Histories english 18 wetworld (v1 0) mark michalowski

When the TARDIS makes a disastrous landing in the swamps of the planet Sunday, the Doctor has no choice but to abandon Martha and try to find help But the tranquility of Sunday’s swamps is deceptive, and even the TARDIS can’t protect Martha forever The human pioneers of Sunday have their own dangers to face: homeless and alone, they’re starting to see that Sunday’s wildlife isn’t as harmless as it appears Why are the otters behaving so strangely, and what is the creature in the swamps that is so interested in the humans, and the new arrivals? The Doctor and Martha must fight to ensure that human intelligence doesn’t become the greatest danger of all Featuring the Doctor and Martha as played by David Tennant and Freema Agyeman in the hit series from BBC Television Wetworld BY MARK MICHALOWSKI 10 Published in 2007 by BBC Books, an imprint of Ebury Publishing Ebury Publishing is a division of the Random House Group Ltd © Mark Michalowski, 2007 Mark Michalowski has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988 Doctor Who is a BBC Wales production for BBC One Executive Producers: Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner Series Producer: Phil Collinson Original series broadcast on BBC Television Format © BBC 1963 ‘Doctor Who’, ‘TARDIS’ and the Doctor Who logo are trademarks of the British Broadcasting Corporation and are used under licence All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner The Random House Group Ltd Reg No 954009 Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at www.randomhouse.co.uk A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 I 84607 271 The Random House Group Ltd makes every effort to ensure that the papers used in our books are made from trees that have been legally sourced from well-managed credibly certified forests Our paper procurement policy can be found at www.randomhouse.co.uk Series Consultant: Justin Richards Project Editor: Steve Tribe Cover design by Lee Binding © BBC 2007 Typeset in Albertina and Deviant Strain Printed and bound in Germany by GGP Media GmbH For my sister, Julie Contents Prologue One Two 13 Three 21 Four 33 Five 43 Six 53 Seven 67 Eight 81 Nine 91 Ten 99 Eleven 107 Twelve 115 Thirteen 129 Fourteen 139 Fifteen 151 Sixteen 163 Seventeen 173 Eighteen 179 Acknowledgements 183 High above the still waters of the swamp, the bird carved out spirals in the purple sky, sharp eyes constantly on the lookout for lunch Warm air rising from the water caught under her steel-blue wings, lifting her higher and higher towards the bloated orange sun Suddenly, down in the swamp below, something caught her eye: a tiny flicker of motion on the mirror-smooth surface Silently, and with only hunger in her mind, she pulled in her wings and dropped like a stone At the last moment, honed by years of instinct and experience, she stretched out her wings to slow her fall Just metres from the water, she opened her beak, ready to gulp down the fish that she could see And then a glossy tentacle flicked out of the water, wrapped itself around her neck, and dragged her under The heavy silence of the swamp was broken momentarily by the thrashing of wings and a frantic splashing as she vanished All that was left was a little froth of bubbles and a set of slowly decaying ripples, spreading out across the waters of the swamp It was over in less than a second And then there was just the sun, beating down, and the wetness and the silence ... Television Wetworld BY MARK MICHALOWSKI 10 Published in 2007 by BBC Books, an imprint of Ebury Publishing Ebury Publishing is a division of the Random House Group Ltd © Mark Michalowski, 2007 Mark Michalowski. .. broadcast on BBC Television Format © BBC 1963 ‘Doctor Who’, ‘TARDIS’ and the Doctor Who logo are trademarks of the British Broadcasting Corporation and are used under licence All rights reserved No... 115 Thirteen 129 Fourteen 139 Fifteen 151 Sixteen 163 Seventeen 173 Eighteen 179 Acknowledgements 183 High above the still waters of the swamp, the bird carved out spirals in the purple sky, sharp