Free Ten Little Aliens: 50th Anniversary Edition by Stephen Cole Page A

blinkin’ bird.’ Just about, anyway, he qualified to himself. She had a face like the smell of gas.
    The woman glanced over at the bodies on the dais, but she seemed far more interested in Ben. He swallowed.
    ‘Frog,’ Haunt snapped. ‘You’re taking these two back to the ship.’
    ‘Yes, Marshal.’
    Ben couldn’t help himself from smirking at the weird, warbling croak that came from her mouth. As a frog, she was pretty well-named.
    Frog continued to stare at Ben. ‘Then shall I keep them under observation for a bit?’
    Ben stopped smiling and cast an anxious look at the Doctor. He was staring into space, apparently oblivious to all.
    ‘Then you’ll join the rest of us at the bullring for an emergency debriefing. Now go. Hurry.’ Haunt turned to Shel darkly. ‘We need to regroup. Get everyone to retrace their steps, back to the bullring.’
    Frog shrugged and indicated with her gun that the Doctor and Ben get moving. They trudged off towards the pentagonal doorway. Ben saw the Doctor cast a wistful look at the TARDIS, their ship and sanctuary, just out of reach.
    ‘Marshal.’ Ben heard Shel call over to Haunt, and there was an edge to his usually assured tones. ‘I can’t raise Joiks and Denni. No contact. Just static.’
    ‘This is how it begins,’ murmured the Doctor, just loud enough for Ben to hear him, as Frog nudged them through the exit.
    II
    Tovel found the wet crunch of his boots on the gritty floor almost comforting in the semi-darkness. Shade marched along beside him. He looked just as concerned as Tovel that Haunt had ordered a recall. They walked on in silence. Tovel tried not to dwell on his concern. It was lucky the websets weren’t so good at picking up underlying feelings, the murky background noise during playback; at least this generation of them. For the moment, soldiers controlled their websets and not vice versa; with practice anyone could keep their real thoughts and feelings suppressed. But the technology was getting better all the time. One day the Army examiners would be able to pick up every dissenting thought you ever had – and deal with you accordingly. Tovel imagined that websets of the future would turn their wearers into unthinking, unquestioning machines, designed solely to act and react. Perfect soldiers.
    Suddenly he froze.
    ‘Shade.’
    Shade stopped dead too. Shadow seemed a good nickname. ‘What?’
    ‘You hear that?’ A weird whispering sound had started up.
    Shade frowned and listened. But suddenly the only sound was that of slapping footsteps on the rock. Something was coming for them, fast.
    In the time it took Shade to swear, Tovel had drawn his gun. He aimed it down the gloomy tunnel. The footsteps were getting louder, closer.
    ‘That’s no droid,’ Shade said quietly. He drew his own gun.
    ‘You heard Haunt, no one’s seen these droids before,’ Tovel snapped, keeping eyes and gun trained down the passageway. The murky green light seemed a little brighter, a little bluer.
    A willowy yellow shape burst into view. A woman. Pretty. Her long blonde hair streamed out behind her like a comet tail.
    ‘Don’t shoot me,’ the girl yelled. ‘Please!’
    Tovel turned now to Shade, who was staring at her – up and down and slowly – in amazement.
    ‘There’s a blue light,’ the girl said breathlessly. ‘And a noise, sort of hypnotic. I followed it, to this incredible place, and…’ She trailed off, stayed staring at Shade’s face. They all did that.
    ‘And what?’ Tovel prompted her.
    The girl looked at him now with wide, fearful eyes. ‘I’m sorry. Please, there’s something –’
    ‘Wait.’ Tovel could hear the low, flat whine of weapon generators building. In a second Shadow had fallen to one knee and was blasting round after round down the tunnel to where the droid must be coming from. Clouds of white fleas exploded under each impact. The girl threw herself to the ground and covered her head.
    Tovel crouched beside her. ‘You