Doctor Who_ Loving The Alien Part 18

'Woods are like that in the dark. Ignore it.'

'I don't mean just here. I mean everywhere. Ever since I came here.

Even when I'm quite alone, I know there's still someone watching.'

'Spies, you mean?'

'No...'

Who had been in the maze with himself and Drakefell? And how had whoever it was managed to lose him?

'Hold it,' O'Brien hissed.

There was a light ahead of them. It was moving.

Slowly,' the Doctor whispered. 'Quietly.'

The light bobbed and weaved, vanishing behind trees, then reappearing, always further off. Occasionally it would dip sharply and vanish, as if whoever was holding it had fallen.

'He's going at a bit of a lick,' O'Brien whispered. 'Come on.'

He pushed forward, thrusting aside the branches of bushes and young trees.

'Reminds me of Korea,' he whispered.

The Doctor trotted after him.

The ground soon turned boggy. Water lapped around their ankles, then their knees, slowing their progress. The light was getting away from them. The land rose again and began to dry out, but they were soon pushing though dense brambles that were taller than the Doctor, 93 and which snagged and coiled incessantly around their clothes.

'Got to hand it to them,' said O'Brien, 'they picked a d.a.m.ned good hiding place.'

'Mmm,' was the Doctor's only response. They had been walking for nearly an hour, and he suspected they were lost.

'Best foot forward,' said O'Brien.

The Doctor put his best foot forward and the next moment felt the ground crumbling away beneath it and the forest spring up to attack him. He fell, and landed hard on his ankle, which buckled in sudden agony under him.

'You OK?' O'Brien asked.

The Doctor was sprawled at the bottom of a shallow gully. Gingerly he picked himself up and tested his weight on the throbbing ankle* It would have to do.

'I think we're here,' said O'Brien as the Doctor scrambled out of his hole. 'Look'

Ahead of them the trees gave way to a clearing and a chain-link fence, easily ten feet tall and surmounted with barbed wire.

The moon was out, and as they approached the clearing, the Doctor began to make out some detail of the darkness behind the fence. A single large grey building a hangar dominated the clearing. Smaller brick outhouses cl.u.s.tered around its huge walls, as if frightened of the impenetrable wood.

A road had been cut through the trees on the far side. A wide road.

They began skirting the fence. The place seemed deserted.

'No guards,' said the Doctor. 'Odd'

'Perhaps he sent them away,' O'Brien replied. 'Look over there.'

Ahead of them Drakefell was standing at the gate, staring up at the hangar. The gate was open.

'He is still in charge here,' O'Brien replied. 'On paper, at least.'

Drakefell didn't look as if he was in charge of anything much. He was searing only his pyjamas and slippers, now sodden and caked with mud and grime.

'Poor man,' whispered the Doctor.

They limped up to the stricken scientist.

'There are no silver giants in there, I can promise you that,' said the Doctor gently.

'I'll tell you what's in there,' said Drakefell. 'Nightmares. Being too scared to go to sleep, keeping yourself awake for days... I can never get rid of it. No matter what I do, it finds me. It comes back to me and it all starts again.'

'This piece of equipment,' the Doctor said slowly, 'your... nightmare 94 machine... can you describe it?'

'It wasn't much to look at. A short silver cylinder, solid, which was quite badly charred... three thick, black tubes coming off it at the base, going into a sort of metal disk, about a foot and a half in diameter. Odd there was always frost on the disk. And the frost was always cold, but the disk never was. Even in the middle of summer frost.'

'Va.s.ser Dust,' said the Doctor.

'What?'

'A waste bi-product of time travel. It has telepathic qualities... Please go on.'

Drakefell was shaking his head slowly. 'It was nothing I recognised, and I thought I knew all the Augmentation Programme's junk inside out.'

'Nothing I recognise,' said O'Brien. 'Doc?'

'I'm afraid I do,' said the Doctor.

He fell into a thoughtful silence, staring up at the huge green hangar.

'So are you going to tell us what's going on, Doc?' asked O'Brien.

'Loose ends, Captain. I've been shockingly negligent.'

He turned to Drakefell. 'I'm going in,' he said. 'I think you should come with me.'

'You don't understand,' snarled Drakefell. 'No one else has seen it!'

Drakefell was growing agitated. He smoothed his pyjamas over and over to calm himself down.

