Rain of Terror (novel)

Rain of Terror was a novel in the Doctor Who 2 in 1 books range.

Publisher's Summary
In Rain of Terror, terrible tiny creatures swarm down from the sky, intent on destroying everything on planet Xirrinda. As the colonists try to fight the alien infestation, the Doctor searches for the ancient secret weapon of the native Ulla people. Is it enough to save the day?

Plot
Gellen is having a birthday surprise from her father and his girlfriend. The take her on a Galactic Safari trip to Xirrinda. From her hotel, she watches as native animals of the planet run around in the distance. Suddenly, as she watches from her veranda, small, brown pebbles land nearby. It cracks open and a small creature with a number of spindly legs comes out of its shell and reveals its sharp teeth to her.

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor offers  Amy and  Rory a party. Rambling on about it is shocked by the sudden jolt as the TARDIS shudders.

Gellen's father comes to her help and pulls her away from the tiny creatures. As he pulls her from the room, he can hear the screams of others as they realise creatures are entering their rooms. Reaching the car park, her father puts Gellen in the car, but it's too late for him as more of the creatures rain down upon him and drag him away from his daughter. The jeep she is now sitting in hum's to life and drives out of the car park with the sound of more creatures rattling on the roof as they land.

There's a sudden noise within the TARDIS, which the crew can't believe. The Doctor pulls out a net after discovering that there's a meteorite storm outside. He finds something interesting and wishes to grab a specimen of the stuff. After nabbing one, he triumphantly closes the TARDIS doors. After examining the specimen with his sonic screwdriver he claims that the thing is giving off a massive gravitational interference. The weird meteorite sample, in the Doctor's hand, suddenly opens and a creature appears from within. It sprouts legs and starts to chase them around the TARDIS. Amy opens the door and with a comfortable clunk, the Doctor kicks the creature from the console room. They soon realise that the meteorite storm must mean that their are billions of them.

The TARDIS arrives on Xirrinda, inside some sort of airport and the Doctor is using his sonic to measure the readings. They soon discover that it is a tourist destination, and Rory comments that doesn't look high-tech. While the Doctor goes to talk to someone in charge, Amy and Rory visit a t-shirt's salesman who turns out to be a native.

The Doctor finds the warden of the airport, Casper Van Goole and without explaining any reason, he asks for the warden to prepare a transport so that they can reach the hotel.

In the terminal, the native turns out to be Attar who is double-jointed (probably biologically common to his species). Attar says that he isn't happy here because it's very dull and there's nothing at all to do. Amy picks a t-shirt for Rory, which is embroidered with a confusing pattern, which Attar claims to be a design of the legends he was taught by his tribe. When Amy goes off to put on her new t-shirt a coach with newcomers, children in fact, arrives.

The Doctor and Van Goole take a red-topped vehicle to the hotel. At first it doesn't start, but with a wave of the sonic screwdriver, it started. Seeing Amy and Rory inside the terminal, he tells them he won't be long. Listening to his orders, they both investigate the transport situation.

Two school children, Matty George and Kevin Arkwright aren't interested in their new surroundings. Matty is a little more enthusiastic, but the teacher explains that they are their to research for their exams. This was Mr Cain, a replacement teacher, whom they didn't really like because he always wore a frown.

The Doctor and Van Goole arrive at the area, but can see a cloud of creatures coming towards them. They realise that they are too late to save anyone. The Doctor finally explains that these are a parasitic race of some sort that are slowly devouring the planet. Van Goole spots something and the Doctor realises its a survivor from the hotel. While the warden tried to restart the car, the Doctor bounded down to the aid of the survivor. He finds Gellen who is bruised badly in the back seat. Something was then banging on the roof and the Doctor quickly hauled the girl out of the vehicle and ran back to the warden's vehicle. The pebble-like creatures star raining down on them as the Doctor tries to start the hover car once again. Getting if going again, they speed away.

Amy notices their arrival as they haul a limp body from the hover car. After examining her quickly Rory explains that it is merely a mild concussion. Amy then shows the Doctor what they'd found and he is happy to see a train-like machine ready to be put in operation.

Gellen wakes up and explains to Rory and Van Goole about the creatures and how they attacked the hotel. Using his skills, Van Goole pulled up a screen that showed the storm coming towards them. The warden is breathless.

The Doctor is relishing over the find of the train, which turns out to be a monorail and requests that Thornton drives it, because he is an engineer.

Matty and Kevin suddenly here a whistle in the terminal and the Doctor begins to talk to them about the approaching storm and the monorail that they are equipped with to escape. A man called Professor Willard confronts the Doctor in rage. Seeing that he was getting nowhere with the headmaster, he told him to shut up and listen to what he was saying. After a quick explanation of the specific situation at hand, an evacuation begins.

