‘But it’s selfish,’ Emma told him. ‘Whole worlds might be destroyed, because you had to save one person.’

The Doctor laughed. ‘One day Karl might save the world,’ he said. ‘Then we’d be in a pretty pickle, if I’d let the Sontarans kill him.’

‘You haven’t stopped them, though,’ Emma told him. ‘You’ve just risked both your necks.’

The Doctor hated every word that she’d said. He disagreed with every comment she’d made. But he was forced to admit she might have a point there.

He took a deep breath. ‘All I can do is my best,’ he said.

Suddenly, there came the thump-thump-thump of heavy Sontaran boots.

The Doctor held his breath. He didn’t like Emma’s point of view, but he didn’t want her captured. She was his sole trump card, the only thing the Sontarans didn’t know about.

He heard a couple of Sontarans call out to each other. They seemed to be checking that the Doctor was still locked up.

There were no hiding places in the hall. The Doctor couldn’t see how Emma could possibly get away in time.

If she was caught – they were all doomed.

Chapter Ten

THE DOCTOR LISTENED hard. There was no scream from Emma, no Sontaran cry of triumph as she was spotted.

The Doctor let out his breath again.

Then came the sound of the bolts being drawn back, and the cupboard door was opened. Lieutenant Slorr stood in the doorway. He beckoned to the Doctor.

‘Who, me?’ the Doctor said, checking over his shoulder. There was no one else there, so he walked forward to join the lieutenant. He took a quick look around, but there was no sign of Emma. How she’d escaped he didn’t know.

Slorr stared at the Doctor through the slits in his helmet. ‘Our fearless leader Stenx has bestowed a great honour on you.’

The Doctor stared back. ‘I wouldn’t call being locked in a cupboard that much of an honour. Tell you what, if you think it’s so great, why don’t you try it? I’d be happy to turn the key.’

‘That is not the honour! You are to be the first to take part in the first ever Sontaran Games! You will die gloriously for the Sontaran cause.’

‘Don’t count on it,’ said the Doctor under his breath.

Slorr led the Doctor to a door on the far side of the gym. It was the same one Karl had been heading towards earlier.

Through the door was a covered walkway. The Doctor tried to see where they were going, but it was pitch black ahead.

He felt a breeze on his face, and realised they were now outside. Even though it was the middle of the night, the summer air was warm.

Slorr stopped prodding him forward. The Doctor was tempted to make a break for it, but Stenx’s earlier words came back to him. ‘Look before you leap.’ If he ran, he might be playing into the Sontarans’ hands. If only he could see where he was!

His wish was granted. Suddenly, the whole area was lit up.

The Doctor was standing in the centre of a sports arena. There were tiers of seats all around. Scared-looking students huddled on plastic chairs, but they barely filled up a couple of rows. The Doctor felt a bit cross. He was about to die gloriously for the Sontaran cause. They could at least have got in a good crowd.

He looked closely. Karl was there, right at the front. He looked unhurt. Sid was further back. Holly was at the end of a row. The Doctor was relieved to see them all. He was also pleased that there was no sign of Emma. She must still be free, and hiding.

Floodlights stood at the back of the seating, throwing harsh white light into the field. The Doctor squinted upwards. High above him, the air was shimmering. The Sontarans had put a force dome over the entire arena. That would make escape a lot harder.

There was something else above him, too. The Doctor stared. It looked like a giant hedgehog, rolled into a ball with all its prickles sticking out. Then he worked out what it was. It was all the sports gear that the Sontarans had taken away. All the javelins, poles, bows and arrows, shots and medicine balls, discuses and hammers. Anything that could be thrown at the Sontarans now floated up high in a force-sphere.

The Doctor thought his sonic screwdriver would be able to break through the force field. The trouble was, he wouldn’t be able to reach it without flying. The Doctor was good at many, many things, but flying was not one of them.

He realised that he was now alone. Slorr had left him and was walking back to the edge of the arena. The three other Sontarans were spaced out around the edge of the field. What was he supposed to do now?

He didn’t have to wait long to find out.

Stenx’s voice echoed around the arena. ‘Time Lord, you are honoured. You are the first to compete in the Sontaran Games. Survive, and you will be given a greater honour. You will face the mighty Sontarans in combat.’

‘I’d prefer a medal,’ called the Doctor. ‘Or even a bunch of flowers.’

Stenx ignored him. ‘The first game is the one hundred metres sprint,’ he said. ‘The one who loses will be put to death. The track will become lethal after fifteen Earth seconds. Let the Games begin!’

The Doctor was puzzled. There was the track before him. Even with heavy boots on, he could easily run it in less than fifteen seconds. But how could he win or lose?

The answer soon arrived, and he didn’t like it. Captain Skeed was herding five students towards him at gunpoint. Karl was one of them.

The Doctor wasn’t a trained athlete, but he wasn’t human either. He knew he could probably outrun the others if he had to. Except if he did that, one of them would die.

The students were lining up at the start.

He couldn’t let any of them die, which meant he had to lose. But if the Sontarans killed him, then the students didn’t have much hope anyway. He thought back to what Emma had said to him, while he was locked in the cupboard. Let one person die, so you have the chance to save a lot more.

Skeed was raising his gun.

Perhaps he couldn’t argue with Emma’s logic. But he was the Doctor, and he was never going to let that happen. He’d just have to find another way.

The trouble was, all the athletes were now up on the starting blocks. They would be fast. Once the race started he’d only have about ten seconds to think of something.

‘Go!’ A streak of red laser fire shot out above their heads. The Doctor found himself running, almost without thinking about it. The students had hared off, wanting to save their own skins.

The Doctor stayed just behind them. The watching faces flashed past so quickly. He had seconds left to think of a plan. They were approaching the finish line.

Then he noticed that, all of a sudden, there were only four athletes in front of him.

Karl had dropped back.

The Doctor turned his head.

‘We need you, Doctor!’ Karl called. ‘I won’t let you lose!’

The Doctor’s foot was almost at the line. He was going too fast, he couldn’t stop. And there were only two seconds to go . . .

He changed direction in mid-air, spinning around and grabbing Karl’s arm. His speed carried them both over the line and they landed in a heap. As they fell, a wall of energy shot up around the track. They lay there panting, and watched as orange gas filled the course they’d just taken.

Legs in dark blue armour came into view. The Doctor looked up to see that Stenx had joined them. Lieutenant Slorr was taking the four other students back to their seats.

‘So,’ said Stenx. ‘You ran the race in exactly the same time. You are both losers. You will both be put to death.’

‘Or both winners,’ panted the Doctor. ‘Major, you said, “The one who loses will be put to death.” The one. But there was no one person who lost. You can’t go back on your word. It wouldn’t be honourable.’