Sargent Bragg looked at the line of soldiers before him, most of them were
younger than his own son had been. He hoped these boys would last a little
longer.
Tom was sitting strapped to a chair, his head swinging around him and his eyes occasionally opening before he lapsed back into unconsciousness. Bragg had helped one of the men get Tom out of his pyjamas and back into his uniform. They had not bothered trying to try to get his boots back over his bandaged foot so now his feet, bare except for the dirty bandage, squelched in the mud as his semiconscious frame wriggled in the chair.
Bragg looked at the sorry state of the younger man, his uniform was still spattered with blood from the other night. Streaks of blackened dry blood covered the front of his jacket and kilt. Bragg felt cold, not physically cold but a chill ran through his soul. Whatever the boy had done this did not seem like an end that even the worst monster would deserve.
The Captain appeared from out of his hole. At least that's what Bragg used to call the Captains quarters. Harvey moved towards the Sergeant as the firing squad was called to attention.
"A cold night for it Bragg" said Harvey.
"Yes sir, very cold"
The Captain pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket and began to read out the charges. Bragg began to listen to the wind, it was strong and clear tonight. He always liked to listen to the wind it did not lie or dance around your perception with meaningless words. As the Captain came to the end of his little speech and gave the Sergeant the order to proceed Bragg thought he could perceive a change in the wind. A wheezing groaning sound like the tearing of the very fabric of the air around him.
The Captain coughed to indicate that Bragg should get on with the job. So Bragg, as he always had done, followed orders. He went through the motions and kept his vision fixed on the line of marksmen. The other boy was beyond help now, he had to worry about the ones who still have a chance.
"Ready, Aim..." he began.
"F..." started Bragg.
"Stop" hollered the Doctor as he threw his self between Tom and the firing squad.
"Doctor Smith, what do you think you are doing" shouted Captain Harvey.
"I am here to prevent a tremendous miscarriage of Justice," said the Doctor as he moved closer to Tom.
Clara appeared from the same direction the Doctor had sprung from. The Captain looked at he briefly before speaking.
"Nurse, could you please persuade this physician to desist from interfering in the execution of His Majesties justice". He said.
"No Captain, you are behaving like the worst kind of Hun," said Clara more confidently than she expected.
"What a slur on poor old Attila, he could be charming, in-between dismemberments. I remember once..." interrupted the Doctor.
"Doctor Smith please shut up and move out of the way of my men" said Harvey.
"Where as this man" continued the Doctor as he pointed accusingly at Harvey.
"Is as absolute, unjustifiable bore".
Clara noticed that is was beginning to rain as she spoke.
"Please listen Captain, we believe that Tom is innocent of any Crime" she said.
"That's a may be Nurse but that can all be dealt with later" replied Harvey.
"Later" exclaimed the Doctor.
"Yes he has been convicted now, the proper thing to do know is apply for a posthumous pardon"
"But he'll be dead"
"What has that got to do with the law?" asked Harvey.
"My God man are you totally void of sense." Said the Doctor.
"I Sir, am a Captain in His Majesties Army, I do not need sense, I only need orders".
Silence fell across the group of people as the rain began to fall more heavily. The Doctor looked up at the sky and put out a hand to feel the rain.
"Oh Dear" he said.
"What is it now, are you about to tell me that the sky is about to fall in," said the Captain.
"Clara" said the Doctor.
"What happens to a lawn when the rain falls hard on it?"
"Doctor what are you on about now" she replied.
The Doctor looked at here severely as though her life depended on the answer. Clara decided to reply.
"Well the vibration...Oh I see" she paused.
"Well?" asked the Doctor.
"The vibration draws to worms to the surface" Clara finished.
Then the silence was shattered by an agonising scream.
The soldier on the extreme end of the firing line closest to Clara was screaming uncontrollably when a spurt of blood erupted from his mouth. Convulsing violently he collapsed to the ground dead. The body was still for a moment, and then suddenly something began to move beneath his clothes. A shape formed as it tried to break through the tough army fabric.
Everyone's attention was fixed on the dead soldier when Harvey began to choke with gurgling rattle. Then falling forward on his knees and hands he began to vomit blood into the mud before him.
"Two of them" said Clara.
"Oh my God, the lava have hatched," cried the Doctor.
"Everyone out of here now".
