Part 17 (1/2)

'Get back!' roared the Doctor, grabbing Sadie and pulling her out of the way.

Sadie screamed as the large, clawed hand suddenly withdrew and something struck the door a second time, rattling it in its frame. Then, under a third impact, the door itself splintered and broke from its hinges, flying into the room with a loud crash.

And then the creature was inside a boiling ma.s.s of writhing weed in the shape of a man, long spines standing up from its head and shoulders. There was soil and dirt all over it, but that wasn't what Martha noticed first.

What she saw first was that the monster was still wearing Duncan Goode's clothes.[image]

There was pandemonium; everybody ran for the door leading out of the kitchen as the monster burst through. Weed writhed and flailed like prehensile twigs, s.n.a.t.c.hing at anything within reach, tearing down cupboards and scattering crockery everywhere.

'It's after the brain!' yelled the Doctor. 'Don't let it get the brain!'

Martha was still nearest; without hesitation she scooped the stone off the kitchen table and tossed it to the Doctor. He caught it, just as the creature's heavy fist smashed through the table, splitting the top into firewood. It roared with anger and surged forward, bludgeoning the remains of the heavy table into jagged splinters as it came.

The Doctor ran out of the kitchen after the others, still clutching the stone. Gaskin was urging Angela upstairs, with Sadie and Martha following.

'Don't go upstairs!' warned the Doctor.

'We need the high ground, man!' bellowed Gaskin.

There was no time to argue. The monster crashed through the doorway into the hall, sending wood and plaster flying through the air. Its distorted bulk was too large to fit through without causing damage, but it didn't seem to care. The Doctor gritted his teeth and raced up the stairs after the others.

'It'll trap us up here!' he told Gaskin as he reached the first landing.

'Then we'll have to barricade ourselves into one of the rooms.'

The creature wrenched the entire banister rail off the stairs and charged after them. Its clawed legs bit deep into the carpet as it swung itself up towards the first storey.

'That might not be as easy as it sounds.'

'For goodness' sake,' Angela said, 'if it wants the wretched stone that badly, give it the thing!'

The Doctor scrambled out of the way of another blow which gouged deep scratches into the stairs behind him. 'That wouldn't be a good idea, Angela!'

'Why not? It might let us go then!'

'It's going to kill us otherwise, Doctor!' added Sadie.

They mounted the next flight of stairs with the monster close behind. On the second floor, Gaskin led them down the pa.s.sageway to the main bedroom at a run. 'In here!'

They all piled inside and he slammed shut the door behind them.

Within a second he had turned the key in the lock.

'That won't hold it for long,' said the Doctor.

'It's all I could think of,' snapped Gaskin, desperation making his voice ragged.

Angela sat down in a chair, panting for breath. 'That's twice I've had to run for my life today,' she gasped. 'I can't say I'm enjoying it.'

'Dammit,' spat Gaskin. 'I left the shotgun in the kitchen!'

He glared at the Doctor. 'That's your fault! You took it off me!'

'We don't need a shotgun,' said the Doctor. 'We need to think think!'

'Nevertheless,' said Angela clearly, 'I'd feel a lot better if we did have a shotgun!'

The stout bedroom door shook in its frame as Duncan hurled himself against it. The second attempt was so powerful that the wood split right down the middle and picture frames jumped off the wall.

'It's going to kill us,' Sadie whimpered. 'Why don't you just give it the stone like Angela said?'

'It might be the only way to save us, Doctor,' agreed Gaskin. The Doctor looked at them all in turn. Martha could see the fear etched in their faces, knew how they must be feeling. She was terrified herself, her stomach in knots, her heart racing. And she, like everyone else, found herself looking back at the Doctor, waiting for an answer.

'If the Vurosis gets hold of the brain,' the Doctor warned them, 'there will be no way to stop it.'

'Surely there's no way of stopping it now!' Gaskin shouted.

The door bulged, cracked, split in two.

A huge arm crunched through the gap, tearing away long staves of varnished wood. Weeds groped their way through the gap like a hundred thin worms, tearing more timber away, making the hole bigger.

'We can't let it have the brain!' argued the Doctor, almost pleading with them to understand. 'If it gets it, we've lost.'

'I think we've already lost,' Sadie said quietly.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair. 'I'll think of something!'

'Doctor,' said Martha. 'Hurry!'

The Doctor suddenly ran across the bedroom, bouncing over the big double bed to land by the window. He threw back the curtains and peered out into the night.

'What's he doing now?' Angela demanded.

'We're two floors up,' the Doctor said, thinking aloud. 'Trapped.'

'Then open the window and throw the ruddy thing out.' urged Gaskin.

The Doctor ignored him. Desperately he scanned the bedroom looking for inspiration and spied another door. 'What's that?'

'En-suite bathroom,' replied Gaskin automatically.

The Doctor leapt across the bed again, his long legs hurdling the room in two strides.

'Hardly the time,' Gaskin scowled as the Doctor disappeared into the bathroom.

The bedroom door suddenly gave way as the creature forced its way through the narrow frame with a series of guttural roars. Its cl.u.s.ter of black eyes roved around the bedroom, searching for its prey.

To Martha's dismay, everyone else instantly pointed towards the bathroom. With a snarl the monster trampled its way across the room, dragging pieces of broken door and ornaments with it. It smashed the entire doorframe and part of the wall away with one enormous swipe of its arms, exposing the tiled bathroom and the Doctor standing inside.