by BBC
‘Not that kind of monster, silly,’ laughed Amy.
‘Anyway – it’s breakfast,’ Rory protested, munching on another biscuit.
‘Breakfast?’ queried Jess. She was peering into the oven, where a large pot was simmering. ‘It’s nearly time for dinner.’
‘It’s hard to keep track of time where we come from,’ explained Amy. ‘That smells good, though. What’s cooking?’
‘Lamb stew,’ smiled Jess. ‘Don’t worry, there’s enough for everyone.’
‘Oh, no, we’re not staying –’ Amy said, but the Doctor interrupted her with a loud exclamation.
‘Look at this!’ The Doctor shut down his sonic screwdriver with a satisfied click. ‘Definitely moon rock,’ he announced. ‘High concentrations of anorthite, pyroxene, mare basalts and titanium. And lots of armalcolite – a new and unique mineral named after the crew of Apollo 11: Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins. So – without a doubt, moon rock.’
‘But how can that be?’ asked Rory, reaching for another chocolate digestive. ‘I mean, all the way here from the moon… ?’
‘Did it come down in a meteorite or something?’ wondered Amy.
‘Meteorite?’ queried Jess.
‘Yeah, you know …’ said the Doctor, sitting back and folding his arms. His gaze never left the moon rock, however. ‘Lumps of iron, rock, bits and pieces and what-have-you, flying through space and falling into Earth’s gravitational pull.’
‘So you mean it could be a chunk of the moon that’s actually fallen to Earth?’
The Doctor pursed his lips. ‘Doubt it. Most meteors burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. Very few reach the ground – and if they do, then they’re big enough to cause a heck of a lot of damage.’
‘There is a lot of damage,’ Jess pointed out.
The Doctor was still staring at the rock. ‘If a meteorite this big had survived the trip through the atmosphere and landed in your front yard, then the whole farm would have been flattened.’
‘Oh. I see.’
‘There has to be another explanation.’
‘Such as?’ asked Amy.
The Doctor didn’t reply. Instead, he simply picked up the moon rock and dashed out of the kitchen.
When the others caught up, he was standing in the middle of the yard holding his sonic screwdriver aloft. The tip glowed green as he waved it about.
‘What is that thing?’ wondered Jess.
‘Sonic screwdriver,’ explained Rory, trying to sound like an expert. ‘But it does a lot more than just … driving screws.’
The Doctor wheeled around the yard with the sonic, pausing occasionally to check the readings. Eventually he shoved it back into his jacket pocket and harrumphed. ‘No sign of any alien spacecraft technology, teleport beam or quantum link. It’s a complete mystery.’ He sounded insulted, as if nothing had any right to be a complete mystery to him.
‘Well something must have brought it here,’ insisted Amy.
The Doctor tossed the moon rock from hand to hand, wondering. Then he wandered over to where Ralph Conway was still working on the wall. ‘How’s it going, Mr Conway?’
Ralph straightened up, wincing slightly and holding his back. ‘Just about done,’ he rumbled. ‘It’ll have to do for now, at least.’
The Doctor surveyed the repair work. You could see quite easily where the moon rocks had been used to fill in the hole, but it was a remarkably good job, nonetheless. ‘You’ve had to use a lot of moon stone,’ the Doctor observed. ‘And yet it all seems to fit together quite nicely.’
‘Well, that’s the strangest thing,’ agreed Ralph. ‘I’ve no idea what happened to the rest of the wall, but those rocks you say come from the moon seemed to do the trick all right. It’s a case of having to make do and mend, Doctor.’
‘You’ve missed a bit,’ noted Rory, joining them. He pointed to a hole the size of his fist on the top edge of the wall.
‘No, he hasn’t,’ said the Doctor. He darted forward and placed the moon rock he still had in his hand in the space. It fitted perfectly.
‘Well, I’ll be …’ Ralph Conway took off his cap and scratched his head.
‘That was lucky,’ laughed Rory.
‘Nothing to do with luck, Rory.’ The Doctor was pacing up and down the wall, rubbing his fingers together as he inspected the wall. ‘Dry stone wall, remember. Every piece has a place. These moon rocks are all the exact size and shape necessary to repair the wall.’
