'No.' She was adamant. 'We're not leaving.'

'Haven't you heard? We're under attack!' Kendle insisted with his usual authority.

'Then do your job,' the professor threw back at him. 'You're meant to be a soldier, aren't you? Defend us.'

Rose was certain that the next thing she felt would be sharp pain as those vicious talons sliced into her and she just hoped they wouldn't cut anything too vital like a major blood vessel! Eyes squeezed tight shut, she kept rolling from side to side, but the fatal blow never came.

'It's OK, you're safe! Stop rolling around.'

33.It was the monster only it didn't sound very monsterish. In fact, it sounded like a young man. Gingerly Rose opened her eyes. The 'monster' was trying to pull its own head off. With a final effort it succeeded and Rose realised that the 'head' was, in fact, nothing more than a mask. It wasn't a monster at all but someone in a monster costume! And now Rose knew the truth, she could see that it wasn't even a very good monster costume. The hairy legs of the beast stopped about thirty centimetres above the ground, revealing a pair of athleticlooking humanoid legs. And where the fearsome monster's head had been, a much more attractive human head was sticking out of the monster's shoulders. Rose thought it looked like someone sticking their face through one of those comedy photo opportunity boards you find at seaside resorts, the ones that let you have your photo taken with the cartoon body of some fat beach-lover. The clawed paws were merely gloves, which were quickly shrugged off.

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you,' said the youth inside the monster costume, smiling.

Rose instantly relaxed. When it came to men, she really was her mother's daughter a nice smile took a bloke a long way, and this lad had a really nice smile. His hair, short and spiky, was a sun-dyed blond and his skin glowed with a healthy tan that had nothing to do with a bottle. Perfect blue eyes and teeth that would make an orthodontist proud completed the look. Rose allowed herself to be helped up.

'You're like me!' he exclaimed, clearly surprised. Rose blushed, still embarra.s.sed by the way she'd reacted to his arrival. Had she really screamed?

'Well, I guess I have my blonde moments, if that's what you mean.'

The boy Rose would have guessed his age at around seventeen shook his head. 'No, no. . . ' He reached a hand towards her head and she resisted the instinct to flinch. He gently brushed the hair away from her face and with hesitant fingers stroked the top of her ear. Rose gave an involuntary shiver. 'You're like me,' he repeated. 'The same race.'

'Human,' Rose whispered, 'you're human.'

The boy looked into her eyes and smiled a grateful smile. 34 'My name's Rose,' she stuttered, suddenly nervous, feeling as if she'd just approached a shy lad at a club and asked him to dance when she should simply have introduced herself first. Feeling terribly selfconscious she offered him her hand.

'Rez,' offered the boy by way of reply. Instinctively he took her proffered hand but, not knowing what to do with it, just held it.

'You're meant to shake,' explained Rose kindly.

A frown flittered across the blond boy's face and then he started to shake his entire body. Rose didn't want to be cruel, but it was such a funny sight that she couldn't stop the laughter bursting out. Her new friend started laughing too. Soon the pair of them were helpless, leaning against each other for support, the discarded monster costume forgotten at their feet. The screen was filled with static. Moments before, it had given the entire bridge an uncomfortably close-up image of one of the creatures as the sharp-looking talons sliced towards the security camera, but now it showed nothing.

'That thing just took out the camera. But that's impossible,' exclaimed Hespell. 'It must have cut straight through the metal!'

'Imagine what it would do to you,' Kendle muttered.

'Where are they?' It was the professor, who had reluctantly joined them on the bridge, concerned that the attack might adversely affect her own mission.

'Climbing over the hull.'

'Can they get through it?'

Kendle shrugged. 'If they can slice through metal, the hull won't hold them for long.'

'There must be something we can do. Doesn't this ship have any defence capabilities? I thought it had seen military service.'

'You wanted a ship suitable for exploring.

You never said you wanted to wage war!' replied Kendle.

'I didn't know I'd need to.'

Kendle looked around the room. The crew were all young and raw. Right now he'd have welcomed just one more face like his own, one 35 with the scars of experience on it, but none of these kids looked like they'd lived at all. And if he couldn't find a way of stopping the current attack, none of them would live much longer. He racked his brain, trying to think of something he could do.

'Metal, metal. . . ' he muttered. Of course. 'The hull is metal, isn't it?'

