Amongst The Rubble, Something Lurks!
All was quiet now. The sound of explosions had ceased, along with their inevitable rumbling echoes. But that acrid smell still hung in the air and when would they ever be rid of that constant taste of dust?
The Doctor lifted his head and peered out from under his hat. Well the shreds of it that were left. Blood was still seeping from his ears and down his upper lip, while the gaping wound on his shoulder was gradually congealing, along with all the dust and debris that he was covered with.
"I say, that was a loud bang! But I think it's done the trick." There was not the slightest hint in his voice that he was injured in any way. He turned his head, "I say old girl......" a phrase he had picked up from Harry. It was then that he noticed that Sarah wasn't moving.
"Harry! Where are you?" As he scrambled to his feet, wincing as his nerve endings reminded him of his wounds. Harry appeared from behind the remnants of a wall, his face too, marked with blood and dust. He limped over to where Sarah lay, the wound in his thigh obviously giving him pain. The Doctor now crouching over her. "Oh Harry!," his voice strained at hiding the emotion as he looked down at Sarah's inert body.
"Just a sec, let's have a look." He quickly checked for broken bones and taking her wrist, "Well, there's a pulse ....." At that moment, as if he had pressed a start button, Sarah drew a deep breath and because of the dusty atmosphere, immediately coughed and spluttered. Her eyes snapped open, in shock at these jolts to her already battered system, the coughing making her body arch and shudder. Harry tried to turn her on her side and fumbled in his shoulder bag for the water bottle. She took a few sips, retched some more and put her hand up signalling she had enough, wanting to sit up.
"Oh Harry!" then turning to the Doctor, "Doctor! ..... Oh Doctor! I thought you were dead. I saw you running, then the explosion and you went down, then I passed out....... Oh Doctor!" as she descended into sobs, burying her face in Harry's chest. The rare look of terror in the Doctors face, had changed to that of relief with even the hint of a tear forming at the corner of his eye, his bloodied hand gentling resting on her shoulder, as she worked through her sobbing.
"Come on old girl" Harry this time, "If you don't stop leaning on this leg of mine, it'll be me that passes out next!" The pain now showing that he had suppressed, indicated by the beads of encrusted perspiration that had formed on his forehead. "Ooo! I'm so sorry Harry," springing back from him. Harry, lay back and stretched out his gashed leg. Sarah, at once forgetting her aches, sprinkled some of the water over Harry's face and wiped it with what was once her clean handkerchief.
"Careful Sarah," said the Doctor, "that may be all the water we have for the time being."
As all this re-union had been carrying on, Commander Druggan and his men too had been resurrecting and brushing themselves down and licking their wounds. Some of course were unable to do so.
"Do you think that device of yours has finished them off?" said the Commander, now stopped and looking down on them. "There doesn't seem to be much left of their Space Transporter and from what I'm receiving over the communicator, the same applies to all the other Transporters. I don't pretend to understand what you did, but it certainly looks like they and their occupants were all destroyed, simultaneously!!!
"Oh Good!" grinned the Doctor, but his expression altered as he looked around him, where Druggan's men were now carrying out the necessary task of checking for any signs of life, assisting where they could, or just covering the bodies. "What I cannot be certain of, is how powerful the feedback was to the mother ship in orbit. If it wasn't enough, were not out of the woods yet!"
"We should have re-contact with the Centre soon, now our communications are no longer being jammed. We'll know soon enough"
One of the soldiers was attending to Harry and with his guidance, was cleaning up the wound in Harry's thigh, whilst Sarah was still clinging on to him as she gazed trance-like at the Doctor, who was now going round giving words of encouragement to the injured, scattered around them.
"Harry," she said tentatively, "Do you think you could have a look at that wound on the Doctor's shoulder, when you've fixed your leg? It doesn't look very nice, but he hasn't said a word about it. I'm sure it needs tending."
"Right-ho, I'll be as good as new in a jiff. But you know ........ he's different to us ...... his .... Oh you know what I mean! But we'll clean him up too. Don't worry!"
"Oh Harry!" She said squeezing his arm without realising.
"Steady on, old girl," wincing at the pain.
"I thought we'd lost him. Really....... this time! When the Transporter exploded as he was running towards us. The last thing I remember, before everything went black, was the force of the explosion hitting him and that startled look of surprise in his face as he hit the ground! Oh Harry!" as she burst into stifled sobs into Harry's shoulder again.
Harry had never seen her like this before. Not Sarah. Sarah was the toughest little cracker he had ever known. Through all their experiences, she had shown herself to be braver than he himself. Well most times. Never flinching from helping someone in danger or distress. She was quite a gal. He ... he ..... even now, he found it hard to admit to the feelings he had for her, but, really, they were undeniable. Thing was, she had only ever seemed to have eyes for him ....... even now, though it was to him that she was clinging and seeking comfort. So he had never said anything. Couldn't say anything. Bit tricky, what with just the three of them in the Tardis.
Commander Druggan came over to them again, "You're a medical man aren't you? There's one of my men over there. My chaps aren't sure ..... do you think you could have a look at him?"
"Yes certainly. We're finished here." As he struggled to get up with the help of the soldier tending to him.
"No, the Doctor first," Sarah's voice sounding strained and pleading at the same time.
"No, old thing! I think the Commander's man is more serious, judging by his voice." Then added reassuringly, "The Doctor seems alright for now, I'll look at him in a mo! Why don't you come and give me a hand?"
Sarah too stood up, for the first time, a bit unsteady, but otherwise relatively unharmed.
"That's my girl!" as they followed the Commander to his injured man.
As they walked away, a fragment of rubble seemed to move on its own, then stop. It moved again, then more fragments jerked aside revealing ........ a Cybermat!
