Doctor Who_ The Deviant Strain Part 14

Along the road. Towards the harbour rusting cranes and abandoned loading gear thrusting up out of the snow black against the grey night sky. Then mist as he approached the sea, the mist was rolling in. That might help, might obscure him for long enough.

A junction at the end of the quay choices, decisions. He went left, and realised almost at once it was a mistake. He was on the quay now, a section jutting out into the bay. A jetty. No way off, except by diving into the water. And even that wouldn't work, he saw, as he glanced over the side. The sea was frozen to ice. He would be exposed on a white carpet a perfect target even in the mist.

Bullets cracked across the roadway. He could almost hear her snarls of rage. His lungs were bursting, while the icy air was making his cheeks sting and his ears burn. 'Next time,' he gasped, 'smaller ears. Definitely.'

Dark shapes ahead of him as he neared the end of the jetty. A submarine, listing to one side. Not hopeful his weight might sink it. Probably it was half flooded anyway. A death trap, he thought ruefully, as another volley of bullets kicked up puffs of snow around him.

A stark silhouette beside the sub. Crates and metal drums. Somewhere to hide, or at least take cover. Maybe. More shots as the Doctor leaped, scrambled over a crate, dived behind the nearest of the drums. He could see now, he realised. Everything was lit in a dull blue glow. And with bullets ricocheting round him, the Doctor saw that he was crouching behind an oil drum.

'Not good,' he said aloud. But perhaps the drum was empty. He pushed at it experimentally. It didn't budge. 'Not good at all.'

And stacked alongside were a dozen more drums. Diesel, probably. Waiting never to be used to refuel the submarine beside him. 'Oil. Gunfire. Torpedoes and missiles... Definitely not good.'

He looked round for something that might help. Anything. A cautious glance over the top of the drums revealed Sofia Barinska walking slowly down the jetty, gun levelled and ready. Her face was a mixture of blood red and pale blue. Where was that light coming from?

In fact, it seemed to be getting brighter. Coming, it seemed, from the end of the jetty behind him.

From the glutinous, hideous creature that was hauling itself up onto the end of the roadway and slithering slowly towards where the Doctor was crouching. A tentacle lashed out, slapping across the oil drum beside him. It pulled back, dragging the drum over onto its side. The drum sc.r.a.ped and boomed as it fell, started to roll.

Alerted by the sound, Barinska opened fire.

Another tentacle shot out, landing beside the Doctor. Then another. The creature was moving more quickly now, straight towards the Doctor, quivering, s.h.i.+mmering, glowing... More tentacles.

Another burst of gunfire. A ragged line of holes punched into the rolling drum and liquid spilled darkly into the snow.

A tentacle smacked into the Doctor's side, curled, grabbed, wrapped itself round him and started to pull him back. He could feel himself weakening in its grasp.

More shots.

The roar of ignition as the fuel oil caught.

Fire running from the rolling drum, back towards the Doctor and the other oil drums.

A tentacle cras.h.i.+ng into the middle of the stack, sending drums flying, tumbling, rolling into the flames.

Then the explosions. Oil spilling, igniting, burning. Lighting up the misty night. A wave of fire cras.h.i.+ng towards the Doctor as he struggled to break free.

ELEVEN.

A dark figure emerged from the fiery mist: Sofia Barinska, looking from side to side, the gun ready. The Doctor was tearing desperately at the tentacle round his waist, trying to prise it away. Without success.

But he was no longer weakening. As in the lab earlier, he could feel the strength coming back as the creature or rather the s.h.i.+p's systems decided it wasn't interested in his life force. And despite the situation, the Doctor could not help noticing that the creature had stopped its advance. Even before it a.s.sessed his life force it had slowed and stopped. He didn't have time to wonder why Barinska had seen him.

She gave a shout of triumph that was almost lost in the roar of the flames around them. The gun swung up.

The tentacles unwound rapidly from the Doctor, leaving him gasping in the hot smoky air. Then the creature lashed out sideways, sensing a better source of energy. Tentacles flew straight at Barinska.

