Doctor Who_ The Nightmare of Black Island - Mike Tucker [14]
swirled from the floorboards, leaving footprints clearly visible in a trail to the door. Morton sighed. It had been a long time since anyone had cared about the appearance of the house. Certainly his ‘colleagues’
had no interest in its upkeep. It was a place in which to work, a place for them to finish what had been started so long ago. Morton gripped the arms of his ancient wheelchair. A place for them to finish it. And he so desperately wanted it to be finished. He pushed himself away from the window, wheels squealing on the wooden floor, and moved away from the light and into the gloom of the house.
Rose and the Doctor strode up the hill towards the rectory, the Doctor munching on a slice of toast. He’d already had a gargantuan breakfast and Rose couldn’t believe he was still eating.
Her night had been an unsettled one, though the room was comfortable enough. The Hardys were obviously used to making their guests feel at home and Rose had been given a small, cosy attic room, with low beams supporting the ceiling and soft pillows on the bed. But the night had been full of strange noises: a girl crying in her sleep – Rose had assumed that was Ali – and deeper, more unfamiliar sounds carried on the wind. Creatures stalking the woods and cliff tops. She had lain there, listening to the roars. It was unbelievable really, monsters prowling a seaside town and the locals accepting it as if it was something normal. But then, so much of her life these days was unbelievable.
She had eventually fallen into a troubled sleep in the early hours of the morning, only to be woken what seemed like minutes later by the Doctor hammering energetically on her door and shouting for her to stir her stumps.
Groaning, Rose had dragged herself out of bed and trudged downstairs a little later to find the Doctor in the restaurant. He was tucking into a huge cooked breakfast, bright-eyed and eager, the morning papers spread out on the table in front of him. Rose had slumped down opposite him, pouring herself a huge mug of coffee from the jug on the table.
35
‘You’re one of those annoying people who actually like mornings, aren’t you?’ she said accusingly, helping herself to some toast from the rack.
The Doctor had grinned at her. ‘The creatures only seem to turn up after dark, so we need to make the most of the available daylight!
Besides, young Ali and her friends were up and out hours ago, and I want to see if we can catch up with them.’
Rose had been surprised. ‘They let her go out on her own?’
The Doctor had just shrugged.
‘They know the days are safe.
They’ve started to build these creatures into their normal routine. Humans are adaptable like that.’
‘Looks like you had a productive night.’ Rose nodded at the dismantled phone that was spread out across one of the pub tables.
‘Trying to get a fix on that interference. Haven’t traced it yet, but give me time.’
The Doctor had continued to eat until Rose was certain that he was going to burst. Then he jumped to his feet, wiped the egg yolk from his plate with another piece of toast and announced that it was time to pay Nathaniel Morton a visit. Beth had told them the best way to get up to the rectory and the two of them had set off in bright morning sunlight.
Daylight made the village look completely different. Shops were open, locals were out in the street buying groceries, boats bobbed in the little harbour. A normal Welsh fishing village. They made their way up the hill, past the estate they had passed through the previous night. The rectory was just visible now on a jutting strip of headland, bordered by a long, high wall and towering beech trees.
Rose turned and looked back at the view. Out in the bay the lighthouse loomed from its tangle of black rock, seagulls swirling around it. It made her shiver. While daylight made everything else look cheerier, it somehow accentuated the lighthouse’s brooding presence.
‘Come on!
No time for gawping!’
said the Doctor