Doctor Who - New Series Adventures - 024 - The Many Hands by Dale Smith

Author:Dale Smith
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Edinburgh (Scotland), General, Science Fiction, Doctor Who (Fictitious Character), Fiction, Time Travel
ISBN: 9781846074226
Publisher: BBC Books
Published: 2008-05-15T07:00:00+00:00

The Doctor heard the sound of muskets cocking before he

was anywhere near the door, and he knew that McAllister

would give the order without hesitation. Probably even if

the Doctor was in the line of fire – possibly even because.

Even so, he dived forward, jumping over pews and trying

very hard not to knock down parishioners as he went.

'Don't shoot!' he shouted as authoritatively as he could.

McVicar just stood there framed in the open doorway,

looking straight ahead and not breathing. Even old

Thomas looked like he was having second thoughts about

the minister's miraculous return. He said the minister's

name once, and then backed slowly away. The creature

didn't even look up, just stood there blinking slowly, as if

not quite sure what it wanted to do now that it was here.

'Take aim!' McAllister bellowed.

'No!' the Doctor said firmly.

He placed himself directly in front of the dead minister.

The creature looked up slowly, as if seeing him from a

great distance. It blinked again. Its eyes were clear and

grey.

'Move out of the way,' McAllister shouted.

He ran across the room, clearly intending to drag the

Doctor out of the line of fire. He did have some redeeming

human features, then.

'I think it would be a better idea to shut that door,' the

Doctor said, not taking his eyes from the minister. 'Don't

you?'

McAllister didn't say anything, but suddenly all eyes

turned to the door that was still hanging open. Through it,

they could see the churchyard, filled with hundreds of

pale, blank-eyed figures. They just stood there, swaying,

as if they were waiting for McVicar to do something on

their behalf. Perhaps they were, the Doctor considered:

perhaps he was an envoy of some sort. A negotiator.

The churchyard was getting fuller. Some of the

creatures out there were digging up the ground with their

bare hands. This wasn't caused by anything in the waters

in the Loch, the Doctor decided, unless they had seeped

through into the churchyard.

The Reverend Yarwood edged quickly around the

creature and slammed the door shut, taking a key from his

robes and locking it. He couldn't help but peer out of the

small window at the mass of bodies waiting outside. He

looked over to the Doctor nervously. McAllister scowled

and looked to his men; he motioned for one to join him,

putting a ring of armed men around McVicar. The Doctor

ignored him and held his hand out to the creature.

'Can you hear me?' he asked.

The eyes seemed to flicker.

'I'm the Doctor,' he pressed on. 'I can help you.'

The Doctor could feel the silence pressing down on

him. Everybody in that little tumbledown church was

staring at him, waiting for something to happen. They all

stood perfectly still, as if afraid that even the slightest

movement might suddenly spark off a murderous

rampage. But the creature had come in here for

something, and it had come in alone: if the walking dead

had just wanted to kill, they would have attacked en masse

and torn the church apart with their bare hands.

What was this one looking for, he wondered.

'Are you Gelth?' the Doctor tried. Still McVicar looked

at him blankly. 'All right then, not Gelth. That's good: you

don't seem very Gelthish, and I don't remember there

being a rift in Edinburgh.

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