Part 4 (1/2)

The growling is emanating from somewhere between them and the TARDIS. The Doctor isn't sure what has happened, but he knows growls when he hears them.

He lowers Pelham into a seat as Romana clangs the hatch shut. 'What now?' she asks.

Indeed. It's a quandary. Once again, events seem to have conspired to prevent his reunification with his s.h.i.+p. And poor old K-9. For a moment he feels irritated by this human woman. Why did she have to come here just at the wrong time and start messing about and causing all this trouble?

Doesn't she realise what this delay might mean?

He sighs. Because she is human and that is what humans do.

'I don't mean to worry you, Doctor,' says Romana. 'But that growling is getting louder.'

'Hmm,' he replies. 'We need to go up. You'd think they'd have a telephone. Or a bell.' He looks at the crude operating controls. Bra.s.s levers and switches and round clock dials, a nostalgic facade for such powerful instrumentation.

Shouldn't be too difficult.

'Doctor!' hisses Romana, just as Erik thumps on to the bathyscape. He bangs and pounds at its sides. Through the portholes the Doctor sees eyes grown over by matter resembling black coral, a face warped as if by tremendous gravity, a mind gone.

The man is bellowing, screaming. The sounds are odd, as if something has added tones to their range. The bathyscape rings and echoes with the noise and thumping.

'Please...' pleads Pelham, 'get us out of here.'

Without further ado, the Doctor hauls one lever back. It snaps into its new position with a clunk. There is a feeling of antic.i.p.ation as the chain tautens. Somewhere up ahead, metal grinds.

He looks at a worried Romana and gives her his smile.

'Going up!' he says.

The bathyscape rocks as the chain yanks them aloft. The Doctor is ready, he has braced himself. Black rock speeds by.

Romana and Pelham, on the other hand, are tumbling all over the place. Outside, Erik scrabbles and, by accident or design, grabs the hatch lock. The bathyscape begins to swing as its speed increases. Climbing over the women, the Doctor clamps a hand over the inner locking wheel on the hatch, just as the unfortunate creature starts to turn the latch.

He is surprised by the strength Erik is exerting. Like a man possessed.

'Help me, Romana!' the Doctor bellows, feeling the wheel start to turn. She is at his side in an instant. She feels cool next to him. Her slender fingers grip the wheel. Still, the shrieking creature outside is twisting. Through the gla.s.s in the hatch, the Doctor studies his adversary's face. The ears, nose and brow have been subsumed by the coral growing from the eyes. The skull is changing shape, becoming elongated. Only the large, slack, noisy mouth points to the original species. Its breath steams the window. The Doctor feels pity for the unfortunate man. He knows, with finality, that this process is irreversible.

Still, there are more pressing concerns. As the bathyscape is reeled in ever-faster to wherever it is heading, the creature's strength is intensifying. Wind generated by speed tries to haul it off. The wheel turns some more. Romana grits her teeth.

Then they are out into the red and gold sky. The grip releases. There is a final wail of despair and the Doctor turns away. He doesn't need to see; he knows precisely what the concentrated acid, the pressure and the heat will do to the creature's flesh. Something liquid drops like rain over the porthole.

'Erik...' moans Pelham, clutching the jewelled bangle on her wrist as if it were a life belt.

The vessel is swinging more freely now. The Doctor clumsily reaches for the leather hand-straps to keep himself upright.

Romana is still gripping the wheel. She is struggling to remain detached. 'What affected him? Those were the same symptoms as K-9.'

The Doctor nods, nasty theories swirling inside his head.

'You know, I've got a feeling that someone here is trying to open the tomb of Valdemar.'

He looks at Pelham, who reacts to the name. 'How...' she stumbles, 'how did you know?'

'Because wherever there is trouble, I must always find it.'

Pelham is staring at him and Romana, as if aware of their presence for the first time.

'You're from the Protectorate...' she says.

'Oh no,' Romana replies instantly, 'we're travellers. This is the Doctor and I am Romanadvor-Romana. We arrived by accident.'

'That's impossible.'

That word again. If there is one thing the Doctor finds tiresome above all else, it is this re-explaining of himself that he always has to go through. He tries to use the word to his advantage, find out what's going on. 'What do you mean, impossible?' he snaps.

He is surprised when Pelham bites back. Not as stunned as he'd believed.

'Because this is Ashkellia and you mentioned Valdemar.

Put those two together and the ”accident” thing seems, shall we say, unlikely.'

'Mmm. Good point. How do you explain us then?'

'I think Hopkins sent you; you're New Protectorate agents.'

The Doctor considers this.

'I'm sorry but ' Romana starts. The Doctor cuts her off, instantly.

'New Protectorate agents. I suppose it's possible. If we were, would that be good or bad?'

Pelham eyes him suspiciously. 'Don't play games with me.

I'm in enough trouble already. When we get to the palace, Neville isn't going to be best pleased. If you tell him you're Protectorate agents he will kill you. Eventually.'

'We're not New Protectorate agents,' says the Doctor cheerily.

'Which is what I tried to say from the off,' sniffs Romana.

'What is a New Protectorate agent anyway?'

Pelham starts to back away. 'You know, I have the feeling that perhaps I didn't escape from the tomb at all; that this is all some sort of hallucination and I'm still back there in the tunnels...'

The Doctor senses the cracks in her composure. She has been damaged by the experience. He has to know. 'What happened to your friends?'

Pelham is staring into s.p.a.ce, trying to remember. Or trying to forget.

'I... Erik found a huge hall. A great gateway. It had to be the entrance to the crypt itself. We felt like something, someone, was guiding us. Like they wanted to be found. I was afraid, hanging back...' Her eyes clear momentarily. 'I told them not to, you understand? I know it's my fault but I tried to stop them. Together, Erik and Prahna, they opened the tomb. The light... the cracking noises and the light...'

'The energy wave?' asks Romana.

'Yes,' the Doctor says, feeling the weight of his words in his mouth. He looks at Pelham. 'You didn't get it open did you, not fully?'