Part 11 (1/2)

Taken away.'

Ben thought the bloke sounded a bit South African. He recalled now that Joiks and Denni were the two Haunt hadn't been able to contact.

'I reckon she's dead.'

'Dead?' Frog's bulging eyes narrowed.

'Something came at us in the dark. I tried to hold on to her, but whoever it was just s.n.a.t.c.hed her away.' Joiks glowered up at Ben. 'Must've been this one. What did you do with her?'

'I ain't done nothing to no one since I got here!' Ben protested.

Frog pulled Joiks back to his feet. You sure she's dead?'

'Maybe,' Joiks said, apparently without irony.

'Try ”maybe not”,' Frog said flatly. 'Whatever happened to Denni, it wasn't either of these two. They were with me.'

Joiks looked at her like she was mad. Then he scowled at Ben and the Doctor and clenched his big fists. 'Who the h.e.l.l are ”these two”, anyway?'

'These three, you mean.'

Ben shut his eyes and groaned. 'Terrific,' he muttered.

'Marshal Misery's come back to haunt us.'

Her words sank in. Three?

'Ben! Doctor!'

Now Ben spun round in disbelief. Stood bright and beaming next to Haunt was Polly. She was flanked by a right array of bruisers, and her daffodil-bright s.p.a.cesuit was covered in dirt, but that aside she looked perfect as ever. He rushed to bundle her up into his arms, and Polly ran forward to meet him, managing to snag the Doctor into the clumsy embrace as well.

Ben gently pulled away from Polly. 'Good to see you.'

'What happened, my child?' the Doctor asked.

But before Polly could speak, Haunt put a gun to her head, with a look that warned her to keep quiet. 'Frog, why aren't these two locked up in the s.h.i.+p?' Ben wasn't sure it was possible for anyone to look more peed off than she was.

While Frog started to explain, Ben took in the figures lined up behind her. He was definitely feeling like the odd man out around here. Maybe he should start standing on tiptoes. The two soldiers who'd marched her along with Haunt looked the type you wouldn't want to tangle with. One of them seemed to have weird tribal markings all over his face, which made his otherwise undistinguished features far more formidable.

Behind them stood Roba and Shel and two more soldiers, a stocky, sly-looking man and a thin girl who would've been dead tasty if someone hadn't tried to cut her red hair with a lawnmower. All of them carried backpacks and wore the weird headbands.

It was strange, Ben decided. The soldiers could only be around his age, but they seemed somehow so much older. He thought about making a run for it back to the TARDIS, but not for long. Outnumbered three to one, with no weapons and the Doctor's stamina to contend with, how far could they get?

Suddenly it seemed that everyone started talking at once.

The soldiers burst out into angry, frightened discussions, with several dark looks in Ben's direction. Haunt began questioning Joiks, whose answers brought fresh mutterings in the ranks. The bloke with the tattooed face looked especially gutted.

And then Frog was pulling Ben roughly away from Polly's arms. He yelled at her to let him go, a complete waste of breath. The Doctor was gripping Polly firmly by the shoulders as Roba and the nimble redhead closed in on them, guns raised. He was keeping her close to him but hus.h.i.+ng her questions and protests, taking in each exchange around him with swift movements of his head, like some big worried owl.

Then the biggest tremor yet practically took them all off their feet.

When the rumbling and the vibration finally began to die down, Ben could hear a new noise beneath it. A weird, haunting two-tone melody, a ghost's idea of an emergency siren. As one by one they heard the sound, so each person in the pa.s.sage fell silent.

'It's coming from the control centre,' the Doctor declared imperiously. 'Marshal Haunt, might I suggest we go there at once?'

She pushed past the Doctor, breaking into a run, Shel at her side and most of the squad falling in behind her.

'Looks like you're getting what you want, old man,' said Roba. He started hustling the Doctor along after them, while the silent redhead steered Polly, protesting noisily, by the arm. Frog motioned that Ben should follow them.

They trooped back through the vaulted cavernous chambers and the flea-ridden ceilings, past the statues and the slates, the ghostly alarm growing louder, more penetrating.

And with it, something else.

A resonant hum growing in power.

VII.

'Let go of me, would you?' Polly snapped to the skinny woman who was clearly a lot stronger than she looked.

'You're breaking my arm.'

'And you're breaking my heart.' The skinny woman's cultured voice was like cut gla.s.s. She propelled Polly into the control centre.

'Easy on her, Lindey,' said Shade.

'The delicate flower's making you you wilt is she, Shade?' the dark-haired, neat-looking man inquired. wilt is she, Shade?' the dark-haired, neat-looking man inquired.

'She's a civilian, Creben, and there's no need to mistreat her,' Shade said coolly. But he couldn't hide the faint blush beneath his blackened cheeks. Polly tried to catch his eye, to smile and thank him, but he avoided her gaze. Ben, on the other hand was actively seeking it out. He didn't look happy, probably because the squat little witch with the gun was standing so close to him, her hand pressed down on his shoulder. Polly tried to give this 'frog' a look she hoped would show exactly how impressed she was, but the woman didn't even glance up.

Looking away, Polly's heart leapt as she saw the TARDIS, just where they had left it. But she caught sight of the crowd of corpses on the platform, and quickly averted her eyes.

Unlike everyone else. Shade and Tovel, and the man with the broken nose she'd glimpsed earlier, had all noticed the horrible display themselves, and were staring in disbelief.

The alarms grew ever louder. Finally Lindey let go of Polly's arm, but only so she could cover her own ears. The noise was almost overpowering now.

Creben turned, pale-faced, dragged his gaze over to Tovel.