The Doctor had seen and heard enough. The sonic beacon was working. The creatures were being used to dispose of animal waste. Not only animals slaughtered for the meat industry, but diseased carcasses that had been culled due to infection. In 2026 there was a lot of that following the European wars of 2021. The war itself hadn't last long, but the breakdown of infrastructure right across the disbanded union had left agriculture, as well as everything else, in complete disarray. It was a hard time for honest workers and a good time for unscrupulous dealers in substandard meat and infected livestock. The Doctor waited until the truck had pulled out of the old slaughterhouse carpark and then headed back to the TARDIS.
"You were gone ages!" Josh exclaimed as the Doctor returned. "I thought you'd been eaten!"
"I wasn't that long was I?"
"You said you were going to be quick."
"Sorry," the Doctor accepted. "I didn't mean to worry you."
"I wasn't worried," Josh responded rapidly.
"That's okay then," the Doctor commented and then smiled — he'd been worried.
"Did you set the beacon up?"
"I did, and it's working, and I checked that it won't affect any bats," the Doctor confirmed. "I'd not thought about bats. At least we don't need to worry about whales and dolphins in the woods. I reckon the sonic pulse might send them a bit nuts, but the bats will be fine."
"They only just banned sonic scarers," Josh told the Doctor, but the time lord looked at him blankly. "They used sonic scarers on salmon farms in the sea to scare away seals that were trying to take the fish. They only used single nets to hold the fish because it is cheaper to put up and to maintain, but seals could reach through and pinch them, so they used sonic scarers. They've known for over ten years that it was driving dolphins and porpoises away and they only just banned them now. Salmon farmers can't use them anymore and they have to use double net fencing to stop the seals from pinching their fish now. Did you know that?"
"No, I didn't," the Doctor accepted. "You're a bit of a naturalist huh?"
"I'd not say that, but you shouldn't hurt other animals just to make a profit, not if you can help it. I'm not vegetarian or anything."
"That reminds me," the Doctor stated. "You said you used snares in the woods. I'm curious, Josh, with those creatures in the tunnels so nearby did you ever catch anything?"
"Yeah, lots," Josh confirmed. "I was getting rabbits mostly. I got a weasel once and another time I snared a badger. I felt bad about that, but I redesigned the snare and moved it away from their set. It wasn't far from my shelter and I didn't realise. I didn't mean to kill a badger."
"What did you do with it once you'd killed it?"
"I didn't waste it once it was dead," Josh informed him.
"You ate it?" the Doctor checked and Josh nodded. The Doctor liked that. It was practical, but he didn't like to think of a fourteen year old human boy living in the woods on his own. Even still he was becoming more impressed by Josh. "I've eaten a lot of different things, but I've never eaten a badger. What did it taste like?"
"Badger," Josh informed him seriously.
"I suppose it did," the Doctor agreed and laughed. "Now the sonic beacon is working I need to figure out what this actually is," the Doctor stated and picked the egg up. "Do you want to help?"
"You said it was an alien egg."
"It is. I'm going to see if I can determine the planet of origin. Then I'll know a bit more about what we are dealing with."
"Are you insane?"
"I've been accused of being a bit bonkers at times, but no, I'm not insane. I can do it over there and you can watch another movie, or, I can do it over here. You seem like a reasonably intelligent young man. If you want to help me determine where those creatures have come from, then you can."
"Then what?"
"Then I'll see if there is a way to get them home again without being eaten. If there isn't, then I'll see if there is a way to keep them safe from exploitation here on Earth without risking the natural ecology or local populations, and, if there isn't then I'll find a way to make them safe."
"You mean kill them?"
"As the very last option. We can't have a growing population of carnivorous reptiles living in the caves under North Yorkshire can we? I don't want to kill them if we don't have to, but realistically there may not be a choice. They're not the kind of creature you can reason with and ask them not to eat people. They're dangerous. They've killed three people today and there is evidence of many more. They need to be dealt with, hopefully before anyone else dies, but whatever I do, I won't cause them unnecessary pain or suffering. I won't hurt them."
"They've hurt you," Josh reminded him. "And they've killed people. Why even bother to try to save them?"
"They're only doing what they know. They're hunting to feed their young. From what I've seen they seem to have a quite strong family bond. There was one who was guarding some eggs and another one near the brood where I got this egg almost got me. I had to use the sonic boom on her. It's not their fault they are there, Josh. In fact, I think it has been done deliberately. There is an old slaughterhouse on the other side of the woods. It looks like it's all shut down, but I saw men there, just now, tossing animal waste down near an entrance to the caves. They're using them to dispose of waste instead of getting rid of it properly, and, they said they were coming back with infected carcasses tomorrow. They're collecting animal waste and then instead of disposing of it properly, they're just dumping it down by the caves for the creatures to eat. It's going to be a lot cheaper for them than disposing of it properly and safely."
"Someone has done it deliberately?"
