Heart of Stone / Death Riders

by BBC

  Rory picked up a spare shovel, checked its weight in his hands, and then swung it like a cricket bat at the monster. The shovel connected with a resounding clang! and Rory felt the vibration running up his arms and into his shoulders like an electric shock.

  The rock monster turned its attention from Jess to Rory with a gravelly snarl. Rory stared up at the creature. The shovel, which was still quivering like a tuning fork in his numbed fingers, slipped from his grasp.

  The monster advanced slowly and purposefully towards Rory.

  And then Jess was pulling him back into the farmhouse and slamming the door behind them. She scrabbled for the bolts at the top and bottom.

  ‘That won’t stop it,’ said the Doctor.

  And even as he spoke, the kitchen door shuddered with the impact of a giant stone fist.

  ‘Quick, barricade it!’ said Amy, trying to push the heavy kitchen table across the door. The others joined in, heaving the table into place, the coffee mugs rolling around and smashing on the floor.

  But the creature wouldn’t be put off so easily.

  A second fist burst through the remains of the door. The big table skidded backwards, flung aside like an old cardboard box.

  A third and final assault on the door reduced it to matchwood.

  CHAPTER 7

  RUN OR FIGHT?

  Shards of wood hurtled around the kitchen as the rock monster smashed its way in. The table was crushed, dashed aside, and then the whole room seemed to shake as the creature forced its way inside. The door frame tore loose from the surrounding brickwork, caught on the stone giant’s bulky shoulders.

  Ralph Conway’s dogs were going berserk. Neither could understand what was happening, but both knew an intruder when they saw one. They snapped and barked and bared their fangs, jumping up at the creature as it seemed to fill the room.

  The terrible racket had already brought Ralph running downstairs. ‘What in the blue blazes is going on?’ he thundered.

  But Ralph could immediately see the danger his dogs were in. They could bark as much as they liked, but the thing that had forced its way into his house was just too powerful.

  So Ralph grabbed both dogs by the collar and hauled them out of the kitchen, still yelping and barking.

  The Doctor and Rory were trying to slow the monster down, throwing kitchen chairs, pots and pans and anything else they could lay their hands on at it. They finally gave up when an orange, hurled in desperation by Rory, bounced harmlessly off the creature’s head.

  ‘An orange?’ the Doctor spluttered at Rory.

  ‘Nothing left to chuck,’ said Rory hopelessly.

  ‘Time to go,’ the Doctor said. They backed out of the kitchen, into the narrow passageway that connected the back of the house to the front. The rock monster growled menacingly, crunching its way across the stone floor of the kitchen in pursuit.

  Ralph was struggling with the dogs. One broke free, snapping its jaws at anything that moved. It dived past the Doctor, heading for the kitchen. Ralph lunged after it, yelling for it to come back.

  But it was too late. The dog snarled at the rock monster, but one savage swipe of its arm sent the hound spinning across the room.

  ‘Get back!’ shouted the Doctor, grabbing Ralph by the arm. But the farmer tore free, cursing the monster with every breath.

  Then the creature reached out, grasped Ralph Conway in one giant, crag-like hand and hurled him backwards.

  Ralph landed heavily in the passageway, completely stunned. The Doctor and Rory dragged him into the front room, where Jess and Amy were waiting with Chris Jenkins.

  Chris had been cowering in the front room ever since he had seen the creature through the kitchen window. His face was white with fear, but he knew he had to do something now. But he couldn’t think what.

  ‘Close the door!’ screamed Jess.

  Chris jumped up and slammed the door shut – but it was a useless gesture. Within seconds, the entire wall was disintegrating in a cloud of plaster dust as the rock creature forced its way through.

  ‘It’s unstoppable,’ gasped Chris. He sounded utterly panic-stricken.

  The rock creature stepped into the front room with a slow, ominous scraping sound. It surveyed the five people carefully, its blank eye sockets full of darkness.

  ‘What is it, Doctor?’ asked Rory fearfully.

  ‘More importantly – what does it want?’ wondered the Doctor.

  ‘What does that matter?’ asked Chris. He ran from one side of the room to another in panic. ‘It’s going to kill us all if we don’t do something fast!’

