073 - Doctor Who and the Zarbi by Bill Strutton

Author:Bill Strutton
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2011-07-12T01:21:10+00:00

back to his astral map. He straightened, relaxing.

‘Well, it appears we have won another breathing space, my dear.’

‘What did you tell them?’

He grinned. ‘Nothing. Absolutely nothing!’

‘Will you tell them — about the Menoptera?’

‘Only as much as I feel I safely can. Come, child, we must appear to be busy.’

‘But what are you going to do now... to get us all out of here...?’

At that Doctor Who halted, thoughtful. He wagged his head slowly, baffled, and said simply. ‘Frankly, as yet I have no real idea... The answer is’... he looked around them

‘the answer is... here. The power... the control — whoever it is that speaks to us... all here. But—’

He stroked his chin. Vicki turned, eyeing the Zarbi bustling about their control panel.

‘A leader, I suppose — that voice? One of those creatures?’

‘I hardly think so. Here — put this recorder back.’

Vicki obeyed, and took the recorder to replace it in a drawer of the control table. She paused at the sight of the specimen glass cases ranged in the drawer and drew one out.

‘What did you want with these?’ she asked:

‘Nothing. Put them away.’

A Zarbi moved towards them and hovered, watching. Its approach startled Vicki and she dropped a glass case. It crashed to the floor and broke. From it rolled a preserved earth specimen — a large spider — a tarantula. It rolled and lay motionless on the floor, its hideous furry legs stiff and unmoving, but the effect on the watching Zarbi and its comrades was extraordinary.

The nearest Zarbi chirruped wildly in alarm and backed hurriedly against a wall. Those nearest to it also reared and scuttled back out of the way, chirruping loudly, all eyes focused on the tarantula. Doctor Who turned at the commotion. Vicki was pointing at the spider, at the Zarbi backing away from it.

‘They’re frightened, I’m sure of it! Huge evil creatures like them!... Doctor — they’re frightened!’

Doctor Who’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. He nodded.

Ian ran on, dodging from cover to cover among the rocks and crags, listening for sounds of pursuit, of an alert. He paused to catch his breath, debating which way to go.

Suddenly he lifted his head at a sound he had not heard before. It was a fluttering, a whistling, as of something travel-ling through the air. He stared about him. As he did so, the Menoptera Vrestin planed down swiftly towards him, his brilliant wings spread, from the vantage point of a crag.

The Menoptera landed, the swiftness of his flight carrying him running towards Ian, his outstretched arms grabbing the young earth man and carrying him on with him. Ian gasped as together they rolled and tumbled down into a dip surrounded by low rocks.

It was not a moment too soon. A loud chirruping now throbbed in the still air and within seconds a swarm of Zarbi was scuttling into view over the landscape, pausing to quest this way and that with their huge glaring eyes.

The Zarbi divided and spread out across the landscape, combing it as they went.

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