She didn’t have to concentrate, or make an effort. It felt as natural as breathing. And with it came a sense of strength and power. Her hand reached for a sachet of sweetener in a bowl. She rubbed it gently between her thumb and finger and watched as it broke apart in a little blizzard of static electricity.

She took another deep breath and looked up. Someone had entered the little shop – the pretty blonde girl who’d held her hand out in the road, Rose. That seemed like a dream. She wanted to sneer. As if a speeding car could stop her!

‘So you’re OK now?’ asked Rose.

Kate smiled. ‘I’m fine, thanks. Just gonna finish this and go to work.

Thanks.’

Rose sat down next to her, leaning close. ‘That car smacked right 18

into you. You were dying. What’s the deal? You can tell me.’

Kate bridled. ‘Sorry. Could you move a bit back? I like my personal space.’

Rose pointed to Kate’s blouse. ‘You’re covered in blood. You should be dead.’

There was something very kind and trusting in the girl’s deep brown eyes. Kate swallowed; a cruel thought came into her mind. Such emotions were weak.

Rose went on, ‘I know what it feels like. Something happens that you can’t explain. You invent any excuse to stop thinking about it.’

‘What’s your name again?’ asked Kate, though she knew.

‘Rose. Rose Tyler.’ She held out her hand.

Kate took it, shook it. Tight. ‘Great. Now then, Rose Tyler, clear off.

I’ve got enough on my plate.’

Rose flinched and pulled her hand away.

Frank watched as the Doctor ran that glowing metal tube of his slowly over the object he’d described as a bomb. Then the Doctor gave a deep sigh. Some of the cheeky light came back into his eyes. He looked across at Frank. ‘Is there any point me asking you to go home?’

‘None,’ said Frank. He pointed to the section of the bomb where the domed head met a rusty metal grille surrounded by metal slats.

‘Could be a hinge there.’

The Doctor smiled. ‘I like you, Frank Openshaw. You’re clever.’

He applied the tip of the tube to the hinge and then carefully lifted up the dome. Frank came closer. Inside there was a tangle of electronic parts and wires. It looked as if something was missing in this central space, something about the size of a football that would once have sat there. The Doctor reached in and picked up a handful of dust. He sifted it between his fingers and then blew it away.

‘Dead as a doornail,’ he said. He seemed relieved – but also, Frank felt, perhaps a little sad, as if staring into the past.

Frank made a small snorting noise. ‘A bomb? In earth that hasn’t been touched for 2,000 years?’

19

The Doctor rubbed the dust from his hands and smiled. ‘OK, clever Frank Openshaw, you’ve got me. It’s not strictly a bomb.’ He pat-ted the casing. ‘It’s all that’s left of the most terrifying thing in the universe.’

‘I’ve never seen one before,’ said Frank.

‘And you don’t how lucky you are.’ He whistled and pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. ‘Now really, hop it.’ He returned to his study of the object.

Frank didn’t move. He considered the Doctor’s words. ‘You said

“universe”.’

‘What about it?’ asked the Doctor.

‘Nobody would say “the most terrifying thing in the universe”. Un-less they were mad, and you’re not mad.’

The Doctor frowned. ‘Go home, Frank. You’ve got a day off. Put your feet up, have sausage and chips, watch Brainteaser. Come back tomorrow.’

‘You’d only say “universe” if you were – I don’t know, from space,’

said Frank, laughing to himself as he said it.

The Doctor blinked. ‘Don’t be silly.’

Frank pointed to the object. ‘And that could be from space too. And from what you said about Nero, and the pizza. . . you’d only know that if you’d been there.’ He laughed once more at the madness of what he was saying.

The Doctor blinked again. For once he wasn’t saying anything.

‘Sorry. Am I being annoying?’ asked Frank. He knew his theory couldn’t be true.

The Doctor laughed and clapped him around the shoulders. ‘No.

Now, I really, really like you.’ He pointed to the object. ‘That’s a Dalek. No – that was a Dalek. From the planet Skaro. Once, yeah, the most terrifying things in the universe. They were very gifted at war.

Now they’re all dead, all the creatures inside. This is just the shell, a heap of old bits. There’s more life in a tramp’s vest!’

It was the strangest conversation of Frank’s life. The Doctor was obviously joking, making all this up, but still Frank decided to join in.

‘So what killed them?’ he asked.

20

‘I did,’ said the Doctor. ‘Many battles, one final war.’ He kicked the base of the Dalek. ‘There’s nothing to be scared of any longer.’

‘I want you to meet a mate of mine,’ said Rose, trailing Kate as she left the teashop. ‘He can help you.’

Kate sighed. ‘Thank you for your concern, but I really am fine.’

Rose grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her to face one of the museum’s windows. ‘You’re blonde. When you ran out in the road, I saw you. You had curly red hair, and now. . . look!’

Kate saw herself in the window. Her hair was straight and bright yellow, like some Swedish supermodel’s. She shuddered, took a step back. She couldn’t accept what she saw.

‘Kate, come and meet the Doctor,’ said Rose.

Kate’s head swivelled round. The movement felt totally instinctive.

Doctor! The Doctor!

‘Come on,’ said Rose, taking her gently by the hand. ‘He’s at a place called Crediton Vale. Do you know that?’

Kate nodded. Another bus was just turning on to the green. She pointed. ‘We can get that and be there in five minutes.’

‘Don’t be scared. He’ll know what to do,’ said Rose, leading her to the bus stop.

As she walked across the peaceful village street of her childhood, terrible images ran through Kate’s mind’s eye. Somebody else’s memories. Whole worlds burning, planets falling through space like balls scattered over a snooker table. The word Doctor echoed in her head.

She saw the shadow shape of a man framed by fire. There was a knot of anger inside her, something vicious and confident and sharp. Then another emotion took over – fear.

A word started running through her head. Its four syllables de-manded to be shouted out loud, again and again.

Exterminate!

21

CHAPTER FIVE

THE DOCTOR GENTLY LOOSENED the connections and removed the Dalek gun an inch at a time.

Frank noted that there was sweat on his brow. ‘Thought it wasn’t dangerous,’ he said.

‘Not in itself,’ said the Doctor, holding the gun at arm’s length. ‘But you tell me, what happens if some clever clogs gets this in his lab?

Finds out how it works? The human race gets the secret of Dalek weapons. You’ll all be dead by Wednesday week.’

He placed the weapon with care into Frank’s hands, rolled up his sleeves and bent over the open casing, using the metal tube to work inside.

Frank looked down at the weapon, confused. Part of him didn’t believe a word of what the Doctor was saying. But the other part of him believed every bit of it.

A few moments later, the Doctor looked up and said, ‘Frank, you don’t ask questions. Normally by now people are saying, “What’s it like in space? Can I go back and save Kennedy? Can I stop myself meeting the wife?” That sort of thing.’

Frank nodded to the Dalek ‘That looks tricky. Don’t want to put you off.’ He smiled. ‘And I love my wife,’ he added sincerely. ‘If I could go back, change anything, I’d want to meet her years before I did. Funny, she was in her third year at Durham University when I was in my first year, but we never met for another ten years.’

The Doctor stood up straight. ‘You are a remarkable person. Right.