Amy tells Attar that he must help to evacuate the people inside the terminal because of the creatures that are coming towards them. He leaves in a panic, telling Amy that he must warn his people on the savannah. Amy is worried that there might not be enough space on the train.

When looking at the radar images, the Doctor discovers that the creatures are leaving waste behind them, a metal waste to be exact. Van Goole explain that the monorail was used as a back-up transport to got to Ortagon City, via the caves, which were an attraction. The Doctor proposes that they send a message to the city when they are in range. Amy and Rory burst in and explain what has happened to Attar.

The Doctor is frustrated that Van Goole didn't tell him about the tribe. The warden apologises, but emphasises that there won't be enough space capacity on the monorail for the tribe as well. He tells the Doctor that the tribe is a mile down the road. Before he could leave without them again, Amy demanded that she and Rory accompany him to the settlement.

It barely took them a minute to reach the tribe's settlement, but when they arrive, they realise it was empty. They guessed that they had been aware of the danger and escaped beforehand. They find Attar who explains that the scene is just like in the legend of the Rain of Terror. Attar confesses that he didn't pay much attention to the stories though. Without the Doctor noticing, two dark visitors arrive, which Attar claims to be Sharkwolves. Attar quickly explains to the Doctor that they are pack animals and don't usually come so close to the settlement. The Doctor rapidly deduces that the creatures wouldn't like daylight. The four of them slowly drag themselves across the wall, trying not to make the creatures suspicious. The Doctor then shouts run and they escape into the daylight and back into their vehicle.

When they return to the terminal, everything seems to be in full swing as people busy themselves to try and get everyone onto the monorail. Thornton is keen to have a word with the Doctor and a child is in need of a assistance from Rory.

Thronton seems to be indeed in a slight predicament. The train temperature can get a little too hot and a little too cold, but the computer can't control the boiler pressure. It will evidently need to be done manually.

Matty and Kevin feel a little frightened as they watch the situation unfold before their eyes. Matty seems quite sure that the train will work, but Kevin is not so sure. The Doctor appears again and asks whether someone would like to do a little task. Matty and Kevin volunteer.

Van Goole and Thronton aren't so keen on the idea of having two children controlling the boiler pressure. The Doctor asks the twelve year old boys if they understand the procedure and they nod. The Doctor argues that the human brain should be something that's recognised as being better than a computer. Van Goole gives up at this point.

Amy notices the Doctor's worry and asks about it. He explains that the train will work perfectly, but that the creatures are multiplying faster than anything. The escape will be narrow. If they're not quick enough, all the shuttles in Ortagon City will have been used up. The teacher, Cain, overhears this conversation and tried to create another plan just in case. He meets up with Professor Willard to discuss it. It is obvious, judging by their words, Cain is keen on capturing some of the creatures, believing that they would be valuable. Willard is unsure, but goes ahead with the plan.

The Doctor notices Gellen, sitting alone on a bench and sits next to her. She is also worried that they won't make it, but he reassures that they will be able to escape in time and will get away from them, because the monorail will be faster. Standing up and looking out of the window, he can see a dark grey cloud approaching at a frightening speed. He orders people to get on the train now, they had to leave.

Amy can hear a whispering, getting louder and louder in the distance. She noticed that Van Goole's team was setting up a makeshift medical cabin for Rory, so that he could look after Gellen in her traumatic state. The Doctor pulls her onto the train and Thornton and Van Goole follow suit. The Rain of Terror had arrived. The creatures were crossing the concourse towards the filled train. Somebody then realises that Professor Willard and Mr Cain aren't on board. The Doctor was about to get off the train to try and fin them when they appeared, racing towards the monorail in fright. Windows smashed all around them as the creatures burst through with all their weight. The train was picking up speed, but the Doctor finally managed to get them both on board and they were hurriedly away. The Doctor was glaring at the Professor and Cain at their foolishness. The Professor complained that he had to get his life's work. Amy helps Willard to his feet and escorts him to see Rory.

Matty and Kevin tell the Doctor that everything was under control. He then proceeds down the train to see Thornton and Van Goole. They watched as the train continued across the planet at a faster speed than the creatures. Thornton explains that the journey to the city will take about fix to six hours at most. Thornton then explains that they will have to stop to recharge the train's fuel cells. Van Goole reluctantly agrees. When heading to see Attar about the legends he was taught, The Doctor meets Cain who apologises for his appalling actions.

Amy arrives in Rory's coach where he is surprised to see the blood on the Professor's leg. Rory was getting a little overwhelmed by the whole situation, he'd had many patients to deal with. Amy comments that he was doing a great job, even though he was only a nurse. The Doctor turns up and asks where Attar might be.

