by Doctor Who
said Frank, laughing to himself as he said it.
The Doctor blinked. ‘Don’t be silly.’
Frank pointed to the object. ‘And that could be from space too. And from what you said about Nero, and the pizza. . . you’d only know that if you’d been there.’ He laughed once more at the madness of what he was saying.
The Doctor blinked again. For once he wasn’t saying anything.
‘Sorry. Am I being annoying?’ asked Frank. He knew his theory couldn’t be true.
The Doctor laughed and clapped him around the shoulders. ‘No.
Now, I really, really like you.’ He pointed to the object. ‘That’s a Dalek. No – that was a Dalek. From the planet Skaro. Once, yeah, the most terrifying things in the universe. They were very gifted at war.
Now they’re all dead, all the creatures inside. This is just the shell, a heap of old bits. There’s more life in a tramp’s vest!’
It was the strangest conversation of Frank’s life. The Doctor was obviously joking, making all this up, but still Frank decided to join in.
‘So what killed them?’ he asked.
20
‘I did,’ said the Doctor. ‘Many battles, one final war.’ He kicked the base of the Dalek. ‘There’s nothing to be scared of any longer.’
‘I want you to meet a mate of mine,’ said Rose, trailing Kate as she left the teashop. ‘He can help you.’
Kate sighed. ‘Thank you for your concern, but I really am fine.’
Rose grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her to face one of the museum’s windows. ‘You’re blonde. When you ran out in the road, I saw you. You had curly red hair, and now. . . look!’
Kate saw herself in the window. Her hair was straight and bright yellow, like some Swedish supermodel’s. She shuddered, took a step back. She couldn’t accept what she saw.
‘Kate, come and meet the Doctor,’ said Rose.
Kate’s head swivelled round. The movement felt totally instinctive.
Doctor! The Doctor!
‘Come on,’ said Rose, taking her gently by the hand. ‘He’s at a place called Crediton Vale. Do you know that?’
Kate nodded. Another bus was just turning on to the green. She pointed. ‘We can get that and be there in five minutes.’
‘Don’t be scared. He’ll know what to do,’ said Rose, leading her to the bus stop.
As she walked across the peaceful village street of her childhood, terrible images ran through Kate’s mind’s eye. Somebody else’s memories. Whole worlds burning, planets falling through space like balls scattered over a snooker table. The word Doctor echoed in her head.
She saw the shadow shape of a man framed by fire. There was a knot of anger inside her, something vicious and confident and sharp. Then another emotion took over – fear.
A word started running through her head. Its four syllables de-manded to be shouted out loud, again and again.
Exterminate!
21
CHAPTER FIVE
THE DOCTOR GENTLY LOOSENED the connections and removed the Dalek gun an inch at a time.
Frank noted that there was sweat on his brow. ‘Thought it wasn’t dangerous,’ he said.
‘Not in itself,’ said the Doctor, holding the gun at arm’s length. ‘But you tell me, what happens if some clever clogs gets this in his lab?
Finds out how it works? The human race gets the secret of Dalek weapons. You’ll all be dead by Wednesday week.’
He placed the weapon with care into Frank’s hands, rolled up his sleeves and bent over the open casing, using the metal tube to work inside.
Frank looked down at the weapon, confused. Part of him didn’t believe a word of what the Doctor was saying. But the other part of him believed every bit of it.
A few moments later, the Doctor looked up and said, ‘Frank, you don’t ask questions. Normally by now people are saying, “What’s it like in space? Can I go back and save Kennedy? Can I stop myself meeting the wife?” That sort of thing.’
Frank nodded to the Dalek ‘That looks tricky. Don’t want to put you off.’ He smiled. ‘And I love my wife,’ he added sincerely. ‘If I could go back, change anything, I’d want to meet her years before I did. Funny, she was in her third year at Durham University when I was in my first year, but we never met for another ten years.’
The Doctor stood up straight. ‘You are a remarkable person. Right.
