Free Doctor Who: The Rescue by Ian Marter Page B

shrugged.
    ‘Most doors do, Doctor. Come on, I think we’re nearly there.’
    The Doctor lingered, testing the flush edges of the panel with his fingernail. There was no kind of handle or lock.
    Then he shook his head decisively. ‘Might take quite some time to open it. No, Chesterton, in my opinion we should try the obvious way first.’ He set off again, glancing back over his shoulder at the mysterious portal. ‘But keep a sharp look-out, just in case somebody or something tries to creep up behind us!’
    Soon they felt the warmish dry air on their faces as they approached the low overgrown and boulder-strewn entrance to the tunnel.
    ‘I was right!’ crowed the Doctor, forging ahead eagerly.
    ‘We have reached the surface..
    His triumphant words were drowned by a sharp bang followed by a huge dull explosion which lit up the mouth of the tunnel with a macabre greenish-white glare.
    The Doctor threw himself backwards and collided with Ian so that they both fell in a struggling heap in the sand.
    Then they froze as a terrible harsh screeching noise erupted outside.
    ‘What is that?’ Ian whispered.
    ‘It sounded like some sort of gun.’
     
    ‘No, I mean that horrible shrieking.’
    They lay there listening to the agonised howls.
    ‘I think it must be the end for our arenicolous friend,’
    the Doctor said quietly.
    Ian scrambled to his feet and started dragging the Doctor after him. ‘Come on, Doctor, Barbara could be in danger!’ he urged.
    They emerged from the tunnel, blinking in the fading light, and stared in horrified revulsion at the huge melted and charred head writhing among the boulders.
    ‘I’m not sorry to see the end of that thing,’ Ian said, coughing from the acrid smoke curling off the creature’s rubbery flesh.
    The Doctor suddenly looked rather sad. ‘Actually the poor beast was quite harmless,’ he murmured. ‘I had forgotten the silicodon, a species found only on Dido and a planet called Sokol in one of the Willoughby galaxies.’
    ‘No sign of Barbara anywhere,’ Ian said anxiously, craning up at the ridge towering above them.
    Something caught the Doctor’s eye. ‘Look!’ he cried, indicating a small figure struggling towards the wreck.
    ‘That’s not Barbara.’
    The Doctor’s face fell. ‘No, it is not.’ He turned to Ian.
    ‘Then who is it? Come on Chesterton!’
    They set off at a cracking pace in pursuit.
    Vicki flung down the water bottles and fixed Barbara with a look of utter hatred. For a few seconds she was speechless.
    Barbara stood near the hatch, completely nonplussed by Vicki’s reaction to her quick thinking. ‘Vicki, you’ve had an awful shock...’ she began.
    ‘You killed Sandy!’ Vicki screamed at her. ‘Why?
    Whatever made you do such a terrible thing?’
    Barbara hesitated, baffled by the girl’s extraordinary question. ‘But Vicki... the thing was almost on top of you!’
    ‘How could you!’ blazed Vicki, tears running down her dirty face. ‘Sandy only wanted some food.’
     
    ‘But it was going to attack you.’
    ‘Sandy only eats... only ate plants and insects. I trained him to come here for food.’
    Barbara spread her hands helplessly. ‘But, Vicki, I couldn’t have known that could I? I thought you were in terrible danger.’
    Vicki picked up the containers and shoved past Barbara into the hull. ‘I shouted... I shouted to you, but you did not listen,’ Vicki accused.
    Barbara followed her inside. ‘Vicki, all I could see was those awful jaws, and it was making such a horrible noise I just ran for this thing and fired.’
    Vicki flung the containers onto the makeshift table and rounded on Barbara, her eyes livid with anger and hurt.
    ‘He was my only friend and you killed him!’ she sobbed, collapsing onto a duct casing.
    Barbara looked at the Very pistol she was holding and then at the broken figure of Vicki, utterly at a loss what to do. Then a sudden movement outside made her spin round with a gasp of fright. She levelled