Doctor Who_ Ten Little Aliens Part 35

We turn away from him, unzip the front of the s.p.a.cesuit, pull out the tiny computer. Then we hand it to him.

'Gone?' he whispers, staring at the display. 'You wiped it.'

Then he looks at us. So many guys have looked at us that way over the bar in the Inferno at the end of the night.

They're tired, and all the possibilities of the night have flounced out in mini-skirts and high heels in someone else's arms. They've cried on our shoulder and when we give them the right answers they want to take us home and get them through the night. The Florence Nightingale of Covent Garden, the girls used to call us. Except in the morning, those poor lost lambs would only want us to get them a cup of tea and shut the door on our way out.

We don't know what to say. Yeah, we wiped every last sc.r.a.p of evidence - by accident, not because we're on your side.

Yeah, you're a cheating hypocrite who pulled strings to get himself a second chance. Yeah, you never meant to get those people killed, you just panicked, but they're dead anyway now and are you going to blame yourself forever?

He could be hearing all this. Looking in our head. We try to think hard of a penny-farthing like the Doctor did, but it's no good, it just falls to pieces. A pink elephant appears out of nowhere behind the wreckage. We like that. Think of pink elephants, pink elephants...

'It's wiped,' we agree. 'OK, so it's not like it never happened.

You'll see to that, by never letting it happen again.'

'It's happening now,' Shade says. 'Happening to all of us...

Denni wants us all dead.'

'You won't... be like before. You're not running away. 'We squeeze his arm, just a touch. 'You're coming after Denni.

And you're looking after me. I don't think you'd run out on me.'

We're saying all the right things. He's quiet. Maybe working out how much of this night is left, whether we'll see another morning.

The pa.s.sage forks into two snaking tunnels, and we recognise one of our little cairns. We lead Shade down that path.

'You knew Denni well?' In our minds we can hear the bouncers calling for the swingers to drink up and do their swinging outside in the street.

'We were together for a time,' Shade admits. 'I could never work out what it was she saw in me. I guess since my face got me noticed, hanging with me marked her out too. She liked being talked about.' He gives a nervous laugh. 'A woman of mystery, that's Denni. No one could work out what someone who looked as good as her saw in a guy with a burnt-out face.'

The lights have come up, and oh dear, he's laying this on a bit thick 'Woman of mystery is right,' we say, avoiding the wallowing stuff. He smiles at us suddenly. It's not like he's not gorgeous now. We think for a moment of how the two of them might've been together. Just for a moment. 'Why would she do something like this? How could she?'

'I can't believe it. That she'd turn on us all like this. I mean, she always had problems with Haunt..." Shade shakes his head. 'And I guess she always had ambition and a whole load of att.i.tude too. But to do all this...'

'It's evil,' we whisper.

'Her temper temper was evil, sometimes,' he says cautiously. 'But was evil, sometimes,' he says cautiously. 'But her... I can't believe this of her.' I can't believe this of her.'

We thought he wanted us to take his arm and face up to the chill and the drizzle outside together, but now... he's thinking about Denni all the more. He looks upset, eyes darting about in all directions, like he's picturing the things they used to do and trying his hardest not to.

We should maybe tell him about the pink elephants, but we can't say we're not tempted to try to see his thoughts properly for ourself. Something sweeter, all together safer than this miserable world of tunnels and fleas and seaweed and death and...

We move through a narrower section of the pa.s.sage together and Shade's arm brushes against ours, closer than it needs do.

I wonder if we're saying goodnight, or else maybe walking out together. The night big and black above us, the stars bright and close enough to touch.

Like a chaperone, the face of the Doctor swims into our view, unbidden. He's saying something about Haunt.

Something we should know.

To witness these events from Shade's viewpoint, select section 21 on page 231 231

To switch to Haunt's viewpoint, select section 9 on page 209

7.

Polly

We walk along beside Shade in silence, listening to the way we take three steps for each of his. Whatever he thinks, and whatever we say out loud, we we can believe this of Denni. She's in the Army, for G.o.d's sake. What woman wants to join the Army? Wants to go around shooting people or whatever? can believe this of Denni. She's in the Army, for G.o.d's sake. What woman wants to join the Army? Wants to go around shooting people or whatever?

Women like Haunt. Case rested.

