Nyssa and Turlough stepped from the TARDIS anxiously. Nyssa was concerned about finding the Doctor as soon as possible and avoiding any harm to the invaluable machine. Immediately she searched the surrounding area for any signs of geysers. One mound lay about twenty meters away, but she felt this was sufficiently distant to avoid damage to the TARDIS should it erupt. She inspected the base of the police box carefully, too, for indications that they had landed on a geyser, but the ground seemed flat with no evidence of crystals.
Turlough's concerns centered on their location. He did not know what effect his disconnecting several wires would have on their destination. He had hoped that they would materialize in space or on another planet, but he could see quite clearly that they were still on Beta 8. He did not see either research station, however, so he felt certain that they were some distance away from the Doctor.
Satisfied that there was no immediate danger from geysers, Nyssa began to survey the land, frowning as her eyes moved over the area. "This is odd," she said.
"What is?" Turlough asked innocently.
"I thought I set the coordinates for the area near the station where you and Tegan were. But I don't see it anywhere."
"It must be just over that rise," Turlough said, pointing at a small hill nearby. "I'm sure that's just blocking our view."
"Perhaps. But I really thought I had set the TARDIS properly—"
"It's a temperamental machine, Nyssa," said Turlough. "To hear Tegan talk, even the Doctor can't make it land where he wants it to half the time. At least we're still on Beta 8. The Doctor can't be too far away. Come on, let's try to find him." He began to walk toward the hill.
Nyssa followed quickly, studying and assessing the area as she moved. She believed that they were still in the caldera, which meant that very real dangers persisted. She had already seen a geyser erupt in the distance, and she had sensed a subtle trembling of the ground that she felt certain was a small earthquake. She did not know how much time she and Turlough would have to search for their friend. She ascended the mound just behind Turlough then stood looking over the land.
"I don't see the research complex," Nyssa said with some alarm. She lifted her hand to her eyes to shield them from the sun's glare then turned slowly to survey the expanse before her. "Can you see anything?" she asked.
Turlough's gaze was moving carefully over the land. After a moment, he responded, "No."
Nyssa's small hands closed into frustrated fists as she lowered them to her sides. Turlough saw that she blinked several times, and her lips seemed to compress. Her eyes wandered downward.
"Look, Nyssa," Turlough said, taking a hesitant step toward her. "The Doctor didn't want us to come out here. He probably realized that the TARDIS wouldn't do as you wished. Maybe there's some sort of odd gravitational pull here or something…"
Nyssa lifted her eyes and glanced at his face for a moment, then she looked over his shoulder. "The river," she said, pointing.
Turlough turned to follow her finger. He saw that she indicated a narrow, curving ribbon some distance away. "Yes?"
"The research complex that you and Tegan went to was next to the river. So if we go to its banks and follow it, we'll find the complex."
"There could be more than one river," Turlough protested.
"No, I don't think so. I saw only one when we first landed on the hillside."
"But we may be on an entirely different part of the planet."
Nyssa shook her head. "I remember that the river resembled a sine wave. It made me think of Adric—" She paused to swallow and take a deep breath. "I'm certain that this is the same river. However, we're on the other side of it; the oscillation appears reversed. I think that the research complex lies just over those hills."
She had already begun to descend the mound.
"Wait, Nyssa!" Turlough tried to keep the desperation from his voice. She turned to look at him. "That's a long way from here."
"It's no further than we walked before, probably somewhat less. We can be there and back in less than an hour."
"How do you know we have an hour to spare?"
"I don't, but I have to try." She had not slackened her pace.
"Let's go back to the TARDIS and try to move it closer," he suggested, hurrying to walk next to her.
"I think it's safer remaining where it is. We were fortunate to land in an area without any geysers terribly nearby." Now she did pause to turn toward him. "If you want to stay here, I understand. I know that you're in pain—"
Turlough glanced quickly back at the police box. Perhaps he could set the coordinates for Trion. Surely there was some sort of instruction manual or database that he could access. At the very least, he could get away from here. He realized that Nyssa was watching him intently, waiting for his decision. His eyes met hers briefly; he saw concern, compassion, and sadness in her gaze. He looked away.
"Turlough," she said gently, resting her hand on his arm with the lightest touch. "Are you all right?"
"Yes. It's just my hands…" He lifted them in emphasis.
