Doctor Who BBCN04 - The Deviant Strain Page 13

  ‘It is where we used to work on contagious bacteria,’ Klebanov told the Doctor, Rose and Georgi.

  ‘We still have some, as you can see.’ Minin pointed to the canisters.

  ‘This seemed the best place to keep the stuff. With the doors closed it’s completely sealed.’

  ‘Can’t you destroy it?’ Rose asked. ‘Or, I dunno, send it back?’

  ‘No one wants it back,’ Klebanov told her.

  ‘Decommission it? Make it safe?’ the Doctor suggested.

  ‘The equipment for that went long ago,’ Alex Minin explained.

  ‘Traded for other supplies. More urgent things like food and oil.’

  Klebanov grunted, but did not disagree. ‘Will it do?’

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  The Doctor grinned. ‘It’s great. Let’s find Georgi here a chair. Then I’ll have a little talk to him. After that we have a few other things to do while he gets on with it.’

  ‘Like what?’ Rose wanted to know.

  ‘Like checking on our bonfire. Like burning a few blobs.’

  Minin opened the door by tapping a code into the keypad. He carried the chair from the desk through into the area between the two doors, closing the outer door behind him. Then he tapped the code into the keypad within the airlock and the inner door clicked open.

  He put down the chair.

  ‘Let’s get started.’ The Doctor led Georgi to the door. ‘What’s the code?’

  ‘1917,’ Klebanov told him.

  ‘What else?’ The Doctor tapped it in and led Georgi through.

  Once he was seated in the chair, the Doctor spoke quietly to him.

  He put his fingers to the old man’s temples, relaxing him, putting him into a trance. Minin watched with interest.

  After a while, the Doctor stepped away. He put his finger to his lips as Minin made to speak and nodded at the door. The two of them left the cage, Georgi sitting inside, alone, staring at the glass wall in front of him.

  ‘Someone should stay with him,’ the Doctor said.

  ‘I’ll do it,’ Rose replied at once.

  ‘No, I need you with me. Minin – can I trust you?’

  ‘I hope so, Doctor.’

  ‘I hope so too.’

  ‘What do I need to do?’

  ‘Probably nothing. Just make sure he’s all right. There a phone in here?’

  Klebanov went to the bare desk on the other side of the room. In a drawer he found a phone and plugged it into a wall socket. He lifted the receiver to check it was connected. ‘Extension 514.’

  ‘I’ll need the full number,’ the Doctor said. ‘Any problems, I’ll call you on Rose’s mobile. You can give Georgi new instructions to pass 126

  on to the blob things. He’s in a receptive state. You won’t know it, but he’ll hear you.’

  ‘Will it get a signal? None of the radios are working,’ Klebanov pointed out.

  ‘Super phone,’ Rose told him. ‘It’ll work.’

  Klebanov gave the Doctor the number.

  Minin sat on the desk,

  watching Georgi. ‘Will he just sit there, like that?’

  ‘I hope so. Come on, Rose – work to do.’

  Klebanov followed the Doctor and Rose to the door. Then he paused and turned back to Minin. ‘It could he a long night,’ he said. ‘Get yourself a coffee. I’ll wait here with Georgi till you get back.’

  ‘So what’s going to happen?’ Rose asked.

  They crossed the paved compound outside the institute and started down the road.

  ‘Georgi has managed to get on the same wavelength as the ship’s psychic communication with the remotes.’

  ‘Like when he saw what they were up to before?’

  ‘Right. Only this time he’s talking to them. I hope he’s filtering out the ship’s messages and adding his own instructions.’

  ‘So, he’s, like, hacked in?’

  ‘Yeah. He’s hacked in. And he’s telling them all to come here.’

  ‘To get us?’

  ‘Well, not really. That’s what they think – so far as they think at all. But they just do what he tells them now. And he’s telling them to come along this road and keep going. Into that.’

  The Doctor pointed to the massive pile ahead of them blocking the road and stretching across the narrow ridge.

  ‘And that’ll stop them?’

