Heart of Stone / Death Riders

by BBC

  Rory could see that the track was designed to veer sharply away from the rock wall at the last moment. He could also see that there was a short section of track missing. This was the place. This was the sabotage. Desperately he grabbed more wires and cables and pulled them free, holding on tight with his other hand.

  More sparks, more explosions. A screech of brakes, and the train began to slow. He must have triggered some emergency system, Rory realised.

  But there was no time to celebrate. The sudden slowing of the train was throwing people to the floor. Rory could hear shouts and warnings from the carriages. And he could see that although it was slowing down, the train was still going to leave the rails and hammer into the tunnel wall.

  A few moments earlier, with the help of the other passengers, Amy had finally managed to hurl the Drexxon away from her and across the small carriage.

  The train was plunging downwards, gathering speed.

  ‘Hang on!’ Amy yelled as loud as she could. Somehow she felt this was the moment – maybe it was instinct, or maybe it was the way the Drexxon was laughing as it scampered back to Garvo.

  The two of them – human and alien monkey creature – grabbed hold of the safety rail across the front of one of the seats.

  At the same moment, there was an ear-piercing scream. Amy looked round at the other passengers, but the noise seemed to be coming from outside the train. From under the train.

  ‘Sounds like the brakes,’ someone yelled above the shrieking.

  People were thrown across the carriage, though Garvo and Drexxon were still clinging on tight to their rail. Sparks were spraying from the wheels, raining out and down from the Death Ride like a sparkler on firework’s night.

  Amy found she was laughing. ‘Oh, Rory – you’re a genius. Rory, I love you!’ she shouted.

  But her words were lost in the sound of the brakes and the roar of shattering metal as the train left the broken tracks and smashed headlong into the tunnel wall. Rocks and boulders crashed down on to the Death Ride train. Dust and debris whipped past Amy’s face. It seemed as if the whole tunnel was collapsing as people went flying.

  Then suddenly everything was silent. Cautiously looking up, Amy saw that the Death Ride train was stuck half through the tunnel wall. The engine was out of sight – hanging down into the darkness on the other side of the wall the train had smashed through. Into the vault that Perpetual Pete had hidden and protected for so long.

  The train creaked as the weight of the engine dragged it slowly forwards, into the darkness.

  ‘Rory!’ Amy yelled.

  But there was no answer.

  CHAPTER 15

  MUSICAL KEY

  The train was rocking gently back and forth, creaking. Slowly, it inched forwards, into the black hole in the tunnel wall as the weight of the engine dragged the other carriages along the broken tracks.

  Amy’s thoughts were on Rory. But as the people around her picked themselves up and she saw the tear-stained, frightened faces of several children, she realised she had a greater priority.

  ‘We have to get off this thing,’ she said. ‘It could slip forwards and into that hole at any moment.’

  ‘If the scaffolding underneath us doesn’t collapse first,’ someone added.

  As soon as he spoke, there was a worrying creak from below, followed by a clatter of falling metal. Then the back of the carriage dropped abruptly by several metres.

  Then there was another sound. A sad music that hung in the air.

  ‘No!’ Amy yelled.

  In her worry about Rory and the other passengers on the Death Ride she had forgotten about Garvo and Drexxon. Garvo had the mouth organ to his lips and was playing what had to be the opening code for the Perpetuity Chamber.

  Amy hurled herself across the carriage, desperate to knock the harmonica from Garvo’s grasp. But the Drexxon leaped towards her, claws out and teeth bared. Its small furry face was twisted into a mask of triumph.

  The haunting melody continued to fill the air.

  Amy managed to stop herself. The Drexxon was inches from her face, the leash attaching it to Garvo’s wrist was tight, so it couldn’t get any closer to Amy. But equally, Amy couldn’t get to Garvo. She couldn’t stop him from playing the opening code.

  There was another sound now – a wrenching, scraping of metal. But it wasn’t coming from the train or the scaffolding. It was coming from inside the dark hole in the tunnel wall. Light flickered inside, throwing monstrous shadows on to the walls of the tunnel nearby.

