The Seventh Doctor: The Stone Crow Part 2

PART TWO

Pete was the first to speak up, and he practically cheered in excitement upon seeing Trevor once more! So there was a logical explanation; this could mean all of the other miners might not be lost after all. “Trevor! You’re alive!” Pete bellowed, but to the Doctor, the noise was all a blur. His entire attention was focused on the pod, and what the contents contained. He made his way into the structure as the miners were talking to Trevor.

He entered the pod, and it was almost like stepping into another time. Another world. This machine was far beyond human technology, and the control panel was littered with buttons and levers and markings not even the Doctor could understand. Inside of the pod, was a series of ten chambers, and contained within each was a body! Nine bodies in total! The tenth chamber was empty; this must’ve been Trevor’s before he escaped.

The corpses were all wearing similar mining equipment to the workers just in the tunnel behind him. These must be the other missing miners! There was no easy way of breaking this to them, but they didn’t have to know just yet. As he continued to explore, the Doctor noticed that the spherical structure resembled a 78th century scientific research pod - one man shuttles sent out to investigate small areas of interest. What kind of experiments were being run though; that’s what the Doctor had to find out, and quick! If what Ace had told him was true, they didn’t have long to rectify the problem!

*

Ace banged on an old wooden door to a nearby house, hoping that somebody would answer. She needed to find out more about this place, and her patience was thinning. She’d already knocked on at least seven houses, and not one answered. However, just as she was about to walk away, the door opened, slowly and with hesitation. When Mrs. Cooper had told her that people don’t like strangers in this town, she was definitely telling the truth.

“Hello?” the voice of a man asked. He was an elderly man, who looked to be in his 70’s, and unfit for working down in the mines. A voice called from the distance: “Edgar, who is that?” This voice was of a woman. “I’m just finding out!” he replied, and then turned to Ace, lowering his voice: “Who are you and what do you want?”

“I’m Ace, and I want to find out what’s going on here…..” there was an awkward silence, and then Ace finished the sentence, to show the man that she knew the truth: “...I want to know why miners are going missing!”

*

“It was like I wasn't alive! I don't remember a thing!” The Doctor heard Trevor say, as he exited the pod, back into the tunnels. He looked concerned, and luckily it appeared as though none of the Miners wanted answers on the other missing workers… Yet. The Doctor had no doubt that sooner rather than later, Pete would start to get curious about the whereabouts of the others. He made his way over to the crowd of miners and then pushed his way passed, leading the way back to the surface. “Doctor!” Pete called out, stopping the time lord in his tracks. “What did you find in there? “ he asked, speaking for all of the other workers. The Doctor avoided the truth, and lied, “Nothing. Just a load of complicated alien buttons. You wouldn't understand!” he walked off, and Pete didn't quite trust him….

*

Ace was sat on a chair in the kitchen, and placed her mug of coffee on the table. It was cold, stone cold. It was as if the cuppa had been made back in the Snowzone base in Antarctica. And she didn't like coffee anyway, so she had that excuse as well. Waiting for Edgar to arrive was a nightmare. She knew that he was old, and naturally it would take a while for him to walk, but it didn't help that the woman she was with was as cold as ice. Starting a conversation with this woman would be as difficult as trying to break diamond with a biro.

Standing in the kitchen with Ace was Edgar's daughter, Valerie. Valerie was in her late twenties, but was as unsociable as an old miser. She wasn't as ‘Welsh’ as the rest of the town, and therefore seen as an Outcast. That's why she didn't like to talk. She was never the social type. Ace could tell just by the way she looked; she had one of those faces where one look says it all. “Valarie, is it?” Ace said, trying to pass the time. Valarie gave a blank stare, unimpressed, and not wanting to talk whatsoever.

“Yeah.” she said, trying to finish the conversation as quickly as possible. Ace acknowledged that this was probably as much as the woman would speak, so gave up, and sipped the coffee, swallowing it, and trying not to spit it back out. She was about to leave, when Edger finally arrived in the kitchen, using his walking stick to guide him, and support his weight. “Vile isn’t it?” he said, speaking to Ace. She was confused, what was vile? He finished the sentence, explaining: “The coffee. It’ll give you hyperthermia. Colder than absolute zero!” he laughed at his own joke, and sat down, opposite Ace. “You do realise, not most people around here would share this information!” he warned, and Ace nodded. “Well,” he began… “It all started thousands of years ago…..”

