Doctor Who - Bernice Summerfield - 12 - The Medusa Effect by Justin Richards

Author:Justin Richards
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Bernice Surprise (Fictitious Character), Action & Adventure, General, Science Fiction, Summerfield, Fiction
ISBN: 9780426205241
Publisher: London Bridge
Published: 1998-08-15T07:00:00+00:00

* * *

‗Have you ever flown one of these?‘ Benny asked Stuart as

they opened the main hatch.

‗No.‘

Benny paused, turned to face him as the hatchway swung

open. ‗Stupid question, I guess. We may have one more slight

technical hitch. I‘ve never flown one either.‘

Stuart gestured for her to go inside the scout ship. ‗We‘ll be

better off inside with the hatch locked, whatever we do next.‘

His voice crackled slightly through her helmet speakers.

The ship was small compared with the giant hulk of

Medusa. But in fact, for a scout ship, it was fairly spacious.

The hatch opened into the main cabin, where there were six

rows of seats, four seats to each row. A narrow aisle ran up

the middle leading to the door to the control deck at the front

of the ship. At the back would be a storage area.

Benny laid her jacket carefully over the back of the nearest

seat and pulled her heavy gloves off. She fumbled with the

locking clamps on her helmet, unsnapping them at last and

pulling it over her head. She took a deep breath and exhaled

in relief. ‗That‘s better.‘ Beside her, Stuart had removed his

helmet too.

Along the side of the cabin were portholes. Through the

thick toughened glass, Benny could see circlets of the

docking bay, like an old film‘s view through binoculars. As

Stuart pulled the hatch shut behind them and pushed the

locking mechanism home, Benny glanced out of the porthole

set into the door. Through the distortion of the rounded glass

she saw the airlock door swing open. A group of the synthetic

creatures charged through, running towards the ship as if in

slow motion.

‗Interesting,‘ said Stuart quietly, ‗that they don‘t need

suits.‘

‗Very,‘ Benny agreed half-heartedly. ‗Is that hatch securely

locked.‘

‗I hope so.‘ Stuart peered through the porthole. He took a

swift step backward as a grey distended fist slapped heavily

against the other side of the glass. ‗I guess they can store

oxygen in their lungs or whatever they have. Their skins

must be pretty tough, too, under all that gunk.‘

‗Fascinating,‘ said Benny without meaning it. ‗Let‘s hope

they stay out there till their lungs burst.‘

‗Of course,‘ Stuart said, his voice disturbingly matter-of-

fact, ‗we might have done better not to lock ourselves in

here.‘ Benny turned away from the hatch, and Stuart nodded

towards the two hideous figures pushing their way towards

them along the narrow aisle from the flight deck. ‗With them.‘

Benny grabbed her jacket from the back of the seat.

‗Thinking of leaving?‘ Stuart asked, pulling her away down

the aisle as the creatures lurched closer.

Benny did not answer, she was pulling at a sleeve, trying

desperately to see how and where it was attached. She could

feel the weight of the vodka bottle in a pocket, but couldn‘t

find a way to get to it. The shape of the lighter was muffled by

layers of material. Somehow the sleeve was now inside out.

Benny swore, and struggle to push her arm through.

‗Benny.‘ Stuart‘s voice was quiet, close to her ear. ‗What are

you doing?‘

‗I‘m putting my jacket on. What does it look like I‘m doing?‘

‗Fine.‘ They were almost backed up to the door into the

storage area. ‗There might be something through here we can

use as a weapon.

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