  ‘Will when it’s on fire. They like the cold. Any energy they draw doesn’t come through as heat because it’s passed straight on. The shock of a sudden temperature change as they go into the fire ought to deactivate ’em all. Can’t really kill ’em cos they’re not really alive, you see.’

  ‘Ought to,’ Rose echoed.

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  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘Bonfire night and a half, then.’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘So when do we light the blue touch-paper?’

  ‘Soon as we see them coming.’

  They had reached Levin and his men, standing looking at their work. The colonel turned to the Doctor, hearing his last comment.

  ‘They’re coming now,’ he said. ‘Look.’ He pointed past the side of the pyre, into the valley below. A line of glowing blue was vaguely visible through the drifting mist.

  ‘Charges are set,’ Lieutenant Krylek reported. ‘We can light her up as soon as you’re ready.’

  The Doctor was looking down into the valley, watching the blue glow edge slowly closer, wondering where Jack had got to.

  ‘Let’s do it,’ he said.

  Uphill was bad news. Jack had to put the girl down. She could stand.

  She could walk. She just didn’t seem to know she was doing it. Just stared straight ahead into the misty darkness and let Jack lead her.

  Running seemed like too much to ask. She was a sleepwalker – no sign of consciousness, just one foot in front of the other. Her old face framed by young hair was devoid of expression. Her eyes showed no flicker of recognition as Jack urged her onwards. He held her by the hand, pulling her along as fast as he could.

  If he went too fast, she stumbled and fell. She made no effort to save herself, and her clothes were soaked from the snow, her face scratched, her hair dishevelled. Least of her problems, Jack decided.

  He was out of breath, nearly exhausted. ‘Not far now,’ he gasped, though he knew he was only saying it for his own benefit. ‘Just up the hill. Almost there.’

  But behind them he could see a line of the creatures starting up the road in pursuit. Were they really following? Did they know Jack and the girl were there – could they sense them? Or were they just making for the institute at the other end of the road?

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  Jack and Valeria were struggling along a narrowing ridge. At the sides of the road, the land dropped away into deeper darkness. Jack could only tell because the pale glint of the snow just stopped where the ridge ended. ‘Come on,’ he encouraged Valeria – could she hear him? Probably not. But he said it anyway: ‘Come on. Not far. Almost there. We’ll be all right in a few minutes.’

  Behind them the creatures were edging closer, catching up.

  Ahead of them the night exploded.

  Fire leaping high and wide as the entire ridge burst into flames. The heat of it almost knocked Jack backwards. The whole ridge was burning, the snow retreating from the heat as it melted and evaporated from the roadway. There was no way they could get through to the institute now.

  But perhaps the heat would drive the creatures back. ‘They don’t like fire and heat,’ Jack reassured Valeria. Her expression did not change. He squeezed her unfeeling hand. ‘We’ll be fine now. They’ll turn back. You’ll see. Any moment now.’

  But the creatures kept coming.

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  The Doctor was counting on his fingers, peering through the smoke and flames. It made Rose’s eyes sting and she blinked and squinted.

  ‘Thought there’d be more of them,’ the Doctor was saying.

  She couldn’t look. The smoke was everywhere, thick and black from
the fuel oil. Rose had to turn away. And as she did so, as she blinked and coughed and the tears ran down her cheeks, she could see the institute framed against the night sky behind them. The firelight was a flickering orange across its blank concrete façade. But it was an orange tinged with blue.

  From either side, across the snow-clad fields and from the cliff top, far in the distance the creatures were coming. She pulled at the Doctor’s sleeve. ‘Look.’

  ‘It’s great, isn’t it?’ He was still staring into the flames. ‘We’ve got

  ’em licked.’

  ‘We haven’t got ’em licked. Look.’ She pulled harder.

  ‘They’ve come round the sides,’ he said quietly.

  ‘We could set up more fires,’ Lieutenant Krylek suggested.

  ‘Doubt there’s enough time,’ the Doctor told him.

  Levin was nodding in agreement. ‘And we’ve nothing left to burn.’

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  ‘So what’s gone wrong?’

