Heart of Stone / Death Riders

by BBC

  Amy was picking up some of the fallen chairs and ornaments. There was moon rock and dust everywhere, but she thought that it probably looked worse than it was. When everything was tidied up, they’d have a clearer idea of just how bad the damage to the farmhouse was.

  The Doctor was thinking aloud. ‘Whatever that rock creature was – oh, what shall we call him? The Rock Man?’

  ‘The Moon Man?’ suggested Rory.

  ‘Moon Monster,’ said Amy.

  ‘Rock Man it is, then. Whatever it actually is, it can transform anything it touches into moon rock. Some kind of sub-atomic virus, I should think. Or maybe quantum electron reversal. Or maybe … ’

  ‘I just want my dad back again,’ interrupted Jess. ‘Back to the way he was.’

  The Doctor pointed a finger at her. ‘Straight to the point. Good. Like that. Yes – but how do we change him back again?’

  ‘We don’t even know how he was changed in the first place,’ Amy said. ‘Or why.’

  ‘Why?’ Jess frowned.

  The Doctor raised his finger. ‘Good point, Amy. Why was the Rock Man changing things into moon stone? I mean, it seems to be unintentional. It didn’t matter what the Rock Man touched, it was all transformed willy-nilly. Wall, car, door, furniture, even Ralph. So it seems to be an accidental side effect – it just can’t help it.’

  ‘Poor thing,’ said Amy drily.

  ‘It means there can’t be any evolutionary purpose to it,’ said the Doctor, thinking aloud. ‘Which means that this creature isn’t natural. It shouldn’t exist …’

  ‘But it does,’ Rory pointed out.

  ‘And this isn’t helping get my dad back to normal,’ Jess said. ‘Isn’t there anything you can do? What about that screwdriver thing?’

  ‘It isn’t a magic wand,’ snapped the Doctor. ‘I can’t just zap him back to normal. We’ve got to think this through.’

  ‘But we’ve got to do something,’ Jess insisted. There was panic in her voice now.

  The Doctor looked closely into her eyes. ‘Jess, I know you’re worried – but trust me. I’ll find a way.’

  Jess’s eyes filled with tears. ‘What if he dies?’

  ‘The molecular transformation is rapid but pretty unstable. If we can find a way to halt the process in time then we can reverse it.’

  ‘And how do we do that?’

  ‘That’s a good question,’ the Doctor admitted. He looked at Rory and Amy. ‘Any suggestions?’

  He was met by blank, fearful looks.

  ‘No?’ The Doctor looked upset for a moment. But then he clapped his hands together and smiled. ‘Right then. All down to me. Hush while I think. Wait – did somebody mention a cup of tea?’

  ‘That would be me,’ said Rory.

  Rory started to move towards the kitchen, but Amy suddenly let out a yelp of alarm. ‘Wait – look!’

  She was pointed at Ralph Conway, still frozen solid in his armchair.

  ‘I thought I saw Mr Conway move.’

  ‘Dad?’ said Jess, bending closer. She peered into the grey, sightless eyes. ‘Dad? Can you hear me?’ she whispered. And then, despairingly: ‘It’s impossible. He’s like a statue.’

  ‘Keep away, Jess,’ said the Doctor firmly.

  ‘But –’

  Rory pulled Jess gently back. ‘Best not to get too close if the Doctor says so.’

  But Rory himself had stepped closer to Ralph’s chair. And in that second they all saw it happen – almost faster than the eye could follow, Ralph’s stone hand leapt out towards Rory.

  CHAPTER 12

  FROZEN

  Ralph’s grey hand closed around Rory’s jacket. Rory tried to pull away, but the grip was like a vice. He struggled and pulled, but there was no getting free.

  And then Rory’s jacket began to turn to stone. It whitened, and the material stiffened –

  ‘Rory!’ Amy screamed.

  In a last, desperate motion, Rory twisted and turned and slipped his arms out of the jacket – just as it completed its transformation into moon rock. Held at arm’s length by Ralph, the jacket immediately began to crack under its own weight. In an instant it fell to bits, scattering across the floor like a piece of dropped china.

  And by now, Ralph was up and moving. He stood stiffly, with an unearthly scrape of rock moving against rock. His head turned slowly to watch Rory as he cowered away, clinging to Amy. The colourless stone eyes seemed to narrow.

  Jess was screaming. The sight of her father turned to stone was bad enough. Seeing him get up and move was almost worse.

