Time Switch part 4

 

     Hunger burned like a fever but the eel like creatures reigned in their urges.  But it wasn't easy, there was so much fresh meat.  'Later brother, later sister, we wait.  Tonight once we have adapted too this strange atmosphere, then we feed.  Patience, patience."  And with that, they turned as one and retreated back into the grass and headed back too the sanctuary of the damp earth.

    Sarah Jane Smith took some photographs and got some more notes for her story.  The second dig site was intriguing her and her gaze kept drifting over towards it.  She nodded and smiled and listened with half an ear to what the young afro carribean man was talking about.  Part of her was chiding herself for being unprofessional but instinct was saying the real story lies with that second dig.  She could feel it.  That instinct had lead her right before and she knew better than to ignore it.  "So have they found anything?" she said, cutting the young man off in full flow.  Gary frowned, "Thats just it.  You'd have thought that after nearly ten days they'd have gotten something.  But I've not seen a single finds tray come out of the site. Must be costing that Government department an absolute bundle to keep it running".  Sarah smiled as someone offered her a cup of tea poured from a thermos flask.  Yes the real story was there all right....

    The Doctor/Beckett stood slowly and dusted off the knees of his trousers.  "Well that should do it.  It should counter the effects of the EMP and at the same time track it down to the source.
Well that's the theory anyway."
"I hope so Doctor, we lost a helicopter and two good men in the last incident" said the Brigadier, his voice betraying the loss he felt.
"I'm sorry to hear that Brigadier" the Doctor said briefly, "I hope that this device will save us from any further loss of life."  But even as he spoke, some inner voice, a sixth sense, warned him that this was not over yet, not by some distance.  Something big was about to happen or was all ready happening.  He snapped shut his sonic screwdriver and left the computer room.

    Taking a deep breath, Sarah headed towards the second dig site.  Even from here she could see that they had dug a large pit, at least six feet down, and some seven feet in circumfrence.
She put on her best smile and then walked into a brick wall, a brick wall on two legs that must have been six feet tall and at least five feet wide.  The man wasn't dressed as a security guard, but seeing as he wasn't wearing a hard hat or boots like the others, he clearly wasn't an archaeologist either.
"Excuse me miss.  You aren't allowed here without permission"
"Oh I'm sorry" she said brightly, "But there's no signs saying no trespassing or danger keep out?"
"A dig can be dangerous" he said through slightly yellowed teeth, "Easy to fall into a hole and break something.  Besides Miss Irna would want you to have an appointment."
"Oh right, then how do I get one?" she asked.
"Get what?" said the man.  Sarah sighed inwardly, either he was being thick or just being as awkward as he could. 
"An appointment to see the site" she said with great patience.
"You phone Miss Irna." he replied.
"Oh right, then you'll have her number then?" said Sarah, flashing yet another smile.
"No miss, I don't have her number". 
Sarah fought the urge to swear, and as she tried to think of a fresh angle of attack, a voice cut through the awkward silence.  A woman's voice, as cold as ice and edged with steel.
"Mister Powell, who is this woman?"
"A journalist M'amm.  Shall I send her away?"
"No, no, let her enter the site.  I'll take charge of this.  Now then, please come this way.  I'm sorry I didn't catch your name...."

    Two U.N.I.T soldiers walked together on patrol. They carried automatic rifles in the crook of their arms. 
"Hang on Geoff, you got any smokes on you?"
Geoff paused in mid stride, "Come on Pete, if we get caught smoking on patrol we are in for the high jump."
Pete looked around him and with a laugh said, "Like anybody's going to see us!  I mean those sheep aren't going to report us!  I'm gasping mate!"
Geoff caught up with him, "Yeah and I'm gasping for a nice cool beer but I can't get one out here.  Hang on mate, another half an hour and we'll get relieved."
"If you have the smokes then go on mate, crash one? Like I said who'se-" a violent but brief rustling came from the undergrowth too their left. "What the bloody hell was that?"
Pete lowered his rifle and his thumb switched the safety too the off position.
"Come on show yourself!"
"It was probably a bloody Badger or a Fox. Relax Pete. Come on, leave it, it's nothing"
But Geoff wasn't listening.  Pete sighed in exasperation as he watched his colleague disappear into the hedge row.
"Bloody hell!" he cursed as he prepared to follow him, his hand reaching for his walkie talkie.....

