from folds of grey material.

There was a light scampering of feet in the darkness and The Doctor looked across towards an old armchair in the Doctor whirled round.

which a just-recognizable Mr Peel was sitting, his blotched, In the dim candle-glow, he could make out a small, dark-purple head thrust back against the antimaca.s.sar. The haired girl, though her face was lost in shadow.

Doctor stepped over to the corpse and, almost without His stomach turned as he recognised the neat grey thinking, touched the bony head. It fell forward with a pinafore with its red and gold embroidered badge.

splintering crack, hit the floor and vanished like a 'Grandfather?' said the girl, giggling. 'Where have you mushroom spore in an explosion of dust.

been?'

The Doctor's gaze ranged around the room at the scores of The Doctor's mouth went dry as dust. His shoulders fell lifeless figures, petrified in att.i.tudes of horror like the and an exhausted gasp slipped from his lips.

residents of Pompeii.

'Susan!'

'As if the life had been drawn out of them,' he muttered.

Without the fire, a creeping dampness had gripped the Chapter Nine room. The Doctor wandered towards the cloister door, Christmas Day dawned with some uncertainty, the sun a shivering in spite of himself.

pale circle of light against the white sky, like a neat hole 'Ace?' he called, half-heartedly. Could she have escaped punched in the clouds.

this carnage? Was she one of the unrecognisable corpses Freezing fog began to roll over the moor, drifting around strewn about the room? 'Ace?'

the base of the monastery like smoke from an Arctic fire.

220.

221.

In the attic chamber, Ace and Robin were running out of 'Come on, then,' cried Ace, reaching for the lintel.

options. Billy Coote stood above the trap door, gurgling softly. His skin was giving off a faint luminescence and his The Doctor leant against a wall, his whole frame bent with twitching, glazed black eyes were focused directly at them.

emotion.

'We can't get past him,' cried Ace, looking around the 'Susan,' he said dully.

room desperately. Her rucksack, with its precious load of Yet it couldn't be. Couldn't be...

climbing ropes, was propped against a wall, far too close to A tide of regret and grief overwhelmed him and he almost the advancing stranger for her to retrieve.

cried out.

Robin popped his head through the stone arch of the 'I've missed you so much, my dear,' he croaked, breath window. Dawn light bled feebly inside.

broken by sobs.

He looked down at the moor. Too far to climb unaided.

There was already a curious luminescence in Susan's dark But the slate-covered roof of the tower was only a few feet hair. She turned her elfin face towards him and her eyes above them.

were full of forgiveness.

'We can get to the roof with a bit of effort,' he said.

'You were always such an old worrier, Grandfather.'

Ace nodded quickly. 'That's an idea. But we could wait The Doctor's mind raced, recalling all the precious times till he moves away from the trap door and then try and get he'd spent with her. Then a dark strand of memory rose up down the stairs.'

in his consciousness and he saw again Dalek-ravaged 'Down the stairs to whatever was in the Hall? That's why London, Ian and Barbara, and Susan with the man she had we came up here, remember?'

grown to love.

Ace grinned. 'Oh yeah.' She shot another glance at her 'You had to leave me with David, Grandfather. It was rucksack. 'If we can get...'

what I wanted, after all,' she said, as though reading his Billy Coote took a step towards them. His mouth clicked thoughts.

open, saliva dribbling over his lips. An anguished, chilling He'd abandoned her on an alien world in an alien time, moan echoed throughout the room.

losing his last link with all that he could call home. Since 'Roof it is,' said Ace, quickly.

then, there had been but one brief meeting, during the They clambered through the window and crouched on the Borusa incident. No time to talk. No time to make up for all stone sill. Ace looked up. It was a climb of about five or six those lost years.

feet, over a section of ancient lead guttering and then on to 'One day, I shall come back,' he had said. But that day had the roof. She scanned the masonry with expert eyes. There never arrived. He had been too caught up in his own selfish were a couple of good handholds.

concerns, his ceaseless journeying through the Vortex. What Billy Coote arched his back and emitted another deep was he running away from anymore? Only himself.

moan.

222.

223.

Susan gave a little laugh, the light, lovely laugh he had One man stirred, however, and the weak sunshine made always cherished. She had called him 'Grandfather', and in Lawrence Yeadon squint as he turned up the collar of his that simple phrase was bound up so much feeling, so much overcoat and made his way towards The Shepherd's Cross.

tenderness. Had he ever let anyone else get so close?

He glanced around at the eerie emptiness, straining to What was before him now was not Susan. He knew that.

hear any sign of life. With a heavy sigh, he pushed open the But seeing her there, just as he remembered her, was almost door of the pub and stepped inside.

too much to bear. He could feel himself moving towards her.

