The Seventh Doctor Volume 3: The Stone Crow

The mines were dark and creepy at night; it felt like something was down there with you, watching your every move. Of course, Trevor didn’t believe the stupid stories; the tales of the Stone Crow and the Miners Curse, they were all fake! Just old wives tales that had spread around the town. Or at least that’s what he thought.

He walked carefully and with caution, not even the flickering light from his Davy lamp could light the way, and he certainly didn't want to risk death; he was too young to die. He kept to the sides, using the rocks to guide him. 

As he ventured deeper into darkness, he took slow steps and he could hear everything beneath his feet. It started off as just the usual dirt and grit, and then as he stepped, he heard a crunch. He stopped abruptly and looked down, obviously in shock! A look of horror crossed his face as he noticed a canary, lifeless on the ground. It looked like it had been dead for years, and it's body was entirely encased in stone. It was like it had looked into the eyes of a gorgon.

Clearly things were wrong here, but Trevor had made the discovery of a lifetime, he'd found a new mineral. He'd dug deep enough to find a new, beautiful mineral with a surface of a diamond. It looked expensive, and expensive things would sell for more, and Trevor really needed all the extra payment he could get. 

His family were getting poorer and poorer by the day and these extremely low miners wages weren't going to cover them for much longer. It was a good job he'd found this new crystalline substance when he had, because soon he'd be living like a vagabond. 

The canary, frozen in stone, only halted him for a second but soon he got back on track. His candle light from the lamp illuminated the ground, and revealed a trail of dead stone canaries leading all the way to where he'd found the new material. He had to admit it was ominous, but he thought nothing of it, canaries died all the time down in the mines. The fact that they were stone didn't even worry or intrigue him; he was too focused on the task at hand. 

He’d finally arrived at the location; a deep part of the mines that only he knew about. While the others were working he'd slip away unnoticed and trail off down here, trying to mine all the materials he could get. He didn't want to tell the others, because most, if not all of them were in the same position as him: poor. If he could find a way to mine everything he needed and then sell it off independently, he could be rich. This was a new resource after all, and who knew what it could do? He could be famous; Trevor Cooper, the first man to discover….. He hadn't thought of a name yet. 

He took out his gear and began mining away, hoping that this would be the last night he'd sneak down into the mines to gather extra. He couldn't do this for much longer though anyway; he was beginning to lose his strength from constantly mining away with a pickaxe during the day and night, and he was having trouble sleeping. It was like ever since he'd discovered this material, he couldn't stop thinking about it. 

Suddenly, he hit what sounded like solid metal. He must have lost track of time and been mining for hours, as his light was almost out. He hit the metallic object a few times, just to double check he was hearing this properly. Once he was sure, and he could see silver polished metal on the other side of the rock, he dropped his pickaxe on the ground and it landed with a thud; hitting dust and dirt from the ground up into the air. “What in the world is that?” he asked himself, picking up the lamp, and holding it up to the metal. He'd dug a sort of square shaped window, very small though, and he could only fit his hand through, but weirdly enough, when he shone his light against the metal, he saw it was in the shape of a hand. 

Curious to find out more, and making a stupid desicion due to lack of sleep, Trevor placed his hand into the slot and it activated. The rock around him started to break away, crumbling into nothing but dust and ashes, forming a perfect doorway for him to walk through. He observed the shape of the metal structure that he'd hit, and discovered that it was spherical. He peered through the new doorway, and into a strange room. A blue light shone from the room, and encased him. He had to cover his eyes; it was blinding. From the light, came a figure. A black shadow, resembling a person. He fell back, in fear, and his lamp smashed to the ground.

The shape began to edge closer to him; walking with sinister intent. It reached out its arm and continued its journey towards the frightened miner. He backed up against the rocks, and tried to get back to his feet. It was pointless and he just froze in fear; screaming and crying for help. But it was too late. Trevor had been dead for ages. And he hadn't even noticed….

