Doctor Who NA24 - Tragedy Day by Gareth Roberts

Author:Gareth Roberts
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2011-07-13T01:08:02+00:00

11 The Dancefloor

Two minders followed Bernice as she left Shrubb’s house after a satisfying evening meal prepared by his domestic staff. Shrubb himself had been absent, detained on business, a common enough state of affairs according to his wife.

Another long black car pulled up in the pleasant, tree-lined street. Ace got out and waved over at her. ‘Mother and baby are doing fine,’ she reported. ‘After you left I checked with the nurses. Turns out the Doctor has been round there today. I told them he wasn’t to see Meredith again without contacting us first.’

‘That’s sorted out, then,’ Bernice remarked. ‘For the moment, at least. Where’s young Forg?’

‘Gone out clubbing,’ Ace replied. ‘I left him to it, I’m knackered. Where are you off to?’

Bernice pointed ahead. ‘There’s a big fireworks display in a park over there. I like fireworks a lot. I thought they might cheer me up. Coming?’

Ace shrugged. ‘Why not?’ The two women walked on together.

The dance music on Olleril was surprisingly good, Forgwyn had found. He had been directed by friendly strangers to Globule, a club in Zone Three that had the best reputation for a good time. He had left his guard outside and now he was walking around the club’s cavernous, throbbing interior. The upbeat electronic music could not dispel the atmosphere of despondency that characterized the city. Elaborate Tragedy Day skeletons and masks decorated the glowing red walls.

He noticed several other offworlders, humanoid mostly, mixed in with the crowd. Their presence made him feel slightly more comfortable. The local clientele, no matter how young or attractive, were endowed with the blanked-out quality he had come to associate with people on Olleril.

His circuit of the club completed, Forgwyn bought himself a drink and sat down on a clammy leather sofa. Directly opposite him was one of the dancefloors. Some of the others he had seen were half filled already, but this one was curiously empty. It was shiny and black and looked special somehow. He stared at it, sipping his drink and getting bored.

He wanted to get away from Olleril as soon as he could.

If he could persuade Meredith to forget about her contract with the Friars there was a chance they could go with the Doctor. Ace had explained to him about the exact workings of the TARDIS. Now he was stuck in a grotty nightclub on a grotty planet. Still, he decided, it was better than being nearly gassed or eaten by mutants.

That dancefloor, he thought to himself, is waiting for somebody cool to step onto it. Somebody who can show the dumb pollicks on this planet how to enjoy themselves and stop hassling each other and putting each other down. How to have a good time. He put his drink down and walked over.

Forgwyn danced on the black dancefloor and a crowd gathered around him. He looked up occasionally and noticed the gawping group growing. Their eyes glinted with excitement. They looked alive for the first time that night.

Nobody joined him and after a couple of minutes he became unnerved and embarrassed by the staring.

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