  ‘I’m open to suggestions,’ said the Doctor.

  ‘Well, here’s mine,’ replied Chris. ‘Run for it!’

  And then he kicked open the farmhouse door and sprinted out into the night.

  ‘Oh, charming!’ Amy called after him.

  Jess darted towards the door, shouting after Chris, ‘Come back! I can’t leave Dad like this!’

  But it was no use. Chris was gone.

  Rory was helping Ralph Conway into an old armchair. The farmer winced as he sat down, one arm hanging limply. A gash on his forehead oozed blood.

  But Rory was a trained nurse and knew what to look for. There didn’t seem to be any serious damage, but you could never be totally sure with head injuries.

  ‘He’s in shock,’ he said, peering into Ralph’s eyes. They were heavy and a bit dazed. ‘I think his arm could be broken too.’

  Jess bit her lip, looking from her dad in the chair to the open door. She was torn between running after Chris and staying with her dad.

  But there was never really any contest.

  She joined Rory by her father’s side as the rock monster tore its way through the room. Its hollow eyes scanned the room, searching for its prey.

  CHAPTER 8

  THE MOON’S COLD GAZE

  The monster rose up to its full height with a loud, scraping roar.

  Amy turned to the Doctor. ‘Do something!’

  But the Doctor’s eyes were shining. ‘No need,’ he said.

  ‘What?’ said Amy, and she was joined in her gasp of disbelief by Rory and Jess.

  The Doctor simply folded his arms and leant against a bookcase.

  And did precisely nothing.

  The rock monster stomped straight past him and smashed its way through the exit, taking a large part of the wall with it. It crunched its way out into the night and disappeared into the darkness.

  ‘What’s going on?’ asked Amy, staring out through the ragged hole in the wall where the door had once been. ‘Where’s it going?’

  ‘I’d say it was following Chris,’ replied the Doctor. He peered out into the night. ‘Wouldn’t you?’

  Everything had fallen unnaturally quiet. The monster was gone. All that was left was a trail of destruction through the farmhouse, bits and pieces of broken masonry and a lot of dust.

  ‘It doesn’t make sense,’ said Amy. ‘Why would the monster be following Chris?’

  ‘Following Chris?’ repeated Jess.

  ‘Interesting, isn’t it?’ mused the Doctor.

  ‘Interesting? It’s madness!’ Jess raised her voice. She stood up from where she had been kneeling by her father. ‘I mean, it’s just ridiculous. Why would it be following Chris?’

  ‘That I do not know,’ said the Doctor. He frowned thoughtfully. ‘Yet.’

  A lump of brick fell from the lintel over the doorway. Jess slumped in defeat. ‘I just don’t understand what’s happening,’ she moaned. ‘What on Earth was that horrible thing?’

  ‘That’s what I intend to find out,’ said the Doctor. He turned towards the wreckage of the doorway. ‘Come on, Pond!’

  Amy followed the Doctor out into the night, but he had already doubled back to speak to Rory.

  ‘Stay here and look after Mr Conway and Jess,’ he said.

  Rory looked uncertain. ‘What about the rock man? What if he comes back?’

  ‘I doubt that’ll happen. He’s more
interested in Chris Jenkins by the looks of it.’

  ‘But –’

  The Doctor sighed. ‘Just sit tight here and look after Jess and her dad. They need you.’

  ‘And you don’t?’

  ‘Yes – but I need you here.’

  ‘Oh. Right. Well, OK.’ Rory nodded. ‘I’ll stay here then.’

  ‘Good man.’

  The Doctor turned to leave once more, but Jess stopped him. ‘Doctor – I need to know. Will Chris be all right?’

  ‘We’ll see,’ the Doctor replied, as he slipped out into the darkness.

  Chris was still running through the night. At first he had no idea where he was running to – he just had to get away. He had to get away from the insanity of the rock creature, from the Doctor and his friends, from the farmhouse and from Jess.

  Occasionally he glanced behind him. He could see the lights of the farmhouse, now in the distance. Above the dark buildings the moon shone brightly. The sight of it chilled him to the bone and made the breath catch in his throat.

  Because, no matter how far he ran, Chris knew he would never escape the moon’s cold gaze.

