Doctor Who_ Sting Of The Zygons Part 1

Sting of the Zygons.

by Stephen Cole.

For Justin Richards And for his 400 Drahvins called Dawn

The beast appeared with a shrieking roar.Within moments, Bill Farrow's ears were ringing with the screams of villagers, the shattering of slate, the howling of terrified dogs. The h.e.l.l-creature had smashed straight through the manor house, its scaly head rising up from the wreckage of stone, savage eyes staring round as if hunting for fresh targets. Then the beast moved forwards, cras.h.i.+ng through the ancient stone walls like they were chalk, tearing up the flawless lawns and the topiaries Bill had so carefully cut only days before.The Devil himselfs come to judge us, thought Bill fearfully, wis.h.i.+ng he'd drunk less and listened more to the vicar's words that morning. He turned, stumbled and ran, spitting s.n.a.t.c.hes of prayer under his breath. thought Bill fearfully, wis.h.i.+ng he'd drunk less and listened more to the vicar's words that morning. He turned, stumbled and ran, spitting s.n.a.t.c.hes of prayer under his breath.A gang of young men had grabbed pitchforks and scythes and were gathering in the churchyard. They shouted for Bill to join them as he pa.s.sed. But Bill ran on. Might as well attack the thing with peashooters the beast's strength was hideous, h.e.l.l-born. It can trample stone, It can trample stone, he wanted to hour at the men, he wanted to hour at the men, it can level a house with a brush of that tail, you can't stop it. it can level a house with a brush of that tail, you can't stop it.But his lips remain d set in a grimace of pure terror as he ran and ran. The yowls of children and the cries of women grew a little fainter in his ears, but the image of the beast was burned into his brain in horrible s.n.a.t.c.hes ma.s.sive ivory fangs, the black scales packed over its glistening bulk. Bill heard the rending of rock close behind him like the boom of thunder It's coming after you and ran faster as the creature's hunting roar tore through the air. Bill was heading for the ca.n.a.l. If he got into the water, perhaps this thing would lose his scent...A tremor thumped through the ground, knocking him off his feet. He fell heavily on the path, palms stinging, knees grazed raw. A blast of hot, sour breath enveloped him as he struggled to rise.Don't look back, Bill willed himself desperately, but the screams of young men, the wet crush of trampled flesh compelled him to turn. Bill willed himself desperately, but the screams of young men, the wet crush of trampled flesh compelled him to turn.The beast was towering above him. Its dark eyes stared down. A thick rope of drool splashed over his chest as the terrible jaws snapped open...And then the monster stopped dead.Bill stared up at it, tears wetting his cheeks, his breath coming in painful rasps.The beast's huge, snake-like head had turned to one side as if listening to something. Its bloodshot eyes were glazing over. And a new sound filled Bill's ears.A rhythmic, whispering, chirruping sound. A sound no creature of G.o.d could have made.Bill craned his neck to see behind him and saw the girl. It was the Meltons' la.s.s, barely eight summers old. Her skin was pale and dirt-streaked, with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes that stared up at the creature, unafraid.'Get back, Molly,' Bill called hoa.r.s.ely. 'It's not safe here.'Only then did he remember the girl had gone missing days ago and not been seen since.The mighty beast growled, s.n.a.t.c.hing back Bill's attention. He s.h.i.+vered, scrabbled out from beneath its shadow and, as he started towards Molly, saw a slight, well-dressed man push past her.'Sir Albert!' Bill said hoa.r.s.ely. 'Sir, we must take Molly and flee for our lives...'Sir Albert Morton was clutching something in his hand. It was the size of a fir cone, but glistening like wet skin. Bill realised that this was the source of the s.h.i.+vering, whispering sound that seemed to hold the beast transfixed. He regarded his employer warily, the white skin, the unblinking eyes. It was like Sir Albert was under a spell, enchanted.'Sir?' he said quietly. No reaction. 'For pity's sake, sir!'He grabbed hold of Morton's free hand and pulled him away. 'We must get away from here!'But then the towering beast jerked awake from its trance. A spasm wrenched through its neck, and the ground thundered as it blundered away, clearing the ca.n.a.l in a single stride, heading for Lake Kelmore.'We're saved!' Bill shouted. 'G.o.d be praised ''You fool!' Morton turned and smacked him away with the back of one hand.The power in the blow knocked Bill to his knees. How could such a slender man be so strong? What was that in Morton's hand? The questions clouded Bill's mind, left him kneeling when every instinct told him to run.Then it was too late.Morton's face was changing. A devil-red glow had taken his eyes and his proud features were melting like wax, streaking into horrible shapes. His skin was yellowing, toasting to burnt orange, plumping up like the flesh was fungus. Mushroom-like growths erupted from the dome of his head, pushed out from his chest.'Stay away,' Bill gibbered. 'Keep away from me.'A hideous demon now stood in Morton's place. It was squat, hunched and heavy-set, as tall as a man. Rank, heavy breath hissed from the blotchy slash of its mouth. Bill tried to shout, to warn others the beast is only a h.e.l.l-hound, here is its master. the beast is only a h.e.l.l-hound, here is its master.But the demon's misshapen claws were already closing round his neck.

