Part 25 (1/2)

Believe me, I know the feeling.'

The woman stared at her and then turned away, slowly disappearing back into the crowd.

'That poor woman,' said Polly. 'She so desperately wanted me to be her Mich.e.l.le. Do you think Kitty and the others look at people in crowds and hope to see me? Or ask complete strangers if they are me?'

'I don't know.' Tim looked at his watch. 'We ought to go.'

'I don't like this, Tim. I don't like being in the future. It was bad enough in c.u.mbria, where just the things were strange. But here, London, it's too near home. I want to find the Doctor in Australia and go back to the TARDIS. Get away from here.'

'All right. Let's go fly.'

'Are you sure he'll be there?' They walked into Golden Square, on their way to Piccadilly tube, where they could get on the underground to London Airport. Or Heathrow as Tim said it was called now.

'He'll be there. I promise. Believe me.'

'I do.'

'Hey!' Tim suddenly bounced ahead of her, like a puppy.

If he had a tail, it would have been wagging. 'Hey, how many terminals were at Heathrow in 1966?'

'Terminals? One, I suppose. Why?'

196.

Tim had skipped around her. 'Oh boy, are you in for a surprise.'

He was not wrong. Polly could not ever remember seeing so many people crammed into one place. Four terminals and even that did not seem to be enough. She felt the fear building up inside her - was she becoming agoraphobic?

Claustrophobic? Peoplephobic? All she knew was that the sooner Tim got her away from all this, the better.

He thrust a ticket into her hand and booked their baggage in. Ten minutes later, they walked towards the departure lounge for flight QF003 to Sydney via Singapore and Melbourne.

And here she was now, seated in seats 75A and 75B, just the two seats with plenty of baggage room beside the window, near the rear of the plane. Polly had not had a chance to tell Tim that she had only flown once before but what the h.e.l.l. She had been to a colony on Vulcan and back.

What was a little trip to Australia? Surely it was not that different to the TARDIS?

Except that the TARDIS did not take twenty-three hours.

And the Doctor was in it.

While Tim went to the toilet, Polly took out the pack of tarot cards, shuffled them and turned the top one over - the Lovers. It showed a tall man with a woman, both dark-skinned with pure white hair, their young faces portraying love and comfort in each other. They were draped together under a ma.s.sive cloak, he offering her flowers. At their feet, two cats, both almost pure white, the male rubbing his chin over the female's head.

According to the little instruction book that came with the set, the cloak represented a youthful and carefree existence that they share, its circular patterns symbolic of eternity. An eternal friends.h.i.+p/relations.h.i.+p/whatever. Their pale hair glowing in their love for each other. The flowers are a token of his affection for her. They are headed for a deep, meaningful friends.h.i.+p - possibly more - Polly slipped the book back into the pack. Tim was coming down the aisle from the toilet and she felt guilty 197 about examining the tarot cards. It was almost as if she were refusing to accept what he had read. Much of it had been negative - the thing about the Knight of Wands and the Knight of Swords, warnings not to trust people. Both in their way had pointed towards the Doctor. But, she reasoned, both could mean Tim. Or Ben. Or anyone. Was Tim trying to tell her something when he joked about the bad cards all representing him?

'Oh, what's the point?' She stuffed the pack back into her pocket.

As Tim sat beside her, casually stroking the back of her hand and sending a little thrill up her spine that she simply could not keep ignoring, she wondered what the Doctor was doing right now.

'I wonder what Polly's doing right now,' muttered Ben as he was pushed along the carpeted floor of the Cat-People's battle-cruiser. He stared at the carpeted walls and carpeted ceilings. It occurred to him that maybe Persian cats were employed to weave carpets for the s.h.i.+p.

The Doctor was walking backwards, forwards and sideways, apparently trying to take in every nook and cranny, count every bolt and bulkhead, and generally making Ben dizzy. 'Oh, don't you worry, Ben. She'll be all right for now. Tim ought to be taking her to Australia as we speak.'

'Why?'

The Doctor suddenly dropped to the floor by a guard. 'Bit worn here, old chap. Chap-ess.' He corrected himself sheepishly. 'What's your name? You weren't on Earth, were you?'

The Cat-Person raised her rifle-blaster a bit higher. 'I am Nihmrod of the Queen's Guard.'

'Ah.' The Doctor stopped moving and stared upwards, sucking his finger as if trying to remember something.

'Nihmrod. Someone once told me that means Little Hunter.

Are you a hunter, Nihmrod?'

198.

'Only of fleshy animals like you. To capture and kill. The hunt is all that matters.'

'Oh, absolutely.' They came to a blunt-ended corridor.

Then a panel slid away, revealing a lift. 'In here? Oh, good.'

He jumped forward as if over an invisible trip-wire. With a sigh, Ben walked in normally, followed by Nihmrod, her red leather suit creaking slightly. The Doctor, smaller than Ben and Nihmrod, stood at the back of the lift. 'This is a terribly nice guided tour, Nihmrod. Do you do them often?'

'Quiet.'

The Doctor stuck his tongue out at the back of her head.

'Suit yourself'

The lift door slid open and they were in another long, carpeted corridor. Instead of sliding doors, each entranceway was covered by hanging beads of soft curtains. 'Living quarters, Doc,' said Ben.

'Yes. Probably. They like their comfort, don't they?'

Without waiting for an answer, he darted through the nearest set of hanging beads, letting them clack behind him.

Nihmrod and Ben were after him instantly, and they found him sitting cross-legged on a cus.h.i.+on. 'Queen Aysha's perhaps?'

Nihmrod lowered her rifle-blaster. 'No. First-sired Chosan's actually. Queen Aysha's is further down this corridor.'

'Easy mistake.' The Doctor got up. He turned and patted the cus.h.i.+on, removing his indentation. 'Wouldn't want to upset Chosan, would we, Ben?'

'No, Doctor. Any more than we want to upset Queen Aysha.'

'Ah.' The Doctor wandered back into the corridor. 'You're quite right.' He turned to Nihmrod. 'Well, come on, come on. Don't keep Her Majesty waiting.'

Nihmrod pushed past them. 'Follow me.'

The Doctor winked at Ben and nodded slightly. Ben frowned and then got it. Nihmrod was now in front, and there was nothing behind.