlings. Commander?’ Zondal had asked, obviously only too ready to kill again.
‘Not yet,’ Varga had replied. ‘If more come, we know we can destroy them. If no others seek this girl, then we know they are too few to resist us.’
‘Let us kill her now. It will make no difference!’
‘No! We may need her voice to lure them here.’ The majestic head had nodded towards the complex machinery.
‘You have a more urgent task, Zondal: the propulsion unit—
we need it to break free of the ice.’
The warlord had then held up the portable power pack he had removed from the radiation detector unit outside after killing Arden. ‘This may help us,’ he hissed, and strode across to the compact machine section out of Victoria’s line of vision.
Now, at last, she was alone. All the other warriors were preparing the spaceship for action—and the way to the airlock was clear. As long as she remembered how to work the controls! Stealthily, she crept towards the door. Her hand brushed the sensor control. With the faintest of whispers, the door opened, then shut automatically after her. Inside the airlock, she quickly found the outer door control. At her touch, it opened—and she was free!
But her immediate plan was to find Jamie. She ran to where he and Arden had fallen—and froze in shock and amazement. Jamie was gone! Her face softened at the sight of the geologist’s body—but she had no time to lose. With a simple gesture, she covered the dead man’s face, then looked wildly about her. Jamie couldn’t have been killed after all—
but he might well be injured or severely wounded. She had to find him! But she saw the deep grooves in the snow—as if a heavy object had been dragged away—perhaps by a wild animal, she speculated with a shudder.
Just then her eye fell on Arden’s dead wrist, and her heart jumped. His wrist-video! If she could only make it work!
It could make contact with the Base and the Doctor! With a silent apology to the dead man for the necessary theft, she quickly eased the device from his already stiffening arm.
Scurrying into the shelter of a spur of ice that hid her from the Martian space craft, she studied the tiny