*

The Doctor had made his way back to the bakery, along with Pete, and Trevor while the other workers were working away in the harsh conditions of the mines. Mrs. Cooper was cleaning the counter when they walked in and she screamed in joy at the sight of seeing her husband alive and well. “Oh my God Trevor!” she exclaimed, and ran up to him, giving him a hug; “I thought you were dead, idiot!” she slapped him across the face, and wanted answers immediately. “It wasn’t a bloody prank was it?” she asked, and sat down at one of the tables.

While the two Coopers were chatting away, The Doctor was left with Pete, who wanted answers of his own. “So, Doctor!” he said, announcing that he was now about to interrogate the strange traveller. “You have a lot of answering to do yourself!” he added. The Doctor gave a deep sigh, and then spoke: “Do I now? I’ve just found one of your missing workers, and I’m here to find out what causes the upcoming events!” He said, and then realised that he’d revealed too much.

“What upcoming events?” Pete wanted to know! He demanded to know. It was his right.

“Nothing, it doesn’t concern you!” The Doctor said, dismissing it, as if he hadn’t said a thing.

“Yes it does!” Pete said, on the verge of raising his voice. “No, it’s none of your business!”

“WELL IT IS NOW, DOCTOR!” The old man finally snapped, and showed his authority. However, his shouting didn’t disrupt the Coopers, and they continued chatting as if nothing had occurred. The Doctor started to feel annoyed, but knew that he had to tell Pete the truth.

“You really want to know?” The Doctor asked.

“Yes,” Pete replied.

“It could ruin your life forever.”

“I don’t see why it should!” “Well, you should start to, before you’re no longer alive!”

“Is that a threat?” Pete said, misunderstanding the Doctor’s tone.

“No…..I did warn you!” The Doctor said, and he made his way outside, so that the Coopers had no way of overhearing their deathly conversation.

*

Ace had been told the full story. The myth of the cursed town. She now knew why her teacher in Perivale had been so vague about the details. If all of this was true, then she needed to find the Doctor and tell him as soon as possible. She was about to leave her seat, when Edger stopped her. “No, don’t go!” he replied. “You can’t go into the mines, it’s not safe!” he said.

“I have to! The Doctor’s down there, and if this is true, he could be dead right now!” Ace stormed out of the door, and Edgar instructed Valarie to follow her to make sure the stranger was safe. Valarie reluctantly followed after the traveller.

Ace was practically running, and she only stopped after hearing the voice of Valarie. “STOP!” She shouted, struggling to keep up with Ace. After a few minutes, she’d caught up, and Ace had grown bored of standing around, waiting! “What do you want? You’ve just wasted two minutes of valuable time!” she sighed, annoyed at the woman she’d only just met. “My father told me to follow you!” she replied: “It’s not like I want to be here!” she sneered. Ace took offence to this.

“Then why don’t you just go to the bakery or go on a walk, leave me alone and in about ten minutes, go back and tell him that I’m fine!?” Ace suggested. Valarie shook her head: “Bad liar!” she replied. This was going to be a long trip, and neither of them particularly wanted the other to be there.

*

“This village is about to face an unknown evil!” The Doctor explained: “I don’t know when it’ll be, or what it will be, but all I know is that it’s not good, hence my use of the word - EVIL!” he stressed the final word, so that it lingered in the sinister air. Pete looked more confused than ever before, and composed himself. “What are you talking about? Unknown evil?” Pete questioned the Doctor. Of course it would be hard to believe, but the Doctor had to find some way of making Pete believe him, before it really was too late. “Look, Pete, I know you’re going to find this hard to believe, but I’m from the future, and it’s come to my attention that this place, in this exact time is about to experience an event that will wipe out everyone in this village.” The Doctor gave the best answer he could, and Pete was lost for words. Could this man be telling the truth? “How do I know you’re not lying?” Pete said, half believing the time lord anyway.

“Do I look like I’m lying?” The Doctor said, and his face was deadly serious. He was genuinely concerned for the safety of the people of this small village. Pete nodded, and realised the Doctor was telling no word of a lie. “What do we do next?” he asked, and the Doctor didn’t respond; he just stared into the distance, thinking of a plan, without knowing what they were up against.