Rory frowned. ‘But that’s impossible – isn’t it?’
The Doctor looked up at him, his eyes gleaming. ‘No more impossible than finding chunks of the moon on this farm in the first place.’
CHAPTER 3
THE FIRST VISITOR
The Doctor was examining the area all around the wall, front and back, when a sleek red sports car pulled in through the gates and stopped in the middle of the yard with a cheery growl of its exhaust.
Jess walked over to the car, a look of pure delight on her face.
The driver climbed nimbly out of the car, equally happy. He was tall, smooth-faced and good-looking. He wore wire-framed glasses and was dressed in clean corduroy trousers and a fashionable sports jacket. ‘Hi there, sweetheart,’ he said, embracing Jess warmly.
‘Who’s the lucky fella?’ asked Amy.
Jess led the man over. ‘This is Chris,’ she said, introducing Amy and Rory. ‘My fiancé.’
‘Hey – Amy and I were engaged once,’ said Rory with a smile. ‘We’re married now, though. Mr and Mrs Pond!’
‘Great to meet you,’ said Chris, shaking hands. ‘I hope I’m not intruding on anything?’
‘No, we’re just passing through,’ Amy assured him.
‘But they’re staying for dinner with us,’ Jess said. ‘I insist. There’s plenty for everyone!’
Chris was still smiling broadly, but Amy thought she could detect a slight frown above his eyes. It was almost as if there was something on his mind that he wanted to tell Jess, but would have to keep to himself for now.
‘That’s great,’ Chris was saying. ‘The more the merrier.’
‘Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes,’ Jess told them. ‘Time for Dad to get cleaned up at least.’
Ralph Conway was standing by the wall with the Doctor. They were both examining a rock in minute detail, the Doctor’s fingers wiggling over it as he talked about the geology of the moon. When he heard Jess call him, Ralph looked up. He nodded at Chris, but there was no smile. Chris waved back and then followed Jess into the farmhouse with Rory and Amy.
‘Trouble?’ wondered the Doctor. He had noticed the way Ralph’s lips had tightened in disapproval when his daughter’s fiancé had arrived.
‘Who knows?’ Ralph replied.
The Doctor shrugged. ‘None of my business, but I can’t help noticing that you don’t seem too happy to see that young lad.’
Ralph raised an eyebrow, amused by the Doctor’s description of Chris as a young lad. The Doctor didn’t look any older than Chris himself. ‘You’re right …’ Ralph grumbled. ‘It isn’t any of your business.’
‘But you don’t approve of him?’
‘Jess is my only daughter. I don’t want her hurt.’
‘You think that might happen?’
Ralph sighed heavily. ‘Chris Jenkins is not from around here, Doctor. He’s all right in himself – but he’s not a country man, if you know what I mean.’
‘Ah,’ said the Doctor. ‘A townie?’
‘He doesn’t understand farming. And that’s all Jess has ever known.’
‘She’s young. She’ll learn.’
‘That’s what worries me.’
CHAPTER 4
DINNER TIME
Dinner was a lively affair, with an excellent lamb stew served with new potatoes garnished with mint. Everyone agreed that Jess had done an excellent job. Even Ralph Conway looked content. If he disapproved of Jess’s boyfriend, then he made every effort not to show it during the meal.
They talke
d about the weather and the farm and Percy the pregnant pig. But the conversation turned eventually, and naturally, to the disturbance of the previous night, the broken wall and, of course, the strange appearance of the moon rocks.
Chris Jenkins was doubtful. ‘Moon rock? I mean, really?’
‘That’s what the Doctor says,’ Amy replied, sipping her coffee. She held the mug cupped in both hands for warmth. Rory’s arm was around her shoulder.
Chris looked at the Doctor. ‘Are you qualified to make that pronouncement?’
‘Oh, yes,’ the Doctor said. ‘Extremely very qualified. And the sonic screwdriver never lies.’
‘But the whole idea is absurd,’ Chris insisted.
‘Are you qualified to make that pronouncement?’
‘As a matter of fact, I am,’ Chris replied evenly. ‘I’m a research technician at Henson Labs. I specialise in geochemistry and I’ve made quite a study of moon rock.’
