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But this figure was not human, and its purpose was deadly.
    Click... click... click... The dial showed less than a minute to go. Sarah felt the panic rise inside her as the ropes refused to give. Suddenly she heard a scrabbling outside the door. Her heart missed a beat. Then it was flung open and the Doctor burst in. With one bound he was by her side and untying the ropes.
    â€˜Doctor! The whole Camp is going to be blown sky high any second!’ Expertly the Doctor unravelled Sarah’s knots and took in the bomb with a hurried glance. There was no time to defuse it.
    Sarah pulled one arm free. ‘Where’s Stevenson?’
    â€˜I’ll have to try and save him.’ The Doctor released her other arm and hauled Sarah to her feet. ‘Come on!’
    Sarah took one pace then froze. ‘Doctor, look !’ She pointed to the door. The Doctor spun round. Blocking the doorway was the monstrous bulk of the Krynoid. From its body sprouted a hundred tentacles, each as thick as a man’s arm. Where once a face had existed there was now a gnarled and twisted mass of bark. It remained in the doorway, swaying from side to side and emitting a low, unearthly rattle.
    â€˜Get behind me,’ whispered the Doctor. Sarah did so. She could hear the bomb ticking quite clearly.
    The Krynoid started to advance. The Doctor edged round the wall. Suddenly the creature rushed towards them. The Doctor side-stepped, pulling Sarah with him, and one of the green tentacles caught on the metal grid protecting the Fuel Cell. There was a flash and the Krynoid roared in pain.
    â€˜Run!’ yelled the Doctor and bundled Sarah towardsthe door. As she passed the creature Sarah felt a cold, slimy tentacle brush her face. She let out a scream and the next thing she knew she was pitched into the wet snow. Behind her, the Doctor slammed the door and slid the bolt into position.
    â€˜Get away!’ he shouted and raced off in the direction of the Camp. With horror Sarah realised he still hoped to rescue Stevenson.
    â€˜There isn’t time!’ she cried, but the Doctor was already out of earshot. Sarah glanced again at the Power Unit. It was about to explode. She sprinted for the cover of the ridge.
    Inside, the Krynoid pounded the door in a frenzy. EIGHT... SEVEN... SIX... It managed to prise one tentacle through... FIVE... FOUR...
    Sarah could see the ridge. Only a few yards further. THREE... TWO...
    The Doctor came in sight of the Camp. He opened his mouth to yell. ‘Stev...’ There was a searing flash of red, the ground shook, a firework seemed to explode in his head. Then he was sinking... sinking... sinking into a white cloud of nothingness...

5
Betrayal
    Sarah woke. She found herself staring up at a clear blue sky. She tried to sit up but there was no sensation in her arms or legs. For one awful moment she wondered if she had lost them. Then she realised they were numb with cold.
    Suddenly a foot crunched in the snow a few inches from her head. A muffled figure in furs and goggles loomed over her.
    â€˜I almost missed you in the snow,’ it said in a familiar English accent.
    Sarah smiled weakly. ‘Yes, well, there’s rather a lot of it about.’
    â€˜Are you all right?’
    â€˜I think so.’
    The man helped her to her feet. ‘We’re from South Bend. Medical Team. We heard the explosion. What happened?’
    The explosion! It came back with a rush. The Doctor! Where was he? She began to run towards the Camp like a mad thing. More figures jumped from a Snocat in pursuit. Panting, Sarah reached the top of the ridge only to let out a gasp of horror. Where once the Camp had stood, there was now only a heap of blackened ash and twisted metal. A few wisps of smoke curled up into the blue sky. She looked back at the Power Unit. That too had completely disappeared.
    Stunned, Sarah lowered her gaze. As she did so she gave a