  The Perpetuity Chamber was opening.

  When the Death Ride smashed through the tunnel wall – and breached the hidden vault – Rory was thrown forwards. He found himself lying on the control panel he had been desperately working at. Sparks erupted from it all around him. Somehow the panel had become the floor.

  It took him a while to work out that the engine was hanging down through the hole in the tunnel wall. Above him he could see the first carriage teetering on the brink. Flickering light illuminated the broken metal edge of what must be the vault.

  But the light wasn’t coming from the sparks, or even the slight glow of the tunnel walls outside the vault.

  As his ears recovered from the tremendous noise of the crash, Rory realised he could hear something else. A wrenching, scraping of metal was coming from below him. The whole engine was swinging slightly. The tiniest movement could send it falling. Gently and carefully, Rory twisted so he could peer cautiously over the edge of the panel and down into the darkness.

  Except, it wasn’t darkness. There was light down there – a flickering light that shone through a crack in the ground. As Rory watched, the crack began to widen. It was slowly pulling apart. From somewhere above he could now just make out the haunting sound of music – of Garvo’s harmonica.

  And in response, the ground was splitting open.

  The Perpetuity Chamber was opening.

  Rory pulled back, afraid of what he might see. The engine rocked and trembled ominously beneath him, slipping a few centimetres towards the ground. Somehow, Rory managed to stand up. Reaching above his head, and standing on tiptoe, he still couldn’t reach the ragged edge of the broken tunnel wall. There was only one thing for it – he would have to climb up the engine, and into the carriage above.

  But could he do that without falling? Could he do it without his weight dragging the carriage after the engine into the Vault as well? He could see dark shapes looking down at him now – was one of them Amy? He hardly dared hope she was all right.

  The thought she might be hurt, that there would be people injured who he could help if only he could get to them, spurred Rory into action. He grabbed hold of the twisted side of the engine and hauled himself up. Bit by bit he managed to climb up towards the ragged hole above. Almost there …

  He reached out and grabbed the rough edge of the hole in the tunnel with one hand. Then the other. He pushed off with his toes, trying to get a better grip – and found himself swinging from the rock. He could feel it crumbling under his hands as he desperately pulled himself up. If he fell now, he would plunge down into the Perpetuity Chamber below.

  Despite himself, despite knowing he didn’t want to see, Rory looked down into the growing light. What he saw almost made him lose his grip entirely. Then he redoubled his efforts to climb up and out, breathing heavily, straining every muscle, fighting to keep his panic under control.

  The ground had split wide open. Brilliant white light was pouring out of the open Chamber. And out of the light came darkness. Black shapes were hauling themselves up and out of the ground, just as Rory was trying to escape through the opening into the tunnel above him.

  Massive paws with claws the size of large tent pegs slashed at the sides of the tunnel as the enormous creatures emerged. Their dark matted fur glistened with oily slime. Teeth like tombstones snapped together hungrily. The Drexxons were coming …

  The Doctor’s hand froze in mid air as he conducted. He was walking backwards down th
e tunnels, glancing over his shoulder to check he wasn’t going to walk into the wall or anything daft as he followed Perpetual Pete. The sound of the crash echoed down the tunnels. For a moment, the entire orchestra stopped playing.

  ‘Not good,’ the Doctor said as the noise died away.

  ‘The automated mining equipment should be there any moment if it hasn’t already arrived,’ Perpetual Pete said. ‘It’s trained for rescue and recovery.’

  The faintest sound of a harmonica lingered in the air before the Doctor said: ‘Is it trained to hold off an angry horde of Drexxons?’

  Pete shook his head grimly. ‘You’ll need an army for that.’

  ‘Or a do-it-yourself orchestra,’ the Doctor said. He raised his sonic screwdriver baton again. ‘Right, everyone – once more, from the top, with feeling.’

  Amy reached down to grab Rory’s shoulders, and with the help of a couple of other passengers heaved him into the carriage. He tumbled forwards and lay gasping for a moment. Then he leaped to his feet.

  ‘Those things are coming. They’ve got out,’ he said urgently.