Bragg began to draw the rest of the men together and ordered them out of the immediate area. The Doctor and Clara ran over to Tom and tried to lift the chair with Tom on.
"Here man, help us," exclaimed the Doctor in the direction of Bragg.
The Sergeant ran over and was helping to lift the boy when a chorus of screams came from the direction the squad had disappeared in. Bragg made to run in the direction of the screams but the Doctor pulled him back.
"My men" he shouted.
"It's to late for them now, we have to go this way" said the Doctor pointing in the direction of where the Police Box had appeared.
"That's a dead end and I have to help them"
Bragg tried to go in the direction of the screams again. The Doctor grabbed him by the shoulders and spun his round to face him.
"Listen, your men, all of them are dead. The only one left is this poor boy here. Now help us," said the Doctor.
Bragg took one last look in the direction of his men and grabbed the chair again.
The Doctor and Clara stood outside the Police Box while Bragg cut Tom's bond and lifted him up and slung him over his shoulder. The Doctor unlocked the Door.
"Clara help the Sergeant get Tom into the Tardis"
"Tardis?" asked the Nurse and the soldier.
The Doctor indicated the Police Box with a nod of his head. Then the two of them took Tom through the doors. The Doctor began to look around the area where the Tardis had landed. There were boxes of ammunition, and to the Doctors surprise a very large crate of Scotch whisky was sitting in a corner.
"Excellent" mumbled the Doctor.
Then with a torrent of expletives Bragg came charging out of the Tardis.
"What the F.."
"Yes I know, bigger da de da" interrupted the Doctor, waving his hand in front of the sergeant's face.
Bragg froze as he looked in the direction of the entrance they had come through and without speaking indicated for the Doctor to look there too.
"Oh my giddy gastropod" he exclaimed.
Through the break in the trench wall a dozen Gristle Grubs came crawling towards them. The Doctor looked around the trench and went into command mode.
"Bragg open that crate of whisky"
"You want a drink now?" "Listen Bragg, within hours there are going to be thousands of those things crawling around the French countryside. They will devour half of Europe before they start to turn on each other. When that's over there will only be one left, it will then be easy to kill. But are you prepared to see the continent ravaged in the process"
Bragg looked at the worms as the crawled nearer.
"Once they are out of the trenches it will be impossible to track them all down but right now they are new-born, staying close to the nest, your trenches. This is our last chance to get them all in one go"
Brag nodded. The Doctor called Clara out of the Tardis and the three of them began to pile the ammunition in a large pile. Half way through the Doctor took one of the bottles of whisky and made a Molotov cocktail with some rags from his pocket. He handed it to Bragg and then ran into the Tardis.
Bragg and Clara watched as the grubs got ever closer and the numbers began to grow. The Doctor came running out of the Tardis clutching what looked like a can with a strange nossel on the top.
"What is that?" asked Clara.
"Oh something a friend of mine in Perivale knocked up. It should give the ammo enough extra power to destroy these trenches and get rid of all of the grubs."
The Doctor placed the can on the top of the pile and retreated back to where Clara and Brag were standing. The three of them stood quietly for a moment looking at their handy work.
"Will it do the job?" asked Bragg.
"I'm sure it will" replied the Doctor.
Bragg reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gold lighter, he stuck it and a flame rose up. Bragg was moving the flame towards the piece of cloth hanging out of the bottle of whisky when he let out a scream.
"Oh my god, help me" he said as he fell to his knees.
The Doctor and Clara looked on in horror as blood began to trickle from his mouth.
"Into the Tardis" the Doctor screamed at Clara.
She hesitated, wanting to help the sergeant but the Doctor would have none of it he manhandled her through the Tardis door and shut it behind her. He then moved over to Bragg who was now bent over on his knees, his whole body trembling. The Doctor knelt down beside him.
"Can you finish this?" whispered the Doctor into Bragg's ear.
The sergeant managed a trembling nod. The Doctor patted him on the shoulder.
"I'm sorry" he said and entered the Tardis.
A huge noise rose up from the trench, a familiar wheezing groaning sound. Bragg managed to raise his head through the convulsions and his bloodshot eyes managed to catch the sight of the final traces of the Tardis evaporating into the air. With a final effort he managed to pull the bottle to the lighter then throw it at the ammo. He expired before the bottle exploded on to the pile of ammunition.
It was said for many years after that the explosion form the trenches that night had been seen and heard as far away as London.
