Haunted Series One
Episode six
Murder at St Fagans
Written by the Genie
Foreword – by the Genie
With the Doctor now trapped indefinitely on Earth, Haunted took the surprise turn of return to the UNIT era of Doctor Who, with the Doctor working as a scientific adviser and dealing with Earth matters and alien incursions from a grounded, human point of view. Though I enjoy the Pertwee era, it's not my favourite of all Doctor Who eras, as issues on Earth usually amounted to cheap alien invasions or mad scientists with dangerous technology. So with Murder at St Fagans, I wanted to try something new, as the Doctor steps into not just the world of aliens and conspiracies, but of murder and even paedophilia. (The story is also memorable for its take on prison life, which was inspired by a real account I recorded while researching the episode. Murder at St Fagans had the most research of any episode in the series, which included my memories of visiting St Fagans while in Cardiff.)
A dark, shocking and at times crushing tale of failure and misunderstanding, Murder at St Fagans was, in my mind, the story I finally found my feet with. It's one of the most similar to the fourth series of Haunted - generally regarded as the series' golden era - and puts the team in a situation that is genuinely challenging and will leave them with wounds that last the rest of this series and beyond.
WARNING: CONTAINS VIOLENCE AND ADULT ISSUES, BOTH IN IMPLICATION AND EXPLICIT DESCRIPTION
Murder at St Fagans
Diana glared at him through a gap in the bush. Her heart pounded with fury. She felt a heavy sensation behind her eyes like fires building up, ready for…
She emerged. She made fists tightly with her hands. He hadn’t seen her. He was talking to Suzette. He had that smile again. She hated that smile with a passion. It was such a conceited smile; showing an I’m-better-than-you-are subtext. Worse than anything, it was a knowing smile. They all knew he was responsible: Lily Godwin, Emilia Perkins, Dilys Meredith… they didn’t have the evidence to persecute, but his smile told everyone that he did it. It was a wicked, wicked smile – like he was tormenting them.
On any other day, perhaps, if the stars shone dimmer or sense was on her side, it would never have happened. But Diana felt lucky; daring, almost. Vengeful and daring, as her father had once told her, were not a good combination.
So she threw herself at him. She pinned him to the ground with all her strength; pulling, scratching, hitting, screaming. She couldn’t see him, until she wrapped her hands tightly around his neck and began to squeeze. She watched. She watched until the last glimmer of life left him, and then she removed her hands, stood up and wiped the sweat off her brow.
“You alright Suzette?” she asked the woman who stared unbelievably stared the broken body below her. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”
***
Olivia timidly pushed open the door. It creaked, but the residents didn’t move an inch. They stayed completely still, wheezing momentarily, and then laying back again, their necks bent back out of shape, into their antiquated armchairs. Tables were cluttered with thumbed magazines and forgotten cups of tea and dying flowers. It was like God’s waiting room: a place where people dozed their way into the next life, their spirits already moved on, but their bodies still working on an echo of life. Only one old woman seemed to be at all with it, and despite her fragility, she seemed perfectly well, doing her crossword.
“Are you looking for someone, dear?” she asked Olivia. “It’s alright – it gets all of us like that on our first visit. You’ll get used to it. One day you might even be here yourself.”
“I’m looking for a Vivian Quinn...” her eyes darted around the room but everyone seemed to look the same.
“Just over there.” The elderly woman pointed to a seat by the window where another old woman sat dreamily, gazing at the gardens, half-awake. “I’m sorry dear,” the woman continued, “have you been here before?”
“N-no…” replied Olivia.
“Well… this may not be pleasant.” She didn’t bother to quieten her voice, but stood up a little so Olivia could hear her a bit better. “She’s practically left now.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well… she’s still happy, I suppose. But don’t expect anything from her. Don’t expect the woman you used to know.” On this, she sat back down. Olivia quietly thanked her, and the woman returned to her crossword, muttering random letters under her breath. She seemed odd – like a mastermind in a crèche.
Olivia was still taking everything in. That that old woman, over by the window, was her mother. She was old when she’d left, and heartbroken at the death of Olivia’s father, but now there was something else about her. It was like if you touched her, she’d break. Her short grey hair had thinned, and her stature was skeletal. Olivia perched on the chair opposite her. It took a moment to get her attention, and when she saw her, she appeared to look straight past.
“Can I help you, dear?”
“I know this is going to be hard…” Olivia thought about what Alex had warned her. “But it’s me, Olivia. Your daughter. I came back.”
“No, I think there’s been some mistake,” said Vivian. “My daughter died ten years ago. You’re probably looking for someone else…”
“No, she didn’t die,” said Olivia, almost pleadingly, “she just had to go away. And that’s me. Vivian Quinn… Mum… it’s Olivia. I’ve come home at last. I would have come sooner, but something happened. I got out there. I travelled. If you know what I’d seen, you’d have been proud.” She rectified herself. “You’ll be proud.”
“You know my daughter,” began Vivian, “she died ten years ago.” Olivia felt hopeless but let her continue. “Her name was Olivia too. I was very proud of her. She broke my heart, you know. That’s why I’m here now, because nobody wanted me. You have to make sure that you’re happy one day because then somebody will be there to love you.”
“Mum, it’s me, please!” Olivia sensed herself tearing up. “I’m here for you now!”
“Don’t go making things up!” Vivian snapped. “You can’t be my daughter! The only daughter I ever had died ten years ago. You’re just… an imposter!” She turned away again, and gazed outside for a minute. Her expression went blank, and she turned back around, for some reason startled at Olivia’s presence.
“Sorry… what was I saying?” She smiled. “Oh yes, that’s right, my daughter. She was lovely, my Olivia. She could play the piano. Can you play the piano? I always wanted to learn for her, but I’m a bit forgetful, see, so I could never remember the notes.”
Olivia had tears streaming down her face now, but Vivian seemed oblivious. A care-worker approached her suspiciously and looked down, apparently disapprovingly.
“I think you should go now,” she instructed. “Vivian needs to go for her lunch.”
“I don’t want lunch, I’m not hungry!” Vivian reached into her pocket for a couple of coins and handed them over to the worker who looked back confused. “Go and buy yourself some lunch, I’ll wait for my daughter to get in. She won’t be long. She’s out playing the piano, you know…”
***
Alex knocked on Kate’s door.
“Come in.”
She opened the door gently and stepped up to the desk, her hands behind her back, acting formal, but eagerly awaiting the next piece of news.
“We’ve been down to Farnham,” said Kate, “and the bodies have gone – all of them. The whole graveyard has been cleared. We think the Cybermen must’ve taken them from underneath because there’s been no sign of them above. To be honest, I think the Cybermen might have the upper hand.” She paused. “We’re still deciding what to do about Lynda. We can’t just let her get back on with ordinary life, can we? Not after what she’s seen. And she could unknowingly hold information which could benefit both sides. We’ve let her use UNIT accommodation for time being to avoid awkward explanations with her friends, and she’s brought her kids along – they all find it terribly exciting. We’ll make a decision in the next few days. We can always find her work here, of course. She’s a secretary and we always need administration.”
“What do we do now?” asked Alex.
“Well, I’ve found you a case.” Kate opened a drawer and fished out a file, handing it over to Alex. Alex scrutinized it as Kate commented. “St Fagan’s – little village in the Cardiff area. I took my kids there before; it’s got a lovely old museum place. Anyway, you’ll be aware by now that it’s been the site of the Blackwell murders.”
“The supposed Blackwell murders,” corrected Alex.
“Oh, come on,” said Kate, “we all know he did it. Well, he was killed yesterday. An angry mother who feared for her child’s safety. She’s been arrested, but we’re not finished with the village yet. We’ve been getting all sorts of strange energy readings from it – different kinds. There’ve been unexplained fires, and the disappearances – although we can assume Blackwell was to blame for them.”
“So you wanted me to take a look, ma’am?”
“You, Phil – I’ve promoted him again; he’s a fantastic worker – Olivia, Luke-“
“The Doctor?”
“No, not the Doctor. He keeps talking about seeing his mother’s ghost.” Kate shook her head gravely and Alex made her poker-face, unsure of how to react. “I think the old man’s lost it. Trenzalore finished the poor guy.”
“He told you about Trenzalore?” Alex made sure she watched her words on such a delicate subject. “Olivia told me about Trenzalore – it was one of the first things she explained. She said to be easy on him – she said he wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“He didn’t tell me.”
“How do you know then?”
There was a silent moment of recognition.
“You-you were there?”
“They say no one comes back from Trenzalore, not really…” Alex could suddenly see the marks on her face. Not age, but experience; not good experience, either.
“I’m sorry…”
“Don’t be. Don’t pity me. Pity the Doctor. I might have been tortured to the point of begging for death, but… the Doctor had to watch it.”
With that, Alex bid her a polite farewell, and left the room.
***
The Doctor sat in silence. Silence was a strange thing. He never managed to achieve it. His rapid breathing and his chattering teeth prevented complete stillness. He’d have loved to sit in silence – even for a second – being able to witness the raw beauty of… nothing. But he lived such a busy life, alas; so silence was never possible.
She gazed at him still. His mother; standing there perfectly in her silky red robes. But her gaze became a stare. And the stare became a glower. She accused him. He didn’t know what for. He couldn’t even bear to touch her; lest she fade away. She was driving him to insanity, but the thought of putting his hand straight through her, confirming that she really was a hallucination… now that would finish him off.
A rattle awoke the Doctor from his reveries, and Kate marched in, her arms crossed. She stood behind him to give him some space – it was his office, after all; in his home.
“They’re all going to St Fagan’s, you know. You should join them – a quieter case, perhaps.”
He rolled his eyes rudely. “I’m fine,” he muttered – half to himself.
“You know,” she said, “the bodies have gone from Farnham. Do you think the Cybermen have left?”
“Doubt it.” One or two word answers – Kate’s worst nightmare.
“Olivia’s gone to visit her mum.”
“Good for her.”
Kate lost her patience. “Look, for goodness sake, if you want to stay in here all day, then fine, but you’re not going to do anyone any good! I’m generally quite a patient person but really you are pushing me-“
“Shut up.” He retorted. Kate was utterly astounded. He’d never spoken to her like that before. “You don’t know what it’s like, do you?” There was an insane tone to his voice, and he rocked in his chair as he spoke. “She’s here, Kate, always, all the time, and she doesn’t say anything – no, she can’t say anything – she just stares, reprovingly, relentlessly, always – I try to shut my eyes, I try, but she’s there, constantly-“ without warning, he leapt up, storming over to Kate, “-and no one else can see her, and she’s still there, when I close my eyes, then in my dreams when I sleep, then when I wake up, and when I turn off the lights, when it gets dark, I just see her shadow, and her eyes reflected by the wall-“
“Stop it!” cried Kate. “I can’t... I can’t deal with this!” She left the Doctor, in his recklessness, to continue watching; to continue being mad, until madness let him go.
