Free Doctor Who: The Twin Dilemma by Eric Saward Page B

buried bone.
    Quickly, he demolished the pile and Peri could see there was a metal trap door set into the ground. How the Doctor knew it was there Peri would never know, but what was beneath it she was about to find out.
    Brushing the last of the grey dust from a small panel set into the trap door, the Doctor felt round its edge and seemed to flick something. Instantly the tiny panel popped open and the Time Lord pressed a sequence of buttons housed in the cavity beneath it.
    Slowly, stiffly, painfully, the heavy metal sheet slid back on rusty runners to reveal a dimly lit passage below.
    This time the Doctor waited for his companion, helping her descend the steps into what she could now see was some sort of service duct.
    Cautiously, she looked around at the heavy pipes and cables mounted on the walls. If the Doctor had bothered to tell her, she would have learnt that it was a supply tunnel between the dome and the landing pad.
    Instead, the Doctor ran off towards the dome, Peri following, her high heeled boots echoing on the concrete floor.
    If the Doctor had also bothered to mention the ducting was also a walkway, Peri might have advised caution. Instead, all she could do was scream as Noma and Drak stepped from an alcove, handguns levelled ready to fire.
    Surprised, Azmael looked up as the heavy, reinforced door that separated the ducting from the main area of the dome slid open, and the Doctor and Peri were bundled in.
    'Hi,' said Peri with a large grin, trying to appear like a lost tourist who had inadvertently wandered onto private property. But inside her head, she was terrified.
    On the other hand, the Doctor seemed totally indifferent to his situation. Casually, he gazed around the room until his eye settled on the revitalising modulator. It had been years since he had seen such a machine, and he suddenly had the overwhelming urge to use it.
    'Where have you come from?' said Azmael, crossing to the Doctor.
     
    'I've no idea,' he said, distractedly, his eye fixed firmly on the modulator. 'But I'd love a go in your machine.'
    A hard blow from Noma's gun diverted the Doctor's attention.
    'Where have you come from?' Azmael repeated.
    For the first time, since entering the room, the Doctor brought his full attention to bear on his interrogator. Although a thick, swirling bank of fog separated his conscious mind from his memory, a tiny, distant, flashing beacon seemed to penetrate the dense void, telling him there was something rather familiar about the face before him.
    'What are you doing here?' said the mouth belonging to the face.
    Peri looked at the Doctor, hoping he had an acceptable answer.
    'I won't ask you again.'
    Noma pressed his gun against the Doctor's head. Even this didn't prompt a reply as he was still trying to decipher what the beacon was trying to tell him.
    The Doctor's unwell,' said Peri desperately.
    'Then you tell me why you're here.' Azmael now sounded tired rather than stern.
    'We're pilgrims...' she said.
    Noma sniggered.
    'It's true. We're here in search of peace -'
    Interrupting, Noma snapped. They're spies. Kill them!'
    'What I'm telling you is the truth.' Again Peri looked at the Doctor, praying he would support what she was saying, but he didn't seem interested.
    'As I've said, the Doctor isn't a well man. He needs a place to meditate...' Peri cursed herself for sounding so unconvincing. 'We were looking for a suitable cave when we stumbled into your service duct.'
    Azmael eyed the Doctor's gawdy jacket, then the blouse and skirt Peri was wearing. He had met many pilgrims in his time. All of them had appeared a little mad, but none had allowed their spiritual exuberance to spill into their sartorial trappings in quite the way these two had.
    Perhaps Noma was right, Azmael considered. Perhaps they should die. There was too much at stake to risk keeping them alive.
    ‘I know you!' the Doctor suddenly blurted. The beacon he had spent so much effort and time deciphering now made sense. 'As I