stunned,' he said.
Mace raised his arms in triumph. 'You were magnificent,' he said effusively to Tegan.
'You didn't do too badly yourself.'
Having checked the miller could breathe freely, the Doctor stood up. 'We should save the self-congratulations until later.'
'The house is ours! We are victorious!' chanted Mace.
The Doctor crossed to the opening and entered the laboratory. 'We haven't won anything yet.'
'What do you mean, Doctor?'
'The Terileptil and the android have gone. They're still free to carry out their plan!' The Doctor looked around the laboratory. 'And we don't have any idea where they are!'
Chapter Ten
With the light almost gone, the warm breeze had turned to a chilly wind.
Adric, who was feeling cold and dejected, slowly pushed his way through the thick foliage, unable to understand why the villagers had chosen such a tortuous route to wherever they were now taking him. As he paused to untwine himself from a particularly thorny bush, the villager ahead of him stumbled and fell.
'This is ridiculous,' shouted Adric. 'Why don't you use the path?'
'The path is dangerous,' grunted one of the masked men, 'especially at night.'
Adric watched as the man who had tripped over got to his feet and inspected his bruised knee. 'Can't you at least light a torch?' he protested. 'The next person who falls over may not be so lucky.'
'Walk on, lad!' snapped an impatient voice.
Adric obeyed, forcing his way through the undergrowth. 'I don't understand.
Why is the path so dangerous?'
'Things...' muttered one of the villagers cryptically.
'What sort of things?'
'Things that come out at night.'
Adric looked at the masked man. 'Creatures?'
'No, boy. Evil things.'
Adric was still puzzled. From listening to Tegan talk about Earth, he had gained the impression that the planet was relatively free of danger. And that even the larger, potentially more hostile animals, if left alone, were happy to go about their own business.
Although Adric continued to ask questions, the villagers were not very forthcoming about the nature of the 'things'.
Eventually the party emerged in a clearing where several paths met. Adric recognised the place, having passed it earlier that day - they were in fact but a few minutes' walk from the TARDIS, exactly where he had been caught al those hours ago. He looked at the tired villagers and considered, with it being so dark, whether he could make a break for it, and if he did, how much effort they would put into catching him.
As Adric pondered, he noticed, at the same moment one of the villagers did, what appeared to be an enormous firefly drifting along the path ahead of them.
'Run, lads!' a villager shouted. 'Run for your lives!'
Screaming, the villagers fled into the forest in a state of self-induced panic.
Finding himself unexpectedly free, Adric crouched behind a thick bush and waited to see what had upset them so much. As the light grew nearer, he could see that it was the luminous death's-head mask the android was still wearing.
Adric waited, allowing the robot to pass before cautiously relinquishing the cover of the bush and following.
Although it was now quite dark, Adric had little trouble in keeping up, even though the android changed direction several times. If he hadn't been so pleased with himself, Adric might have realised that the robot had made every effort to ensure the boy did not lose track of him.
The Doctor stood before the Terileptil's computer examining the controls.
'Now what do we do?' said Tegan.
'Look around,' the Doctor said distractedly. 'See what there is.'
Tegan flicked through a computer print-out.
'You think he'll have left a forwarding address?'
The Doctor didn't reply, having become engrossed in studying the
Mace raised his arms in triumph. 'You were magnificent,' he said effusively to Tegan.
'You didn't do too badly yourself.'
Having checked the miller could breathe freely, the Doctor stood up. 'We should save the self-congratulations until later.'
'The house is ours! We are victorious!' chanted Mace.
The Doctor crossed to the opening and entered the laboratory. 'We haven't won anything yet.'
'What do you mean, Doctor?'
'The Terileptil and the android have gone. They're still free to carry out their plan!' The Doctor looked around the laboratory. 'And we don't have any idea where they are!'
Chapter Ten
With the light almost gone, the warm breeze had turned to a chilly wind.
Adric, who was feeling cold and dejected, slowly pushed his way through the thick foliage, unable to understand why the villagers had chosen such a tortuous route to wherever they were now taking him. As he paused to untwine himself from a particularly thorny bush, the villager ahead of him stumbled and fell.
'This is ridiculous,' shouted Adric. 'Why don't you use the path?'
'The path is dangerous,' grunted one of the masked men, 'especially at night.'
Adric watched as the man who had tripped over got to his feet and inspected his bruised knee. 'Can't you at least light a torch?' he protested. 'The next person who falls over may not be so lucky.'
'Walk on, lad!' snapped an impatient voice.
Adric obeyed, forcing his way through the undergrowth. 'I don't understand.
Why is the path so dangerous?'
'Things...' muttered one of the villagers cryptically.
'What sort of things?'
'Things that come out at night.'
Adric looked at the masked man. 'Creatures?'
'No, boy. Evil things.'
Adric was still puzzled. From listening to Tegan talk about Earth, he had gained the impression that the planet was relatively free of danger. And that even the larger, potentially more hostile animals, if left alone, were happy to go about their own business.
Although Adric continued to ask questions, the villagers were not very forthcoming about the nature of the 'things'.
Eventually the party emerged in a clearing where several paths met. Adric recognised the place, having passed it earlier that day - they were in fact but a few minutes' walk from the TARDIS, exactly where he had been caught al those hours ago. He looked at the tired villagers and considered, with it being so dark, whether he could make a break for it, and if he did, how much effort they would put into catching him.
As Adric pondered, he noticed, at the same moment one of the villagers did, what appeared to be an enormous firefly drifting along the path ahead of them.
'Run, lads!' a villager shouted. 'Run for your lives!'
Screaming, the villagers fled into the forest in a state of self-induced panic.
Finding himself unexpectedly free, Adric crouched behind a thick bush and waited to see what had upset them so much. As the light grew nearer, he could see that it was the luminous death's-head mask the android was still wearing.
Adric waited, allowing the robot to pass before cautiously relinquishing the cover of the bush and following.
Although it was now quite dark, Adric had little trouble in keeping up, even though the android changed direction several times. If he hadn't been so pleased with himself, Adric might have realised that the robot had made every effort to ensure the boy did not lose track of him.
The Doctor stood before the Terileptil's computer examining the controls.
'Now what do we do?' said Tegan.
'Look around,' the Doctor said distractedly. 'See what there is.'
Tegan flicked through a computer print-out.
'You think he'll have left a forwarding address?'
The Doctor didn't reply, having become engrossed in studying the
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