Iconic Doctor Who companion revisits character to pen new story – read an extract now

As she kneels next to her father, she can’t detect a pulse and it appears he isn’t breathing. Her flight attendant instincts take over, disregarding the tingling in her right arm. She carefully rolls her father onto his back, tilts his head back, checks for blockages in his airways, and starts performing chest compressions. If he were to pass away at this moment, before we’ve had a chance to reconcile… Tegan can hardly stomach the idea. She forces herself to focus on the urgent tasks of restarting his heart and getting him to breathe again.

Since she’d recently eaten, there was a significant risk of her father choking on his own vomit. However, the sight of the approaching water truck brought her relief. It seemed as though Luke had noticed her predicament, as the truck’s engine began to purr softly. You could hear the sense of urgency in his voice as he communicated with Uncle Vince over the two-way radio, requesting him to call for an ambulance.

In addition to performing chest compressions, Tegan also needs to revive her father. As she turns to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, she receives a startling surprise. Just a few meters away, an Eastern Brown snake is staring intently at her. Tegan stands still in shock. Eastern Browns typically avoid humans and are usually not active during the night. It seems that the fire drove it out of the cane field. This species, capable of delivering multiple lethal bites and possessing venom potent enough to kill both her and her father, is responsible for more snake-related deaths in Australia than all other snakes combined. Quick and aggressive when threatened, it poses a significant danger.

With each passing thought, the serpent slowly advances under the beam of light from the water truck, causing a tingling sensation to escalate in her arm. Realizing she must resume chest compressions urgently if she’s to save her father, she hesitates, for any movement might provoke the Eastern Brown snake into attacking both herself and her father. It seems as though the snake can sense her thoughts, as it raises its head and expands its neck, warning signs of an imminent strike.

She hears a voice inside her head.

As I stood there, a chilling question echoed through the air: ‘Did you believe our encounter was over?’ A hint of mirth followed, but it was instantly replaced by a chill that ran down my spine. That voice – oh, how I knew it! It belonged to none other than Mara. In this moment, she’d seized her chance to instill fear, having summoned the Eastern Brown snake to inflict pain on me.

The adrenaline coursing through her body stretches time. She focuses. She focuses harder than she has ever focused before and talks to the demon inside her head. ‘Kill me, and you kill your bridge to this physical world.’

More laughter. ‘Foolish Tegan. What makes you think you are my only target?’

She continues to stare fixedly at the Eastern Brown, every sense heightened. She notices the Triantiwontigong subtly glowing on its left side near the snake. The sound of water splashing and metal clanging abruptly ceases as her brother descends from the vehicle. ‘Uncle Vince is calling the ambulance,’ he informs, his voice reassuringly close. She fears any movement might provoke the snake to attack, so she refuses to glance at her brother.

Her right arm is now excruciatingly painful. The scent of burning sugarcane fills the air. On the edge of her vision, she watches as Luke attempts to scare off the snake by stomping on the ground. But not Luke! She hopes against hope that it’s not him. The thought flashes through her mind before she can suppress it.

When the Eastern Brown snake faces its brother and readies to attack, it unleashes its jaws. Once more, three unusual lights manifest. Taken aback, the Eastern Brown attacks Luke followed by the luminous Triantiwontigong. However, before another attack, the serpent is struck by three intense orange beams and swiftly retreats.

Tegan scarcely acknowledges the lights fading out once more. It’s only later when she realizes they’ve embarked on the Triantiwontigong pathway. She resumes CPR on her father, hoping the pause hasn’t extended too much. Meanwhile, Luke remains motionless on the ground and does not stir.

‘Did it get you?’ she asks her brother.

‘They both understand that a bite from an Eastern Brown Snake typically doesn’t hurt much initially. ‘Sounds like we’ll find out how severe it will be shortly.’ (Note: This response assumes the context is about a snakebite.)

Tegan is eager to aid her brother, yet she’s unable to disturb her father’s CPR once more. She finds herself saying, ‘I must continue…’

Sure thing,

Off in the distance, they hear a fire engine.

On the 3rd of October, “Doctor Who: The Previous Adventures” will hit the shelves, and you can secure your copy through pre-ordering right now! Come Christmas time, catch up with Doctor Who again as past episodes are accessible to stream in full on BBC iPlayer.