Part 38 (1/2)

The stone was huge and mossy, taller than a man. An orange light pulsed inside it as it moved. A smaller tombstone was crushed to dust beneath it as it headed for the panicked woman.

'Keith!' shouted Benny. 'Come here' Keith! Come to mummy! Come here!'

Woodworth had almost lost her grip on the toddler, hypnotized by the stone. Keith struggled out of her arms and made a wobbling run for Benny. She s.n.a.t.c.hed him up and got the h.e.l.l out of the way of the stone.

Woodworth didn't try to back away. She didn't scream.

She just stood there staring up at the worst thing she had ever seen.

The stone hovered for a moment, its orange heartbeat fading to nothing. Then it silently toppled forward and crushed her flatter than a pancake.

Benny and Keith both burst into tears. Jason put his arms around his family and held them tightly.

The stone flared with orange light again, sucking sucking.

'Well,' tremored Isaac, 'that will save on cattle mutilations for a while.'

Five minutes later Chris said, 'Um, my feet are wet.'

Albinex had hefted the Doctor in his thick limbs and carried him to one of the staterooms. Now M'Kabel was watching him sleep. Or whatever it was he was doing.

When the ghost had offered to let Albinex see his future, days ago, the Navarino had politely refused. M'Kabel reckoned he had the right idea.

The Doctor stretched and yawned' as though waking up from a pleasant nap. 'What's in all of this for you?' he said, as though continuing a conversation.

M'Kabel said' 'Sorry?'

'I mean, is it an aliens-versus-humans thing?'

'No,' said the Tzun. 'Look, I'm not supposed to tell you anything.' The Doctor rolled his head to look at him. 'Sorry,'

gulped M'Kabel.

'It must be something extraordinary,' said the Doctor.

'You've been friends with Isaac for years. And to be perfectly honest, you don't strike me as the cloak-and-dagger type.'

M'Kabel wished Albinex would come back.

'So let's see. Pa.s.sage home? No, you defected, and besides, if you wanted to go home' Isaac could have organized it. Rulers.h.i.+p of part of Albinex's conquered Earth, or perhaps Navarro? No, you don't strike me as that type either.'

The Doctor sat up, making M'Kabel jump. 'Perhaps he hasn't offered you anything at all,' said the Time Lord.

'Perhaps you're both taking your orders from someone else.'

Mercifully, that was when Albinex walked back in.

He was back in human form. He had to be: he was holding his gun again, and for that, he needed humanoid hands. 'Come back to the ballroom,' he said.

The Doctor lay down again. 'I honestly can't be bothered,' he said. 'So far, you're out for a duck. Why don't you give up like a sensible megalomaniac?'

'You can't be a sensible megalomaniac,' said M'Kabel. 'A maniac by definition isn't sensible...' He trailed off as they both turned to look at him. 'Sorry.'

'We can do this here,' said Albinex. 'Right here.'

The ghost appeared again. She buzzed, angrily, like a cloud of woken insects. M'Kabel wondered whether it was the Doctor or Albinex who needed to watch out.

'You still haven't worked it out' have you?' said the Doctor. Forcing this poor woman to distort herself further isn't going to get you what you want.' His eyes pierced the Navarino. 'Why don't you level with me? Who are you really working for? What's your real plan' Albinex?'

'Find the moment,' said the Navarino.

With a weary movement of the air, she settled down to the bed. She seemed attenuated' thin. M'Kabel was reminded of one of those miniature balloons that human children played with, one which had been allowed to drain of air for a few days. She was deflated.

The Doctor sat up. He was inside her, as though he was inside a cloud of colourful light. Her wings beat around him, slowly. 'You don't have to do this,' he said, gently. 'You're only making yourself sicker.'

His eyes went blank as she pushed him backwards.

Evidently they did not have to travel far. I'VE FOUND IT I'VE FOUND IT, she announced.

The Doctor reached out a hand, as though taking something small, holding it.

'Hold him there.'

He froze. Light flashed and flared in the cloud around the Doctor. M'Kabel could see the ghost's pale face deep inside, staring at the Time Lord.

'What is it?' asked Albinex.

A NICE CUP OF TEA, said the ghost.

M'Kabel said' 'What are you doing?'

Albinex turned his fake human eyes on the Tzun. 'She's taken him back to a specific moment on his timeline. Not far.'

'You already tried that,' said M'Kabel.

'We tried taking him back to a moment of pain. But she couldn't bear it.'