Doctor Who: Drift (10 page)

„My superiors wanted something a little more concrete than that. They dabbled in what they call psychic forces, but any suggestion of the spirit world was more than they could stomach. So I had to answer them in the language of science.‟

Leela recalled Neeva‟s claims of communion with the Great One, and how the Doctor had showed her that, then too, the magic of the Tesh was involved; the magic that was not magic. She did not believe Kristal was a
charlatan
like Neeva.

„Unfortunately, it was not Hin-Han‟s wings I rode, but those of a ship from another world. But, yes, Leela, I saw far across the Milky Way. The Stormcore is the key to the spirit world -

and a thousand other universes my ancestors never dreamed of. And the government had no idea what to do with that kind of power.‟

She looked out across the landscape and Leela saw her eyes tighten.

Tracing her line of sight to the north, she picked out the lonely figure in a blundering run, a bundle clutched to his chest like a baby at a mother‟s breast.

„There he is. Come on.‟

See, Kristal told them the device was a navigation system, because that was the closest term, she said, that they‟d be happy with. She told them it navigated not only between the stars, but all the universes between the stars. Including a direct channel through to all those psychic forces they‟d been studying for so long. So naturally they were pretty excited, hence they gave their star pupil a front row seat on the project as soon as they‟d figured out what they were going to do with their find.‟

The Doctor pondered a while. „Hm. Sounds to me like a variety of multidimensional navigational system. Not something you‟d find on any common-or-garden spacecraft.‟ He fixed Captain Shaw with an inquisitive scowl. „You know, I have to wonder if this
UFO
of yours crashed or had the slightly greater misfortune of being shot down?‟

„Sir, the Captain told you,‟ Lieutenant Beard broke in for the first time, „we‟re just the baby-sitters. Neither the NSA nor the CIA are about to tell us whether the Air Force shot down some alien spacecraft twenty or thirty years ago, and we aren‟t about to ask. The folks down at Fort Meade came up with the project, assigned their staff and dropped it in our lap. We‟re all on the same side, different departments is all.

That‟s just the way it works.‟

The Doctor saw Morgan Shaw trying on a smirk for size, to see how he liked that. He leaned back in his seat and regarded the two officers, letting the rocking and the growl of the vehicle answer on his behalf.

Emilie Jacks could never have said she loved Crayford Boyle.

He‟d had something miraculous and he‟d shared it with her, that was all. But once shared, it had become hers too, and she couldn‟t get over how he‟d surrendered it so easily. All for what? Fear?

She spat to one side. Time to step up the pace for the final few yards. Her muscles were burning but that kind of pain only made her feel better.

Fear was made for giving, not receiving.

One man broken and everything lay in ruins. Everything she‟d signed up for, everything they‟d worked for. Now she was left with Lagoy in tow. God Almighty, of all the possible survivors, Mitch Lagoy. Not exactly
The Omega Man.

Jacks looked back over her shoulder to make sure Lagoy was sticking close.

He was panting like a goddamn polar bear. Plenty of insulation on him, but he was one hell of a risk when it came to covert ops. She felt like ordering him on ahead, draw the enemy fire, but she figured he must be smart enough to question a command like that.

When she‟d first enlisted with Crayford, Lagoy was already in situ, a trusted man in the ranks. The guy was a slob though, never been near the military. A bank robber, for Christ‟s sake. Okay, he‟d never been caught (and Crayford had run enough background checks to confirm that) but Jacks always looked at it this way: Lagoy hadn‟t made a million either.

The trees were starting to thin some. Jacks hit the snow on her belly and she waved Lagoy down behind her. Gun held off the snow, she started scuttling on her elbows, to a few yards shy of the treeline.

Hopefully Lagoy was doing the same, but she didn‟t have the time or patience to keep checking on him every two seconds. Snaking up, she peered over a mound of snow, ready to meet a soldier‟s boot, the muzzle of a rifle or anything.