  ‘I couldn’t stop Garvo playing the music code,’ Amy admitted.

  Behind them, the small Drexxon snapped its teeth and clicked its claws, raking them through the air in triumph.

  ‘Yeah,’ Rory said. ‘See what you mean. And it’s too late now. We have to get out of this thing. Anyone hurt?’

  Red flashing lights shone up from the tunnel below. Looking down, Amy could see vehicles manoeuvring into position. A ladder extended from the top of one of them, thrusting up towards the Death Ride.

  ‘Help’s arrived,’ she said.

  But Rory was watching the Drexxon and Garvo hurrying to the hole in the tunnel.

  ‘They’re getting away!’ Amy realised as the small creature leaped through the hole.

  ‘Let them,’ Rory told her. ‘What can they do?’

  Almost immediately, they found out. The throbbing of the train’s engine started up again. The whole Death Ride lurched forwards, towards the hole.

  ‘They’ve started the engine. They’re dragging us in!’ Amy said.

  ‘The engine must power the wheels of all the carriages,’ Rory realised.

  ‘What is it with boys and trains? Not interested,’ Amy told him. ‘Only interested in getting everyone off this ride. OK?’

  ‘OK.’

  The train was a twisted wreck, wheels snagged on the rails, carriages torn and damaged. But the engine was so powerful that it was dragging the wreckage slowly but surely towards the hole. The front carriage was lurching forwards, tipping into the void.

  Amy and Rory helped everyone climb back into the next carriage. The ladders from the robot mining equipment could reach the carriages further back that had fallen lower as the scaffolding collapsed. It was still supporting them, just. But the whole structure was creaking and bending.

  Luckily, most of the injuries seemed to be just cuts and bruises. Many of the passengers were in shock. But getting them off the ride was the first priority. Rory managed to make a sling for a boy with a broken arm, using someone else’s coat. A woman who couldn’t move her leg or feel her toes had to be carried by two of the stronger men …

  The train continued to lurch slowly forwards, making the evacuation difficult and hazardous. But finally Amy and Rory were the last two people to climb down the ladder.

  ‘We made it,’ Rory said, laughing with relief. ‘We all made it.’

  Amy stopped a few rungs above him, suddenly overcome by a terrible realisation.

  Rory could see it in her expression as she looked down at him. ‘What is it?’

  ‘We didn’t all make it,’ Amy said. ‘Garvo’s still there. He’s still attached to Drexxon, still under the creature’s control.’

  ‘So, what can we do?’

  Amy came to a decision. ‘I’m going back for him,’ she said. And she started back up the ladder to the Death Ride train as it lurched forwards again – towards the drop into the Perpetuity Chamber and the vicious Drexxons clambering out of it.

  CHAPTER 16

  THE AWAKENING

  Various automated vehicles were already in position around the damaged scaffolding. Ladders had extended upwards and allowed the passengers to climb down. The whole structure creaked and groaned, and the Death Ride train lurched forwards towards the hole torn in the tunnel wall.

  ‘Are we too late?’ Perpetual Pete wondered.

  Light was spilling out from the hole in the tunnel wall – blindingly white light. Silhouetted against the light was a tiny figure.

  ‘That’s Amy,’ the Doctor realised, as the figure disappeared through the hole in the wall. ‘What’s she doing?’

  Pete was shielding his eyes from the glare. ‘Your friend Rory, too,’ he pointed out.

  Another dark figure, tiny at this distance, was clambering along the wreckage of the train.

  ‘The Perpetuity Chamber is already open,’ the Doctor said. ‘We can’t allow any of the Drexxons out before we close it up again. But we can stop it opening any further.’

  ‘I’ll get your friends out of there and see if it’s safe to close the chamber,’ Pete said.

  The Doctor thanked him, and turned back to his orchestra. ‘Right – slight change of plan. Jerusalem!’

  ‘There’s no need for language, Doctor,’ Pete told him sternly. ‘Especially in front of the children.’

  ‘No no no – I want the orchestra to play the music Jerusalem.’