The gun was swept aside as she pulled the trigger, the shots firing into the air and lost in the black smoke that blotted out all light except for the fire. A second tentacle thrashed after the first. Barinska's screams were gradually getting fainter. Her arms reached out towards the Doctor, her eyes were wide, begging for help.

He could only watch as she was dragged along the quay, leaving a black trail in the snow behind her. The creature was backing away, keeping well clear of the fire. The Doctor stood watching the flames behind him, the smoke swirling round him like fog. Watching as Sofia Barinska's face cracked and crumpled and withered, and she disappeared into the darkness.

Rose was outside the inn when the quay exploded, leading the soldiers from Barinska's house back towards the docks. Even through the thickening sea mist she could see the ball of flame erupting into the air. She felt the heat on her face and skidded to a halt. Jack was beside her, Levin and three of the soldiers close behind.

The door of the inn opened and several people ran out to see what was happening.

'Down by the dry dock,' one of them said. 'Poor old Nikolai kept spare fuel oil down there. Didn't want it too close to the Rykov Rykov.'

'The Doctor?' Levin said, waving his men forwards.

'Who else would it be?' Rose told him. 'Come on.'

It looked as if the whole of the roadway was on fire as they approached. The street lights were still on, struggling to make an impression through the smoke and fog. The end of the quay was burning. And out of it walked a lone figure black against the red. The Doctor.

'Singed my jumper,' he complained as he reached them. 'Look at that.'

Rose pulled him into a hug.

'And now it's getting crumpled.' He was grinning as he said it.

'Where's the woman?' Levin asked. 'Where's Barinska?'

The soldiers were taking up position along the quay, aiming their a.s.sault rifles into the ball of fire, waiting to see if anyone else emerged from the inferno.

'She won't be joining us,' the Doctor said. He was already walking back along the quay, one arm round Rose.

'You don't believe in doing things quietly, do you, Doctor?' Levin said. 'Now perhaps you can tell us what the h.e.l.l is going on here.'

'Need to know, Colonel,' Jack said.

'He does need to know,' Rose pointed out.

'Does he? Oh, right.' Jack nodded. 'The inn?'

'That's hardly a secure environment,' Levin said.

'True,' Jack told him. 'But you're going to need a drink.'

'Probably several,' the Doctor called back to them. 'Let's hope the company's... safe.'

Levin and his men listened intently to the Doctor's story. There was silence when he finished. Most of the villagers who were still up drinking had gathered round to listen as well. They looked more sober now than they had ten minutes before, Rose thought.

'D'you believe me?' the Doctor asked.

'I don't have a better explanation,' Levin conceded. 'Call it a working hypothesis until I do.'

'Fair enough,' Rose said.

'So what do you propose we do? We could mine this s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p blow it to bits.'

Jack shook his head. 'You'd be releasing a pent*up store of colossal energy that could do untold damage.' He smiled thinly. 'Says that in the handbook.'

'Yeah,' the Doctor agreed, 'and it wouldn't stop the remotes. They'd just keep gathering energy to try to provide sufficient power for the s.h.i.+p to rebuild itself.'

Any further discussion on the subject was cut abruptly short by a commotion on the other side of the inn. Someone was shouting and people were rus.h.i.+ng towards the door.

Rose looked across in time to see old Georgi stumble in. He was holding a white stick waving it in front of him as he staggered across to the bar. Several of the locals ran to help him.

'They're coming!' Georgi was shouting. 'I can see them. See them in my mind. Glowing, hunting, killing... Coming for us.' His sightless eyes were wide and blank, staring up at the men helping him to a seat.

'Who's that?' Jack asked.

'It's Georgi,' Rose told him. 'He saw that bloke's death the one who kept the generator running. Georgi saw it happen. Like, in his mind's eye.'

'Oh, sure,' Jack said.

'He did!'

'It's possible,' the Doctor said quietly.

