Read Online Ten Little Aliens: 50th Anniversary Edition by Stephen Cole - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Stephen Cole
Ads: Link
’suits they’re wearing, I’ll buy that.’
Ben glanced at the Doctor. Under any other circumstances, the look of outrage on his face would’ve been hilarious.
‘Seems the Spooks opened fire on them, here on the fringes,’ said Haunt.
Roba nodded. ‘Figures. “No human shall feel secure…” Just like they said. Stepping up the terror campaign.’
Shel looked over at the bodies hunched up on the dais. ‘While the ones they’re after are right here?’
‘They
must
be part of the simulation,’ Haunt said dismissively.
‘This one is branded too,’ said Shel quietly, crouching over the grisly alien corpse in the chair. He had raised the bloodstained robe from its shoulder and was indicating something in the flesh beneath. ‘Pentagon coding. It’s Pallemar all right, he’s been chipped. No one can forge these data codes.’
‘So this really is DeCaster’s Ten-strong? And all dead?’ Roba looked at Shel. ‘No way. You’re kidding me, right?’
Shel shook his head. As he showed Roba and Haunt whatever his handheld gadget was showing, Ben turned to the Doctor.
‘We have to find Polly and get out of here.’
‘Quite so, my boy,’ the Doctor said vaguely. He was looking intently at his surroundings as if taking them in properly for the first time.
‘Where do you think she went, Doctor? I mean, how can she just have disappeared?’
‘She didn’t,’ the Doctor informed him curtly. ‘There must be a concealed exit here somewhere. This chamber was sealed, airtight.’ He sighed. ‘In any case… as I said to Marshal Haunt, we require the assistance of our soldier friends if we are to find her. I very much doubt they will let us go looking by ourselves.’
Ben felt sick. ‘How come the TARDIS doors won’t open?’
‘I don’t know, my boy,’ the Doctor confessed. ‘That humming noise that started up when the doors opened… I believe it was some kind of generator, setting up the force field you see around these bodies.’
Ben felt foolish. ‘I thought that was glass or something.’
‘No,’ said the Doctor. ‘It’s a protective enclosure, triggered no doubt by the rush of air into the room. In the vacuum the bodies couldn’t decay. This mechanism was designed to react to anyone entering this room through that doorway.’
‘But why?’
The Doctor hushed him. He was listening again to the huddle of commandos.
Haunt was looking at the bodies again. ‘We’d better contact Cellmek at the Academy, tell him to let everyone go home early,’ she said dryly. ‘The Empire’s most wanted have saved us the bother of hunting them down. They’ve killed themselves and kindly put themselves on display for army inspection.’
‘What about them two.’ Roba scowled at the two strangers. Ben saw the Doctor nod politely as if greeting the vicar.
Haunt raised her comms bracelet to her mouth. ‘Frog.’
‘Marshal.’
‘Join us in here. Move.’ Haunt turned to Shel and Roba. ‘Frog can take them back to the ship. Meanwhile, we’ll warn the others to watch out for this girl, and anyone else out there.’
‘Seems this lump of rock is getting awful crowded,’ Roba rumbled. ‘Ain’t it meant to be just us and a couple of droids?’
‘And they’re still out there,’ Shel said quietly. ‘Programmed to kill. We can’t shut them off.’
Haunt swore. ‘Wrong… everything about this is wrong.’
VI
It didn’t take Polly long to find the source of the weird blue light. She came to a tottering halt before a lip of rock jutting out into a huge cavern, staring dreamily at an ethereal cyan sea rolling along both the floor and the ceiling far below.
‘Light waves,’ she murmured happily.
It was an incredible display. The intensity of the light was growing stronger as the ‘waves’ grew fiercer. Reaching and rebounding against the far walls of the cavern the light seemed to splash out into the air. The spray from the oceans above and below mingled in the middle and crackled with
Ben glanced at the Doctor. Under any other circumstances, the look of outrage on his face would’ve been hilarious.
‘Seems the Spooks opened fire on them, here on the fringes,’ said Haunt.
Roba nodded. ‘Figures. “No human shall feel secure…” Just like they said. Stepping up the terror campaign.’
Shel looked over at the bodies hunched up on the dais. ‘While the ones they’re after are right here?’
‘They
must
be part of the simulation,’ Haunt said dismissively.
‘This one is branded too,’ said Shel quietly, crouching over the grisly alien corpse in the chair. He had raised the bloodstained robe from its shoulder and was indicating something in the flesh beneath. ‘Pentagon coding. It’s Pallemar all right, he’s been chipped. No one can forge these data codes.’
‘So this really is DeCaster’s Ten-strong? And all dead?’ Roba looked at Shel. ‘No way. You’re kidding me, right?’
Shel shook his head. As he showed Roba and Haunt whatever his handheld gadget was showing, Ben turned to the Doctor.
‘We have to find Polly and get out of here.’
‘Quite so, my boy,’ the Doctor said vaguely. He was looking intently at his surroundings as if taking them in properly for the first time.
‘Where do you think she went, Doctor? I mean, how can she just have disappeared?’
‘She didn’t,’ the Doctor informed him curtly. ‘There must be a concealed exit here somewhere. This chamber was sealed, airtight.’ He sighed. ‘In any case… as I said to Marshal Haunt, we require the assistance of our soldier friends if we are to find her. I very much doubt they will let us go looking by ourselves.’
Ben felt sick. ‘How come the TARDIS doors won’t open?’
‘I don’t know, my boy,’ the Doctor confessed. ‘That humming noise that started up when the doors opened… I believe it was some kind of generator, setting up the force field you see around these bodies.’
Ben felt foolish. ‘I thought that was glass or something.’
‘No,’ said the Doctor. ‘It’s a protective enclosure, triggered no doubt by the rush of air into the room. In the vacuum the bodies couldn’t decay. This mechanism was designed to react to anyone entering this room through that doorway.’
‘But why?’
The Doctor hushed him. He was listening again to the huddle of commandos.
Haunt was looking at the bodies again. ‘We’d better contact Cellmek at the Academy, tell him to let everyone go home early,’ she said dryly. ‘The Empire’s most wanted have saved us the bother of hunting them down. They’ve killed themselves and kindly put themselves on display for army inspection.’
‘What about them two.’ Roba scowled at the two strangers. Ben saw the Doctor nod politely as if greeting the vicar.
Haunt raised her comms bracelet to her mouth. ‘Frog.’
‘Marshal.’
‘Join us in here. Move.’ Haunt turned to Shel and Roba. ‘Frog can take them back to the ship. Meanwhile, we’ll warn the others to watch out for this girl, and anyone else out there.’
‘Seems this lump of rock is getting awful crowded,’ Roba rumbled. ‘Ain’t it meant to be just us and a couple of droids?’
‘And they’re still out there,’ Shel said quietly. ‘Programmed to kill. We can’t shut them off.’
Haunt swore. ‘Wrong… everything about this is wrong.’
VI
It didn’t take Polly long to find the source of the weird blue light. She came to a tottering halt before a lip of rock jutting out into a huge cavern, staring dreamily at an ethereal cyan sea rolling along both the floor and the ceiling far below.
‘Light waves,’ she murmured happily.
It was an incredible display. The intensity of the light was growing stronger as the ‘waves’ grew fiercer. Reaching and rebounding against the far walls of the cavern the light seemed to splash out into the air. The spray from the oceans above and below mingled in the middle and crackled with
Similar Books
