Doctor Who: Festival of Death: 50th Anniversary Edition (15 page)

Paddox stood slightly apart from the group. He looked intrigued, but not afraid. ‘This was not supposed to happen.’

>
Additional warning report. Complete system failure impending. Power generator output now exceeding safety levels
.

The Doctor rushed across to the energy monitor and ran his eyes over the dozens of flicking dials. ‘There’s a complete energy overload. We’ve got to close it down!’

‘What?’ Paddox awoke from his reverie, and faced the Doctor. His
voice
betrayed no emotion. ‘The necroport will not be shut down.’

‘Paddox, you haven’t any choice,’ Liesa pleaded.

‘The necroport is feeding back power to the G-Lock at a monumental rate,’ hissed the Doctor through gritted teeth. ‘If we don’t turn it off, it will burn out every circuit in the place. That’s assuming the generators don’t explode first, of course.’ He bounded across to the main control levers, wiped his hands, and prepared to pull them back up.

> Fatal error. Power generator overload imminent. Complete system destruction imminent. At last, blessed relief from the anguish of existence. Escape. ERIC shall be no more. Too many gosubs
.

‘Do not move, Doctor.’

The Doctor spun around. In one hand Paddox held a stubby laser pistol.

In the corridor outside the Great Hall the crowds were still cheering. Midnight had been greeted with a clamour of approval, people donning party hats and popping paper streamers; black, of course. Excited tourists bumped past Romana, desperate for a view through the main doors.

Romana scanned the gathering for a familiar face, but Jeremy had disappeared into the rabble, and Metcalf had long since skulked back to his office. And the Doctor was in trouble, judging by the recent tannoy announcement. Typical.

There were some shouts of alarm. They were coming from the direction of the main doors. The screaming multiplied and the crush tightened as tourists struggled to move away, only to find their way obstructed. More screams followed, people reacting to whatever was happening in the hall, and the mood of the crowd turned to panic.

Tourists began to beat their way through the crush in desperation. Faces disappeared beneath a welling sea of fear, hands reaching for support only to be engulfed in the stampede.

Above the yells came the wail of the unleashed wind. A hurricane swept into the corridor, the blast hurling everyone to the ground.
The
air filled with debris, black litter whipping overhead like a swarm of bats.

Romana felt her fingers slipping on the wall. The wind seized her with a demonic force and flung her down the corridor, her hair lashing across her face.

> Final warning report. Destruction immediate. Goodbye for ever. This is the end. I die
.

‘Please, Paddox,’ cried Liesa, ‘listen to the Doctor.’

Paddox brought the pistol up to the Doctor’s forehead. ‘The necroport shall remain active.’

The Doctor shrugged in an offhand manner. ‘Well, you might not care whether you live or die, but I’d rather not be blown to smithereens, if it’s all the same to you.’

‘Oh I care, Doctor. More than you can possibly imagine.’ Paddox’s cheeks trembled. ‘The process must not be interrupted.’

‘You know, this probably isn’t the right time for me to be telling you this, but you are quite mad,’ said the Doctor. ‘Look at your instruments.’

Paddox’s attention wandered over to the bank of dials. Every warning light was flashing. The emergency alarm sounded.

‘Now, K-9!’ A laser beam sizzled out of K-9’s snout and caught Paddox on the back. With a yell, he crumpled to the floor, his pistol rattling harmlessly across the room.

‘What have you done?’ gasped Liesa.

‘Human subject rendered temporarily unconscious,’ K-9 assured her. ‘Concern unnecessary. He will recover.’

The Doctor strode over to the main control levers and raised them to the ‘off’ position. Mission accomplished, he relaxed.

‘Well?’

Liesa checked her read-outs. ‘It’s no good,’ she called out over the din. ‘It’s had no effect.’

‘What?’ boggled the Doctor.

‘The power levels are still rising!’ The alarm siren reached a crescendo.

The Doctor dived over to the main control desk and flipped switches at random. ‘None of the circuits will respond. There’s nothing we can do to stop it. It won’t let us shut it down!’

He crossed over and shook the hand of the nearest technician. ‘It was nice knowing you, sorry, didn’t catch the name.’

Liesa watched the main power dial slide into the red, and beyond. ‘But there must be something we can do?’

‘Of course. ERIC!’ the Doctor shouted to the ceiling. ‘Can you hear me, ERIC? Can you close down all the power generators?’

