The Nightmare of Black Island

by Mike Tucker

  Blackness swirled around him, dark shapes flitting through the shadows, nightmares from his distant childhood. He forced himself to ignore them. There were other minds in the ether with him, belonging to Morton and the six sleepers. He could feel the human parts of them struggling to be free of the powerful influence of Balor, sense their relief as the alien that had inhabited their minds for so long was slowly drawn out.

  Balor was terrifyingly strong. The Doctor could sense the ancient force that the Cynrog sought to harvest. But something was not right. The creature was savage, primal, but unfinished somehow, unfocused, as if some part of it was missing, some controlling part that would bring order to the whole.

  The Doctor could feel the Cynrog machines probing at his memories, trying to force their way into the darkest fears. He shut down sections of his mind, erecting psychic barriers that would keep the Cynrog out. He hoped...

  The power started to increase and he struggled to retain control.

  'Hello.'

  The voice was shocking and loud. The Doctor could hear it all around him.

  A small child stood next to him, staring down at the body that lay on the bed. It was the child the Doctor had seen earlier in the woods and on the island. The child Rose had seen in her dream.

  'Hello. It's Jimmy, isn't it?'

  The boy nodded, a frown on his small face. 'I think so. I used to be. I think I might be something else now. I'm how she remembers me, before they took her away from me.'

  The Doctor winced at the child's directness.

  'They took you away?'

  'They said she was a bad mother. That she couldn't look after me properly. The monster made her different. The monster in her head. I can feel it in my head too. It's not very nice.'

  The Doctor's mind raced. 'This monster,' he asked, 'has it been in her head a long time?'

  The boy nodded again. 'She saw it when she was small. She was hiding from the others and she saw it. It hid a bit of itself in her head. It made her do bad things.'

  'Can you show me, show me that memory?'

  'I think so. Mummy's memories are so muddled these days.'

  The little boy took his hand and the Doctor felt a jolt of surprise at the solidness of the touch. He now knew where the controlling part of Balor's mind was, the intelligence, the dangerous heart.

  They swept through a dizzying array of images and thoughts, searching for one tiny memory, the shared memory of that terrible day when Balor's crippled spacecraft had roared over the sea and crashed at Ynys Du.

  On the edge of his consciousness he could feel something building, something powerful and vast. Balor, waking from his rest, aware of this child by his side. He concentrated, pushing past the monsters of the children, forcing his way into the minds of Morton and the others, willing them to remember.

  There! The memory he searched for flickered into life: frightened children clustered around a burning spacecraft, terrified and exhilarated at the same time. The Doctor felt their fear as Balor crawled his way out of the pit, a mass of flames and fury, felt their pain and confusion as his mind seared into theirs...

  The cold touch of death swept over him and, with a chill, the Doctor realised that he was experiencing Balor's fractured memory too. He felt the rage and anger of the creature, its unmitigated hatred, its thrill when a world was crushed in its grasp, its final desperate fight to cling to existence, reaching out to whatever lifeline it could find...

  'There she is.'

  Jimmy was pointing at the hidden observer who crouched on the far side of the crater, unseen by the children but noticed by Balor.

  The Doctor stared at the eighth child as she watched the creature's fiery death, a child whose face he'd seen in photographs earlier in the day. Bronwyn. Her auburn hair and silver-grey eyes were unmistakable. From the other side of crater, she watched in horror as the creature burned, clutching at her head as it poured its mind into her.

  The residual psychic echo that the Cynrog had detected wasn't from the crash site. It was from Bronwyn.

  Which meant that the Cynrog didn't have all the pieces of Balor's psyche. Bronwyn still held the vital missing fragment.

  In the pub Beth was looking round in horror as children started to drop where they stood. Frantic parents were desperately trying to shake them awake again, but it was hopeless. The youngest were going first, falling into a deep, deep sleep.

  Outside the roaring of monsters started again.

  Beth clamped her hands over her ears.

  'He's failed. The Doctor's failed!'

