DOCTOR WHO: SANDSTORM
CHAPTER 4
AFGHANISTAN PLAINS, CAMP ELIZABETH II, PRESENT DAY
"FIRE!" cried out the commander at his troops as a flurry of bullets flew across the air towards the sand creature. The monstrosity, that had once been the commander's advisor, was nothing more than a mess of a creature that was made purely just of sand. The Doctor and Freddie had to duck for cover because of all the bullets. They hoped it would soon be over but the ground shook even more with each step the creature took.
"Can't you stop it?" asked Freddie.
"I don't know..." said the Doctor. "Sand isn't the easiest thing to deal with. All I can do is try and do what I did to Tim."
"Do you remember how?"
"No, it was pure luck..." admitted the Doctor as he flicked out his screwdriver at the creature. It shook again and convulsed just like Tim had done before. This was seemingly the only method of attack that was working as the troops bullets were only momentarily halting the creature. Everyone was moving back as it convulsed even more before them until suddenly the creature's shape gave way and it just collapsed to the sandy ground of the plains themselves. As the dust and sand settled the Doctor moved close towards the creature.
"Stay back, sir," warned the commander. "It might be playing games."
"That's a good idea commander," agreed the Doctor. "But it's dead. I shook it to death. Rather unintentionally it has to be said." Freddie looked on puzzlement. The day was just getting stranger and he couldn't comprehend everything that was happening.
"Is this all these sand monsters do?" he asked. "Because if that's the case, Doctor, just make multiple copies of your screwdriver and we'll be fine."
"It's much more than that though," said the Doctor sternly as he observed the sand. The fine yellow stuff was getting finer with each sample he picked up from the deceased creature. He ushered Freddie and the commander over to look with him. "What is this?" he asked bluntly.
"Sand..." said the commander.
"Clever sand..." corrected he Doctor. "Sand that can adjust and transform. Each little bit here is full of something that controls it and manipulates it."
"What? Like a microchip?" asked Freddie.
"It's close enough." came the reply. "So, when the sand is doing all of this, it isn't actually the sand itself doing it. It's rather the things inside the sand that are."
"But who's controlling that?" queried Freddie as looked even more closely at the sand. "Who'd want to control sand?"
"And more importantly," cut in the commander. "How dangerous is this stuff? We know it took over Tim and now Graves, but can it actually kill? It's not a weapon is it?"
"You can suffocate on it..." pointed out the Doctor. "That's enough of a weapon. These sandstorms that happen here probably are not as natural as you've been made to believe."
"What about the cuts though?" Freddie then asked. "Tim had cuts all over his body before he turned into sand. He said the sand made him like that. What does that mean exactly?"
"It's the little controllers ways of getting inside their victims obviously..." pondered the Doctor. "The sand is forced to cut the skin and they enter as a result." The Doctor was going to explain even more about the sand but he was cut short by a sudden small tremor across the camp's plains. They rushed over to its epicentre to see men being flung about by the shaking ground but suddenly the sand around them moved into life and enveloped the men.
"HELP! FOR GOD'S SAKE, HELP US!" they cried but no-one could do a thing as within seconds they were gone. They'd either disappeared altogether or been pulled under the sand. The Doctor, Freddie and commander barged to the front of the on looking shocked crowds just after the men had gone. Others were sifting through the sand with their hands or shovels to see if they were there, but they weren't.
"Do you think whoever is doing this means business now, Doctor?" asked Freddie anxiously.
"Almost certainly..." he answered ominously.
THAT EVENING
The Doctor and Freddie sat musing in the evening light with a tin of kidney beans between them. The night looked glorious but what had happened earlier in the day hadn't been anywhere near it. Men were missing; presumed dead and nothing was known of who or what was doing it. The Doctor looked glumly towards Freddie as the latter gave his thoughts on recent events.
"There's something about you that never quite clicked even when I met you with your hand down a drain," he laughed. "I was right obviously as here you are bringing danger - more than what's normal out here - to our lives. It's a dangerous thing being you, isn't it? I can tell..." he added thoughtfully. The Doctor nodded in agreement as he chewed on another kidney bean. He didn't like the taste of them but didn't want to look rude given the circumstances and morale in camp.
"Whatever this is Freddie, it isn't safe. Your life on the frontline is safer but there is always something of a thrill I get from things like this." the Doctor then admitted as he ate another kidney bean through gritted teeth.
