Doctor Who: Planet of the Ood by Keith Temple

Author:Keith Temple [Temple, Keith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Science Fiction, Alien Contact, Time Travel, Space Exploration, Action & Adventure, Media Tie-In, General
ISBN: 9781473533493
Publisher: Ebury Publishing
Published: 2023-07-12T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

Warehouse Fifteen

The warehouse looked like any of the other giant depositories that made up the bulk of buildings within the complex. However, the Halpen family was far from negligent or unconcerned about their prize asset. Keeping it in a high-security, fortified building would only have drawn attention to the fact that something valuable was contained within. Accommodating it in one of their regular dilapidated warehouses kept it far safer and secure from prying eyes.

The only difference between Warehouse Fifteen and the twenty-five other units was the door. It was thick, solid metal, and the security keypad, instead of being on the wall, was set out on a specially constructed plinth positioned to the side of the door.

Halpen paused before tapping out the entry code, reflecting on the last time he’d descended into the depths, ten years ago. It had been an in-and-out job, a quick check to make sure that all was well and that everything was working correctly. He’d noticed how old-fashioned the two-hundred-year-old equipment looked back then. Could something have broken down in the intervening years? It was possible, he supposed.

‘My father first brought me here when I was six years old,’ he said, talking at Dr Ryder rather than to him. ‘To view the family inheritance.’

Ryder looked at him. ‘What was your first impression of it?’

‘Oh, without a doubt, the stench of it.’ He tapped in the entry code and with a bleep the door opened. The two security guards stood to attention either side of the doorway as Halpen, Ryder and Ood Sigma stepped inside. The door slid shut behind them.

A series of wall-mounted emergency lights clicked on, but even with their dim artificial glow it was difficult to see clearly. Halpen moved further inside the building and tapped away at the keypad on another plinth. After a moment there was a grinding and a large trapdoor opened in the floor ahead of them, the entrance to a flight of stairs. Halpen and the Ood led the way down and down into the depths.

‘How deep down are we going?’ Ryder hissed.

Halpen ignored him, kept walking down. ‘You’ll start to smell it soon,’ he said. ‘An animal smell. Filthy.’

Eventually, the staircase ended and opened out onto a large square room, flecked with an eerie red light that emanated from a huge circular hole in the middle of the floor space. A promenade-type set of railings bordered the perimeter, preventing over-curious onlookers falling into the abyss below. The walls of the room were flanked by industrial pipes and valves of all shapes and sizes.

Halpen leaned against the railing and looked down at the hole in the floor. It was dark and difficult to make out anything clearly.

‘Is there a light for down there?’ asked Ryder, joining him.

Halpen glowered. ‘You really don’t want to see. Believe me.’

Ryder heard the crackle of a strong electrical current from below, and the red light suddenly flashed blue. His fingers started to tingle and his hair began to stand on end. Before the light dimmed again, for a brief moment, he caught sight of something moving below.

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