***
“Korea’s gone now,” explained Phillip to Olivia in the jeep. Alex drove, Luke sat is the passenger seat, and Olivia and Phillip sat in the back. “There was a civil war in 2018 and the army was severely weakened. Without the army, there was nothing. So now the people of Korea are starving and all they’ve got to help them are guns. It’s much the same as it was before, frankly. And another cold war between America and Russia, which was good for us because the investment in technology went up, with the missile race and all.”
“What about the oil crisis?” Olivia was firing question after question to Phillip; learning how the world had changed since she’d been away. She’d already been told that hovercraft had been used commercially for a year to replace aeroplanes which were undergoing changes for health and safety, but the hovercrafts were banned because of the number of accidents and the fact that most people got sea-sick.
“They say we’ll be in an oil war within a few months,” replied Phillip. “Some of the LEDCs have already started having minor conflicts, but none of the wealthier countries have got involved. They’ve all got hold of nuclear weapons now so war is a big no-no. So, tell me a bit about you. Where did you go with the Doctor?”
“I went to Moscow, 2332, the Second Age of Enlightenment.”
“What was it like?”
Olivia thought for a moment, recalling her experience. “To be honest…” she sounded unimpressed… “It was pretty horrible. The whole landscape was barren – like, just dust and rocks for miles and miles. And there were these winds – winds of information. I watched time change before my eyes. I have to say, however scary it was, the experience was-“
“Amazing,” interrupted Alex, “yes, you told me.”
“Alright!” exclaimed Olivia indignantly. “I was only telling-“
“You know, you’re really his type, aren’t you?” Alex must have been looking for an argument.
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well… I’ve read the files.” Alex put on a falsely excited descriptive voice. “She’s young, she’s beautiful, the epitome of innocence, compassionate. She thought her life looked bleak but she met the Doctor and realised her full potential.” She stopped the mocking voice. “Oh, come on, it’s textbook stuff.”
“How dare you?!” snapped Olivia. “How dare you reduce me to a… a… stereotype!”
“Well, you are. I mean, in reality, you’re just the next in a long line of dashing brunettes who can’t actually do much but stand back and say a few nice speeches.” Olivia seemed to be at breaking point, but despite this, Alex continued. “I mean, can you imagine me as a companion? I can’t. You see, I’m not his type, at all. You know why that is? I can see him.” She sounded cruel; calculating. “I can see right through him. Because I was thinking about it and I worked this out. Without the Doctor, we’d have never had half the Dalek invasions. We’d have never had all the lives lost because he’s brought some old enemies to Earth.” Everyone in the car was listening attentively. They didn’t agree with her, but they understood what she was getting at. “The Doctor pretends to be wonderful and gallant and save the world, but actually, he’s destroying it, bit by bit. He pretends to take young women away and show them how wonderful the world is when actually, he’s tearing apart their families and ruining their lives. One day…” she paused, wondering if she were about to go too far. “One day the end of the world will come and he’ll be behind it because he’s made a silly mistake. And he’ll go on and tear down another world until the whole universe has felt his damage.”
Olivia wondered where this vendetta had come from. She tried to do what was right; placing herself in Alex’s shoes. And, somehow, she understood. She thought what it must have been like to pick up the pieces when she ran away with the Doctor. For the first time, she was struck by an overwhelming sensation of guilt. All she could muster was, “Mm.”
Kate’s muffled voice interjected from the radio. “Alex, this is urgent news. We’ve had another murder. Another murder in St Fagan’s – another teenage schoolgirl.”
“Pull over!”
Alex stopped abruptly in the middle of the single lane, trying to get as close to the side as she could. Olivia stepped straight out of the car and approached the bushes, horrified.
“What’s the matter?” Alex, Luke and Phillip made their way out.
“It’s a hand.”
All three of the other passengers looked down at the side in horror, a sign of disgust on their faces, then half turned away, trying to erase the horror they’d just seen. There, at the side, was a hand, soaked in a puddle of blood. A human hand.
“Ugh!” cried Phillip, “That’s disgusting!” As he reached down to pick it up, Olivia cut in.
“Don’t!” She pulled Phillip back. “You’re tampering with evidence. Get the gloves and find somewhere we can store it. And seal off the area.”
Luke and Phillip moved around to the boot of the jeep and started rooting around for some equipment. Alex remained staring at the hand. Olivia tried, but looked away. It was a gruesome sight.
“Did you see your mum?” asked Alex. Her voice was softer now; kinder.
“Yeah.”
“I’m…” she bowed her head slightly. “I’m sorry. It… probably wasn’t a nice experience.”
“She didn’t recognise me.” As Olivia spoke, she remained fixated on the hand.
“I’d thought that would be so. If it’s any consolation, she’s been happy. She doesn’t know a thing. She was sad about you, but half the time she’s in this dream. She’s passed away now, really.”
“Why were you being so harsh to me?” questioned Olivia.
“I guess I’m just angry,” said Alex. “Angry on her behalf, because she doesn’t even know what she’s angry about anymore.”
“We’ve taped around the perimeter,” called Luke. “Shall we go and interview the locals? See what they have to say?”
“Yes. Yes, that would be a good idea.”
***
Mr Bolton sat upright in his armchair, his legs widened, his arms hanging loosely forward. He was clothed in baggy overalls that matched the style of the room; half-finished, dirty. Not the kind of place you’d pick something up off the floor and eat it. The man was bald and had a moustache. His eyebrows were permanently fixed in a state of pretension. His forehead was covered in a layer of sweat.
“Mr Bolton,” asked Alex, in an overly-friendly voice, “how have your neighbours been lately?” She beamed at him, and he stared moodily back. He found her fake joviality incredibly infuriating, but tried to hide it.
“Well, you know. I saw ‘em all this morning, didn’t I?” He had a thick Welsh accent. “Putting the bins out. Bin collection day. I do look after my neighbourhood. Like to think I do my job well.”
“Do you know about any issues that have happened in the neighbourhood lately, then?”
“Nothing I can think of. There was the Blackwell murder, obviously, but that fella had it coming to him. Frankly, I’d say it’s brought the community closer, if anything. Why? Something happened?”
“Yes. We found a hand.” Alex paused. “In the road.”
“Can’t say I can help you. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got work to be getting on with.”
“And what work is that?”
“Doing up my house.”
“There’s been a murder. Another one. Body washed up on the riverside. Another girl. Another one of the Perkins sisters. Lola Perkins. Know anything about it?”
“No. That’s terrible. Terrible shame I say. I do love the Perkins family. They’re such great friends.”
***
“I hate him. He’s an evil sod. Pompous, patronizing…” Mrs Perkins burst into tears again and Olivia had to provide her with more tissues.
“Oh, thank you…” she babbled. “It’s just that he… he likes to think that he…” she blew into a tissue with such force it sounded like the whole house had gone up. “He thinks that he’s better than all of us and that he helps us, but actually…”
“Mrs Perkins…” began Olivia. “Do you think that Mr Bolton murdered your daughter?”
“I just can’t believe…” Mrs Perkins, her face redder than the blood that swept along the current of the river, stared straight past Olivia. “If it was him… we had it wrong all along… Blackwell was… innocent?”
“We can’t be sure of anything yet.” Olivia felt uncomfortable – she wasn’t as well-versed as she thought she was. “Thank you for your cooperation Mrs Perkins, and we’re incredibly sorry for your loss. We’ll get back to you.” With this, she rushed out of the room.
***
“Who is this Blackwell fella, anyway?” asked Olivia as she sat down for lunch with Alex, Luke and Phillip.
“You never heard of Peter Blackwell?” Phillip nearly choked on his sandwich.
“Wrong time, remember?” Olivia reminded him.
“Basically,” began Alex, “he’s like… I suppose you could say like that - Ian Brady, that’s it.” It had taken her a moment to remember the name. Olivia wondered what had become of the infamous Moors Murderer. “He was charged with the sexual assault of a fifteen year-old girl. This was back in 2013, shortly after you left. He always said he didn’t do it.” Alex chuckled. “They all say that, don’t they? Anyway, he served his sentence, and was released. He moved here. Suddenly, more girls started going missing. But there was no evidence. Nothing. No finger-prints, anything. The police searched his house every time and found nothing. Just bodies washing up on the river.”
“What is this river, anyway?” asked Olivia. “I don’t remember any river from when I went here.”
“They made it back in 20… 2016, I think. Or 17. Not sure. Anyway,” she continued, “this chap, Blackwell, was obviously to blame. I mean, we all guessed it. They used to say it was his smile. And because the police were so useless, one of the mothers clearly thought enough was enough, and finished off the old man.” Alex thought about continuing her story, but some unrecognised pop song (unrecognised to Olivia, at least) sounded from Alex’s phone and she got up abruptly to answer it.
“Hello?” She paused. “Kate?” She sounded surprised. “What are you doing calling my mobile?”
“It’s urgent,” Kate replied alarmed. “I think we’ve found a new suspect to the murder.”
“Who is it?”
“Phillip. Phillip Pitman.” A shiver ran down Alex’s spine. “Our Phillip.”
***
Kate pushed some photographs across the table. Alex picked them up and examined them.
It had been mere hours since Alex got the game-changing phone-call. She’d taken the jeep back on her own and left the others with enough money to buy a room in a B&B. Her thoughts on the way home were wholly occupied by Phillip. By how he could possibly be a suspect. By why Kate was happy to let him walk free.
“I needed you here to be sure,” murmured Kate. “But look at them.”
Alex examined the first photograph. It was a prison photo: six men in basic overalls against the gloomy backdrop of a foreboding gate. Alex knew what prison looked like. She remembered her parents driving past before, when her brother went to visit his friend. By now, she could detect it just by the ambiance.
“I wasn’t sure at first,” Kate continued. “I found this in a drawer like someone had left it for me. Perhaps they had – or perhaps it was just something irrelevant I’d had a while ago for whatever reason and I’d completely forgotten about it. Anyway…” there was a hint of excitement to her voice. “Can you spot Phillip?”
Alex studied the photograph carefully, and pointed at a mud-stained, harsh face. The man had the right posture and the right countenance to be Phillip. And Alex recognised the photo – she rummaged through her memories to try and remember why.
“Hang on!” she cried. “This was back a few years ago, wasn’t it? When those prisoners managed to collect money for the prison chaplain who had cancer… I remember it well. But one of them was…” Kate watched curiously as the pieces of the puzzle slotted together in Alex’s mind. “Terrance Campbell. Convicted paedophile – oh my God, it’s Phillip! How didn’t we notice?”
“I looked him up,” explained Kate, “after realising the same thing as you. And of course, they found him not guilty – the real offender stepped forward, remember?” Alex nodded vaguely. “Well… a lot of people still thought he was to blame. But UNIT were involved – the actual killer had access to UNIT technology and had framed Phillip. Sounds unlikely, I know, but it happened. So we – as compensation – gave Phillip a job. I didn’t even know.”
“So why is Phillip – Terrance - a suspect?”