ONE

The stillness of the hillside was torn apart by the grinding of alien engines. Birds clattered from the gorse and heather as a kind of tall, wooden hut burst into bright blue existence. It proclaimed itself to be a police box, but the reality was far stranger and infinitely more exciting.'Berlin!' cried the Doctor, throwing open the doors. Skinny and dark-eyed, he looked to be in his thirties but was really far older. 'Definitely Berlin.' He took in the woods ahead of him, the damp, scrubby gra.s.sland all around and the white-tipped mountains that hemmed in the landscape, and his sharp features hardened further in a frown. 'Sort of. Maybe.' He marched outside, then turned to the slim, attractive black girl who was hovering in the police box's doorway. 'Berlin, d'you think, Martha?'Martha Jones gave him a look that said, very eloquently, Don't think so. Don't think so. 'How many mountains in Berlin?' she asked. 'How many mountains in Berlin?' she asked.'Not huge amounts,' the Doctor conceded. 'One or two. In fact... less than one. Probably.' He brightened. 'There's a mountain in the town of Berlin in New York State...''I think I've had enough of New York for a while,' said Martha, remembering their last visit there. 'Anyway, we can't be anywhere near a city. Air's too fresh.' There was a playful gleam in her deep brown eyes. 'Is this really 1908, or are we in prehistoric times or something?''You suggesting we could be seventy million years off course?' The Doctor tried to give her a look of disapproval, but he couldn't help brightening at the thought. 'That would be fantastic, wouldn't it! See any dinosaurs about? I'd say it was unlikely with all the glacial activity that's obviously been shaping the scenery round here, but...' He beamed. 'Look at that valley! That tor! Miss Jones, let's tour the tor.' He grabbed her by the hand and yanked her off on a walk through the heather, his long brown coat flapping round his ankles, his dark suit brightened by a yellow-andred checked scarf that reminded Martha of Rupert the Bear. Her own outfit was dressier: a gauzy green silk dress with a gold leaf pattern and a close-fitting beaded jacket. But then, she had been promised they would be attending a formal function.'What about this German bloke and his oh-soimportant address then?' she asked.'Old Minkowski! Yeah, if it is is September 1908, he'll be off to talk to the a.s.sembly of German Naturalists and Physicians, telling them all that s.p.a.ce-time is the fourth dimension. Pivotal moment for world physics.' The Doctor laughed. 'Well, he'll just have to bluff his way through without me. We'll stay here dinosaur hunting, just in case. Maybe we could have a prehistoric picnic. Fancy a picnic? I think we should have a picnic...' September 1908, he'll be off to talk to the a.s.sembly of German Naturalists and Physicians, telling them all that s.p.a.ce-time is the fourth dimension. Pivotal moment for world physics.' The Doctor laughed. 'Well, he'll just have to bluff his way through without me. We'll stay here dinosaur hunting, just in case. Maybe we could have a prehistoric picnic. Fancy a picnic? I think we should have a picnic...'Martha smiled and thought back to her old, normal life. Life before she'd picked up with a man who travelled through time and s.p.a.ce in a magic police box he called a TARDIS, who whistled past stars and planets like she pa.s.sed stops on the Circle Line. 'Yeah, well, my family never had too much time for picnics...''Well, I really, really like picnics. I like picnic baskets. Especially those ones with the separate little compartments for your knives and forks, that's genius genius ' 'The Doctor's enthusiasm was muted by a high-pitched screech of brakes and a loud cras.h.i.+ng noise. A cloud of sooty smoke rose up from behind a close-by hillock.For a moment, Martha and the Doctor shared a wordless look. Then, as one, they ran full pelt towards the sound.'Car crash?' Martha panted. 'The engine sounded ''Throaty, inefficient, and probably downright dangerous...' The Doctor gave her a wild grin. 'I want a go!'He put on a spurt of speed and reached the brow of the hillock ahead of her. 'Oh, yes!' he cried in delight at what he saw. 'Look at that! An Opel double phaeton.''And one slightly crumpled driver,' Martha noted, reaching his side. An old red motor car, quite possibly a close relative of Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang, had obviously failed to take a sharp corner and was blocking a narrow lane; its bonnet and fenders were bent and sc.r.a.ped after a close encounter with a dry-stone wall. A tall man in a tartan sports coat with a high-standing collar was attempting to push the car away from the wall. A tweed cap was perched on his head of fair curls. He was covered in dirt and grease and had cut his hand quite badly.'I say!' he called upon sighting the Doctor and Martha. 'Could you offer a chap a.s.sistance? Rear wheels locked on the turn. Fiercest sideways skid you ever saw.'Martha was already making her way down the steep slope to the roadside. The piles of little 'black cherries' dotted around the gra.s.s suggested these narrow roads were more used to seeing sheep than motorists. 'What did you do?' she asked, studying his injured hand.'Sliced it on the blasted fender,' the man said, looking pale. He had a large, beaky nose and brilliant blue eyes. He grinned at her suddenly. 'Excuse the language, my dear. The name's Meredith. Victor Meredith.''I'm Martha Jones.' She cast a look at the Doctor, who was lavis.h.i.+ng his attention on the car. 'And this is '' an Opel Ten-Eighteen,' said the Doctor, 'pure elegance from Russelsheim.' He caressed the driving seat, which looked more like a cream leather sofa welded to the cha.s.sis, and tapped the walnut steering wheel. 'And look! Three-speed epicyclic gearbox with pre-selector control...''Indeed yes, and all brand new!' Victor grinned, then winced as Martha whipped his white racing scarf from about his neck. 'You an autocar enthusiast yourself, old buck?''Used to be, used to be. I'm the Doctor.'Victor's eyes turned back to Martha as she wrapped the scarf around his wounded hand. 'And you're his nurse, eh, Miss Jones?''Training to be a doctor, actually,' she agreed. Or I will be in about a century from now. Or I will be in about a century from now.'Capital, capital.' Victor smiled. 