Chapter Eight

THE GYM HAD changed since the Doctor had last been in it. For a start, all the students had gone. Only the sad, huddled body of Jimmy, the Sontarans’ victim, was left.

A number of pieces of sporting equipment had been dragged onto the floor. Stenx was walking around the room, inspecting them.

The Sontaran major turned as the Doctor and his friends were brought in. He strode over and looked the four up and down.

Holly flinched as he reached out and touched her throat. ‘A female,’ Stenx said. ‘Females possess less speed and strength than the males. They are inferior.’

Holly let go of the Doctor’s arm and faced Stenx. ‘Oh no we aren’t,’ she said, as she walked forward and fell over.

Stenx sneered. ‘Point proved.’

‘She’s one of the best gymnasts in the country!’ Karl put in. ‘Maybe the best. She’s not inferior to anyone.’

The Doctor smiled at Karl as he helped Holly to her feet. He hadn’t imagined it – the students were starting to be nicer to each other.

‘She’s hurt,’ the Doctor told Stenx. ‘She may be concussed. She needs help.’

‘To help a damaged human would be a waste of Sontaran resources,’ said the major.

‘Two of them are damaged,’ put in Captain Skeed. He pointed at Karl and the Doctor. ‘Only these two are fit for our purpose.’

Stenx moved over to Karl and lifted his chin with one stubby finger. ‘What skill do you possess, human?’

‘I’m a runner,’ gasped Karl. ‘A sprinter.’

The Sontaran gave a nod. Without a neck, the whole of his upper body moved forward as he did so. ‘Speed is good, but not vital,’ he said. ‘Yes, we will use this one first. It will not matter if he dies.’

Lieutenant Slorr grabbed Karl’s arm and began to drag him forward. The scared youth gave the Doctor a pleading look.

The Doctor coughed. ‘You haven’t asked me what skill I possess,’ he said quietly.

Stenx turned towards him. ‘Well, human?’

‘Quite well, thank you. But not human.’

Four guns pointed at him instantly. ‘This is the one!’ shouted Skeed. ‘The one we have been searching for! Cover him, Lieutenant Skezz!’ The fourth Sontaran pointed his gun at the Doctor.

The Doctor frowned. He had wanted to distract them. He hadn’t dreamed he would turn out to be the prey they were hunting.

But no. If they had been looking for him, surely they would have recognised the TARDIS.

‘Do you deny you are the shape-shifter?’ yelled Skezz.

‘Yes, I deny it!’ said the Doctor. Then he thought for a second. ‘Well, maybe a shape-shifter. I don’t do it on a daily basis, though, just, oooh, maybe once a century. Does that count?’ He grinned. ‘But I know who you’re looking for, now, Major Stinks.’

‘The name is Stenx!’ yelled Captain Skeed. ‘Stenx the Strong-hearted!’

‘That’s what I said,’ agreed the Doctor. ‘Stinks the Strong-f—’ He broke off, as Skeed’s gun swung round to point at Karl.

‘You will show respect to the major,’ Skeed growled. ‘If you do not, I will kill this human as an example to you.’

Every trace of a smile vanished from the Doctor’s face. ‘Oh, I wouldn’t do that,’ he said, and his stare made even the Sontarans flinch. He lowered his voice. ‘You never did ask me what my skill was. Bit rude to assume I’ve just got the one, by the way. I’ve got lots.’

Stenx waved his gun, but the Doctor would not be cowed and kept on. ‘But the main one, the big one, is the skill to know about everything. Well, almost everything. More or less everything. Perhaps a bit more less than more. Still, I know lots and lots about you. The Sontarans. In fact, one of my other skills is defeating you. Want to hang around while I do it again, or will you leave this planet now?’

‘How dare you speak to Major Stenx like that!’ shouted Captain Skeed. ‘Who do you think you are, creature who is not human?’

The Doctor smiled. ‘I’m a Time Lord,’ he said. ‘I hope that answers all your questions.’

For a moment, none of the Sontarans spoke. Then Stenx smiled. ‘The ancient enemy,’ he said. ‘What a prize to bring Sontaran High Command!’ He turned to his fellow Sontarans. ‘Comrades! When we arrived on this planet, we thought merely of gaining a single kill. Then the trail led here, and we gained the chance to collect data on humans. Now we can also assess the weak points of a Time Lord! For the glory of Sontar!’

The others echoed his cry. ‘For the glory of Sontar!’

The Doctor was tempted to remind them that he was the last of the Time Lords. Anything they learned from him wouldn’t be of much use to them in the future. But then they might decide to just kill him straight away, so he kept quiet.

The Doctor was locked up in a cupboard. Empty racks were labelled ‘javelins’, ‘bows’ and so on. The Sontarans had removed anything that might be used as a weapon against them. He tried to open the door with his sonic screwdriver, but failed.

There was one glimmer of hope, though.

The Doctor had been led under the edge of the viewing gallery. For a moment he’d thought it was raining indoors, as a spot of water hit his head. It wasn’t rain, of course. He’d lifted his hand, wiped the wet spot and held his fingers to his nose. Was that the faintest whiff of chlorine? Could it be a drip of water from a soaking wet swimmer, hiding somewhere above him?

He’d raised his head, slowly, hoping the Sontarans wouldn’t spot what he was doing. He’d looked up at the gallery.

A hand had crept over the edge, and given him a thumbs-up.

The Doctor had smiled. If Emma was there, he still had a chance.

Chapter Nine

NOW THE DOCTOR could hear comings and goings from the gym hall. Sontarans stamped past. There were sounds of heavy equipment being dragged across the floor. Lighter footsteps followed, and cries that told him students were being led through the hall.

Then after what seemed like a very long wait, there came the sound he was hoping for. A faint knock on the cupboard door.

‘Hello?’ he whispered.

‘Doctor?’ a voice whispered back. It was Emma!

‘Can you let me out of here?’ the Doctor asked.

‘No, it’s been deadlocked,’ she told him.

He sighed. ‘Well, what’s going on?’

‘Not sure. The Sontarans are taking all the students into the arena.’

‘The arena?’ The Doctor imagined the sort of place where the Romans threw people to the lions.

He told Emma that, and she laughed. ‘More the sort of place where they hold sports events and sometimes pop concerts,’ she said.

‘Do you know if Karl’s OK?’ the Doctor asked. The last he’d seen of the sprinter was Lieutenant Slorr leading him towards a door. Where the door went, he didn’t know.

‘They took him to the arena too.’ To the Doctor’s surprise, Emma’s voice sounded more cross than upset.

‘What’s up?’ he asked. ‘Don’t be angry with Karl. I thought you lot were getting past all that blaming and snapping at each other. It wasn’t his fault we were captured.’

For a few seconds she was quiet, and the Doctor wondered if she’d left. Then she spoke. ‘I’m not cross with Karl. I’m cross with you!’

The Doctor blinked. He hadn’t been expecting that.

‘Why?’

‘You had to go and tell them you were a Time Lord, didn’t you?’

‘I had to distract them!’ the Doctor said. ‘Karl was in danger.’

‘So what? You had a chance of helping us all if you’d just kept a low profile.’

The Doctor remembered Emma’s hand holding him back in the gallery. He’d wanted to jump down then, and she’d stopped him.

‘I can’t do that,’ he said. ‘Let one person die, in case someone more important comes along that I have to save? How could you ever make that choice? I wouldn’t be me if I did that.’