“I’m not sure about suspect,” said Kate, “but we have to rule him out of the team and into the investigation. He’s a coincidence. A great big coincidence. And here’s the big thing – the thing that made me think he was a suspect – he was released at the same time as Blackwell. And he lived – until recently – in the same area. And then there are the energy signals – he’s the only person I can think of now who has access to that sort of tech.”
Alex could hardly breathe, let alone speak. She’d worked with this man. She’d trusted him. How was she supposed to feel now?
“You can go,” said Kate, “you can head off back to St Fagan’s. I needed you to know. We’re going to send transport down for Phillip.”
“Hardly seems worth me being here.” Alex paused before leaving. “What’s happened with the Doctor?”
“I don’t know. He’s just lost it. Do you think we’ll need him?”
This was followed by a decisive “no”, as Alex left to return to St Fagan’s.
***
“We’re going to the end of the river,” explained Olivia when Alex arrived back at the dusty B&B. “Because I was right!” she beamed enthusiastically. “The river! No one seems to have thought about the river. Like there’s some sort of perception filter around it. No one even knows why it was built!”
“You’re saying an alien built the river?” Alex didn’t seem impressed.
“I’m saying that it’s a river that shouldn’t even be a river. That’s strange enough for one day.”
“Let’s go, then.” Alex looked back at Phillip. “Not you, Phillip. Kate wants to see you.”
Phillip regarded her sceptically and then remembered his position. “Yes ma’am.”
***
“There’s no one even out here…”
Olivia was right, too. It was just hill upon hill. She hadn’t remembered St Fagan’s being anything like this. It was near to the city, after all. Maybe time had changed it. Or maybe it was just her mind playing tricks.
“Look!” Alex jogged up to the top of the hill and called back down. “It’s the end of the river!”
“What’s there?” asked Luke.
“A shed.” She replied simply.
“A shed?”
“A shed.”
Luke and Olivia followed and approached it. It was indeed a shed. The river continued up to a point and just stopped, by a normal garden shed. It was painted dark green and heavily timeworn; it stood on the grass unbalanced and peculiar.
“Let’s see what’s inside,” whispered Alex, fascinatedly.
Alex loved this case. She loved it because it didn’t make any sense. It was gruesome, and she felt connected emotionally – she pitied the parents and the loved ones and the victims – but she couldn’t help enjoying herself. She liked piecing it all together bit by bit. It was one of the traits which had got her to such a high position.
Alex gradually opened the door, and when it was opened to its fullest, she, Luke and Olivia scrutinized dumbfounded what was inside.
It was like the TARDIS. Directly through the door was an apparently endless corridor – clinically white like the UNIT base and illuminated the whole way. Alex got out her phone but mimicked crushing it angrily.
“No connection.” She sighed. “Always when we really need one.”
“We should go back and call for back-up,” warned Luke.
“If we go back,” countered Olivia, “we might come back here and find no shed at all.”
“Then one of us should go.”
“Ah. But if one of us goes, they might be kidnapped by the thing controlling this.”
“Don’t be stupid.”
“He says,” joked Olivia, “standing next to a bigger-on-the-inside shed.”
“So what are you suggesting?” he re-joined.
“That we go inside.”
A deathly silence held the group for a minute; the only noise being the chilling breeze. They all looked around uncomfortably.
“If one of us goes on our own anywhere,” said Olivia, “they could get kidnapped. And in a three, if we break up, someone is on their own. If we leave, we might never find this place again. It’s worth a try.”
“You never used to be a daredevil,” retorted Alex.
“You never used to back out.”
A silent agreement was made and Olivia cautiously stepped inside. The others followed, moving quietly along the corridor. Alex kept watch, Olivia led, and, intelligently, Luke videoed the whole thing on his phone.
As they went by, they passed terrible rooms. Inside, more body parts hung in blood-tinted specimen cases like half-dead jellyfish, bobbing up and down without meaning or purpose. Alex shook her head darkly, wondering how many lives had been lost in the process. That clarified the hand situation: it had obviously just been abandoned because it wasn’t ‘necessary’.
Eventually, they reached the end of the corridor, and faced a pair of imposing double-doors. Cautious whether to continue, Olivia peered through the glass, but before she could see any more, she was interrupted by Alex’s scream, and then the world went black.
***
Kate sat opposite Phillip under the dim light of the interrogation room. She didn’t seem curious or shocked anymore – just utterly heart-broken; slumped back slightly in her chair and frowning miserably. Phillip looked much the same.
“Ten years,” he said gravely. “Ten years in prison. It doesn’t matter now, people say. I’m out. I’m out, I’m safe, it’s done. They made a mistake. So what?” He stopped for thought and suddenly banged the table with his fist, scaring Kate. “So everything!” his voice had risen to a shout. “You weren’t there! In prison! They cart you off in this, this… box. The first thing you see is a gate and it’s the last you see as a free man.” He unexpectedly winced and held his nose. “The stench, the stench, the horrible rancid stench! And the noise! It all hits you. The moment you go in. And you’re trying to work out where to go and they’re staring at you through their – their – cages.” His voice quietened and he broke down, tensing up and coughing and crying. “They thought I was a murderer… a child-killer. They hate them, so much.”
He lifted up his vest and exposed his torso to Kate. She winced. It was a ghastly sight. Scars, varying in size, covered his chest. One in particular cut across his stomach. And at that moment she could finally see it – she could see him. She looked at him then, and she was faced with a lost man. His eyes wandered around, as if looking for something to help him forget. And his serious, obedient expression looked to be tired and cold and… broken.
“This is what they did to me,” he murmured. “They sharpened a toothbrush with a razor and they sliced me open. They cut right into me –“he pointed at himself – “into my soul. The cut up my courage.” Kate was nearly in tears herself.
“As they did it, I was washing. In my room. I hadn’t locked the door properly. They slammed it behind me. I was left to bleed to death.” He grimaced, picturing the experience. “I called for help, but they didn’t even run to me. I lay there on the floor that moment, and I swore… I swore to whoever had done what they did to that child… I swore that they would see justice done to them. And now I sit before you, a free man – free, they say, but I’m still trapped in my past. I swear to you that I am innocent. I was framed.”
All Kate could manage was: “They should have had you in a safer wing.”
“They were worse!” Phillip almost laughed. “Because I could understand the men in my wing and why they did what they did to me. But I didn’t want to be locked up with a group of paedophiles and woman-beaters – no way at all. They’re mad. I think they’d have driven me to be the same way.” He sighed it off. “But there we go. That’s the truth. I was accused of something awful, proven innocent, and compensated. And my real name is Terrance Campbell, but I’m not him anymore, so call me Phillip. Actually, no. Call me Phil.”
***
Olivia’s eyes adjusted to her new surroundings. She’d been strapped down onto a bed – was it a bed? No; it felt more like an operating table. She looked across and could see Alex one side and Luke the other. Luke cast a disdainful glare at her – without a doubt, she was to blame for their unfortunate predicament. The area around them was different now – grey, concrete walls and floor and wires dangling loosely from the ceiling. Little tables were scattered across the room with various paraphernalia akin to the UNIT base. An electric humming pulsated from below. A strangely familiar voice came from above and Olivia looked up to see the last face she expected – even Alex recognised it, somehow, as she tried to place where from. It had been so long since Shanghai.
“Hello… Miss Quinn.”
“Doctor C. R. Zau,” quoted Olivia. “What an unexpected pleasure.”
“Professor Sorvad’s personal assistant!” Alex gasped.
“Sorvad?” Olivia chuckled darkly. “That was an acronym. His real name was Davros. He was actually an alien – and this… mastermind… was his accomplice!”
“Mastermind…” his voice rippled with a hissing, sadistic quality which Olivia had never noticed before. “…I like that.” He spoke slowly and softly. “Accomplice… not so much. I like to think of myself as freelance.”
“So, was it you then?” demanded Alex. “Are you our killer?”
“Let me tell you a story…” he grinned. His wide, unblinking eyes darted around the room, staring at each of the three individuals. “I fled Shanghai the moment I realised Davros wasn’t coming back. But I had what I wanted.” He tapped his nose secretively. “I had his technology. Davros told me everything before he left – about the Time Lords, about their home-world. He’d developed basic multi-dimensional tech.” The unhinged man lifted his arms up and dramatically gestured to the corridor. “How do you think I squeezed this whole laboratory into such a tight space? I made the river myself; used a perception filter to cover it up. It took time. That’s why I aged.” He was right. He had indeed aged – his features were carved by lines of practice and lassitude. “I made contact with Peter Blackwell. He hated children – and it was children I needed. Shall I tell you something? That original accusation against him – that was false. And from then, he hated them. All little girls – he thought of them as lying, filthy scum from hell. That’s how he saw them. That’s what prompted his desire for revenge. He blamed all of them. All of their pretty little pig-tails and summer dresses and shrill little voices.” Alex felt revolted. She wanted to vomit then and there. She’d never heard more deranged talk in her life. “And I needed them.”
As he paused, a murmur circulated around the room. They all reflected on those four cold words he’d just uttered. His demeanour was different, Olivia thought; with Davros, he treated him with respect and everyone else with a condescending formality. But now, he seemed truly unbalanced: crippled by notions of death, revenge and acrimony. He looked at every person the same way: as one of his playthings.
“I made a deal with him,” he continued. “If he went out and found me any person under the age of eighteen, I would cover his tracks and remove all evidence. He could do what he… wanted, with them.” A cold chill passed through the captives. They all thought they knew what he meant but none were positive. They preferred not to be. And it disgusted them more than anything how we was talking so casually about it – as if recalling a memorable holiday experience.
“The only condition was that, when they came to me, they had to be alive. So, I covered up all the murders, found ways of placing the blame elsewhere. Then the sick old man was murdered. So now I’m out of my supply.”
“What I don’t get,” said Luke, his voice quivering after what he’d just heard, “is why you needed to bodies. And why you needed them alive, specifically. And why they had to be young. And why they had to be exclusively females.”
They all dreaded the answer, but nonetheless, they were all curious.
“They’re the most important.” There was another gap wherein the three hostages ruminated over what this could mean. “To you. To your survival. They are young enough to live to have many offspring and are the carriers of new life. This is my plan: to eradicate them. Then, there will be no new human life. I have experimented on them to see how their bodies react to different bacteria and chemicals – I wanted to see whether I could release a compound into the atmosphere which would destroy every single significant human life, but keep nature intact.”
Olivia was, as well as disgusted, entirely confused. But more importantly she had broken free. The straps that held her down had come loose and whilst they appeared to still be tight, she realised that within one swift motion, she could be up.
“But you’re a human,” she said. “Why do you want to wipe out your own species?”
“I am not a human being!” he howled angrily. “The way I see it, humanity is a title, and a shameful one at that. I am so much more. Humanity had potential, but it was wasted. They think themselves superior when the truth is they are so much less. They kill creatures who only want to coexist with them – they put them through hell for their own benefit. Every last stinking one sickens me. Tell me this, Miss Quinn: do animals lie? Are they deceitful? Do they betray their own? Do they relish in the torture of their own and other species? And finally… have they done anything negative to the planet?”
