lounge once more. 'Wait, wait, wait!' he said.
Rory glared at him. 'I said give us a—'
'We haven't got time, Rory! What did you say the name of this town was?'
Rory shrugged. 'Appletown. But—'
'That's it! I knew it didn't make sense! What's the point of filling a town solely with robots that are designed to live amongst humans?' The Doctor slammed his fist against the wall. 'And the buildings!
Flimsy
wooden
skeletons,
barely
convincing for any length of time. And no trees! It's a stopgap, something to keep the androids pacified, to stop them getting suspicious until...'
'Until what?' Amy asked.
48
NUCLEAR TIME
The Doctor looked directly into her eyes, and Amy saw that he was scared, really, really scared. 'An Apple House is the term used by the US Army to describe the prefabricated buildings that were built for the testing of nuclear weapons during the 1960s.'
Realisation dawned on the pair.
'The clean-up operation,' Amy gasped.
'But it's not the 1960s,' Rory countered.
The Doctor held a finger to his lips and pointed at the ceiling with a long, thin finger. The group held their breath, and eventually the engine drone Amy had heard became more apparent. A heavy, hornet buzzing that was growing inexorably louder with every second.
'I think,' the Doctor said, 'that we should get back to the TARDIS.'
They were at the front door in an instant, Rory cannoning into it with such force that the wooden slab flew off its flimsy hinges and crashed onto the path outside. The Doctor tore ahead, then halted abruptly.
Amy and Rory stepped out behind him, blinking around his silhouette as they tried desperately to see what he was looking at.
The front gate clanked softly in a light breeze and the bushes rustled gently, highlighting the terrifying silence that had fallen on the village. Amy's eyes scanned the street, falling across row 49
DOCTOR WHO
upon row of impassive plastic faces. The villagers had gathered outside, waiting for them, but this time there wasn't a smile between them. She felt the Doctor's hand grasp hers and squeeze it tightly in an effort to stop her trembling.
'It's Isley,' she whispered in his ear. 'She found us.'
The young woman stood, head of the pack, on the other side of the garden gate. Her clunky headphones were snapped in two and each speaker hung limply across her chest from the connecting wire. Her hair was ruffled, but other than that she looked no different to when Amy had first encountered her in the attic. Amy felt her fear replaced with a cold anger as she realised the obvious ease with which the android must have dispatched Albert.
Isley cocked her head unnaturally and regarded the trio. 'You know,' she stated matter-of-factly.
The Doctor nodded slowly. 'Yes,' he said. 'We do.'
There was a pause.
'Run!' The Doctor yelled at the top of his voice.
Amy found herself pulled violently sideways towards the neatly trimmed privet hedge, and her hand slipped from the Doctor's as he vaulted into the next-door garden. Rory did the same and she 50
NUCLEAR TIME
scrambled to follow. She made the first jump with relative ease, again with the second and third, but on the fourth hedge she caught her boot in a branch and was sent sprawling flat on her face across the thin turf.
Rory heard her cry out and quickly turned to haul her to her feet. He tried not to look at the advancing crowd as she scrambled to her knees, instead snapping his head this way and that in search of the Doctor.
'Come on,' he told Amy gently as he heaved her upright. 'It's not that far.'
But when they turned again, the Doctor had vanished.
The Doctor had surprised himself with his own athleticism and felt a rush of adrenalin course through his body as hedges and fences swooped past beneath his boots in quick flashes of green and white. He whooped with triumph as he reached the end of the gardens and skidded into an alleyway that ran between the next block of houses and one of the large buildings he had seen
Rory glared at him. 'I said give us a—'
'We haven't got time, Rory! What did you say the name of this town was?'
Rory shrugged. 'Appletown. But—'
'That's it! I knew it didn't make sense! What's the point of filling a town solely with robots that are designed to live amongst humans?' The Doctor slammed his fist against the wall. 'And the buildings!
Flimsy
wooden
skeletons,
barely
convincing for any length of time. And no trees! It's a stopgap, something to keep the androids pacified, to stop them getting suspicious until...'
'Until what?' Amy asked.
48
NUCLEAR TIME
The Doctor looked directly into her eyes, and Amy saw that he was scared, really, really scared. 'An Apple House is the term used by the US Army to describe the prefabricated buildings that were built for the testing of nuclear weapons during the 1960s.'
Realisation dawned on the pair.
'The clean-up operation,' Amy gasped.
'But it's not the 1960s,' Rory countered.
The Doctor held a finger to his lips and pointed at the ceiling with a long, thin finger. The group held their breath, and eventually the engine drone Amy had heard became more apparent. A heavy, hornet buzzing that was growing inexorably louder with every second.
'I think,' the Doctor said, 'that we should get back to the TARDIS.'
They were at the front door in an instant, Rory cannoning into it with such force that the wooden slab flew off its flimsy hinges and crashed onto the path outside. The Doctor tore ahead, then halted abruptly.
Amy and Rory stepped out behind him, blinking around his silhouette as they tried desperately to see what he was looking at.
The front gate clanked softly in a light breeze and the bushes rustled gently, highlighting the terrifying silence that had fallen on the village. Amy's eyes scanned the street, falling across row 49
DOCTOR WHO
upon row of impassive plastic faces. The villagers had gathered outside, waiting for them, but this time there wasn't a smile between them. She felt the Doctor's hand grasp hers and squeeze it tightly in an effort to stop her trembling.
'It's Isley,' she whispered in his ear. 'She found us.'
The young woman stood, head of the pack, on the other side of the garden gate. Her clunky headphones were snapped in two and each speaker hung limply across her chest from the connecting wire. Her hair was ruffled, but other than that she looked no different to when Amy had first encountered her in the attic. Amy felt her fear replaced with a cold anger as she realised the obvious ease with which the android must have dispatched Albert.
Isley cocked her head unnaturally and regarded the trio. 'You know,' she stated matter-of-factly.
The Doctor nodded slowly. 'Yes,' he said. 'We do.'
There was a pause.
'Run!' The Doctor yelled at the top of his voice.
Amy found herself pulled violently sideways towards the neatly trimmed privet hedge, and her hand slipped from the Doctor's as he vaulted into the next-door garden. Rory did the same and she 50
NUCLEAR TIME
scrambled to follow. She made the first jump with relative ease, again with the second and third, but on the fourth hedge she caught her boot in a branch and was sent sprawling flat on her face across the thin turf.
Rory heard her cry out and quickly turned to haul her to her feet. He tried not to look at the advancing crowd as she scrambled to her knees, instead snapping his head this way and that in search of the Doctor.
'Come on,' he told Amy gently as he heaved her upright. 'It's not that far.'
But when they turned again, the Doctor had vanished.
The Doctor had surprised himself with his own athleticism and felt a rush of adrenalin course through his body as hedges and fences swooped past beneath his boots in quick flashes of green and white. He whooped with triumph as he reached the end of the gardens and skidded into an alleyway that ran between the next block of houses and one of the large buildings he had seen
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