91Èȱ¬

Some distance below the planet's surface, two figures stood before a complicated piece of machinery. "It is time," one said. "Activate!" A scaly claw pulled a lever.

* * *

"Where did you find this?" asked the Doctor, pointing to the energy sphere Joe Grundy had brought in. "I'd rather not say here," Joe replied, looking askance at Oliver Sterling. "But if you was to take me down to the Bull and buy me a pint of shires, well, I might become more talkative." "Very well. Mr Sterling," the Doctor added. "I wonder, might you chase up the Brigadier for me? And could you get the man who originally found the bodies –" "George Barford." "Indeed. Well, I'd like to see him in the Bull as well, if possible." "I'll get onto it." "Thank you. Come on Jo, let's sample the local hospitality, shall we?" Jo smiled. "Yes, let's."

* * *

The Brigadier's car was rushing towards Ambridge as fast as Sergeant Benton could safely take it, and sometimes a little bit faster. Suddenly Benton braked sharply. "What the –" exclaimed the Brigadier. "Look sir." Benton pointed to the wreck of a Range Rover blocking the road ahead. It appeared to have run at full speed into ... well, it didn't seem to have run into anything, so far as they could see.

The Brigadier and Benton got out of the car. They walked over to the Range Rover, the Brigadier walking on the driver's side. The front end of the car was compressed into about a third of its length. When Benton tried to have a look around the front, he bounced his head off ... nothing. "Sir, I think there's something here. It's invisible, but there's definitely something solid stopping me go forward." "Yes, I thought it might be something like that. This poor fellow must have run full tilt into it."

The Brigadier had reached into what was left of the driver's seat, and extracted a driving licence lying on the remains of the dashboard. "Who is he, sir?" "Some chap by the name of Matthew Crawford." The Brigadier put the license in his pocket. "Right Benton. Get on to the various police roadblocks C Section had set up, and get them to advance out away from the village until they find the way blocked. That should enable us to plot the dimensions of this forcefield, or whatever it is." "Do you think it surrounds the place sir?" "I think it's likely." "Looks like it's Devil's End all over again, sir." "Yes, Benton. Except this time you and Captain Yates aren't in there to help the Doctor."

* * *

"So where did it come from?" asked the Doctor. He, Jo Grant, Joe Grundy and George Barford were cosily ensconced around a roaring fire in the Bull. "Grange Farm. Used to belong to me and my Eddie, but now it belongs to that Sterling." "So that's why you didn't want to tell us in front of Mr Sterling?" asked Jo. "Ar, that's right." "So, Doctor," said Jo, "if there's a Nestene energy unit, then there must be Autons somewhere?" "Presumably, Jo. They could be masquerading as the villagers." "So how do we find them?" "I think we ask Mr Sterling." "But the energy unit was found on his farm. Isn't he the most likely suspect?" "Yes, but he's seen the energy unit, and knows that we know about it. If we don't involve him in the search for Autons, he'll know we suspect him."

At that moment Oliver Sterling came in. "Bad news, Doctor. According to your friend the Brigadier, the whole village has been cut off by an invisible barrier. They're calling in the air force now to see if it surround us from above as well." "I see." The Doctor rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Mr Sterling, have you noticed any of your fellow villagers acting strangely recently."

A new voice said, "If you ask me, everyone's behaving strangely around here." "What do you mean, Mrs –" "Aldridge. Jennifer Aldridge. Well, where do I start? There's Oliver here turning out to have some hush-hush connection with the government, you two turning up, the dead bodies, and my Brian's been very odd since he met that von Meister fellow." "Von Meister?" The Doctor looked into the fire. "Honestly, the sheer impudence of that man!" "What do you mean, Doctor?" asked Jo. "How's your German, Jo?" "Not good." Then she smiled, as realization dawned. "But I bet Meister is the German for 'Master'." "Exactly." "The Master's here?" said Sterling. "Who's the Master?" asked Jennifer. "What does this all mean?" "It means, madam," said the Doctor, "that things are going to get a lot worse before they get better."

Jo leaned closer to the Doctor. "Doctor, do you think the Master could be responsible for the time effect you noticed when we got here? The way the village isn't quite up-to-date with the modern world." "I'm not sure the Master's capable of creating such a time effect – a bubble that slows time in the village whilst at the same time allowing it to pass at its normal rate. It would tax the ingenuity of Rassillon himself."

"Rassillon," said Joe Grundy. "Now there's a name I ain't heard in a long while."

* * *

Constables Paice and Lord stood uneasily in the Village Hall. They didn't like any of what they saw around them – dead bodies, discarded Heath-Robinson laboratory equipment, and most of all the lead box that they had been told was not to be opened under any circumstances. Still, they had a job to do.

There was a knocking at the entrance. The constables panicked, as the great wooden door swung open, but they both breathed a sigh or relief when a flame-haired beauty stuck her head around it. "Hi." "Hello, miss – ?" "Mrs, actually. Mrs Hathaway. I live just across the green. I was just thinking you boys must be feeling really left out, so I brought you some tea."

The last thing Lord and Paice saw was the woman's hand falling away just below the knuckle.

* * *

Helen Archer was working late, trying to come up with a new formula that would give her Bridge Farm Cheese the distinctive flavour she was after. She was so intent on her calculations and stirring that she didn't notice the strange scrabbling noises coming from under the floorboards.

* * *

"How do you know the name of Rassilon?" The Doctor looked at Joe Grundy, to all appearances a typical late-20th century country farmer, but who seemed to have considerable knowledge of the history of the Time Lords, knowledge no-one on this planet should have. He, Joe and Jo Grant were closeted together in a corner of the Bull. George Barford and Oliver Sterling sat at a nearby table, just out of earshot. "How d'yer think, Doctor?" "Are you another Time Lord?" asked Jo Grant. "Like the Doctor and the Master?" "I might be." "But which Time Lord?" asked the Doctor. "Now that I ain't telling. I've gone by the name of Joe Grundy for more years than I cares to remember, and I'll stick with it now." "So, am I to take it that you're responsible for the time dilation effect in this village?" "I might be." "Do you know how dangerous that is?"

Joe Grundy looked into the fire. "I ... I know. It's just that, when I first came here, seventy years or more it was ago now, I fell in love with this place. Then, after the war, things started to change. The modern world started to creep in. Well, I don't care for the modern world, Doctor. That's why I left Gallifrey in the first place. So, I took steps. Nothing too obvious, nothing that would draw attention, turn Ambridge into a freakshow. Just enough to keep things how they used to be." "But don't you see? You interfered with the development of free-thinking peoples. That's against the Time Lords' most dearly-held principles."

"You're hardly the one to lecture me about non-interference, Doctor." "That’s different," the Doctor said defensively. "I help people, right injustices. You turned people away from their proper path simply to suit your own convenience!" "Now, Doctor –"

Just then, Inspector Coverdale burst into the pub. "Doctor, Mr Sterling, there's been an incident at the Village Hall!" he said. "What's happened?" asked Sterling. "They're all gone, Mr Sterling!" "Calm down, man," said the Doctor. "Who's gone?" "Everything, Doctor! My constables, the body, that chest you wanted guarding – everything."

* * *

Helen saw a shadow move across the wall of the workroom. "Mum, is that you?" She turned round, and dropped her wooden spoon in shock. In front of her was a tall figure, humanoid in shape, about six foot five in height. It was green, and seemed to be entirely composed of interlacing roots and vines. It moved towards her.

Part Five>>