Olivia had to think for a moment before answering. In a strange way, she’d become captivated. More than anyone, Olivia Quinn loved a philosophical debate.
“We make mistakes,” she responded simply. “I made a mistake just recently – Alex could tell you.” Alex nodded her head in approval. “I was selfish. I didn’t consider other people – I made a mess and left them to clear it up. That’s what we all do, humans. But we have the capacity to be so much more. If you want humanity and nature to coexist, why not spread the message peacefully? You can’t achieve peace through war. That’s something my father always made sure I knew. We are different to any other animal because despite the fact that we have our own flaws, we have the capacity to learn.”
“Think of all the victims of our mistakes,” countered Zau. “All the innocent creatures murdered in cold blood. It’s too late to change that. The only way I can save them is to completely eliminate the human threat altogether.”
“You’re tainted too,” returned Olivia, “I’m sure you’ve made mistakes – if you want; stepped on an ant, run over a cat – any blameless mistake. You’re just as bad as us, in that case.”
“Oh yes I am. Absolutely. And when this is all over, I’m going to finish myself off too.”
At that moment, everyone in that room realised their chances were up: they were dealing with a man beyond reason. Doctor C. R. Zau had gone insane.
***
“Ma’am, we’re at the site,” said Phillip through the intercom. “We’ve had to go back because we’ve lost our signal. There’s this shed, and it’s… ma’am, it’s bigger on the inside. What should we do?”
Kate suddenly realised that everything had gone completely out of their depth. It had begun as a suspicious hunch about strange energy readings, and now it had become the centre of some sort of alien plan. But Kate knew what kind of aliens: the Doctor had explained that only the Time Lords and some of their enemies and allies had the access to inter-dimensional technology. So therefore there was only one man who could help them: the Doctor himself.
***
The Doctor was still frozen on the same spot, shaking, and perhaps praying – praying that the ghost would leave him alone.
“Doctor, we need you,” said Kate bluntly. “I’ve tried everything else but we’re looking at some sort of TARDIS now.”
“What does it matter now?” muttered the Doctor, “What does anything matter?”
Kate crept over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. She crouched down to be at his level and looked him in the eye.
“I know, remember…” the Doctor understood what she was saying. “I was there with you. I remember Clara. I remember what you saw. I know… I know it’s hard, but it’s hard for me too. We have each other, Doctor. That’s what matters. And we need each other to survive. Trenzalore was a long time ago – it’s time we both moved on. Now your friends, they’re in trouble. They need you. If you don’t care, then you’re not the Doctor anymore.”
***
Olivia was up instantly. She pushed herself off of the bed and pulled a gun off of a table, holding it to Zau’s head.
“What was your childhood like?” she asked.
He seemed unalarmed by being at gunpoint. “I had a lovely mother and father who-“
“Liar.”
“I’m sorry?”
“You were an orphan, weren’t you?”
Zau was stunned. “How could you possibly know that?”
“You have no direction in your life. You hate humans because you’ve never loved one. You’ve never felt that connection. I’m guessing you resent your parents yet you encouraged Blackwell in hurting innocent children – I’m saying, based on what I know of you so far that you weren’t abused as a youngster. The only other reason I can think of for resenting your parents is that you never knew them – they abandoned you, did they?”
For once, Alex was awestruck.
“They did…” confessed Zau “I was just ten years old. I can’t even remember what happened before, now; my memory is so clouded. I grew up hating every single person I ever met.”
“I pity you,” said Olivia. “I really, really pity you. But what you did was wrong. I’m going to escort you back to UNIT HQ – you’re going to be interrogated for any useful information, and then you’ll be punished accordingly. You’ll be punished for aiding and abetting. Alex…?” She was relying on her friend to fill her in on UNIT procedure.
“As you’ve been using alien technology,” explained Alex, “this can’t go before a normal court. Therefore the trial will be held in private with a jury of three people: a lawyer for both parties and the judge. If you lose your case, you will be locked up in a UNIT facility. Therein your human rights will be removed and you will stay for the rest of your life.” Alex was so influenced by what she had heard – she was cold and tormented by the perverse stories. She had no mercy.
“I always knew UNIT had a darker side,” came the Doctor’s voice. He marched into the room and strode up to Doctor Zau. He looked at Olivia disapprovingly, took her gun and put it in his pocket.
“Olivia… I thought I’d taught you better than that.” Olivia thought it ironic of him to say such a thing as he pocketed the weapon himself.
“Doctor Zau – wow, talk about old memories. Don’t worry, I get it. As soon as I realised what was going on with the river, I instantly knew that Blackwell was the murderer. You see… if the bodies are going to you to be experimented on, then there would be a delay. Blackwell’s murdered, gives you a chance to do your experiments, then you put the body in the river, it floats along, under a perception filter, reaches the end – bam, that could last a month easy – but you’re quick, there’s a steady wind, it’s a couple of days. A perfect disguise for the real killer.” There was a brittle quality to the Doctor’s voice. Olivia thought, perhaps, that she’d destroy him by saying the wrong thing. But what he would be like broken – it wasn’t a pitiful notion – it was scary. “Olivia – you have intelligence, you have resourcefulness – you needn’t point a gun at someone’s face. That’s wrong. I’d expected better.”
Olivia, also on the edge of breaking point, slapped the Doctor square in the face. Instantly he reacted and rubbed the spot she’d hit. She looked up at him furiously.
“I took this case on my own because you – you – were too busy moping about in your little blue box. You screwed up my life. Don’t you ever walk into my space and tell me how to do my job!” she yelled at him.
“This is the truth…” remarked Zau. “This is what it’s really like to know the Doctor. And now, ladies and gentlemen, I’ll just be off.”
Zau flicked a switch on a control panel next to him. The room shook and everyone was thrown around chaotically. When the shaking stopped, all the team (who had each broken free of their beds) stood up, each realising the truth: Doctor Zau had escaped.
“What happened?” asked Alex.
“We’ve moved,” replied the Doctor uncertainly. “Oh, God…”
“What is it?”
“Doctor Zau’s had access to Time Lord Technology from Davros. And what’s the greatest discovery in Time Lord Tech?”
“Multi-dimensional engineering?” tried Olivia.
“Other than that…”
The Doctor flicked a switch and the wall subsided to reveal a window. And beyond that window lay the most impossible sight: Tudor England.
“Time Travel. It’s a time machine…” The Doctor watched in admiration at the sparkle of a Tudor street; copious market stalls selling fruits, vegetables and livestock, noblemen striding with their heads held high – contrasted to peasants, filthy yet content: children, playing on wooden toys and throwing fruit at each other. Their parents watched…
…with video cameras around their necks.
“Or,” suggested Alex, “we’ve only moved a couple of miles. St Fagan’s.” She pointed out of the window. “One of the most realistic historical recreation and re-enactment sites in the world. More precisely… St Fagan’s museum.”
“That sounds right,” observed the Doctor. “He may have generated enough energy to move this thing across space – even if just a few miles. And that means he’s going to be a lot easier to find than I’d anticipated. He’s old, delicate: he can’t move fast.”
“Well then,” said Olivia. “We ought to get a move on.”
The Doctor darted along the corridor, leading them outside. They passed UNIT officers on the way; all obviously assembled ready to catch the crook.
The historical village suddenly lost its realism. Whilst the team were presented with the sight they’d seen out of the window, when they turned around to get a full panoramic view, they were confronted with parked cars and cafes and tourists bathing themselves in Factor 40.
“Look – over there!”
The team followed the direction of Luke’s finger and headed northwards. They met at an intersection, where there were three different directions forward: one left into a maze, one right into a historical house, and the other straight on into the field.
“I’ll go into the maze,” said Luke, “Olivia, you go into the field, Alex you into the house.” He looked over the other officers. “Go everywhere,” he said. “Scatter. Be prepared for him to make a quick getaway.” And so they parted in their different directions. The Doctor was left to guard the intersection.
***
The house was empty; abandoned. Alex thought this strange: houses in St Fagan’s museum were usually occupied by tens of visitors at a time; all marvelling at the various apparatus. Some would enter and leave in moments, whilst others – those who appreciated history – would stay and examine every tiny detail.
Moving upstairs soundlessly, a gun in her pocket, she entered the bedroom. The bed was a four-poster; the cover itself veiled by velvety red curtains. Cautiously, her gun aimed forward, she pulled back the curtains.
Nothing.
She heard a creak and turned around. A candelabrum swung uneasily above her and she stepped away worriedly. Suddenly, the ground gave way underneath her, and she fell below as floorboards, furniture and piles of dust collapsed on top of her. She lay there for a few moments, spluttering and trying to wipe the soot from her eyes with the one hand she had. She stared down at the gash on her leg as blood gushed out of it fiercely. In an attempt to pull herself out of the wreckage, she was thrown back down again, and this time indefinitely.
***
Olivia ploughed the fields in hope of finding anything. She dragged herself over flowers, beautifully arranged to look like Roman plots. She suspected she was devastating everything – although she had to. And it wasn’t the first time she’d felt that way today.
She reached a point and stopped running, exhausted. The long grass now stretched up to her waist and everything beyond her was field and forest. She wondered how far she’d strayed away from the normal path. She tried to look ahead of her, but sunlight blinded her eyes. Squinting, she could make out a figure, and she pointed her gun shakily.
“Don’t be scared…” came a familiar voice. “It’s only me.” She lowered her gun gradually, and her father – as she calculated, deceased around twelve years ago – looked down lovingly at her.
***
Luke rushed through the maze, trying every direction he could. Sometimes he’d throw himself through a hedge, just to take a shortcut – just to do something Zau may have done. The wind whistled through the foliage, occasionally throwing a leaf in his face to surprise him. Nature had always been Luke’s greatest enemy.
He heard footsteps just ahead and tiptoed forward. He looked for his gun, but it was missing. Zau must have taken it – it was very probably the one left on the table – the one which had been left behind. But it was too late to turn back now. He turned a corner and saw the back of Doctor Zau. The scientist turned around and the two confronted each other in bitterness. Zau raised his gun and Luke backed up slightly – but he didn’t turn right around.
“I can’t let you go,” said Luke.
“Then I can’t let you take me.”
“That’s a risk I’ve got to take.”
“I’m armed,” warned Zau, totally bemused. “You have nothing. I will shoot you. You’re human filth. I won’t even hesitate.”
“You shoot me and you face getting shot, ‘mate’” teased Luke. “That lot – UNIT – they’ve changed. Oh, I don’t know if you’ve ever had an experience with them, but you haven’t seen their darker side. Would you risk it?”
“Yes.”
Zau pulled the trigger mercilessly and Luke was left to drown in a pool of his own blood. His vision blurred, and he tried to call for help, to cough, to make a noise, to do anything. But he couldn’t. He was frozen to the spot. He trembled in agony and wished for a miracle.
