Doctor Who_ Time Zero Part 22

'It's an academic interest only, you understand,' George said.

As he spoke, they turned and started down the pathway back to the pa.s.s. Behind them, as if in answer to George's words, a mighty roar split the early morning.

They looked at each other, paused in mid*step.

'You may yet get your wish,' Fitz said. 'Close*up examination.' Then he was running, dragging George after him, and they could both hear the thumping tread of the beast and feel the ground shaking and sec the snow s.h.i.+fting as it thundered after them.

Fitz had the journal clasped tight as he ran. When he tripped, stumbled, fell, it went flying. The covers opened and the pages riffled in the breeze as it turned in the air. Several sheets broke free and fluttered away lazily.

George helped Fitz up, and they were running again. Fitz grabbed the journal, gathered the pages he could find quickly.

'Leave it!' George yelled, his eyes wide, focused behind Fitz.

He left it, took only the pages he already had, bundling them into his pocket, and he ran.

It was a relief to run without the heavy packs on their backs. Fitz could almost believe they would outrun the creature behind them. Almost.

'We need to find somewhere to hide,' he gasped to George.

'No chance if it's scented us.'

'So what do you suggest, then?'

'Over there!'

On the other side of the pa.s.s was an opening. A dark patch in the middle of the snow. George was running towards it.

Fitz turned. And wished he hadn't. The beast was so close he could smell its breath. He found himself staring into its crocodile jaw as the teeth snapped shut, missing his face by inches. He propelled himself forwards, diving headlong for the darkness as George disappeared into it, hoping that it was too small for the creature to follow them.

He was rolling, skidding, bruised and battered, sliding down a shallow icy incline after George. Outside the creature was howling in frustration, calling for help from its fellows.

Fitz landed in a curled heap on the frozen ground. Ice beneath him, so thick it acted like a mirror. And it was light much more light than the moon or the early sun could be responsible for.

'What in Heaven's name is this place?' George asked. His voice was an awed hush that echoed softly round the ice cave.

Everything was ice. They had fallen, it seemed, right inside the mountain itself, into the heart of a glacier. The walls were curving sheets of ice rising to cathedral proportions high above them. Icicles dripped down, yards long. The floor was a skating rink broken by mounds of snow that had drifted in and raised areas of ice.

'Will they find us in here, do you suppose?' George asked.

Fitz trod carefully, wary of losing his balance. 'I don't know,' he admitted. 'But they have found their way in before look.'

George joined him by the wall of the cave. Fitz was pointing into the ice itself, rubbing away the frosted coating with the back of his gloved hand. And there inside, gazing back at them, frozen into immobility, was one of the creatures. The saliva seemed frozen on its jaw, the eyes gla.s.sed over as it stared back at them, unseeing. The vague outline of its body was blurred and misted behind the huge head. It looked as if there might be others behind it, also frozen in the cave wall, but it was impossible to be sure.

Fitz remained staring into the ice as George moved on, searching along the other walls. Only when George spoke did he turn.

'I remember my father telling me once,' George was saying, 'he was a clergyman, you know...'

'I didn't.' Fitz watched George, staring into the ice wall on the opposite side of the cave.

'He told me that one winter it got so cold in church that the flames froze on the candles, and he couldn't blow them out. So he had to cut them off with a knife.' He laughed. 'I believed him too.'

'So?'

'So maybe he was right.' George turned from the wall. 'I can see flames inside the ice. Tiny frozen flames.'

Fitz frowned. He picked his way over to the far wall and stared in where George pointed. Sure enough, deep inside the ice he could see the telltale flickers of light like matches flaring into existence. Except that they were completely motionless, caught in the split*moment of their birth. Impossible flames caught mid*dance m the Ice. 'What is this place?' Fitz murmured, unconsciously echoing George. But even as he spoke, he knew. 'Of course,' he murmured. 'It's the Ice Cavern. This is the place.'

'And then there's this.'