  The Doctor took a deep breath ‘Georgi,’ he said. ‘Either he’s not succeeded. Or. . . ’

  ‘Or what?’ Levin demanded.

  ‘Barinska wasn’t working alone.’ He clicked his fingers. ‘Phone.’

  Rose handed him her mobile and he punched the buttons. He was already running, back towards the institute. ‘Keep the fire burning,’

  he shouted at Levin. ‘Maybe we can still lead them here.’

  They were huddled as close to the flames as Jack could stand. Valeria didn’t object, didn’t seem to feel the heat or appreciate the danger.

  And still the creatures edged closer. Jack reckoned they had maybe ten minutes. At most. Then he would have to drag Valeria to her feet, maybe carry her, run for it – hope to get through the mass of glowing blue flesh that was rolling up the roadway towards them.

  ‘Fat chance,’ he murmured.

  He held her tight, arm round her shoulder. There was no give at all, no recognition or reaction. It was like holding a corpse.

  The sound of the phone in the quiet of the room startled Minin. It took him a moment to recover, then he snatched at the receiver in sudden excitement.

  ‘Doctor? Has it worked? Have we done it?’

  But he could tell at once from the Doctor’s tone that things were not going well. ‘What’s Georgi doing? Can’t he concentrate? Has he woken from the trance?’

  Minin looked into the glass cage. ‘No. He’s just sitting there. Looks like he might be muttering something. But he’s not moved. Not at all.’

  ‘Then he’s still in contact. Alex – you have to break the contact.

  He’s bringing the creatures round the side. He’s bypassed the fire.

  He’s leading them right to us.’

  Minin felt cold. ‘Stop him? How?’

  ‘Any way you can. We’ll be right with you. But – every second counts.’

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  The phone went dead. Minin put down the handset slowly, considering.

  He could see them, rolling up the hill and coming along the road. He could feel the heat of the fire, and he wondered how soon the other fires would be lit.

  ‘Don’t bring them all up the road,’ the voice had said. Whispering to him as he concentrated, as he felt the tingle of the creatures in his mind’s eye. ‘Make sure most of them come round the sides, otherwise they will expect a trap. We’ll lay other fires for them, don’t worry. Just concentrate on bringing them to us. Bringing them here.’ It was a soft, kind voice. Assured and confident. ‘Don’t worry about anything else. Just bring them here. To us.’

  The outside world did not exist, just the creatures – slithering ever closer. If Georgi could hear Minin’s shouts from the other side of the thick glass, if he could hear the hammering on the wall, it meant nothing to him.

  ‘The creatures – bring them here.’

  That was his whole world. . .

  No reaction. The man obviously couldn’t – or wouldn’t – hear him.

  Minin hammered with his fists on the glass. Then he reached inside his jacket and took out a pistol. He had taken it from his desk drawer when Klebanov sent him to get coffee. In the old days, Minin carried it all the time. He feared for his life all the time. He hadn’t even looked at it for years, hadn’t fired it since. . . He was confident the Doctor knew what he was doing, but even so Minin had decided he wanted the gun. He knew it would have no effect on the creatures, but then it was not them he was intending to use it on if things turned really bad. It was his insurance. His way out. His only way out.

  1917. The outer door clicked open. Minin stepped into the airlock.

  After a moment, the outer door closed behind him. He reached out for the keypad on the internal door. His hands were sweating. The gun felt slippery. He’d only ever killed a man once before. Surely it wouldn’t come to that. Surely the threat would be enough. An old 133

  blind man – shake him by the shoulder, push him off the chair if need be. Just break the link.

  1917. Nothing. Just a bleep of protest.

  The door remained closed. He must have keyed the number in wrong. His eyes were swimming, vision blurred. His finger was slippery with perspiration – might have slid on to the wrong button. He tried again.

  And again.

  The code didn’t work. It had worked only minutes before. Could someone have changed the setting, overridden the code? He hammered on the door with the butt of the pistol. Still no reaction from the old man. With a sigh of frustration, Minin turned round and punched the code into the outer door. He’d have to wait for the Doctor. The Doctor would know what to do.

  1917.

  Bleep.