With the Doctor now trapped indefinitely on Earth, Haunted took the surprise turn of return to the UNIT era of Doctor Who, with the Doctor working as a scientific adviser and dealing with Earth matters and alien incursions from a grounded, human point of view. Though I enjoy the Pertwee era, it's not my favourite of all Doctor Who eras, as issues on Earth usually amounted to cheap alien invasions or mad scientists with dangerous technology. So with Murder at St Fagans, I wanted to try something new, as the Doctor steps into not just the world of aliens and conspiracies, but of murder and even paedophilia. (The story is also memorable for its take on prison life, which was inspired by a real account I recorded while researching the episode. Murder at St Fagans had the most research of any episode in the series, which included my memories of visiting St Fagans while in Cardiff.)
A dark, shocking and at times crushing tale of failure and misunderstanding, Murder at St Fagans was, in my mind, the story I finally found my feet with. It's one of the most similar to the fourth series of Haunted - generally regarded as the series' golden era - and puts the team in a situation that is genuinely challenging and will leave them with wounds that last the rest of this series and beyond.
WARNING: CONTAINS VIOLENCE AND ADULT ISSUES, BOTH IN IMPLICATION AND EXPLICIT DESCRIPTION
Murder at St Fagans
Diana glared at him through a gap in the bush. Her heart pounded with fury. She felt a heavy sensation behind her eyes like fires building up, ready for…
She emerged. She made fists tightly with her hands. He hadn’t seen her. He was talking to Suzette. He had that smile again. She hated that smile with a passion. It was such a conceited smile; showing an I’m-better-than-you-are subtext. Worse than anything, it was a knowing smile. They all knew he was responsible: Lily Godwin, Emilia Perkins, Dilys Meredith… they didn’t have the evidence to persecute, but his smile told everyone that he did it. It was a wicked, wicked smile – like he was tormenting them.
On any other day, perhaps, if the stars shone dimmer or sense was on her side, it would never have happened. But Diana felt lucky; daring, almost. Vengeful and daring, as her father had once told her, were not a good combination.
So she threw herself at him. She pinned him to the ground with all her strength; pulling, scratching, hitting, screaming. She couldn’t see him, until she wrapped her hands tightly around his neck and began to squeeze. She watched. She watched until the last glimmer of life left him, and then she removed her hands, stood up and wiped the sweat off her brow.
“You alright Suzette?” she asked the woman who stared unbelievably stared the broken body below her. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”
***
Olivia timidly pushed open the door. It creaked, but the residents didn’t move an inch. They stayed completely still, wheezing momentarily, and then laying back again, their necks bent back out of shape, into their antiquated armchairs. Tables were cluttered with thumbed magazines and forgotten cups of tea and dying flowers. It was like God’s waiting room: a place where people dozed their way into the next life, their spirits already moved on, but their bodies still working on an echo of life. Only one old woman seemed to be at all with it, and despite her fragility, she seemed perfectly well, doing her crossword.
“Are you looking for someone, dear?” she asked Olivia. “It’s alright – it gets all of us like that on our first visit. You’ll get used to it. One day you might even be here yourself.”
“I’m looking for a Vivian Quinn...” her eyes darted around the room but everyone seemed to look the same.
“Just over there.” The elderly woman pointed to a seat by the window where another old woman sat dreamily, gazing at the gardens, half-awake. “I’m sorry dear,” the woman continued, “have you been here before?”
“N-no…” replied Olivia.
“Well… this may not be pleasant.” She didn’t bother to quieten her voice, but stood up a little so Olivia could hear her a bit better. “She’s practically left now.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well… she’s still happy, I suppose. But don’t expect anything from her. Don’t expect the woman you used to know.” On this, she sat back down. Olivia quietly thanked her, and the woman returned to her crossword, muttering random letters under her breath. She seemed odd – like a mastermind in a crèche.
Olivia was still taking everything in. That that old woman, over by the window, was her mother. She was old when she’d left, and heartbroken at the death of Olivia’s father, but now there was something else about her. It was like if you touched her, she’d break. Her short grey hair had thinned, and her stature was skeletal. Olivia perched on the chair opposite her. It took a moment to get her attention, and when she saw her, she appeared to look straight past.
“Can I help you, dear?”
“I know this is going to be hard…” Olivia thought about what Alex had warned her. “But it’s me, Olivia. Your daughter. I came back.”
“No, I think there’s been some mistake,” said Vivian. “My daughter died ten years ago. You’re probably looking for someone else…”
“No, she didn’t die,” said Olivia, almost pleadingly, “she just had to go away. And that’s me. Vivian Quinn… Mum… it’s Olivia. I’ve come home at last. I would have come sooner, but something happened. I got out there. I travelled. If you know what I’d seen, you’d have been proud.” She rectified herself. “You’ll be proud.”
“You know my daughter,” began Vivian, “she died ten years ago.” Olivia felt hopeless but let her continue. “Her name was Olivia too. I was very proud of her. She broke my heart, you know. That’s why I’m here now, because nobody wanted me. You have to make sure that you’re happy one day because then somebody will be there to love you.”
“Mum, it’s me, please!” Olivia sensed herself tearing up. “I’m here for you now!”
“Don’t go making things up!” Vivian snapped. “You can’t be my daughter! The only daughter I ever had died ten years ago. You’re just… an imposter!” She turned away again, and gazed outside for a minute. Her expression went blank, and she turned back around, for some reason startled at Olivia’s presence.
“Sorry… what was I saying?” She smiled. “Oh yes, that’s right, my daughter. She was lovely, my Olivia. She could play the piano. Can you play the piano? I always wanted to learn for her, but I’m a bit forgetful, see, so I could never remember the notes.”
Olivia had tears streaming down her face now, but Vivian seemed oblivious. A care-worker approached her suspiciously and looked down, apparently disapprovingly.
“I think you should go now,” she instructed. “Vivian needs to go for her lunch.”
“I don’t want lunch, I’m not hungry!” Vivian reached into her pocket for a couple of coins and handed them over to the worker who looked back confused. “Go and buy yourself some lunch, I’ll wait for my daughter to get in. She won’t be long. She’s out playing the piano, you know…”
***
Alex knocked on Kate’s door.
“Come in.”
She opened the door gently and stepped up to the desk, her hands behind her back, acting formal, but eagerly awaiting the next piece of news.
“We’ve been down to Farnham,” said Kate, “and the bodies have gone – all of them. The whole graveyard has been cleared. We think the Cybermen must’ve taken them from underneath because there’s been no sign of them above. To be honest, I think the Cybermen might have the upper hand.” She paused. “We’re still deciding what to do about Lynda. We can’t just let her get back on with ordinary life, can we? Not after what she’s seen. And she could unknowingly hold information which could benefit both sides. We’ve let her use UNIT accommodation for time being to avoid awkward explanations with her friends, and she’s brought her kids along – they all find it terribly exciting. We’ll make a decision in the next few days. We can always find her work here, of course. She’s a secretary and we always need administration.”
“What do we do now?” asked Alex.
“Well, I’ve found you a case.” Kate opened a drawer and fished out a file, handing it over to Alex. Alex scrutinized it as Kate commented. “St Fagan’s – little village in the Cardiff area. I took my kids there before; it’s got a lovely old museum place. Anyway, you’ll be aware by now that it’s been the site of the Blackwell murders.”
“The supposed Blackwell murders,” corrected Alex.
“Oh, come on,” said Kate, “we all know he did it. Well, he was killed yesterday. An angry mother who feared for her child’s safety. She’s been arrested, but we’re not finished with the village yet. We’ve been getting all sorts of strange energy readings from it – different kinds. There’ve been unexplained fires, and the disappearances – although we can assume Blackwell was to blame for them.”
“So you wanted me to take a look, ma’am?”
“You, Phil – I’ve promoted him again; he’s a fantastic worker – Olivia, Luke-“
“The Doctor?”
“No, not the Doctor. He keeps talking about seeing his mother’s ghost.” Kate shook her head gravely and Alex made her poker-face, unsure of how to react. “I think the old man’s lost it. Trenzalore finished the poor guy.”
“He told you about Trenzalore?” Alex made sure she watched her words on such a delicate subject. “Olivia told me about Trenzalore – it was one of the first things she explained. She said to be easy on him – she said he wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“He didn’t tell me.”
“How do you know then?”
There was a silent moment of recognition.
“You-you were there?”
“They say no one comes back from Trenzalore, not really…” Alex could suddenly see the marks on her face. Not age, but experience; not good experience, either.
“I’m sorry…”
“Don’t be. Don’t pity me. Pity the Doctor. I might have been tortured to the point of begging for death, but… the Doctor had to watch it.”
With that, Alex bid her a polite farewell, and left the room.
***
The Doctor sat in silence. Silence was a strange thing. He never managed to achieve it. His rapid breathing and his chattering teeth prevented complete stillness. He’d have loved to sit in silence – even for a second – being able to witness the raw beauty of… nothing. But he lived such a busy life, alas; so silence was never possible.
She gazed at him still. His mother; standing there perfectly in her silky red robes. But her gaze became a stare. And the stare became a glower. She accused him. He didn’t know what for. He couldn’t even bear to touch her; lest she fade away. She was driving him to insanity, but the thought of putting his hand straight through her, confirming that she really was a hallucination… now that would finish him off.
A rattle awoke the Doctor from his reveries, and Kate marched in, her arms crossed. She stood behind him to give him some space – it was his office, after all; in his home.
“They’re all going to St Fagan’s, you know. You should join them – a quieter case, perhaps.”
He rolled his eyes rudely. “I’m fine,” he muttered – half to himself.
“You know,” she said, “the bodies have gone from Farnham. Do you think the Cybermen have left?”
“Doubt it.” One or two word answers – Kate’s worst nightmare.
“Olivia’s gone to visit her mum.”
“Good for her.”
Kate lost her patience. “Look, for goodness sake, if you want to stay in here all day, then fine, but you’re not going to do anyone any good! I’m generally quite a patient person but really you are pushing me-“
“Shut up.” He retorted. Kate was utterly astounded. He’d never spoken to her like that before. “You don’t know what it’s like, do you?” There was an insane tone to his voice, and he rocked in his chair as he spoke. “She’s here, Kate, always, all the time, and she doesn’t say anything – no, she can’t say anything – she just stares, reprovingly, relentlessly, always – I try to shut my eyes, I try, but she’s there, constantly-“ without warning, he leapt up, storming over to Kate, “-and no one else can see her, and she’s still there, when I close my eyes, then in my dreams when I sleep, then when I wake up, and when I turn off the lights, when it gets dark, I just see her shadow, and her eyes reflected by the wall-“
“Stop it!” cried Kate. “I can’t... I can’t deal with this!” She left the Doctor, in his recklessness, to continue watching; to continue being mad, until madness let him go.