*

Ace and Valarie were at the entrance of the mine, and just peering into the cave, it looked as though it went on for eternity. It was impossible to see when the tunnel ended, as everything was dark, and pitch black. Ace entered first, and noticed that the system of caves were lit faintly, but this wouldn’t last long, and she doubted that the whole place was lit like this. Valarie was very cautious, and was worried about tripping over, or getting lost in the dark, so she had to make sure she followed Ace at all times. There was no turning back. She’d almost grown to trust this stranger, even if it was only due to entering the dangerous terrain of the mines. Ace seemed to be unafraid, like she did this everyday. Walking into danger seemed like nothing.

“Where is everybody?” Ace asked, confused; surely all of the miners should still be on their shift. Valarie shrugged, “As if I know. I don’t really care either!” Ace laughed, but then changed tone almost instantly: “Yeah, but it’s weird. It’s quiet. Too quiet!” She continued down the tunnels, and it slowly got darker. Soon the only way to navigate the complex would be to stick to the edges. “DOCTOR!” Ace called out into the darkness. Her voice echoed numerous times before fading away. She waited a few seconds for an answer, but there was no response. Maybe he was preoccupied, or maybe the Doctor was no longer in the mines. And where were the other miners? Ace, and Valarie felt uneasy about continuing, but they were curious, so they ventured deeper into the unknown.

“Are your sure this is wise?” Valarie questioned. “Can’t we just go back now, your friend’s clearly not here anymore!” Ace almost ignored this statement, and instead of responding properly, she just shrugged. “Come on, yes or no!?” Ace turned around, and faced Valarie.

“No, it’s not wise, but Yes, we’re going to continue!” Ace said.

Valarie decided to accept this for an answer, but continued to annoy Ace. “You’re so weird, you know that! Normal people wouldn’t walk into their own deaths!” She said, and Ace replied, “Well, I’m not normal. Not anymore. Once I’d met the Doctor, my life was never the same. I used to be like you, like everybody else. Well, I say that, but I wasn’t as pathetic as you!” She said, taking a jab at the woman. “Oi!” Valarie said, a bit offended. “I’m not pathetic, I just value my life. That’s all!” Ace sighed at this statement: “Just live a little!”

“Maybe I could, but not in a place like this!” “Why? What makes this place any different?”

“You’ve heard the myth!”

“Yeah, but that’s all it is. A myth!” Ace knew what would occur within a few hours, but didn’t want to let on - however, Valarie was smart enough to see behind Ace’s metaphorical mask.

“No it’s not. And you know that! You know far more than you’re letting on!”

“How so?” Ace replied, and she thought she sounded a bit like the Doctor.

“You and your friend appear out of thin air, in our time of need; and you have this atmosphere that you seem to carry around!” Valarie explained. “I know it sounds stupid -”

“No. You’re right. Actually, I may as well tell you -- Me and the Professor are time travellers, and I know what happens here. I know the future….sort of!”

Valarie was desperate for answers: “What? What’s happened? Why is everyone going missing? If you know the future, you know all of those answers, right?” “Not exactly.” Ace said, “Like I said, I know the future, sort of!”

“Meaning?”

“Something bad is about to happen; an event that’ll wipe out all life in this village, but that’s where my knowledge ends. I don’t know what actually causes it, so I want to find out, and stop it!” Ace said, and knew that she couldn’t actually change the future; it could break apart the fabric of reality as she knew it.

While the two had been talking, they’d been getting deeper into the maze of tunnels. And still no sign of the workers. Maybe they’d all disappeared as well? And where was the Doctor when you needed him? Ace was secretly hoping she’d find the Doctor in a few seconds, but she knew that it was extremely unlikely. However, as if by magic, they’d found a source of light, just round the corner. A blue glowing, heavenly light. “There we go! Maybe he’s down here!” Ace suggested, and wanted to believe it. They picked up their pace, and turned the corner, only to be greeted with a pod. An alien pod within the rock, and from within - the light source. Valarie was confused, and was about to ask ‘what is that’, but as she looked over at Ace, she was holding a bazooka, so the question turned into - “Where did you get that?”

Ace replied: “It was in my backpack!” Then Valarie used Ace as cover, as the stranger instructed her to stay back, after all she did have the weapon. A highly explosive one that could kill both of them! “Should we find out what’s inside?” Ace asked, and waited for Valarie’s reply….

