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'Doctor, these fields are...' she searched for the right word. 'Cultivated.'
 
The Doctor looked around him and for the first time he saw row upon row of green plants building up into neatly organised fields. 'Oh, no,' he murmured, 'I'd forgotten about them!'
 
Suddenly there was a fluting sound from their left, followed by an excited "yip, yip, yip!" as two slender grey shapes leapt from the bushes and bore Leela and the Doctor to the ground, their rough scales scratching and drawing blood.
 
Another fluting sound was heard, and the animals left the two barely conscious shapes.
 
'Another two for the collection,' a frog-like voice croaked and then there was a burning sensation and Leela and her mentor slipped into blackness
 
 
he Doctor was the first to come to, only to find his clothes were damp with sweat. It was uncomfortably hot and his aching muscles tempted him to return to the sanctuary of sleep. When he opened his eyes, he examined his surroundings. He was in a small room with bars at one end and a window at the other. Straw covered the floor and formed a small mountain below the window.
 
He crawled over to Leela and gentle woke her up. Her first reaction was to reach for her knife, but it was gone. So had everything from the Doctor's shirt pockets, but in his trousers he found a box of matches.
 
'What happened?' Leela asked.
 
'We've been captured by Homo reptillia,' the Doctor explained. 'Super lizards who evolved millions of years ago on Earth. They're known by the dramatic name of "Silurians". Their civilization flourished until they sighted a rouge planet heading for them.

Fearing it would suck away their atmosphere, they went into suspended animation in shelters below the ground.' The Doctor stood up, trying to look out of the window, but continued his narrative. 'Unfortunately for them, the moon went into orbit around the Earth so they remained a sleep. Then millions of years later, a huge meteor struck the Earth all the dinosaurs and paving the way for mammals to take over.
 
A surprising number of their bases survived though, and they have been accidently reactivated once or twice. Perhaps,' he mused, 'they are origins of the stories about trolls and goblins in Earth's legends.'
 
'Ssssh' Leela interrupted. 'Something's coming.' They collapsed onto the straw, seemingly a sleep.
 
One of the homo reptillia appeared carrying a tray with food bowls on it. His third eye glowed briefly and the cage door opened. The Silurian was just about to leave when another reptile appeared.
 
'What do you want?' the first Silurian gargled.
 
'I,' began the second, drawing himself to his full height, 'I am a Zoologist.'
 
'And I,' replied the other, eyeing him warily, 'I am a Zoo Keeper, so?'
 
Patiently, the first explained that he had been given a permit to examine the new creatures.
 
The Zoo Keeper sighed. 'An object was found in the woods, because of the equipment these two had on them, it was assumed that it was one of their things.'
 
'Really? How fascinating. Please show me.'
 
With a sour glance, the Zoo Keeper bade the scientist to follow, 'It's in the museum...'
 
As soon as they were gone, the Doctor and Leela sat up. 'At last,' the Doctor said, 'We know where our stuff is.'
 
Leela, he noticed was crouched in a decidedly aggressive pose, sniffing the air. 'What's the matter?'
 
She indicated the tray, 'Three food bowls and only two of us.' Her eyes fixed on the far wall. 'He must be in that pile of straw!' Without a second thought she dived into the pile, scrambling about and finally emerging with a weak, emaciated figure.
 
The Doctor rushed over. The pitiful thing was a man, his clothes were decidedly 20th century, lay in rags. His skin was full of blisters and in the last stages of skin cancer. Clearly, he didn't have long to live, minutes at the most.
 
The Doctor tried to make him comfortable but the man struggled and started to speak, his voice sounded desiccated.

         

 

 

          
         

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