Doctor Who_ The Stone Rose - Jacqueline Rayner [28]
‘Leopards they’ve got, and stags, and these incredible tall things called giraffes.’
‘And elephants, don’t forget them.’
The Doctor clenched his fists. ‘Do you know how many species will be made extinct by these games?’ he demanded furiously. ‘Good grief, what is it about you humans? You think you’re the only thing on this planet that’s worth anything, that you can ravage nature just to show your superiority. Can you even comprehend a fraction of what’s being done here?’ Then he calmed down just as quickly, became sorrowful instead of angry. ‘No, you probably can’t. And I expect you wouldn’t care if you could.’
‘He must be foreign,’ Ringo concluded after a moment. ‘Either that or barmy.’
‘Foreign,’ the others all agreed.
* * *
After a while, other sounds began to be heard, creeping faintly over the distance. There was music, followed by the cheering of an expectant crowd, growing in volume as more and more people arrived.
‘They drive the beasts into cages,’ George explained, ‘and then they’re hauled up to ground level. The arena’s all set up with trees and hills and things, and the trainers use burning brands to force them out into it. They try to create a bit of panic, make the things run around for a while, and then they hunt ’em down. Some of the beasts kill each other, and that’s all right, but the trainers finish the rest off. I’ve seen a man kill a tiger with his bare hands,’ he concluded wistfully.
They sat in silence for a while, listening. Gradually the roars of the animals grew fewer and fewer, and the cheers of the crowd reached a peak.
‘That’s that,’ observed John.
‘What happens next?’ the Doctor asked.
‘Next? Well, first they have to clear away all the bodies. That’s a bit of a job.’
‘And then?’
‘And then it’s us. It’s our time to die.’
* * *
EIGHT
The Doctor thumped his fist against the cell bars. ‘All this for borrowing a horse. It’s ridiculous!’
Ringo snorted. ‘You think that’s something? There’s me, nice little business selling artworks, never said they were your genuine Greek, can’t help what people thought, and then suddenly here I am about to go and meet Pluto.’
He’d obviously struck a chord. ‘What they got me for’s serious enough,’ said George quietly. ‘Only thing is, I didn’t do it.’ He paused in thought for a moment, then continued. ‘Made the best pies in the city, I did. People came from miles around for one of my pies. Then one day this lad comes in. Posh sort, but looks like he’s been in a fight, and he’s barely able to stand from the drink. He’s flashing his money bag around, so I give him a pie and ask him if he wants me to get a doctor. Next thing I know, he’s on the floor. Dead.’
‘I think I can guess what’s coming,’ said the Doctor.
George sniffed. ‘They’re all saying I poisoned him.
Never mind that he barely touched his pie and he was half dead when he came in. Said I did it to get his money. Some toerag ran off with his purse while I was trying to bring him round. All my friends are saying I didn’t do it. But his family were rich. So I didn’t have a hope.’
‘I’m sorry,’ the Doctor murmured.
They sat there in silence for a moment. Then everyone froze as footsteps approached the dungeon cell. Everyone except the Doctor.
‘Just try to remember what I said,’ he told the others. ‘If we stick together, who knows what we can achieve?’
‘Well, for a start we can achieve death…’ began Paul. ‘Yeah, yeah, all right, it’s worth a go.’
‘Right!’ called a voice as someone rattled the dungeon door.
A torch was pushed up to the bars, faintly illuminating the faces of the Doctor’s four friends: bearded John, burly Paul, sad‐eyed George and skinny Ringo. It also lit up the sneering face of Thermus, who was holding it. But his next words came as a surprise.
‘Where’s the bloke who kept on about being here illegally?’
The Doctor stood up and moved forward. ‘Yes?’ he said curtly. ‘What do you want?’
He could just make out Thermus raising his eyebrows. ‘There now, is that any way to talk to someone