Part 10 (1/2)

'Burying his dog or cat I think,' said Ben. look, there's some fur lying around here.'

'Pretty big cat, Ben. I mean -' Polly suddenly started.

'What's up, d.u.c.h.ess?'

She grabbed his arm. 'Ben, my dream. I saw a giant cat thing. Standing with a gun. A giant cat-person.' She pointed at the fur.

Ben smiled. 'Oh Pol, that was a nightmare. Cats don't carry guns. Look, Coates is out of sight now. Let's see what it was.'

'Oh Ben, it might be something dead.'

'Well, don't look then.'

'No, all right. But you dig.' She held her hands up. 'My nails . . .'

85.Ben nodded wryly and started pulling the fresh earth away with his fingers. After a few moments he felt something cold and soft. 'It's cloth I think.'

After a few moments longer Ben straightened up.

'Clothes. Coates was burying coats. Why?'

'Any idea whose?'

Ben shook his head. 'I'll try and get this one up.' He tugged and tugged and eventually it gave way. Too suddenly. The momentum caused Ben to lose his footing and he staggered back too quickly.

'Ben!' screamed Polly but it was too late. Ben was at the cliff's edge and his feet were still scrabbling for gravity. He fell back, his feet leaving ground and for a split second he was just hanging above nothing except sea and rocks below.

Then he stayed where he was. Polly stayed staring at him, her mouth contorted in a silent scream. There was no sound.

No wind, no bird song, just nothing.

And absolutely no movement.

The Doctor stood in the hallway having walked through the closed door. His feet occasionally sank beneath the floorboards and sometimes rose a few inches above. It was as if he were treading across a vat of jelly.

He stopped at the foot of the stairs and waited. He flicked through the diary, nodding at certain pa.s.sages and at one point stared upstairs. 'So, that's what she saw. How interesting.' After a few moments he closed the book and slipped it back into his pocket. 'Dangerous, Doctor, I know, but not as dangerous as leaving it visible.' He looked towards the kitchen area. 'Oh, do get a move on, Thorsuun, I object to waiting all eternity,' he called out.

Seconds later Thorsuun walked through the closed door of the kitchen, followed by Kerbe, his Mauser in his hand.

'Oh, very good,' the Doctor applauded. 'You must have some very powerful RTCs to manage both of you.'

Kerbe was astonished. 'How on Earth . . .'

86.The Doctor tried to look abashed. 'Er . . . not Earth actually, Herr Kerbe. Didn't you know your bursar was an alien?'

'Of course I do,' the German snapped back. 'Didn't know you were, though. That information was withheld from me.'

The last comment was directed at Thorsuun.

'Dissension in the ranks, Fraulein.'

Thorsuun just shrugged. 'You know how parochial humans are, Doctor. They are so inquisitive. It's really quite amusing considering how little information their pathetic minds can take before they close down. This one seemed better than most.'

'You mean his greed and aggression made him a better receptacle for your particular brand of mental persuasion.'

Thorsuun smiled a toothy smile. 'Oh, sweetheart, almost right. But it's nothing mental - it's all auditory.' She tapped her throat.

The Doctor jumped up and felt the ground beneath him s.h.i.+ft slightly.

'Be careful, Doctor, the gravity fields take a bit of getting used to when time has been stopped.'

'Stopped? Or has the Earth just stopped rotating?'

'Oh, excellent, you spotted that. You're better than I thought.'

'Thank you. I thought you'd reveal yourself eventually.'

The Doctor straightened his tie, determined not to die and look dishevelled at the same time.

Thorsuun stared back impa.s.sively. 'So, what are you?'

'I was rather hoping you'd tell me about yourself actually.

You're Euterpian, aren't you?'

'A what?'

'Euterpian. A Hummer?'

'Probably. We don't have a race name. We know who we are.'

'Were. You died out a long time ago. Sorry.'

Thorsuun shrugged. 'I'm not surprised. We came a long way, Doctor. Across the three dimensions.'

'Three? s.p.a.ce and time and. . ?'

87.Thorsuun grinned. 'Oh, my precious, you cannot imagine.'

'Oh, I wouldn't say that.' The Doctor smiled back and tugged his frock-coat closer to him. 'You know, this part of England is rather pleasant. One day, I've always told myself, I'd buy myself a little house here. Somewhere to use as a home whenever I come to Earth.' He paused and then frowned. 'Or was that Kent? The Garden of England. It's so hard to remember.'

Thorsuun waved Kerbe nearer and he pointed his gun at the Doctor. Thorsuun leaned in closer. 'I think my ally will want to meet you.'

The Doctor clapped his hands together and laughed. 'Oh, good, I'd like to meet him.'

'Her.'