It took Hespell a moment to realise that Kendle was talking to him.

'Yes, sir.'

'And the emergency generator is running at full power?'

Hespell nodded, then looked shocked when he understood what Kendle was suggesting. 'You want me to electrify the hull?'

The other man met his gaze. 'Is it possible?'

Hespell sucked his teeth, considering. 'It's certainly possible, in theory, but in practice. . . It'll fry a lot of our sensors.'

'Sensors can be replaced, people can't. Do it.'

It took a few minutes of frantic work by every member of the crew. Sensitive systems had to be off-lined and isolated and conductive wires connected between the generator and the hull. While the minutes ticked away, they were all conscious of the sounds echoing through the ship's corridors, as the creatures crawled over the hull, apparently trying to find a way in. The hull creaked and groaned eerily, as everyone hurried to complete the necessary circuit. They worked in a tense silence that was occasionally punctuated by the screech of tearing metal. The creatures seemed determined to get inside the ship.

Finally they were ready. Kendle gave the order and Hespell flicked the switch, sending a ma.s.sive current through the hull. The sounds from the hull ceased.

The silence held for a long moment, then Kendle gave the order to shut off the current. 'Do we have any cameras working?' he demanded. Hespell nodded and flicked a switch.

On the screen they could see that their desperate measure had produced the desired result. The creatures had been hurled metres away from the hull by the electrical force. The three of them were lying 36 on the ground, their fur smoking slightly. But incredibly, as the crew watched in horror, they staggered to their feet again and began shuffling towards the ship.

'Power up,' ordered Kendle.

Hespell quickly reactivated the current. The view-screen picture crackled with interference but it was still possible to see what was happening. One of the creatures made another attempt to climb on to the ship, but the electrified hull sent him flying backwards. Eventually, having been thwarted in their efforts, the trio turned and headed back into the forest. For now. . .

Kendle watched as the three enormous beasts disappeared and then got to his feet purposefully. 'Hespell, Collins, with me,' he ordered. Hespell and the usually cool Jae Collins exchanged nervous looks. Kendle noticed their reluctance and offered them a further explanation.

'We're going after them,' he said. 'In my experience, attack is always the best form of defence.'

The Doctor was sorry now that he had left Rose at ground level. Not because he wanted her to have the same aching legs that he had after climbing to the summit of the tower, but because he really wanted to share the wonderful view with her. This was one of the reasons why he travelled, to see incredible things, and it just wasn't the same if he couldn't share the experience with someone else. The view from the observation post was absolutely breathtaking. He could see for miles in every direction and each point of the compa.s.s offered a stunning vista. This planet truly was a beautiful place, but it was more than just a visual thing; it felt wonderful too. The Doctor couldn't be sure exactly what it was. Perhaps the gravity which was just slightly less than Earth's. Perhaps it was the atmosphere, which seemed to have a little more oxygen in it. Or perhaps it was simply one of those feel-good planets you found now and then where everything was just right. For a brief moment his mind went back to the planet he had grown up on, so many years ago. That had been one of those perfect planets. All gone now. Dust to dust. The Doctor shook 37 his head to scatter the ghosts haunting his thoughts and returned his attention to the present. Emergency distress call, he reminded himself, crashed s.p.a.ceship. He started scanning the horizon for signs of the ship's descent. They weren't hard to find. The ship had damaged a strip of forest as it came in to make what had clearly been a poor landing, and this acted like a giant arrow pointing to the crash site. Even at this distance the Doctor could see that the s.p.a.ceship was still essentially intact. With luck there would have been no fatalities.

Making a mental note of the direction he would need to take, the Doctor began the long trip back to ground level. As he skipped down the stairs, taking care not to go too fast for fear of losing his footing on the worn stone steps, he continued to cast glances out towards the crashed s.p.a.ceship. Was that movement he could see? Something crashing through the forest from the landing site and moving towards the ruins? The Doctor had a sudden bad feeling and increased his pace, desperate now to get back to Rose. He reached the bottom of the steps and began the more difficult part of the descent, along the sloping roof. On the way up this had been easy, but coming down gravity made it far more treacherous and the Doctor wanted to arrive in one piece.