'What?' He was transfixed, unable to look away from the flames within the ice. From outside came the echoing howl of the dinosaur lizards one or many, it was impossible to tell.

'It seems to be made from the ice itself. Carved. Like a sculpture. And there's writing on it lettering, look.'

Fitz turned to see what George was looking at. Whatever it was, it could not be more confusing or incongruous than fire within ice.

'There are flames inside it too, making it glow.'

Fitz took a stumbling step forwards as George continued to describe the thing they were now both looking at.'

'Can you read what it says?' He turned towards Fitz, and blinked in surprise at his friend's expression.

Fitz could only guess at how he must look. 'Yes,' he said. 'I know what it says.' He sank to his knees, exhaustion and confusion suddenly overcoming him. 'It says "Police Public Call Box".'

Inside the gla.s.sy ice*structure that looked exactly like the TARDIS, the flames were frozen, flickering, dancing.

Burning.

14: Images

Anji met the Doctor's gaze. 'I'm coming with you,' she said again.

'There really is no need. I've seen the map in the journal that Curtis has.'

'And I've seen the map that Flanaghan had. He showed us how to get to the ice cave.'

'What if we get caught?' the Doctor said. 'They'll kill us, you know.'

Anji shook her head. 'They'll kill you. But they still need me. I'm all they've got out of this so far someone they think has travelled in time.'

'Yes, well, let's not dwell on that,' the Doctor said abruptly. 'Come along, if you're coming.'

He led her over to the fireplace and tugged at the edge of the tapestry once more. 'You pull the tapestry, you see?' he said. His voice seemed unnecessarily loud.

'I know,' Anji hissed. 'I can see.'

The Grand d.u.c.h.ess was waiting for them. She had found a huge fur coat from somewhere and handed it to Anji without a word.

'Thank you, er, Ma'am,' Anji said. She wasn't sure if that was exactly the right form of address, but she wasn't about to curtsey.

The d.u.c.h.ess glared at Anji as if she was being sarky again, then opened the door and let them out into the corridor beyond.

They tiptoed through the castle, ducking out of sight on a couple of occasions when they spotted one of Hartford's people. On each of these occasions the Doctor insisted on pointing out the exact make and model of gun they had and asking Anji again how many there were on Hartford's team. As they hurried along the corridors, he also insisted on listing the scientists who were still alive and guessing at where their rooms were, along with Curtis and Holiday. By the time they slipped out of the back entrance, Anji was getting rather bored with it all.

The plane was collecting snow on its wings and across its back. The Docor pointed out the bodies of the pilot and co*pilot slightly darker mounds on the runway. 'They shoot first and worry about it later,' he said as they darted across and took cover behind one of the plane's enormous wheels.

'I know,' Anji replied.

The Doctor smiled, and turned her round so she was looking back at the castle. He pointed up at the battlements. 'Two guards up there.' He said clearly. 'Not paying much attention to the back of the Inst.i.tute, luckily for us. That could be useful. I imagine that they have the grenade launcher up on the roof somewhere. Some vantage point. Probably some other heavy stuff too. But you know that already.'

'Doctor,' Anji said with exaggerated patience, 'I don't have a clue what you're on about.'

He seemed surprised at that. 'Don't worry about it,' he said, patting her lightly on the shoulder. 'I wasn't talking to you.'

The Doctor's face was large on the laptop monitor as he spoke. His voice was filtered through the tiny speakers so that it sounded tinny and devoid of cadence.

'Smart guy,' Phillipps said as they listened to the Doctor explaining their surveillance device.

'You can just see the lens when it catches the light,' he was telling Anji. 'Quite neat, really.'

'Maybe,' she replied. 'But they haven't stuck it in your neck, have they? Goodness only knows what they might see me doing.' The image blanked out as she covered her throat with her hand.

'That's not very polite,' the Doctor's voice said.

'Doctor, we have no idea who they are. They might be as bad as Hartford's lot. Or worse.'.

'They might.' Nesbitt and Phillipps exchanged looks, but even through the laptop speakers they could hear the amus.e.m.e.nt in the Doctor's voice. 'But they'd have to be pretty bad, wouldn't they? And they did save your life.'

