The Talking Stones of Tyron, scene 5

Vicki ran, roughly in the direction of Ian but veering slightly so that Barbara wouldn't be able to see her. She had to find out more, and the best way to manage that was to do a bit of spying. Which also meant keeping away from the stones: if they were the tools through which the creature exerted its influence, she didn't want to get caught too. There was no way of telling for sure how far away you had to stay in order to be safe. If it was more than six yards - half the distance between stones - then she'd had it. But it seemed likely the range was quite short; the Doctor and Ian had both been touching a stone when they'd been captured.

Oh, wait - had they? Had the creature put the thought in their minds? She remembered when Ian had nearly walked into one of the stones, shortly before he was taken over. But just before that she and Barbara had sat behind one when they got changed, huddled up close to make the best use of the limited cover. Why hadn't it grabbed them then?

Too many questions, too little information. She had to hope for a bit of luck, and find out more.

Vicki circled around, coming up behind Ian's stone, hoping that wouldn't allow the creature to detect her. To her relief, she heard Ian talking.

"But how, Doctor? At the moment it's just the three of us. What can we do on our own?" He paused, as if listening, then continued. "Frankly, I don't think that's likely to be any help. We're stymied." Another pause. "Well, I suppose that's true." Pause. "Barbara, you might have got it! Yes, that might do the trick! I just hope it gives us enough time."

Vicki was bemused. It was as if she were a little girl again, out of bed when she should have been asleep and listening to her father in his office during a televid conference, but without the muffled voices of the other participants. Could there be more than one creature, talking to each other? But why did it sound like Ian, and why did he call the others by their proper names? The only things she could work out were that Ian was well, at least physically, and that she had to do something quickly. But what?

She listened for a while longer, but nothing Ian said cast any further light on their situation. Her leg was starting to cramp and she was afraid that she might make a noise if she moved to a different position, so she crept away while she could still do so quietly.

Reminded of her father, she recalled a time when she had been stuck on a piece of schoolwork, a research project that seemed to have hit a plasticrete wall. He had taken her gently by the shoulders, sat her down; and what he said had stayed with her ever since. "Sometimes, when you can't see a way forward, it's best to stop trying. Go for a walk, listen to some music, watch a holoshow. Your mind can often do a better job when you're not pushing it so hard."

That seemed good advice now. Well, music and shows were out, but she could certainly go for a walk!

Vicki ambled up the valley. It wasn't perfect - the stones kept bringing her mind back to the problem, and it was hard to put aside the idea that she had to do something quickly - but it did help a little. To take her mind off the distractions she tried focusing on the distant landscape: rolling hills tinged greenish-blue by the grass or greenish-yellow by the trees, streams of whitish water. No mountains. Geologically an old landscape, everything worn down and softened by time. Tyron was certainly not like Vortis, with its jagged edges and craters.

Vortis had to be the key. That was the only place she had really run into a problem like this, and she was right there at the heart of it. Of course, the Doctor had been there too, leading the way; she had only supported him. And in the end it had been Barbara who had done what was needed.

And that was it, the nub of her problem. She supported, she helped: the Doctor on Vortis, Ian on Platform Five, Barbara - sort of - in Guangzhou. She wasn't the one who figured out the solutions, or the one who really made them happen. Well, that needed to change, and fast. Time to be more proactive, to - to take responsibility.

She suddenly noticed where her wandering feet had carried her: the stream flowing out from the lake that she had been swimming in less than two hours earlier. She could see the corner of the bank where, presumably, the Doctor still lay, just beyond the next rise. Her instincts were obviously telling her to run to him, to seek his guidance and protection, just as she had in the Carsinome. But that wasn't possible now, and anyway it didn't fit with the new Vicki - or did it? The Doctor always drew others into his schemes, used them to make the whole thing work, and she suspected that he didn't always have the details worked out in advance. She might be figuring it out as she went along, but she wouldn't try to do everything herself; and who better than the Doctor for her to try and rescue first, so he could join her in liberating the others?

Very well, then; he was her first target. And talking of the Carsinome, she had a wild idea which might just work...

Next Time:
The Talking Stones of Tyron, scene 6