The End of the Beginning...Tune in next time for the further adventures of the Doctor, Clara and Tom.
Tom was sitting strapped to a chair, his head swinging around him and his eyes occasionally opening before he lapsed back into unconsciousness. Bragg had helped one of the men get Tom out of his pyjamas and back into his uniform. They had not bothered trying to try to get his boots back over his bandaged foot so now his feet, bare except for the dirty bandage, squelched in the mud as his semiconscious frame wriggled in the chair.
Bragg looked at the sorry state of the younger man, his uniform was still spattered with blood from the other night. Streaks of blackened dry blood covered the front of his jacket and kilt. Bragg felt cold, not physically cold but a chill ran through his soul. Whatever the boy had done this did not seem like an end that even the worst monster would deserve.
The Captain appeared from out of his hole. At least that's what Bragg used to call the Captains quarters. Harvey moved towards the Sergeant as the firing squad was called to attention.
"A cold night for it Bragg" said Harvey.
"Yes sir, very cold"
The Captain pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket and began to read out the charges. Bragg began to listen to the wind, it was strong and clear tonight. He always liked to listen to the wind it did not lie or dance around your perception with meaningless words. As the Captain came to the end of his little speech and gave the Sergeant the order to proceed Bragg thought he could perceive a change in the wind. A wheezing groaning sound like the tearing of the very fabric of the air around him.
The Captain coughed to indicate that Bragg should get on with the job. So Bragg, as he always had done, followed orders. He went through the motions and kept his vision fixed on the line of marksmen. The other boy was beyond help now, he had to worry about the ones who still have a chance.
"Ready, Aim..." he began.
"F..." started Bragg.
"Stop" hollered the Doctor as he threw his self between Tom and the firing squad.
"Doctor Smith, what do you think you are doing" shouted Captain Harvey.
"I am here to prevent a tremendous miscarriage of Justice," said the Doctor as he moved closer to Tom.
Clara appeared from the same direction the Doctor had sprung from. The Captain looked at he briefly before speaking.
"Nurse, could you please persuade this physician to desist from interfering in the execution of His Majesties justice". He said.
"No Captain, you are behaving like the worst kind of Hun," said Clara more confidently than she expected.
"What a slur on poor old Attila, he could be charming, in-between dismemberments. I remember once..." interrupted the Doctor.
"Doctor Smith please shut up and move out of the way of my men" said Harvey.
"Where as this man" continued the Doctor as he pointed accusingly at Harvey.
"Is as absolute, unjustifiable bore".
Clara noticed that is was beginning to rain as she spoke.
"Please listen Captain, we believe that Tom is innocent of any Crime" she said.
"That's a may be Nurse but that can all be dealt with later" replied Harvey.
"Later" exclaimed the Doctor.
"Yes he has been convicted now, the proper thing to do know is apply for a posthumous pardon"
"But he'll be dead"
"What has that got to do with the law?" asked Harvey.
"My God man are you totally void of sense." Said the Doctor.
"I Sir, am a Captain in His Majesties Army, I do not need sense, I only need orders".
Silence fell across the group of people as the rain began to fall more heavily. The Doctor looked up at the sky and put out a hand to feel the rain.
"Oh Dear" he said.
"What is it now, are you about to tell me that the sky is about to fall in," said the Captain.
"Clara" said the Doctor.
"What happens to a lawn when the rain falls hard on it?"
"Doctor what are you on about now" she replied.
The Doctor looked at here severely as though her life depended on the answer. Clara decided to reply.
"Well the vibration...Oh I see" she paused.
"Well?" asked the Doctor.
"The vibration draws to worms to the surface" Clara finished.
Then the silence was shattered by an agonising scream.
The soldier on the extreme end of the firing line closest to Clara was screaming uncontrollably when a spurt of blood erupted from his mouth. Convulsing violently he collapsed to the ground dead. The body was still for a moment, and then suddenly something began to move beneath his clothes. A shape formed as it tried to break through the tough army fabric.
Everyone's attention was fixed on the dead soldier when Harvey began to choke with gurgling rattle. Then falling forward on his knees and hands he began to vomit blood into the mud before him.
"Two of them" said Clara.
"Oh my God, the lava have hatched," cried the Doctor.
"Everyone out of here now".
Bragg began to draw the rest of the men together and ordered them out of the immediate area. The Doctor and Clara ran over to Tom and tried to lift the chair with Tom on.
