Doctor Who: BBC Past Doctor Adventures [011] - Catastrophea by Terrance Dicks

Author:Terrance Dicks
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science-Fiction - Doctor Who
ISBN: 9780563405849
Publisher: BBC Books
Published: 1998-05-04T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

THE BEST-LAID PLANS

‘Remember, Jo, I want you to stay here,’ whispered Garon urgently. ‘I’ll signal for you when the hovertruck is in our hands – three flashes. We’ll need you down there to identify the TARDIS for us.’

Jo nodded and they all crouched down, waiting.

The hovertruck drone grew louder, changing its note slightly as the sound bounced from the walls of the rocky gully. A moment later it came into sight, moving cautiously along the gully like some giant metal beetle. It looked ordinary enough, thought Jo. It was just a giant truck, slightly streamlined, with a driving compartment at the front, double doors at the back and a surrounding skirt instead of a set of wheels.

In their hiding places, the guerrillas waited tensely, holding their collective breath and waiting for Garon’s signals.

The truck was very near now. Suddenly Garon gave a single flash from his torch. At the same time he leapt to his feet and ran to the heap of rocks that the guerrillas had painstakingly assembled at the edge of the gully.

Garon and the others started hurling the contents of the pile over. On the other side, Makos and his team were doing the same thing. Rocks and boulders and stones of all shapes and sizes rained down in front of the hovertruck, some of them clanging off its metal hull.

The guerrillas worked furiously, sweating and panting and gasping, tearing at the pile of rocks and ignoring torn hands.

To Jo’s amazement, Alanna joined in as well, hurling massive boulders down into the gully with frenzied strength.

Very soon the gully was blocked in front of the hovertruck.

Like a baffled beetle confronted with an unexpected obstacle, it paused. Everyone waited to see what would happen next. Slowly, very slowly, the hovertruck started creeping forwards again, inching its way over the rocks.

‘Come on!’ yelled Garon, and he and his guerrillas scrambled down the side of the gully.

Alanna was about to go with them, but Jo saw how ill the woman looked. She grabbed her arm.

‘You stay here with me. Let the boys enjoy themselves.’

Alanna struggled furiously. ‘Let me go!’

Jo held on, startled, and suddenly Alanna went limp, collapsing against Jo. Jo lowered her to the ground. ‘What’s the matter? Are you all right?’

‘Tired,’ muttered Alanna. ‘So tired.’

‘Nervous exhaustion,’ thought Jo. ‘These highly strung types!’

She turned to see what was happening down in the gully.

Swarming all over the hovertruck’s driving compartment, the guerrillas yanked open the doors and hauled out the two army drivers, covering them with blasters.

Garon reached inside and turned off the drive. The hovertruck lurched to a halt. He ran to the back and hammered on the door with his blaster.

‘Open up! You’re surrounded. Open these doors, or we’ll use explosives!’ They didn’t actually have any explosives, but Garon hoped the bluff would work.

Apparently it did. After a moment he heard the rattle of bolts. Quickly he turned and gave the signal for Jo.

As soon as he was sure they’d got what they wanted, he planned to

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.