*

The Doctor and Pete were sat down in seats, around a small circular table in the bakery, and had agreed not to speak a word of their conversation to anybody else, especially not Mrs. Cooper. After getting her husband back, the last thing she’d want to hear is that they were soon to be under attack. But the question was, where would the attack come from? And was it even an attack? These were both important questions, and two of many that were crashing through the Doctor’s mind as he tapped away on the table; a rhythm of four beats. Like a drum. Pete wasn’t annoyed by this; the strange traveller could be his only chance of survival, and he didn’t want to interrupt him mid-thought. Or rather, thoughts.

Mrs. Cooper served them, free of charge: a reward for finding and safely returning her husband. “Thank you. Both of you!” She said.

“Really, it’s no problem Janet,” Pete said, accepting the free bread. The Doctor didn’t speak though, and he assumed that the Doctor wasn’t even listening. Suddenly, the Doctor sprung back into reality, and out of the confinements of his mind and by the looks of it; he’d thought of a plan. “Pete, come with me. I may have lied a while ago, but we need to go back into the mines!” The Doctor jumped out of his seat, grabbing a slice of bread on his way out….

*

Ace was nearing closer to the pod with every passing second, ready to fire the trigger. Valarie was still cautious, and despite agreeing to take a look inside of the alien machine, didn’t want to do so at all. She’d much rather exit the mines all together and go back home. “I’m actually all of a sudden, not too sure about this!” Valarie spoke her mind. “There’s no turning back now, Val.” Ace replied, reluctant to turn away in fear; she was going to face the danger head on.

As they were walking towards the entrance of the ship, they noticed stone canaries on the ground. But not just that, but bodies. Bodies of people. They’d only been dead for a couple of minutes, but it was unmistakably the workers. Valarie was about to scream, but frozen in shock, no sound was produced. She couldn’t speak or move, at least for a second or two. Ace too felt horrified, but tried not to let it show, weary that whatever could’ve done this could still be in the caves with them.

Ace was now at the doorway of the ship, and pressed some sort of button shaped like a hand. The door opened with the usual hissing sound of futuristic-ship-doors, and they both entered into a new world; a world of technology and confusion. Valarie didn’t recognise any of the buttons on the control panel, and was in awe of such a machine. How was this possible? What was it? She was about to turn to Ace and asked a load of questions, but the stranger looked angry, as she stared into the pods, upright chambers which held the dead. “Oh my god!” Valarie gasped in shock, and had to look away - those were the dead miners. But there was one pod empty.

“Look, Val-” Ace said, and she wiped off dust on the chamber - revealing strange lettering. An alien code, or language. Both Ace and Valarie could read it perfectly for some reason, and what it said chilled them to the bone: ‘UNRESPONSIVE TO TREATMENT!” Valarie now assumed that whatever had arrived in this ship was a doctor from the stars, and was treating the sick of the village, but Ace had other ideas. More pessimistic ideas.

“What kind of treatment?” Ace was thinking out loud, and as if to answer her question, a distorted voice answered. But it took her awhile to locate the voice; outside of the pod. The dead were rising, and all of them were speaking - but only one voice was produced. An oddly familiar voice. Now Ace was scared, and Valarie was beyond scared! “Simple Really!” The voice projected. The dead were slowly walking towards the two, the heads lifeless and the eyes soulless. “Stay back!” Ace shouted at the dead. “I’m not going to harm you, Ace! I’ll wait for the Doctor before I do anything like that!” The voice carried through the air with authority.

“Who are you anyway?” Valarie asked, not sure what else to say. The dead continued walking, and the voice replied; “Sorry for my lack of manners. Let me introduce myself!”

*

The Doctor was rushing through the maze of tunnels, while apologising to Pete for lying before: “So I lied about what was in the pod!” Pete was confused as to where this was going. The Doctor continued: “I did find the other miners! They’re dead!” he explained, sprinting through the darkness. Pete was shocked to hear this! “But why!” he said, “Why would you lie?!” he asked.

“I couldn’t tell you infront of all them, and especially not in front of Trevor!” The Doctor tried to justify himself, and Pete concluded there was no point in arguing with this man; he could never win anyway. “Okay, but why are we going back down?” Pete asked, still confused as to why they were journeying into death. “You’ll see!”

