They had moved his skeletal remains to the medical bay and had locked the door.
Now the Headmaster, Arthur Tointon and Annie and Hideo were sat down at a table with the Doctor, Caroline and Danny opposite them.
“So you’re a school then?” asked the Doctor, looking around him. “And this is where you eat?”
“I told you not to ask questions,” said Tointon.
“Oh, come on,” said the Doctor, leaning back in his chair. “Surely you know that we weren’t responsible for what happened to that poor fellow?”
Hideo looked across at Tointon. “Sir, it does seem unlikely.”
“Yeah, we don’t eat people,” said Caroline sarcastically.
Tointon sighed. “I suppose it couldn’t have been you.”
“So tell us about yourselves. Maybe we can help,” said Danny.
Tointon stood up and crossed over to one of the small windows that looked out across the desert. The same cloudy sky seemed to hang ominously over the desert.
“You’re right, Doctor, this is a school. It’s a school on a spaceship. We’re assigned to the colony fleet Apax.”
“Apax? I’ve never heard of them,” said the Doctor.
“There are lot’s colony fleet’s out there,” said Tointon, taking a sip from his now-tepid water.
“What’s a colony fleet?” asked Caroline.
“A fleet of ships that set out from Earth. They have one planet as their destination and they aim to colonise it. Some of the journey’s take months, maybe years.”
“We’ve been on ours for 15 months,” said Hideo. “Set out from Earth last January. We’re en route to Apax. It’s going to take - well, it would have taken - another 2 years to get there.”
Annie piped up. “In the colony everything is catered for. Government, schools, everything. When we arrive on the planet we’ve already got the civilisation set-up ready and all it takes is for us to build up the area we land in.”
“So, do the kids live on the ship?” asked Danny.
“Yes,” said Tointon, returning to his seat. “They stay with us in the week and return to their parents at the weekend.”
“Like a boarding school,” said Caroline.
“But what are you doing here, away from the colony?” asked the Doctor, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head.
“We asked the governor of the colony if we could break away from the fleet and investigate this planet. Like a field trip. The kids hadn’t set foot on a planet in 15 months. We thought it’d be good for them,” said Annie sadly. “This planet was meant to be a paradise.”
“Yes, we were told that too,” said Danny, giving an accusing glance at the Doctor.
“But surely you know it’s restricted,” said the Doctor. “Nobody’s meant to be here.”
“That wasn’t in our data base. There was nothing about it being restricted,” said Tointon, concern in his voice. “What are you doing here?”
“I like breaking the rules,” smiled the Doctor.
“Still, it’s concerning that the restricted information wasn’t on the data banks.”
“So something happened here,” said the Doctor quickly. “Obviously neither of our data banks were up to date about the situation.”
“It’s a small school,” said Caroline, remembering the kids she’d seen.
“Yes. But there were more teachers,” said Annie. “Hideo, here, is science. Reynolds was art, I’m English language and lit and Blackmore - he was killed in the crash - was maths.”
“Sorry to hear that,” said Caroline.
“Were you shot down?” asked Danny.
“By who?” asked Tointon, looking a little confused. “There’s nothing here. If there were inhabitants on this planet they‘ve all long gone.”
“Well that’s a lie for a start,” said the Doctor, jumping up and crossing the window near Tointon.
“I beg your pardon, sir?”
“It’s a lie. There’s something out there,” he said, peering across the desert, “and you refuse to accept it. Whether it‘s the inhabitants or not. There‘s definitely something out there.”
“That’s preposterous,” said Tointon, chuckling nervously.
“Arthur…” said Hideo, hands folded and looking across at his headmaster.
“Oh, very well,” said Tointon, shaking his head, his chubby cheeks wobbling. “Yes, there is something out there. Something vicious.”
“Thought so,” said the Doctor, still looking out of the window with his hands behind his back. “Most people blame me when something bad happens - like the death of Mr Reynolds - but you trusted us too easily. You also didn’t seem surprised that something out there had killed him.”
“They’re…animals,” said Annie, struggling to find the right words.
“In the literal sense?” asked Caroline.
“Yes,” said Annie. “They’re…some kind of dog.”
“How do you know?” asked the Doctor, turning his head back slightly.
“We’ve heard them,” said Hideo. “The first night we were here we heard them howling out in the desert. It was terrifying.”
“We locked the airlocks, the doors. Everything,” added Annie.
“And then?”
“Nothing,” said Hideo.
“Then how do you know they’re dogs?” asked Caroline.
“After a few days we decided to venture outside. The kids needed fresh air. Then Alison, one of the girls, thought that she saw something. She said it was like an Alsatian dog, but that it was walking on it’s back legs. Walking upright.”
“I still don’t know about that part,” said Tointon. “Animals, yes. Very large, yes. But walking on their back legs? I’m sure it’s just the wild imagination of a child,” he said, chuckling to himself.
“Whether they are walking on their back legs or not, doesn’t matter, does it headmaster? The point is they’re dangerous.”
“Then why did your art teacher go out there?” asked Danny.
“We needed help. We were desperate for help. The explosion in our engine knocked out communications as well. I tried to fix it,” said Hideo, looking frustrated, “but the whole thing was fried.”
“Our only choice was for one of us to go out searching. William nominated himself and off he went,” said Annie. “We never heard from him again.”
“Until now,” said Caroline darkly.
“Yes,” said Annie sadly. “They must have eaten him. Poor William.”
“That was two weeks ago,” said Hideo. “Why bring his body back now? And if they could get in the damaged airlock, why not bother to attack?”
