"That's a risk you can live with." Literally, if she would just go. He recalled how she could dig her heels in at the slightest sign of injustice or, preserve him, someone in need of help. There was no time for her stubbornness, no matter how good her intentions were. Again, he reached for her elbow with the intention of steering her toward the door--

His hand never touched her. The things had pushed through. They wheezed through slack jaws, staring at them with vacant eyes. Long organic cables extended from the backs of their necks and disappeared beneath the settling curtains. The Doctor's eyes moved rapidly, counting heads, taking note of the fact that more had crept to flank their sides.

They were the actors, or something that looked like them, anyway, and they were standing motionless now, as if waiting to take a bow.