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Before anyone could shout a warning the tail came smashing downwards, right into the centre of the clearing where Saul and Jude sat. Saul moved his daughter to one side and himself to the other, just as the bony spikes thudded into the decayed tree trunks beneath them. The rotting wood shattered, sending splinters high into the air – but at least the two were safe.

Jude went running immediately towards the Doctor and Martha, but Saul stood his ground. A sword in each hand now, he crossed the blades in front of his face, as if daring the beast to come closer.

He twisted his head to one side. ‘Look after Jude.’ The tail came down again, glancing off an upright tree. In any event, Saul was taking no chances, leaping into the air like a gymnast, then running through two of the creature’s legs. He arced his swords upwards as he ran. Both bit deep into the creature’s flesh. Then he positioned himself behind the creature, where he could not be seen.

‘Run!’ he shouted, risking a great cut to the creature’s rump while avoiding its feverishly flailing tail. The monster was swinging round in an attempt to bring its great, snapping jaws into play, its attention entirely focused on Saul.

‘Come on!’ breathed the Doctor, holding Jude’s arm and almost pushing Martha out of the clearing. ‘I think it’s this way!’

‘Daddy!’ shrieked Jude.

‘He’ll be all right,’ said the Doctor. ‘Promise!’

‘We can’t just leave him!’ shouted Martha, half-turning.

‘Of course we’re not going to leave him!’ exclaimed the Doctor. They were some metres beyond the clearing now, and he stopped suddenly. Facing the many-legged creature, he pulled the sonic screwdriver from his pocket, adjusted the settings with nimble fingers, and then held it high in the air.

The end of the screwdriver glowed brightly and Martha heard a shrill whine, which ascended in pitch and soon became completely inaudible – but a moment later its effect on the monster was all too clear to see.

It ceased its attack on Saul, its scaly head turning towards the Doctor.

‘Doggy whistle!’ he announced proudly, still holding the sonic screwdriver over his head.

‘Can’t you kill it?’ asked Martha.

‘Why should I want to do that?’ asked the Doctor. ‘Hasn’t done anything to hurt us…’

‘Yet.’

‘When I say “run”…’ the Doctor breathed as the monster scuttled towards them on its spine-covered legs.

He turned, to find himself on his own. Martha and Jude were thundering down a natural path between the trees.

‘Oh,’ he said. ‘Right.’

He sprinted away, still gripping the screwdriver tightly. The beast announced its departure from the clearing by swiping down as many trees as it could. From Saul’s shouts and curses, it seemed that the hunter was, in turn, pursuing the creature – and he didn’t much approve of the Doctor’s bravery.

‘You’ll thank me later, Saul,’ said the Doctor, under his breath. Behind him, the dragon seemed to be getting closer all the time. Though the creature remained stoically silent, the Doctor could hear the flap of its wings, the hiss of its tail through the air – and the sound of still more trees being smashed to the ground. Each noise was getting louder, like a grim orchestra swelling to a finale.

He risked a glance over his shoulder – just as the monster’s tail flew through the air like a wrecking ball against a derelict building.

The Doctor threw himself to one side, then jumped the opposite way – another thud! as the spikes impacted only against tree and soil – all the while running as fast as he could after the fleeing figures of Martha and Jude.

‘Not far now,’ he said, probably for the umpteenth time that day. ‘Just hope we get there in one piece!’

Even over the noise of the pursuing creature, even over the fevered survival instinct that was threatening to swamp all her senses, Martha tried to keep a clear head and work out where she was going. She forced herself to look at the trees