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We need to get to the temple, he was calling. Don t panic, just
hurry. . .
Rez and Rose tried to help. A small child had managed to lose her
mother and sister and was sitting by an extinguished fire, crying and
obviously terrified. Rose picked her up and carried her towards the
line of people now disappearing into the dark forest, in the direction
of the temple. Rez recognised the child and helped Rose find her
mother.
Rose felt an odd shudder of empathy when she saw the look on the
Layloran mother s face as she was reunited with her little girl. It was
the look she saw on her mum s face every time the Doctor took her
home to the Powell Estate for a visit.
The screams were less frequent now and there was no immediate
sign of the attackers. Further back in the darkness of the village they
could still be heard, though, crashing through the tents as if looking
for victims.
What do they want? Rose asked out loud.
I didn t fancy stopping to ask them, confessed Rez. Somewhere
out in the forest they could hear Brother Hugan urging the refugees
on towards safety. Rez and Rose seemed to be the last people left at
the village s edge. Rose looked back, as one of the creatures appeared,
with an unconscious villager on his shoulder.
They re taking people! she cried.
If you don t come now, you ll be next. Rez insisted, and Rose al-
lowed him to lead her away.
The forest was much less idyllic at night, Rose discovered. A pair of
glowing moons in the star-speckled sky gave some light, but it was all
filtered through the canopy of trees, making life at ground level rather
murky. The floor of the forest was treacherous, what with creepers
and tree roots, and more than once Rose fell and had to be helped
up by the nimble-footed Rez. She was surprised how at home the hu-
man boy seemed to be here, making his way through with the ease
that Rose had when navigating Oxford Street on a shopping trip. He
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seemed to be able to sense obstructions, leaping over fallen trees be-
fore she had even registered them. So, she thought with a grin, not
only Superman but Tarzan as well!
Behind them she thought she could hear sounds of pursuit, but after
a while these faded and she was pretty sure they were no longer being
followed.
Short of breath, she stopped, bent over and placed her hands on
her knees. Rez, ahead of her as always, skidded to a stop and doubled
back to join her.
Are you all right? he asked.
I just need a minute, she gasped.
Rose seemed to do a lot of running in her adventures with the Doc-
tor but somehow it was never enough for her to get used to doing this
sort of thing effortlessly.
Suddenly Rez pulled her to the ground, rolling her into the cover of
a large bush.
Oil she began. You can cut that out!
But he covered her mouth with his palm and hissed a Sssh into her
ear. Something was moving nearby.
Rose gulped and nodded at Rez to indicate that it was safe to re-
move his hand. She wasn t going to make a noise. At least not con-
sciously. But she was all too aware of her heart thumping in her chest,
surely loud enough to be heard above the sounds of the forest. The
footsteps came nearer.
Rose squeezed her eyes shut and tried to shrink inside herself. Just
go past, she thought, just go past. Suddenly the bush she was hiding
under was pulled aside and something reached down towards her.
It was Mother Jaelette.
You nearly scared me half to death, she whispered at her angrily,
but the Layloran woman didn t seem particularly concerned about
that.
Quick. Come with me, she whispered back, dragging Rose out
from her cover and forcing Rez to follow.
She began to lead them through the forest. Rose caught glimpses
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of the temple buildings to her left and realised that they were walking
around it.
Did everyone get away? Rez asked.
Mother Jaelette nodded. Those that escaped are fine. But there are
still some people unaccounted for. . .
And what about the creatures? asked Rose.
Mother Jaelette turned to her and put a finger to her lips. That s
what I want to show you, she whispered. Look. . .
She pulled back a curtain of vines and Rose and Rez were able
to see them shuffling away in the distance. For a moment it looked
like a school outing, with the creatures walking along in crocodile
fashion, but then the moonlight caught the vicious claws and Rose
remembered how deadly and dangerous they were.
Where are they going? she asked, but even as she spoke she had
an idea of the answer. That s the direction of the crashed spaceship,
isn t it?
Rez nodded. I think so.
Rose thought for a moment about what this meant. Were the crea-
tures connected to the spaceship somehow? But the Doctor had been
taken away by men, not monsters. She was missing something, some
connection. If only the Doctor were here.
I have to get to that ship in the morning, she announced.
But that s where the creatures are going. . . Rez pointed out.
Which is why I have to go there, Rose replied determinedly.
Rez could see that she wouldn t change her mind. Very well, he
said. I ll take you at Saxik rise.
The last of the beasts had disappeared now. Mother Jaelette started
to lead them back to the parts of the temple site that the tribe were
using as a haven.
Did you notice something odd about the Witiku? she asked them
as they walked carefully through the dark forest.
Odd? retorted Rose. They re two-metre-high hairy monsters with
claws the size of skewers, how odd do they have to be?
How many Witiku attacked the village tonight? asked Jaelette,
ignoring her sarcasm.
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Rose wasn t sure she could answer that.
A handful. . . Three or four, she estimated.
Rez had a much clearer idea. There were three. The two that
attacked us and one other.
Mother Jaelette stopped and turned to look at them. The moon-
light hit her face and Rose could see the strain of what had happened
etched there.
Exactly, she said in a weary tone.
With a sudden rush of understanding Rose caught on to what she
was getting at. But just now. . . we saw a dozen of them or more,
heading for the spaceship. Mother Jaelette looked grim. Brother
Hugan was right. The Witiku army is growing. Another night like
tonight and they will outnumber us.
Rose thought she had the answer.
If Brother Hugan knows so much about the things, maybe he knows
a way to stop them.
Jaelette shook her head sadly.
You re right that he knows more about the Witiku than any of us,
Jaelette told her solemnly, but Brother Hugan is one of the missing!
Trainee Pilot Jonn Hespell had been amused when the Doctor per-
suaded Professor Shulough that she d stumbled across quite an asset
in capturing him. The environmental-control system had been a piece
of cake for the stranger to fix, and having sorted that out he d been
foolish enough to volunteer his services for any other little jobs she
might have. Three hours later Hespell suspected that the Doctor was
beginning to wonder if this might have been a mistake. Having just
survived a crash landing, there were dozens of little jobs that needed
his attention, and Hespell had been assigned the task of shepherding
their new super-mechanic from problem to problem.
The thing is, announced the Doctor, as he followed Hespell through
the narrow crawl-spaces of the engineering deck, it s not a matter of
what s damaged, it s more of question of trying to identify something
that isn t!
It wasn t that bad a landing, Hespell said loyally.
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Oh no, any landing you can walk away from and all that, com-
mented the Doctor, his eyes twinkling. Was it you at the controls,
then?
Hespell blushed and shook his head. Major Kendle, he confessed.
Ah, exclaimed the Doctor, older-driver syndrome. I understand.
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