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moment there was only silence, then she heard the sound again.
Something was creeping along the main tunnel towards her.
She peered into the semi-darkness, but there was nothing to be
seen. 'Anybody there?' she called. There was no reply.
Suddenly the weird howling sound rang out again. Caught
between two terrors, Sarah turned. Had the Doctor chosen the wrong
tunnel and run straight into the monster? The howl died away. The
silence returned and Sarah heard that faint padding sound again. She
looked over her shoulder and jumped with horror. A ghostly grey
figure was standing in the tunnel behind her.
The Doctor had just reached a sharp turning in the tunnel,
when the howl came again, louder this time. Whatever was making it
was very close. Clearly he'd chosen the wrong tunnel after all. The
Doctor knew he ought to turn back for Sarah, but curiosity drove him
on. At least he could get a look at the thing before he retreated. He
rounded the bend and found himself facing an enormous silvery
snake. It was rearing up so that its blunt head hung in mid-air high
above him. Its one eye glowing a fiery red, the giant creature loomed
over him. The great, flat head weaved to and fro as if searching for
prey.
8
Bellal
The Doctor hacked slowly away.
The silver snake reared higher, weaving its head to and fro as
if searching for him. It gave a weird electronic howl. The blunt head
stabbed suddenly towards him, and now the Doctor saw that it wasn't
a living creature at all. It was made of flexible metallic tubing, and
the red eye was a monitor lens. The length of the thing was
enormous. It stretched back and back, until it disappeared into the
darkness of the tunnel.
Not a snake then, decided the Doctor, but part of a mechanised
root system a kind of extendable probe, presumably sent out by the
City. In that case why the howl? To scare off intruders? Or perhaps
the noise acted as a kind of sonar, detecting the presence of intruders
by bouncing off sound waves... The Doctor received sudden,
unwelcome confirmation of his theory. The probe howled again,
then, as if the sound had given it a fix, it slithered suddenly towards
him.
The Doctor backed away, and tripped over a loose chunk of
rock. The fall saved his life. The probe lunged with the speed of a
striking cobra, and a bolt of energy sizzled over the Doctor's head,
blasting a chunk out of the tunnel wall. The Doctor rolled over,
sprang to his feet, and ran. The probe undulated after him, making a
hungry, moaning sound.
The Doctor shot back round the bend, spotted another rock-
fissure on his right and squeezed himself into it. He wriggled back
and back into the darkness until the fissure became too narrow for
him to go further. He saw the gleaming metal probe shoot past the
fissure. It howled again, then stopped and hovered, realising that
somehow it had lost its prey. Red eye glowing in the darkness, the
blunt head hovered in mid-air, hunting for the Doctor...
Sarah gazed at the ghastly apparition in horror. It took a pace
forward, and Sarah backed hurriedly away. 'Keep back! Keep away
from me...'
The apparition spoke. 'Please... do not be afraid.' Its voice was
low and gentle, almost child-like.
As she began to recover from the shock of its sudden
appearance, Sarah realised the creature wasn't so very terrifying after
all. To begin with it was very small, not much bigger than a child. It
wore a tattered greenish garment that covered arms and legs and
body so closely that at first sight it looked like the creature's skin.
The head was small and round, completely hairless, with small ears
and enormous staring eyes. The face was a dull, fish-belly white, and
seemed to be faintly luminous. With a sudden lizard-like movement,
the creature scuttled closer. 'I mean you no harm. I will help you if I
can.'
'Who are you?' whispered Sarah.
'I am called Bellal. I am an Exxilon, a native of this planet. But
my people do not share the belief's of those others, the ones who
tried to sacrifice you. They consider us their enemies.'
Sarah thought it was bad enough being on this planet, without
having to listen to a lecture on its politics. But there was something
curiously appealing about the white-faced little creature, and it
seemed anxious to enlighten her. 'And are you?' she asked. 'Are you
their enemies?'
Rellal shook his head. 'We seek only to save the entire Exxilon
race from destruction. But we do not share their beliefs, or worship
the City as they do, and for that we are persecuted and driven to live
in secret, deep beneath the planet. We are the Subterranean Exxilons.'
'How many of you are there?'
'We are very few few, against so many enemies. Please, I
will answer all your questions, but it is too dangerous here. Let me
take you to a place of safety.'
'I'm sorry, but I can't leave here. I must wait for '
'You have a companion? Which way did he go?'
Sarah pointed to the left hand tunnel. 'Down there.'
Bellal gave a little hiss of alarm. 'That way lies death.'
'Then we must find the Doctor and warn him. Please, come
with me.'
Bellal said reluctantly. 'It may already be too late. But I will do
what I can.'
Another little creature scuttled out of the darkness, so like
Bellal as to be almost identical. 'The machine-creatures from the
space ship... Two of them... they are very close.'
'Machine creatures ?' said Sarah. 'You mean Daleks?'
Bellal grasped Sarah's arm and pulled her into a nearby fissure.
He and his companion crowded in behind her, shielding her with
their bodies. Sarah realised that their greyish garments blended
perfectly with the walls of the tunnel, forming a perfect camouflage.
Two Daleks glided into view. They drew to a halt at the sight
of the three entrances facing them. They hovered for a moment, eye-
sticks swivelling uneasily to and fro. Then the one in the lead said,
'We will search independently. Fugitives are to be exterminated on
sight.'
'I obey.' The harsh metallic voices echoed through the tunnels.
The Daleks separated and moved off, one to the left and one to the
right.
As soon as they were out of sight Sarah wriggled out of her
hiding-place. 'One of those Daleks will be coming up behind the
Doctor. We must go and warn him.'
Bellal gripped her arm, holding her back. 'It will be of no use.
You must stay silent, or we will all be killed. You must understand...
It is beyond anyone's power to help your companion now.'
The Doctor was reaching a similar conclusion. In his desperate
dash for safety he had run straight into a trap. He couldn't go on [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]