"They'll feel better soon. The pain reliever should take effect in the next few minutes."
Turlough nodded. In fact, his fingers were beginning to tingle slightly, and this sensation seemed to supercede the pain. "They feel odd," he said.
Nyssa nodded. "They'll be numb soon, and you won't feel anything."
"Numb?" he asked in surprise.
"Yes. The pain reliever has that effect. It's a type of anesthetic."
"But then I won't be able to use my hands!" The panic was edging into his voice again.
Nyssa smiled sadly. "I'm afraid that you won't be able to use them for some time. At least with the medication you won't experience any discomfort."
Turlough lowered his hands, fighting against the ire that threatened to creep into his face. He forced himself to remember that Nyssa was trying to help him—to help a person she scarcely knew and had no reason to trust. Again he noted the compassion in her eyes, and he looked away.
"I won't be able to feel anything?" he asked.
"No."
"How long will it last?"
"About six hours. I'll give you another dose then so you won't have to experience any pain at all."
"I don't think I can be of much help to you without the use of my hands," he said despondently.
Again she lay her small palm upon his arm and said softly, "Your company would be a great help to me."
"My company?"
She nodded. "If you're feeling up to it, I'd rather not be alone right now."
Turlough's eyes darted furtively back to the TARDIS as Nyssa's gaze shifted to the river. His fingers had now gone completely numb, and he could feel the deadening sensation spreading up toward his wrists. He tried to wiggle his fingers but found that they refused to cooperate. Without functionality in his hands he had no chance of programming the TARDIS to take him home.
"All right," he said, taking a step forward. "Let's go."
Nyssa gave him a grateful nod and began to walk. Turlough kept slightly behind her. He looked down at his pocket frequently, pressing his wrist against the solid, sharp crystal. He did not understand why it remained inactive; he had done as the Black Guardian asked. The Doctor had gone after Tegan, and there was little chance that he could survive. If he had managed to find Tegan, which was extremely unlikely, he would have returned to the TARDIS within an hour or so. Turlough had interpreted his absence as a solid clue that he had been injured or killed by one of the geysers near the research complex. Even if he had not, if he attempted to return to the TARDIS now, he would discover that it had moved, and he would be trapped on the planet when the geologic event occurred. There was no possibility that he would leave Beta 8 with any of his remaining lives—unless Nyssa found him and managed to get him back to the TARDIS. He felt his heart quicken as he realized explicitly that he could not permit Nyssa to reach the Doctor. He would have to figure out a way to get her back into the TARDIS and off of the planet immediately. Or he could leave her here…
He was certain that the crystal glowed momentarily; something bright caught his eye and caused him to glance down. However, he saw nothing but his dark pocket. Still, the flash had surely been a sign. Was he supposed to strand Nyssa on this unstable planet?
"Turlough?" Nyssa's soft query almost made him jump. He found that she was studying his face with concern. "Are you all right?"
He opened his mouth, but somehow he seemed to require a moment to form the words. He stammered, "I'm just—my hands, they just feel strange."
"They've gone completely numb, haven't they?"
He nodded. "I just feel like we're terribly vulnerable out here. If anything should happen, I can't help you at all—"
She smiled gently. "I told you, Turlough, that you are helping me just by being here. I realize that you didn't know Tegan for very long, but it's a great comfort to me to have you with me, to know that you feel her loss, too." She turned to continue walking but paused to add, "And knowing that you tried to save her means a great to me as well."
Turlough felt his cheeks grow warm. "Look, Nyssa, I—" he began, but a slight movement just to his right caught his eye. He turned his head to stare for a second at a wisp of steam rising from a nearby mound. He nudged Nyssa's arm, saying, "That's about to erupt. We have to take cover."
His eyes swept the immediate area. There was a hole in the side of a small rise perhaps five meters away that did not appear to have any crystals around it. "There," he said, nodding toward his find. "Come on!"
"But there could be insects in it," Nyssa began.
"I think I'd rather face them than a geyser," Turlough interjected, holding up his hands for emphasis as he began to run. She followed closely behind him, sprinting toward the hole and ducking inside just as the spray fell all around them. They crouched just inside the burrow for a minute until the water had ceased falling.
"It's over," Turlough said, taking a step forward, toward the light. "Come on."
"Wait a minute," Nyssa said, reaching out for his arm.
"What is it?"