*The fields stretched out for miles, and in the distance, houses. Houses that were accommodating the miners of the village. Who knew how many families they were storing! When Ace stepped out of the TARDIS, the first thing she noticed was the greenery. She lingered in the doorway, and observed that it was lush with life, the trees and grass were the green-est green and everything looked perfect! “Finally a nice destination then Professor?” Ace called, taking a few steps forward, and breathing in the fresh air. “Doctor!” The Doctor corrected, as he too stepped out of the time machine, closing the door behind him. As usual he sported his iconic attire - the question mark jumper and burgundy jacket standing out the most. He used his umbrella to assist with walking, despite not needing it, and looked into the sky: “And no, I don’t think we are in a nice place.” he replied. He walked further, and Ace followed, and beyond them was a set of houses, that reminded Ace of a military base! She sighed, and remembered the last time they’d been at a place like this; she’d created her own future, and encountered vampire-creatures that could weld metal under the sea. What a day that was.

“So, we’re at another military complex then?” Ace suggested, and looked over to the Doctor, who was walking next to her, at the same pace. “No, no! This isn’t anything of the type. No. We’re in a miners village.” He replied. Ace asked: “How can you tell?”, and then looked further still into the distance, noticing that beyond the collection of houses, were the mines.“The air.” the Doctor simply replied. Ace looked at him, confused. How could he conclude where they were based on the air? Or maybe he was just saying that to impress. Anyway, they continued their journey towards the isolated village, and admired the scenery while they could; the life of the trees, grass and plants hid the dark truth. The truth of this old village - Melltith Glowyr…

*Standing outside of the mine, was a worker, Pete. It was the early hours of the morning, and the sun was just rising, but there was enough light to see perfectly fine. He’d just sent four workers down into the mines to try and find Trevor, who’d recently gone missing. His wife had reported it directly to Pete, who she trusted the most, and he’d immediately got on the case.

A few seconds later, all four miners slowly emerged from the darkness of the cave-like tunnels of the coal mine. “Are you sure he’s not down there?” Pete said, taking the role of leader.  Pete had a thick mustache and was in his 50’s. He’d been in the trade for years, and when he’d been at other mines, nothing like this ever happened. The supernatural wasn’t real, and miners didn’t just vanish into thin air. He was sure there would be a logical explanation, and as he told the other five miners in front of him, he spoke with confidence. By no means was he in charge; nobody was. But he’d sort of adopted the leader role; since he was the oldest miner in the village, and therefore had the most experience. It was a flat team structure anyway, and as long as you got your head down and the work was done, it didn’t bother anyone.

“No sir, he’s not down there.” one said.“Not a single trace, boss!” a second added.The other two miners agreed with what had already been said, and Pete came to a conclusion:“Word about this doesn’t get out, you understand? We tell his family to leave this town; maybe he found a better job, nobody knows. And we keep it that way.

“But, Pete-” one of the miners said, desperate to tell the town.“No! If word gets out, we might all die!” Pete said, angrily.“They deserve to know! The town deserves to hear about this!” he stated.

The other miners did agree, but they were smart enough not to speak up to Pete. They all respected him, and thought that because he was the most experienced; he knew what was the best action to take. Pete took calculated, slow steps towards the slim miner; who looked extremely malnourished and pale. His footsteps were menacing, and it made the other miners scared; despite knowing that he wasn’t going to do anything too harsh. Pete was now face to face with the worker and said, in an authoritative tone:

“NOBODY. ELSE.  CAN. KNOW. ABOUT. THIS!” he said, stressing every single word. He may as well have been shouting, but his voice didn’t raise. It was just gravelly and he sounded like he had all the power in the world.

Pete didn’t want other miners knowing about Trevor’s disappearance, otherwise most of them would threaten to leave, and most of them would carry through with the threat. Pete couldn’t have any workers leaving. They couldn’t afford to lose anymore miners; and if the others heard about this, ANOTHER missing miner - panic would begin to consume the town. “Understood?” he finally said, and the other four nodded. 

“Good.”

*The Doctor and Ace had been walking for a few minutes, and hadn’t talked much. The Doctor was still down about the recent ordeal; him forgetting Ace. She wasn’t too bothered, because at the end of the day, he remembered now, and that’s all that counted. However, he didn’t feel the same way, and would keep any questions directed his way brief, showing clearly his mood.