'Lady doctor, eh? Well, I dare say they do things differently where you're from.''Some things.' Martha conceded. 'Are you all right? You're looking a bit wobbly.''Can't stand the sight of my own blood,' Victor confessed.'But animal blood's all right?' The Doctor had pulled a cover from the back seats to reveal a collection of serious-looking shotguns. 'You've got some heavy-duty hunting gear here.'That's because I'm here for some heavy-duty hunting,' Victor agreed, flexing his bound hand gingerly. 'The Lakes'll be alive with hunters, I should think.''The unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable...' The Doctor frowned. 'Hang on a minute Lakes? What, you mean the Lake District?''Goodbye, Berlin,' sighed Martha. 'h.e.l.lo, Pacamac.''Lake District, brilliant! I love it round here, the lakes, the waters, the meres... and then there's your tarns, of course, your tiddly little lakes up in the mountains. Tarn...' The Doctor wrapped his lips around the word. 'Good name for a planet, isn't it Tarn. Tarrrn. TARRRRRRR-RRRRRRRNNNN...'Victor looked at him bewildered, then turned back to Martha. 'Are you sure you're not his nurse?''Miss Jones is an amba.s.sador for the distant land of Freedonia,' the Doctor announced. 'I'm escorting her and seeing she wants for nothing.''That'll be the day.' Martha muttered.'Freedonia is that one of ours?' wondered Victor. 'Difficult to keep track.''Believe me.' Martha told him, 'this is a whole other world for me.''Hang about!' boomed the Doctor. 'Lakes alive with hunters?' He reached into the back of the car and hefted a fearsome-looking weapon. 'What's going on? You've got an elephant gun here! Elephants in the Lake District?''Bigger game than that.' Victor looked at them both, the colour returning to his cheeks. 'Have you been out of the country just recently?'Martha grinned at the Doctor. 'Well out of it.' out of it.''That could explain it then.' said Victor, reaching under the bundle of guns and pulling out a folded newspaper. 'Though I'd have thought the whole world had heard of the Beast of Westmorland...'Martha took the paper and checked the date. 'September 16th nineteen-ohnine,' she read aloud, with a pointed look at the Doctor.'Only a year and a few thousand miles out.' he protested. 'Anyway, the car's from Russelsheim and that's in Germany...'But then Martha's frown deepened as she saw the headline. 'Beast of Westmorland Found Dead.' she read. 'Battered Prehistoric Killer Washed Up on Lakefront. Experts Baffled.''So you can read read as well as nurse!' said Victor, apparently genuinely impressed. as well as nurse!' said Victor, apparently genuinely impressed.Martha shot him a look. 'And if I couldn't, there's always this artist's impression.' She frowned at the smear of blotchy ink. 'Looks like... a dinosaur or something.''Let me see.' The Doctor s.n.a.t.c.hed the paper from her hands.'So why all the artillery?' asked Martha. 'Taking this lot along to hunt a dead monster seems a bit like overkill.''Friend of mine is the expert naturalist brought in to study the brute Lord Haleston. He says there's serious injury to its head.' Victor tapped the side of his large nose. 'Thinks perhaps it had a tussle with a mate.''Mate?' Martha looked round nervously at the quiet, beautiful scenery. 'Then there's another thing like that roaming about?''There have been one or two sightings,' Victor confirmed. 'Could be just rumours, of course, or hysteria. The police have searched, 'and the army, too after the ma.s.sacre at that village last week they pulled out all the stops. No luck finding anything, but then it's such a wide area to cover...''Oh, no. No, no, no.' The Doctor had been studying the paper, stony-faced. Now he slung it in the back of the car. 'Victor, can you give us a lift?''The crash has done for the engine, I'm afraid.' Victor sighed. 'Dashed if I can get her to work.'The Doctor produced his sonic screwdriver, lifted the mangled bonnet and stuck it inside. Then he turned the crank handle and the engine roared into life at once.Victor stared in baffled delight. 'How'd you do that, then?''I want to see this dead monster,' said the Doctor, as if this was explanation enough. 'The paper doesn't say where it is.''Naturally. Don't want a circus...''Do you know?''As it happens, yes,' Victor admitted. 'The Beast's pegged out beside the lake at Templewell. We can detour on the way to Goldspur, though I'm not sure I can guarantee you access, old buck. Bit of a closed shop up there, and old Haleston ''What's Goldspur?' Martha queried, raising her voice over the engine's sputter.'Lord Haleston's estate, base of operations for the hunting party,' Victor explained. 'But, wait just a moment! A lady travelling without a trunk? Never thought I'd see the day. Where's your luggage? How'd you pitch up here, in any case?''We had a bit of an accident ourselves,' said the Doctor.'Several,' Martha put in. 'We lost everything and we've been walking all day.''Then a lift you shall have,' Victor declared. 'One good turn deserves another, what?' He headed for the driver's seat, but the Doctor was already sat there with an innocent smile.'I wouldn't dream of making you drive with a bad hand,' the Doctor informed him. 'You ready, then? Come on, stop dawdling!'Martha allowed Victor to help her climb up beside the Doctor. 'I take it we're joining this monster hunt?' she asked.The Doctor's fingers drummed on the wheel as Victor clambered into the back. 'I have to be certain what that creature is,' he said ominously.'I'd like to be certain you can drive this thing,' she said. 'How did the sonic screwdriver get it started in two seconds flat?'The gleam returned to his eyes as he replied. 'My sonic dealer was giving away a Vintage Earth Engines software bundle free with every Sanctuary Base upgrade.'As ever, Martha wasn't quite sure if he was talking rubbish or not.And, as ever, that was all part of the fun.The Doctor pulled on a lever beside him and stepped on the accelerator pedal, and with a lurch the Opel roared away down the muddy track.No one noticed the hunched, orange creature hidden in the gorse on the hillside, breathing hoa.r.s.ely, watching them go with dark, glittering eyes.

