CHAPTER THIRTEEN: DANGEROUS RADIATION

When the shadow finally came, it came slowly and cautiously, and that put things in Jack and Sandra's favour. It crept up the stairs, one step at a time, unsure of whether it was going to meet some form of resistance or not. Sandra's hiding place was closer to the door than Jack's, and that was also a very good thing. Being hit by a stray shotgun pellet wasn't high on his list of things to do. Neither was getting stuck in the middle of Wales in some person's house about to be attacked by a shadow alien, but you had to have some perspective. You couldn't get everything you wanted.

The creature was almost upon Sandra when she stepped out and fired one shell at it. She stepped back into hiding as soon as she had fired, and the creature screeched in pain, backing down the corridor. Some of the pellets had blown straight through the creature, but its shadowy body absorbed most instantaneously.

Before the creature could attack again, Jack stepped out, and fired a couple of shots, aiming for the eyes. He couldn't be sure if he hit the monster or not, but he certainly made some effect, because the creature backed down the stairs, and refused to show itself.

Jack and Sandra waited for a very long minute, but the creature didn't come back, so they relaxed and stepped out of their respective hiding places. "That wasn't too bad," Sandra chanced, reloading the shotgun.

Jack shook his head. "If there's one thing I've learnt in all my years that nothing is ever that easy," he said, walking back towards the spare room, still keeping one eye on the empty stairwell. When they reached the bedroom, everything looked normal; the TARDIS was still there, and Green was sitting on the bed, looking worried.

Jack frowned, and holstered the revolver, heading towards the TARDIS. He tried the door, but found it locked. He knocked on the door. It was then half the wall was ripped off, opening the room up to the lashing winds and driving rain of the still raging thunderstorm. The creature roared triumphantly, perching on the side of the room that was minus a wall.

Jack drew his revolver again, and fired all of his remaining four shots at once. The creature barely flinched, advancing towards the three humans huddled in the centre of the room. Sandra had enough time to fire a single shot.

The creature covered the distance with phenomenal speed, trying to swipe the weapon out of her hands. Sandra refused to let go, so the weapon dragged her across the room with it. She slammed into the wall, and blinked woozily, dazed from her crash.

While the creature had been distracted by Sandra, Jack had enough time to order Green to get out of the way and load two more bullets into his revolver. The shadow started to go after Sandra, who was still sitting where she had landed, swaying dizzily. Jack was not about to let anyone die, so he fired at the monster with his last two rounds. He realised the flaw in this plan too late as he discarded his gun, and backed up against the TARDIS, the creature advancing towards him with a throaty growl.

"This was obviously not –" he began, but before he could finish, the door that had been supporting his weight swung inwards and deposited him on the ground.

The Doctor looked down at the captain with apparent surprise. "You're dirtying my doorstep, Jack," the Time Lord tutted, stepping over Jack, and confronting the shadow.

"Well, let's go about this nice and civilly, shall we?" the Doctor started, his gun clasped loosely in his hands. "What you're doing is restricted by article three hundred and six of the Shadow Proclamation, passed in the year Delta one two." He smiled benignly at the hissing monster in front of him. "That's the one about stowaways, by the way."

The Doctor absently flicked some dust off his shoulder. "There's also the matter of article four, passed in the year Epsilon five point three. That's the article that deals with murder. And I have so much evidence of the murders you've committed.

"But, since I'm a kind, caring and, most of all, forgiving kind of guy, I'm going to give you one more chance. This is it, after this there are no more chances. This is your last warning, got that? I am offering you an opportunity to go home, back to Midnight, back to that planet tainted by the Xtonic star. That's all I'm asking. That you go home, peacefully, and we'll forget this ever happened. You go home, and I won't be forced to hurt you." He lifted his gun to make the point. "So, what do you say?"

The creature took a step forward. "I say no," it said, in a startlingly human voice, and this time, everyone in the room could hear it. "At least, not without killing you first."

The Doctor looked at the creature with such sadness in his eyes. "Then I'm sorry for this. I am so very sorry." He raised the gun, rested the butt against his shoulder, aimed then fired. The beam from the gun was completely invisible, but the effects on the creature were instantaneous. It started off as a small welt that grew deeper and wider, eating away at the very monster itself. The creature stopped, and looked at the burn that was spreading across its body. Within seconds, all that remained was a wispy curl of shadow that faded into the carpet, and a hiss that would haunt Sandra and Green's dreams for many nights yet.

"There we are," the Doctor said, after a very long silence. "All finished up, nice and proper." He rubbed his sleeve on the gun, and chucked it at Brittany with an indifference that could have matched that of elephant talking to an ant. Brittany fumbled with the gun, but didn't drop it, fearing that it might go off if she did.

The Doctor jammed his hands into the pockets of his blue pants, and wandered over to the missing wall. On the horizon, the faintest smudge of orange could be seen, smeared like marmalade along the bottom of the otherwise dark storm clouds. The Doctor like marmalade analogies. In fact, he liked anything to do with marmalade full stop. He made a mental note to buy some more.

The four humans came to stand next to him and watch the sunrise. "Is it over?" Jack asked at last.

"Yes. It is over," the Doctor echoed. And he smiled as he watched the sun rise over the horizon and break the storm clouds apart.