“Professor-”“Doctor!”“Sorry. Always forget that--you need to forgive yourself. It’s not a big deal, really!” she explained, and although this was a brutal thing to say to him, since he was taking it to his hearts, she had to say it. 

He looked over at her as they walked: “I forgot you, Ace!” he emphasised the importance of the statement! “How is that not a big deal? How could I allow my mind to be so weak, to erase someone so important to me?” he questioned his strength and whether he was a good person. Ace thought he was. He was the Doctor. The man that, despite not being able to save everyone all the time, tried his best. “It’s not your fault! Whatever happened, it must’ve had a lot of power to erase me from your memory! How were you to know?” she said, trying to make him feel better - however, this began a tangent: “Yes. How was I to know, indeed? How was I to know that I’d forgotten you?”he said, with a slight hint of sarcasm. He wasn’t getting over this soon, so Ace left it for now, and waited until they’d entered the town.

They crossed an empty road, and took in their surroundings. Most of the buildings were two-storey brick buildings, only a couple had the luxury of being painted. It was a moderately sized village, considering it was to house a few hundred miners. However, doubt crossed Ace’s mind that all of the houses were inhabited. It was more than likely that too many houses were built, and they were built as a precaution, incase new miners came in from new areas; perhaps if there was a catastrophe at another site.

“Doctor, what does that say?” Ace pointed to a sign. A white chalk message on a black chalkboard, outside of a bakery. This was one of the very few shops in the village, and it was only run because one of the miner’s wifes was a baker. “Melltith Glowyr…Miner’s Curse!” he translated, before adding: “TARDIS translation circuits must be faulty. Well, looks like that’s on the to-do list!” he said, entering the bakery. Ace followed, confused: “You have a to-do list?” she asked. “Who doesn’t?” he replied, walking to the counter. He sniffed the air, and smelt freshly baked bread. “Still in business, so it’s not an abandoned village.”

Ace realised something; an important detail. And it was all because of that comment: It wasn’t abandoned. Not yet! But it would be soon. Ace had remembered the stories she used to hear; stories that had been passed on for years. “What’s the date, professor?” Ace asked, desperately. The Doctor turned around, calling for service, and looked at Ace; he couldn’t be bothered to correct her. “Don’t know...yet! Let’s ask, shall we?” he said, as a woman appeared at the counter. Ace was shocked: “Where did you?” She asked, startled. The woman replied with no delay - “Back door! So, who are you and what do you want?” she asked. 

The Doctor replied, tipping his hat. “I’m the Doctor and this is Ace. We’re travellers, and we’re rrrrravenous for information.” he said, rolling the R in ravenous. “Could you perhaps help us?” he added. The woman nodded. “Sure. What do you want to know!” “This town. It’s called Miners Curse, why?” the Doctor asked.“Old tale. Dates back a hundred or so years, when the mines first opened.” she replied. “That it?”“No, actually. I was wondering if you could tell us the exact year.”“1916.” she replied.

“Month?!”

“September.”

“Date?”

“Have you been living under a rock?”

“Well, no. More like a box.” he replied.

“The 27th!” she replied, and was hoping this would be his final question. 

Ace had heard enough and decided to call over the Doctor. “Could I just borrow you for a minute, Professor?” Ace asked, and the Doctor excused himself from the conversation with the baker. “Yes, what is it?” he said, whispering, assuming it was something important and dangerous. Ace replied, recalling information: “Tomorrow, the whole population of the town goes missing! Doctor, I know it! I’ve heard the stories! Me and my mates back in Perivale used to joke about it, thinking it to be nothing. But if this town is called Miners Curse, and it is the twenty-seventh ...” 

“...Then this little village in the middle of Wales is about to be in for one big surprise. And things are going to get deadly very quickly!” The Doctor interrupted and Ace nodded. “Did you ever hear theories - any reason why they might’ve disappeared?” The Doctor asked, wanting all the information he could get. Ace tried to recall every last detail she could think of, and when she finally told the Doctor, she realised that their stay would be longer than just a trip into the bakery.