I need to ask you something.’ He tapped the Dalek ‘I’m taking this to bits. Just for safe keeping, take the gun away. Pretty soon, someone up there’s gonna come down here and start asking questions.’ He nodded to the gun. ‘They can get their hands on me, OK, but nobody must get their hands on that. Pop it in your bag and take it home. I’ll 23
pick it up this evening.’
Frank’s bag was made of faded green canvas. He’d had it since the 1970s. He picked it up and put the Dalek weapon inside, next to his lunchbox and paper.
‘What’s your postcode?’ asked the Doctor.
‘WP4 2LN,’ said Frank
The Doctor thought for a second. ‘Redlands Road, Twyford?’
Frank felt even more confused now, but eventually he simply shook his head and smiled. ‘That’s it, number 15. I’ll see you later, then.’ He set off for the exit.
As he was nearing the huge lift, the Doctor called, ‘Frank’ Frank turned. ‘Can’t do that thing with the wife. It bends the rules. But. . . I could manage the fall of Troy from a safe distance?’
Frank shrugged. It was like a game of bluff, he half-decided. The Doctor was just being silly. ‘Ta. But I’m happy where I am, Doctor.’ He entered the lift and pressed the button to go up.
Kate and Rose got off the bus at what looked like a building site. A series of half-built flats lay across a field beyond a high wire fence.
Cranes with various attachments were dotted around the site, along with piles of building materials. About a quarter of a mile beyond was the sea, radiant and blue, on what was turning out to be a warm day for May. A security man and a bunch of people who looked like students were standing outside a bungalow in the middle of the site.
Voices were being raised.
Kate pointed to the bungalow. ‘That’s the entrance to the bunker.
It was a bit of a tourist attraction. Then they decided to fill it in.’ As she spoke, a middle-aged man carrying an old canvas bag walked by.
Kate eyed him with interest, not knowing why. Her skin tingled with static.
Rose nodded at the fuss by the bungalow. ‘Oh yeah, the Doctor’s definitely down there. People are shouting. Come on.’
She led Kate over the rough ground. They waited until the security man, who was in the middle of the students, looked the other way, 24
then slipped into the old bungalow. Inside was a huge iron lift, its doors open. They got in and Rose pressed the button to go down.
Kate looked over at Rose. ‘I suppose I don’t mind going blonde.’
‘It’s not so bad,’ said Rose.
‘Naturally blonde,’ said Kate.
It was the kind of friendly, mock-bitchy thing she’d say all the time.
But inside, her mind was stirring with visions she couldn’t even find words to describe. She knew she must keep them secret. Keeping secrets and lying had never appealed to her before. She remembered an ex telling her – in the process of him becoming an ex – that one of her most annoying qualities was that she always showed her real feelings. Today, being cunning felt like a thrill. She could tell this Rose anything, and then, when the time came, when Rose trusted her the most, she would turn – and exterminate her!
The lift jolted and Rose ran out into a huge pit. A skinny man in a slightly crumpled suit was bending over something on the far side.
Rose ran across to him. ‘Doctor! On this mosaic, there’s a –’
The skinny man turned, revealing what he’d been looking at. Kate felt a thrill run through her. The man was nothing like the shadowy shape she’d seen in the visions
, but she knew somehow that he was the same person.
And the object he’d been looking at – it uplifted her, called to her.
She longed to run towards it, embrace it, but she knew the Doctor was dangerous. This game would have to be played with that wonderful cunning.
Rose had stopped dead at the sight of it. ‘It’s impossible. They all died.’
The Doctor came towards her, took her arm. ‘Yeah. They all did.
Even this one. Dead. Like all the others.’
Kate felt she had to say something. ‘What is it?’ she asked, trying her best to appear dumb and ordinary.
The Doctor looked her over. ‘Oh, great, we’re back to the questions.
Knew that wouldn’t last.’ He turned to Rose. ‘Who is this?’
Rose couldn’t take her eyes off the object. ‘You sure it’s dead?’
25
‘Are you?’ he asked gently. ‘You looked into the time vortex. You used its power. You destroyed them all. You’re not saying you missed a bit?’