TWO

The car was rattling along at thirty miles an hour, but to Martha it felt more like ninety. She grabbed hold of the underside of the seat while the Doctor whooped and laughed and spun the wheel this way and that, his hair getting windblown into ever less likely styles. The slate-grey sky hung over their heads like an unspoken threat as the car climbed up and down the fells.There's a whole gang of us staying with old Haleston,' Victor yelled, trying to stop his fold-out map flapping away like a frightened bird. 'Some have even brought the little ladies along. They're already installed, of course, came on the train.''Sensible,' Martha returned, clinging grimly on. 'Why did you decide to drive, then?''It's my pa.s.sion, m'dear! Picked up this little beauty from Manchester, does sixty miles on one oil change.' He stroked the leather upholstery. 'It's not all a jaunt, mind. I'm here chiefly on business. Pressing matter to attend to in Kelmore.'Martha recalled what she'd read of the newspaper article. 'That village the monster attacked?''Over forty left dead in the beast's wake, including dear old Sir Albert Morton, it seems. Ran after the monster. Not been seen since.' Victor paused. 'I'm the old boy's lawyer well, used to be. His papers at the house have been left in a terrible state...''So this monster,' said Martha, switching back the subject. 'How come it's strong enough to trash a village but then turns up dead just a few miles away?''Perhaps it didn't,' the Doctor pointed out. 'If there have been other sightings since, maybe it's the living creature that's the killer.''Clearing the name of a dead monster,' Martha observed. 'Sweet.''Guilty or innocent, if there is a second monster we'll hound it till it cries capivvy,' Victor declared. 'And not just for the sport, or the public service.' He tapped his nose again. 'Those in the know say the King will present a special medal to whoever bags the brute. Er, left here, old buck.'The Doctor nodded and tackled the crossroads with gusto. Martha spotted a horse and carriage clopping along from the right. A bundle of hunting gear was tied to the roof of the carriage.'Looks like you've got compet.i.tion,' Martha observed.'Let them come.' Victor folded the map and leaned back in his seat. 'The more the merrier.' The car slowed, (he engine growling in protest as the Doctor turned onto a steep hillside track. 'Ah, Templewell!' said Victor brightly. 'Here be monsters. Dead ones, at any rate.'As they turned the next corner, the Doctor slowed the car further. A policeman on a black, s.h.i.+ny bicycle was blocking a dirt track leading off from the roadside. His uniform was smart, with bra.s.s b.u.t.tons dazzling to the eye. He wore a moustache like a clothes brush beneath his red nose.'You'll have to back up,' said the policeman in a thick northern accent. 'This road is closed.''Good, I'm glad. Can't be too careful,' the Doctor informed him. 'Don't want just anyone getting down there to see the monster, eh? We're with Lord Haleston.'Victor stood up in the back. 'Tell him Victor Meredith's arrived with, er, experts from London.'The policeman looked doubtfully at Martha. 'Experts, is it?''Tell you what,' said the Doctor, jumping from the car, his coattails flapping. 'We'll tell him ourselves.' He pushed past the policeman. 'This way?''You can't go down there!' the policeman protested. 'And you can't come after us,' Martha informed him, putting on her most genteel tones as she hurried after the Doctor. 'I mean, wouldn't do to leave the road unguarded, would it?'The policeman was left gaping as Victor gave him a cheery wave and followed them down the footpath. 'Good work,' said Victor, chuckling to himself. 'I knew from the first we would all get along! Ah, Doctor, it's just a pity you're not a hunting man...'The Doctor's hands were shoved deep in his pockets as he strode along. 'Oh, I never said that.'They moved quickly down the quiet track. Sheep and cattle watched them languidly from adjacent fields, the only observers. Then, as the path wound round the hillside, Martha caught a glimpse of grey water and a huge, dark shape beyond the high hedgerows. She parted some wet leafy branches and peered through, and the Doctor pressed his face up beside her to see.'Oh my G.o.d...' Martha felt sick just taking in the sheer size of the beast lying on the sh.o.r.e far below. Only the upper body was protruding from the muddy swell of the lake, but that alone was as long as a playing field. Men were milling around it, dwarfed by its ma.s.s. The creature's corpse lay on its side, two huge clawed paws clasped together in some sick parody of prayer. Its neck was as long and thick as a battles.h.i.+p, leading to a set of hideous jaws, each twice as long as a train carriage and crammed with ivory spikes. But above the jaws was little more than a mangled mess of blackened bone. Most of the head seemed to have been ripped clear away.'What d'you think it died of?' Martha deadpanned.The Doctor puffed out a long breath. 'I didn't think anything could kill a Skarasen.''A what?''A cyborg animal part organic, part metal. Part reared, part engineered.'Martha s.h.i.+vered. 'You've met one before?''A little one,' the Doctor confessed. 'You could say I got under its feet. But that was ages ago, up in Loch Ness and about seventy years from now.''Loch Ness?' Martha stared at him, incredulous. 'You mean there really is a monster?''Onwards we trot!' called Victor, who was waiting for them further down the track. 'I feel a view up close is in order, don't you?'The Doctor was about to follow, when Martha held him back. 'If this Skarasen is a cyborg... then who made it?''Zygons,' said the Doctor, his dark eyes troubled.'And you've come up against Zygons too?''Oh, yes. And the ones I met never said anything about having two Skarasens, so...' Abruptly, he hurried away after Victor. 'This doesn't feel right. We need to find out exactly what's going on round here, and p.r.o.nto. p.r.o.ntissimo. p.r.o.nto-a-go-go.' He turned and gave her a wide grin. 'Come on, then, you heard the man. Onwards we trot...'Steeling herself, Martha jogged down with him to face up to the mauled monster.Lord Henry Haleston was not enjoying his day. His a.s.sistants and orderlies were giving him a wide berth, and he didn't blame them. How the Prime Minister expected him to compile a serious-minded report on this this...There were two great pa.s.sions in Lord Haleston's life one was ama.s.sing facts about the natural world, the other was placing those facts in a proper, sensible order. He had spent most of his fifty-seven years doing exactly that, patiently and meticulously ordering the great pattern of living things.Now here he was, faced with something on his very doorstep that not only upset the applecart but also dashed it into a thousand pieces.And as the young man in the strange suit and overcoat came bounding towards him, a striking girl from the colonies close on his heels, he sensed at once that here was something else come to stamp upon those cart-splinters. But at least it was something he could shout at.'Who the devil are you two?' Haleston demanded. 'This area is closed to press and public alike. What do you mean by barging into a secret government enquiry?'But the young man spoke at a pace and foghorn volume that matched his own exactly. 'I'm the Doctor and this is Miss Martha Jones, your grace. I'm an expert in, oohhh, most things, really; she's an expert in the very latest medical training. And when you've listened to what I've got to say you'll probably need some!' He drew a deep breath and smiled c.o.c.kily at the stunned onlookers. 'And as if all that wasn't enough, Mr Victor Meredith will now vouch for us. Here he is!'Haleston blinked as Victor's concerned face poked out from behind one of the beast's colossal claws. 'I'll vouch for the Doctor, all right, Henry. And the young lady's a visitor from Freedonia, you know. Pin sharp and bright as a b.u.t.ton.''Really, Victor.' Haleston frowned. 'I'm afraid I'm most fearfully busy, so if you've satisfied your curiosity and that of your friends...?''Satisfied, Henry? I should say not!' Victor stared at one of the creature's weighty talons. 'You never said the brute was this enormous or I'd have brought a dozen cannon instead of the four-bore!''Oh, by the way, H.H. sends his regards, Lord Haleston,' the Doctor announced suddenly, 'and hopes your enquiry will soon be concluded successfully.''H.H.?' Haleston blinked. 'Do you mean to tell me, sir, that you are an emissary of our Prime Minister, Mr Asquith?''Emissary? He's a mate of mine!' The Doctor bounded over to study the fallen monster's fearful teeth. 'We've had some wild times, me and H.H., let me tell you. I remember this one time there was me, H.H., Dave "The Rave" Lloyd George and this leaky bottle of soda water, right...''The Doctor has certain specialist knowledge he believes may help with your enquiry,' Martha broke in, with a warm smile. 'In the interests of public safety he thought it a good idea to share it.''Oh?' Haleston's eyes narrowed. 'A dependable sighting of this other beast rumoured to be on the loose?''Not quite,' she told him. 'But important anyway.''Hmm. Seems you're another piece of the puzzle that doesn't fit,' said Haleston more gently. 'An erudite and gentle maiden accompanying such a c.o.c.ksure young rip!''c.o.c.ksure, that's me,' the Doctor agreed, circling the giant, devastated head of the beast. 'c.o.c.ksure that this creature and the other beast that's been sighted are not of Earthly origin.'Haleston stared. 'Not of Earthly origin?''Oh, come on, your lords.h.i.+p, that's not such a big leap of imagination for a man of learning like yourself, surely?' He grabbed a hacksaw from one of the orderlies. 'You haven't been able to shave off a single sc.r.a.p of skin, have you? You've sawed and chopped and hacked away, but you haven't made a mark, right? Am I right? I'm right.' He banged the saw against a shard of the creature's skull. The bone chimed like a bell.'Metal,' said Martha quietly as the chime died away.'An alloy not known on this planet,' the Doctor agreed, now peering to inspect two of the enormous teeth. 'And tell me, Lord Haleston, in your considerable experience, have you ever come across a living creature with a cranium constructed of so dense a material as?' He broke off, scrubbed at something close to the monster's gum line. 'Whoops, you're a politician, aren't you? You spend your life surrounded by them.''Kindly keep your hands off the specimen!' Haleston bristled. 'And, may I add, this is not a matter for levity, sir!''Very true!' The Doctor s.n.a.t.c.hed his hand from out between the monster's teeth and stuffed it in his pocket. 'Good point, excellent, I'm glad you brought that up.' He squared up to Lord Haleston. 'Frankly, I'd say it was a matter for panic, pandemonium and searching questions in very high places. Because here's the news flash: we have in front of us a giant aquatic cyborg that can't be stopped by anything on Earth and yet it's been stopped. Seriously, top-ofthe-headblown-apart sort of stopped.'Martha nodded. 'But stopped by what?'The Doctor gestured to the beast's shattered cranium. 'The damage here suggests an intense heat and a very sudden impact from within the head.''I had come to the same conclusion,' said Haleston, grudgingly.Victor's mouth had been flapping open and shut but now he finally forced out in an incredulous tone: 'But... whatever could cause such a thing?''My best guess is some kind of hunter from an alien planet with weapons of unspeakable power, which if deployed without care could cause far more damage and loss of life than your Beast of Westmorland ever could.' The Doctor suddenly grinned, looked round at his astounded audience and rubbed his hands together. 'Right, then! Who feels they could use some of that medical attention I mentioned, hmm?'

