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witnessing the emergence of a swarm of loathsome silver insects, as the Cybermen
flailed into life.
Clutching the captured blaster, she watched as the Cybermen formed into pairs
and then dispersed along the hundreds of alleyways, their weapons poised and their
deceptively blank eyes scanning the shadows relentlessly. When the juddering rhythm
of their strides had subsided, she tore the clammy plastic film from her face and
peered around her. Scott and the troopers had disappeared. She was quite alone.
Trying hard not to panic, Tegan cautiously began working her way along the
endless rows of identical silos, darting from niche to niche in confusion, utterly
unable to get her bearings. There was no sign of her friends and all around her she
could hear the faint hissing and the regular tread of the Cybermen. Glancing over her
shoulder she suddenly saw two of them approaching rapidly behind her. In
desperation she crouched down, trying to bury herself in the floor and staring into the
Cybermen's eye-pods in a vain attempt to discover whether or not they had seen her.
As they drew level she thought she was safe. Then one of them stopped and
turned on her with a savage hiss. Instantly Tegan raised the blaster and fired. The
Cyberman exploded and the blast sent her staggering back across the alleyway. She
crashed against a silo and slumped in a daze, while the second Cyberman wrenched
the blaster out of her hands and seized her arm in an unfeeling vice-like grip.
Whimpering with pain, she stared mesmerised into the creature's expressionless eyes,
her stomach heaving at the damp oily breath blowing into her face. For a moment
nothing happened.
Then the Cyberman strode rapidly away, dragging Tegan along like a broken
rag-doll...
As soon as the newly activated Cybermen had marched away, Scott mustered his
squad and searched all around the wrecked silo for Tegan, but she was nowhere to be
found.
'She must have been caught...' Scott muttered angrily. 'I'm to blame. I should
have insisted on returning at once to the TARDIS.' He tugged his moustache
nervously and hesitated.
'Perhaps the young lady's making her way there now, sir,' suggested one of the
troopers.
48
Scott listened a moment to the eerie sounds of the Cybermen as they infiltrated
the hold. 'I hope so,' he murmured. 'At least she's better armed than we are... but she's
so headstrong.'
With every nerve alert, Scott led the squad away from the burst silo and
towards the TARDIS. As they crept along, two pairs of eyeless faces began to follow
them at a distance...
For Nyssa and Professor Kyle, still stranded inside the TARDIS, the endless waiting
had become unbearable.
'I just wish there was something positive we could do,' said Kyle, walking
uncomfortably up and down in the extremely ill-fitting clothes Tegan had lent her, her
arms tightly folded across her ample bosom.
Nyssa continued to fiddle with the instruments without speaking.
The Professor picked up the small radio left on the console by Scott. 'Shall we
just call them... just to check?' she suggested in frustration for the umpteenth time.
'No,' said Nyssa, frowning at the magnetic-field indicators which were
showing yet another increase. 'Try not to worry, I'm sure everything is all right.' Her
voice was hollow with doubt.
Kyle glanced up at the viewer screen. 'What happens to us if the Doctor
doesn't come back?' she asked quietly.
Nyssa looked up, tried to smile and shrugged.
The Professor walked slowly towards her. 'You can operate this TARDIS
thing, can't you?' she demanded in a voice tinged with hysteria.
'Oh I understand most of the principles,' Nyssa replied evasively.
'But you could get us back to Earth?'
There was a pause like a chasm between them.
'Not without great difficulty,' Nyssa admitted at last, 'and even then not
necessarily in the correct century.'
Professor Kyle clutched her head with bloodless fingers and gaped at Nyssa,
unable to speak.
Just then, something silver emerged from the shadows on the viewer and then
disappeared again.
'What was that?' Professor Kyle shrieked, pointing wildly.
Nyssa adjusted the viewer controls and zoomed in on a Cyberman motionless
in the shadows. 'Those empty eyes!' she exclaimed with a shudder, staring at the huge
impassive mask.
At that moment Scott and his tiny force ran into view, unaware of the alien
presence lurking in the gloom.
'They'll be caught!' Professor Kyle cried, snatching up the radio again and
trying to select the appropriate channel in order to warn them.
Abruptly the Cyberman turned and strode away. Seconds later there was an
urgent hammering on the door of the TARDIS.
'They're safe now,' Nyssa murmured, operating the exterior door lever.
Scott burst in, followed by the troopers. Just as the last man was entering, a
silver fist sliced through the open door and shattered his skull like an egg. The other
troopers swung round and poured laser fire into the Cyberman's chest. After a few
seconds it collapsed in a cloud of smoke. Nyssa dived at the door control just too late
to prevent a second Cyberman from squeezing half-way through. Trapped by the
49
closing door, the Cyberman discharged its blaster several times before succumbing to
the concentrated laser fire burning into its ventilator unit.
Catching the full force of the blaster, Professor Kyle was hurled across the
control chamber like a sack of wet sand. Her limp body hit the wall and slid to the
floor with a ghastly thud. The Cyberman melted rapidly in a sparking heap.
Scott knelt beside the Professor's crumpled body. 'Professor Kyle is dead,' he
said in a voice tremulous with shock.
For a moment no one moved. Then Scott pulled himself together. 'At least
we've got a chance of destroying some of those things,' he cried encouragingly,
snatching up the Cybermen's discarded weapons and tossing one to one of the three
surviving troopers. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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witnessing the emergence of a swarm of loathsome silver insects, as the Cybermen
flailed into life.