Rose blinked, as if she was trying to remember something hidden from her. Then she smiled. ‘No, I got them all. And I’m not sorry I did.’
‘So,’ said the Doctor. ‘Your friend. . . ?’
He nodded over to Kate. Kate nodded back. The part of her that was still Kate found him rather attractive.
‘Yeah,’ said Rose. ‘She’s called Kate. And there’s something else, something really weird about her.’
The Doctor nodded. ‘Nice to meet you, Kate.’ Then he turned back to Rose, ignoring her. ‘Rose, I’ve got one chance to do this. I’ve got to take it to bits, then we’ll dump it somewhere. There’s a lovely black hole in the galaxy Casta Pizellus that’ll do very nicely. I can’t risk taking it into the TARDIS intact.’
‘It’s dead, though,’ said Rose. ‘Isn’t it?’
‘There’s an old saying,’ said the Doctor, ‘dates from about 4000:
“Never turn your back on a dead Dalek.” The casings were full of booby traps. There’s a slight chance there are still virus transmitters in the shell. They could latch on to the TARDIS’s power systems.’
‘What, and bring it back to life?’
‘No, but they could take over the TARDIS computer. Like nasty computer viruses. Less than a chance in a trillion. But, come on, with our luck are we gonna risk that?’
Rose looked back at Kate. ‘But –’
‘Please. Five minutes and I’ll be finished. It can’t be as important as this.’
He walked back to the thing – Dalek, he had called it. Kate had never heard that word before, but it caused a deep feeling of satisfaction within her strange new mind.
As the Doctor ran a long metal tube inside the casing and chattered on to Rose, Kate walked round slowly to the other side. She put on an innocent, curious face.
26
‘Must have crashed and burnt here thousands of years ago, fleeing the Time War,’ the Doctor was telling Rose. ‘The Romans dug it up, put it on show in their villa. An antique, something to talk about at dinner parties. “Peel me a grape, Marcus, and have a look at what I’ve got." Then it got thrown down here. And today someone digs it up again.’
‘After that long, how could a computer virus or whatever survive?’
asked Rose.
‘Probably all wiped out when it crashed,’ said the Doctor. ‘But I know about Daleks. They always, always had something you never knew about. . . ’
He looked up to see Kate reaching out, stretching her fingers into the casing, reaching for the spaghetti-like mass of connections.
Tiny glowing filaments, like strands of sparkling green glue, were flowing from her fingertips into the Dalek.
27
CHAPTER SIX
THE DOCTOR PUT HIS head down and charged at Kate like a bull, knocking her to the ground beneath him.
Rose stared at the Dalek casing, instinctively backing away.
A
faint green glow remained, shining up from the empty main section.
‘What’s she done?’
The Doctor got up and smacked his fist against his forehead, hard.
‘Why didn’t I listen to you? Tell me everything!’
So Rose quickly told him the story of Kate’s incredible recovery from the accident, all the while watching the dying glow in the Dalek and worrying.
Kate was shaking with fear. The Doctor raised her hand carefully and felt her fingers. ‘Static! There’s some kind of Dalek energy inside her.’
‘But she’s human,’ said Rose.
‘They had a gift for war. New weapons every other day. She was trying to make the machinery in the casing work again. Even without a Dalek inside, the shell is dangerous. It could run on automatic, like a chicken with its head cut off.’
Kate blinked and looked round, confused. ‘What’s happened to me?’
she managed to say.
‘You’ll be all right,’ said the Doctor, but with a confidence Rose had learned to mistrust slightly. ‘She’s a new weapon.’
‘But how?’ Rose pointed to the Dalek. ‘It’s dead!’
The Doctor was thinking. ‘And what if, when it was dying, it sent something out, a genetic imprint? Remember that the Daleks hate the human race. They loathe all other creatures. Why would they even consider mixing their race with another? No mixed marriages for Daleks.’ He shook his head. ‘Perhaps they imprinted the Dalek factor in the human race or tried to. Why?’ He indicated Kate. ‘And thou-29
sands of years later, the imprint’s still there, buried away in her genes.