  But Pete had already gone, hurrying towards one of the robot mining machines that had a flat metal platform attached to the end of a long, flexible, jointed arm.

  Amy lowered herself down through the hole in the tunnel wall and towards the bright light. She could see vague shapes in the brilliance – dark smudges that were rising up towards her. Indistinct, but terrifying. She could hear the hungry snarls and roars of the fully grown Drexxons as they climbed out of the Perpetuity Chamber and sensed freedom after their centuries of imprisonment.

  Her eyes slowly adjusted to the bright light, and she could make out the shapes of Garvo and the small, original Drexxon. Everything was tilted and moving. The engine was hanging down into the vault. As Amy tried to climb down, the whole of the front carriage she was on shifted, and fell. It plummeted for several stomach-churning seconds before jolting to a stop.

  Amy was thrown forwards, down into the engine. She slammed into the control panel, which was now, in effect, the floor. Sparks shot past her and the whole train rocked forwards again. Painfully, she pulled herself to her feet, feeling the entire train tremble with her every movement.

  She had barely got her balance when Garvo appeared in front of Amy.

  ‘You’re too late,’ he hissed. ‘The vault has been breached and the Chamber is open!’

  ‘So why are you still trying to move the train?’ Amy demanded, ducking out of the way of the blow that Garvo aimed at her.

  ‘The Drexxons are free! After countless years, they are free again. And they are hungry!’

  Amy sidestepped another swipe. The small Drexxon was also grabbing for her. There wasn’t much room to get away from them in the cramped, upended engine.

  ‘So, what do Drexxons eat?’ Even as she asked the question, Amy was afraid she could guess the answer. She was right.

  ‘People!’ Garvo said.

  ‘Well, that’s a shame, because me and Rory got everyone off the ride. So I guess they’ll only eat you.’

  Garvo’s hand whipped out and grabbed Amy’s shoulder, clutching it painfully tight. ‘And you,’ he said.

  Close beside him, the Drexxon snickered with amusement.

  ‘Not if I can help it,’ Amy gasped.

  Although Garvo was holding her tight, that also meant that Amy could reach the leash that ran from his wrist to the Drexxon. Ignoring the pain in her shoulder, she grabbed the leash and wrenched it as hard as she could. The leash snapped with a crack like a gunshot.

  Immediately, Garvo’s grip loos
ened and, with a wail, he sank to his knees, supporting himself by still holding less tightly to Amy’s shoulder.

  She grabbed him under the arm. ‘Come on – let’s get you out of here.’

  But Garvo was a dead weight. He seemed to have fainted. And there was no way Amy could carry him, let alone climb out of the engine, across the next carriage and up through the hole in the tunnel to safety.

  The bright light seemed to dim as the dark mass of a huge Drexxon reached the level of the engine as it clawed and climbed its way up out of the Perpetuity Chamber. A massive paw reached out towards Amy and Garvo.

  Rory stumbled back towards the hole in the tunnel wall. The light was getting brighter. But huge shadows were cast across the rock face – the shadows of the approaching Drexxons.

  ‘Amy – come back!’ he yelled. But his words were lost in the screech of protesting metal as the Death Ride train slid forwards again. ‘Or at least wait for me,’ he muttered, as he tried to keep his balance.

  ‘Need any help there, young fella?’

  Rory stumbled to a halt in astonishment. Perpetual Pete was standing beside the carriage. Not in it, but beside it.

  ‘Only, you look like you need help to me.’

  Rory just stared. Pete was standing in what ought to be mid air. ‘How are you doing that?’

  Perpetual Pete laughed. Somewhere in the middle, he burped loudly. ‘Step aboard and find out. But make it quick – we need to rescue Amy.’

  Amy threw herself backwards, dragging Garvo’s unconscious body with her. The massive Drexxon paw slashed through the empty air where they had just been.

  ‘You having fun?’ Rory asked.

  Amy stared up at him. He seemed to be standing in mid air, beside the engine.

  ‘Don’t just lie there gawping,’ Perpetual Pete said. He was standing next to Rory, holding what looked like a TV remote control.