Kate pulled her hand away, disgusted. ‘Do not put your flesh against me!’ she shrieked. ‘Human flesh stinks! It is impure!’

‘Think I’ll make a detour to the hospital, shall I?’ said Atif.

Kate leaned over Rose, pinning her against her seat, and grabbed the wheel of the lorry, twisting it violently. The lorry swerved as Atif hit the brakes. It bumped across the road, grinding to a halt on a grass verge next to a row of shops. Kate was pleased to see they had arrived in Twyford, the nearest town. It was nearly lunchtime on market day and it was sunny. The place would be crawling with humans.

40

Rose grabbed her round the waist, and put her hand in Kate’s face.

Kate threw her back with a casual flick of her elbow and scrambled out of the lorry. She landed like a cat on the grass, stood and licked her dry lips.

Rose sat up, trying to draw breath. Kate’s blow had winded her. She found Atif staring at her, shaking his head, more stunned than angry.

‘What’s your mate been taking?’

‘Drive! Get out of here!’ Rose urged him. She threw herself out of the lorry and looked round desperately for Kate.

They were in a small market town, with half-timbered buildings leading off a quaint high street. It was full of shoppers. A little crowd had gathered around the lorry, ooh-ing and aah-ing.

‘Where’d she go?’ she asked desperately. But at the same time she saw Kate walking quickly and stiffly up the high street and, clutching her aching stomach, she set off after her.

The Doctor knew he had only one chance.

The Dalek was unformed, slower and more cautious than a full-grown warrior. It was just as well he’d removed the weapon or by now everyone on the site, including him, would be dead. Without the gun, the Dalek was operating only on its wits, and they weren’t quite up to scratch just yet. Even so, his plan – the plan he’d just made up –would take all of his skill to pull off.

He was crouched down inside the cab of the largest crane, right at the far edge of the site. His eyes just peeped over the control board, allowing him a view of a gap between two of the unfinished flats. The Dalek was fixated on him and soon enough it would have to turn that corner. His opportunity to destroy it.

The midday sun glinted off a hint of gold. The Dalek turned the corner.

The Doctor braced himself. He reached up for a lever on the control board with his right hand. His eyes swept keenly across the scene below him, taking everything into account. He waited until the Dalek 41

was exactly between the two walls, with a cliff edge only sixty or so feet behind it.

Then he stood up and gave a loud whistle. ‘Over here!’ he called.

Just as he’d expected, the Dalek swivelled round, its eye-stalk raised.

The Doctor leaned out of the cab and threw the brick clutched in his left hand. It whizzed through the air and struck the Dalek in the middle of its eye-stalk, its weakest point.

‘My vision is impaired!’ it shrieked. ‘I cannot see!’

The Doctor pulled the lever and the ball attached to the crane –half a ton of lead – smashed into the Dalek’s mid-section. The Dalek screeched in surprise and anger as it sailed through the air and then disappeared over the edge of the cliff, spinning as it was lost from view. A second later there was an almighty crash.

The Doctor punched the air and scrambled down from the crane.

He ran to the cliff-top and looked down to the sea. The Dalek was lying in the shallow water, the waves lapping over it. Its eye-stalk and sucker moved feebly.

The Doctor took a deep breath and then started to climb down the cliff, moving from handhold to handhold like a monkey. At last he plunged into the water. The Dalek was only a few feet away, croaking and gurgling to itself. He waded towards it, filled with purpose.

It was do or die. And to do, in this case, meant to kill. He had killed millions of Daleks – but never before with his bare hands.

A second later he was using the sonic screwdriver. He ran it along the hinge and ripped open the top section of the Dalek. The mutant inside was now almost complete. Its tentacles were firming up, tightening their grip on the casing’s connections. In a few seconds it would be unstoppable; it would use its auto-repair function to repair its eye-stalk and become a truly worthy opponent. He had to act while it was still weak. He had to kill it.

The Doctor hesitated for a second.

‘You cannot kill me, Doctor. . . ’ moaned the Dalek. ‘You. . . will not. . . do it.’

‘That’s an old one. And it doesn’t work any longer!’

42

He adjusted the settings on the sonic screwdriver and plunged it into the casing. It touched the vital life-support connection.

The Doctor gritted his teeth. ‘No second chances!’ He activated the sonic screwdriver.

The Dalek screamed.

The casing crackled, green sparks flying.

The Doctor was thrown backwards, hurled into the sea. He just had time to notice a fish swimming by before he blacked out.

43

CHAPTER NINE

KATE WALKED THROUGH THE market, flinching from contact with the humans bustling around her. There were other animals too, flying pests and filthy dogs. The scents of the food products around her were vile. Nutrition was a need, not something to be enjoyed flabbily.

She felt flooded with strength. ‘I will be unstoppable!’ she shouted out loud.

A few of the humans in the market around her laughed.

‘Oh, will you?’ said a flat, dull voice behind her.

Kate turned. She knew the voice. It was Serena, shopping bag under her big fat arm.

‘Serena,’ said Kate, relishing each syllable of the name.

‘Do you realise you’re sacked?’ Serena said, pushing her stupid glasses up her nose. ‘I didn’t swallow that road accident story for one minute. And now here you are, lunchtime, mooching around the market. Had your hair done, I see. It’s been mad this morning. De-lays in mattress delivery all over Liverpool and the North-East, people screaming my ears off in Scouse and Geordie. “She’ll come in,” I kept telling myself. “Even she can’t be that irresponsible. Perhaps she was actually telling the truth. . . ”’

Kate reached out and clamped her hand around Serena’s throat.

‘Stop your prattling!’

Serena’s eyes bulged. Her fleshy, wet mouth struggled for air. One by one, the people in the market who were near enough to see what was happening moved towards Kate. They were screaming for her to let go, but she ignored them and tightened her grip on Serena. She felt gloriously happy.

‘I will never have to worry about you again,’ she spat, turning Serena from side to side. ‘To think, this morning, I was worried about you. Worried what you might say. Worried about my job. Worried 45

about clearing my debts.’ She threw back her head and laughed joyfully. ‘And you were nothing!’

‘Please, Kate. . . ’ Serena pleaded.

‘Put her down, Kate!’ shouted another voice.

Rose ran up to her, pushing through the astonished crowd.

Kate smirked, shaking Serena like a doll. ‘Why?’

‘Look, there must be something human left inside you,’ Rose told her. ‘Your mum and dad, you live with them, don’t you?’

‘That is not relevant!’

Rose pointed to Serena, who seemed to be on the point of passing out. ‘What would your mum say about that? Could you kill that woman and look your mum in the eye?’

The words stirred something in Kate. She imagined her mother’s horrified face. A sliver of conscience pricked at her and she relaxed her grip.

Serena dropped to the ground, then got up and stumbled off.

Meanwhile, Kate sank to her knees. ‘Rose, please help me.’

The Doctor woke in the water. At first he was only distantly aware of murky shapes and a feeling of floating contentment. Then he remembered.