Something triggered it off today, so she gets strength, intelligence, the power to heal herself.’
The Doctor helped Kate to her feet and steered her away from the Dalek.
Another terrifying thought struck Rose. ‘The Dalek factor,’ she whispered. ‘It could be in me? In everyone?’
‘No. This must be a fluke. Whatever the plan was, it went wrong.
The Dalek got killed. The imprint failed.’
‘How do you know?’
‘If they’d passed the Dalek factor on to the whole of humanity, I think I’d have noticed.’ He handed Kate gently over to Rose. ‘We’ve got to get her away, far away. I’ll sort it out later. There’ll be a way.
The further she gets, the safer she’ll be. What’s she called again?’
‘Kate Yates.’
‘Cruel parents and the Dalek factor. Unlucky girl. Go.’
Rose grabbed Kate round the middle and ran for the lift as fast as possible.
The Doctor returned to the Dalek casing. The green sparkles had faded.
The electronics inside were damaged by age. It was unlikely that Kate had managed to spark them into life, but it was worth making certain.
He waited, thinking over his next move. After a minute, he raised the sonic screwdriver for another check and peered inside.
A greasy green eye blinked up at him. A newly formed Dalek creature, smaller than an adult, was already stretching its slime-coated tentacles towards the connections.
The Doctor leapt back. ‘No,’ he breathed, staggering a little. ‘No.
That’s impossible. . . ’
He hesitated for a second. He knew he had to kill it – and kill it now. Could he?
The casing slammed shut on its hinge with a deafening clang.
The tip of the eye-stalk opened, glowing a bright, healthy blue.
30
The sucker arm started to twitch. The base shifted, freeing itself from the earth that covered it. A croak came from the grating beneath the head. ‘ Aaaaaa. . . ’
The lights on the domed head flickered into life.
The Doctor realised that he had one option left, an option that had served him well on many occasions. He ran to the lift doors and pressed the up button desperately.
Over his shoulder, the Dalek was slowly turning its eye-stalk and sucker arm, moving unsteadily from side to side on its base.
The Doctor kicked the lift doo
rs. ‘Come on!’
He heard the lift settle into position, saw the doors open, ran inside and pushed the up button. The lift doors closed with casual slowness.
Just before they closed completely, the Doctor saw the Dalek moving over the uneven ground of the pit towards him, its base a few inches off the ground.
The lift started going up.
The Dalek reached the closed door of the lift shaft. The socket where its gun had been twitched uselessly. Then its sucker arm reached out to the thick steel where the doors met, forming a cup against it. It tugged.
The doors bulged out. The Dalek pulled at the huge chunk of metal until it was free, then tossed it aside with ease.
It darted into the lift shaft, switched into its anti-gravity mode and started to rise.
The lift was moving up with, it seemed to the Doctor, painful slowness.
He heard a couple of shattering crashes from deep below him and thumped the wall. ‘Come on, come on. . . ’
The Dalek rose up the shaft. Its eye turned to the base of the climbing lift. Its young mind considered.
Slowly it tilted itself backwards. Then its sucker arm extended from the casing. It clamped on to the base of the lift with a metallic clang.
It heaved. Gears crunched and the motor screamed. The Dalek began to drag the lift – and the Doctor – back down.
31
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE LIFT JUDDERED. GEARS screeched.
The Doctor looked up. The ceiling of the lift was made up of four metal plates. He stretched to his fullest height and aimed the sonic screwdriver at them, loosening the massive bolts in the corners. He heard the bolts fall one by one and slide across the floor of the lift.
He steadied himself, then spat on his hands and leapt, knocking the roof of the lift, trying to push one of the panels off to the side. It barely moved.
Below him, he could hear the newborn Dalek croaking.
He took another jump, bashing his palms against the panel. It shifted slightly.
Something rammed into the base of the lift. He looked down. A hole was being ripped in the floor.
Using all his strength, the Doctor jumped again, knocking the panel aside. He jumped a fourth time, gripping the rough edge of the free corner.