The Doctor gently took the pistol out of Bunny's hand, and the big man seemed physically to shrink, almost on the point of collapse. Stoker rushed forward to help him, but Bunny shrugged her hand away. 'Just leave me alone,' he said harshly, and left the bridge with his head hanging low.

'Bunny, wait!' Stoker called, but Lawrence put his hand on her shoulder to stop her following him.

'Leave him,' he told her. 'He needs to be alone!

'No he doesn't,' said Tegan hotly. 'I'm going after him!'

She turned and ran out of the room.

The Doctor turned and handed the blaster to Cadwell.

'You'd better take care of that.'

'Pirate sc.u.m,' Cadwell said.

'That's enough, Cadwell!' barked Lawrence. 'Attend to your duties.'

'Sir!'

'That was awful,' Stoker said miserably. 'I don't know what's come over him.'

'Fear,' said the Doctor simply. 'He's terrified he'll never see his family again. And fear can be a powerful motivator.'

Gradually the normal atmosphere of the bridge returned.

Lawrence sighed and ran a hand through his short, dark hair with a look of resignation. 'This is going from bad to worse,'

he murmured. 'I'm going back to my cabin.'

'Sorry you came here?' Stoker asked, following him.

He looked at her Aren't you?'

'That depends: you didn't tell me you knew about the lexium deposits here. Why not?'

'I hadn't had a chance. I've been more concerned with other things.'

'All right, I'll give you that,' Stoker conceded. 'But there is is an issue here, despite what you said to Bunny.' an issue here, despite what you said to Bunny.'

Lawrence stopped walking. 'An issue?'

'Mineral rights. I was here first, remember. It's my claim.'

Lawrence actually laughed. 'You're concerned about mineral rights after all that's happened?'

'Don't try and fudge the issue. It's important.'

Lawrence studied the determined light in her eyes. She looked like a lioness sizing up her prey. He took a deep breath and said, 'I'm sorry, Jyl. Truly I am. But I've come here as a representative of the Consortium, and I have standing orders that must be followed.'

'Meaning?'

'I have to put in a claim for the mineral rights to this moon on behalf of the Consortium.'

'You can't! I was here first dammit, the claim is mine.' mine.'

He shrugged. 'Then we are in direct compet.i.tion.'

'I can't compete with you! The Consortium has the resources to force a claim through; I just haven't got that kind of clout and you know it.'

'Jyl, you're a rogue trader: you don't have any kind of clout at all.'

She went to hit him then, swinging her fist up in a lightning strike that would have broken teeth.

But Lawrence was too fast; he caught the fist and yanked it savagely down. She was pulled towards him, close enough to kiss. 'You said you'd aim low,' he reminded her.

'I know,' Stoker replied, bringing her knee up sharply into his groin.

Tegan raced after Bunny, wondering what he was going to do. He had gone straight for the airlock and left the ship. By the time Tegan caught up with him, he was halfway down the steps leading to the caves.

'Bunny, wait! Where are you going?'

'Nowhere,' he responded savagely.

She hurried down the steps and followed him into the main cavern. There was still a lot of Stoker's equipment scattered about, and Bunny kicked viciously at an empty crate. The plastic cracked and the box skidded away, the noise echoing all around the cavern.

'Just calm down,' Tegan told him. 'This isn't doing anyone any good.'

'Who cares?' Bunny snarled. 'G.o.d, what a mess. I've really screwed up this time. I was going to shoot someone! I was going to shoot the Doctor! What's the matter with me?'

'Don't be too hard on yourself,' Tegan advised. 'We're all under a lot of stress.'

'I don't see you holding anyone at gunpoint.'

'Given the right reasons, I might.'

'And what reasons would they be?'

'If I thought I'd never see my family again. If I thought it was the only chance I had. I don't know. We're all scared of different things.'

'What are you scared of?'

'Loads of things: snakes, for starters.' Tegan sat down on a crate and thought. 'Being alone. Not being any use to anyone. Letting my friends down. The usual stuff, I suppose.'

'I notice that you don't include gun-crazy lunatics with one arm.'

Bunny sat down next to her. 'Thanks for coming after me.'

Cadwell turned from a monitor screen on board the Adamantium Adamantium and said, 'I think you ought to know that your friend Cheung has left the ship, Doctor.' and said, 'I think you ought to know that your friend Cheung has left the ship, Doctor.'