  Behind Chris, unseen in the darkness, the rock creature trudged relentlessly across the moor.

  CHAPTER 9

  FOLLOW THE ROCK

  The Doctor could move very quickly when he had to – one of the advantages of having a relatively young body. He seemed to run in a tangle of arms and legs, but he picked his way through the trees at quite a pace regardless.

  Amy struggled to keep up.

  ‘Hang on!’ she called.

  The farmhouse was backed by trees, dark and twisted in the night, almost impenetrable. Amy couldn’t understand how the Doctor could follow anything through a forest at night.

  ‘How do you know where we’re going? I can’t even see that rock monster thingy!’

  The Doctor hopped nimbly over a fallen tree trunk and skidded to a halt. He was bouncing on his feet, eager to continue with the chase. ‘We don’t need to see him, Amy,’ he said. ‘We just follow the trail.’

  ‘What trail?’

  The Doctor pointed to the tree trunk. It looked like a thick, pale grey log in the moonlight.

  But, as Amy watched, it started to grow paler by the second.

  Eventually, with the softest crunch, it turned almost white. It looked as though it had been carved out of solid rock.

  Moon rock.

  ‘I don’t believe it,’ breathed Amy.

  ‘Isn’t it amazing?’ The Doctor sounded delighted. ‘The tree has turned to stone. Lunar stone.’

  ‘But how?’

  ‘Molecular reconfiguration. The creature touched the tree trunk and triggered the change. It did the same thing when it broke through Ralph Conway’s wall last night – those stones weren’t originally moon rock; they were changed into moon rock.’

  Amy tried to make sense of it. ‘You mean whatever that thing touches turns to moon rock?’

  ‘Pretty much, yeah.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘I’ve no idea. Maybe we could ask it – if we can catch it.’

  They started off again, and now Amy could see patches of white on the ground every so often, and the occasional stone tree or low-hanging branch perfectly reflecting the moonlight. These were the footsteps – or handprints – of the monster.

  ‘Should be easy enough to track,’ she admitted. But she hoped the monster didn’t run too far – it was hard trying to keep up with the Doctor as he side-stepped and bounded his way out of the woods.

  Before long they reached open ground – moor land. Mist covered the landscape like a thin, silvery sheet. It looked cold and unearthly – like the moon itself. Amy shivered.

  The Doctor stopped and whipped out his sonic screwdriver. Its tip clicked open and glowed green as he used it to scan the area. After a few seconds he snapped it shut with a grunt of annoyance.

  ‘It’s gone!’

  ‘Gone?’

  The Doctor was clearly frustrated. ‘Creature, trail, Chris – all gone. No trace of any molecular reconfiguration. It’s just disappeared.’

  ‘So what’s happened? Has Chris been taken – abducted?’

  The Doctor was down on his haunches now, scanning the ground with the sonic. ‘It’s a possibility,’ he replied.

  ‘Oh, no,’ said Amy suddenly. ‘I’ve just thought of another possibility.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Anything the monster touches turns to stone, right?’

  The Doctor stood up and frowned at her. ‘Yes, right. What of it?’

  ‘It touched Ralph Conway.’

  CHAPTER 10

  CHANGING

  Rory pulled back the curtain and looked out of the window.

  The farmyard was moonlit and eerie – everything was a pale grey colour and wreathed in a thin mist. The dented Land Rover looked like a bone-white sculpture.

  He could see the front door from this angle, if he craned his neck a bit. The door was gone, smashed into pieces, and the frame was splintered. But it was all shining white in the darkness, as if it was carved out of a piece of the moon.

  He let the curtain drop back and turned to look at Jess. ‘How is he?’

  Jess was sitting on the floor by her father. He was in the armchair growing paler and greyer by the minute. ‘I think he’s asleep,’ she said quietly, ‘or maybe in a coma. I just can’t tell.’

  She was shivering. It was cold in the farmhouse now, with the doors bashed in front and back. Rory thought he could detect the first few tendrils of mist drifting in from outside. He took off his jacket and draped it over Jess’s shoulders.

  Ralph Conway was still breathing – just. It was shallow, barely visible, but he was definitely alive. Rory wasn’t sure how much longer he would last, though. The ugly scar on his forehead looked raw. The rock monster had hit him hard.