***
“Korea’s gone now,” explained Phillip to Olivia in the jeep. Alex drove, Luke sat is the passenger seat, and Olivia and Phillip sat in the back. “There was a civil war in 2018 and the army was severely weakened. Without the army, there was nothing. So now the people of Korea are starving and all they’ve got to help them are guns. It’s much the same as it was before, frankly. And another cold war between America and Russia, which was good for us because the investment in technology went up, with the missile race and all.”
“What about the oil crisis?” Olivia was firing question after question to Phillip; learning how the world had changed since she’d been away. She’d already been told that hovercraft had been used commercially for a year to replace aeroplanes which were undergoing changes for health and safety, but the hovercrafts were banned because of the number of accidents and the fact that most people got sea-sick.
“They say we’ll be in an oil war within a few months,” replied Phillip. “Some of the LEDCs have already started having minor conflicts, but none of the wealthier countries have got involved. They’ve all got hold of nuclear weapons now so war is a big no-no. So, tell me a bit about you. Where did you go with the Doctor?”
“I went to Moscow, 2332, the Second Age of Enlightenment.”
“What was it like?”
Olivia thought for a moment, recalling her experience. “To be honest…” she sounded unimpressed… “It was pretty horrible. The whole landscape was barren – like, just dust and rocks for miles and miles. And there were these winds – winds of information. I watched time change before my eyes. I have to say, however scary it was, the experience was-“
“Amazing,” interrupted Alex, “yes, you told me.”
“Alright!” exclaimed Olivia indignantly. “I was only telling-“
“You know, you’re really his type, aren’t you?” Alex must have been looking for an argument.
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well… I’ve read the files.” Alex put on a falsely excited descriptive voice. “She’s young, she’s beautiful, the epitome of innocence, compassionate. She thought her life looked bleak but she met the Doctor and realised her full potential.” She stopped the mocking voice. “Oh, come on, it’s textbook stuff.”
“How dare you?!” snapped Olivia. “How dare you reduce me to a… a… stereotype!”
“Well, you are. I mean, in reality, you’re just the next in a long line of dashing brunettes who can’t actually do much but stand back and say a few nice speeches.” Olivia seemed to be at breaking point, but despite this, Alex continued. “I mean, can you imagine me as a companion? I can’t. You see, I’m not his type, at all. You know why that is? I can see him.” She sounded cruel; calculating. “I can see right through him. Because I was thinking about it and I worked this out. Without the Doctor, we’d have never had half the Dalek invasions. We’d have never had all the lives lost because he’s brought some old enemies to Earth.” Everyone in the car was listening attentively. They didn’t agree with her, but they understood what she was getting at. “The Doctor pretends to be wonderful and gallant and save the world, but actually, he’s destroying it, bit by bit. He pretends to take young women away and show them how wonderful the world is when actually, he’s tearing apart their families and ruining their lives. One day…” she paused, wondering if she were about to go too far. “One day the end of the world will come and he’ll be behind it because he’s made a silly mistake. And he’ll go on and tear down another world until the whole universe has felt his damage.”
Olivia wondered where this vendetta had come from. She tried to do what was right; placing herself in Alex’s shoes. And, somehow, she understood. She thought what it must have been like to pick up the pieces when she ran away with the Doctor. For the first time, she was struck by an overwhelming sensation of guilt. All she could muster was, “Mm.”
Kate’s muffled voice interjected from the radio. “Alex, this is urgent news. We’ve had another murder. Another murder in St Fagan’s – another teenage schoolgirl.”
“Pull over!”
Alex stopped abruptly in the middle of the single lane, trying to get as close to the side as she could. Olivia stepped straight out of the car and approached the bushes, horrified.
“What’s the matter?” Alex, Luke and Phillip made their way out.
“It’s a hand.”
All three of the other passengers looked down at the side in horror, a sign of disgust on their faces, then half turned away, trying to erase the horror they’d just seen. There, at the side, was a hand, soaked in a puddle of blood. A human hand.
“Ugh!” cried Phillip, “That’s disgusting!” As he reached down to pick it up, Olivia cut in.
“Don’t!” She pulled Phillip back. “You’re tampering with evidence. Get the gloves and find somewhere we can store it. And seal off the area.”
Luke and Phillip moved around to the boot of the jeep and started rooting around for some equipment. Alex remained staring at the hand. Olivia tried, but looked away. It was a gruesome sight.
“Did you see your mum?” asked Alex. Her voice was softer now; kinder.
“Yeah.”
“I’m…” she bowed her head slightly. “I’m sorry. It… probably wasn’t a nice experience.”
“She didn’t recognise me.” As Olivia spoke, she remained fixated on the hand.
“I’d thought that would be so. If it’s any consolation, she’s been happy. She doesn’t know a thing. She was sad about you, but half the time she’s in this dream. She’s passed away now, really.”
“Why were you being so harsh to me?” questioned Olivia.
“I guess I’m just angry,” said Alex. “Angry on her behalf, because she doesn’t even know what she’s angry about anymore.”
“We’ve taped around the perimeter,” called Luke. “Shall we go and interview the locals? See what they have to say?”
“Yes. Yes, that would be a good idea.”
***
Mr Bolton sat upright in his armchair, his legs widened, his arms hanging loosely forward. He was clothed in baggy overalls that matched the style of the room; half-finished, dirty. Not the kind of place you’d pick something up off the floor and eat it. The man was bald and had a moustache. His eyebrows were permanently fixed in a state of pretension. His forehead was covered in a layer of sweat.
“Mr Bolton,” asked Alex, in an overly-friendly voice, “how have your neighbours been lately?” She beamed at him, and he stared moodily back. He found her fake joviality incredibly infuriating, but tried to hide it.
“Well, you know. I saw ‘em all this morning, didn’t I?” He had a thick Welsh accent. “Putting the bins out. Bin collection day. I do look after my neighbourhood. Like to think I do my job well.”
“Do you know about any issues that have happened in the neighbourhood lately, then?”
“Nothing I can think of. There was the Blackwell murder, obviously, but that fella had it coming to him. Frankly, I’d say it’s brought the community closer, if anything. Why? Something happened?”
“Yes. We found a hand.” Alex paused. “In the road.”
“Can’t say I can help you. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got work to be getting on with.”
“And what work is that?”
“Doing up my house.”
“There’s been a murder. Another one. Body washed up on the riverside. Another girl. Another one of the Perkins sisters. Lola Perkins. Know anything about it?”
“No. That’s terrible. Terrible shame I say. I do love the Perkins family. They’re such great friends.”
***
“I hate him. He’s an evil sod. Pompous, patronizing…” Mrs Perkins burst into tears again and Olivia had to provide her with more tissues.
“Oh, thank you…” she babbled. “It’s just that he… he likes to think that he…” she blew into a tissue with such force it sounded like the whole house had gone up. “He thinks that he’s better than all of us and that he helps us, but actually…”
“Mrs Perkins…” began Olivia. “Do you think that Mr Bolton murdered your daughter?”
“I just can’t believe…” Mrs Perkins, her face redder than the blood that swept along the current of the river, stared straight past Olivia. “If it was him… we had it wrong all along… Blackwell was… innocent?”
“We can’t be sure of anything yet.” Olivia felt uncomfortable – she wasn’t as well-versed as she thought she was. “Thank you for your cooperation Mrs Perkins, and we’re incredibly sorry for your loss. We’ll get back to you.” With this, she rushed out of the room.
***
“Who is this Blackwell fella, anyway?” asked Olivia as she sat down for lunch with Alex, Luke and Phillip.
“You never heard of Peter Blackwell?” Phillip nearly choked on his sandwich.
“Wrong time, remember?” Olivia reminded him.
“Basically,” began Alex, “he’s like… I suppose you could say like that - Ian Brady, that’s it.” It had taken her a moment to remember the name. Olivia wondered what had become of the infamous Moors Murderer. “He was charged with the sexual assault of a fifteen year-old girl. This was back in 2013, shortly after you left. He always said he didn’t do it.” Alex chuckled. “They all say that, don’t they? Anyway, he served his sentence, and was released. He moved here. Suddenly, more girls started going missing. But there was no evidence. Nothing. No finger-prints, anything. The police searched his house every time and found nothing. Just bodies washing up on the river.”
“What is this river, anyway?” asked Olivia. “I don’t remember any river from when I went here.”
“They made it back in 20… 2016, I think. Or 17. Not sure. Anyway,” she continued, “this chap, Blackwell, was obviously to blame. I mean, we all guessed it. They used to say it was his smile. And because the police were so useless, one of the mothers clearly thought enough was enough, and finished off the old man.” Alex thought about continuing her story, but some unrecognised pop song (unrecognised to Olivia, at least) sounded from Alex’s phone and she got up abruptly to answer it.
“Hello?” She paused. “Kate?” She sounded surprised. “What are you doing calling my mobile?”
“It’s urgent,” Kate replied alarmed. “I think we’ve found a new suspect to the murder.”
“Who is it?”
“Phillip. Phillip Pitman.” A shiver ran down Alex’s spine. “Our Phillip.”
***
Kate pushed some photographs across the table. Alex picked them up and examined them.
It had been mere hours since Alex got the game-changing phone-call. She’d taken the jeep back on her own and left the others with enough money to buy a room in a B&B. Her thoughts on the way home were wholly occupied by Phillip. By how he could possibly be a suspect. By why Kate was happy to let him walk free.
“I needed you here to be sure,” murmured Kate. “But look at them.”
Alex examined the first photograph. It was a prison photo: six men in basic overalls against the gloomy backdrop of a foreboding gate. Alex knew what prison looked like. She remembered her parents driving past before, when her brother went to visit his friend. By now, she could detect it just by the ambiance.
“I wasn’t sure at first,” Kate continued. “I found this in a drawer like someone had left it for me. Perhaps they had – or perhaps it was just something irrelevant I’d had a while ago for whatever reason and I’d completely forgotten about it. Anyway…” there was a hint of excitement to her voice. “Can you spot Phillip?”
Alex studied the photograph carefully, and pointed at a mud-stained, harsh face. The man had the right posture and the right countenance to be Phillip. And Alex recognised the photo – she rummaged through her memories to try and remember why.
“Hang on!” she cried. “This was back a few years ago, wasn’t it? When those prisoners managed to collect money for the prison chaplain who had cancer… I remember it well. But one of them was…” Kate watched curiously as the pieces of the puzzle slotted together in Alex’s mind. “Terrance Campbell. Convicted paedophile – oh my God, it’s Phillip! How didn’t we notice?”
“I looked him up,” explained Kate, “after realising the same thing as you. And of course, they found him not guilty – the real offender stepped forward, remember?” Alex nodded vaguely. “Well… a lot of people still thought he was to blame. But UNIT were involved – the actual killer had access to UNIT technology and had framed Phillip. Sounds unlikely, I know, but it happened. So we – as compensation – gave Phillip a job. I didn’t even know.”
“So why is Phillip – Terrance - a suspect?”
