Doctor Who - Short Trips (Big Finish) - 17 - The Centenarian by Ian Farrington

Author:Ian Farrington
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Collections & Anthologies, Media Tie-In, Fiction
ISBN: 9781844351916
Publisher: Big Finish
Published: 2006-10-15T07:00:00+00:00

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152

The Doctor opened his eyes. He heard a groan then realised he'd made the

sound himself. He tried to move his head and winced at the pain

throbbing in his temple. He was on the floor of the console room. What

had happened? His mind was a blank. Footsteps crossed near his head.

Adric was at the console. He didn't answer: The Doctor crawled dazedly

to his knees.

Àre we all right? What happened?'

Èverything's fine.'

`Good... good,' he muttered absently.

Adric obviously had everything taken care of. His hands were moving

very fast over the console. It would all come back to him shortly, the

Doctor was sure. And then something did.

`Tegan! Where is she? She left —'

`She's fine.'

Òh,' said the Doctor. 'That's a first.' He reached his feet and swayed for

a moment, waiting for memory to catch up with consciousness. A flash of

velvet entered his peripheral vision and he saw the body at his feet.

NyssàShe's fine.'

`She's not fine, Adric.' He was on his knees again, fumbling for his

sonic screwdriver, angry at himself for not remembering. He scanned the

side of her head. Her neural activity was minimal — as if she'd shut down.

The TARDIS had been screaming...

Adric, get away from the console.'

Ìt's fine.'

Will you stop saying everything's fine?!'

The boy's hands were working faster than ever — typing,

reprogramming.

`Where are you taking us?' The Doctor leaned over Adric's shoulder.

Equations flashed before his eyes, quantum equations. Adric, if they're

coordinates, you're going to confuse us all!'

The Doctor stepped closer to stop the boy's hands. Adric's arm came up

in an instant and knocked him away. He hadn't even looked up to do it.

The Doctor remembered the boy's eyes before he'd lost consciousness.

The information rolled over him slowly. The TARDIS had not followed a

distress call — it had followed instructions. Adric had instructed it to land

in 195os Earth and take off again. Why? What for?

The answer came from the inner doors. A faint cry from small lungs

betraying their existence. The Doctor froze. Adric glanced at the doors

briefly, then resumed. The time rotor began to move.

The Doctor was out through the inner doors in two heartbeats. He

didn't have far to go: he found the bundle of blankets in the first room he

tried. A wave of panic and unanswered questions rose within him at the

sight. The baby couldn't have been more than a few days old. It lay quietly

153

in the blankets, not crying now, having sensed company. The Doctor

stooped and gathered up the bundle in horror. This hadn't happened.

This can't have happened.

Òh, Adric,' he breathed. 'What have you done?'

It could see the organism holding it — feel the motion of its arms, the beats of its existence. It tried to move but it couldn't. The material was tight against its skin. A surge of thought opened its mouth.

Ì know, I know,' said the Doctor as the infant began crying again,

squirming in his grip. Its eyes were a wide, pale blue. 'We have to get you

back to your mother.'

The creature was communicating but primitively. The language in its mind was easier to understand.

The Doctor felt the tendrils of invasion in his brain.

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