Free Doctor Who BBCN10 - The Nightmare of Black Island by Doctor Who Page B

Perry’s concerns, Bronwyn had proved herself to be a fairly experienced sailor and soon the boat was chugging determinedly towards the island.
    The canvas bag had proved to be full of nothing more than provisions for the local wildlife and Bronwyn hurled handfuls of stale bread into the wind for the seagulls. Before long a huge white cloud of them was shadowing the boat, swooping down each time Bronwyn delved into the bag.
    61

    As they approached the island itself, landing had seemed an impossible task to the Doctor. The black rocks were viciously jagged and the waves pounded against them, sending great flumes of spray into the air. Bronwyn was obviously a regular visitor, though, and had steered skilfully round to a long shelf of rock that deflected the bulk of the waves. She had kept the boat hovering just off shore until a lull came in the swell, then gunned the motor and sent them speeding between the rocks to a small sheltered cove.
    She was down on the rocks now, tossing fish to where half a dozen seals bobbed in the water. The Doctor had left her to it and headed for the base of the lighthouse.
    Wind swept his hair back as he stared up at the tower. It was impressive: tall and tapered, made up of dozens of steel sections held together with hundreds of huge rusted bolts. Paint flaked untidily from the sides and high overhead a rusted walkway circled the lamp room like a collar.
    Most of the glass in the lamp room had long since gone and the top now resembled a huge birdcage, an image that was reinforced thanks to the evidence left by hundreds of seabirds that streaked its sides.
    What intrigued the Doctor was that it was so obviously unused, with no sign whatever of anyone having been in it for years. The door at the base was bolted and padlocked, and years of corrosion had practically rusted it shut.
    ‘So why was there a glow from the lamp room last night?’ he muttered.
    Bronwyn wandered over to his side, wiping her hands on her oilskin. ‘Thought you were interested in the seals, not the lighthouse.’
    Her tone was accusing.
    ‘Oh, I am, I am. Seals. Love ’em. Some of my best friends are seals.
    Great at parties. But I’m also intrigued by this. Isn’t it beautiful?’
    Bronwyn looked up at the tower and sniffed dismissively. ‘S’pose so. In a way.’
    ‘When was it abandoned?’
    ‘Back in the 1970s. Elwyn Merritt was the last keeper. Got themselves a lightship out on the sandbanks now. Shut this one down, 62

    didn’t they? Always the way. Things change. People move on.’
    ‘And some come back, don’t they? Some like Nathaniel Morton.’
    Bronwyn said nothing, but the Doctor could see her jaw clench.
    ‘Something happened between you and Morton, didn’t it?’ The Doctor kept his voice low and gentle. ‘Something a long time ago, when you were young. He went away, but you stayed.’
    ‘Shouldn’t have come back.’ There was anger in Bronwyn’s voice.
    Anger and fear. Told him not to come back!’
    ‘Why?’ The Doctor was urgent now. ‘What happened?’
    Bronwyn’s anger erupted at the Doctor. ‘What’s it to you? What good is it going to do to dig up the past again? Best left buried! It’s best left buried, all of it! They can’t bring him back.’ Tears blurred her eyes, then the anger faded for a moment and she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. They can’t bring him back.’
    Sniffing, she turned and hurried away from the Doctor. He called after her but the wind whipped the words away. He rubbed at his chin.
    He wasn’t going to get anything else from Bronwyn at the moment, but everything here was connected somehow. He just had to find the common link.
    He did a slow circuit of the lighthouse, looking for anything unusual, but he saw nothing. To the casual observer, it was nothing more sinister than an abandoned lighthouse on a deserted island.
    He pulled his sonic screwdriver from his pocket, determined to solve the issue of the glow in the lamp room if nothing else, when