"The bandage on your right hand has slipped. The burns need to remain covered so that they don't become infected. We don't know what sort of bacteria may be present here." She took his hand and began adjusting the bandages that he had managed to push back from his fingers. "Did you move these?" she asked, studying his exposed fingertips for a moment.
Turlough shrugged. "I guess I must have brushed against something. With my hands being numb, I can't really tell what they're doing."
"But we haven't been around anything out here—"
Turlough pulled his hand back abruptly. "Did you hear that?" he asked, quickly turning to look at the entrance of the burrow. A small noise had caught his attention.
"I'm not sure—" Nyssa began, focusing her gaze on the entrance as well. "Oh!" she gasped, inching backward involuntarily.
"I guess we know now what dug this," Turlough said, extending his arm automatically to shield Nyssa from the insects that crowded the entrance to their burrow.
The scrabbling on the metal rooftop made Tegan's skin crawl. The insects had climbed onto the dome, and she could see their antennae silhouetted against the skylight. They seemed to sense that the plastic plate was a potential entrance to the structure. As Tegan watched, she saw the edge of the skylight move; the insects were trying to push it inward.
"Doctor!" she cried, pointing. "They're going to break it or knock it out of the frame. What are we going to do?"
The Doctor had been pacing the small interior for several minutes immersed in thought. He looked up at Tegan's anxious face. "If I could find the source of the distress call I might be able to alter it so that the TARDIS could lock onto it. If she materialized here, inside one of the buildings, there would be no immediate danger of geysers—"
"But you said Nyssa wouldn't come. You told her not to move the TARDIS."
"And unlike you, she usually listens to me," the Doctor said bluntly. "However, if she receives a different type of distress signal, she may realize that we are calling for help."
"Maybe. So where is this radio, or whatever it is that sent the signal?"
"It's not in here. Did you check the other two buildings when you first arrived?"
"Yes. I don't remember seeing any machinery."
"Well, it was definitely not in the buildings that Nyssa and I explored, so it must be in one of those two."
"Which might be helpful if we could get into them without those gigantic grasshoppers noticing."
The Doctor glanced at the door. "There's little chance of that. However, we may be able to send them away long enough to get into the other buildings."
"How?"
"They don't seem to like hot water very much. I told you that they left when a geyser erupted nearby—"
"So we could throw hot water on them," Tegan finished.
The Time Lord nodded, already moving toward the small hotplate. There was a single saucepan that he had used earlier to heat the water for Tegan's tea. He looked around quickly for any other object that could be used as a heat-proof receptacle. "We need more than one pot," he said absently, bending to look in a cabinet.
"Doctor—" Tegan began, but her words were drowned out by the clattering of the items in the cabinet as the Doctor quickly rummaged through them. He stood and held up a larger pot triumphantly.
"This is a start," he said.
Tegan had stood and was now hobbling toward him, but her head was tilted back to permit her eyes to focus upon the ceiling. "I think you're too late," she nearly wailed, pointing straight up. One corner of the skylight had popped out of its frame, and a set of antenna had been thrust through the opening.
The Doctor dropped the pot and moved swiftly toward the Australian, wrapping his arm around her waist to pull her with him toward the small bath.
"What are you doing?" she gasped, trying to move along with him but finding it awkward with her injured knee.
"We don't have time to heat any water. We'll have to hope that it's not just the heat that they dislike." He pushed Tegan into the corner behind the shower then grasped the showerhead and tilted it upward. His other hand was poised on the faucet.
With a clatter the skylight fell onto the floor, followed closely by an insect. The creature landed directly in front of them. Its antennae moved slowly back and forth, and its head bobbed upward. It was close enough to Tegan that she could see the complex structure of its eyes.
"The water, Doctor!" she cried, reaching for his arm.
"Wait," he replied. "They may not be able to get back to the skylight. I need to open the door." He placed her hand on the faucet then darted to the side. The insect's head moved to watch him, and it took a step sideways.
"Hey!" Tegan yelled. "Look at me, you big ugly bug!"
She pounded on the metal edge of the sink with the shampoo bottle. The insect's antennae twitched in her direction. She saw the Doctor take several steps toward the door. She continued banging the bottle against the sink, which seemed to distract the insect momentarily. However, two more insects had thrust their heads through the open skylight, and now they dropped into the building. Tegan's noises did not seem to affect them. They appeared to focus immediately upon the Doctor's movements, advancing on him with quick, graceful steps.
