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Gritting her teeth Alf used a piece of broken glass to tear at the t-shirt Ace had given her. A torch was sitting on the table (now turned the right way up), giving light to her activities. Her shoulder was causing her plenty of pain. Using the dislocation to move her hands in way she would not normally had been able to had not been enjoyable. Once her arm was in a makeshift sling she gathered all her stuff together, stuffing her coat into the knapsack. The sling relieved some of the pain, but not much. She slung the knapsack over her good shoulder, picked up her torch, and made her way to the factory exit. *** The Doctor turned away from the map he had drawn on the wall, and surveyed the villagers in front of him. They were all determined and ready to reclaim Larkhowl. Since he had been made to stay the Doctor had led many campaigns, setting about the freedom of many people in the nearby villages. It had come to a point that when the final assault began in Larkhowl itself the Kuang-Shi would have nowhere to run. Leave Larkhowl and the surrounding villages would gather en masse to attack the Kuang-Shi. Violence as a way of life did not appeal to the Doctor, but this time it was a means to an end. ‘Are you all clear on your tasks?’ There were nods and sounds of agreement. The Doctor cleared his throat. He was not accustomed to sending people to their deaths, even after helping all the other villages, but he knew it had to be done. Freedom was only going to come about at a price. ‘Then get to it.’ The villagers dispersed. The Doctor watched them go, then turned to Ephan who stood beside him. As always. Ephan regarded the Doctor coldly. ‘And what are you going to do while my people storm the castle?’ The Doctor turned away and picked up a dirty rag. He dunked it in a bucket of water and set about wiping the chalk map off the wall. While he did this he spoke. ‘I am going to the castle to deal with Count Orlock myself.’ ‘You are going to kill?’ Ephan was surprised. ‘That will be the first Kuang-Shi that you have killed since you rescued me, Doctor. What has changed your mind?’ ‘I haven’t changed my mind. When I rescued you, Ephan, I told you that taking a life is never a good thing. I only kill when I have no other choice. If there is another way I will find it.’ The Doctor threw the rag on to the dirt. He looked at Ephan, a shadow falling over his eyes. ‘With vampires there seldom is another way.’ ‘Then why have you not killed? Why have you stood back while the people of Styria have died to free their world?’ ‘Because it is their freedom that they are fighting for, not mine!’ The Doctor took a deep breath to calm himself. ’I never asked to stay here, remember?’ Ephan shook his head. ‘We could not have done it without you. You have organised many great fights, helped free a lot of people.’ ‘Only because your people made me stay!’ the Doctor spat. ‘Guilt also played a part. If I had not let Orlock get away in the first place he would never have brought his curse here. I was going to return to Earth and help my friends, and then find a way back here to deal with Orlock. But since I am stuck here...’ He turned away, refusing to let the anger in his eyes be revealed to Ephan. ‘My fight is with him.’ He glanced back at Ephan then walked off. *** Nicholas entered the factory and stopped. ‘She has gone.’ He closed his eyes and focused his mind. Once a Kuang-Shi had tasted the blood of a person it was a simple matter to track them down again. It made for a more effective hunt. It took Nicholas a mere couple of seconds to feel Alf’s blood in the air. He turned and left the factory. *** Alf stopped outside White City underground station and took a deep breath. She was having some trouble breathing. Her vision began to blur and she reached out to a wall to steady herself. She let out a gasp of pain as her broken shoulder took the brunt of her weight. Quickly turning around Alf collapsed against the brick wall. For a few moments she remained where she was, leaning against the wall, taking in the sights and sounds of Wood Lane. On the other side of the wall behind her she could hear the sound of a train leaving the station and entering the tunnels below. In front of her she watched vehicles as they drove passed. All that coupled with the lights from the BBC Television Centre on the other side of the road was not doing her head any favours. She had to narrow her eyes to stop her head from spinning. Alf realised she was going into shock. She shook her head. I really don’t have time for this. She closed her mind and thought of the breathing exercises she had downloaded from the experiential memory transfer grid. She wished she had had more time to practice the breathing techniques, but life had got very busy for her in the twenty-sixth century very quickly. Now was as good a time as any. *** Nicholas jumped over the wall and came to land softly on the other side. His senses were finely attuned to Alf’s bio-rhythms. The extra blood from his most recent victim was heightening those senses. He turned to the right and saw her. Despite the darkness and the distance Nicholas could see Alf as clearly as he she were next to him. Nicholas smiled and whispered; ‘Alf, you can’t get away from me.’ *** ‘What?’ Alf opened her eyes and looked around. People continued to walk passed, ignoring her. She looked around, but there was no one near enough to have whispered to her. I’m coming for you. The same voice. This time Alf recognised it as Nicholas’. She turned to her left and looked down Wood Lane. There was a single figure walking in her direction. And moving at quite a speed. Alf did not need to be a genius to work out who it was. ‘Sod you,’ she said between gaps of breath as she returned her full weight to her legs. She turned and headed off towards White City. ***
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