Part 13 (1/2)

In his peripheral vision, the Doctor could see that Rez had separated from the ever-growing crowd at the entrance. He was slowly crawling around the edge of the ma.s.sive room.

The lapse in the Doctor's monologue had given Brother Hugan a chance to break free of his spell.

'No!' he cried, raising the knife into the air again. The Doctor realised that his gambit had failed. Time for plan D. Or 149 was it E? As usual, he was in danger of running out of code letters for his improvisations.

'Wait,' he cried, das.h.i.+ng forward.

'Keep back,' shouted Brother Hugan warningly.

The Doctor stopped, his hands held out. He flicked the quickest of glances sideways and saw that Rez had reached a statue near to the altar and had begun to climb up it, keeping to the side furthest from the shaman's view. The Doctor just needed to buy him some more time.

'If Laylora needs a sacrifice then give her a proper one,' suggested the Doctor, changing tack.

The shaman waved at the p.r.o.ne figure on the slab of rock before him, enjoying the feel of the mock-Witiku talons as they brushed through Rose's hair.

'I intend to,' he told the Doctor.

'Not her,' said the Doctor dismissively. 'She's no one. Just another human. They're ten a penny.'

Rose, who was stirring back into consciousness, couldn't believe what she was hearing. She half-opened her eyes to try and work out what was going on. Realising that she was lying on the altar stone, it didn't take a great leap of imagination to guess. She didn't dare move as Brother Hugan and his huge knife were too close.

'If you're going to do this properly, sacrifice a real alien,' suggested the Doctor. 'How about one with two hearts? One who's the very last of his kind? Now that's what I call a sacrifice, eh? Am I right or am I right?'

Brother Hugan hesitated, the knife still in mid-air.

'You are offering yourself to die for Laylora?'

'Last of the Time Lords,' said the Doctor, throwing his hands in the air proudly. 'The one and only. A genuine dodo last specimen of an extinct breed. You want to make a sacrifice to appease the great and bountiful Laylora better make it a good 'un.'

The Doctor stood waiting for a response. The shaman was clearly mad but not so far gone that he couldn't appreciate an offer like this. Meanwhile, off to one side, Rez had disappeared behind the head of 150 the statue he had climbed. Hopefully he would get around the other side and be in a position to rescue Rose in another few moments. On the altar, Rose was now awake and fully aware of the situation. Her wide eyes met the Doctor's and, to her delight, he winked at her quickly. She prepared herself, cottoning on that he had something in mind.

'Come on, then, old fella. What about it?'

The shaman took a step back, considering. Suddenly a new voice rang out. It was Professor Shulough from the back of the chamber. Kendle had found and untied her during the Doctor's intervention.

'Don't listen to him,' she cried.

The Doctor glared back at her. Not now!

But the professor ignored the look and continued moving forward.

'Don't take him. Take me. It was my s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p that crashed here. If you want a sacrifice, take me!'

For a moment both the shaman and the Doctor were dumbfounded. Then another new voice was heard. 'No. Not the professor. Take me.'

This was Kendle, calling out in a firm voice. Then he too stepped forward and took up a position to one side of the professor.

'No, take me.' This was Hespell, pulling away from Ania Baker, who seemed upset to let him go.

The Doctor smiled. Maybe this was better than his plan. Now, where had Rez got to?

Behind the statue Rez was stuck. He had thought he would be able to sneak round the back of the head of the giant stone Witiku and reach the blind side of Brother Hugan. However, now he realised that the gap between the statue and the wall of the chamber was narrower than he had antic.i.p.ated.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to squeeze through the narrow gap but only succeeded in getting wedged in place. Now he had no option but to push against the wall with his legs and try to s.h.i.+ft the statue enough for him to slip through. It was tough but he was in exactly the right position to gain the necessary leverage.151.

Slowly, but with increasing speed, the statue was beginning to rock on its base. As yet the movement was not enough to release Rez, but it was only a matter of time. Unfortunately, each forward motion was bringing the statue closer to overbalancing. And from what he could hear, things were coming to a head in front of the altar. Brother Hugan looked around him in confusion. Now there was a chorus of offers. From all sides Layloran and human voices called out in turn, offering themselves as sacrifices in place of Rose. For the mentally unstable Brother Hugan, it was utterly overwhelming. He didn't know where to look or what to do.