Tegan's fingers tightened on the faucet. "I'm turning the water on," she cried as the insects' antennae brushed against the Doctor's coat. At this proximity, Tegan could clearly see that the animals' mouths were lined with saw-like structures.
"Wait," the Doctor called. "Let me get the door." He was only a meter from the handle. Tegan saw the insects' back legs lowering and realized that they were preparing to jump.
"Doctor! Watch out!" she cried.
He grasped the situation instantly and leaped toward the door as the insects hopped forward. He fell against the chair propped under the handle, knocking it to the side then grabbing it to hurl at the insects. They easily dodged it and poised for another jump. Tegan's attention was focused on her companion, and she did not realize that the insect watching her had moved forward. When she felt its antenna brush against her leg, she looked down with a yelp and turned the faucet on full-blast, adjusting the showerhead so that it sprayed the insect full on. The creature made an odd, high-pitched noise, rearing up on its hind legs for a moment before it hopped to the side, away from the water. Tegan rotated the showerhead to follow the insect. It scuttled toward the door.
"Tegan!" the Doctor shouted. She looked up to see that he was now boxed in by the other two insects. Their jaws opened, and their heads moved toward his thighs. He had somehow ended up two meters away from the door.
Tegan aimed the water at the insects. Like their companion, they seemed to screech, and they danced away from the stream. The Doctor quickly moved to the door and flung it open. Immediately several insects from outside attempted to crowd into the structure, blocking the three inside in their efforts to escape the water. The Doctor stepped behind the door as antennae and legs flailed around him. Tegan tried to push the showerhead further up to encourage the stream to reach the door, but there was insufficient pressure; the stream only reached the center of the small structure. The insects clamoring just outside the door were unaware of the discomfort that their brethren were trying to escape.
Tegan ducked under the shower and staggered toward the hotplate. She quickly filled the small pot with water from the sink then flung it toward the door. A few drops fell upon the insects outside, and they seemed to flinch. She filled the pot again and took several quick steps forward then hurled the pot with all her might toward the door. It landed on one of the insects, splashing the others sufficiently to cause them to squeal and skitter away. With the door unblocked, the three invaders immediately fled, flicking water off of their wings as they moved.
Tegan stood in the center of the structure for a moment panting from her efforts as the Doctor emerged from behind the door. He poked his head outside then quickly came toward Tegan.
"Come on," he said, taking her arm. "We don't have much time. They probably won't be gone for very long. Let's get to the other two structures and find the source of the distress call."
Tegan had barely caught her breath as the Doctor led her out the door.
Turlough and Nyssa had backed away from the insects further into the passageway. The insects moved slowly forward, forcing the two humanoids further into the tunnel. The creatures' antennae glowed gently in the darkness, providing faint yet sufficient light for Turlough and Nyssa to see where to turn. The tunnel was low—less than two meters high—requiring them to remain stooped as they moved.
"How far back to you think this goes?" whispered Turlough, feeling vaguely uncomfortable in the close dimness.
Nyssa shook her head. "I don't know, but I'm certain that we're descending gradually."
"We're going into the earth?" asked Turlough, his voice rising slightly. His spine seemed to tingle for a moment.
"I think so."
"What do they want from us?"
"I don't know," replied Nyssa softly. "They haven't tried to harm us, which is probably a good sign."
"Unless they're waiting for later," Turlough finished.
They continued their slow descent through the darkness. Nyssa touched the side of the tunnel once to discover that the earth was packed solidly. She thought she felt some other material mixed in with the earth, but there was insufficient light to determine what it was. Once she noticed a smaller tunnel that seemed to lead off to her left.
After some time, Turlough asked Nyssa quietly, "How far do you think we've gone?"
"About half a kilometer," she responded.
Turlough felt clammy, and a sense of fear was beginning to gnaw at him. "Maybe we should try to get away—to get back out to the entrance."
"How can we do that? There must be at least a dozen of them."
Turlough had turned to peer around him, searching for something that could be used as a weapon. It was difficult to see more than a meter or so ahead in the vague luminescence, but in the distance he saw a stronger glow.
"There's something up there," he said to Nyssa.
She twisted around to see the light. "It's not far away," she commented.
"But what is it?"
