Doctor Who_ War Games - Malcolm Hulke [1]
‘Barbed wire,’ the Doctor explained. ‘Filthy stuff.
Invented by an American to pen in cattle on the range, then used against human beings.’
‘What’s that?’ Jamie pointed to an oval-shaped domed object, half submerged in the mud.
‘A steel helmet,’ said the Doctor. ‘I think we have arrived in one of the most terrible times in the history of Earth—’
A distant rumble of heavy artillery gunfire drifted to them on the breeze. It was followed by a loud, high-pitched whine from the sky.
‘Get down!’ Using both hands, the Doctor pushed Zoe and Jamie into a crater, throwing himself on top of them.
Zoe shouted, ‘Ugh! It’s wet and filthy—’
But her words were drowned by an ear-shattering explosion less than twenty metres away. A second shell screamed down and whacked into the soft ground, sending up a spurt of flame and smoke. It was followed by a third.
Then silence. The air was filled with the acrid stench of high explosives.
‘You said we’ve landed in one of the most terrible times in history,’ Jamie panted, his heart racing. ‘What’s happening, Doctor?’
The Doctor remained where he had fallen, lying on top of his companions. ‘The First World War. It lasted from 1914 to 1918—four years when the whole of Europe went mad. Eventually, the Americans and Japanese and almost everyone joined in. They all believed they were right and that they were heroes.’
Zoe asked, ‘Is it safe to get up now? I’m lying in water.’
‘ I say, are you three all right? ’
They looked up. Standing on the edge of the crater was an attractive young woman in a long khaki skirt and a matching military-style jacket.
Jamie was the first to scramble to his feet. ‘Where are we?’
‘Between the lines,’ said the young woman. ‘No place for civilians. I’m heading for Ypres but I seem to have got lost.
Can I give you a lift in my ambulance?’
The Doctor stood up and helped Zoe to her feet. Over the brim of the crater he saw a khaki-coloured truck bearing a large red cross. ‘That’s very kind of you, ma’am, but you see—’
He stopped short. Emerging from another crater were two soldiers with spiked helmets. They levelled their rifles at the young lady ambulance driver and at the Doctor.
‘ Hände hoch! ’ one of them called, the German for ‘Hands up.’
‘Oh dear,’ said the young Englishwoman. ‘I’m afraid we are now all prisoners of war.’ She seemed quite unruffled.
The Doctor, Zoe and Jamie sat on the floor in the back of the ambulance as it trundled along a bumpy road through wastes of mud. One of the German soldiers stood over them, rifle at the ready.
‘ Wohin fahren wir? ’ (‘Where are we going?’) asked the Doctor.
The soldier said nothing. He looked tired, hungry, and unwashed.
Jamie whispered, ‘Couldn’t we jump him, Doctor?’
The Doctor shook his head. ‘Remember his companion is holding a gun on our lady driver—’
The ambulance stopped with a jolt. Somewhere beyond their vision shots were fired and men shouted. The German soldier jumped down from the back of the ambulance, just in time to be met by two British soldiers.
Resigned, the German dropped his rifle and raised his hands.
One of the British soldiers called, ‘There’s three civilians in the back, sir.’ He looked up at the Doctor. ‘You lot, out.’
The trio descended into the road. The ambulance had been surrounded by half a dozen British soldiers. The two Germans stood with their hands clasped behind their necks, awaiting their fate. A young officer came towards the Doctor.
‘I’m Lieutenant Carstairs. Are you people French or Belgian?’
‘We’re neither,’ said the Doctor.
The officer turned to the young Englishwoman. ‘Who are they? Where did you find them?’
‘In No Man’s Land.’
‘No place for civilians. Tell you what,’ Carstairs said to the Doctor, ‘we’ll get you to base. Lucky for you that we ambushed the ambulance. Otherwise by tonight you’d be eating German sausage. Or dead.’ He laughed.
Zoe didn’t appreciate the lieutenant’s joke.
‘There