Kendle led the way, every inch the soldier now, plasma rifle c.o.c.ked and ready in his hands. Hespell and Collins followed, looking less comfortable with their own weapons. Kendle was using all his old tracking skills to follow the creatures that had attacked them, but it wasn't a particularly difficult task. The powerful beasts had raced through the forest, breaking branches and undergrowth just like twolegged bulldozers. Even Hespell could see where they had been. At least he could when the forest was quite dense, but now that the trees were thinning out the trail was becoming less obvious. Kendle, who had been leading them at a brisk trot, waved a hand to slow them down. Up ahead was a clearing in which some stone buildings, most of them in a ruinous state, could be seen. Of the 38 creatures there was now no sign. Using what cover they could find, the three humans crept closer to the ruins.

Collins and Hespell looked at each other both were feeling increasingly anxious about this course of action. Following Kendle in the forest had been one thing, but now they felt much more exposed. The further they went into the ruins, the greater the risk of the creatures circling round and attacking them from the rear. The sun was now quite low in the sky and cast long shadows on all sides, making the place seem even eerier. In the centre of the clearing was a large building with an impressive tower built on top of its roof. Kendle seemed to be taking them towards it. Was it the creatures'

lair? A movement on the lower part of the roof caught Hespell's eye. Had one of the creatures been watching their progress? Instinctively he raised his weapon and took aim.

The Doctor was nearly on the ground and was about to call out to Rose when he saw the humans. They were creeping through the undergrowth, dashing between piles of stone and bushes, taking up defensive positions. He could see that they were armed and their movements suggested that they were expecting trouble. Which could be bad news for any strangers they might encounter. Trigger-happy humans were, in the Doctor's experience, the worst kind of humans. He had to get down there quickly and defuse the situation before anyone got sh The Doctor never finished his thought. A blast from one of the soldiers. .h.i.t him, stunning him instantly. He staggered and fell before rolling down the incline and toppling over the lip at the part where the wall became almost vertical.

If Rez hadn't clamped his hand over her mouth, Rose would have cried out. Rez had taken her to the storeroom in which he had found the monster costume. It was down some earthen steps, in a cellar. All sorts of ceremonial costumes and props were stored there. 'Like some kind of weird dressing-up box,' Rose had commented. Rez had 39 shown her his other recent discovery. Hidden behind a tapestry that was hanging on the wall was a tunnel.

'Where does it lead?' she had asked.

Rez had shrugged and given her one of his trademark grins. 'There are loads of tunnels and cellars under the ruins. Shall we explore?'

He had offered his hand and for a moment she was temped to go with him; something in his manner made her think of another adventurous spirit the Doctor. But then she realised that she couldn't go anywhere until the Doctor got back. She had explained about her friend and how he would be worried about her. Rez had been disappointed, perhaps even a bit jealous at the news that Rose already had a male companion, but he quickly hid his disappointment and led her back the way they had come. As they reached the doorway, Rez had suddenly stopped and indicated that she should be quiet. Rose frowned what was the problem? She squeezed next to him in the doorway not an entirely unpleasant act and looked out in the same direction. Across the ruins, she saw what looked like another human, but this one was dressed in some kind of uniform and, more worryingly, was carrying a weapon.

Rose figured out instinctively that shouting a cheery h.e.l.lo would be the wrong move right now. The best thing was to watch and wait. Suddenly the red-headed man with the gun was reacting to something above eye level. He raised his weapon. A cold dread hit Rose in the stomach. She had a sudden awful feeling about what was happening in front of her. She was about to shout a warning, but that was when Rez had grabbed her. Rose watched helplessly as the man fired a blast and a moment later the unconscious figure of the Doctor rolled off the roof and fell to the ground. Ironically his own coat, lying where Rose had left it, broke his fall.

Two other humans, also armed, joined the man who had shot at the Doctor. Rose and Rez watched as the three strangers had a hushed conversation. The Doctor's face was turned towards them and suddenly his eyes flicked open. Rose felt the Doctor looking directly at her. As she watched he gave her a deliberate wink and then closed his eyes again. He's playing possum, she thought to herself. And he 40 wants me to go along with it.

The oldest of the three strangers, who looked to be in charge, checked the Doctor and, satisfied with his condition, ordered the other two to pick him and his coat up. With a last quick look around the ruins, the leader led his two juniors and their stunned captive away.