  'Rose!'

  'Doctor?'

  Rose sprang to her feet, looking around Bronwyn's ramshackle house, surprised by the Doctor's voice. Apart from Bronwyn, Ali and Butch the room was empty. She turned in a slow circle, puzzled.

  'Where are you?'

  'Strapped to a bed in the rectory. Don't ask stupid questions!'

  Realisation dawned on Rose. Are you in my head? Are you poking around inside my head with telepathy or something?'

  'Yes! Now listen.'

  'I don't believe this! Aren't you meant to ask or anything before you come barging in?'

  'Rose, I really don't have too much time! The Cynrog got inside your dreams because their machinery operates on the same frequency that the TARDIS uses to translate languages in your head. I'm hitching a ride on the same frequencies because they've wired me into their system. They're occupied at the moment and I'm cleverer than they are, but it's taking a lot of effort and I don't have much time so I need you to shut up and listen.'

  Rose sat down hard, aware of the curious looks she was getting from the others. Presumably they were only hearing one side of the conversation.

  'OK, I'm listening,' she whispered.

  'Right. And don't talk, just think. Think the words.'

  Rose gritted her teeth and concentrated on forming the words in her head. 'All right.'

  'Good. I know what the connection between Bronwyn and the boy is.'

  'Yeah. He's her son. And you were right, his name's Jimmy.'

  'I'm having a chat with him now. At least, I'm with something that looks like him, something that has his memories, but it probably has a good part of something else too.'

  'Hang about... You're with him? But they sent him away. He got adopted. It nearly finished her. Ended her marriage. It was when he was small, but that was years ago. She doesn't even know if he's still alive.'

  'Yeah, well, this one is still about six.'

  'OK, this is getting seriously creepy.'

  She realised that she had said this out loud when Ali gave her a puzzled look. Smiling embarrassedly, she forced herself to concentrate on her thoughts again.

  'She blames herself. Says she was a bad mother. That she's been keeping something secret all these years, in her head. I think that's what's made her a bit, you know... odd.'

  'Yes, well, she's got a fair chunk of an alien lodged in her brain, and not a nice one either. Must have been affecting her for years.'

  'You what?'

  'Doesn't matter. All you need to know is that she's got something the Cynrog don't know about. Let's keep it that way. Will she take you to the lighthouse?'

  'Yeah. She's just sorting out a lifejacket for Ali.'

  'Right. You're gonna have to hurry, 'cause things are going to start prowling again shortly. And there's a bit of a change with what I want you to do. Still got the sonic screwdriver?'

  'Of course.'

  'OK, then listen carefully.'

  The eyes of the creature in the library flickered open. This time they weren't dead and unseeing, but blazed with angry life. It examined its surroundings, straining at the energy field that held it suspended in the charged air.

  The energy waves that rolled across its skin had faded now and the flesh of the creature was solid and real. Hard, chitinous plates covered its back and arms, studded with wickedly barbed spines. Its back was hunched and muscular, the thick neck wreathed with writhing tentacles. Its head was flat a
nd elongated, the brain protected by a hard, bony plate flaring out to an armoured frill, like a dinosaur. The black eyes blazed from beneath a heavy brow and row upon row of curving teeth gnashed in the wide mouth. Six powerful insect-like legs flexed under its abdomen, the claws at their tips gleaming and sharpened, and curling over its back was a segmented, scorpion-like tail, poison dripping from the spines that studded its length.

  The creature gave a bellow of anger at its confinement, lashing out with a clawed hand. Cynrog equipment shattered under the blow, tendrils of energy arcing angrily across the library. Enraged by the lightning, the creature started to lash out blindly, tearing the cables from the walls, sending books and consoles crashing to the ground.

  With a huge shower of sparks, the Cynrog machinery exploded, energy dancing wildly across the room, spitting flames in its wake. The creature crashed to the floor, released from the energy field. Its claws took huge gouges from the polished floorboards as it spread its arms wide and let out a shattering roar.