'You're not serious?' Levin countered.

'The s.h.i.+p communicates somehow with the remotes. That might be on a psychic wavelength. If this guy's alpha waves are operating on a similar frequency he might pick up on the link to the s.h.i.+p. He might actually see what the remotes are sending back.'

'So can we tell what they're up to?' Rose wondered, watching as someone handed Georgi a drink and the old man swigged it back in one.

'They're on their way,' he gasped. 'We have to get away from here now!'

'Early warning system,' Jack said quietly. 'I guess it's possible.'

The Doctor was nodding enthusiastically. 'And if he can tap into the wavelength he might even be able to send the remotes different instructions. He might be able to block the s.h.i.+p's orders, maybe even control the remotes himself.'

'He doesn't look as if he's really up for it,' Rose told them. 'He's old, he's frightened, and if he drinks much more he won't be able to stand up.'

The Doctor considered. 'I'll need some time.'

Levin had been listening with interest. 'You really think this might work?' he asked.

'If he's already attuned,' the Doctor said slowly, 'we're halfway there. I can help him focus his thoughts, but we'll need somewhere quiet where he can concentrate.'

'But how much time do we have?' Jack asked.

A window close to the door exploded in a shower of gla.s.s. A glowing blue tentacle whipped across the room, sending a table cras.h.i.+ng sideways and knocking chairs over. A second tentacle smashed through another window. Then a third.

'Not much,' the Doctor said.

The door burst open. A wall of throbbing blue pulsed in the opening. The wooden frame was splintering as the creature forced its way inside. Tentacles slashed across the room gla.s.ses, tables, people went flying.

One of the men helping Georgi was side*swiped by a thras.h.i.+ng tentacle. It curled and clutched, grabbing him, rolling round him. The man's face crumbled as he screamed and fell.

'Back everyone away from the door,' Levin was shouting.

His men had instinctively taken up defensive positions, their weapons aimed at the blue ma.s.s in the doorway. One of them opened fire, and then another. Soon they were all shooting. Small black holes scattered across the blue flesh, like grains of coa.r.s.e pepper. But as quickly as they appeared they closed up again.

A line of bullet holes sliced downwards across the end of a tentacle. The tip was cut from the main limb, flopping to the floor. But it was a hollow victory the end of the tentacle throbbed and jumped, almost hitting a soldier, who stumbled back from it, face drained of colour.

'Back door!' Jack was yelling. 'Everyone out the back.'

'So long as there aren't more of them waiting there,' Rose shouted.

Jack grabbed her arm. 'You're no fun,' he complained as they ran for the counter.

They dived over, to find the Doctor sitting on the floor the other side. He was holding a bottle of the colourless spirit that everyone seemed addicted to. He bit the cork and wrenched it out with his teeth.

'It's not that bad yet,' she told him.

'We need to slow them down a bit,' the Doctor said.

There was a splintering explosion from the other side of the inn. Rose risked a look, ducking away as a tentacle smacked past. But she had seen enough the creature was inside now, and others were cl.u.s.tered outside the windows, pressing heavily against what was left of the gla.s.s.

'You're telling me,' Rose said.

Jack was on his feet again, encouraging everyone out through the back of the inn and shouting at the remaining soldiers to leave.

'Those other bottles,' the Doctor said to Rose, nodding up at the shelves behind the bar.

'You want 'em?'

'Nah give them to Mr Blob out there.'

She didn't need telling twice. Rose grabbed bottle after bottle off the shelf and hurled them at the approaching creature. Most bounced off the gelatinous flesh, but smashed as they hit the floor. A ma.s.s of writhing tentacles slapped past Rose, fumbling towards her.

'Time we were going,' she warned the Doctor.

Jack was standing in the doorway beside the bar, shouting at them to hurry.

The Doctor pulled himself to his feet and made his way over in a leisurely fas.h.i.+on to join Jack and Rose. 'Anyone got a lighter?' he asked.

Jack slapped a silver cigarette lighter into his palm.