'You should have let me do something,' Rose exploded as soon as she could speak. 'They shot the Doctor!'

'What are you suggesting we should have done? Thrown rocks at them?'

He had a point. It was clear that the pair of them wouldn't have had a hope against the three, armed men.

'They must have come from the crashed s.p.a.ceship,' Rose decided.

'And now he's letting them take him there. But he's expecting me to follow. I'm sure he is. . . '

Rez shook his head firmly.

'I can't just let him go,' Rose told him angrily.

'It's getting dark. The forest is dangerous at night. We'll find your friend at the crash site in the morning. I promise.'

Rose could see that Rez was being practical, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

'So what happens till then?'

Rez considered for a moment before taking her hand and leading her away. 'I'll take you to the village. You'll be safe there.'

41.

[image]

a.s.shefollowedhernewfriendthroughtherapidlydarkeningforest, Rose tried to keep calm and not worry about the Doctor. She knew the weapon had just stunned him he'd been pretending to be unconscious when the two men started to carry him away. If only she knew what the wink had meant. Was it just an 'I'm OK' wink or did it mean something else? Was the Doctor expecting her to follow him straight away? Whatever it meant, morning would come soon enough, and Rose was confident that she would catch up with him then. In the meantime, perhaps she should learn a little more about where she was.

'So what's this place called?' she asked, as Rez helped her over a fallen tree.

'Laylora,' he told her.

It was a beautiful name for a beautiful planet, and when Rose said as much he smiled.

'Laylora provides,' he replied, in the same way that old ladies said, 'G.o.d bless you!' back home, with an automatic but simple reverence. Rose noticed that the trees were thinning out and it wasn't long before they reached the edge of the forest. In front of them was an undulating plain, scattered with odd clumps of trees but mostly given over 43 to abundant wild gra.s.s. Nestled in a hollow, in the shadow of some small hills, was a settlement. At first glance it looked like a campsite and then, as they drew closer, Rose got a slightly different feeling. It was familiar but for a moment she couldn't work out why. Then it hit her it was a bit like a Native American village, the sort that she'd seen in the movies. Mickey had a bunch of cla.s.sic Hollywood Westerns on DVD and he'd made Rose sit through a few. They hadn't really appealed to her, although Kevin Costner wasn't bad-looking for a bloke his age, but she had been interested in the odd glimpses of the lifestyle that had been featured. And it was that Native American feeling that she was getting now.

The Laylorans were all dressed in simple but colourful clothes and lived in large, tent-like buildings. Fires burned in front of each individual dwelling and a much larger fire could be seen in the middle of the village, where there was a sort of public s.p.a.ce. Large human-sized stones with intricate carvings were placed at various points around the village. Rose couldn't help but see them as granite totem poles. The tents themselves were made from animal skins sewn together, then draped over complex wooden frames. They were more like the modern camping tents Rose had seen in the Argos catalogue than the cla.s.sic pointy-roofed tepees, but she didn't mind that. The fact that she could find something familiar in this alien location was a comfort, and Rose needed all the comforts she could get right now. Their arrival had caused a bit of a stir. Rose had been introduced to a flurry of people, none of whose names stuck in her head for a moment. The Laylorans were rather excitable; apparently it had been quite a day not only had there been the shock of the s.p.a.ceship crashing, but they had also suffered a mammoth earth tremor. And now Rose had suddenly appeared from nowhere. But there was something else, something they weren't telling her. Rose noticed that some people were giving her intense looks and then turning away when she looked back at them. One woman had red-rimmed eyes, suggesting she had been doing a lot of crying. Had the tremor been worse than they were letting on? Had people died? Rose decided to ask Rez when they were alone again.

44.Everyone wanted to know whether Rose had come from the crashed sky boat. She tried to explain that she'd arrived by other means but wasn't sure she should tell them about the TARDIS. She didn't want them carting it off and making it an offering to their precious Laylora. She'd picked up the idea that these people saw the planet as a G.o.ddess and she knew what that meant. Like she had said to the Doctor: sacrifices. Rose realised that she had to tread carefully. No matter how familiar these people might seem, she had to remember that they were not displaced Native Americans. If she upset them, she might suffer a much worse fate than being scalped.