    The Doctor sat at a workbench mentally and physically twiddling his thumbs.  The man called Al hadn't explained all that clearly what they were doing now, which seemed to be not much of anything.  He admitted that the laboratory had an impressive array of advanced technology.  Granted it was primitive compared to other systems he had seen elsewhere but it was still advanced for it's time.  He rose from the stool and walked over to a terminal, his eyes scanning the data as it flowed down the screen.
"When did these EMP's start in that time zone exactly?" he asked the young woman sat at the terminal.
"We can't back track like that at the moment.  We need to access the data from this U.N.I.T.  Despite being in the past, their encryption has been constantly updated.  It's pretty good."
"Well let me try" said the Doctor with a warm smile, "I may know some shortcuts"
She looked uncertainly at Al, but he smiled and nodded; "Let him try, it can't hurt.  There's something going on here that's bigger than anything we have encountered so far.  It can't hurt."

   "So you see Miss Smith, this was the site of a Roman shrine.  I am leading another project, simple as that" Miss Irna said with a smile that lacked warmth and sincerity.
Sarah sipped at the bitter, strong coffee, her nose wrinkling at the flavour of the brew.  Her jounalistic sixth sense knew that most of what she had said so far was untrue.  She mentally admired the skill at which she had side stepped some questions, but at the same time it annoyed the heck out of her.
"So why did you take workers from the Neolithic site to do this?"
"Because my own team were too lazy, too slow.  My funding is under constant review unlike theirs.  You see Miss Smith, they think just because I'm a woman, I won't find anything important."
But Sarah looked at the pit and wondered why was it screened from the casual viewer?  Unknown to Miss Irma, Sarah had managed to capture a quick glance and what she had seen had most certainly not looked Roman.  It looked more like an unexploded bomb.  It had been smooth and cylindrical, maybe spherical in shape and was a mottled egg shell blue but she had been side tracked before she could see more.  Unknown too them however, her pocket camera had hopefully captured some interesting images.
"So you can pay these men more than the other archaeologist?" she asked suddenly.
Miss Irna recoiled as if slapped.  "Sorry? Oh I see.  No my err employers are paying us.  They offered them the money, not me."
"So do you think I could talk too them?" she asked brightly.
"Who? Oh the department? Look I'm sure they'd be far too busy to grant you an interview.  They are very busy people as alas, am I.  I'm sorry Miss Smith this interview is over.  I'm sure you can find your own way out"

   Pete suddenly felt anxious.  Geoff had gone on ahead and he had ran on to ctach him up.  There had been some more violent rustling in the undergrowth and then it had gone deathly quiet.
"Geoff? Geoff?! Stop mucking around!  Look you can have a cigarette OK?  Geoff? Geoff for God's sake, Geoff!" he raised the walkie talkie too his mouth.
"This is Greyhound 7, calling Trap One, come in Trap One"
"This is Trap One, Greyhound 7, report please"
"We are over in the far field too the west of the dig and there's something going on.  I-I can't find Geoff.  He heard something in the hedgerows, and now I can't see him"
"This is Trap One, give me your exact location and we'll send someone as backup"
"Roger that Trap One, I'm at...oh hell" He had tripped over something.  He at first thought it had been a stone or a tree root but it wasn't.  It was a boot, with the foot still in it.
There was no sign of the rest of the body or the man it had belonged too.  It was or had been Geoff.
He was about to call it in when something slammed into his back, cracking his spine in two.  He didn't have time to scream as a snake like head appeared in his vision over his right shoulder.
Oh he tried but even as he drew breath, the mouth of the thing opened and the jaws and teeth closed over his face.  There was a short burst of gunfire, an explosion of sound as startled birds erupted from the trees.  Then there was a deathly silence....

   Sarah drove back too the U.N.I.T encampment.  She was angry and upset and...what was that?  Was there something in the back of the truck?  She had heard an odd sound that wasn't mechanical.  She shook her head no.  I'm just rattled she thought and then screamed as she saw the snake like creature rising from the back seat in the rear view mirror.....

                                                                            END OF PART 4