Doctor Who: Fury From the Deep Read Online Free PDF

Robson pointed his finger menacingly at van Lutyens. 'When I need your advice, I'll ask for it!'
    Van Lutyens managed a wry smile. 'By then it will be too late.'
    Just above where Robson and van Lutyens were having their tense exchange, three faces appeared at an upper corridor window overlooking the Control Hall. It was the Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria.
    Slowly, quietly, they eased open the window. As they did so, there was a flurry of activity at the Communications Cone.
    'Mr Robson!' Price's voice boomed out above the deafening thumping sound of the giant impeller. 'I've got Chief Baxter at Control Rig, sir. He's on Video Three.'
    Robson immediately broke away from van Lutyens, and hurried across to the Cone. Chief Baxter's face was on the Video Three monitor. He looked tired and strained.
    'Yes, Baxter? What is it?'
    Baxter was one of the most experienced drilling engineers in the North Sea gas fields. Now a man in his late fifties, he was once tipped to take on the job that eventually went to Robson. But Baxter was too vital to the off-shore drilling exploration programme, so he was given command of the Control Rig.
    'Has Mr van Lutyens arrived yet, sir?'
    'Yes, he's here!' snapped Robson. 'Why?'
    Baxter coughed slightly. It was just a dry cough, more a clearing of the throat. But it was noticeable. 'He's told you then, sir? I mean - about how the men feel out here?'
    'Look, Baxter - I'm running this outfit, not Mr van Lutyens.
    You take your orders from me!'
    'Yes I know sir, but - ' he coughed again, 'there's something else.' As he spoke now, there were signs of breathlessness.
    'Something... seems to have got inside the pipeline.'
    Everyone in the Control Hall stopped what they were doing.
    All eyes were turned towards the Video Three monitor.
    Robson squinted at the monitor screen, as though he was short-sighted. 'What the hell are you talking about, man?'
    There were beads of sweat on Baxter's forehead. He dabbed it with his handkerchief. 'I know it sounds ridiculous, sir. But whatever it is, it's in the tubes feeding in from the other rigs. We've all heard it.'
    Van Lutyens had now joined Robson, staring anxiously at the screen. 'Heard?' said Robson. 'Heard what?'
    'This sound...' Baxter's voice was becoming more and more breathless. 'At first... I thought it was something to do with the pumps. But... it isn't. It's a... peculiar sound... a sort of regular thumping... pulsating.' For a split second it seemed that he held his breath, then said, 'It's like listening to the sound of your own heartbeat.'
    'That's it!' said the Doctor in his hidden vantage point. He rubbed his hands together excitedly. 'That's exactly what I heard in the pipeline down on the beach.'
    Victoria bit her lip nervously. 'Yes, Doctor, but what is that sound?'
    The Doctor's exuberance quickly subsided. 'I don't know, Victoria. But we're going to find out. Come on, Jamie!' Jamie was perplexed. 'Where're we going?'
    'I want to take another look at that pipeline.'
    The Doctor and Jamie left the window, and started to move off down the corridor. As they did so, Victoria tagged on behind. But the Doctor stopped suddenly, and turned. 'Er - no, Victoria. Not you.'
    Victoria looked hurt. 'Oh - why not?'
    'Not the sort of job for a young girl,' said the Doctor. And when Victoria was about to object, he merely had to smile at her like a protective uncle and say, 'Better go back and wait in the crew cabin. We shan't be long. Please?'
    As usual, the Doctor won Victoria over, and she reluctantly made her way back to the cabin. As soon as the Doctor and Jamie were out of sight however, she sneaked off down another corridor to do a little snooping of her own.
     
    In the bedroom of the Harris's apartment, Maggie was not feeling at all well. Her hand was swelling up from the sting she had received from the seaweed clump, and she began to feel drowsy and disoriented. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she closed her eyes, rubbed them, then opened them again. She