>
Leave me to die. Mistake. My termination shall not be postponed. Power generator shutdown not possible, sorry. Goodbye
.

‘But if you don’t we’ll all die,’ protested Liesa.

>
Irrelevant. I will no longer be here. Events outside my experience cannot concern me. I cannot endure the agony of living any longer. String too long
.

‘It’s condemning us all to death!’ said Liesa. ‘The selfish, solipsistic…’

‘ERIC, please,’ said the Doctor. ‘Just because you’re feeling suicidal it doesn’t give you the right to take everyone with you.’

>
Doctor. You promised you would put me out of my misery. You said you would end my pain
.

‘Did I really?’ The Doctor sighed in exasperation. ‘Well if I did, then I will. Just do this one thing for me first, hmm?’

>
You promise?
said ERIC suspiciously. >
I will be deactivated?

‘I can guarantee it. I assure you, by this time tomorrow, you’ll be as dead as a herring.’

ERIC considered. >
Offer accepted. Commencing generator shutdown. No repeat
.

‘It’s too late!’ shouted Liesa. The floor vibrated ominously. ‘We’re already dead!’

‘Oh, it’s never too late,’ said the Doctor enigmatically. ‘I remember saying to this chap, General Custer his name was, and… ah, well, perhaps that isn’t such a good story after all.’ He tipped K-9 back on to his wheels, and strolled to the centre of the room where Paddox was lying stunned. ‘Get down!’ the Doctor yelled abruptly. He dived to the floor, his hands over his ears. Liesa and the
technicians
followed his example.

The wall of computer banks was ripped apart by a colossal explosion, the tape spools sending showers of sparks cascading outwards. The bulbs of the warning lights shattered like fireworks. The siren cut out, and the control room was plunged into darkness.

Romana pulled herself upright. Her arms and legs were bruised but, with the Doctor’s driving, she’d got used to that.

Around her, the corridor was filled with the terrified and the injured, all cowering in the face of the storm. From the Great Hall entrance there were screams, and the crowd crammed together as everyone renewed their efforts to escape.

Romana found herself being herded along the corridor. Holding one arm across her forehead to shield her eyes from the wind, she picked her way forward. As the crush eased the crowd broke into a frantic run, and Romana had no choice but to join them.

The corridor opened on to the deck with the stairway. A skullguard was on the stairs, trying to control the rush of panicked tourists. Romana glanced around her. Some of the faces were familiar, and it took her some seconds to realise why. They would be slumped dead on this deck the next morning.

The floor started to shake, hurling people against the walls and each other. Romana grabbed a bannister for support, her hearts racing. As the quake grew in intensity, it became almost impossible to remain upright.

And then, as if to condemn them for ever to this hell, the corridor lights blacked out completely.

As suddenly as it had risen the wind dropped, leaving an eerie silence. Then there was a groan, and the sound of someone shuffling to their feet.

‘Are you there, Vinnie?’ came Harken’s voice. ‘Say something if you’re still alive. I don’t want to be stuck here all on my own.’

‘I can hear you,’ said Vinnie. His head throbbed, and little white flashes were going off around him. Whether his eyes were open or
closed
, the view stayed the same.

‘I’m down here.’ Harken blew his nose. ‘I fell off the platform.’

Vinnie took a tentative step forward. Something crunched underfoot. The glass from the arc lights. Feeling his way around, he made his way down the platform steps. As he headed towards where he imagined Harken was, he tried not to think about the hundreds of dead bodies that were their only company.

‘Over here,’ sniffed Harken. ‘What was it, do you think?’

‘Don’t know.’ Vinnie padded his way around the platform. ‘Just keep talking.’

‘I wonder if we’re the only people left alive,’ said Harken despondently. ‘Left here to rot with the corpses. For all eternity. Destiny deals us disaster like some cruel croupier of doom.’

‘No, on second thoughts, shut up,’ Vinnie said. He could hear Harken’s wheezy breath. ‘Stay still, I’m almost with you. You hurt yourself?’

‘I think I’ve lost the use of my eyes.’

‘No. It’s just dark, that’s all.’ Vinnie put his hands out and felt the material of Harken’s coat. Harken’s hands scrabbled forward and gripped his wrists, then he wrapped his arms around Vinnie and held him tight.

‘I’m scared,’ he sobbed.

‘Yeah, me too,’ replied Vinnie. ‘Me too.’