  Ralph was utterly blind to her distress. His attention was focused entirely on Rory and Amy.

  The Doctor stepped up behind Ralph and aimed his sonic screwdriver. The tip flashed a brilliant green and a high-pitched whine filled the air, but there seemed to be no effect on the statue-like figure. The Doctor quickly tried several different settings, and eventually the statue’s head twitched around to look at him.

  ‘That’s got your attention,’ said the Doctor.

  With a dull scraping noise, Ralph Conway turned and walked purposefully towards the Doctor.

  ‘That’s right – follow the pretty green light …’ The Doctor backed away, reversing out of the room, back towards the kitchen. He held the sonic screwdriver up, its emerald glow illuminating the darkened farmhouse.

  Ralph followed him with heavy footsteps. The Doctor climbed backwards up a kitchen chair, onto the remains of the table, and out through the smashed doorway.

  Ralph swept aside the wreckage and followed him outside.

  The Doctor was in the farmyard now. Mist curled around his boots as he backed away from the Rock Man.

  In the moonlight, Ralph Conway looked like a grim, white avenger. His pitiless gaze never left the Doctor as he trudged after him.

  The Doctor circled around the farmer’s Land Rover. That, too, resembled a stone carving – having been transformed into moon rock by the original Rock Man.

  The Doctor sidestepped nimbly, putting the Land Rover between himself and Ralph. The farmer banged a stone fist down on the vehicle’s bonnet in annoyance, cracking it like he had a sculptor’s chisel.

  The Doctor guessed it wouldn’t take much for Ralph to smash the Land Rover into bits or just climb over it. He had to do something quickly. With a deft movement, he changed the frequency of the screwdriver again and aimed it squarely at Ralph.

  The sonic screwdriver screamed and Ralph instantly froze.

  ‘You did it!’ Amy cried in relief. They had all followed them out of the house.

  ‘Good old screwdriver,’ said Rory. ‘If you ask me, it is a bit magic.’

  ‘Not magic,’ snapped the Doctor. ‘Just a carefully judged frequency modulation. The sound waves are vibrating the stone to a point where it cannot move. If I adjust the frequency by just one megahertz, the stone will shatter into a million pieces – and it’s goodbye, Ralph.’

  ‘Dad!’ moaned Jess. ‘Oh, Doctor – be careful!’

  ‘I’m being extremely careful.’ The Doctor moved cautiously forward, adjusting his grip on the screwdriver. ‘But I can’t keep him frozen like this all night. Rory, Amy – get some rope, anything you can, and see if you can tie him up.’

  Rory went straight to the Land Rover, expecting to find a tow rope. But the vehicle was solid rock. There was no way to open it – and even then, he thought glumly, the contents might also have turned to stone.

  ‘Try the shed,’ said Amy, heading for the old wooden lean-to built against the farmhouse. Inside there were a number of tools – spades, garden forks, some musty cardboard boxes and a spare hosepipe. Coiled up on a hook was a long, blue, nylon washing line.

  ‘Perfect,’ said the Doctor.

  Amy and Rory set about winding the line around Ralph’s wrists and ankles, stretching it back and forth until he appeared to be caught in a giant, bright blue spider web.

  ‘Be careful,’ the Doctor said. He still had the sonic trained on Ralph. ‘One crack and he could shatte
r.’

  ‘What if he sort of … topples … over?’ Rory asked. ‘Once you switch off the sonic he’s free to move. But he’s all tied up now and he might fall flat on his face.’

  ‘Could be nasty,’ agreed Amy.

  Jess appeared, carrying a long length of heavy chain. She was shaking, tears streaking her face, but she was determined to stop any harm coming to her father. ‘We can use this chain to secure him. If we wrap it around him a few times and then around the Land Rover, it should stop him falling over.’

  They got to work and a little while later, with sore hands covered in rusty smears, they had secured Ralph to the Land Rover. The whole thing looked like some kind of weird modern art sculpture.

  The Doctor clicked the sonic screwdriver off. The sudden silence seemed strange and frightening. Ralph Conway struggled to move – but was held fast by the nylon rope and chains.

  The Doctor walked up to Ralph.

  The Rock Man stared impassively back.

  ‘Can you talk?’ asked the Doctor.

  But there was no reply.

  ‘Might as well be talking to a statue …’ muttered the Doctor.