She saw the house: a short dash down a shallow gradient.

They‟d followed the arc of the woods, a safe distance in, and this was about the furthest the treeline extended.

There were three soldiers. Not easy to see, but they were there. They weren‟t straying far from the house, following a tight circuit out by the broken fence, more to keep warm than cover the terrain. The two old trucks, cannibalised for spares not long after they‟d arrived, guarded the main line of Emilie‟s planned approach.

„We‟ll take a breather for a second. There‟s not much ground to cross here, but I want to be sure there aren‟t any more patrols.‟ Even as she said it, she knew she was sounding pleased with herself. And she kind of expected that would get a rise out of Lagoy.

He was shuffling up on his gut, bringing his voice too close.

„Listen to yourself. This is nuts, no matter how you dress it up.‟

Then the real accusation: „You just packed Crayford off like some decoy in hunting season.‟

„Don‟t forget,‟ Jacks snorted, „I also gave him our trophy. If the Army can‟t manage to track him, their Psi is going to make sure that stays square in their sights.‟

„You sold him out!‟

Jacks grabbed at Lagoy‟s collar. „You‟re getting loud, Lagoy,‟ she bared her teeth. „Crayford sold us out, he gave it up. The sooner you get it through that concrete skull of yours the better for all of us. And all of us means you and me.

We‟re it. Whether you or I like it or not.‟

She was satisfied to see some of the flame fade from Lagoy‟s glare. He said, „Listen, I get that Crayford lost his nerve. I just don‟t get that the Army scared him like that.

What if something did come through? Something we couldn‟t handle? What if it‟s in there waiting?‟

„Waiting for what?‟ Jacks jerked her head to indicate the patrol. „Say Crayford was right? Say our devotions brought some invader through from the other world. D‟you think they‟re going to let the United States Army walk around their new territory unchecked?‟

She watched Lagoy watching the soldiers.

„Say there‟s a bunch of ETs in there, lying low until their main invasion force arrives. They‟re not going to be bothering anyone much longer.‟ She laughed, enjoying the man‟s dense look for a moment. „When we get inside that building, we are going to take care of everyone and everything in one go. Wipe the slate clean.‟

Jacks enjoyed the man‟s look of fear that little bit more.

The way ahead was wide open, but Crayford Boyle didn‟t trust it. A basin of white, tainted with enemies. He guessed the soldiers were somewhere out there, but he felt
her
watcher and hunter, a shadow on his mind, waiting for him across that bleached plain. He fancied he could even see the men in their foxholes. Enemies everywhere.

The Army‟s pet Psi and her little troop of soldiers.

Crayford whimpered and tried to remember where Emilie had gone. Why did she desert him? Why would she? Watch me ran, then. Watch me run in empty space.

He broke right, haring along the brow of the hill and he laughed when he thought about the surprise on all those Army faces. Especially the Psi‟s. The thing in his embrace beat against his chest like a second heart, and Crayford felt the alien energies pumping Into his bloodstream. He wanted to throw it away, but he couldn‟t let it go. Not now.

He tripped. He clasped the pack tighter as he fought his way up, glanced back as he ran on.

„Damn it!‟ Kristal had her radio up in an instant. „Marotta, he made us.‟

„Yeah, I see. Lieutenant,‟ the set crackled in response. „I swear he never saw us. We‟re packed tighter than the snow here.‟

„He made me, I think.‟ Kristal was on her feet and trotting for the snowmobile. She signalled with her free hand and the other troops were running for their vehicles. „Saddle up and follow us. We‟re never going to catch him on foot.‟

Leela ran to catch up both with Kristal and what had gone wrong. „We were well concealed here. How could he have seen us?‟

Kristal grimaced, seeming abashed, as she reached her vehicle. „Our man sees the same way I can, Leela. I should have anticipated the possibility. We knew the cult were interested in recruiting psychics. Come on. He won‟t get far.‟

Leela moved behind her, ready to hop on. This was not her idea of hunting, but she was almost looking forward to her second ride.