Clutching the captured blaster, she watched as the Cybermen formed into pairs
and then dispersed along the hundreds of alleyways, their weapons poised and their
deceptively blank eyes scanning the shadows relentlessly. When the juddering rhythm
of their strides had subsided, she tore the clammy plastic film from her face and
peered around her. Scott and the troopers had disappeared. She was quite alone.
Trying hard not to panic, Tegan cautiously began working her way along the
endless rows of identical silos, darting from niche to niche in confusion, utterly
unable to get her bearings. There was no sign of her friends and all around her she
could hear the faint hissing and the regular tread of the Cybermen. Glancing over her
shoulder she suddenly saw two of them approaching rapidly behind her. In
desperation she crouched down, trying to bury herself in the floor and staring into the
Cybermen's eye-pods in a vain attempt to discover whether or not they had seen her.
As they drew level she thought she was safe. Then one of them stopped and
turned on her with a savage hiss. Instantly Tegan raised the blaster and fired. The
Cyberman exploded and the blast sent her staggering back across the alleyway. She
crashed against a silo and slumped in a daze, while the second Cyberman wrenched
the blaster out of her hands and seized her arm in an unfeeling vice-like grip.
Whimpering with pain, she stared mesmerised into the creature's expressionless eyes,
her stomach heaving at the damp oily breath blowing into her face. For a moment
nothing happened.
Then the Cyberman strode rapidly away, dragging Tegan along like a broken
rag-doll...
As soon as the newly activated Cybermen had marched away, Scott mustered his
squad and searched all around the wrecked silo for Tegan, but she was nowhere to be
found.
'She must have been caught...' Scott muttered angrily. 'I'm to blame. I should
have insisted on returning at once to the TARDIS.' He tugged his moustache
nervously and hesitated.
'Perhaps the young lady's making her way there now, sir,' suggested one of the
troopers.
48
Scott listened a moment to the eerie sounds of the Cybermen as they infiltrated
the hold. 'I hope so,' he murmured. 'At least she's better armed than we are... but she's
so headstrong.'
With every nerve alert, Scott led the squad away from the burst silo and
towards the TARDIS. As they crept along, two pairs of eyeless faces began to follow
them at a distance...
For Nyssa and Professor Kyle, still stranded inside the TARDIS, the endless waiting
had become unbearable.
'I just wish there was something positive we could do,' said Kyle, walking
uncomfortably up and down in the extremely ill-fitting clothes Tegan had lent her, her
arms tightly folded across her ample bosom.
Nyssa continued to fiddle with the instruments without speaking.
The Professor picked up the small radio left on the console by Scott. 'Shall we
just call them... just to check?' she suggested in frustration for the umpteenth time.
'No,' said Nyssa, frowning at the magnetic-field indicators which were
showing yet another increase. 'Try not to worry, I'm sure everything is all right.' Her
voice was hollow with doubt.
Kyle glanced up at the viewer screen. 'What happens to us if the Doctor
doesn't come back?' she asked quietly.
Nyssa looked up, tried to smile and shrugged.
The Professor walked slowly towards her. 'You can operate this TARDIS
thing, can't you?' she demanded in a voice tinged with hysteria.
'Oh I understand most of the principles,' Nyssa replied evasively.
'But you could get us back to Earth?'
There was a pause like a chasm between them.
'Not without great difficulty,' Nyssa admitted at last, 'and even then not
necessarily in the correct century.'
Professor Kyle clutched her head with bloodless fingers and gaped at Nyssa,
unable to speak.
Just then, something silver emerged from the shadows on the viewer and then
disappeared again.
'What was that?' Professor Kyle shrieked, pointing wildly.
Nyssa adjusted the viewer controls and zoomed in on a Cyberman motionless
in the shadows. 'Those empty eyes!' she exclaimed with a shudder, staring at the huge
impassive mask.
At that moment Scott and his tiny force ran into view, unaware of the alien
presence lurking in the gloom.
'They'll be caught!' Professor Kyle cried, snatching up the radio again and
trying to select the appropriate channel in order to warn them.
Abruptly the Cyberman turned and strode away. Seconds later there was an
urgent hammering on the door of the TARDIS.
'They're safe now,' Nyssa murmured, operating the exterior door lever.
Scott burst in, followed by the troopers. Just as the last man was entering, a
silver fist sliced through the open door and shattered his skull like an egg. The other
troopers swung round and poured laser fire into the Cyberman's chest. After a few
seconds it collapsed in a cloud of smoke. Nyssa dived at the door control just too late
to prevent a second Cyberman from squeezing half-way through. Trapped by the
49
closing door, the Cyberman discharged its blaster several times before succumbing to
the concentrated laser fire burning into its ventilator unit.
Catching the full force of the blaster, Professor Kyle was hurled across the
control chamber like a sack of wet sand. Her limp body hit the wall and slid to the
floor with a ghastly thud. The Cyberman melted rapidly in a sparking heap.
Scott knelt beside the Professor's crumpled body. 'Professor Kyle is dead,' he
said in a voice tremulous with shock.
For a moment no one moved. Then Scott pulled himself together. 'At least
we've got a chance of destroying some of those things,' he cried encouragingly,
snatching up the Cybermen's discarded weapons and tossing one to one of the three
surviving troopers. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]