They’d arrived at a point in which the blue light emitted from the inside of the pod was visible. They were about thirty seconds away from the site of interest and the Doctor wasn’t slowing down. Pete had to stop to catch some breath, so stopped for a bit; he knew the rest of the way. The Doctor however, rushed to the pod, and he could almost sense that something was wrong. When he turned the corner, he was greeted by dead bodies, walking ominously towards Ace, and another woman! “Oi!” The Doctor called out, waving his hands above his head for some reason; it’s not like the dead could see him.

The army of workers stopped in their tracks, and stood still for a moment, like they were frozen in time. Suddenly, all in unison, they pivoted round to face the Doctor, their eyes glowing blue, like the light from the pod. “Doctor!” they all said; one voice projecting. The Doctor recognised the voice. It was his. Something had stolen his voice!

“Professor!” Ace called out, from inside the pod.

“Ah yes, before we continue with our catch up Doctor, I should probably kill Ace!” The voice suggested, and half of the army returned to slowly walking towards Ace and Valarie! “Doctor HELP!” Valarie called out, hoping that this friend of Ace could rescue them from certain death.

“NO! DON’T DO THIS! WHOEVER YOU ARE! STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!” The Doctor was shouting at the top of his voice, with all the authority in the world, yet the siege didn’t hault.

The army commenced, and Ace had no choice; she fired a shot at a panel; the panel that opened and closed the entrance. Sparks flew from the panel, and the door slammed shut, locking her and Valarie inside the safety of the pod.

The Doctor was still outside in the tunnels, and Pete had only just caught up. “What the bloody hell is going on now?” he asked, and turned to the Doctor. “I don’t know, but whatever it is, it knows me somehow!” The Doctor explained, and wanted answers. “What are you, and why have you come here?” The Doctor asked. The voice spoke, but didn’t echo through the tunnels. Almost as if it’s voice didn’t truly exist: “Long time no see Doctor,” The voice said, laughing at the torment the Doctor was going through. It knew that the Doctor would be trying to work out its identity; he couldn’t resist it.

“How do you know the Doctor!” Pete asked.

“Well, I guess you could say we’re old friends!”

“No, not friends, enemies. Old enemies!” The Doctor corrected.

“Oh, well, I thought I meant more to you!”

“You mean nothing to me! Do you hear me? NOTHING!”

“Yes, but who is it Doctor?”

Pete wanted answers now, and he could tell the traveller had worked it out already; “That, Pete. That is The Intelligence!” The time lord shivered as he said the name. It had been years! Hundreds, and maybe even possibly thousands of years since he’d encountered the intelligence!

“The what?” Pete asked, still confused.

“Intelligence!” the voice replied. “The Great Intelligence!” The voice spoke with pride; it was proud of all that it had accomplished, and it was soon to achieve even more, larger scale plans!

Pacing left and right, the Doctor still wanted to know more: “Why this place? Why the small village of Miner's Curse?” he asked. “Well, I kind of just landed here, in this lovely village.”

“No, you didn’t. Everything you do is carefully calculated. You’ve planned this!” “Oh ok. You always spoil the fun! Yes, I picked this location! Why, you ask! Well, because nobody knows it. A small population, and if anyone tried calling for help, d’you really think anybody would arrive?” The Intelligence explained. “An invasion!”

*

Ace and Valarie were composing themselves; Valarie was still in shock, and Ace was reloading. Hopefully nothing could break through that door; well, unless it was help. “We’re trapped! Great! Well done Ace!” Valarie said. It wasn’t usually like her to snap like this but she was worried for her life. “Shut up, I know what I’m doing!” Ace said, trying to sound like she was in control; really, she had no idea what she was doing.

Valarie was pacing around the claustrophobic room, and a hissing sound made her jump in fear. It was the pods. All nine were slowly opening, and the dead sprung to life. Firstly their eyes lit up, a bright blue. “Ace!” Valarie said, scared. “What now?” Ace asked, turning around, not believing it to be important. “Oh my-” Ace told Valarie to stay back, and she aimed the weapon in the direction of the walking corpses.

Ace couldn’t fire the explosive, because it would kill her and Valarie as well. They were trapped in a pod. No way out. No hope of survival. The army of nine continued to advance, arms outstretched. Ace’s life would soon be over….

TO BE CONTINUED…