‘You never told me that,’ said Jess.
Chris shrugged. ‘You know I don’t like to talk about my work too much. But the Apollo space missions brought back over 380kg of rock samples from the moon landings in the 1970s.’
‘Wow,’ said Rory. ‘And you’ve seen them?’
‘We were lent some samples once. I had to make a study of the cosmic ray and radiation history of the mineral content.’ Chris’s face broke into a smile. ‘It was pretty boring, to be honest. But I have actually handled moon rock, and not many people can say that.’
‘That’s true,’ said the Doctor.
‘We could only touch them using gloves and special tools, though,’ Chris continued. ‘And the security was amazing. Did you know that moon rock is one of the most valuable substances on the planet?’
‘Because it’s so rare, I expect,’ said Jess.
‘Not so rare anymore,’ said Amy drily.
‘NASA still holds most of the samples,’ Chris said. ‘But many pieces were given away as presents by the US government to foreign countries. Moon rock is rarer than diamonds. Sometimes pieces are sold illegally on the black market at hugely inflated prices – but more often than not they’re fakes.’
‘How long ago was this?’ asked the Doctor.‘When you worked on the moon samples, I mean.’
‘Erm – a few years ago. We’re currently studying the effects of UV light on lava and ash samples from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland.’
‘You should check some of the moon samples we have here,’ suggested Rory. ‘Could be useful.’
Chris shook his head. ‘I don’t think so. For one thing, I can’t give permission to use the lab facilities. And anyway, I doubt very much that it is actual moon rock out there.’
‘Well, it is,’ the Doctor said.
Chris shook his head, clearly reaching the conclusion that the Doctor was talking rubbish. ‘It’s nonsense, really.’
‘Is it possible there could be a mistake?’ wondered Jess, trying to balance both sides of the argument. ‘You’ve got to admit, Doctor, that there’s no logical reason why there would be lumps of the moon scattered around our farm.’
‘I’d like to run some more tests on the rocks,’ the Doctor admitted. ‘I might know more then.’
‘Sorry I can’t help,’ said Chris. ‘I mean, even if I was allowed, I couldn’t do it. We’re mad busy at the lab with the volcanic ash. Worked off our feet.’
‘Not hard work, though, is it?’ said Ralph Conway. He had been quiet for most of the meal, preferring to concentrate on eating instead of talking. He had been brought up in a strict family, where no one was even allowed to speak during meal times.
‘Oh, dad …’ Jess started. ‘Just because it’s not farm work …’
‘No, it’s OK,’ said Chris. ‘I understand. I don’t do much physical work in my job. It’s all up here.’ He tapped his forehead. ‘But I do keep myself fit. I go to the gym three times a week.’
‘Hmm,’ said Ralph, wiping his lips on a napkin. He clearly wasn’t impressed. He got up from the table and excused himself, preferring not to go to bed too late. ‘Farm chores start early,’ he grumbled.
‘Do you think there might be any more disturbances during the night?’ asked Jess. ‘Meteorites or crashing lorries or whatever?’
‘I doubt it!’ laughed Chris.
The Doctor stood up and looked directly at Chris. ‘I’m positively counting on it.’
CHAPTER 5
THE UNINVITED GUEST
The Doctor stepped outside and drew a deep breath. It was cold and dark. He looked up at the night sky, searching out familiar stars and constellations through the gaps in the clouds.
It always paid to check that everything was as it should be.
The moon glowed softly.
The Doctor frowned slightly. How could bits of the moon suddenly end up all the way down here, on Earth? And how could they match the size and shape of the stones in Ralph Conway’s wall? And why was Chris Jenkins so touchy about the whole subject of moon rock?
The Doctor’s lips twitched into a smile. He loved a good mystery.
He retrieved the stone from the wall where he had placed it earlier and set off towards the TARDIS. He had instruments on-board that could tell him a lot more about the origin and structure of the moon rock in his hand.
As he walked up the hill towards the pigsty, a dark cloud drifted across the face of the moon and plunged the farm into an eerie darkness. It may only have been the Doctor’s imagination, but it seemed to grow suddenly colder.
And there was a strange feeling in the air, a kind of tension, like the calm just before a storm broke.