Rez led her through the crowd to a particular tent, where she was introduced to his adopted mother, Jaelette, who instantly gathered her into a warm hug. Jaelette was a short, plump Layloran with a kind face and she reminded Rose of her own mother, although to be fair Jackie had never been quite this maternal. Jaelette studied Rose carefully and then looked at Rez with sad eyes. Before she could say anything, a girl who seemed to be a couple of years older than Rose appeared from within the tent. The newcomer rushed to envelop Rez in a huge bear hug, completely ignoring Rose.

'Where have you been?' the girl demanded, when she finally allowed him to breathe. 'I was so worried.'

Rez looked a bit sheepish. 'I was clearing up at the temple, like you suggested. And then I ran into. . . ' He stopped, seeing the expression on his sister's face. 'Er, this is Rose,' he continued, changing tack.

'Rose this is Kaylen, my sister.'

Not his girlfriend, then. Not, she told herself quickly, that she'd mind if he did have a girlfriend; she and the Doctor were here on a mission of mercy, not on the pull, but it might have been awkward if this Kaylen had been his girlfriend, that's all. However, by the look on the young Layloran woman's face, it might still be a problem.

'She's like you!' exclaimed Kaylen, and there was an odd mixture of surprise and sadness in her voice.

What did she mean, like him? Was this a blonde thing? Rose realised that most of the Laylorans did have dark-coloured hair, but she was sure that wasn't what Kaylen was getting at. And then she no45 ticed the girl's hand, which was grasping Rez's arm. She had only three fingers. Three fingers and a thumb. And her other hand was the same.

Now, as she looked more closely, Rose could see that all the Laylorans had the same number of fingers. And once she started really looking at them, she saw that there were more things marking them out as alien rather than human. They had rounder eyes and flatter noses and their ears were gently pointed. Not total Spock jobs, but more like the cla.s.sic elf look. No wonder Rez had checked out her ears when they had first met. They might not be as weird-looking as the Moxx of Balhoon or the Ood, but these were aliens!

'I don't understand. . . You're human, but they're not, is that right?'

she asked Rez.

'We found him when he was a baby. In a little sky boat,' explained Jaelette.

Rose nodded.

Just like Superman, but without all the superstrength and X-ray vision, she thought to herself.

'But didn't anyone come looking for you?' she asked. 'You must have come from somewhere. . . '

Rez shrugged. 'I don't know.'

Rose persisted. 'Somewhere out there someone must know who you are, where you come from. You might have relatives, parents. . . '

'The tribe are my family now,' Rez told her solemnly.

'Brother Hugan will want to see her,' Kaylen said, interrupting their discussion.

Rez nodded and led Rose towards a large tent that was more gaudily decorated than most. 'Brother Hugan is our shaman,' he explained, so Rose wasn't surprised when the tent flap was pulled back and an extraordinarily attired Layloran appeared.

He was one of the oldest natives she had seen up to now, with skin so weathered by the years that it looked like leather. As well as the simple tunic and loose-fitting three-quarter-length trousers that most of the males wore, Brother Hugan also sported a heavy-looking ceremonial cloak of vibrant colours that made Rose think of Philip Schofield playing Joseph on her mum's CD of the Technicolor Dream- Technicolor Dream- 46 46 coat. On his head the shaman had some kind of animal-skin headdress, decorated with bird feathers. To complete the look his face was decorated with stripes of make-up and a heavily jewelled necklace hung around his neck. In fact, Rose now realised, a lot of the Laylorans were wearing jewellery, and most of the bracelets, anklets and necklaces seemed to have large and, to her mind, ostentatious gemstones and crystals in them.

'Laylora is angry,' announced the shaman, his fierce expression amplified by the war paint. 'She will call forth the Witiku! We must prepare ourselves.'

'Witiku? What the h.e.l.l are they?' queried Rose.

'Laylora's protectors,' Kaylen offered by way of explanation. Rez must have realised that this was a bit short on detail, because he leaned close to whisper in her ear. 'They're mythical monsters that appear when Laylora is threatened. There are pictures of them all over the temple. That costume I was wearing is meant to represent them.'

Rose didn't like the sound of this. The costume hadn't been that frightening once she'd realised that a human being was inside it, but the idea of a real creature like that was something else. Brother Hugan was speaking again. 'Our ancestors knew how to keep Laylora happy. We have forgotten too many of the old ways,' he announced.