THREE

'Well, going for the subtle approach really worked, didn't it?' Martha looked at the Doctor as he drove them through the darkening evening. 'Ooh! Hang on, what's this?' She put a finger to his ear and pretended to stare at it closely. 'Oh yes, it's the flea in your ear Haleston sent you away with, for asking him to believe in two lots of aliens on the same day.'The Doctor shrugged as he slowed down at a crossroads. 'Is it my fault you humans have got such closed minds? I only hope this alien hunter doesn't blow them wide open.'Martha frowned. 'Why would an alien hunter bother with humans if it's after this other Skarasen?''D'you reckon Victor would cry much if a stray rabbit caught the shot he'd meant for a grouse?''Um... possibly not.' She looked back at Victor, who was snoring quite calmly in the back, a noise that rivalled the chugging engine for volume. 'Taking it all very calmly, isn't he?''Stoic's the word,' the Doctor agreed, as they rattled away down yet another country lane.Victor had, it seemed, been prepared to countenance a metallic dinosaur staring him in the face. But, at the thought of 'big game hunters from Mars', he'd simply guffawed, clapped the Doctor heartily on the back and led him quickly back to the car before Haleston's oaths could grow any more colourful. After all, there was a lady present.Martha s.h.i.+vered, grateful for the Doctor's coat about her shoulders. Her outfit offered little protection from the chill wind, and the dark clouds billowing overhead promised rain. They were just as grey and formless as the landscape stretching out around them, softened with the fall of dusk.'So, while there's no one to heckle,' said Martha, 'tell me more about the Zygons.''A bunch of them crash-landed in Scotland centuries ago,' the Doctor recalled. 'They thought they were alone on the planet, sat there underneath Loch Ness with their little pet, quietly plotting to take over the world. Didn't mention popping down to the Lakes now and then to borrow a pint of Skarasen milk.''Milk?' She looked at him. 'That's a joke, yeah?'He shook his head. 'The Zygons depend on a Skarasen's lactic fluid for food. Without it they'd die.'Martha shuddered. 'You'd want to make sure your hands were warm before trying to milk that thing.''And bring one h.e.l.l of a bucket,' the Doctor agreed.Suddenly there was a blur of motion ahead of them. Martha shrieked as a dark shape rolled down from the steep hillside in front of the car, blocking their way, and the Doctor stamped on the brakes. The rear wheels locked and whistled, and, for a terrifying moment, Martha thought she was going to go flying through the windscreen. She managed to hold on, but a thumping impact in the back of the seat told her that the sleeping Victor hadn't fared so well.The car screeched to a halt centimetres from the object in the road, and the Doctor quickly turned to check on Victor, sprawled in the foot well with his rifles. 'He's out cold, b.u.mped his head. But I think 'An awful keening, gurgling noise, somewhere between a blocked drain and a cry for help, rose up from the road ahead of them.The Doctor jumped out of the car, and Martha quickly followed him. With a tightening of her guts, she saw what had fallen to block their way. It was panting wildly for breath, rocking on its back like a baby.And it was alien.The thing was orange-red with a huge, domed forehead, covered in thick, mushroom-like growths. Its features were all bunched up in the middle of its face, and it had no neck or shoulders the head seemed to sprout straight from the torso, which looked like giant spots had burst all over it. Thick, crusty nodules ran down the creature's chest like horrible b.u.t.tons.The Doctor started feeling about the grotesque body as if looking for a pulse. 'Speak of the Zygons, and one'll come rolling down a hillside at you.''This is a Zygon?' Martha breathed. She saw now that there was a gaping, sticky wound at the back of the oversized head, and its legs were a butchered mess, crusted in thick, dark blood. She caught a feral look in the alien's eyes. They were the eyes not simply of a creature in pain but of a creature that hated.Then, with a mournful, sink-emptying sound, its chest fell still.'Dead?' she ventured quietly.The Doctor nodded. 'Afraid so. If we'd got him talking, perhaps he could have told us something about No!' He shouted down at the body: 'Oh, come on, don't do that!''Do what?' Martha stared at him then became aware of a high-pitched whine in the air. She looked back at the Zygon's body in time to see it glow with light and fade away to nothingness. 'Is that normal?' she whispered.Frustrated, the Doctor slapped his hand down on the track where the Zygon had been. 'Molecular dispersal,' he said. 'The life signs of the crew are monitored from their s.h.i.+p's control room. If one of them dies, the body can be zapped into particles like it was never here...'Martha looked around warily in case any others might be about to follow it. 'How d'you think it got those injuries? It didn't pick them up in the fall.''True. So whatever did for him could still be about up there. Let's take a look!' With that he went das.h.i.+ng off up the scree-covered hillside, his suit jacket flapping about him in the gusting wind.Sighing to herself, Martha ran after him glad she'd decided to wear flat shoes today, but terrified of what he might find waiting at the top of the rise. It was more exposed up here. A few cows were grazing, unbothered by the vicious squalls of peppering rain.'This is no good.' The Doctor squinted into the grey, spongy landscape of shadows. 'Can't see a thing. Whatever took a pop at that Zygon, it could be anywhere now.' He looked at the cows. 'Sorry to bother you, ladies, but have you seen anything big and nasty pa.s.s this way?'.Unsurprisingly, the cows ignored him. Martha s.h.i.+vered. She suddenly realised just how dark it was. No twinkling city lights in the distance, no street lamps. Just her and the Doctor, and the cold, bl.u.s.tery night.'This alien hunter you were on about,' she said, pulling the overcoat closer around her. 'Looks like it's after the Zygons as well as their Skarasens.''I wonder who they've upset,' the Doctor mused. 'I also wonder how many Zygons there are around here and what they're planning to do about it...''Doctor!'Both Martha and the Doctor started at the frantic shout. It was Victor. Straight away, the Doctor was off and running down the hillside, barely keeping his balance as his plimsolls slipped and skidded on the wet gra.s.s. Martha wasn't so lucky, sliding a good deal of the way down on her b.u.m.Victor was sitting up in the back of the car, pointing down the winding lane, towards a shadowy hillside. 'Over there. Came out of nowhere...'Martha followed the arrow of his finger and, as scudding clouds fled the half-moon's spotlight, she felt a chill go through her.There was a figure on the hillside. The figure of a young girl, maybe eight or nine, with pale skin and long blonde hair. As if mimicking Victor, she raised her arm, pointing away from them into the furrowed ridges of the distant darkness.Then the moonlight dimmed as fresh clouds cl.u.s.tered. When they had pa.s.sed on, the girl had gone too.The Doctor turned to Martha, eyes wide and bright. 'Did you see that?'She nodded uneasily. 'A girl. Pointing.''A phantom.' whispered Victor, dabbing at the b.u.mp on his head. 'With an unearthly message from the other side!''The other side of the valley, maybe.' said Martha. 'What's over there?''Toombs' Fell, Wolvenlath Mere...' Victor shrugged. 'Difficult terrain, not for your tourists.''This is the night for spotting things!' the Doctor enthused. 'One giant water-monster, one phantom child, one shape-s.h.i.+fting alien, a couple of cows...''Er, excuse me?' Martha grabbed his arm. 'Shape-s.h.i.+fting alien?' alien?''Did I not mention that?' He gave his wide-eyed innocent look. 'Zygons have body-print technology. They capture people and keep them on board their s.h.i.+p while they go out and take their victims' places in the human world.'Martha looked at him in dismay. 'That's not good. Because if these Zygons are being hunted, what better place to hide than in someone else's body?''Whatever are you talking about?' Victor demanded. 'Why have we stopped, anyway? What happened to my head?' By now he was looking mildly affronted. 'What are we even doing here?''Lots of questions,' mused the Doctor, jumping back into the driver's seat. 'Y'know, I think it's time we got you home, big fella. Then I think it's time that Martha and I went on a little hunt of our own.''Oh?' Martha wasn't sure she liked the sound of that. 'Hunting what, exactly?'The Doctor grinned and stamped on the accelerator. 'Answers!' he yelled, and, with a grind of sticking gears, the Opel roared away.