"Possibly, if they didn't do it deliberately, they're definitely exploiting them, but by feeding them so regularly they've got an over-abundance of food. They're going to be breeding faster and faster and their population is growing. If they get to the point where there are too many of them to live in the cave system. Different groups might break off looking for new territories — if they haven't already. They are living in the caves at the moment, but their body shape and pattern doesn't look specifically adapted to living underground. What do you think would happen if a group moved out and set up a new camp on the moors?"
"Carnage," Josh commented.
"We want to try and avoid carnage," the Doctor offered and Josh nodded.
"You're really going to find out what planet they're from?"
"Yep," the Doctor confirmed. "Want to help?" Josh nodded. "I'll go and grab what we need then. You'll need to sit yourself up properly. The bed controls are here." The Doctor passed him the controls. "These are the up and down arrows. That does the head of the bed and that does the foot of the bed. You can get yourself comfortable, but try not to fold yourself in half."
"You're still bleeding," Josh reminded the Doctor as the time lord turned his back on Josh again to go and get the equipment he needed to analyse the egg.
"Yeah, I'll sort that too. I don't really want my DNA getting all mixed up with theirs. That would really confuse things," he commented casually. The Doctor went into his bedroom. He quickly showered, spraying the water onto his back and hissing at the sting. It was still raw and burning and the evidence of it on his T-shirt and the red water running down into the base of the shower indicated that he was still bleeding fresh blood and there was still quite a lot of it. When he dried his back the towel came away bloody as well. It should have started to dry out and stop bleeding by now, even if he had been running around a bit more than was sensible considering the injury.
He wondered if there was some kind of anticoagulant excreted into the claws of the creature to stop wounds from healing and increase their chance of getting their teeth into their prey as blood loss weakened them. He wasn't prey though, and even if he did keep on bleeding for a while, he wasn't going to bleed to death from it. He was going to keep on wasting T-shirts though. There was a limit of what he could do to stop it. He couldn't stitch himself up and although he had a spray sealant it wasn't that effective on such significant wounds and it would be difficult to spray it on his own back. He could give it a go in a bit if he was still bleeding after he'd seen to the egg. He went into the wardrobe room and found a black T-shirt. He shook it out and then put it on. It wasn't part of his usual attire, but at least it wasn't going to go bright red with his blood either.
"Have you sorted your back out or have you just changed your T-shirt?" Josh asked him when he returned to the sickbay.
"I showered to clean it up. I think there might some sort of anticoagulant produced by the creature. Maybe it's secreted directly into the claws or perhaps it's in their saliva and then transferred to their claws. I should have stopped bleeding by now, but there isn't much I can do when it's on my back. Anywhere else I'd just stitch it up or use a spray to seal it. I can't do that myself, so, I'll just have to try and keep it clean and wait for it to dry up on its own."
"What if it doesn't? If there is an anticoagulant in it?"
"It will eventually and I'm not going to bleed to death."
"I don't think I could stitch you up, but I could spray your back if that would help?" Josh offered. "Would it help? Or, maybe you should go to hospital? I've got no idea how you got a mobile unit like this into the woods or how you're here on your own, but maybe you should go and get your back checked by someone else."
"I'm not too fond of hospitals."
"Why not?"
"More or less the same reason as you'd not particularly want to check into one to have your ankle sorted out," the Doctor told him. "If you'd be willing to spray my back with the sealant then I'd appreciate it. It'd keep it sterile and it should stop it bleeding. I'm not sure those creatures are particularly sanitary." Josh nodded that he'd do it and the Doctor went over to the pharmacy area and fetched a spray can which he handed to Josh.
"What do I need to do?"
"Give it a good shake and then hold it about three inches away from the skin and just spray it on. Follow the line of the scratches so they're covered. The sealant is blue so you'll be able to see where it goes. Just make the scratches blue and it will be good."
"Will it hurt?"
"It's going to sting a bit when it goes on, but only until it dries and seals the wounds. That should stop the bleeding." The Doctor took his T-shirt off and carefully sat on the edge of Josh's bed so that he could reach with the spray.
"They're not just scratches," Josh told him. "They're really bad. Don't they hurt?"
"Yeah, they hurt," the Doctor commented. "Quite a bit actually."
"Did you take any painkillers?" Josh asked him.
"No not yet."
"Maybe you should? Your back has been split right open. I could get my fingers right in there."
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't," the Doctor suggested.
"I'm not going to, but I don't think a spray is going to be enough."
"It will. It's a good spray. Just spray it on and then we can test the egg. Start at the top and work your way down." The Doctor heard Josh shake the can. He held it close to the top of the first slash that began over his right shoulder and started to spray. The Doctor closed his eyes and tensed as it immediately came alive again. He gripped the edge of Josh's bed but didn't pull away from the boy or make a sound. He wished he'd hurry up though, as Josh took his time, making sure he covered all the wounds with a layer of the spray. "Thank you," the Doctor offered when Josh stopped. He could feel it drying and tightening so he put his T-shirt back on over the top. "Right, should we look at this egg then?"