The taproom was silent and deserted, discarded gla.s.ses 'Susan,' he whispered.

and plates littering the tables. Lawrence walked listlessly She smiled, and in that moment, the Doctor caught a tiny around the room, his face drawn and haggard. He glanced flicker in her expression. The eyes seemed suddenly colder, at the tinsel which hung across the bar and shuddered as a harsher.

sob caught in his throat. Betty.

'No,' he said flatly.

She was gone. The woman who had brought meaning to Susan reared up, her body elongating like an uncoiled his life. Gone.

snake. For an instant, her smiling face remained. Then it fell It had been h.e.l.l after the death of his first wife. He had away, leaving only a terrible darkness around which her struggled to bring up Robin as best he could. No one, hair whispered.

Lawrence included, ever really expected him to get over it.

She held out her hands in an embrace and began to giggle, But Betty's love had helped him, healed the wounds, an awful, sick sound that made the Doctor's hair stand on restored the joy to his existence.

end.

He could see her now, just as she had been that summer's Susan's body was expanding now into trails of light, her afternoon in York, the sun beating down on her hair, her mocking laughter echoing around the deserted hall.

laugh echoing through the hot, still streets.

The Doctor cried out in anguish and grief, looking around Now she was gone. Claimed by some force he couldn't frantically for an exit. He spotted the well of the spiral stairs even begin to comprehend.

and bolted across the room, running for his life.

Lawrence slid into a chair. He had to pull himself together.

The fog from the moor poured down the empty streets of George Lowc.o.c.k had called at Mrs Ba.s.s's place late the Crook Marsham, blanketing the peal of the distant bells of previous night, talking about Jill Mason having some York Minster, six miles away. It was a rousing, jubilant terrible fright over at the monastery and how important it sound, greeting the festive morning effusively.

was to get everyone together for their own safety.

Yet in the village no one stirred.

Lawrence had suggested the church and said he'd meet An icy wind whipped through the main street, setting the them all there at eight on Christmas morning. He checked butcher's sign swinging.

his watch. Nearly time.

Somewhere, there was a soft, soft rustling sound.

224.

225.

First, though, he had needed to see the pub again, needed Holly lay asleep next to him, a few filthy blankets thrown to put himself in touch with Betty by seeing the things she'd over her.

seen.

They had hidden themselves in the security guard's hut He got to his feet and forced himself up the stairs. The after a petrified dash through the station.

police had taken away what was left of her and the Luckily for them, but unluckily for Trevithick, the bedroom door had been nailed shut.

creatures seemed intent on pursuing the old man, racing Lawrence paused by the door and pressed his cheek after him into the interior of the building.

against the panels, sobbing.

Holly had been keen to make for the village but Vijay He checked his watch again through tear-misted eyes.

thought this might expose them to still more danger. Better Get a grip.

to hide till they could get their bearings.

He would talk to George. Everything would be fine.

Sometime during the night, there had been a tremendous, Everything could be explained. Then he had to find Robin.

m.u.f.fled explosion from somewhere inside the station and Say sorry. Make sure he was safe.

Vijay had uttered a silent prayer for Trevithick. If the old Lawrence turned from the door. There was a sudden, man had gone down, he would certainly have been fighting sharp noise like scratching. He froze.

to the end.

It came again. An insistent sc.r.a.ping like a dog demanding Holly had slept better than Vijay and this troubled him. It to be let outside.

was as if she had found an easy escape route from her Lawrence looked down at the door. It was shaking troubles, blocking out the horrors by refusing to accept slightly.

them.

'Lol?'

Vijay stood up stiffly, carefully resting Holly's head on his His name. Stated in a dry, dead whisper.

discarded blanket, and tiptoed through the piles of rusted 'Lol?'

junk towards the door.

He bent down and stared at the door. Something was Daggers of icy wind slipped under the door. He opened it pawing at the broken lower panels, pleading to be released.

and grimaced as the harsh white daylight dazzled his eyes.

Quaking with fear, Lawrence put an eye to the splintered He could scarcely see the moor which stretched out before wood and peered through into the room.

him. Dense fog and heavy clouds had blended together, He caught his breath. Then a laugh resounded through his forming a freezing envelope around the station.

mind. A hearty musical laugh he'd first heard on a faraway Then he noticed the fence and dashed outside, slamming summer's day...

the door without thinking.

The perimeter fence, whose impregnability had so Vijayopenedexhausted eyes,liftedhead impressed Dr Hawthorne, lay broken and smashed. It was experimentally and found his neck to be stiff and painful.

how Vijay imagined a prison camp to look after a ma.s.s 226 227.

breakout. The steel mesh was beaten down and each post Vijay stood up. 'We'll drive into the village. They must was missing or broken off like a cemetery pillar.