“Well my mates used to say that everyone went mad and...you know-” Ace gestured death and the Doctor nodded, with discomfort. “... Then others said there was a curse on the town. Like an old tale that scared the locals!” Ace said, and the Doctor agreed, as if that seemed the most logical thing, then he changed the subject. “You seem to know an awful lot about this don’t you Ace!?” he said, almost questioning her. Ace then replied: “Well one of the teachers at school was a relative of one of the miners that was here at the time, and once he told the class about it, everyone became interested, so started going to the libraries and stuff like that!” The Doctor was satisfied with her answer, and was almost ashamed of himself for questioning her; like he was testing her to make sure she wasn’t another parasite of the mind. 

The Doctor turned back to the counter, and rested his umbrella against it. He then proceeded to press down both hands on the surface. “Miss?” he asked, and the woman replied: “Mrs..Mrs Cooper.” Ace looked horrified only for a second, and tried to hide it before Mrs Cooper had seen; but it was too late. “Would I be able to perhaps go down to observe these mines of yours?” he asked; the Doctor would go down to the mines and explore no matter the answer, but wanted to be polite. The woman nodded, and the Doctor set off, but stopped at the door. He turned around and said to Ace. “Don’t wander off!”With that, he exited the bakery and was on his way. Ace tried to follow him, also running out of the shop: “Professor!”“Doctor-” he corrected.“It’s not fair!”“It is fair! The mines are not a place for you! I’m hundreds of years old, you’re only young - you’ve got a whole life ahead of you!” he said, making up an excuse - that was actually valid.“Well, what can I do? I don’t just want to sit here like a lump and do nothing !” Ace protested.“I never said you couldn't do anything . I just said don’t wander off.” The Doctor explained, wandering off. 

Ace stopped and watched him walk off into the distance, and thought about what her next move would be. She decided it was best to go back to the bakery and do some research of her own. 

*The mines were illuminated and as bright as ever, all of the miners in the village were down there, mining all the coal they could. Some of them had wondered where Trevor had gone, but they trusted Pete and wanted to believe that his family had moved on to a better village. Pete was secretly searching for Trevor, once again, as he didn’t really believe that the four miners he’d tasked with finding him had searched properly.

His search was interrupted when he heard a racket of noise from behind him. He rushed up to see what the commotion was about, and saw a mass of miners crowded around a strange man, in a burgundy jacket, a question-mark-filled jumper, hat, and weilding an umbrella. “Back to work everyone!” he stated, but nobody listened. “BACK TO WORK I SAID!” he shouted, and all of the workers returned to their positions. “Damn coal isn’t going to mine itself,” he said, mostly under his breath, as he walked towards the man, who was clearly not from around here. 

“Who are you? And why are you in my mines?”“That’s quite the authority you have!”“Answer the question!” Pete demanded.“Oh - and when you say your mines? You’re not the boss!” “Yes I am. At least they see me that way - so that makes them my mines.” Pete returned, calmly. “Now ... answer my question. Who are you? Why are you here?” The strange man reached out his hand: “The Doctor, nice to meet you!” they shook hands and then the Doctor took a stroll around the rocky cave-like terrain of the coal mines. He was admiring it. “I'm surprised they don't send more workers down to this place; you've barely mined a scrap of coal!” The Doctor said. Pete didn't want to reply to this ; he didn't want to remind anyone that ten Miners had gone missing over the past two months. But he had to: “We keep losing Miners!” Pete said, trying to be vague. But the Doctor wanted answers. 

“Losing? In what sense? “ he asked. “None of your business!” Pete retorted.“Well it is now!” the Doctor said with authority. He delivered his reply in such a manner that it made all of Miners feel uneasy. Like their lives were at risk. “Fine.” Pete replied and gestured for the Doctor to follow him outside. “BACK TO WORK!” he demanded as he walked out of the mines, unknowing what events were about to unfold.

*Ace entered the bakery once again, and as she opened the door it triggered a bell sound: ‘ding ding’. This alerted Mrs. Copper, who came to the counter, hoping for a customer, or maybe even news on her lost husband. However when she saw the young Londoner just stood there, looking bored out of her mind, she sighed. 