  Peyne looked up as the roar reverberated around the house.

  'Balor,' she whispered.

  The Cynrog technicians had stopped their work at the consoles, looking at each other in excitement. The ward was filled with reptilian hissing.

  'Back to your stations!' barked Peyne. 'Priest Technician Hadron, with me!'

  The two Cynrog marched from the room, throwing open the doors to the hallway. From upstairs came another mighty roar, coupled with the dull crump of explosions. Smoke was starting to fill the house, billowing across the once ornate ceilings.

  Peyne frowned. 'Something is not right.'

  As they raced up the stairs, lithe and lizard-like, Peyne's heart was pounding. To fail when they were this close...

  They skidded to a halt outside the library, staring in shock at the devastation that faced them. The heavy wooden doors had burst from their hinges, leaving huge, jagged splinters scattered across the floor. Chunks of plaster had been torn from the walls and ceiling and thick black smoke billowed out into the corridor. Another explosion shot gouts of flame through the open doorway, sending the Cynrog diving for cover.

  Through the flames Peyne could see something moving. Something huge and dark. Hadron fumbled with the disrupter at his belt.

  Peyne hissed angrily at him, 'Fool! You think we've come this far just for you to shoot him down? Conduct yourself as befits a Priest Technician of the Cynrog.'

  Hadron bowed his head. 'My apologies, Priest Commander.'

  Peyne flicked her tongue in displeasure and smoothed down the creases in her battle fatigues. She would have preferred full ceremonial regalia for this moment, the end of so many years of waiting.

  Head held high, she entered the library, Hadron at her side.

  'Lord Balor, we of the Cynrog rejoice at your coming. Lead us once more to the victory.

  The words died in her throat as the creature turned slowly to face her. She felt her skin prickle, the spines across her scalp stiffening in fear. Her hands were shaking; the creature was using its power on them.

  'My Lord Balor?'

  Peyne stared up into the face of the towering monster, into the blazing eyes that were fixed on her, and at that moment she knew that something had gone terribly, horribly wrong. Instinctively she realised that the creature in front of her was incomplete. Somehow, something was missing. Somehow, she had missed something, and the thing that she had created was a savage, indiscriminate, uncontrolled animal. The soul that inhabited it had only one thought: destruction.

  The creature opened its wide mouth and let out a growl of hatred.

  'Commander...' Hadron had dropped to his knees, his body shaking uncontrollably.

  The monster lifted a huge claw.

  'No!'

  Peyne threw herself backwards as the claw slashed down, swiping Hadron into the air. She could hear the screams of the technician as the huge jaws closed around his torso, the wet crunch as the creature devoured him.

  Balor gave another deafening roar and raised himself to his full height. Wooden beams strained and splintered, and plaster shattered like glass as the monster burst up through the roof of the rectory. Cold air swept in, fanning the flames that leapt from the devastated equipment and now raged across the ancient bookcases. Masonry tumbled into the room as a chimney stack was torn apart by the struggling monster.

  Peyne scrambled to her feet and ran for her life.

  Rose struggled up the wet rocks to the base of the lighthouse with Ali lolling in her arms. She had to keep shaking the little girl to keep her awake.

  'Come on, Ali. Come on! We're nearly there. Two more minutes and this will all be over. Two more minutes.'

  'I'm so tired, Rose.' Ali rubbed at her eyes.

  'I know, honey, I know, but I need you. Try to keep going just a bit longer, please. For me.'

  Ali nodded weakly.

  Rose turned to see where Bronwyn had got to. The old woman was picking her way painfully up the slope. The ride across to the island had been terrifying. The monsters had started to emerge again, in ones and twos at first, but then things had started to flash through the water around the little boat and Rose hadn't been sure if they would ever get here in one piece.

  When Ali had started to flag, at first Rose thought it was just due to the rigours of the day, but now it seemed certain that she was falling victim to the Cynrog machines once more.