“They’re trying to draw you out,” said the Doctor, sitting on a table. “They’d know you have weapons. They’ve probably been watching you. If they broke in here they’d know that you’d corner them and you’d probably win. They want you out there,” he said, nodding towards the window. “In their own terrain.”
“So why wait so long with that guys body?” asked Caroline.
“Because they know we’re scared,” said Hideo, looking worried. “They know we won’t venture outside. They’re getting tired of waiting.”
“They’re getting hungry,” said the Doctor darkly. “How did this explosion happen? Where?”
“There was a fault in the engine,” said Hideo. “Magnus-”
“Who?” asked Danny.
“Sorry,” continued Hideo. “Magnus Blackmore, went down to the engine to check it out. It exploded with him in the engine room. There was nothing left in the room. Just a huge, gaping hole where the engine room used to be.”
“And then the communications went down,” said Tointon.
“Will the rest of the fleet send a search ship out?” asked Caroline.
“Doubtful,” said Tointon, bluntly. “It’d be a huge waste of resources.”
“But there are children here,” said Caroline, horrified. “Surely the parents wouldn’t-”
“The one aim of the fleet,” said Tointon quickly, “is to get safely to Apax. That’s it. Accidents occur every single day. We’re just one of those accidents.”
“I can’t believe you’ve given up,” said Danny.
“We’ve not given up,” said Annie. “We keep hoping for a passing trade ship or a freighter to notice us. We’ve not given up just yet.”
“And another thing,” said the Doctor, his arms folded, one hand scratching his chin, “what has happened to this planet? It should be a paradise.”
“Now that, we have no idea. No idea at all,” said Hideo. “We’re as much in the dark about that as you are.”
“Well, we have no other option,” said the Doctor, heading towards the door that led out of the canteen. “We’re going to have to confront these creatures head on.”
“You can’t be serious!” exclaimed Tointon. “You’ll die, just like Reynolds, if you go out there.”
“Perhaps,” said the Doctor, turning back to them. “But we can’t sit in this ship waiting to be forced outside like lambs to the slaughter.”
“The Doctor’s right,” said Hideo. “We need to get out there and grab the bull by the horns.”
“Not only that,” said the Doctor, “but I can get you all out of here in my ship.”
Tointon thought for a moment and then nodded. “Okay, but on your own head be it.”
“I’m going with him, headmaster,” said Hideo, grabbing his black jacket off the back of a chair.
“Hideo-”
“I have to. I can’t wait around here any longer.”
“I’m going too,” said Caroline, getting out of the chair she’d been sitting on.
“No,” said the Doctor, “I want you to stay here and hold the fort in case they come back.”
“Not a chance,” said Caroline, walking towards the door. “Danny can stay and defend the ship.”
“Cheers!” said Danny sarcastically. “The Doctor’s right, you know?”
“Perhaps, but I didn’t come all this way to sit in a dark, gloomy, crashed spaceship. Come on, Doc, off we go.”
It had been an hour since the Doctor, Caroline and Hideo had left to go investigating and Danny was finding himself getting fed up. He had eaten a number of dull, tasteless food rations, drank numerous amounts of black coffee and played ping-pong with one of the kids.
Now he was lying on a bed in a room Tointon had taken him to. He lay there with his hands behind his head, looking up at the grey ceiling.
There came a knock at the door. It was the blonde girl, Alison. Her eyes were puffy and she was clutching a teddy bear.
“What can I do for you, love?” asked Danny, sitting up.
Alison didn’t say anything. She just stood there, looking nervous.
“It’s alright. Everything’s gonna be alright,” said Danny, smiling at her. He wasn’t sure if he was the right person to comfort a child, but he thought he’d give it a go.
Alison sniffed and she rubbed her eyes.
“Why don’t you come in?” he said, getting off the bed and sitting on a chair.
Alison hesitated for a moment and then walked into the room, sitting on the side of the bed. “Thank you,” she said.
“You’re welcome.” He smiled. Now she was there, he didn’t quite know what to say to her. Before he could say anything, she spoke.
“Where are you from on Earth?”
“Well, originally from a town called Thornsby, but I moved to Manchester.”
“I know Manchester,” smiled Alison. “Mummy and Daddy took me there to watch the football before we left with the fleet.”
“It must be exciting,” said Danny, “travelling in space to a new planet.”
“It can be exciting. Scary as well though.”
“This is my first time into space,” said Danny.
“Really? Wow! We were always going to the Moon market every other week.”
“They have a market on the Moon?” asked Danny, realising that he didn’t even know what year it was.
“Yeah,” said Alison. “You’re silly for not knowing that.”
“Oh well,” said Danny. “I guess I hadn’t gotten out enough before today.”
“Everything okay?” came a voice.
Danny and Alison looked to the doorway. It was Annie.
“Fine, thanks,” said Danny. “I’m just getting to know Alison a bit.”
“Be careful of her tall tales,” said Annie, smiling and arcing her eyebrows.
“I’ll be sure to remember that,” said Danny with a laugh.
“Hey!” was all Alison could say.
“We’ll be eating in a bit. See you later.”
Annie made her way down the corridor and went into a room. In it was a bed, bedside cabinet and a small mirror on the wall. She sat down on bed and pulled out what looked like an advanced form of radio and switched it on. It crackled for a bit and she pressed a button on the side of it.
“This is Annie,” she said into the microphone. “Three of them have headed out. Finish them off if you want. I’ll get the rest out as soon as I can. Hope they enjoy their food.”
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