He clutched one hand to his ear and raised the sacrificial knife high in the air in the other.

'No!' he screamed.

'Now, Rose!' shouted the Doctor at the same moment. Instantly Rose swung her legs around towards the Doctor and threw herself off of the altar. The Doctor leapt forward to grab her by the arms and pull her to safety. Brother Hugan brought down the knife and cried out in frustration, fury and pain as the blade met the stone altar with a bone-jarring impact at the exact spot where, mere moments ago, Rose had been lying. From above a sudden shadow engulfed him as the statue finally unbalanced and came cras.h.i.+ng down. Dust and debris shot into the air as it shattered into hundreds of pieces. The Doctor, still holding on to Rose, rolled clear of the destruction. For a moment no one dared to breathe. Silence and dust competed to fill the chamber. The Doctor helped Rose to her feet and, without comment, gave her a hug. Finally he spoke to end the deathly quiet.

'Any chance of a nice cup of jinnera, then?'

Smiles and cheerful chatter broke out all around the room. And then the earthquake hit.152.

[image]

RosegrabbedholdoftheDoctor,butevenbracedagainsteachother they could not stay on their feet. Ugly black cracks zigzagged across the floor and in one corner a giant statue fell through into the chamber below. The floor that remained intact reared up at bizarre angles, turning what had been a flat rocky surface into a series of steep-sided islands. Parts of the wall and the ceiling were falling, showering the entire area with yet more dust and rubble. Somehow the Doctor and Rose managed to cross the broken floor until they reached the relative safety of the corridor. The tunnels, narrow and well constructed, were less vulnerable to the ma.s.sive earth tremors, which were continuing to shake the world.

'We have to get out,' Rose screamed at the Doctor, who had stopped to look back into the chamber.

'I don't want to leave anyone.'

Although the dust cloud made it difficult to see, it was evident to Rose that most of the people who had been standing near the entrance when the quake struck had escaped into the corridor. She could just make out the shapes of the professor and Kendle a metre or so in front of her through the dust-filled air.153.

The Doctor was leaning back into the devastated chamber and a moment later it became clear why. The dusty but smiling figure of Rez emerged from the chaos and hurried to join Rose.

'Everyone got out,' he gasped.

'Except Brother Hugan,' added the Doctor grimly. 'Come on!' And he started leading them away.

The aftershocks continued to rumble, causing more rock falls. The entire complex seemed to be shaking itself to pieces. Some loose rocks in the tunnel wall shook free and fell like lethal hailstones. One hit Rose on the side of the head and she stumbled and fell, causing Rez to run into her.

Ahead the Doctor was more concerned with the professor, who had fallen herself and was coughing badly. He helped the older woman to her feet and put an arm round her for support. Kendle came back to a.s.sist him.

'I'll get the professor out. She might be concussed,' the Doctor promised him. 'Can you go back and check on Rose and Rez?'

Kendle nodded and hurried back into the dust-filled tunnel. A few metres along he came across the two youngsters, Rez cradling Rose in his arms, and he could see blood on her forehead. Kendle bent and shone a torch on to the cut. To his relief it was just a flesh wound. Rose was already stirring.

'She'll be fine,' he told Rez.

Another aftershock hit, bringing more of the roof down. Kendle bent over the two kids, s.h.i.+elding them with his body. This shower of rocks seemed greater than the last and when the dust settled Kendle was not surprised to find that the tunnel was blocked, cutting them off from the escape route the Doctor and the professor had taken. Not wasting a second, he began to pull at the fallen rocks, but it looked as if this might be an impossible task.

'There's another way,' Rez told him, helping a slightly groggy Rose to her feet.

'Can you show me?' asked Kendle.

'Of course. I know these tunnels backwards,' he said confidently. 154 'You'd better,' said Kendle grimly, 'because if these shocks get any worse they won't be here much longer.'