FOUR

Edward Lunn crept through the dark, wet forest, a four-bore shotgun clamped tightly in both hands. Teazel went ahead of him, his bristly tail wagging. Every few seconds, the fawn English Mastiff would stop to sniff at piles of mulchy leaves or a fallen tree; no doubt about it, he had got the scent of something.Lunn barely felt the coldness of the encroaching night, and he certainly felt no fear. So much of his life was spent hemmed in by the dreary mahogany of his offices... This was his release! The moonlight was fitful but strong enough to see by. He had his gun and his dog, and he was not about to give up this most promising trail for polite company and a game of cards back at Goldspur.'Good lad, Teazel,' he whispered. 'Who's going to lead Daddy to the big kill then, eh?'He'd pa.s.sed a number of broken trees now, the trunks crushed to splinters. It boded well, as he knew neither police nor soldiers had yet scoured the land around Wolvenlath. And while there were many hunters at large in the District, Lunn had seen none take the same trails as he. He could be in with a real chance of sniffing out the lair of this beast, and that could mean a medal when the King paid his visit...Suddenly, Teazel stopped dead before a tangled thicket. His tail held still. He had seen something.'Here we go, then.' Lunn muttered to himself, a thrill going through him as he held up his gun in readiness. He peered through the twisted branches and saw something moving in a small clearing beyond. He couldn't see much detail in the moonlight but enough to be sure this was no great beast. It was the size and shape of a man, hunched over, peering about for something. Lunn felt a flash of disappointment. So much for being the only hunter on this patch...But then the figure turned sideways on, and a gasp escaped Lunn's lips. This was no man. It was some inhuman monster. Its huge head sprouted straight from its chest, lending it a disturbing, almost foetal appearance.Obliging of you to give me such a big, fat target, thought Lunn, bringing the shotgun up shakily to his shoulder. 'Time you went back to h.e.l.l, whatever you are...' thought Lunn, bringing the shotgun up shakily to his shoulder. 'Time you went back to h.e.l.l, whatever you are...'Then he heard the wet crack of a stick, snapping close behind him. Teazel started barking. Lunn whirled around to find another of the creatures was creeping up behind him. Its eyes blazed with malice as it reached out with twisted fingers and lunged for his throat.Horrified, Lunn opened fire. The shot went wide, but Teazel threw himself at the monster, barking furiously, his teeth tearing at its orange flesh, driving it back.Lunn turned to find the first monster was now running towards him. He crashed away through the wet wood and bracken, the rasp of his breath loud in his ears. But not loud enough to drown out the howl of his dog in the thick of the forest behind him.He ran on and on, forcing his way through bushes and brambles, until suddenly he found himself out in the open. The dark sky was furry with cloud, the sleepy eye of the half-moon gazing down on the shadow-world below. He heard more crashes behind him. The things were still coming after him. He had to reload his shotgun-But there was another one here in the field. He caught a glimpse of its dark form as it ducked under a fence and came running towards him.Cursing under his breath, his heart pounding wildly, Lunn staggered off again through the thick mud of the fresh-ploughed field. It led onto a slope of pasture. At least it was a downhill run, he was grateful for that.Until he saw that at the end of the slope there was nowhere to go. He had reached the edge of the fell, with only a steep, sheer drop down to the waters of Wolvenlath Mere.They're herding me towards it, he realised. he realised.Lunn stumbled to a halt close to the straggly hedges that guarded the lip of the precipice. Then he turned to face the sinister beasts. There were five of them now: one cutting off his flight to the left, one guarding the path to the right, three more closing on him from the front. Mechanically, he reloaded the shotgun. But he knew that even if he downed one of these devils, the others would get him. And then...'Human,' rasped one of the creatures in a gurgling whisper.The beasts can speak.'Stay back,' he called in a high, wavering voice, willing his fingers to work, his hands to stop shaking. 'Stay away from me!''Remain still.' The night-creatures were closing on him. 'You cannot escape.''We have need of you,' hissed another.Lunn stared round at the beasts. 'Can't escape, you say?' He blasted at the nearest of the creatures. Its death cry rent the air as he turned and blundered through the hedges at the cliff edge, holding his breath.'Pursue!' came the terrible, inhuman hiss as they ran to get him.Lunn shut his eyes, and not a whimper escaped his lips as the ground fell away beneath his feet.'Here we are then.' announced the Doctor, rolling up in the car beside an ornate stone archway crowned with intricately carved ivy. 'Excess marks the spot.'Martha saw a bra.s.s plaque declaring that this was the Goldspur estate. 'And not before time.' she said, rubbing I he small of her bruised back. The last mile had been 'specially b.u.mpy, the narrow muddy lanes churned up and potholed.'Splendid run, chauffeur.' called Victor. 'Got a place to stay? Or are you dossing in the pure, tonight?'The Doctor considered. 'Maybe if we sweet-talked old Haleston...'Martha shook her head. 'No way. They'd take one look and stick me downstairs with the servants.' She frowned. 'And even if they didn't, I've seen Gosford Park Gosford Park! You need two changes of outfit just to go to the loo. Me one dress. One crumpled, dirty, dishevelled dress. So we are not going in there tonight. OK?'The Doctor reflected on this outburst for a moment, then turned to Victor. 'Any good hotels in the area? B and Bs? Tents?' He glanced back at Martha. 'How do we feel about tents?''No tents.''No tents... Gypsy caravan? Stable? There's this police box I know of, but...'There's quite a decent hunting lodge that borders the back of the estate.' said Victor cheerfully. 'About a half-mile round the track. Popular with tourists come high season, but at this time of year, they may have room.' He flexed his bandaged hand. 'I think the war wound's up to it hop back in and I'll take you.'Martha considered walking. Then she thought of the eerie apparition of the small girl out in the wilderness. She consulted with her spine and decided that perhaps they were both feeling up to one last jaunt in the motor car after all.An hour later, Martha was feeling happier. Mrs Unswick, the owner of the Lodge, was a plump woman in her fifties with long, plaited hair and a knowing look in her eyes. At first, she had seemed suspicious of her prospective guests' lack of luggage. But Victor had vouched for them, the Doctor had chatted the old girl up a bit, and soon she was happily revealing she only had one other paying guest that night and would be glad to make a couple of rooms available.Martha had bagsied the one with the biggest bed and, after a ruthless tournament of stone-scissorspaper, had also won the right to the first bath. Only when she realised it was a tin bath and a jug of hot water in a freezing cold room did she wonder if the Doctor had played to lose.After a quick clean up which left her s.h.i.