'He was very upset,' the Doctor remarked.

'Like I care. But, typically, the fool's gone straight back into the cave system.'

The Doctor frowned. 'What do you mean?'

It was Nyssa who answered, sitting up suddenly erect in her chair. 'Doctor! The creature... it's hunting again!'

The Doctor glared at Nyssa, horrified by the implications.

'Tegan and Bunny - it'll kill them both!' it'll kill them both!'

Nyssa closed her eyes as if in pain.

The Doctor had sprinted for the exit without another word. Cadwell followed him, collecting a blaster pistol on the way, a grim smile on his face.

Tegan simply wasn't ready for it. It wouldn't have mattered if she had been.

The impact hurled Tegan from the packing crate and flattened her. The beast squatted on her back, squeezing the breath out of her. Panicking, Tegan tried to twist and turn, but its grip was like steel. She could feel its fingers digging into the flesh of her arms like talons.

Then she felt it on her neck: something cold and moist, probing the skin of her throat and face. More things wound their way around her head, white tentacles crossing her vision like coiling snakes.

Her heart hammered like a fist in her chest as she felt the tubes digging harder, burrowing into the flesh, wriggling desperately. She could feel its wheezing breath in her ear.

She fought like an animal to dislodge the thing from her back, but its slimy tentacles were winding tighter and tighter...

She never even had the chance to pa.s.s out.

The creature suddenly left her, with an abhorrent sucking noise, and she was free. Gasping, she crawled away, its foul wetness coating her face and throat. Her heart felt as though it was about to burst and the blood roared in her ears. A yard or two further and Tegan twisted shakily around to see where the beast had gone.

It hadn't gone far.

It was on Bunny Cheung now.

With a cry of horror Tegan realised what must have happened: Bunny had pulled the creature off her. Somehow, one-handed, he had managed to dislodge it. But now it had turned and attacked him.

Bunny was a giant compared to the Bloodhunter, but it didn't help. The thing clung to him, hands clawed around Bunny's head, its muscular white legs wrapped around his waist. Bunny staggered back and lost his balance, crashing to the rock floor with the creature still astride him.

Tegan let out a sob of fear and crawled towards them, desperate to help but terrified of getting too close. She wanted to scream for help but her mouth was bone dry - and who would hear her down here?

Bunny was struggling like a madman, but the Bloodhunter had opened its mouth, wide enough to swallow a melon, and a great ma.s.s of writhing tubes emerged. Sinuous, tongue-like extrusions were forced into Bunny's mouth and nostrils, driving down, further and further, inexorably searching for the greatest source of blood: the heart.

And all the while Bunny remained alive, his eyes bulging in agony. His whole body shuddered as the creature began to drain his blood. His skin shrank, visibly tightening over the bones, veins and arteries standing out like wires until they, too, collapsed as the blood disappeared from within them.

The creature drank hard and ferociously. Then, with a horrible sucking noise the thing slowly withdrew, and Bunny's withered corpse fell to the ground.

The creature turned back to face Tegan, its tentacles slippery with blood, its single red eye burning.

Chapter Thirteen.

The Doctor entered the cavern at a fast run, leaping the last set of steps and skidding to a halt when he saw the Bloodhunter advancing on Tegan. He called out to distract it.

The creature turned and snarled angrily.

For a moment nothing happened and n.o.body moved.

Then the creature took a step towards the Doctor.

A brilliant flash of energy burned past the Doctor's ear and struck the Bloodhunter in the chest. It staggered back, then turned and fled, blaster beams chasing it as as it disappeared down a side tunnel. it disappeared down a side tunnel.

Cadwell jogged up brandishing his blaster. 'Lucky one of us came prepared.'

But the Doctor was already helping Tegan to her feet.

She was shaking uncontrollably. He hugged her and let her cry: he had already seen the huddled, rag-doll remains of Bunny Cheung lying on the ground nearby.

Cadwell examined the crumpled body with distaste.

'No one deserves to die like that,' the Doctor said roughly.

The Consortium man shrugged.

A number of Adamantium Adamantium crewmen appeared, all carrying blasters and looking worried. 'It went that way,' crewmen appeared, all carrying blasters and looking worried. 'It went that way,'

Cadwell informed them, indicating the tunnel.

'Don't bother going after it,' said the Doctor. 'There's no point: you won't find it, and besides, there have been too many needless deaths already.'