"Maybe it's the researchers," Nyssa suggested. "Perhaps they're working down here. That would explain why the buildings were deserted, and where the distress call came from."
"But the researchers have gone," Turlough said, immediately regretting this comment.
"We don't really know that, do we? Someone sent the distress call."
Turlough pressed his wrist lightly against the crystal in his pocket with a grunt of agreement as they walked toward the soft light.
The Doctor and Tegan managed to search the structure next to one in which they had stayed and enter the third dome before the insects returned. The Doctor had hustled Tegan along somewhat roughly in his haste to secure himself and his companion inside the building. As he propped a chair up against the door, Tegan sank down onto a second chair, reaching for her throbbing knee.
"How long do you think it will be before they return?" she asked somewhat breathlessly.
The Doctor turned toward her, his eyes already scanning the room for the device which had sent the distress signal. "Judging from their behavior a few hours ago, I'd guess it will be only ten or fifteen minutes more."
Tegan glanced up. "This skylight doesn't look any more secure than the other one."
"Well," the Doctor said brightly, "it shouldn't have to hold very long. The transmitter must be in here somewhere. I should be able to signal Nyssa within a few minutes." He had walked toward the counter and lifted the cover off of a microscope. He continued to search the room for several minutes, but the transmitter was nowhere to be found. "It must be here," he muttered with growing frustration, bending to reach into the back of a cabinet. "Tegan, help me look," he snapped, glancing up once to find her still sitting in the chair.
With a small grunt of pain, she stood and hobbled toward the bathroom. After a minute, she said, "It's not in here."
"Where is it?" the Time Lord asked with considerable vexation.
"They must have set it up somewhere else," Tegan suggested.
"And where might that be?" The Doctor's tone was harsh in his frustration.
"How should I know?" Tegan asked, her voice rising in response to his tone. "But it must have come from somewhere!"
"Keep looking," the Doctor instructed.
Tegan limped to one of the cots then bent to peer beneath it. All she found was a layer of dust. "I think this place has been deserted for a long time," she commented, moving toward the second cot. Her search under it yielded similar results. With a sigh she straightened and shuffled toward the Doctor. He stood in the center of the room, looking for any previously unnoticed cupboards or crannies.
"It's not here," he said finally.
"So what do we do now?" asked Tegan. "We can't get Nyssa to bring the TARDIS to us—"
"Our only option now is to leave and hope that we can reach the TARDIS before Nyssa leaves the planet."
"And just when might that be?" Tegan asked with some alarm. She had assumed that her companions would wait for the Doctor until he returned.
With a slightly guilty look, the Doctor replied, "I told her to leave if the planet became unstable—if she noted a significant increase in geyser activity, earthquakes—"
"So she might have left already?"
"It's possible."
"And if she has?"
"Then we shall have to alter our plans slightly." His eyes darted to the skylight then to the door. "We'll need to travel quickly. How is your knee?"
Tegan shifted her weight slightly. "I'll manage."
The Doctor bent to touch her knee. "The swelling hasn't diminished. I was hoping that the acetophenetidin would help."
"Maybe it was too old. Look around, Doctor. It's been a long time since anyone's lived here."
He nodded in acknowledgement then stepped toward the sink.
"What are you doing?" asked Tegan. "We should get out of here as soon as we can, before the insects come back."
"I agree. However, it is quite likely that when they do return they will come after us. We'll need something to scare them away." He held up a plastic bottle. "This should do."
He filled it with water then tucked it into his coat pocket. He moved the chair away from the door and opened it a few inches then turned back to Tegan. "They're not back yet." Taking her arm, he helped her toward the door and outside. "Are you ready?" he asked, wrapping his arm around her waist.
Tegan nodded, and they began walking away from the structures. A geyser erupted a short distance to their left, spurring the Doctor to increase his pace as Tegan struggled to limp along beside him.
As Nyssa and Turlough moved closer to the glow, they could see that the tunnel's width was increasing. Turlough had walked with his head bent; the passageway was less than two meters tall. Now he was able to stand upright, and the cramped, stifling sensation that had began welling up in him subsided somewhat.
"I think there's a room or chamber just ahead," Nyssa whispered.
