CHAPTER 37

NOT All IT SEEMS

Grant closed his eyes and leaned back against the connecting door, breathing a sigh of relief. He could not quite believe he had managed to escape without alerting the creature. He made to lock the door, only to discover that there was none and wondered if he could brace it with something. Then he realized that anything he was strong enough to lift would not even slow the creature down. He got to his feet and looked around the room, expecting to see the Doctor further inside. To his horror the room was completely empty. A chill ran down his spine at the thought that the creature had actually killed him, and he had to force himself to think logically. If the Doctor had been torn apart, there would be copious amounts of blood everywhere.

A thunderous crash sounded from the next room, startling the already anxious Grant. He backed away from the door, tripping over a stack of boxes that were piled against the wall. One fell over with him, disgorging its contains of coveralls from the former reactor workers. Since anything was better than nothing, which was practically what he had on now, he quickly slipped one on, having to roll up the sleeves and pant legs to make it fit.

After a short search, Grant found the Doctor within the outer chamber exactly as Jason had left him: battered, unconscious, and still very much alive. "Doctor," he whispered, shaking him gently. "Doctor, wake up." Another thunderous crash made him jump and he threw a nervous look towards the door. "Doctor, please," he said in a desperate tone.

The Doctor moaned and stirred. "Mel…?" he said dazedly. He came awake all at once, his eyes snapping open. "Grant!" He tried to sit up and groaned in pain, rolling onto his back and closing his eyes, a hand going to the side where his ribs had been broken. He made a quick mental inventory of his injuries and was surprised to find his body had already taken care of the majority of them without any conscious direction from him.

Another loud crash startled the Time Lord and he turned in the direction of the sound, seeing his companion for the first time. "Grant!" he gasped delightedly. He struggled to sit up, giving his coat a puzzled look when he realized he had been lying under it. Looking up, he scowled again when he saw Grant's battered condition and how he was dressed. "Are you alright?"

Uncertain of the answer himself, the boy shuddered and hugged himself, his gaze fixed on the floor. "I'm…not sure. I think so," he said at last.

The Doctor gave him a pained look, feeling more than a twinge of guilt. "This is all my fault," he said apologetically. "If I hadn't insisted on climbing that ladder…" He broke off as yet another crash came from the next room and he glanced in the direction of the sound. "We seem to have some rather noisy company," he observed dryly.

Grant nodded but did not look up. "There's a…creature out there. It chased those men off, but they locked it in…with us."

"Sounds as if it's taken exception to being locked in, with or without us," the Doctor remarked. Leaning forward to look his companion in the eye, he asked seriously, "Do you feel up to telling me about it?"

When Jason took the enormous dose of radiation as he exited the reactor, he gave himself what Alterran's referred to as a conversion rush, something akin to an adrenaline rush compounded by a massive dose of amphetamines. It was also just as dangerous, as it would burn out the individual experiencing it should the excess energy not be used up immediately. Being keenly aware of this, Jason was attempting to burn off the excess energy as well as vent the murderous rage that had exploded within him by smashing every piece of discarded circuitry, dismantled equipment, or heavy machinery he could get hold off. He had been aware of Grant's departure from the room, having picked up his movements with his powerful sensors, but at the time he was too intent on throwing everything he could at the means of mercenaries' escape than to do anything constructive, such as tell the boy who he actually was.

Somewhere in the back of his mind Jason realized the young man would be searching for the Doctor. It was this thought that finally triggered rationality again and he made a conscious effort to calm down. His friends might not be under immediate threat, but they were injured and he was a physician. He needed to compose himself if he was going to treat them properly.

Jason stopped his tantrum and remained motionless a few seconds, willing himself to calm down. Then he took in the mess he had made. With a resigned sigh, he started to clean it up, tossing the smashed bits that were heaped at the door into another heap further away, the glow from his body slowly fading as the excess energy was used up.