“Everything alright?” Ace asked, worried. She knew that this was one of the women affected by the alleged ‘Miners curse’. If Ace remembered correctly, this woman's husband had disappeared in the dead of night - only a few hours ago. Mrs. Copper nodded, but Ace could see behind the mask. She knew that really, deep down, this woman wasn't fine. How could she be after what had just happened; the events would still be fresh in her mind, and she'd probably still be praying for a miracle.

“No you're not! What's happened? “ Ace asked, knowing full well what was wrong, but trying to appear normal. Mrs. Cooper took a seat near Ace, so that they were sitting opposite each other. “Trevor - my husband..” That was all she could manage to say for the time being and took a long pause before the next sentence. Ace really wanted to end this conversation and stop this woman from going through anymore pain, but she had to gain her trust and she had to find out about the village. It wasn't her intention to ask about her husband, but she'd seen that Mrs. Cooper looked in a bad way, so changed the ‘plan of action’, and asked what was wrong. 

Who knew? Maybe talking about what had happened could help her recover and maybe Ace could persuade her that everything was fine; at least she wanted to believe it was fine, although she'd heard the stories of this place from one of the old professors at her school and if what was said was fact and not fiction, this town was in big trouble! 

Mrs. Cooper finally built up the strength to talk once again: “My husband, Trevor. I found out this morning that he'd gone missing. Well, actually I noticed at night, he didn't come home. Not even for dinner, and even when his shift finished, he didn't come home. So I asked Pete to go and look for him but they haven't yet found him!” She looked extremely distressed.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Really! But...I bet he isn’t gone.” Ace said.“Do you think?” the woman asked, with a flicker of hope.“Yes. I mean, he’s just got lost or something, or maybe it’s a prank!”“A Prank!?” she raised her voice a little.

“Yeah, you know. Maybe he was trying to scare his mates!” Ace said, trying to calm her down, but Mrs. Cooper wasn’t having any of it: “You don’t have ‘mates’ in this town. You get your head down and do the work. Since this is the only work they can find!” she stood up out of the chair, a bit angry: “Anyway, who are you? And what are you doing here? Why am I even telling you all this? And why would I even trust you? I don’t know anything about you or that weird man!” She walked away, and Ace tried to cool the situation down, before it reached melting point. “No, please…. I didn’t mean to -” Ace started, but she was cut off. 

“Get out of here while you still can! People around here don’t like strangers!” Mrs. Cooper disappeared round the back, and Ace sighed to herself. Where was she going to look for information? A complete history of the town? Great! She decided the only thing to do was ask door to door. Surely somebody knew a thing or two about the village they were living in. With that in mind, Ace set off, and wondered what progress the Doctor was making. Surely it couldn’t be any worse…

*

The fresh air! The Doctor and Pete were now outside of the mine, and the noise of pickaxes and tools chipping away at coal and other ores and minerals was very faint. The Doctor was leaning on his umbrella. “So, what’s this about disappearing men?” 

Pete didn’t want to answer the man’s question, but something about his presence suggested that he dealt with this sort of thing on a regular basis, and that he was the only person that could resolve the problem, and hopefully find Trevor; if he wasn’t already dead. “Over the past few weeks, miners have just been going missing, left right and centre. It always happens at night as well!” Pete explained, and the Doctor interrupted: “Maybe these, Miners, of yours - perhaps they’re looking for something they shouldn’t.” The Doctor suggested, and Pete was confused. 

“How so?” Pete asked, and the Doctor explained.

“Well, my friend, Ace - who’s currently in the bakery, she told me about this -- Well, she told me about it, but even she didn’t know exactly why this place is called ‘Miners Curse’.

“How can she hear about it and not know the truth?” Pete asked.

“We travel a lot -” he said quickly, trying to avoid answering any more questions. He changed the subject -“And what do you mean: The Truth?”

“It’s not a myth. Only fools would believe it to be false.”

“So what is it?” The Doctor asked, slightly impatiently. “ Come on, man! Miners are missing and the number could rise if you don't tell me right this instant?”