'They did?'

'I imagine so. They found you in the snow, and took you back to the Inst.i.tute.'

The image reappeared. The Doctor and the woman were approaching a dark opening in the side of an ice*covered bank.

'I think this is it,' the Doctor said quietly. He turned to face the camera. I'm afraid you may find this a bit boring. But please do pay attention It may be far more important than what Hartford and his people are up to.' He began to turn away, then seemed to change his mind. 'One other thing,' he said, leaning close so that his eyes stared directly at Nesbitt from point blank range. 'If you do turn out to nasty, unpleasant people, you'll have me to answer to.' With that he turned away.

Phillipps gave a short laugh. But there was no humour in it... Nesbitt was not surprised. He felt the same. Somehow, despite the distance between them, despite the man's obvious eccentricity, the Doctor s words had sent a chill through him that even the snow outside could not rival.

Anji did her best to smooth away the crust of frost while the Doctor walked slowly round the rest of the cavern and made 'Ooh' and 'Ah' noises. There was definitely something in the ice.

'Some sort of reptile?' he said out loud at one point. 'Frozen too deep to tell.' He was standing staring at a wall of the cave.

From where she was standing, Anji fancied she could see a dark shadow deep below the frosted surface, but nothing more. 'Will you come and help?' she asked. 'I'm sure this is a man, or a figure at least.'

'Mmm.' Reluctantly, the Doctor turned away from the section of to he had been inspecting and walked back to join Anji. 'But is it Fitz?' he said. 'That's the question.'.

'Unless you have an ice pick, we're not going to find out,' she told him.

'This do?' He handed her an ice pick.

Anji bit her lip to prevent herself from asking. She did not want to give him the pleasure. Though she could tell he was taking it anyway 'Here,' he said, 'let me.' The Doctor took the small ice pick back from her and started to hack into the wall. 'Mind your eyes,' he said with glee as shards of gla.s.slike ice flew past them.

'What do you think happened?' Anji asked after a while.

The Doctor had taken his jacket off, despite the cold. 'You'd have to read the journal to know that,' he said. 'You know, when we've got this fellow out, I d like to take a closer look at the creature embedded in the wall over there.' He flexed his long fingers, ready to start hacking away again. 'Maybe there's more than one,' he mused. 'Broken through from another world.'

'Sorry?' Anji had to shout above the sound of the pick impacting on the ice.

'Later, later, later,' the Doctor told her. He stopped again and peered closely at the ice. 'This isn't Fitz,' he said.

He was right, and Anji felt a wave of disappointment flow over her. The last blow had dislodged a large chunk of ice from over the figure's face. 'George Williamson,' she said quietly. 'Perhaps that means that Fitz survived.'

The Doctor said nothing. He was hacking away at the ice again with renewed energy and urgency.

It took another hour to break the body free from the wall. Anji took a turn for a while, not because the Doctor was tired but to keep herself warm. As they loosened more of the ice they could see that George was dressed in heavy furs.

'Just as he appears in the castle corridor,' the Doctor mused.

'Is that significant?'

The Doctor shrugged. 'No idea.'

They chipped the ice away from round the frozen corpse so that it stood proud from the wall. Anji was afraid that if they let it fall, or even if they accidentally hacked into it, George's body would shatter. It wouldn't surprise her. Nothing, she thought, would surprise her now.

She was wrong.

As the last ice fell away from his face, George gave a tremendous gasp, and his eyes opened wide.

Anji took a step backwards in fear. The Doctor, by contrast, laughed out loud with delight.

'My dear fellow!'

'Doctor?' George's voice was cracked and chipped like the ice on the floor around him. 'What are you doing here? I must have been knocked unconscious.'

'And then some,' Anji said.

'I'm sorry, Miss Kapoor?'

'Don't worry about it, not now.' The Doctor was still grinning like a maniac. He reached out his hand. George went to shake it, smiling back.