Denni sounds like a real cow.

We suddenly twig that Haunt might've heard what we were thinking, and we blush. A pink elephant comes to our rescue.

But Haunt's not listening.

She's screaming in our ears. Desperate. Scared.

Her words are shot through with the dead grey pallor of the angels. 'Do all you can. Work together. Keep the neural network open. That's an order.'

The voice cuts off. Our head goes silent, the unsettling silence you get when some background noise you didn't even know was there suddenly switches itself off.

'Doctor!' we scream out loud.

'I'm still here, my child,' he says, his voice strained. We can hear strange undertones, like he's talking to someone else at the same time. 'Marshal Haunt ran on ahead, we saw someone...'

'Denni?' we ask.

Shade starts to say something. We shake our head, shush him as we try to listen.

'It seems highly likely, yes,' says the Doctor. 'I was too far away to see clearly.'

'Is Haunt dead?'

A pause. 'I'm afraid I can no longer detect her in the neural network.'

'Haunt's dead,' rasps Shade. He looks lost.

'What about everyone else?' we say. We're thinking of Ben.

'They are well. I am keeping a close watch on everyone. Be careful, my dear. I shall be back in touch soon.'

His voice ebbs away in our head.

Shade looks as if he might start crying. We go to him, open our arms. Hold him, as he holds us back, shaking softly.

'Who's going to get us out of this now?' he whispers, and we want to say the Doctor will, we're sure he will. But in the blackness, straining to catch the murmuring presence of the others as they creep along dark pa.s.sageways, we can't imagine ever getting out.

We cling to Shade and we feel no bigger or better than the fleas that leap and skip about us.

If you have not yet witnessed Marshal Haunt's severance from the network, review section 11 on page 215. from the network, review section 11 on page 215.

Then return here and select another viewpoint

To witness these events again from Shade's viewpoint, select section 8 on page 207 section 8 on page 207 To continue in Polly's viewpoint, select section 12 on page 217

8.

Shade

We peer ahead into the darkness, our ears full of the crump, crump, crump of our feet on the stony ground, and straining to catch the first whispers of anything that might be lurking ahead of us, licking its lips at our approach.

When Haunt screams it nearly deafens us.

She's lodged somewhere deep in our head, we feel a stab of pain behind our eyes, stony fingers clawing at - no, inside inside - - our shoulder.

'Do all you can,' she yells. 'Work together. Keep the neural network open. That's an order.'

And every trace of her is gone.

'Doctor!' Polly yells. Even right in my ears, the scream feels muted in comparison. We stagger back a few paces, still reeling from the power, the pain pain of Haunt's presence. of Haunt's presence.

I'm still here, my child,' says the Doctor. 'Marshal Haunt ran on ahead, we saw someone...'

'Denni?' asks Polly.

'What's happened to her,' we start to say, but Polly shakes her head, fiercely. Her long hair splays about over her face.

We hear another voice inside us. Our own voice: jinx. jinx.

Haunt made a fool of us in front of the whole academy, dressed us up in a combat suit so she could dress us down.

Shoot us down. And didn't we wish her dead? Didn't we stare down at the vidphone and think about calling in friends and favours that would make Haunt disappear from our life forever? She must've known we could do that, but she didn't care. She knew that when it came to it, we just wouldn't have the guts. us down. And didn't we wish her dead? Didn't we stare down at the vidphone and think about calling in friends and favours that would make Haunt disappear from our life forever? She must've known we could do that, but she didn't care. She knew that when it came to it, we just wouldn't have the guts.

We told Polly all this was our fault.

'It seems highly likely, yes,' says the Doctor. It takes us a few scared seconds to realise he's saying Haunt must've chased after Denni. 'I was too far away to see clearly.'

'Is Haunt dead?'

A breathless pause. 'I'm afraid I can no longer detect her in the neural network.'

'Haunt's dead.' We can barely bring ourselves to say the words.

'What about everyone else?' Polly says.

It's only a matter of time, we think. If Haunt's dead, with all she's lived through... how can the likes of us go on hoping for miracles?

The Doctor gives her a kindly answer, and says how he'll be in touch. Will it be him next, shouting and screaming in our head as the angels close in on him, as the Schirr come stealthily for him out of the shadows?