CAVERN OF DEATH

Chapter 11

Quickly readjusting some settings on his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor raised it towards the roof over the hole. Just as the Dalek hovered over the center of deep pit, he pressed down hard on the sonic. The tip of the device glowed green and it gave off a piercing shriek. It caused both he and Clara to wince. She quickly stuck her fingers in her ears.

But the result was worth the risk of a bit of hearing loss, the Doctor reckoned. Releasing the device, he calmly watched the roof over the hole suddenly crumple down upon to the Dalek.

"Don't take this question wrong, Doctor." Clara shouted at him over the din of falling rock. "But are you completely, raving, bonkers?"

"Meh. Perhaps just a little." The Doctor conceded. "But there be a method to my madness, Clara. Whatever technician built the engine that allows the Daleks to hover, obviously had never met Issac Newton. Otherwise, he might have taken into account the effects of gravity on rock after its been hit by a concentrated sonic wave set at the level of of five-point-seven-one gigahertz."

The two of them watched as the roof over the Dalek instantly collapsed with a rolling thunder of sound. As the floor rumbled and the walls shook, tonnes of solid rock cascaded down on to the dome of the creature, causing it to plummet into the unknown depths below.

"HELP MEEEE—! EMERGENCY! EMERGEN—CEEEEEEEE!"

The creature inside its metal casing screamed all the way down, it's voice trailing away, cut off only when it hit bottom. The Dalek was instantly buried under meters of rubble.

Unfortunately for the Doctor and Clara, the rest of the tunnel also became unstable. Coughing from the roiling dust cloud that billowed toward them, the Doctor swiftly resumed getting Clara to her feet. They legged it out of there with only seconds to spare before that entire section of tunnel collapsed.

Hobbling alongside the Doctor, Clara coughed, waving away the dust. "That's one way to kill a Dalek, I suppose."

"Maybe." The Doctor said shortly.

"You don't think it lived through that, did you?"

Instead of answering, he paused.

"Sit down Clara," he said, indicating her ankle, "let me have a look at that."

"Probably just twisted it a little. I'll be fine." She protested. "And I have to tell you something, Doctor. Dodging my questions makes me more nervous than if you just gave me a straight answer."

As he ran the sonic over her ankle, the Doctor shot her a resigned look.

"OK, OK. I suppose I do owe you at least that. Here's how it is, then. I think it probably is dead. Yet with a Dalek..." heaving a sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair, "...there's no telling. They're the cockroaches of the universe, Clara. You kill one, and next thing you know you've got ten of them scurrying around your sugar bowl. Just when I think I've finally gotten rid of them, they come back. They always come back"

Turning off the sonic, the Doctor pulled off his bow tie. "It's not broken or sprained. You just twisted it, I suppose."

"Do tell?" Clara said archly. "Gee, I never would have guessed. Glad you're here then, Doctor."

The Doctor wrapped the tie around her ankle, only to find it was too short. He frowned at the scrap of TARDIS blue fabric which now lay in his open palm. "I could have sworn it was longer than that."

"You could always rip up your shirt, I suppose?" She suggested. "That's what the hero a romance novel always does. You know, when his lady love trips and falls while running away from the bad guys."

"But you see, I—ah, I am rather fond of this shirt, Clara."

With a twinkle in her eye, Clara seemed almost to be enjoying the Doctor's sudden discomfort.

"Never mind, Doctor. You can always use my bra. That's sort of like a bandage, if you think about it."

"Your ah—bra? Right. Well. Erm—I'm not sure that would be entirely necessary, er—Clara." He said, giving a big, dry swallow.

She laughed, deciding to let him off the hook, "Relax, Doctor. I was only taking the mickey. Trust me. You are no 'Mr. Darcy'. You're more like my...my...very cool big brother."

"Really?" He smiled warmly at her. "Thanks, Clara."

Turning his attention from her ankle, the Doctor suddenly gave her a surprised look. "You read romance novels?"

Just at that moment, they heard a distant echo from an adjoining shaft to theirs, "LOCATE THE DOC-TOR. FIND HIM!"

"Think you can stand alright, Clara?" He asked, helping her to her feet once more.

"I can run if I have to, Doctor." She confirmed, nodding towards the shaft where there obviously were Daleks. "And it may come to that, if we don't get out of here."

"There seems to be only one way to go, for the moment." The Doctor said, pointing at the tunnel ahead with his pen torch. "Maybe it will show us the way out. Or better yet, lead us to a clue as to why the Daleks are hiding down here, instead of destroying the entire planet. Care to take the tour with me, Clara?"

Drawing ever closer, came the screaming threats of the Dalek commander, "PUR-SUE! PUR-SUE!"

The two of them turned a corner, only to be confronted by a wall of solid rock.

"You know, Doctor?" Clara told him as they stared at the wall, "That's the last time I pick up a TARDIS holiday brochure. These self-guided Dalek tours are rubbish."

Back                         Home                              Doctor Who Main Page                          Next

Your Name or Alias:      Your E-mail (optional):

Please type your review below. Only positive reviews will be posted! Constructive criticism will e-mailed to the author.