The TARDIS windows were shining brightly in the darkness, and the Doctor hurried on.
In the farmhouse kitchen, Amy was helping Jess clear the dirty plates from the table, while Rory and Chris loaded them into the dishwasher.
‘So, how did you two meet?’ Rory asked. He liked Chris. He seemed decent, if a little overconfident, but Rory didn’t mind that.
‘Market day,’ Chris replied. He smiled at Jess. ‘Our eyes met across a herd of cows, and it was love at first sight.’
‘Yeah, right,’ said Jess ruefully. She scraped some leftovers into a recycling bucket. The pigs would get that later. ‘As I remember, Chris stood in a fresh cow pat and blamed me for it.’
Amy laughed. ‘Blamed you?’
‘It came from one of her cows,’ argued Chris.
Jess sighed. It was clearly a well-worn story. ‘He was in a suit, with brand-new shoes. I helped clean him up. Things just went on from there.’
‘So, I suppose I’ve got plenty to thank the silly cow for,’ Chris said, and they both laughed.
With the dishwasher fully loaded, Jess made a fresh lot of coffee and asked Rory how he had met Amy.
‘Oh, we knew each other from when we were kids,’ he said, slightly embarrassed.
‘Oh!’ Jess seemed delighted. ‘Childhood sweethearts. And what about the Doctor? Where does he fit in?’
‘Erm, the same, really. Amy’s known him since she was seven. Sort of.’
‘Oh …’ Jess looked a little confused. ‘Well, he’s quite a character. Odd, but in a nice way.’
‘I’ll be sure to tell him that,’ promised Amy with a smile. She picked up her jacket. ‘I’m going up to the TARDIS to see how he’s getting on.’
Rory made to follow, but she shook her head. ‘No, you stay here. Enjoy your coffee. Back soon. See ya!’
Amy shivered as she stepped outside. It was cosy and warm in the farmhouse, but out here it was certainly getting chilly.
She folded her arms tightly and hurried across the yard, heading for the TARDIS. She could see the roof lamp and windows from here, shining out through the night. The sight always gave her a tingle of excitement.
She wondered what the Doctor was up to. She could just imagine him tinkering with the TARDIS control console, fussing around it from panel to panel, checking read-outs and gauges, utterly engrossed in some kind of scientific experiment.
Well, enough of all that, thought Amy. The Doctor could come back and spend some time with ordinary folk, enjoy a cup of coffee, proper conversation. Worry about the moon rocks in the morning.
Amy stepped past the water trough and headed up the slope – just as something huge and powerful suddenly rose up in front of her, right out of the darkness. It filled her vision like a wall of grey stone.
Amy opened her mouth to cry out, but it was too late. The great lump of rock bore down on her like a hammer on an anvil.
CHAPTER 6
ROCK MONSTER
Amy was paralysed with fear for a second. The huge grey figure loomed over her like a statue – but a statue that could move. It was easily two-and-a-half metres tall, and looked as if it had been hewn from a solid lump of granite.
The creature reached towards her and–
The Doctor grabbed Amy and hauled her quickly out of the way.
The rock creature made an angry noise that sounded like a pile of house bricks being dragged across concrete. It turned, slowly but heavily, a pair of dark holes in its lumpy face serving as eyes.
Its hollow stare centred on its prey and it growled again.
‘What is it?’ Amy gasped.
‘No idea,’ replied the Doctor. ‘Saw it on the TARDIS monitor. Look out!’
The creature lashed out heavily. One rock-like fist crashed into a water trough, denting the steel and sending a spray of icy water into the night.
The Doctor and Amy backed away, heading for the farmhouse, just as Jess and Rory came out of it, eyes widening in horror as they saw the creature.
Chris appeared in the kitchen window, a look of shock and terror on his face. In less than a second, he had turned and run into the next room.
‘Back inside!’ ordered the Doctor, rushing straight past Jess and Rory.
Amy followed the Doctor, yelling, ‘Right behind you!’
Rory was about to turn and pelt after them, but a scream from Jess made him pause. The rock monster swung a massive arm, missing Jess by centimetres, but caving in the side of the Land Rover parked outside the house. The door buckled and glass exploded across the yard.