“I’m not sure about suspect,” said Kate, “but we have to rule him out of the team and into the investigation. He’s a coincidence. A great big coincidence. And here’s the big thing – the thing that made me think he was a suspect – he was released at the same time as Blackwell. And he lived – until recently – in the same area. And then there are the energy signals – he’s the only person I can think of now who has access to that sort of tech.”
Alex could hardly breathe, let alone speak. She’d worked with this man. She’d trusted him. How was she supposed to feel now?
“You can go,” said Kate, “you can head off back to St Fagan’s. I needed you to know. We’re going to send transport down for Phillip.”
“Hardly seems worth me being here.” Alex paused before leaving. “What’s happened with the Doctor?”
“I don’t know. He’s just lost it. Do you think we’ll need him?”
This was followed by a decisive “no”, as Alex left to return to St Fagan’s.
***
“We’re going to the end of the river,” explained Olivia when Alex arrived back at the dusty B&B. “Because I was right!” she beamed enthusiastically. “The river! No one seems to have thought about the river. Like there’s some sort of perception filter around it. No one even knows why it was built!”
“You’re saying an alien built the river?” Alex didn’t seem impressed.
“I’m saying that it’s a river that shouldn’t even be a river. That’s strange enough for one day.”
“Let’s go, then.” Alex looked back at Phillip. “Not you, Phillip. Kate wants to see you.”
Phillip regarded her sceptically and then remembered his position. “Yes ma’am.”
***
“There’s no one even out here…”
Olivia was right, too. It was just hill upon hill. She hadn’t remembered St Fagan’s being anything like this. It was near to the city, after all. Maybe time had changed it. Or maybe it was just her mind playing tricks.
“Look!” Alex jogged up to the top of the hill and called back down. “It’s the end of the river!”
“What’s there?” asked Luke.
“A shed.” She replied simply.
“A shed?”
“A shed.”
Luke and Olivia followed and approached it. It was indeed a shed. The river continued up to a point and just stopped, by a normal garden shed. It was painted dark green and heavily timeworn; it stood on the grass unbalanced and peculiar.
“Let’s see what’s inside,” whispered Alex, fascinatedly.
Alex loved this case. She loved it because it didn’t make any sense. It was gruesome, and she felt connected emotionally – she pitied the parents and the loved ones and the victims – but she couldn’t help enjoying herself. She liked piecing it all together bit by bit. It was one of the traits which had got her to such a high position.
Alex gradually opened the door, and when it was opened to its fullest, she, Luke and Olivia scrutinized dumbfounded what was inside.
It was like the TARDIS. Directly through the door was an apparently endless corridor – clinically white like the UNIT base and illuminated the whole way. Alex got out her phone but mimicked crushing it angrily.
“No connection.” She sighed. “Always when we really need one.”
“We should go back and call for back-up,” warned Luke.
“If we go back,” countered Olivia, “we might come back here and find no shed at all.”
“Then one of us should go.”
“Ah. But if one of us goes, they might be kidnapped by the thing controlling this.”
“Don’t be stupid.”
“He says,” joked Olivia, “standing next to a bigger-on-the-inside shed.”
“So what are you suggesting?” he re-joined.
“That we go inside.”
A deathly silence held the group for a minute; the only noise being the chilling breeze. They all looked around uncomfortably.
“If one of us goes on our own anywhere,” said Olivia, “they could get kidnapped. And in a three, if we break up, someone is on their own. If we leave, we might never find this place again. It’s worth a try.”
“You never used to be a daredevil,” retorted Alex.
“You never used to back out.”
A silent agreement was made and Olivia cautiously stepped inside. The others followed, moving quietly along the corridor. Alex kept watch, Olivia led, and, intelligently, Luke videoed the whole thing on his phone.
As they went by, they passed terrible rooms. Inside, more body parts hung in blood-tinted specimen cases like half-dead jellyfish, bobbing up and down without meaning or purpose. Alex shook her head darkly, wondering how many lives had been lost in the process. That clarified the hand situation: it had obviously just been abandoned because it wasn’t ‘necessary’.
Eventually, they reached the end of the corridor, and faced a pair of imposing double-doors. Cautious whether to continue, Olivia peered through the glass, but before she could see any more, she was interrupted by Alex’s scream, and then the world went black.
***
Kate sat opposite Phillip under the dim light of the interrogation room. She didn’t seem curious or shocked anymore – just utterly heart-broken; slumped back slightly in her chair and frowning miserably. Phillip looked much the same.
“Ten years,” he said gravely. “Ten years in prison. It doesn’t matter now, people say. I’m out. I’m out, I’m safe, it’s done. They made a mistake. So what?” He stopped for thought and suddenly banged the table with his fist, scaring Kate. “So everything!” his voice had risen to a shout. “You weren’t there! In prison! They cart you off in this, this… box. The first thing you see is a gate and it’s the last you see as a free man.” He unexpectedly winced and held his nose. “The stench, the stench, the horrible rancid stench! And the noise! It all hits you. The moment you go in. And you’re trying to work out where to go and they’re staring at you through their – their – cages.” His voice quietened and he broke down, tensing up and coughing and crying. “They thought I was a murderer… a child-killer. They hate them, so much.”
He lifted up his vest and exposed his torso to Kate. She winced. It was a ghastly sight. Scars, varying in size, covered his chest. One in particular cut across his stomach. And at that moment she could finally see it – she could see him. She looked at him then, and she was faced with a lost man. His eyes wandered around, as if looking for something to help him forget. And his serious, obedient expression looked to be tired and cold and… broken.
“This is what they did to me,” he murmured. “They sharpened a toothbrush with a razor and they sliced me open. They cut right into me –“he pointed at himself – “into my soul. The cut up my courage.” Kate was nearly in tears herself.
“As they did it, I was washing. In my room. I hadn’t locked the door properly. They slammed it behind me. I was left to bleed to death.” He grimaced, picturing the experience. “I called for help, but they didn’t even run to me. I lay there on the floor that moment, and I swore… I swore to whoever had done what they did to that child… I swore that they would see justice done to them. And now I sit before you, a free man – free, they say, but I’m still trapped in my past. I swear to you that I am innocent. I was framed.”
All Kate could manage was: “They should have had you in a safer wing.”
“They were worse!” Phillip almost laughed. “Because I could understand the men in my wing and why they did what they did to me. But I didn’t want to be locked up with a group of paedophiles and woman-beaters – no way at all. They’re mad. I think they’d have driven me to be the same way.” He sighed it off. “But there we go. That’s the truth. I was accused of something awful, proven innocent, and compensated. And my real name is Terrance Campbell, but I’m not him anymore, so call me Phillip. Actually, no. Call me Phil.”
***
Olivia’s eyes adjusted to her new surroundings. She’d been strapped down onto a bed – was it a bed? No; it felt more like an operating table. She looked across and could see Alex one side and Luke the other. Luke cast a disdainful glare at her – without a doubt, she was to blame for their unfortunate predicament. The area around them was different now – grey, concrete walls and floor and wires dangling loosely from the ceiling. Little tables were scattered across the room with various paraphernalia akin to the UNIT base. An electric humming pulsated from below. A strangely familiar voice came from above and Olivia looked up to see the last face she expected – even Alex recognised it, somehow, as she tried to place where from. It had been so long since Shanghai.
“Hello… Miss Quinn.”
“Doctor C. R. Zau,” quoted Olivia. “What an unexpected pleasure.”
“Professor Sorvad’s personal assistant!” Alex gasped.
“Sorvad?” Olivia chuckled darkly. “That was an acronym. His real name was Davros. He was actually an alien – and this… mastermind… was his accomplice!”
“Mastermind…” his voice rippled with a hissing, sadistic quality which Olivia had never noticed before. “…I like that.” He spoke slowly and softly. “Accomplice… not so much. I like to think of myself as freelance.”
“So, was it you then?” demanded Alex. “Are you our killer?”
“Let me tell you a story…” he grinned. His wide, unblinking eyes darted around the room, staring at each of the three individuals. “I fled Shanghai the moment I realised Davros wasn’t coming back. But I had what I wanted.” He tapped his nose secretively. “I had his technology. Davros told me everything before he left – about the Time Lords, about their home-world. He’d developed basic multi-dimensional tech.” The unhinged man lifted his arms up and dramatically gestured to the corridor. “How do you think I squeezed this whole laboratory into such a tight space? I made the river myself; used a perception filter to cover it up. It took time. That’s why I aged.” He was right. He had indeed aged – his features were carved by lines of practice and lassitude. “I made contact with Peter Blackwell. He hated children – and it was children I needed. Shall I tell you something? That original accusation against him – that was false. And from then, he hated them. All little girls – he thought of them as lying, filthy scum from hell. That’s how he saw them. That’s what prompted his desire for revenge. He blamed all of them. All of their pretty little pig-tails and summer dresses and shrill little voices.” Alex felt revolted. She wanted to vomit then and there. She’d never heard more deranged talk in her life. “And I needed them.”
As he paused, a murmur circulated around the room. They all reflected on those four cold words he’d just uttered. His demeanour was different, Olivia thought; with Davros, he treated him with respect and everyone else with a condescending formality. But now, he seemed truly unbalanced: crippled by notions of death, revenge and acrimony. He looked at every person the same way: as one of his playthings.
“I made a deal with him,” he continued. “If he went out and found me any person under the age of eighteen, I would cover his tracks and remove all evidence. He could do what he… wanted, with them.” A cold chill passed through the captives. They all thought they knew what he meant but none were positive. They preferred not to be. And it disgusted them more than anything how we was talking so casually about it – as if recalling a memorable holiday experience.
“The only condition was that, when they came to me, they had to be alive. So, I covered up all the murders, found ways of placing the blame elsewhere. Then the sick old man was murdered. So now I’m out of my supply.”
“What I don’t get,” said Luke, his voice quivering after what he’d just heard, “is why you needed to bodies. And why you needed them alive, specifically. And why they had to be young. And why they had to be exclusively females.”
They all dreaded the answer, but nonetheless, they were all curious.
“They’re the most important.” There was another gap wherein the three hostages ruminated over what this could mean. “To you. To your survival. They are young enough to live to have many offspring and are the carriers of new life. This is my plan: to eradicate them. Then, there will be no new human life. I have experimented on them to see how their bodies react to different bacteria and chemicals – I wanted to see whether I could release a compound into the atmosphere which would destroy every single significant human life, but keep nature intact.”
Olivia was, as well as disgusted, entirely confused. But more importantly she had broken free. The straps that held her down had come loose and whilst they appeared to still be tight, she realised that within one swift motion, she could be up.
“But you’re a human,” she said. “Why do you want to wipe out your own species?”
“I am not a human being!” he howled angrily. “The way I see it, humanity is a title, and a shameful one at that. I am so much more. Humanity had potential, but it was wasted. They think themselves superior when the truth is they are so much less. They kill creatures who only want to coexist with them – they put them through hell for their own benefit. Every last stinking one sickens me. Tell me this, Miss Quinn: do animals lie? Are they deceitful? Do they betray their own? Do they relish in the torture of their own and other species? And finally… have they done anything negative to the planet?”