  The Rock Man continued to stare at the Doctor. Then it turned its head slowly to look at Jess and the others.

  ‘He doesn’t even recognise me,’ said Jess sadly. ‘There’s nothing in his eyes. Just nothing.’

  ‘He’s not your father anymore,’ the Doctor said.

  ‘But can you turn him back again?’

  ‘I don’t know, Jess,’ replied the Doctor honestly. ‘I just don’t know.’

  CHAPTER 13

  SAFETY IN SUNSHINE

  They returned to the kitchen in a grave mood. ‘Just look at this place,’ said Jess despairingly.

  The farmhouse was a wreck. There was broken furniture, crockery and fragments of moon rock everywhere.

  ‘Yes,’ said the Doctor eagerly. ‘Look at this place. Notice everything.’

  ‘I think Jess is a bit upset, Doctor,’ sighed Amy. The Doctor could seem so insensitive at times, it was embarrassing.

  ‘Oh, don’t worry about the farmhouse,’ the Doctor told Jess. ‘Bit of a tidy-up, lick of paint, you won’t notice,’ he ended lamely. ‘Well, OK, maybe it’ll need a bit more than that – but think of it as an opportunity. Maybe it was time you redecorated anyway. I mean, look at that wallpaper …’ The Doctor pulled a disgusted face.

  ‘Not helping, Doctor … ’ whispered Amy.

  Jess was just staring out of the window at her father.

  Ralph Conway continued to pull and twist against his bonds.

  The sky above was turning a strange colour. It was that time of night known as the false dawn – when things appear to be getting lighter, but sunrise is still an hour or so away.

  The Doctor, Amy and Rory were trying to tidy up the mess. Jess didn’t seem interested.

  ‘She’s more concerned about her dad,’ Rory told the Doctor quietly.

  ‘I know. And quite right, too. But still …’ He turned on his heel, letting his sharp gaze wander over the debris in the kitchen. ‘Look at this place. Notice everything. There’s something I’m missing.’

  ‘A clue?’

  ‘It’s not Scooby Doo, Rory.’ Suddenly the Doctor banged the flat of his hand against the side of his head. ‘Think, Doctor, think! Rory – cup of tea. Come on! I need tea to think. And biscuits – plenty of biscuits!’

  Without another word the Doctor stalked out of the kitchen and plonked himself down in one of the armchairs in the living room. Then he closed his eyes and began to snore loudly.

  ‘This is hardly the time for a snooze,’ grumbled Rory.

  ‘I’m thinking,’ replied the Doctor, without opening his eyes.

  ‘And snoring?’

  ‘That’s not snoring – that’s the gears going round in my brain. Now shush and go and make that pot of tea.’

  Rory went back into the kitchen where Amy met him with a frown. ‘This place really is a mess. The Doctor’s right, furniture can be replaced and walls can be repaired – but the dust is awful. It’s absolutely everywhere. Look at my hands!’

  She held them out for Rory to see. They were completely grey.

  ‘Is is safe to touch the dust like that?’ wondered Rory. ‘Shouldn’t you wear gloves or something?’

  ‘The dust itself is completely harmless,’ the Doctor called from his armchair in the other room. He still had his eyes shut.

  ‘But it’s so … sticky,’ said Amy. ‘It gets everywhere and stays there!’

  Suddenly the Doctor leapt out of his seat and catapulted himself into the kitchen. ‘Wait! Did you say it’s sticky?’

  He grabbed Amy’s wrists and inspected her hands closely. ‘Well, not sticky,’ she said. ‘Not sticky like a sweet or a lollipop is sticky. But it just sort of gets everywhere and coats everything …’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ said the Doctor, turning her hands this way and that.

  Then he dropped to all fours and hunted around for some dust of his own. There was plenty. In another moment he was rubbing some of the fine grey dust between his own finger and thumb.

  ‘Is there a problem?’ wondered Jess.

  The Doctor licked a finger and smacked his lips. ‘Definitely moon dust. And yet … ’

  ‘I can’t make a cup of tea with this,’ complained Rory, holding up the kettle. ‘It’s covered in dust and it won’t even rinse off.’

  ‘That’s it!’ exclaimed the Doctor, leaping to his feet. He snatched the kettle from Rory. ‘The dust is electrostatic. It carries a tiny, tiny electrical charge. Enough for each particle to be attracted to anything else nearby. I mean, moon dust – it’s famous for it. How could I forget?’