In a minute they saw that the tunnel opened up into a spacious chamber. A soft glow illuminated the area, permitting them to see more clearly than they had in the dim tunnel. Nyssa paused just inside the chamber to look about. She felt a slight poke against her calves and found that one of the insects was prodding her ahead with its antennae. She took a few hurried steps forward then stopped to stare at the room.
The chamber was large, nearly ten meters across and three meters high. Several insects were stationed around the edges, their luminescent antennae glowing gently and reflecting off of the walls. In the center of the room was a large object that cast a stronger glow. Nyssa leaned forward to try to see the source of the light.
"What is it?" asked Turlough, standing just beside her.
Nyssa squinted and allowed her eyes to adjust. "It looks like it's made up of many small pieces," she said. "I can see individual spheres." She took another step toward the pile, but one of the insects near the wall leaped forward, waggling its antennae and lifting its wings with a dry flutter. Its head rose, and its mouth opened to reveal a serrated jaw.
"Oh!" Nyssa cried softly, stepping back. The insect moved toward her; clearly it perceived her as a threat. It thrust its head at her arm, and she felt its jaw scrape against her sleeve. Nyssa cringed as it reared up on its hind legs. In this position, its height equaled hers.
"Leave her alone!" Turlough said, stepping forward and pressing his arm against Nyssa's chest.
The insect's open mouth darted at the Trion, catching one of his wrists. It dragged him forward then pulled him to the ground. Its strength was considerable, and Turlough struggled to retrieve his arm. He was glad that his hand was numb; undoubtedly the creature's teeth were piercing his skin.
"Don't hurt him!" Nyssa entreated, kneeling next to Turlough and taking his arm in her hands.
Immediately she saw that two of the insects who had impelled them through the tunnel had scuttled forward. They now stood on either side of the insect that held Turlough. Their heads bobbed slightly, and their antennae twitched then touched the Trion's captor. The insect opened its mouth and dropped Turlough's hand then retreated back toward the wall.
"Thank you," Nyssa said.
Trying to see what damage the insect's jaws had inflicted, Turlough glanced at her and said, "I'm sure they can't understand you."
"Perhaps they can comprehend my intent, though." Nyssa had bent forward to look directly at one of the insects. It flicked its antennae lightly toward her then rotated its head toward the pile in the center of the room. Nyssa followed its motion with her eyes. It touched an antenna to one of the small spheres then, to Nyssa' surprise, lifted a leg and pawed at the sphere until it rolled from the pile and onto the ground. It moved its head back to look at her.
"I'm not sure what you're trying to tell me," she said gently.
In response, it pushed the sphere toward her. She bent to inspect it. "Oh! It's an egg," she told Turlough. "They're all eggs."
"There must be hundreds of them," Turlough commented, staring at the pile.
"Insects typically lay a great many eggs at one time. These may be from the insects that were in here before we entered. I think the one that attacked you thought you were going to harm her eggs."
"Isn't that a bit odd in the insect world? Don't they usually just lay their eggs and go?"
Nyssa nodded. "Yes. But these insects are not the same as those found on Earth or on many other planets. Their size is quite different, of course, and they seem to have an excellent capacity for communication with each other. Guarding their eggs may be a reflection of their superior intelligence."
The insect who had shown Nyssa the egg now nudged her softly with its head. She looked down to see that it was trying to push the egg across the floor. It tilted its head up toward her again, then continued its efforts with the egg. Nyssa bent to touch the egg with tentative fingers.
"What are you doing?" asked Turlough sharply. "It's going to bite you!"
"No," replied Nyssa calmly, "I don't think so. I think he wants me to lift the egg and carry it." She placed her hands on the sphere. The insect bobbed its head and stepped back. She lifted the egg carefully in both hands. It was not heavy, and it was no bigger than a grapefruit.
The insect scurried forward, around the pile of eggs. Nyssa followed, with Turlough trailing at her heels. On the other side of the pile she saw an opening to a second tunnel. The insect hesitated for a moment to look back at the visitors then slipped into the tunnel.
"You're not going in there, are you?" asked Turlough, peering ahead at the darkness. The single insect's antennae provided scant illumination.
"Yes," she responded, "I am. He wants me to follow him."
"But you don't know what's down there. He could be leading you into a trap."
Nyssa stopped for a moment to turn back to the Trion. "He protected us from the other insect. I don't think he wants to harm us. But you can wait here if you like."
Turlough's eyes shot back to the insect by the wall. It appeared to watch him warily still. "No, I'll come with you," he said.