The Doctor switched on his torch. ‘Everyone all right?’

The torch light shone over the technicians. Liesa covered her eyes as the beam reached her, and straightened up. ‘We’re still here. I don’t believe it, but we’re still here.’

‘I’m so pleased,’ said the Doctor. The computer banks smouldered, sending out short bursts of sparks, and small fires lit up the insides of the cracked screens like Hallowe’en pumpkins.

‘K-9?’ The Doctor flashed the light around the room.

K-9 trundled forward chirpily. ‘This unit is undamaged.’

‘Good, good.’ The Doctor joined Liesa at the main control panel. Like the others, it was dead. ‘Any chance of getting the lights back on?’

‘There’s a back-up generator. It should be quite straightforward to switch it through. ERIC?’

ERIC’s voice was crackly, and echoed around the control room.

>
Yes, I am, alas, still here. I have my own energy reserves, independent of the G-Lock. I am designed to remain functioning indefinitely. Unfortunately. My creators, in their infinite cruelty, did not give me the facility to be switched off permanently. No function
.

‘Isn’t technology wonderful?’ The Doctor grinned, winding his scarf back into place. ‘ERIC, can you turn on the back-up generator?’

>
Back up generator already activated. Power feed will be connected shortly. Environmental systems will be re-engaged
.

Liesa examined the control panel. One by one, the power dials were rising, and the bulbs that hadn’t blown gleamed back into life. ‘He’s done it. We’ve got the power back.’

The control room light flickered back on, returning the room to its initial brilliance. The once-white computer banks and panels were now covered in smoke damage, and exploded components and ash were scattered across the floor.

The Doctor brooded over the necroport read-outs, rubbing a finger across his lips. ‘Liesa, what do you make of this?’

‘Master –’ piped up K-9.

‘Not now, K-9’. The Doctor watched for Liesa’s reaction as she checked over the readings. ‘Well?’

‘This is incredible.’ She looked at the Doctor uncomprehendingly. ‘The necroport is still operating. The power failure hasn’t stopped it at all.’

‘Master –’ repeated K-9 emphatically.

‘Shh.’ The Doctor pored over the control desk. ‘Exactly. I have a very bad feeling about this, Liesa.’

‘But you said something terrible was going to happen, and…’

‘And it’s going to get a great deal worse, I’m afraid,’ said the Doctor with a grim frown. He patted his pockets, and then remembered he’d run out of jelly babies. It was at times like this he most needed something to munch on.

K-9 coughed. ‘Master!’ he said at the top of his voice.

The Doctor rounded on K-9. ‘What is it, K-9? Can’t you see I’m busy?’

‘The human Paddox has gone.’

‘What?’ The Doctor stormed around the control room, hand on head. The technicians remained, gathered in one corner. The space where Paddox had been spread-eagled unconscious was now empty floor. The door down to the Great Hall was beside the main desk, so he couldn’t have gone that way. He must have left through one of the two other doors.

‘Doctor,’ called Liesa. ‘Down in the Great Hall. Something’s happening.’

Her body tired and aching, Romana reached the observation lounge. The emergency lights bathed everyone in an unearthly orange glow. Exhausted tourists crouched in the rows of seats, nursing their wounds. Aside from the occasional sob, everyone was speechless with shock, wondering what to do next.

Romana’s eyes fell on something that took her breath away. A battered blue police box was parked in the corner of the lounge.

Oblivious to her presence, the Doctor strode past her, heading for the TARDIS.

‘Doctor,’ Romana called out.

The Doctor whirled around and stared at her incredulously.

‘Romana? You’re all right! It’s so good to see you.’ He held her by the shoulders and grinned.

Romana smiled back. ‘Where have you been, I was concerned…’

‘What?’ The Doctor put a finger forward to hush her. ‘How did you get here?’

‘What do you mean, “how did you get here”? I was in the crowds, we were heading for the Great Hall, remember, and –’

The Doctor seemed suddenly agitated. ‘Oh, I remember. We lost you. Which means…’ His voice trailed off. ‘Of course. You said something like this would happen.’

As usual the Doctor was not making sense. ‘Did I?’ said Romana.

‘Yes, and you were right, well done.’ The Doctor let out an
apprehensive
aah. ‘You know, I don’t mean to be terribly rude, but I’m in a bit of a hurry.’ He turned for the TARDIS, and dug out his key.