Doctor Who: Virgin New Adventures [008] - Nightshade by Mark Gatiss

Author:Mark Gatiss
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science-Fiction - Doctor Who
ISBN: 9780426203766
Publisher: Doctor Who Books
Published: 1992-10-12T23:00:00+00:00

The tracking station control room was silent save for the occasional oath of exasperation as the Doctor attempted to repair the radio.

Beside him sat Holly, now dressed in ski pants and one of Vijay’s crewneck sweaters. Her eyes were wide and red with crying.

Vijay had tried to persuade her to return to her bed but she wouldn’t hear of it, preferring to sit awake and aware through the long night.

‘Blast!’ cried the Doctor, throwing aside a delicate arrangement of wires.

Cooper was blearily contemplating her first coffee of the morning. ‘What d’you reckon then, Doctor?’

The Doctor sighed and sat down on the end of the bench.

‘It’s useless. Blown out.’

‘Then we’re cut off,’ said Hawthorne flatly as he strode into the room.

‘Don’t be so melodramatic, Tom,’ said Cooper. ‘Vijay can drive over to York and even if the phones aren’t working there, we can get through to Cambridge somehow.’

Hawthorne shrugged.

The Doctor glanced across at Holly and then walked over to her. He sat down on his hands and smiled. ‘How are you feeling now?’

Holly nodded as though shaking a loose thought. ‘OK. I’m OK, thanks.’

The Doctor chose his next words carefully. ‘Vijay said… Vijay said you’d seen something in your room. What, exactly?’

Holly looked down and sighed. ‘I know it sounds silly, impossible…’

‘Never mind how it sounds.’ The Doctor put his hand on hers. Holly took a deep breath.

‘I saw my fiancé. He died six years ago. I saw his ghost.’

The Doctor considered this. ‘How did he appear?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Was he as you remembered him?’

‘Oh yes! Very much. He was so alive. I could feel it. It was like he was drawing me into him. It would’ve been so easy…’

The Doctor looked straight at her. ‘But you didn’t?’

‘There was something wrong. I felt him beginning to change. I went all sleepy. I could see Vijay coming into the room and I knew I had to get back to him. It was like one of those nightmares where you’re running through treacle.’

Vijay came in with some freshly made toast and tea. He put his arm round Holly.

‘And what did you see?’ asked the Doctor.

‘I don’t know,’ said Vijay. ‘Not a person really. A sort of cloud. Colours. Trails in the air. Like I was tripping.’

‘Tripping?’ The Doctor raised his eyebrows.

Vijay cleared his throat. ‘Drugs. You know. Acid. It was like that.’

‘I see,’ said the Doctor with mock gravity. He smiled warmly and left them together. Vijay lifted up Holly’s face to kiss her but she pulled away.

‘Don’t,’ she said simply. Vijay sighed heavily and looked glumly at the floor.

The Doctor checked the correlation receivers and turned to address Hawthorne. ‘What’s the tolerance of your safety cutouts?’

Hawthorne sniffed. ‘That’s what’s very odd. They should’ve cut out way before the levels they reached. Luckily, we’ve sustained no damage so far.’

‘Hmm,’ the Doctor mused. He looked around the room. ‘Where’s Ace?’

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