  'Bronwyn, I've got to get Ali to the lamp room. Are you OK?'

  'Got to rest. Got to sit.' Her words came between rasping breaths. 'So tired.'

  'Not you too!'

  Rose groaned. She couldn't keep both of them awake for ever, but at least the cold rain was helping. She looked up at the lighthouse. The glow from the lamp room above them was lighting up the storm clouds. She pushed open the metal door, ushering Bronwyn inside.

  'OK. You stay here. I'll be as quick as I can.'

  'You go on, dear.' Bronwyn waved a weary hand at Rose. 'I'm getting too old for all this running about.' She lowered herself on to the bottom step of the winding staircase. 'I'll just sit here for a while.'

  With a last worried look at the slumped old lady at her feet, Rose hefted Ali in her arms and started up the stairs, her legs protesting at every step.

  She reached the lamp room breathless, her heart threatening to burst out of her chest. Lowering Ali to the floor, she fumbled in her pocket for the sonic screwdriver, then pressed it into the little girl's hand.

  'You remember what you have to do?'

  'I think so.'

  Ali looked fearfully into the glowing room, the green light pulsating and throbbing. Rose hugged her hard.

  'You can do this. I know you can.'

  Ali took a deep breath, gave Rose a wavering smile and stepped into the lamp room.

  Peyne tore the sensors from the Doctor's brow, hurling them across the ward.

  'What have you done, Time Lord?' she snarled.

  The Doctor's eyes flickered open. 'Morning already?'

  Peyne hauled him upright, digging her claws into the flesh of his arms. 'I said what have you done?'

  She flinched as a mass of bricks and timber crashed into the hallway outside the door. A guttural bellow rang out from somewhere upstairs.

  'Oh dear.' The Doctor gave a huge grin. 'It does sound as though you've got a few problems, doesn't it? Our Lord Balor got out of the wrong side of the bed, did he?'

  Peyne dragged the Doctor from his own bed, pressing her disrupter to his temples.

  'For the last time, Doctor, tell me what you have done!' she roared.

  'Nothing!' The Doctor slapped the gun away angrily. 'I've done nothing, Peyne. This is your doing. Fifty years to get this right and you still messed it up!'

  'What do you mean?'

  Peyne's eyes narrowed, her flattened nose wrinkling in anger. Around her the Cynrog looked at each other in concern, confused and frightened.

  'You didn't do your job properly, that's what I mean! Priest Commander of the Cynrog?' The
Doctor gave a snort of derision. 'No wonder your pitiful little race never gets anywhere!'

  He crossed to one of the nervous technicians. 'Gonna take orders from a commander who can't even count, hm? From someone who thinks that she's such a clever clogs because she found a way of using the local kids as a resource but didn't make sure she had all the facts.'

  He dodged out of the way as a lump of plaster crashed down from the ceiling.

  'You've made a lovely big monster with huge pointy teeth, but it's not got all its marbles, has it? You missed a bit, thicko!'

  'Another child,' breathed Peyne.

  'Yes, another child. Another poor wretch who spent the best years of her life with a fragment of your god inside her head!' The Doctor's voice was cold, hard. 'And now you've unleashed your creature without checking that it's in its right mind, a creature that is mentally unbalanced, unfinished, uncontrollable! All you've done is created another nightmare. You've failed, Peyne!'

  'NO!' Peyne screamed in frustration and anger. She stumbled across to one of the humming consoles, pushing her milling technicians aside, claws dancing across controls. 'It's not too late. We can still find the child.'

  'It took you fifty years to find the others! What chance do you have of finding another one now?'

  'Because she's close, Doctor. Here somewhere. See. The readings are almost at optimum. Almost! That means the child is close, within range of the receptors! I'm not going to fail!' She spat the words. 'Not now! I'm not going to have wasted my time on this miserable planet.'

  'Your creature will have burnt itself out long before you have time to complete the transfer, Peyne. Listen to it. It's tearing itself apart!'

  Then perhaps we need to give it some self-control.'