Doctor Who: Target - Novelisations [068] - An Unearthly Child by Terrance Dicks

Author:Terrance Dicks
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science-Fiction - Doctor Who
ISBN: 9780426201441
Publisher: Target Books
Published: 1980-12-31T23:00:00+00:00

7

The Knife

The Tribe was sleeping.

Huddled together for warmth, wrapped in such skins as they possessed, the cave people slept, dreaming of fire, trying to forget the deadly cold that seeped through the caves – the cold that would grow fiercer, stronger, night by night. Unless the fire came back soon, there would come mornings when the weak ones, the women and children and the old would not wake. When the cold was at its fiercest, even strong men died in the night.

Only Old Mother was still awake. Fire leaped in her mind too, but not as a saviour, a protector. To Old Mother fire was an evil demon. Her confused mind associated it with the death of her husband, Gor, and with all the misfortunes that had come upon the Tribe.

The strangers threatened to bring fire. The strangers were evil, too. Old Mother thought for a long time, wondering how she might save the Tribe from the menace of fire. At last she thought of a way.

She rose stealthily, creeping across the silent cave to the place where Za lay sleeping, Hur at his side. Za’s precious knife lay close to his outstretched hand. The knife was a long thin sliver of stone, its edge ground sharp. Old Mother reached out for it.

Za twitched and muttered in his sleep, as if suspecting her intention and she drew back her hand. He slept again. Old Mother snatched up the knife, and scuttled away.

Hur watched her through half-open eyes, and wondered what she should do.

Ian was holding his tied hands out before him, stretching his bonds in the hope of slipping free of them, but the strips of rawhide were tough and sinewy, and there was little give.

Susan was searching the floor of the cave for sharp-edged stones. ‘Here’s another one with a rough edge.’ She picked it up and hopped over to Ian, hampered by the fact that both her hands and feet were bound.

Ian took the stone in his own bound hands, and moved over to Barbara who stretched her tied hands flat on the ground. Ian began sawing at the thongs with the stone. ‘It’s no good the stone’s too soft. The edge keeps crumbling.’

‘The whole thing is hopeless,’ grumbled the Doctor. ‘Even if you could get us free, we’d never manage to move the stone blocking the door.’

Ian raised his head, sniffing. ‘There’s air coming into this cave from somewhere – somewhere else beside the door, I mean.’

‘So there is,’ said Barbara. ‘I can feel it on my face.’

‘It may only be a small opening though. Don’t count on it…’

‘Why not – you obviously are,’ muttered the Doctor.

‘Of course, I am. Any hope is better than none. It’s no good just lying there criticising us. Do something. Help us to get out of here if you’re so clever!’ Ian tossed the stone aside. ‘It’s hopeless,’ he said, promptly contradicting himself.

‘Don’t give up, Ian, please,’ begged Barbara. ‘All right. Come on, Susan, let’s look for a better piece of rock.

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