Menagerie - Martin Day [94]
'Over here,' said Zaitabor, leading the way down the main corridor.
It must have been his injuries, but Cosmae could have sworn that they were being followed.
The cryogenic chamber had been almost completely destroyed. The individual units had been smashed and overturned, the door breached as if it had been tissue paper.
The Doctor sighed. 'I wasn't too keen on my original plan,'
he remarked. 'And now we'll never know.' He tapped the gun. 'Come on.'
'Where are we going?' asked Zoe.
'The domain of the Dugraqs is nearby.' The Doctor walked down the corridor, Zoe and the twins following close behind. 'Hopefully Jamie and the others will be there by now. The problem is, I expect the Mecrim will be as well.'
'Doctor,' said Zoe as they walked, 'those files we looked at. That gut microbe that almost wiped out the entire colony.'
'Yes?'
'With Mecrim on the loose, surely the plague will recur?'
'Well, the ancestors of Defrabax and the others probably still carry the immunity to the disease.'
'But I don't, and neither does Jamie.'
'I know,' said the Doctor. 'But let's deal with the Mecrim first, shall we?'
A Dugraq walked around distributing ammunition as calmly as was possible under the circumstances. Jamie took a few steps back, glancing over at the scout to see how he was reloading the gun. They avoided eye contact, for both knew that the Dugraqs were being massacred.
As Jamie pushed the bullets into the chambers he totted up the carnage. As far as he was aware getting on for fifty Dugraqs had been killed. Over ten Taculbain had died trying to defend them. Only two Mecrim had been injured, in both cases the result of gunfire being trained on a wound opened up by a Taculbain soldier. Although moving a little more slowly than the others, neither Mecrim seemed unduly hindered.
There were over ten Mecrim now. They trotted forwards, and the Dugraqs fanned away. Jamie heaved a sigh of relief as another group of Taculbain soldiers took position in the air just above the Mecrim.
This couldn't go on much longer.
Cosmae watched Zaitabor sit in front of one of the many box-like constructions. Each was covered with changing lights that formed patterns and words. The knight arranged all the papers in front of him. Then he began pressing nodules on the device in front of the box.
All the boxes showed different pictures. There was a groaning hum from somewhere, like the earth moving. The noise began to rise in pitch. The boxes let out more and more red light.
'My lord,' said Araboam. 'How know you so much about this infernal building?'
'The Higher is most gracious!' cried Zaitabor. 'Have you no faith?'
At that Araboam lapsed into worried silence.
Cosmae watched the red lines on the metal cubes get longer and longer.
Jamie heard a sad voice at his shoulder. 'Hello, Jamie.
You seem to be a natural marksman.'
Jamie turned, managing a smile in spite of the stench of death. 'I've never picked up one of these things before.'
'Try this,' said the Doctor, offering Jamie the weapon that he had carried with him. 'Fire once at every Mecrim that you can. I think most of them are here now.'
Another flight of Taculbain had been killed. The Mecrim
— Jamie lost count how many there were — began to stalk forwards again.
Jamie had seen Redcoats carrying rifles and felt a little more comfortable with the weapon the Doctor had given him. He placed the stock into his shoulder, and closed his left eye. A few moments later he squeezed the trigger.
Nothing happened. The least Jamie was expecting was a small explosion like that which destroyed the Furnace.
'I was sure I hit it!' he exclaimed, turning to the Doctor.
'You did,' said the Doctor. 'Look!'
A couple of Mecrim were already attacking their companion, severing limbs like children picking legs off an insect.
'Now,' said the Doctor. 'Keep firing, one per