Doctor Who: Parasite by Jim Mortimore

Author:Jim Mortimore
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science-Fiction:Doctor Who
ISBN: 9780426204251
Publisher: Virgin Books Limited
Published: 1994-12-15T10:00:00+00:00

She knew she was going in the right direction when the pale light of phosphorescence began slowly to increase. After another few minutes, in which the only life she saw was yet another monkey rushing distantly past in a flash of colour, she pulled herself around the curve of a smallish tent and found herself at the edge of a large, irregular space bordered on all sides by the convex walls of tents. In the centre of the space was a gently rippling sphere of water perhaps thirty metres across. Growing from the sphere in all directions was a profusion of vegetation, among it small trees which arced from the water and curved inwards again when they reached the walls of the surrounding tents.

Water dripped constantly from the leaves of the trees back into the central mass, making the soft chiming sound she had been following. The bioluminescence in the water was a deep electric violet shot through with gold, and didn’t seem to vary in colour.

The trees were festooned with monkeys. Perhaps a hundred of them. Without exception the creatures’ fur glowed with a pale rose-coloured light. Bernice was struck by the unusual and uniform configuration of bioluminescence.

The air here was cool, just slightly below body temperature, scented with a delicate mixture of olbas and cinnamon; an unusual fragrance, yet one so appropriate its presence might have been designed.

Then again, Bernice was forced to consider that what might be attractive to her senses might be a load of old junk to the monkeys.

Perhaps it’s the rubbish tip, she thought. If so it ought to win prizes.

‘The monkeys call it “the deathpool”.’ The voice was Midnight’s. He had wrapped part of himself around a branch about ten metres or so away from her, close enough to the water for her to be able to see his reflection in the ripples.

She smiled a greeting. ‘Why do they call it that?’ she asked curiously.

‘Watch.’

As Midnight spoke Bernice became aware of a faint sound, an ululating wail which rippled around the pool, grew to a frightening intensity. ‘What’s happening? Are they in pain?’

Midnight’s sibilant reply was lost as the wails turned into heart-rending screams of agony. The monkeys clinging to the branches around the pool began to writhe. The sound was awful. Bernice was shocked into immobility by the pain in the multitude of voices.

And then one by one the monkeys began to fall into the pool. No, Bernice realized, not fall. They were diving. Deliberately.

‘I didn’t know the monkeys were amphibious.’

‘They aren’t.’

Bernice felt her head swim. ‘Then they’ll drown! We have to –’

115

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