+vering even under five blankets, Martha discovered fresh clothes in the wardrobe a long fawn overcoat, a flowing khaki wool skirt trimmed with black satin and a woollen s.h.i.+rt-blouse patterned with a dark check. With delight, she wriggled into the warm checks, pulled on the skirt and went downstairs.She found the Doctor in the sitting room with Mrs Unswick, in front of the fire. It was a large room that seemed smaller thanks to the heavy drapes, densely striped wallpaper and so many dark wooden cabinets dotted about, crammed with china ornaments. A stag's head stared gla.s.sily out from a plaque on the wall, with framed maps of the area on either side.'Ah! Clara's clothes suit you very well,' said Mrs Unswick approvingly.'Thank you for the loan I can give the Doctor his coat back now.' Martha smiled. 'Is Clara your daughter?''Goodness no, my chickabiddy!' The large woman gave a laugh that rattled the china. 'Never had time for kiddies, not in my London days and certainly not now. Clara worked here as my maid till a week ago. I had to let her go always sticking her beak into other people's business, was Clara.'The Doctor raised his eyebrows. 'And so you took her clothes?''Compensation!' said Mrs Unswick firmly. 'She made off in the night with some of my best silver! Still, it's all done with now. Like... poor little Molly Melton.''Mrs U thinks we saw a ghost this evening,' said the Doctor, his eyes agleam.'The poor girl went missing from the fields round Kelmore two weeks ago,' Mrs Unswick explained. 'Molly was always one to playa little too far from home, they say. And one night she never came back. A week after that, the village lay in ruins. Some say they saw Molly just standing there, watching it all. Like a vengeful wraith, making certain no one else would ever come home in her place. And now it's said she points the way to danger... Warning the innocent away.''Never thought of myself as innocent before,' said Martha.But Mrs U had finished her tale, and the only sound was the crack and spit of logs in the fire and the heavy tick of the clock on the mantel, the only movement the dance of the woman's shadow in the firelight.'Of course, Molly could have been abducted by shape-changing creatures from another world,' the Doctor suggested brightly.'Don't be ridiculous, Doctor,' Mrs Unswick chided. 'She's a spirit, and that's that.''A sprightly spirit. She had it away on her ghostly toes in a blink...' The Doctor got up and looked at the framed map. 'Ah! The surrounding area. Now, we left Lord Haleston and his little discovery here...' He started tracing his finger along a pathway. 'We stopped the car when our friend fell into the road here, and Molly's image appeared to us... here!' He tapped the gla.s.s. 'Yep, pointing towards Wolvenlath, just as Victor said.' He looked enquiringly at Mrs Unswick. 'Any dangers to the innocent there that you know about?'The woman shrugged. 'The walking's difficult, so the tourists stay clear. Few souls about at any time.'Martha's eyes met the Doctor's. 'Good place for something to hide?'Just then there was a crash from the doorway behind them. Martha and the Doctor turned in surprise to find an athletic-looking man in loud-checked trousers, a dark waistcoat and rolled-up s.h.i.+rtsleeves, struggling into the room with a large, battered leather box. Lenses and eyepieces protruded from the thing in his arms as well as various bra.s.s levers and handles.'May I trouble you for more of your late husband's insulation tape, Mrs Unswick?' he asked in slightly accented English. Then he noticed the Doctor and Martha. 'Oh, please forgive my intrusion.''No intrusion.' the Doctor a.s.sured him.Mrs Unswick rose from her chair with some difficulty. 'I'll just fetch your tape, Monsieur, and let you introduce yourselves.' So saying, she bustled from the room.The Frenchman gave a small bow, and smiled at the Doctor and Martha particularly at Martha. 'Claude Romand, at your service.''I'm the Doctor, this is Martha Jones, and this is a Pathe film camera you're carrying, isn't it!' He grinned. 'Can I see?''You work for the newsreels yourself?' Romand looked suddenly guarded. 'I hope you are not here to how do the Americans put it scoop me?''I'm an explorer,' the Doctor informed him, 'among other things.' He took the large box from Romand, staring at it like a boy with a new toy.'You're a journalist, Mr Romand?' asked Martha.'I have been dispatched by News of the Globe in Paris to report on the strange events unfolding here,' he agreed. 'Alas, my camera's refusal to focus is proving stranger than all else.''Well, a precision instrument like this, it's bound to go out of alignment from time to time...' The Doctor placed the camera down on the floor with due reverence and then whacked the back of it with his fist. 'Try it now.'Romand stooped to pick up the camera, peered through the eyepiece attached to the side, and moved a sliding lever. 'You have a magic touch, my dear sir!' He grinned, set down the camera and embraced the Doctor. Then he turned to Martha hopefully.She raised her eyebrows at him, and folded her arms.Sheepishly, Romand turned back to the Doctor. 'So, Doctor. You are an explorer, yes? Then you have come here because of the Beast of Westmorland, as I have?''Pretty much,' the Doctor agreed. 'Any sightings yet? Captured anything on film?''No sightings,' said Romand, more subdued now. 'But I have visited Kelmore. The destruction there is...' He broke off, as if groping for the right English words to describe it. But the words did not come. 'My editor thought these stories a big joke, he sent me here for a light-hearted piece. He does not understand... this thing must be found, and captured, and destroyed.' Abruptly his mood lightened as he turned again to Martha. 'But forgive me, speaking of such things before a lady...''Oh, shut up,' Martha told him good-naturedly. 'What damage was done? What have you seen?'Romand hesitated. 'As it happens, I have had some stock developed at the request of the police. Manpower is limited, and they hope that screening my films in public places will provide them with volunteers, yes? And these reels, they are not collected until tomorrow...'The Doctor brightened. 'So, you have the reels do you have a projector?''In my room, dear sir.'Martha smiled. 'Then how about we go there right now and you can show us your footage?''Bet you don't get an offer like that everyday, eh, Monsieur?' The Doctor grinned. 'Not even in Paris!'Mrs Unswick shuffled back into the sitting room with a small black reel. Martha thought the woman looked somehow older now in the firelight. 'Here's your tape, Monsieur.''We're after bigger reels than that, Mrs U!' cried the Doctor, dropping briefly into an American accent. 'It's show time! Movie screening upstairs, in Monsieur Romand's room. The original home cinema! Do we have any choc-ices? I like choc-ices, the proper ones you get from ice-cream vans. No? Never mind...' He ushered Romand and Martha through the door. 'We've got lights, we ve got camera all we need now is action!'

