Part 21 (1/2)

Isaac was going over their routes once again, making sure the aliens were carefully hidden under blankets and bundles. The volunteers had done this a few times now. But this time there were lines of worry on foreheads. One couple had even packed up and gone home once they'd learnt the situation.

'This is awful,' said Joel. 'I hate waiting like this. If only we had a clue. Just any kind of lead at all.'

Tony sat bolt upright. 'Where's Graeme?'

Albinex looked behind the counter. 'I don't see him.'

'I'm getting a message,' said Tony. He tilted his head in an almost human gesture, as though listening to a faint voice.

Albinex sat down opposite the disguised Tzun. 'What is it?' he said. 'What's the message?'

'He's... he's in a bag. At a house. He got inside someone's bag.' Tony's hologram eyes widened. 'It's that woman who came to visit the Doctor this afternoon.'

'The one who was in the bookshop?'

Tony nodded. 'The house is far away. It's full of soldiers.

It's - that's Chris! That's the Doctor's companion!' 'Rock and roll!' said Joel. 'Smarter than the average spatula!' Albinex said, 'Can he guide us there?' Tony nodded. 'I can follow his telepathic transmission.' 'I'll get the Admiral,' said Albinex.

'Hang on,' said Joel. 'My car's a write-off, and we can't all fit into yours.'

They looked at one another.

'There's only one thing for it,' said Joel.

The Doctor drove on the way back, his mouth drawn into a tight line. Roz cradled the ghost-detector in her lap. There hadn't been a peep out of it.

'We'll find him,' she said. 'We'll find all of them.'

He glanced at her, sideways. 'I was counting on you to be the pessimist I could disagree with.'

Roz didn't smile. 'The truth is, wherever they are, they're probably causing as much trouble as they can manage. Chris can take care of himself. And from everything I've heard about Jason, so can he.'

'If we just had one proper lead,' said the Doctor. 'To tell you the truth, I feel... I feel unrehea.r.s.ed. I didn't know about any of this. There wasn't time to prepare.'

'It's not the first time we've walked into a new and dangerous situation without a map,' said Roz. 'And it won't be the last.'

'I don't want to lose one of you because I didn't see it coming,' said the Doctor, with difficulty. Roz decided she didn't like the implications of that, and didn't say anything.

The Doctor slowed as they were coming up to the petrol station just outside Little Caldwell. Isaac, Joel, Albinex and Tony were gathered at the entrance to the garage. The Time Lord pulled up to one of the petrol pumps. 'What are they up to?' said Roz, craning her neck to see.

There was a roar from inside the garage, the sound of an engine that hadn't been used for a long time. Isaac and Tony stood back.

Out of the garage rolled a van. Its many-coloured paint was faded, and one of its windows had been smashed, a big piece of cobwebbed plastic taped in place over the frame.

Joel rolled down the driver's side window and said, 'It needs gas. And we'd better bring the toolkit along.'

Albinex came out of the garage, clutching a big metal box as the Doctor and Roz walked up. 'Got it.'

'What's up?' said Roz, as Joel rolled the van down to the petrol pumps.

Isaac glanced at the Doctor. 'Graeme stowed away in Ms Woodworth's bag,' he said. 'She took him to some sort of military base, fifty or sixty miles from here. Chris is being held there.'

'Ellen?' said the Doctor.

'Graeme?' said Roz.

'The spatula,' said the Doctor. 'He's an Auton, isn't he?'

'Just a shred of Auton matter,' said Isaac. 'He was left behind after the last invasion. He and Tony have a sort of rapport. We can follow Graeme's signal to the base.'

'Outwitted by a spatula,' said Roz.

'What about Myn Jareshth?' said the Doctor.

'I've got one of our volunteer hosts to take him on until tonight,' said Isaac. 'We've evacuated all of our guests. It's entirely possible we won't be able to come back here.'

'What's the plan?' said the Doctor, clasping his hands behind his back.

Joel said, 'Simple. Schlep over to the base, bust in, and rescue Chris and anyone else who needs rescuing.'

The Doctor smiled at Isaac. 'Will you be wanting any help?'

'All hands on deck,' said the Admiral.

Benny stood outside the Pyramid, hands in the pockets of her denim jacket. The sun was just going down.

It was possible they wouldn't be able to come back here.

Ever. Her father had asked her to lock up the shop, and bring a big cardboard box downstairs that contained their important records.

Little Caldwell stood sad and quiet in the sunset, evacuated.

Suddenly, a psychedelically painted van drove up the main street.