She ducked inside the tunnel. Turlough paused just outside the entrance to rest his wrist against the crystal. "What am I supposed to do now?" he murmured. "What?" He looked at his pocket, but the crystal remained dark. With a sigh and a growing feeling of trepidation, Turlough followed Nyssa and the insect into the tunnel.
Tegan gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to cry out as her knee was jolted once again by the Doctor's rapid pace. She had tried at first to hop along on one foot, but this had resulted in several stumbles that had nearly pulled both travelers to the ground.
"You're going to have to use both feet," the Doctor had told her after the third stumble. "Unless you want me to try to carry you."
"Try? You mean you don't know if you can?" she had asked with some indignation.
"Of course I can. You certainly aren't that heavy. However, the added weight would slow my progress considerably, particularly after the first few minutes. I think that we can travel faster if we are both on foot, so to speak, unless you aren't able to."
His tone had not been condescending; indeed, he sounded almost sympathetic to Tegan. "I can walk," she had said with forced confidence.
He had nodded in approval. "I'm sure you can. But you will tell me if you feel it's too painful?"
"I'll manage."
Now Tegan was beginning to regret her decision. She did not know how much longer she could continue on. Each step was agony, and she felt that she would surely collapse if left for even a moment without the Doctor's support. She tried to focus her attention on an imaginary ice pack. She would lie back against the wonderfully soft pillows on her bed in the TARDIS and place a numbingly cold bag of ice on her knee. She might even treat herself to some pain relievers that actually worked. Then she would close her eyes and—
"Tegan!" The Doctor's voice cut through her reverie. She blinked and looked up at him, realizing suddenly that he had stopped walking. He dropped his arm from her waist and pulled the bottle from his pocket.
Tegan turned her head to see a group of a dozen insects rapidly scuttling toward them. "That's not enough water to hold them all off," she said.
"Probably not," he agreed, "but it's all we have, so we shall have to make do."
As the insects drew nearer, he removed the cap and placed his fingers over the opening. He jerked the bottle forward, permitting a small amount of water to splash between his fingers. A few drops landed on the insect at the front of the pack, and it lifted its wings quickly to shake off the offending liquid. However, the water did not seem to deter it; it continued moving toward the two travelers. The Doctor tossed more water at the creature with similar poor effects.
"Why isn't it stopping them?" asked Tegan.
"Perhaps it isn't a sufficient amount," the Doctor suggested.
"Then toss it all at them. Maybe at least we can get to some sort of shelter if they turn back for a minute—"
The Doctor nodded and hurled the contents of the bottle at the group of insects. Tegan watched the water arc up into the air then splash onto three of the insects. One seemed to squeal sharply, and all three briefly flapped their wings, but they continued to move forward, quickly surrounding the Doctor and Tegan.
"Now what?" asked Tegan, trying not to sound as panicked as she felt.
"I don't know."
Two of the insects had opened their mouths, and their saw-like mandibles loomed precariously close to Tegan's hand. She pulled her arm back. "I think they're planning to eat us," she wailed, pressing into the Doctor as closely as she could.
The Doctor had lifted the bottle, apparently planning to strike the insects if necessary. "I'll try to hold them off," he said. "Run!"
Tegan turned, attempting to find a gap between the insects that would permit her passage. "But what about you?" she asked with a moment of hesitation.
"I'll catch up." He swung the bottle at the nearest insect. The creature hopped to the side swiftly, and the Doctor's blow missed. Two more insects reared up, thrusting their front legs toward the Doctor and knocking the bottle from his hand.
Tegan took advantage of the movement to dash through the small space left by the insects' change in position. She began to run, willing herself to ignore the pain in her knee and the weakness that seemed to render her entire leg nearly useless. She did not know how far she had gone when she felt something touch her back. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw an insect directly behind her, so close that its antennae poked her flank. In an instant something pressed against her shoulders, and she realized with horror that the creature had leaped onto her, clinging to her shoulders with its front feet and her hips with its back feet.
The added weight of the insect was too much for her to bear. Tegan fell to her knees then onto her stomach as the insect clung more tightly to her. Twisting her head to the side, she saw several more insects skittering toward her.
"Doctor!" she managed to cry, but there was no response. Tegan covered her face with her hands as the insects surrounded her fully.