Grant told the Doctor of the sudden appearance of the creature, which he described as a glowing mutant spider. His view of the Alterran had been from floor level and all he could see were his tendrils, which seemed to be everywhere. He went on to describe the attack on the mercenaries, and then on the equipment in the room.

"I'd like a look at this giant spider of yours," the Doctor said as he got painfully to his feet.

"No, Doctor, just let it smash its way out," Grant said fearfully, catching hold of his sleeve. "You don't know what it'll do if it sees you."

"Don't I? Did you cut me down and bring me in here?" the Time Lord asked practically. "Tell my system to stop what is was doing so I didn't bleed to death?" He held up his coat. "Or cover me with this so I didn't die from shock?"

"No. You were already…" his companion's voice trailed off as he realized what he meant.

"Precisely. Whatever this creature is, I don't think it means us any harm." The Doctor made his way painfully to the connecting door. "But from what you tell me, it took quite an exception to our mercenary friends."

"Doctor, we didn't shoot at it," Grant retorted. "It may just be saving us until later."

"Now there's a pleasant thought." The Doctor leaned close to the door and listened a moment. "I don't hear anything. Perhaps it has smashed its way out." He glanced down at his frightened companion, seeing he was still trembling. He put his coat over the boy's shoulders and then moved him behind him. "Just in case I'm wrong," he whispered before slowly opening the door.

Jason was practically on the threshold when the door in front of him opened. The next thing he saw was one of the Doctor's bright blue eyes peeking through the crack, a surprised and delighted look sparkling in it.

Grant felt all the tension suddenly leave the Time Lord's body a split second before the door was pulled open. Thinking the creature had gone, he ventured a quick peek, seeing that instead of being gone it was no more than an arm's length away. His grip on the Doctor tightened, his eyes growing wide.

Seeing this reaction, Jason dreaded the inevitable. "Grant, you're not going make some kind of unpleasant noise again are you?" he said in a quiet, urgent tone.

Grant responded with a startled cry, his worst fears realized. Instead of being faced with a mindless beast, he was staring at a sentient being that…that… Wait a minute. How did it know my name?

The Doctor's reaction was completely different. "Jason Krystovan!" he scolded. "What in Rassilon's name are you doing here? You're supposed to be on your way to Earth."

"Jason?" Grant gasped in disbelief. Now he was really confused. How could the man he had been introduced to as Jason Krystovan be the terrifying creature that stood before him?

The Doctor glanced at his companion and then back at Jason. "I can only assume you never bothered to tell Grant who you are," he added reprovingly.

"I was a little busy scaring away your attackers," the Alterran replied sharply, returning to his human form at the same time. His expression softened as he leaned over to look at Grant, who had not moved from his place of safely behind the Doctor's large frame and seemed to be trying to disappear into the oversized coat covering him. "I am sorry for scaring you, Grant. I do have that effect on people. I just wish it weren't quite so dramatic sometimes."

Grant nodded but remained silent, unable to think of anything to say.

The Doctor turned to his apprehensive companion, readily understanding his reaction. "It's alright, Grant, you're quite safe," he said, putting a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder. "I probably should've warned you Alterrans are shape shifters. And as an Alterran, Jason tends to be full of surprises."

"There's more?" the young man groaned, thinking what he had seen was enough of a surprise already.

Jason could not help himself and laughed at this reaction. "Let's see about getting you two patched up and maybe I'll tell you a few of them."

SorRell's troops had been trying unsuccessfully to rendezvous with the Doctor. The blocked stairwells that he and his companion had found did indeed lead to the surface, just as he suspected. The Imperial Guard had planned on using them to meet him in the underground tunnels and were unprepared when they found them all blocked. There had been no seismic activity in the area since the site was shut down and no orders had been giving to have the accessways sealed.

A call went out to the Commander explaining the problem. After considering all options, SorRell gave orders to discreetly open one of the accessways. Her thinking was that the hostages might well have been sealed into the tunnels. Then she found herself wishing she had given the Doctor a communicator, as there was now no way of contacting him, and seemed every possibility that she had inadvertently sent him and his friends into very serious danger.