Doctor Who: BBC Past Doctor Adventures [076] - Atom Bomb Blues by Andrew Cartmel

Author:Andrew Cartmel
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science-Fiction - Doctor Who
ISBN: 9780563486350
Publisher: BBC Books
Published: 2005-11-08T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

On Board the Craft

‘Wicked,’ said Ace.

‘It is rather impressive, isn’t it?’ said the Doctor.

‘What the hell is it?’ said Butcher. He stared up into the night, his voice cracked and desperate.

‘It’s a craft from another world, of course,’ said the Doctor. ‘And you are going to have the extraordinary privilege of being taken on board.’

‘Are they going to probe him?’ said Ace eagerly.

‘Please, Ace. I’m sure the Major is frightened enough as it is without you planting unpleasant suggestions like that in his mind.’

‘But it’s the done thing, isn’t it, with UFOs?’

‘I assure you,’ said the Doctor, ‘there is nothing unidentified about this flying object. As a matter of fact, its pilot is an old friend of mine.’

Ace peered happily up into the night. ‘So do we get to meet this friend?’

‘Of course. We’re not going to let Major Butcher go all by himself. We will be taken on board with him.’

‘So how do we get taken on board?’

‘We merely ask.’ The Doctor took off his hat and waved it at the shape in the sky. Ace studied the glowing lights. They pulsed and changed colour in a way that made her think of something organic, a life form. She remembered pictures she’d seen of jellyfish that swam in the deepest part of the ocean, pulsing with colour. The slowly changing iridescence of the lights reminded her of these. And so did the slowly unfolding tentacle, transparent but streaming with rainbow colours, that descended from the craft and flowed around the Doctor, engulfing him. Ace saw the Doctor being sucked up through the swaying polychromatic length of the hollow tentacle. Then she saw another tentacle descending from the craft, towards her.

A third tentacle came swaying down towards Butcher and she heard him scream as it touched him. The scream was cut off as Ace was sealed in her own tentacle. It was soft and jelly-like, yet warm and dry. There was a flow of warm air coming from the top of the tentacle and it had a salty, spicy tang to it. She could see through the tentacle and outside, by the campfire, she saw the Apaches watching impassively as the third tentacle swallowed the struggling and frantic Major Butcher. Then Ace felt a rush of air and she was suddenly moving upwards inside her own tentacle, its jelly-like circumference closing around her feet and gently but swiftly forcing her upwards in a peristaltic motion. As the length of the tentacle clenched shut behind her she was squeezed along it, propelled inexorably towards the glowing lights above.

Outside she could see Butcher being shot upwards in his own tentacle. She couldn’t hear his screams, but she could see his frantic struggles, wild, flailing limbs convulsing in an almost hysterical panic. Ace couldn’t work out what all the fuss was about.

After all, it was only a spaceship.

The interior of the ship seemed to be made of the same stuff as the tentacles, though somewhat more rigid to the touch. From what Ace could see, the craft consisted of a series of chambers that were spherical or oval in section.

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