FIVE

Martha slept uneasily that night. The flickering, jerky black-andwhite images she'd seen on Romand's projector screen haunted her thoughts. CNN it wasn't. Disturbing it was, and big-time.It was so weird, looking at images that seemed so ancient and yet knowing they had only happened a couple of days ago. The grief, the confusion she'd seen would still be etched on the villagers' faces. The smashed-in houses, the trampled gardens, the ruined church and, more likely than not, those monster footprints would all be visible too.She checked her watch by the light of the candle on the bedside table. It was after three in the morning, and still she felt wide awake. That was the problem with TARDIS travel, you never really knew what time it was or when you should be sleeping. Was it jet lag, or time lag, orA sudden banging on the door made her sit bolt upright. She threw on Clara's clothes and got up. 'Whatever's the commotion?' Mrs Unswick's weary voice floated up from the hallway downstairs. 'Who's there?''Victor Meredith,' came the familiar voice. 'I'm afraid it's an emergency, Mrs Unswick. I'm calling for Miss Jones... or the Doctor...'Martha burst out onto the landing only to find the Doctor was already running down the stairs in his suit, his coat under one arm, cupping the stub of a candle to light his way. She hurried after him.Mrs Unswick was also still dressed. She opened the door, and Victor stepped inside. He looked pale and fl.u.s.tered in the candlelight, his overcoat thrown on over blue flannel pyjamas.'What's happened?' the Doctor demanded.'Apologies and all that,' said Victor. 'It's a friend of mine, Eddie Lunn part of the hunting party he went missing this evening. We were all worried sick, of course, only now he's turned up in a bad way. Crack on the head, can't get any sense out of him...' He looked at Martha and held up his bad hand, now sporting a sticking plaster. 'Haleston can't rouse his own doctor, and given the miracles you worked on my little scratch this afternoon I wondered if you might consider...?''We'd better get going,' said Martha, leading the way out through the door into the cold night. The Opel's engine had been left running. She got into the back seat and the Doctor slid in beside her. Then with a wave to the bewildered Mrs Unswick, they set off at a fast roar for Goldspur.Soon they were driving through the moonlit gardens and topiaries up to the house. Viewed from the front, it was a huge, forbidding rectangle of stone and ivy. A butler was waiting attentively by the front door. He almost went cross-eyed at the sight of Martha, who simply glared at him as she followed Victor and the Doctor inside.The entrance hall was just as opulent and draughty as she'd expected, and the fancy spiral staircase that twisted up to the landing was like something off a movie set. The butler, Chivvers, led the three of them into a bedroom lit smokily by oil lamps.A pale, handsome man lay in the middle of a four-poster with a crooked bandage round his head. There were deep scratches down his face and neck. On one side of him sat a pet.i.te woman with ivory skin and blonde hair arranged in a bun, holding his hand. Lord Haleston, dressed formally in a lounge suit, stood by the window, eyeing the Doctor suspiciously.'It's good of you to come at this hour, since my own man's indisposed,' he said slowly. 'But we'll have none of your crank scaremongering here, please, Doctor.'Martha gave him a look. 'I'll be examining the patient,' she said. 'Mrs Lunn? Have you cleaned these cuts and abrasions?'The woman nodded, looking slightly dazed. 'It hurt him, so I stopped. I... I fear that his mind still suffers.''How is his head?' She pulled at the crooked bandage round Lunn's forehead. It fell away to reveal a nasty, purpling swell with a crusted b.l.o.o.d.y gash in its centre.'Told you.' said Victor. 'It's a real sockdologer.'The Doctor slipped on his chunky gla.s.ses and took a closer look at Lunn. 'I'd say he's fallen some distance, wouldn't you, Miss Jones?'She opened the top b.u.t.ton of Lunn's pyjamas to expose more angry welts. 'Slid some of the way too, looking at these sc.r.a.pes.''I knew something was wrong when Teazel came home without him.' said Mrs Lunn, still out of it, her voice barely more than a whisper. 'Teazel is Eddie's dog, do you see? He never leaves his side. And yet, the wound on the poor animal's back...''What kind of wound?' Martha asked.'I've never seen a marking like it.' mumbled Haleston. 'Eddie came back not half an hour ago.' Victor went on, 'clinging to the back of his horse, black and blue, soaking wet, in a terrible state.'Just then Martha caught a bob of movement from the doorway. She saw a boy with neatly combed red hair peeping round furtively. Clearly he wasn't supposed to be up.He looked at Martha and mouthed.''Is my father all right?''He will be.' she mouthed back discreetly.Looking a little happier, the boy disappeared once more from sight.Martha started to feel for Mr Lunn's pulse. Abruptly, he stirred, moaning like a man waking from a bad dream. Then his eyes snapped open; they were a staring, piercing blue. He looked up at Martha and his face twisted into a scowl. 'Get off me. Keep away from me.'Martha held up her hands and duly backed away. 'So much for polite society.''Do you remember what happened, Edward?' said Haleston, crossing to join them around the bed.Lunn's face twisted, his breathing became hoa.r.s.er. 'Wolvenlath...' he said. 'Hunting... in Wolvenlath...''Is that where you were tonight, Edward?' Haleston demanded.'The little girl on the hillside.' Victor remembered. 'She was pointing the way to Wolvenlath.'Mrs Lunn looked at him anxiously. 'An omen?''I saw her.' Lunn whispered. 'Pointing...''What else did you see in Wolvenlath, Eddie?' the Doctor urged him.'Can't remember...' Lunn put his hand to his head. 'We must go there... Find... what attacked me. Something... in the forest... in the water water...''Poor soul's delusional.' said Haleston bluntly.'He's survived a deeply traumatic experience,' said the Doctor, a sharp edge to his voice. 'That can turn anyone a little crazy for a time, believe me.''It's possible the crack to his head has given him concussion,' said Martha, in a more reasonable tone. 'That can cause memory loss, disorientation...' She looked at the Doctor and lowered her voice. 'Are there X-ray machines yet?'He nodded genially. 'Getting there.''No X-rays,' Lunn snapped suddenly.Martha gave him a funny look. 'But you may have a fractured skull, in which case ''No X-rays,' he repeated.Mrs Lunn looked baffled. 'X-rays...?''I'll not submit to that hocus-pocus,' said Lunn. 'D'you hear?'The Doctor shrugged at Martha. 'As a medical aid, X-rays are in their infancy right now,' he said quietly. 'Shock of the new, and all that...''All right.' Martha sighed. 'Well, Mr Lunn, you should stay in bed under observation for the next two or three days ''Watching me,' Lunn muttered. 'Wanting me...' He stared round wildly. 'We have to go there, Henry. Hunt this thing. Have to find...''Yes?' The Doctor leaned forwards. 'What do we have to find?''Patient's getting agitated, Doctor...' Martha placed her hands on Lunn's shoulders and eased him back down into a lying position. 'Try to rest, now.'As she spoke, a ma.s.sive, muscular Mastiff trotted in, its short tail wagging, and sat by his master's side. Lunn saw his dog and at once he calmed, reached out a hand to pat its head, started to breathe more deeply.'That's better,' Martha murmured.'The trusty Teazel, I presume.' The Doctor reached down to fuss the Mastiff's dark ears and then frowned at the huge welt that had risen on the dog's back. The skin had blackened the fawn-coloured fur around it, and the wound was starting to fester. 'Looks like... a sting of some kind.'Haleston harrumphed. 'I'd like to know what on Earth could sting like that.'The Doctor looked at him. 'You wouldn't.'Martha turned quickly to Victor. 'We'll need some more warm water and a soft cloth to finish cleaning up those abrasions, and the dog's wound too.'Victor looked out of his depth almost at once. 'You're asking me?''Tell Chivvers,' said Haleston, 'he'll fetch them.'Suddenly, Teazel started barking and sniffing at the Doctor's coat pocket.Martha frowned. 'Got a s...o...b.. snack in there?'The Doctor patted his pocket and frowned. 'P'raps we should be off.' He jumped up from the bed and headed to the door with Victor. 'It's late, we're tired...''And tomorrow, the hunt is on,' said Haleston.The Doctor paused. 'You're going to Wolvenlath?''Naturally, we are,' said Victor. 'You can see the state Eddie's in. This thing is a menace. It has to be stopped.' Haleston nodded. 'We dare not rest until the brute lies dead beside its fellow.'The Doctor rolled his eyes to heaven. 'But, your grace, you don't stand a chance!'At that, Mrs Lunn burst out into helpless sobs, and Teazel barked at the Doctor. Martha wasn't convinced that the dog's bark was worse than his bite. 'Time to go?' she suggested.'I dare say we're all a little tired and edgy,' Victor said tactfully. 'I'll drive you both back. Thanks awfully for coming here.''Sorry there wasn't more we could do,' said Martha. 'Without an X-ray ''No X-rays,' Lunn muttered, exhausted.Martha shrugged. 'If you like, I could check on him again tomorrow.''Dr Fenchurch will be here in the morning,' Haleston informed her. 'Thank you all the same, my dear. Good night to you.'She nodded. Teazel's low growl was all the encouragement she needed to follow the Doctor and Victor from the room. And as Martha went out onto the darkened landing she saw the boy again, hovering in the shadows. She gave him a thumbs-up. He held up his own thumb and smiled before vanis.h.i.+ng into the shadow. 'Does Mr Lunn have a son?' she asked casually as they went downstairs.'Young lad named Ian,' Victor told her. 'Good little urchin. Thirteen or so. Eddie's been so busy of late, agreed to let him come so they could spend a little time together...' He broke off and sighed. 'If you'll excuse me, I'll just creep to the kitchens and chivvy Chivvers along with the first aid essentials. Back in a jiff to play chauffeur.' He walked quickly away, his heels ringing out on the wooden floorboards.'Funny, you know,' said the Doctor. 'I normally get on very well with dogs.''Did the Zygons make that mark on him?' asked Martha quietly.'They can sting.' The Doctor nodded. 'Sting to stun, maim or kill. And y'know, that's why I think Teazel was barking at me back there he was taking exception to this.' He pulled from his coat pocket a gnarled orange growth. 'He must have recognised the smell. I would say that the same hands that stung Teazel made this. Not literally the same hands although, you never know...''Where did you get that?' Martha turned up her nose. 'It looks like... a poo.''Organic technology,' said the Doctor. 'It's a kind of homing device, not so much made as grown. Tasty bit of kit well, tasty to Skarasens, anyway. Sends out a signal that says "Eat me, eat me..."''I get it,' said Martha. 'So if the Zygons have got something they want mashed, they set off the signal and let their pet monster slip the leash?''A Skarasen would tear through anything to get to this.' The Doctor pondered the wizened lump. 'I sneaked this one from out of the teeth of that corpse by the lake.''I wondered why you shoved your hand in your pocket after poking about in its mouth.' She looked at him doubtfully. 'So why'd you take it? Souvenir?'There was a cheeky glint in his eyes. 'Just trying to get on the enemy's wavelength...'

SIX

Haleston sat stiffly in the chair by the window, watching the sunrise. A shaft of bright, peachy light was already warming the room, motes of dust swarming there like flies. The dark corners of the house would slowly lighten. Soon he would hear clanking from the kitchens, the first thump of the house's heartbeat as morning brought it back to life.He cast an envious look at the mound of starched nightwear and eiderdown that was his sleeping wife. She had snored on, oblivious to Lunn's return, while he hadn't been able to sleep a wink since. He'd written up his journal, although committing the day's strange events to paper had brought him no peace.He had known Edward Lunn a long time an upstanding busi