The trees, if he could just reach the trees. He could lose them, lose them all. Except the Psi, but he could kill her, couldn‟t he?

If he couldn‟t take on a woman then there truly was nothing left of Crayford Boyle. Nothing left.

He sprinted, lifting his legs high and pumping them down hard. Time and distance stretched the faster he pushed himself on. Coarse breath raked the walls of his lungs.

Then he was across the finish line and starting down the slope, brushing snow from silver tree-trunks. Bare twigs clawed at his hood.

Something snagged on his sleeve.

Crayford turned. His right foot landed wrong.

As he gave in to the tumble, Crayford realised he was crying.

He was crying because his run was over. It was the only thought he had time for as he completed a clumsy roll and thumped into the base of a stout tree. A few dumplings of snow spattered on his coat and something shifted above him.

Crayford whimpered and thrust the pack out in front of him. It was useless as a shield but he prayed it was all they wanted.

Leela leaned hard to her right, sensing the vehicle‟s desire to topple as it cut along the slope at a frightening angle. Even as they levelled off, Leela‟s butterflies refused to settle. The snowmobile chewed ravenously at the snow, spitting clouds of soft crumbs in their wake.

They raced full pelt across the basin floor, powering up for the climb ahead. Kristal glanced aft to check on her team and gestured insistently with one hand. Two of the snowmobiles broke left and upped their speed to draw level.

Goggles down, her hood pulled up to keep her hat in place, it was impossible to read anything of the real Kristal under these circumstances. And yet, Leela‟s arms detected a sudden tension possessing the woman‟s every muscle.

Something more than the effort of driving.

Kristal wrenched their snowmobile round in an abrupt curve, like the slice of an attacker‟s blade. Leela braced herself for a tumble. But no, they were upright and unharmed -

but perfectly still. Kristal‟s raised hand called a halt. To everything.

The other snowmobiles coasted to a stop and sputtered into silence close by.

For a moment, the loudest thing on the mountain was Leela‟s own heartbeat.

Then fear found substance.

Crashing over and through the trees like a mighty breaker striking a white shore. Spilling over the
far
ridge, where the hunted man had disappeared: a broiling mass, exploding and reforming in a relentless drive across the land. In a few seconds it had advanced enough to blot out the treetops. The brow of the hill was engulfed soon after.

The sight of it left Leela hollow. „What is that?‟

„Death‟s pale horse,‟ managed Kristal, without a breath.

The tidal-wave blizzard crashed onwards, erasing the landscape as it came.

In any creepy old house, the last place you want to head is the cellar. But, following a brisk sweep upstairs and down, Joanna knew she was going to wind up down there sooner or later. She had covered all the ground the platoon had cleared, testing for loose boards, knocking at the backs of closets, and crawling around on all fours up in the roof-space. Just to be sure.

By now she was past sure and the basement was the last stop on her itinerary.

Descending the stairwell, barely one person wide, Joanna laughed soundlessly at herself. That was the trouble when you were reminded of what it was like to be a little girl: the reminiscence wasn‟t limited to the good stuff.

Her nerves weren‟t purely childish. She didn‟t expect to find anything in the basement, be it clue or danger, but the cultists hadn‟t expected whatever they‟d found. Even if they really had managed to summon extraterrestrial forces into their rundown country commune, they hadn‟t got the brand of salvation they‟d wanted.

The briefing had told her next to nothing on the cult‟s principles, other than their alleged promotion of psychic experimentation and the baptism of the soul in the fire of the inner mind - whatever that meant. But Joanna had read the profiles on known individuals, and these guys were all survivalists. Which implied they wanted to survive.

The electrics were out, so Joanna had armed herself with a flashlight and, despite the platoon having pronounced the basement as clear, collected her H&K from where she‟d propped it up in the hall. It wasn‟t big enough to encumber and she felt a whole lot safer with its weight close to her side.