All was quiet now. The sound of explosions had ceased, along with their inevitable rumbling echoes. But that acrid smell still hung in the air and when would they ever be rid of that constant taste of dust?
The Doctor lifted his head and peered out from under his hat. Well the shreds of it that were left. Blood was still seeping from his ears and down his upper lip, while the gaping wound on his shoulder was gradually congealing, along with all the dust and debris that he was covered with.
"I say, that was a loud bang! But I think it's done the trick." There was not the slightest hint in his voice that he was injured in any way. He turned his head, "I say old girl......" a phrase he had picked up from Harry. It was then that he noticed that Sarah wasn't moving.
"Harry! Where are you?" As he scrambled to his feet, wincing as his nerve endings reminded him of his wounds. Harry appeared from behind the remnants of a wall, his face too, marked with blood and dust. He limped over to where Sarah lay, the wound in his thigh obviously giving him pain. The Doctor now crouching over her. "Oh Harry!," his voice strained at hiding the emotion as he looked down at Sarah's inert body.
"Just a sec, let's have a look." He quickly checked for broken bones and taking her wrist, "Well, there's a pulse ....." At that moment, as if he had pressed a start button, Sarah drew a deep breath and because of the dusty atmosphere, immediately coughed and spluttered. Her eyes snapped open, in shock at these jolts to her already battered system, the coughing making her body arch and shudder. Harry tried to turn her on her side and fumbled in his shoulder bag for the water bottle. She took a few sips, retched some more and put her hand up signalling she had enough, wanting to sit up.
"Oh Harry!" then turning to the Doctor, "Doctor! ..... Oh Doctor! I thought you were dead. I saw you running, then the explosion and you went down, then I passed out....... Oh Doctor!" as she descended into sobs, burying her face in Harry's chest. The rare look of terror in the Doctors face, had changed to that of relief with even the hint of a tear forming at the corner of his eye, his bloodied hand gentling resting on her shoulder, as she worked through her sobbing.
"Come on old girl" Harry this time, "If you don't stop leaning on this leg of mine, it'll be me that passes out next!" The pain now showing that he had suppressed, indicated by the beads of encrusted perspiration that had formed on his forehead. "Ooo! I'm so sorry Harry," springing back from him. Harry, lay back and stretched out his gashed leg. Sarah, at once forgetting her aches, sprinkled some of the water over Harry's face and wiped it with what was once her clean handkerchief.
"Careful Sarah," said the Doctor, "that may be all the water we have for the time being."
As all this re-union had been carrying on, Commander Druggan and his men too had been resurrecting and brushing themselves down and licking their wounds. Some of course were unable to do so.
"Do you think that device of yours has finished them off?" said the Commander, now stopped and looking down on them. "There doesn't seem to be much left of their Space Transporter and from what I'm receiving over the communicator, the same applies to all the other Transporters. I don't pretend to understand what you did, but it certainly looks like they and their occupants were all destroyed, simultaneously!!!
"Oh Good!" grinned the Doctor, but his expression altered as he looked around him, where Druggan's men were now carrying out the necessary task of checking for any signs of life, assisting where they could, or just covering the bodies. "What I cannot be certain of, is how powerful the feedback was to the mother ship in orbit. If it wasn't enough, were not out of the woods yet!"
"We should have re-contact with the Centre soon, now our communications are no longer being jammed. We'll know soon enough"
One of the soldiers was attending to Harry and with his guidance, was cleaning up the wound in Harry's thigh, whilst Sarah was still clinging on to him as she gazed trance-like at the Doctor, who was now going round giving words of encouragement to the injured, scattered around them.
"Harry," she said tentatively, "Do you think you could have a look at that wound on the Doctor's shoulder, when you've fixed your leg? It doesn't look very nice, but he hasn't said a word about it. I'm sure it needs tending."
"Right-ho, I'll be as good as new in a jiff. But you know ........ he's different to us ...... his .... Oh you know what I mean! But we'll clean him up too. Don't worry!"
"Oh Harry!" She said squeezing his arm without realising.
"Steady on, old girl," wincing at the pain.
"I thought we'd lost him. Really....... this time! When the Transporter exploded as he was running towards us. The last thing I remember, before everything went black, was the force of the explosion hitting him and that startled look of surprise in his face as he hit the ground! Oh Harry!" as she burst into stifled sobs into Harry's shoulder again.
Harry had never seen her like this before. Not Sarah. Sarah was the toughest little cracker he had ever known. Through all their experiences, she had shown herself to be braver than he himself. Well most times. Never flinching from helping someone in danger or distress. She was quite a gal. He ... he ..... even now, he found it hard to admit to the feelings he had for her, but, really, they were undeniable. Thing was, she had only ever seemed to have eyes for him ....... even now, though it was to him that she was clinging and seeking comfort. So he had never said anything. Couldn't say anything. Bit tricky, what with just the three of them in the Tardis.
Commander Druggan came over to them again, "You're a medical man aren't you? There's one of my men over there. My chaps aren't sure ..... do you think you could have a look at him?"
"Yes certainly. We're finished here." As he struggled to get up with the help of the soldier tending to him.
"No, the Doctor first," Sarah's voice sounding strained and pleading at the same time.
"No, old thing! I think the Commander's man is more serious, judging by his voice." Then added reassuringly, "The Doctor seems alright for now, I'll look at him in a mo! Why don't you come and give me a hand?"
Sarah too stood up, for the first time, a bit unsteady, but otherwise relatively unharmed.
"That's my girl!" as they followed the Commander to his injured man.
As they walked away, a fragment of rubble seemed to move on its own, then stop. It moved again, then more fragments jerked aside revealing ........ a Cybermat!