Gellen wakes from a horrible dream, to find that she seems to be having the same experience. She notices Rory who was looking exhausted, but then also, Cain was talking to Professor Willard. Cain was holding a box, which Gellen was sure had whispers coming from it. She decide that she would follow them.

The Doctor finally finds Attar, but the native doesn't seem happy to see him. The Doctor seems absolutely sure that Attar knows about the legends, even though he didn't pay attention. The Doctor tries to engage the perfect environment for Attar so that he could recall the stories. He dims the light and starts a drumming in the carriage, originating from a small girl called Karen who happened to have the song on her i-book. Attar appeared to be falling into a trance. The Doctor slowly hypnotises Attar and forces him to remember when he was young. He suddenly known the story. He begins to tell it.

In a carriage further along, Professor Willard and Cain could hear the drumming, but Cain was keen to ignore it. The Professor did as he was told and opened the specimen case and examined whatever was inside. He pulls out a rubbery material, which he explains is some sort of flexible metal. Cain exclaims that they will be rich, but not if the swarm caught them. Cain then divulges his plan to Willard who listens intently. They were going to steal a shuttle from the refuelling station. The professor then resealed the specimen box.

Gellen had been watching and recording everything that was said and done. After they had left, she then crossed over to the specimen box. She opened it and inside, there were three pebble creatures.

The doctor pondered over Attar's recital of the story he had been taught. Amy complained that it was too long and very garbled. The Doctor explains that Attar's people's civilisation, years ago, had been very technological. They had created the Rain of Terror as an answer to their economical problems. It was only too late that they realised that they had created a monster. And now they have returned and the campfire stories had prepared them for that exact purpose. But the natives had also devised a way of stopping the creatures and the Doctor believed that this was where they had escaped to, somewhere within the caves.

Gellen was frozen to the spot as she saw the creatures in the specimen box. She then jumped at the sound of the Professor's voice and hid again, but in doing so, didn't fasten the box properly. The train then began to halt and Cain ordered the Professor to grab the specimen box as they were about to leave the carriage.

Thornton and Van Goole left the train first and headed to grab the spare power cells. The Doctor went to join them. Amy decided to go to. Before they could leave the carriage, Cain held out a gun to the, claiming that no one would leave. The Doctor turned frustrated again and said firmly to Cain that there was no way that the shuttle would leave with the gravitational interference. Amy is shocked to then discover what the specimen box contained. In an effort to stop him, The Doctor lunged for the stun gun that Cain was holding, but was knocked to the ground. The teacher then grabbed onto Amy and the three of them disembarked the train. Cain dragged Amy towards the free shuttle.

When they arrived, Amy was pushed into a seat in the cockpit. Cain then ordered the Professor to pilot the shuttle off the ground.

The Doctor and Rory watched as the shuttle tried and failed to escape from the planet. It lifted steadily in the air, but the interference pulled it down again and Amy was trapped inside. It began to smoke in mid air. It tried holding in the air, but then descended and ploughed through the ground. Thornton and Van Goole appear, wondering what was going on and The Doctor explains that Cain has realised that the creatures are unique and will use them to make him rich. They soon realised, behind them, a dark cloud was a approaching at an unbelievable speed. The Doctor decided then that they should head for the caves and so everyone is ushered back onboard. He believed that they had a chance to stop the creatures once and for all.

Amy awoke inside the rubble of the shuttle. She unbuckled her harness and tried to get out. She then noticed the Professor, who was slumped across the controls in an undignified fashion. Cain suddenly appeared, unharmed. Amy pleads that what he is doing is completely wrong. Cain now seems to have his mind set on investigating the caves where they'd landed nearby. Amy helped the Professor exit the shuttle and they walked towards the caves.

The Doctor had arrived in the carriage to find Attar asleep and he now woke him up. Attar tells the Doctor that his people will probably have travelled to the large cavern within the caves. It was located at the centre of the mountains. Attar's face falls when he realises that the path was shown on the great paintings, which were taken, but then he notices Rory's t-shirt, which is actually a rather original drawing of the path itself. Rory took the shirt off and gave it to the Doctor.

Unknown to the passengers on the train, there was small pebble creature fast asleep beneath one of the seats.

Amy was getting tired of walking around and realised that they had probably been walking in circles. In the end she tripped and fell with the professor. Cain seemed certain that the professor knew where the caves led. After consulting his journal, the professor decided on a route.