Olivia had to think for a moment before answering. In a strange way, she’d become captivated. More than anyone, Olivia Quinn loved a philosophical debate.
“We make mistakes,” she responded simply. “I made a mistake just recently – Alex could tell you.” Alex nodded her head in approval. “I was selfish. I didn’t consider other people – I made a mess and left them to clear it up. That’s what we all do, humans. But we have the capacity to be so much more. If you want humanity and nature to coexist, why not spread the message peacefully? You can’t achieve peace through war. That’s something my father always made sure I knew. We are different to any other animal because despite the fact that we have our own flaws, we have the capacity to learn.”
“Think of all the victims of our mistakes,” countered Zau. “All the innocent creatures murdered in cold blood. It’s too late to change that. The only way I can save them is to completely eliminate the human threat altogether.”
“You’re tainted too,” returned Olivia, “I’m sure you’ve made mistakes – if you want; stepped on an ant, run over a cat – any blameless mistake. You’re just as bad as us, in that case.”
“Oh yes I am. Absolutely. And when this is all over, I’m going to finish myself off too.”
At that moment, everyone in that room realised their chances were up: they were dealing with a man beyond reason. Doctor C. R. Zau had gone insane.
***
“Ma’am, we’re at the site,” said Phillip through the intercom. “We’ve had to go back because we’ve lost our signal. There’s this shed, and it’s… ma’am, it’s bigger on the inside. What should we do?”
Kate suddenly realised that everything had gone completely out of their depth. It had begun as a suspicious hunch about strange energy readings, and now it had become the centre of some sort of alien plan. But Kate knew what kind of aliens: the Doctor had explained that only the Time Lords and some of their enemies and allies had the access to inter-dimensional technology. So therefore there was only one man who could help them: the Doctor himself.
***
The Doctor was still frozen on the same spot, shaking, and perhaps praying – praying that the ghost would leave him alone.
“Doctor, we need you,” said Kate bluntly. “I’ve tried everything else but we’re looking at some sort of TARDIS now.”
“What does it matter now?” muttered the Doctor, “What does anything matter?”
Kate crept over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. She crouched down to be at his level and looked him in the eye.
“I know, remember…” the Doctor understood what she was saying. “I was there with you. I remember Clara. I remember what you saw. I know… I know it’s hard, but it’s hard for me too. We have each other, Doctor. That’s what matters. And we need each other to survive. Trenzalore was a long time ago – it’s time we both moved on. Now your friends, they’re in trouble. They need you. If you don’t care, then you’re not the Doctor anymore.”
***
Olivia was up instantly. She pushed herself off of the bed and pulled a gun off of a table, holding it to Zau’s head.
“What was your childhood like?” she asked.
He seemed unalarmed by being at gunpoint. “I had a lovely mother and father who-“
“Liar.”
“I’m sorry?”
“You were an orphan, weren’t you?”
Zau was stunned. “How could you possibly know that?”
“You have no direction in your life. You hate humans because you’ve never loved one. You’ve never felt that connection. I’m guessing you resent your parents yet you encouraged Blackwell in hurting innocent children – I’m saying, based on what I know of you so far that you weren’t abused as a youngster. The only other reason I can think of for resenting your parents is that you never knew them – they abandoned you, did they?”
For once, Alex was awestruck.
“They did…” confessed Zau “I was just ten years old. I can’t even remember what happened before, now; my memory is so clouded. I grew up hating every single person I ever met.”
“I pity you,” said Olivia. “I really, really pity you. But what you did was wrong. I’m going to escort you back to UNIT HQ – you’re going to be interrogated for any useful information, and then you’ll be punished accordingly. You’ll be punished for aiding and abetting. Alex…?” She was relying on her friend to fill her in on UNIT procedure.
“As you’ve been using alien technology,” explained Alex, “this can’t go before a normal court. Therefore the trial will be held in private with a jury of three people: a lawyer for both parties and the judge. If you lose your case, you will be locked up in a UNIT facility. Therein your human rights will be removed and you will stay for the rest of your life.” Alex was so influenced by what she had heard – she was cold and tormented by the perverse stories. She had no mercy.
“I always knew UNIT had a darker side,” came the Doctor’s voice. He marched into the room and strode up to Doctor Zau. He looked at Olivia disapprovingly, took her gun and put it in his pocket.
“Olivia… I thought I’d taught you better than that.” Olivia thought it ironic of him to say such a thing as he pocketed the weapon himself.
“Doctor Zau – wow, talk about old memories. Don’t worry, I get it. As soon as I realised what was going on with the river, I instantly knew that Blackwell was the murderer. You see… if the bodies are going to you to be experimented on, then there would be a delay. Blackwell’s murdered, gives you a chance to do your experiments, then you put the body in the river, it floats along, under a perception filter, reaches the end – bam, that could last a month easy – but you’re quick, there’s a steady wind, it’s a couple of days. A perfect disguise for the real killer.” There was a brittle quality to the Doctor’s voice. Olivia thought, perhaps, that she’d destroy him by saying the wrong thing. But what he would be like broken – it wasn’t a pitiful notion – it was scary. “Olivia – you have intelligence, you have resourcefulness – you needn’t point a gun at someone’s face. That’s wrong. I’d expected better.”
Olivia, also on the edge of breaking point, slapped the Doctor square in the face. Instantly he reacted and rubbed the spot she’d hit. She looked up at him furiously.
“I took this case on my own because you – you – were too busy moping about in your little blue box. You screwed up my life. Don’t you ever walk into my space and tell me how to do my job!” she yelled at him.
“This is the truth…” remarked Zau. “This is what it’s really like to know the Doctor. And now, ladies and gentlemen, I’ll just be off.”
Zau flicked a switch on a control panel next to him. The room shook and everyone was thrown around chaotically. When the shaking stopped, all the team (who had each broken free of their beds) stood up, each realising the truth: Doctor Zau had escaped.
“What happened?” asked Alex.
“We’ve moved,” replied the Doctor uncertainly. “Oh, God…”
“What is it?”
“Doctor Zau’s had access to Time Lord Technology from Davros. And what’s the greatest discovery in Time Lord Tech?”
“Multi-dimensional engineering?” tried Olivia.
“Other than that…”
The Doctor flicked a switch and the wall subsided to reveal a window. And beyond that window lay the most impossible sight: Tudor England.
“Time Travel. It’s a time machine…” The Doctor watched in admiration at the sparkle of a Tudor street; copious market stalls selling fruits, vegetables and livestock, noblemen striding with their heads held high – contrasted to peasants, filthy yet content: children, playing on wooden toys and throwing fruit at each other. Their parents watched…
…with video cameras around their necks.
“Or,” suggested Alex, “we’ve only moved a couple of miles. St Fagan’s.” She pointed out of the window. “One of the most realistic historical recreation and re-enactment sites in the world. More precisely… St Fagan’s museum.”
“That sounds right,” observed the Doctor. “He may have generated enough energy to move this thing across space – even if just a few miles. And that means he’s going to be a lot easier to find than I’d anticipated. He’s old, delicate: he can’t move fast.”
“Well then,” said Olivia. “We ought to get a move on.”
The Doctor darted along the corridor, leading them outside. They passed UNIT officers on the way; all obviously assembled ready to catch the crook.
The historical village suddenly lost its realism. Whilst the team were presented with the sight they’d seen out of the window, when they turned around to get a full panoramic view, they were confronted with parked cars and cafes and tourists bathing themselves in Factor 40.
“Look – over there!”
The team followed the direction of Luke’s finger and headed northwards. They met at an intersection, where there were three different directions forward: one left into a maze, one right into a historical house, and the other straight on into the field.
“I’ll go into the maze,” said Luke, “Olivia, you go into the field, Alex you into the house.” He looked over the other officers. “Go everywhere,” he said. “Scatter. Be prepared for him to make a quick getaway.” And so they parted in their different directions. The Doctor was left to guard the intersection.
***
The house was empty; abandoned. Alex thought this strange: houses in St Fagan’s museum were usually occupied by tens of visitors at a time; all marvelling at the various apparatus. Some would enter and leave in moments, whilst others – those who appreciated history – would stay and examine every tiny detail.
Moving upstairs soundlessly, a gun in her pocket, she entered the bedroom. The bed was a four-poster; the cover itself veiled by velvety red curtains. Cautiously, her gun aimed forward, she pulled back the curtains.
Nothing.
She heard a creak and turned around. A candelabrum swung uneasily above her and she stepped away worriedly. Suddenly, the ground gave way underneath her, and she fell below as floorboards, furniture and piles of dust collapsed on top of her. She lay there for a few moments, spluttering and trying to wipe the soot from her eyes with the one hand she had. She stared down at the gash on her leg as blood gushed out of it fiercely. In an attempt to pull herself out of the wreckage, she was thrown back down again, and this time indefinitely.
***
Olivia ploughed the fields in hope of finding anything. She dragged herself over flowers, beautifully arranged to look like Roman plots. She suspected she was devastating everything – although she had to. And it wasn’t the first time she’d felt that way today.
She reached a point and stopped running, exhausted. The long grass now stretched up to her waist and everything beyond her was field and forest. She wondered how far she’d strayed away from the normal path. She tried to look ahead of her, but sunlight blinded her eyes. Squinting, she could make out a figure, and she pointed her gun shakily.
“Don’t be scared…” came a familiar voice. “It’s only me.” She lowered her gun gradually, and her father – as she calculated, deceased around twelve years ago – looked down lovingly at her.
***
Luke rushed through the maze, trying every direction he could. Sometimes he’d throw himself through a hedge, just to take a shortcut – just to do something Zau may have done. The wind whistled through the foliage, occasionally throwing a leaf in his face to surprise him. Nature had always been Luke’s greatest enemy.
He heard footsteps just ahead and tiptoed forward. He looked for his gun, but it was missing. Zau must have taken it – it was very probably the one left on the table – the one which had been left behind. But it was too late to turn back now. He turned a corner and saw the back of Doctor Zau. The scientist turned around and the two confronted each other in bitterness. Zau raised his gun and Luke backed up slightly – but he didn’t turn right around.
“I can’t let you go,” said Luke.
“Then I can’t let you take me.”
“That’s a risk I’ve got to take.”
“I’m armed,” warned Zau, totally bemused. “You have nothing. I will shoot you. You’re human filth. I won’t even hesitate.”
“You shoot me and you face getting shot, ‘mate’” teased Luke. “That lot – UNIT – they’ve changed. Oh, I don’t know if you’ve ever had an experience with them, but you haven’t seen their darker side. Would you risk it?”
“Yes.”
Zau pulled the trigger mercilessly and Luke was left to drown in a pool of his own blood. His vision blurred, and he tried to call for help, to cough, to make a noise, to do anything. But he couldn’t. He was frozen to the spot. He trembled in agony and wished for a miracle.