"I know what you mean," agreed Freddie. "I got one heck of an adrenaline rush earlier - something I haven't experienced in a while, and even though this is beyond dangerous, I'm strangely enjoying it. I think the commander is too."
"If that's the case then, Freddie, I've got an idea." the Doctor then whispered as he moved closer to Freddie.
"What is it?" asked Freddie.
"If my screwdriver can move and manipulate the sand when it's a creature, then it can do it when it's still. Therefore then, if we go to where the men disappeared and manipulated the sand, it'll open up the gap that they surely went down." came the answer. The Doctor couldn't help but smile at his plan. Freddie was impressed with it, but he didn't look it.
"So if they are under there, we'll be going underground to get them?" he asked. The Doctor nodded simply. After eating one last kidney bean, he got up and began to make his way towards the day's earlier moment. Freddie followed suit and took a torch with him for safety. The heat was becoming something and even in just his vest and shorts, it was far too hot for him. It was one thing he certainly didn't miss when at home at all. Freddie couldn't work out how the Doctor - dressed in a tweed jacket with bow tie, shirt and trousers - kept cool. He knew he was strange. He knew he was a spaceman of sorts, but even so his mind still couldn't digest everything.
"Sshh..." whispered the Doctor as they arrived at the scene. Slowly and quietly, the Doctor's odd screwdriver lit up green on its tip and began to move and manipulate the sand all around. Freddie looked on warily as the ground shook ever so slightly. The Doctor tried to silence the ground but it wasn't listening. Slowly it grew louder with it each buzz the screwdriver made until suddenly the Doctor and Freddie were flung through a hole created in the sand. It was almost like a slide as they fell through the gap and carried on at high speed. The Doctor was falling legs first down the chasm while Freddie was going headfirst.
"Oh my god..." cried Freddie as he shut his eyes. The Doctor found it somewhat fun but soon he thumped onto a dry section of underground. He was a bit dazed but was even more so after Freddie landed on top of him. Even though he wasn't heavy, the Doctor wheezed and grimaced as Freddie tried to lift himself onto his own two feet. "Sorry about that," he apologised as he dusted himself down. "I couldn't stop."
"No worries" said the Doctor as he overlooked the pain in his abdomen after being elbowed twice by Freddie.
"Where are we?" Freddie then asked as he switched on his torch. All he could see was dirt and various walkways surrounding them. It reminded him of the pictures he'd seen of his granddad when he worked in the coal mine. The only difference here was that it was browner. Freddie edged his way around cautiously as the Doctor slowly got to his feet. His screwdriver soon became a torch for him in an instant and the pair looked around their surroundings.
"Wherever we are, the sand was very obliging in letting us here," the Doctor mumbled. "I'm surprised it worked."
"Where is this place? Who lives here?" Freddie asked.
"There's a race, called Silurians who live under the surface of the earth, but this isn't them. They don't use sand as a weapon - someone else is at work here. The screwdriver's not picking up any signs of life at all."
"Are the guys dead then?"
"Most probably. I'm sorry. It's not easy for you at the moment I know but I'm only doing this to help." said the Doctor as he looked towards Freddie. He looked back and just smiled at the Doctor. However strange he was and however odd everything was getting, Freddie was beginning to trust him a lot. He knew what he was on about for the most part and that was something Freddie needed at a time like this. The pair of them ventured on a bit further looking all around with each step cautiously expecting something to happen, but it didn't and the Doctor was getting confused. "I don't get it," he grumbled. "Someone's got to be here, but there's no-one. Not even the faintest whiff of life at all."
"Do you think they've come up to the surface then?" asked Freddie.
"Possibly, but it just doesn't add up." answered the Doctor. He began walk off in a huff and mumbled to himself about the situation. Freddie tried to keep up but he couldn't. His torch kept flickering and for moments at a time, he couldn't see where he was going. For those seconds he was virtually blind.
"Doctor!" he called out. "Just, slow down..." he added but he heard no reply. Freddie became anxious as his torch went out altogether. He could hear something moving behind him, but he wasn't sure what it was. "Hello? Doctor? Is that you?"
"Good..." came the wispy voice in reply. Freddie froze in shock. It was the same voice he'd heard before when he'd been flung off his bed and onto the camp's floor. Freddie panicked and tried to move but something had grabbed his arm, he didn't know what. As he tried to break free, Freddie's other arm was seized upon and soon more grips, which he assumed were hands, were all over his body. Someone or something was grappling his tight. One was over his mouth and he couldn't do a thing. All Freddie saw next was him moving backwards, not of his own accord but further and further away from safety...
