inferno fiction

aka: THE FLUSH OF FEAR

PART TWO

ith the flushing of the toilet Jo heard a strange noise behind her. A sort of, stretching, crunching sound.

Quickly turning around, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

Facing her was a giant creature. About six feet tall, round shaped, with dark fur and glowing red eyes.

A Yeti.

Terrified, she screamed...

At that moment, the toilet door swung open and there stood a figure, framed in the daylight of the garden, cape fluttering in the breeze like some angel of mercy.

'Doctor!' Jo cried with relief.

Seemingly distracted by this new arrival, the Yeti froze for just a brief moment, giving Jo the chance to run out of the little hut and hide behind the Doctor.

'What is it?'

'A Yeti, Jo' he replied, 'Or at least a robotic version of one.'

'So what are we going to do? Does it have an off switch?'

'I am thinking Jo! Just give me a moment.'

'Well, you had better think of something, it’s coming straight for us!'

The Yeti lumbered forward growling and waving its, admittedly stumpy, arms at them.

At that moment the Doctor shouted 'Eureka, of course!'

Running around and behind the Yeti, he dashed back into the little hut.

Ripping the top off the water tank he began pulling at pipes, muttering to himself as he did so.

Faced with the lumbering Yeti, Jo grabbed a garden rake she had seen nearby and began lashing out with it.

'Get back you horrible hairy thing!'

This had little effect as the Yeti continued to lumber forward.

'Doctor, whatever you are doing in there, please do it quickly, I can’t hold it off much longer!'

'Nearly done, Jo. Just one more piece to fit back in and.....there, it’s done!'

Using all his strength the Doctor pulled at the chain hanging down and the toilet made a heaving rattling sound before finally flushing, a cascade of water flying into the air.

At that moment the Yeti stopped in its tracks and before Jo’s eyes, briefly glowed a bright white before shrinking and becoming a toilet brush again which fell to the ground with a clunk.

Completely drenched, the Doctor came out of the toilet with a mixture of pride and embarrassment on his face.

'Well that did it...'

'What did it Doctor? What did you do?'

'It was quite simple really, once I realised what caused the Yeti to transform I...'

'Yes?'

'Well I, ahem...'

'Yes?'

'I reversed the polarity of the U-bend flow.'

Jo didn’t know whether to laugh or jump for joy. Certainly she wasn’t going to hug the Doctor, not the drenched state he was in. In the end all she could say was 'I think perhaps we should get you a new set of clothes, and the number for a dry cleaner who is good with suede...'

'Yes, quite.' said the Doctor, dripping....

At that moment the Brigadier walked into the garden. 'Doctor I came here as soon as I got the message from Sergeant Benton that he had driven you here...'

He stopped in mid-sentence as he surveyed what was in front of him.

'What on earth?'

'That, Brigadier,' he said pointing to the toilet brush, 'is a deactivated Yeti.'

'Not again!' gasped the Brigadier. 'I thought we had seen the last of them after that incident in the...' He paused. Suddenly things began to make sense. 'The Underground. Of course! So what are they up to this time?'

'It’s not what they are up to my dear fellow,' replied the Doctor, 'but whoever is controlling them, that is our concern and we haven’t a moment to lose!'

'Well what do you suggest we do first?' asked the Brigadier.

'Isn’t it obvious?' piped up Jo. 'We need to find out how on Earth there was a Yeti in a loo in Tooting Bec!'

'Doctor, you and the Brigadier go back to UNIT HQ and to dry off and analyse that brush. I will speak to Mrs Hammond again. I think she'll be more comfortable talking to me.' said Jo.

Both men looked at each other, neither used to taking instructions from a woman. Realising they couldn’t think of a better idea they both shrugged and agreed to do what Jo had suggested.

~~~