'What have you seen, Dr Drakefell? What do you think is in that ship?' Drakefell stopped stroking and looked at the Doctor a long, curious, slightly skew-eyed stare. O'Brien took a step forward.

'It's all right,' said the Doctor calmly. 'Dr Drakefell...'

Drakefell struggled for the word.

'Strangeness, he said at last. 'That's the only way... Awful... horrible strangeness.'

His eyes widened as he warmed to his theme.

'You know the way as a child there's something about spiders. So strange... they're repellent.'

He suddenly lowered his head and drew his arms in tight around his torso.

'I've seen it,' he said quietly. 'And it's something I can't even think about. Alien horribly, hideously alien formless... it... went on forever... And lifeless yet... seething, somehow... It didn't feel like it belonged in this universe.'

'It didn't,' said the Doctor quietly. 'Congratulations, Dr Drakefell, you have caught a glimpse of what all scientists long to see. The webs that bind the Multiverse, the boundless nothingness of the vortex, 95 where everything exists in potential. When you touched the Va.s.ser Dust the circuit sensed a bond between you. A common experience.

The Cybermen. And so it opened itself to you. When you touched the Dust you looked outside s.p.a.ce/time, Dr Drakefell. Frightening, isn't it?

It's not for the human mind, I can a.s.sure you. Not yet, anyway.'

The Doctor paused.

Drakefell took a step towards the gate, then stopped, holding the fence for support.

'I can't...' he groaned. 'But I must. I promised...'

The Doctor swung to face Drakefell, a dark intensity in his eyes.

'Who was in the maze with us, Dr Drakefell?'

'What?'

Drakefell seemed startled by the question.

'Who were you talking to in the maze?'

'No one. A friend. He... helps me. He listens... He's a psychiatrist, all right?'

'Not old Hopkins?' O'Brien blurted out. 'The shrink you a.s.signed me' You're wasting your time with him. I've never got a word of sense of of him.'

'No,' said the Doctor darkly. 'But I'll wager he's got a very great deal out of you. Shall we go in?'

Ace lay on her back and looked up at the concrete ceiling. She thought she lived with few creature comforts, but this place was Spartan.

However, at this moment it seemed to Ace the most comfortable place on Earth, as she lay on the mattress, just a sheet covering her. Next to her Jimmy, also naked, lay still and watched her. She cuddled up close to him and he put a muscular arm around her and squeezed.

'I never want to leave here,' Ace purred.

For the first time in days her thoughts strayed to the Doctor. She wondered how he would react to Jimmy? Would they get on? Would the Doctor feel awkward, crowded out. And how would Jimmy take to her strange alien friend? She couldn't see Jimmy ever understanding a word the Doctor said.

Would he let Jimmy travel with them aboard the TARDIS? Would Jimmy want to? Would the Doctor force her to choose between them?

And how would she choose?

It was inevitable she'd fall in love one day.

Was she in love? That was stupid she'd only known him two days but she couldn't remember when she'd felt so happy. Relaxed.

Safe.

Safety wasn't in great supply with the Doctor. And she loved all that, 96 but she'd had years of living on raw adrenalin, and sometimes she didn't notice how tiring it was.

It had been good for them, spending some time outside each other's company. Whatever the Doctor was up to was his business. He'd probably make a mess of it without her, but he'd chosen not to let her in on his little secret, so he could sort his own mess out.

Was she in love? They'd got themselves tattooed. That was more serious than an engagement.

She couldn't leave the Doctor never but right now the prospect of ever tearing herself away from Jimmy's warmth was almost unbearable.

The Doctor had had something on his mind. That was obvious. She shouldn't have been so quick to react.

He'd put a tracking device on her!

'Hey, babe, what you thinking?'

Ace shrugged.

'About my friend. I should really go and make sure he's all right.'

'How about makin' sure I'm all right?'

Jimmy grinned and poked a playful tongue out.

'Again already?' Ace grinned.

Hey, you know what they say about us cowboys...'

And with that he rolled on top of her, kissing her neck, and all further thought of leaving was banished.

'Strewth!'

Even half-destroyed, the ship was spectacular. Shaped rather like a teardrop or a finless, tailless fish.

'Well, it's not one of ours,' said O'Brien. 'And the Yanks haven't got anything like this either. And it's certainly not the Waverider.'

'It seems to think it is.' said the Doctor.

'WAVERIDER' was emblazoned across the charred hull of the craft.

'Odd, isn't it?'