MISSING IN ACTION
Chapter 11 Amy watched the monitor screen with mounting horror, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the back of the chair the Doctor had suddenly sat in. His fingers were rapidly tapping the keys of a computer terminal. In the background, came the laughter of Altaar, as the Howling suddenly stilled itself. The whirlwind shrank. Now looking almost like some sort of perverted three-meter high dust devil, the black, green and purple mass slowly and inexorably turned. It moved ponderously towards River and Rory. "However I may feel about you, I'm sorry about your friends, Doctor." Margatha told him sadly. "Altaar has gone mad." "You know, Altaar, I'm finding all of this gloating a tad dull. You are a very boring man. Well, you're a politician, you would be. Thing is, I don't like being around boring people. So take a hike " The Doctor said, as he turned off the two-way audio link. "Why are you just sitting there, Doctor?" Amy asked, near tears. "Why don't you do something?" "I am doing something, Amy." The Doctor said, as he continued to type away. "What are you doing?" She said. "Guess!" He answered cryptically. "I...dunno." Amy shrugged. "OK. Then take a guess and say, 'are you trying to attract the creature back to the underground complex'?" "You're trying to bring the Howling back here, Doctor?" Amy asked, not sure she liked that sound of that. "Bingo!" The Doctor smiled. "I've taken down the deflective barrier, and am inserting a positive binary transonic feedback loop into the public address tannoy. The vibrations should attract the Howling, and get away from River and Rory. For a while, anyway. "Are you sure that will work?" Amy said, stepping back to watch the now-silent screen. It showed the Howling. Slowly, as if trying to scent its prey, it was moving towards the two distant space-suited figures sitting motionless under the rocks. "But...what about us?" Margatha asked, hand clutching at her throat in sudden terror. "Meh." The Doctor smiled, swiveling around in his chair to grin at the two women. "I'm never sure of anything. How hum-drum would my life be if I knew everything?" He made a face. "Bleh!" Then, he stood, straightening his bow tie. "As soon as I link this up though, we'll have about ten minutes to make it back to the TARDIS, before the Howling devours this entire complex." "When will that be?" Amy asked. "I'd say..." He paused for dramatic effect, "Right about..." His finger hovered over a single key on the computer keyboard. "Now!" He smiled, as his finger stabbed the key. "OK everyone...run for your life!"
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