Part 45 (1/2)

I.

'Keep away,' Shade shouted in warning, as the Schirr dragged themselves closer.

Ben could see why their pale, bloodshot eyes held such a hunger. Their skin was baggy and pallid, muscles all over their bodies twitched uncertainly. They were weak, so they were going to take strength from him and Polly, and the others.

'Ben,' Polly murmured breathlessly in his ear. 'I just realised what the Doctor said, about still being able to turn things round.'

'Oh yeah?' he whispered back. He shut his eyes. He just wanted to enjoy holding her close for as long as possible.

'He meant I still have the navigational crystals,' said Polly.

'We can turn this whole rock rock around, literally. If we were travelling around, literally. If we were travelling away away from Morphiea, maybe the infection would fade.' from Morphiea, maybe the infection would fade.'

'Where do we need to put the crystals, then?' asked Ben, looking over his shoulder now at Creben and Shade.

'Tovel's the pilot,' said Creben. 'I understand the basic principles, but...'

'Even if we did know, we wouldn't stand a chance,' Shade muttered. 'D'you think they'll just stand there and watch us try?'

'What have we got to lose?' Ben kept his voice low. 'We can either die for these things or die fighting against them.'

'Wait - they can't can't kill us, can they?' Creben reasoned. 'Or there won't be enough of us to go round.' kill us, can they?' Creben reasoned. 'Or there won't be enough of us to go round.'

'You cannot die,' said one of the Schirr, its voice a wet hiss like air escaping a punctured tyre. It may have been old but it wasn't deaf. 'Our cellular hold on you is too strong.'

'Well then,' said Ben, glaring at the exhausted creature.

'There's nothing you can do to us, is there?'

'But you can feel pain,' said another, the one with the chain-smoker's voice. 'Terrible pain. Must I slit you open, right down the middle? Force you to watch your wound as it slowly, agonisingly heals?'

The stone angel padded lightly towards them. Ben froze. He felt like he he was the statue under its cold, blank stare. was the statue under its cold, blank stare.

'Pain,' the cherub said, its voice dry as deadwood as it leaned in closer to Ben. 'Yes, we enjoy the study of pain.'

Ben flinched from the cold bulk of the angel, picturing its face covered with Joiks's blood. As he pulled back, he heard the sinister sound of stone wings scything through the air, getting closer. Seconds later, two of the cherubim swept into the room through the pentagonal doorway. One held Roba in its arms like a sleeping baby, the other dangled Tovel by his arms. But Ben was only able to tell them apart by the colour of what little human skin remained. The s.h.i.+ny, hairless sticky flesh of the Schirr had swamped them, bulged through rips in their combat suits.

The angel turned away, distracted by the newcomers. Tovel and Roba were placed gently on the ground.

'That settles it,' said Creben savagely. 'You think we stand a chance with three of those things in here?'

'There's got to be a way,' said Ben. But he saw his right hand going the same way as his left, swelling, his fingers like frying sausages filling with hot fat.

Polly shook her head. Ben saw her face was getting bloated, her lips thickening to the size of slugs. 'It's no good, Ben,' she slurred. 'Not this time.'

Ben didn't want to believe it. He looked over at the grisly remains the angels had brought in with them. Roba was lying in a twitching heap on the floor, but Tovel was on all fours, staring around dumbly.

'Oi! Tovel!' hissed Ben.

The soldier looked up at the sound of his name, and Ben breathed a sigh of relief. There were still human eyes beneath the thick brows. Tovel shuffled over on his hands and knees.

The Schirr, and the angels, watched him go. They seemed fascinated, like children watching where a clockwork toy will go next.

'Tovel,' Ben whispered, as he crouched to help him up. He realised he couldn't even feel his hands anymore. 'Listen.

Those navigational whatsits, can you still work them?'

Tovel stared at him blankly. Ben signalled that Polly should show him one of the gemstones. She wriggled her sleeve and one fell into her palm.

'We've got the crystals, do you remember?' Ben whispered.

'If we make a distraction, you can steer this rock out of here!'

Tovel looked at Ben helplessly. He was hairless and mute, his features distorted beyond all recognition. That's me, That's me, thought Ben. thought Ben. That's going to be me, any time now. That's going to be me, any time now.

Then Tovel nodded. His eyes were gleaming.

That's going to be me, Ben thought again, determined now.

Never giving up.

II.

Haunt looked dead ahead as she led the Doctor along the secret tunnels that branched off to the propulsion chamber.

She'd spent so much of the last day scurrying around these pitch-black pa.s.sages. Doubling back on herself, setting the asteroid complex in motion, hiding the navi-gems as instructed... wis.h.i.+ng sometimes that she could hide too. But no matter how dark a corner she found, there was, predictably, no escaping from herself.

Nor, it seemed, from the Doctor's questions.

'You've explained what you have done,' he said to her, 'but not why.'

Haunt didn't turn round. She could hear the heavy, measured tread of DeCaster following on behind them. 'Does it matter?'

'It seems that nothing matters to you. Nothing at all. Can that be true?'

She walked on in silence.