Doctor Who: The Green Death by Malcolm Hulke

imagine.’
    ‘Eggs from what?’ said Jo.
    ‘I don’t know what they’re from,’ said the Doctor, ‘but I can guess what they hatch out into. Our little friends from down below.’
    ‘How horrible. You mean those things are alive?’
    ‘That’s an interesting point,’ said the Doctor. ‘Is an egg a living thing, or inert?’
    ‘It’s not something I want to discuss,’ said Jo. ‘Not if it’s got anything to do with those maggots.’
    ‘You know, Jo, your attitude is becoming increasingly non-scientific. Just because those things reminded you of creatures you’ve seen crawl out of rotten meat doesn’t mean they are not zoologically very, very interesting.’ He pulled from his capacious pockets a pair of rubber gloves, put them on, and then produced a large plastic bag. Jo had got used to the Doctor’s way of carrying a great variety of equipment in his enormous pockets. ‘Mind holding this bag open for me, please?’
    ‘What are going to do?’
    ‘Take one of these eggs and see what happens.’
    ‘You want to raise a maggot as a pet?’
    ‘You never know,’ said the Doctor, ‘they may be quite friendly little fellows. Perhaps we’ve only seen the worst side of them. Can you hold this bag open for me?’
    Reluctantly Jo got to her feet, took the bag and held it wide open. The Doctor carefully picked up one of the eggs and placed it in the bag, making sure that it did not touch Jo’s fingers. ‘Thank you,’ he said, taking the bag and stuffing in into his pocket. He drew off the rubber gloves and put them away. ‘Shall we continue?’
    ‘I’ve hardly had time to catch my breath, Doctor.’
    ‘But if you look over there,’ said the Doctor, angling his helmet light to play on the far end of the cave, ‘I think you’ll feel more encouraged.’
    Jo looked. The end of a large metal pipe, sloped at an angle of sixty degrees, came through the roof of the cave. The pipe was wide enough for a human, and there were ladder rungs inside.
    ‘Where do you think that comes from?’ she asked.
    ‘My guess is it’s something to do with Panorama Chemicals,’ said the Doctor. ‘I can’t think why the National Coal Board should drill a pipe into a coal mine.’
    They walked over to the pipe.
    ‘I can’t think why anyone would put this pipe here,’ said Jo. She sniffed. ‘What’s the smell?’
    ‘Crude oil waste,’ said the Doctor. ‘So, shall we see where it takes us?’
    Jo nodded. There seemed no other way of escape, and anyway she was frightened in case those eggs started to hatch out. The Doctor stood back to let her go first up the rungs inside the pipe. After she had climbed a few feet she looked down to make sure he was following.
    ‘There’s no light at the top,’ she called.
    ‘It probably leads into some tank,’ said the Doctor. ‘At least we’ll be on the surface, even if we have to bang on the walls of the tank to bring attention to ourselves.’
    As Jo gripped the next rung, she felt a vibration through her hand. It increased, and the whole pipe was gently vibrating. ‘What’s that?’ she called down. ‘Can you feel it?’
    ‘I’ve no idea what it is, Jo,’ called the Doctor, ‘but I think it probably means we haven’t got much time. I suggest you hurry, if you want to save our lives.’
    ‘How do you like the coffee?’ Dr Stevens smiled across his vast desk.
    ‘Very good,’ said the Brigadier, putting his cup back on its saucer. ‘Best I’ve had since I arrived.’
    ‘A petroleum by-product,’ said Dr Stevens. ‘Panorama’s answer to the grasping demands of South American coffee bean producers. It’s only experimental at the moment.’
    ‘Really?’ The Brigadier regarded his empty cup and hoped he hadn’t just been accidentally poisoned. ‘Well, Dr Stevens, it’s experiments that I’ve come to talk about. This green death is a bit worrying.’
    ‘Most alarming,’ agreed Dr Stevens. ‘I still find it difficult to believe—people turning