  The outer door remained closed. Trapping Minin between two sheets of bullet-proof glass. Inside the cage, Georgi continued to mutter, to guide the creatures towards the institute. Oblivious.

  The Doctor took in the situation at a glance. Georgi sat motionless inside the glass cage. Minin hammering on the outer door – trapped in the airlock.

  ‘Get Vahlen,’ he told Rose.

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Guy in the digger. He’s an engineer. Tell him to bring his tools.’

  ‘But can’t you –’

  ‘You want a debate, or you want to help?’ he snapped, handing her back her mobile. ‘Get him. I’ll do what I can.’

  She nodded and ran.

  The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and went straight to the keypad by the door. Old technology – antiquated. Could he persuade it to work for him?

  ‘1917.’ Minin’s voice was faint but audible. ‘It works from that side.’

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  The Doctor nodded and keyed in the code. A bleep from the system.

  ‘Not any more.’ He set to work with the screwdriver and a shower of sparks erupted from the keypad. ‘That doesn’t look good,’ he admitted, waving away the curls of smoke. The keypad was a twisted, melted mess. ‘Whoops,’ he said quietly.

  ‘Should we pull back inside the base?’ Krylek asked.

  ‘Safer here by the fire,’ Levin told him. ‘I think.’

  ‘Then should we evacuate the civilians and scientists, bring them here?’

  Levin looked across to where the line of blue was moving ever closer to the institute. ‘I doubt there’s time. Let’s pray the Doctor stops them.’

  He sounded more hopeful than he felt. Rose was running across from the base towards them. She was shouting something – good news? Please let it be good news.

  ‘Where’s the guy on the digger?’ she gasped as she got closer.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Quick – we need him.’

  Levin simply pointed. Close to the raging fire, the shape of the digger was just visible through the billowing smoke.

  ‘Thanks.’ And with no further explanation, Rose set off towards it.

  ‘Why don’t they stop?’ Jack asked out loud. ‘Why doesn’t the heat drive them off?’

  The nearest of the creatures was melting like jelly – rivulets of molten blue running d
own the glutinous sides. A tentacle whipped out, towards the flames – crashed past Jack’s head. When it withdrew, it was burning. The creature shrieked in pain, the end of the tentacle a mass of flames. But still it kept coming.

  ‘Sorry about this,’ Jack said quietly, close to the girl’s ear.

  She did not reply.

  The burning tentacle lashed out again – right at them.

  The keypad for the internal door detached from the mechanism behind it. Minin had pulled it away and was ripping out wires in re-135

  sponse to the Doctor’s shouted instructions. He cried out in alarm and surprise as a jolt of power ran through his fingers.

  ‘That’ll be live, so careful,’ the Doctor called to him.

  ‘Thanks.’ Minin sucked his fingertips. ‘Now I reconnect it to which one?’

  The Doctor told him. ‘Dunno if it’ll work, mind.’

  He twisted the wire together. ‘Now what?’

  ‘Key in 1789 and see what happens.’

  ‘Why 1789?’ he asked as he pressed the buttons, hoping it would work.

  ‘Seemed like an appropriate number.’

  No bleep. Instead the hiss of the door mechanism. It clicked open.

  Minin sighed with relief. The Doctor was grinning at him through the glass door.

  The inner door opened an inch. Two inches. Three. Painfully slowly.

  Four inches.

  Then it stopped.

  Minin pushed. No movement. Jammed. He shoved at it. Put his shoulder to the door and heaved.

  Without effect.

  She paused for a moment to catch her breath. Vahlen had caught the urgency of Rose’s instructions from the Doctor and climbed down from the digger. He took a tool box from the back of the vehicle and set off towards the base.

  Rose wanted to tell him to get a move on, but she was so out of breath she could scarcely speak. The smoke clawed at the back of her throat as she drew in great rasping gulps of air. It made her cough.

  Leaning against the digger, she stared into the flames of the huge bonfire. Through the flickering firelight she could see the blue glow of the creatures as they moved slowly but inexorably towards the fire.

  The Doctor had been right – if only they could direct the rest of the things into the fire they might still have a chance.