  ‘Perhaps you’re not perfect after all?’ Rory suggested gently.

  The Doctor shot him a look. ‘Don’t be silly. Electrostatic dust. The astronauts on the Apollo missions had a terrible time with it. Got absolutely everywhere. Stuck to their boots, the joints on their spacesuits, moving parts on the lunar rovers. Nightmare.’

  ‘But what does it mean?’ asked Amy. ‘We already know it’s moon dust, after all. Comes from the moon rock, which is pretty much everywhere around here at the moment.’

  The Doctor peered at her. ‘Yes. Yes it is, isn’t it?’

  ‘So, what … ?’ Rory prompted, taking the kettle back.

  ‘Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?’ replied the Doctor with a curious smile.

  ‘Wonder what?’

  ‘If it’s an invasion.’

  ‘If what’s an invasion?’

  ‘All this!’ the Doctor gestured grandly around them at the farmhouse wreckage. ‘Perhaps this is some kind of alien invasion.’

  ‘Oh, you’d love that, wouldn’t you?’ Amy said.

  ‘No, wait, it can’t be,’ the Doctor said, suddenly changing his mind. His face fell. ‘Pity though. At least then I’d know what was happening.’

  ‘If it was an alien invasion,’ said Rory, ‘then they’d need to set their sights a little higher, wouldn’t you say? I mean, no disrespect to Jess and her dad, but invading a small farm in the middle of England isn’t exactly Independence Day all over again, is it?’

  ‘Don’t forget War of the Worlds started on Horsell Common – at least it did in the original HG Wells book.’

  ‘Yeah, but that was just a story.’

  The Doctor frowned. ‘Was it?’

  Rory looked doubtful. ‘Well, yeah, At least I thought it was.’ Living with the Doctor meant that he was now prepared to believe in almost anything.

  The Doctor broke into a grin. ‘Yeah, course it was a story. Only joking. Old HG Wells loved a good joke. Met him once, you know.’

  ‘Really?’ Rory was impressed. ‘What was he like?’

  ‘Bit of a pain to be honest. Gave him a few ideas for The Time Machine though.’

  ‘I bet you did.’

  ‘On the other hand,’ the Doctor went on, ‘Independence Day actually did happen – but not until 2109 your ti
me.’

  ‘Oh.’ Rory was frowning now. He never knew when the Doctor was pulling his leg.

  ‘Doctor – look at this!’ Jess was by the kitchen window. She pointed to where the Land Rover and her father stood outside, still bound by chains and washing line.

  They gathered at the window. The sun was just coming up, sending rays of deep orange light across the dawn sky.

  As the morning light touched the stone Ralph Conway, he seemed to flinch slightly.

  ‘It’s almost like the sunlight’s hurting him,’ said Jess.

  ‘Not hurting him,’ the Doctor said. ‘Changing him. Look!’

  Ralph had been struggling against his bonds. But now, as the first golden light of the new day touched his stone features, the man stopped moving. In minutes he was as lifeless as any statue.

  The Doctor was already running out into the yard for a closer look. He circled around Ralph, watching for the slightest sign of movement.

  Eventually, cautiously, he drew closer. Ralph didn’t move.

  The other joined him. ‘Is he safe to be near?’ asked Rory.

  ‘Perfectly,’ beamed the Doctor. ‘It all makes sense now.’

  ‘It does?’ Jess didn’t seem sure.

  ‘Negative electrostatics,’ nodded the Doctor.

  ‘That’s easy for you to say,’ Rory smiled.

  ‘It’s a bit of a mouthful but that’s how it works,’ the Doctor replied. ‘That’s how the Rock Man can move around – and how Ralph can still move, even though he’s made of stone. But ultraviolet light – such as sunshine – cancels the effect. Freezes the atoms where they are, so the thing’s completely motionless.’ The Doctor rapped his knuckles on Ralph’s forehead.

  ‘Hey,’ said Jess. ‘That’s my dad you’re tapping on the head.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘You called him a “thing”.’

  ‘Sorry. Won’t happen again.’

  ‘Did you say ultraviolet light?’ said Rory slowly. He was puzzling over something.

  ‘Yeah. Sunlight. UV rays bombard the moon rock and –’ the Doctor made a curious wriggling motion in the air with his fingers ‘phhzzzzp! Something amazing happens. But it means the Rock Men can only be active at night. During the day they’re harmless.’