  ‘I don’t even know if he can see me,’ Jess said, waving a hand in front of Ralph’s eyes. He continued to stare straight ahead.

  ‘Probably concussion,’ said Rory.

  ‘Dad?’ said Jess. ‘Dad. Can you hear me?’ There was no response. She turned to Rory. ‘Shouldn’t we call an ambulance or something?’

  ‘Er, yes. Good idea.’ Rory thought for a moment. ‘Take a while to get here though. We’re in the middle of nowhere.’

  Jess nodded. ‘We’re a good hour’s drive from the nearest hospital. But we could save some time if we drive him ourselves. Use the Land Rover.’

  ‘That could be difficult. The monster totalled it.’

  ‘What about Chris’s car?’

  Rory bit his lip. He was thinking about explaining all of this to a tired medical doctor in casualty. He really didn’t fancy the idea. ‘Perhaps we’re being a bit hasty, Jess … ’

  Jess gave a hiss of exasperation and turned back to her father. ‘Dad! Wake up! It’s me – Jess! Come on!’ She turned back to Rory once more. ‘Where’s the Doctor? We need him here! He shouldn’t have run off like that!’

  ‘He’s not that kind of doctor,’ Rory said.

  ‘Then what kind is he?’

  ‘A sort of … outer space kind.’

  ‘Don’t be stupid,’ Jess said angrily.

  Rory could tell that she was frightened. And he knew how that felt. ‘You saw that rock creature,’ he said gently. ‘You’ve seen the moon stones. Trust me, the Doctor will be able to sort it –’

  But Jess was no longer listening. She had been distracted by something on her father’s face. ‘Rory – look!’

  Ralph had suddenly turned very pale – almost white – as if the colour had been completely drained from his face. The skin looked dry and dusty.

  ‘Oh, my goodness,’ groaned Jess.

  Rory peered closer. Then he swallowed. Ralph’s eyes were open but grey and opaque.

  Something was going horribly wrong.

  Rory reached out to touch Ralph’s hand. ‘Mr Conway … ?’

  ‘Don’t touch him!’ commanded the Doctor, striding
into the room with Amy.

  Rory jumped back as if stung and Jess gasped with relief. ‘Doctor! Thank goodness – what’s happening? Where’s Chris?’

  ‘He’s gone,’ the Doctor replied. He tried to make it sound as if this was perfectly OK, but his hands were clenched into fists. ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘Gone?’ Jess echoed. Her face had fallen. ‘Where?’

  ‘We don’t know yet,’ Amy said. ‘We lost him in the fog. And the monster.’

  ‘And that,’ said the Doctor gravely, ‘looks to be the least of our problems … ’

  He was staring hard at Ralph Conway, who sat stiffly in his chair, as grey and lifeless as a stone statue.

  CHAPTER 11

  A NICE CUP OF TEA

  The Doctor scanned Ralph with the sonic screwdriver. The green glow passed over the stony features and shone deep into the sightless eyes. Eventually the whirring of the screwdriver ceased and the Doctor flicked it open to inspect the readings.

  ‘Well?’ asked Jess. Amy could see that she was worried sick. ‘What’s happened to him?’

  There was a deep frown of concern on the Doctor’s face. ‘Your dad’s been turned to stone,’ he said simply. ‘Moon stone, to be precise.’

  ‘But how?’

  ‘The rock creature touched him, triggering a complete molecular transformation …’

  ‘I mean, how is that even possible?’

  The Doctor looked closely at Jess. ‘Anything’s possible,’ he told her gently. ‘Anything. Including getting him changed back again to the way he was. The way he should be. From what I can tell, the transformation is highly unstable. It could be reversed.’

  Jess squeezed the tears from her eyes. ‘I hope you know what you’re doing, Doctor.’

  ‘Of course I do.’ The Doctor turned back to look at Ralph Conway. Unseen by Jess, the Doctor flashed a desperate look at Rory and Amy.

  Rory cleared his throat. ‘I’ll make us all a cup of tea.’

  ‘Yes!’ the Doctor agreed. ‘Perfect! Just what we all need. A nice cup of tea. Always helps me think …’ He began to pace around the wreckage of the living room.