Dancing Across Time (Book Two of The Bad Wolf Chronicles)

Chapter Ten: The Satan Pit

"Open fire!" Jefferson ordered.

Jessie ran over to the comm, ducking to avoid flying bullets at the Ood. "Doctor?" she shouted into it. "Doctor? Can you hear me? Doctor! Ida! Are you there?"

"Open Door 25."

Jessie dropped the mic and drew her gun from under her jacket. Scooti squeaked in surprise as she pointed it at the door, but she blinked when Danny stumbled through. "Whoa!" he shouted, holding up his hands, and Jessie instantly snapped her gun towards the ceiling. "It's me! But they're coming!"

"Close Door 25."

"It's the Ood," Danny hastened to explain as Jessie raised an eyebrow at him. "They've gone mad!"

"How many of them?" Jefferson asked, turning, and blinking when he saw Jessie's gun.

"All of them! All fifty!

"Danny, out of the way," he ordered, going to the door. "Out of the way!"

"But they're armed!" Danny protested. "It's the interface device. I don't know how, but they're using it as a weapon!"

"Open Door 25."

Jessie brought her gun up to the Ood standing by the door, and it stuck its communication globe thing into the last guard's forehead. She screamed, getting electrocuted. Jessie whipped up her gun and shot before Jefferson could, taking out the first Ood, then began unloading even more. "Seal Door 24," Jefferson began ordering. "Seal Door 23!"

"Jefferson, what's happening down there?" Zach asked.

Scooti and Danny closed the door as Jefferson answered. "I've got very little ammunition, sir. How about you?"

"All I've got is a bolt gun. With, er . . . all of one bolt. I could take out a grand total of one Ood." Zach snorted. "Fat lot of good that is."

"Given the emergency, I recommend Strategy 9."

"Strategy 9 agreed. Right. We need to get everyone together. Bad Wolf? What about Ida and the Doctor? Any word?"

"I can't get a reply," she said, going back to the mic. "Just nothing. I keep trying, but it's - "

"No, sorry, I'm fine." She growled as through the static, the Doctor's voice came through. "Still here."

***

"You could've said that, you stupid - !"

The Doctor jerked back as feedback came through on the comm. I probably don't want to know what that last part was. "Whoa! Careful! Anyway, it's both of us. Me and Ida. Hello!" He peered over the trapdoor thing. "But the seal opened up. It's gone. All we've got left is this chasm."

"How deep is it?" Zach asked.

"Can't tell. It looks like it goes down forever."

"'The pit is open,'" Jessie quoted. "That's what the voice said."

"But there's nothing. I mean, there's nothing coming out?" Zach asked.

"No, no," the Doctor confirmed. "No sign of the Beast."

"It said Satan," Jessie whispered.

The Doctor closed his eyes. "Come on, Jess. Keep it together."

"Is there no such thing?" Jessie demanded. "Doctor, tell me there's no such thing, because this is the voice that's been giving me those nightmares!"

The Doctor growled protectively, when Zach came back on. "Ida? I recommend that you withdraw immediately."

"But we've come all this way!" Ida protested.