"Here man, help us," exclaimed the Doctor in the direction of Bragg.
The Sergeant ran over and was helping to lift the boy when a chorus of screams came from the direction the squad had disappeared in. Bragg made to run in the direction of the screams but the Doctor pulled him back.
"My men" he shouted.
"It's to late for them now, we have to go this way" said the Doctor pointing in the direction of where the Police Box had appeared.
"That's a dead end and I have to help them"
Bragg tried to go in the direction of the screams again. The Doctor grabbed him by the shoulders and spun his round to face him.
"Listen, your men, all of them are dead. The only one left is this poor boy here. Now help us," said the Doctor.
Bragg took one last look in the direction of his men and grabbed the chair again.
The Doctor and Clara stood outside the Police Box while Bragg cut Tom's bond and lifted him up and slung him over his shoulder. The Doctor unlocked the Door.
"Clara help the Sergeant get Tom into the Tardis"
"Tardis?" asked the Nurse and the soldier.
The Doctor indicated the Police Box with a nod of his head. Then the two of them took Tom through the doors. The Doctor began to look around the area where the Tardis had landed. There were boxes of ammunition, and to the Doctors surprise a very large crate of Scotch whisky was sitting in a corner.
"Excellent" mumbled the Doctor.
Then with a torrent of expletives Bragg came charging out of the Tardis.
"What the F.."
"Yes I know, bigger da de da" interrupted the Doctor, waving his hand in front of the sergeant's face.
Bragg froze as he looked in the direction of the entrance they had come through and without speaking indicated for the Doctor to look there too.
"Oh my giddy gastropod" he exclaimed.
Through the break in the trench wall a dozen Gristle Grubs came crawling towards them. The Doctor looked around the trench and went into command mode.
"Bragg open that crate of whisky"
"You want a drink now?" "Listen Bragg, within hours there are going to be thousands of those things crawling around the French countryside. They will devour half of Europe before they start to turn on each other. When that's over there will only be one left, it will then be easy to kill. But are you prepared to see the continent ravaged in the process"
Bragg looked at the worms as the crawled nearer.
"Once they are out of the trenches it will be impossible to track them all down but right now they are new-born, staying close to the nest, your trenches. This is our last chance to get them all in one go"
Brag nodded. The Doctor called Clara out of the Tardis and the three of them began to pile the ammunition in a large pile. Half way through the Doctor took one of the bottles of whisky and made a Molotov cocktail with some rags from his pocket. He handed it to Bragg and then ran into the Tardis.
Bragg and Clara watched as the grubs got ever closer and the numbers began to grow. The Doctor came running out of the Tardis clutching what looked like a can with a strange nossel on the top.
"What is that?" asked Clara.
"Oh something a friend of mine in Perivale knocked up. It should give the ammo enough extra power to destroy these trenches and get rid of all of the grubs."
The Doctor placed the can on the top of the pile and retreated back to where Clara and Brag were standing. The three of them stood quietly for a moment looking at their handy work.
"Will it do the job?" asked Bragg.
"I'm sure it will" replied the Doctor.
Bragg reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gold lighter, he stuck it and a flame rose up. Bragg was moving the flame towards the piece of cloth hanging out of the bottle of whisky when he let out a scream.
"Oh my god, help me" he said as he fell to his knees.
The Doctor and Clara looked on in horror as blood began to trickle from his mouth.
"Into the Tardis" the Doctor screamed at Clara.
She hesitated, wanting to help the sergeant but the Doctor would have none of it he manhandled her through the Tardis door and shut it behind her. He then moved over to Bragg who was now bent over on his knees, his whole body trembling. The Doctor knelt down beside him.
"Can you finish this?" whispered the Doctor into Bragg's ear.
The sergeant managed a trembling nod. The Doctor patted him on the shoulder.
"I'm sorry" he said and entered the Tardis.
A huge noise rose up from the trench, a familiar wheezing groaning sound. Bragg managed to raise his head through the convulsions and his bloodshot eyes managed to catch the sight of the final traces of the Tardis evaporating into the air. With a final effort he managed to pull the bottle to the lighter then throw it at the ammo. He expired before the bottle exploded on to the pile of ammunition.
It was said for many years after that the explosion form the trenches that night had been seen and heard as far away as London.
The End of the Beginning...Tune in next time for the further adventures of the Doctor, Clara and Tom.