Gellen watched the Doctor and Attar disembark from the monorail after it had abruptly stopped. She didn't feel frightened though, that stopping meant that the creatures were getting closer by the second. She trusted the Doctor in some way, enough to lay her life in his hands. Then she heard scuttling and noticed that one of the pebble creatures was rummaging around the carriage in a drugged fashion.

The Doctor was a little too quick for Attar as he tried to decipher the way through the tunnels using Rory's shirt. They find a dead end, but the Doctor explains that it is actually a door, meant to look like a wall. He realised that the key to opening it was one of the native songs. He told Attar to sing and the song resounded down the tunnels. The wall had now vanished and steps were revealed instead.

Cain looked around the tunnel as he heard the song approach them like an echo. They tried to find which way the sound was coming from, but it was practically impossible. Cain pushed them forward impatiently, not wanting to lose the sound.

Gellen was screaming as the creature approached her hungrily. She managed to pull a pile of cases on top of it, but it didn't seem to stop it. Rory arrived and was astonished to discover that a creature had appeared on the train somehow. The creature appeared once again and scurried towards them. Rory decided he could distract it. He tossed a sandwich to the ground and the creature ate it ravenously. The creature shockingly multiplied into two creatures. Rory looked apologetically at Gellen.

The Doctor and Attar had finally arrived in the large cavern. The tribespeople were gathered around the machine that could destroy the creatures, but they didn't seem to be doing anything. The Doctor introduced himself. The Doctor tried to press them on, worried that they were wasting too much time. The people weren't looking very happy because they had found out that the machine does not work.

Rory and Gellen suddenly came across Matty and Kevin who were still in the same spot, believing they had been forgotten about. Matty seemed to be forming a plan and smiled.

The Doctor was listening to the tribespeople's song. It was obvious that it wasn't working, but there was something else. The Doctor explains that the culture evolves and that the songs could have been changed somehow during their evolution on the planet, something different from a long time ago. He pulled Attar forward and told him to write anything about the song that didn't sound genuine.

Matty had decided that the best way to get rid of them was to blow up the train. Rory didn't have time to disagree because the creatures were now closer than ever. Thornton suddenly arrived and so they were quickly forced to divulge the information to him. Thornton surprisingly agrees.

They had sung the song many times now, it was now up to Attar to teach them the original song they should sing.

Rory tempted the creatures towards the boiler room using Kevin's sweets. He realised that the creatures had multiplied quite a bit in the time they had talked and there were about a dozen scuttling towards him.

Gellen watched Rory before heading down the platform to give Matty and Kevin a thumbs up. They pressed a few buttons while following the instructions of what Thornton had written on the piece of paper. The engine train had now detached from the rest of the monorail. Van Goole came over to ask what was going on.

The tribespeople were beginning to sing the proper song. The machine that they had needed started to spring to life. The Doctor explained that it would immediately halt the creatures in their tracks. But there was a familiar voice from the tunnel behind and Cain appeared, holding a gun to Amy's head.

Rory and Thornton were still on the train as it picked up speed. They had to act quickly if they were going to escape. Thornton pressed a button one of the doors opened and he advised Rory to bend his knees. They were about to jump when a creature scuttled from the shadows and bit Thornton on his leg. Rory found an axe and swung it and it hit the creature cleanly off Thornton's leg. They finally jumped and landed heavily on the platform. The train began to whine noisily before it exploded. There was the sound of cheering behind them

The Doctor tried reasoning with Cain to stop him from doing anything drastic. Cain was sure that he and the professor would get a lot of money from the creatures. But the Doctor pleaded that they weren't a species, but a machine. The professor agreed with the Doctor, but Cain wasn't giving up. Cain fired the stun gun, but was hit by Willard, which sent it flying to the roof of the cavern. There was a scuffle on the steps. Willard wasn't letting Cain escape as he opened the specimen box and the creatures began to devour them. The Doctor, panicked, pressed the deactivation button.

Rory heard a deafening noise and when he opened his eyes, the creatures had all fallen to the ground, alive no more.

When the Doctor, Amy and the Ulla people emerged from the caves, the rescue shuttlecraft had arrived. The Doctor looked at Matty and Kevin angrily when seeing the remains of the train, but after an explanation he forgave them. The Doctor told Van Goole about what happened to Cain and the professor. He then told Attar to tell his people to gather the metal from the Rain of Terror and that it would give them enough money to rebuild their civilisation. Then, the Doctor, Amy and Rory went to retrieve the TARDIS, promised a party.

Characters

 * The Doctor
 * Amy Pond
 * Rory Williams
 * Casper Van Goole
 * Attar
 * Gellen Jenkins
 * Mr Cain
 * Professor Willard
 * Thornton
 * Matty George
 * Kevin Arkwright

Continuity
to be added