Part 14 (2/2)

Jamie held up Parry, half dragging him along the corridor, with the Doctor running beside him.

'Is he all right, Jamie?' asked the Doctor.

'Aye, Doctor,' said Jamie, looking at the drooping figure leaning against him.

They came to a junction in the tunnel.

'That's funny. I canna remember this,' Jamie said. 'The Cybermen must have opened a door,' said the Doctor.

They looked baffled at the two. ways, both of which seemed to run upwards.

'This way,' said the Doctor.

'Are you sure?'

'No, but try it,' said the Doctor decisively. 'I'll join you in a moment.'

Jamie ran down the right-hand fork and the Doctor waited while Klieg staggered up behind him, stumbling with the fear and the smoke. He halted for a moment at the junction, hardly noticed the Doctor, then took the left fork.

'Hey, this way,' called the Doctor. But Klieg took no notice, pressing on down the tunnel. Hopper returned, glancing anxiously behind him for the dangerous gleam of silver. 'Hurry, will ya! They'll soon recover. It was only smoke.'

'We've got to stop them,' said the Doctor.

'Block off this tunnel perhaps,' said Hopper.

'Not a hope. We'll just have to get out before they do. Come on!'

They ran down the right-hand fork after Jamie and the Professor. Toberman appeared stumbling and coughing, partially blinded by the smoke, feeling his way along the slippery walls of the pa.s.sage.

In his path loomed something silver-a Cyberman. Toberman turned to run but the Cyberman reached out a hand and grabbed his shoulder. Toberman turned and delivered a ma.s.sive blow at the Cyberman's neck and sent the Monster clanging back against the metal walls of the tunnel. Toberman turned to run, only to face another Cyberman. He pointed his metal finger at Toberman and the terrible spark came out like a laser and struck Toberman on the forehead.

Toberman staggered and blinked-but this time he did not go down. He stayed standing, his human muscles gleaming with the sweat of effort as he wrestled with the two silver beings, a human with nothing but muscle and strength against the bionic power of the Cybermen.

And in the end he fell.

Through the smoke loomed the Cybercontroller. 'Where are the others?'

'They have escaped through to the ladder,' one of the Cybermen replied.

'Follow them,' said the Controller. He turned to look down at Toberman. 'This humanoid is powerful. We will use him. Prepare him.'

The other two Cybermen picked up the inert Toberman and carried him like. a dead warrior back to the waiting tomb.

Jamie and Hopper were pulling the half-conscious Professor up the ladder, sweating with the effort and the need for speed.

'Can't you hurry up?' said Hopper. 'For Pete's sake, get a move on.'

Finally, the two of them managed to drag Parry over the top, helped by Callum and Victoria. She saw Jamie behind the Professor.

'Jamie!' she cried, almost weeping with relief. 'Look at all that smoke!' Behind them, curling out of the shaft, the smoke began to well out into the control room.

'Keep back, Victoria,' said Jamie. 'There's the others to come yet.'

Hopper's head showed. 'The Cybermen! They're right behind us,' he shouted, breathless, and as he climbed out they saw the Doctor a long way below, and behind him the horrible gleam they had been waiting for-a Cyberman, climbing fast.

'Quick, Doctor. Hurry.' Victoria wrung her hands and looked helplessly down the hatch as the Doctor scrambled up the gigantic rungs. The Cyberman below, moving with a steady driving rhythm, was catching up with him.

'Start closing it!' shouted Hopper. Callum threw the switch and the great lid started creaking down over the Doctor and the swift-moving terror below.

The Doctor's head and shoulders came over the hatchway to be grabbed by Jamie and Hopper.

'He's got my foot!'

'Stop the hatch!' Hopper called over. Callum pressed a b.u.t.ton, the gears stopped, suspending the hatch halfway open over the Doctor.

'It's no use!' gasped the Doctor. 'I can't get free.'

Victoria looked round in desperation. There must be something she could use. The coffee flask! She ran over to it, picked it up and threw it at the Cyberman. The vacuum exploded on the Cyberman's head. He let go of the Doctor and quickly Hopper and Jamie dragged him to safety.

'The hatch,' shouted Hopper. But Callum had already activated the mechanism. The hatch started to move down again and the watching group held their breath, as they saw the Cyberman's long silver arm come up to try to hold it open. For a moment it seemed to stop, but even he could not prevail against the power of the gears, and millimetre by millimetre, the ma.s.sive metal crushed down on him, driving him back down the shaft, and the lid was closed.

Thud! Thud! The Cyberman beat upon the closed hatch with his steel fists. At each blow a small dent appeared in the heavy metal, but the hatch held. Finally, the great clanging blows died away, as the Cyberman gave up and retired down the ladder.

Everyone in the control room drew a long breath, feeling their fast throbbing pulses subside. The Doctor ma.s.saged his foot, but smiled at the others and indicated that it was all right.

Jamie went over to Victoria, who was sitting with her head down, trembling, faint.

'It was horrible...' she whispered. 'So strong.'

'It's all right, Victoria. Dinna worry. It can't get up here,' said Jamie, holding and comforting her.

Professor Parry, who had seemed almost in a state of shock from the desperate chase, came to and sat up as if he had been dozing at a lecture.

'That was a near thing,' he said in his clipped, precise voice.

'Anyone missing?'

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