Pete started telling the tale. The tale of the stone crow. It was the tale that all sane Miners of this village believed in. This wasn't just a wives tale! This was a reality! “Legend has it that thousands of years ago, long before any buildings were constructed here, a group of explorers or something like that - they came across these mines. The story says that they became lost in the dark while exploring, and that they encountered a creature….” he trailed off.

“What kind of creature?” The Doctor asked, concerned.

“Well, apparently they were turned to stone! But I don’t know what kind of creature would turn people to stone!” Pete replied. 

The Doctor took a moment to consider, and reflected on what he’d just heard: “What does this have to do with a Stone Crow?” he asked, mildly confused, however he was sure the pieces of the puzzle would soon join together and everything would make sense. “Well, you know like we use canaries?” The Doctor nodded at Pete’s statement, “Apparently one of these men had a crow, you know like to deliver a message. Although, it is a bit strange to use a crow instead of a hawk,” Pete said, and the Doctor was waiting for the last line of the explanation: “Anyway, this crow got frozen in stone. People have heard noises down in the mines, hundreds of years before I was born. They heard sounds of a crow, went to explore and there it was, a STONE CROW!” Pete said, finishing the explanation.

“How did this legend come about? How did it come to be?” He asked, confused. Pete replied: “One of them survived. Told the story. And apparently the other two are frozen in stone, deep within the mines.”

The Doctor was thinking. He then came to his conclusion and turned to Pete, saying: “I think we should go on a little expedition!”

“What do you mean?” Pete asked.

“Firstly, I want to take a look down the mines!”

*

He didn’t know how he’d ended up this far down into darkness. He couldn’t hear any mining and no matter how loud he called out for someone to help, nobody came. It was like he’d discovered a whole other universe, locked away in the mine. His Davy lamp couldn’t light the way, and as if blown out by an ancient ghost, the light flickered and then cut out. It was now pitch black ,and the only thing he could use to guide him was the jagged rocks. He stuck to the edges and as he ventured deeper into darkness, he slowed down. All he could hear was  just the usual dirt and grit, and then as he stepped, he heard stone. Something stone was beneath his feet.. He stopped abruptly and looked down, obviously in shock! A look of horror crossed his face as he noticed a canary, lifeless on the ground. It’s body was entirely encased in stone. 

Suddenly, a blue light encased him, lighting up a path ahead. Now, on the ground, he could see that there was a trail of stone canaries, each one closer and closer to the heavenly blue light. It was almost like it was leading him into it. He couldn’t resist the temptation, and journeyed into the light….

*

Pete and The Doctor entered the mines, only to inform the other miners of where they were going. Well, it was only really Pete that needed to go, but the Doctor didn’t like isolation, and was trying to keep his mind focused on the tale of the mines. If he was stood outdoors and left alone, his mind would drift to other things; he’d maybe even start feeling angry that he’d forgotten Ace. How could he let himself forget Ace? He could he be tricked so easily?

“Right, lads! Me and the Doctor are off to explore the depths of the mines…” some of the miners shuddered at the thought, and the atmosphere changed. It suddenly felt extremely cold, and set the scene for what was about to happen. “Just, get back to work, and don’t wait for me.” Pete said, and just as he and the Doctor were setting off, out of the ‘main’ mine, they heard an ear piercing,  screech! It was a blood curdling scream of death and it was coming from deep within the mines. It echoed through the place like crazy, and it sent the miners into panic.“Doctor, with me!” Pete said. “COME ON. COME ON!” Pete shouted, getting the attention of every worker, and they all followed the Doctor as he navigated the tunnels…

It got darker and darker the further they got down and they all had to stick to the edges and use the rocks as a guide of where to go. They all lost sight of the Doctor, but they could hear the sound of his umbrella hitting the ground. Until they couldn’t.

The Doctor had stopped, and Pete pushed his way to the front. There was a blinding blue light ahead of them, so this lit up the way. The Doctor was knelt beside the corpse of a miner; he’d only been dead for a few seconds.  The others were crowded around, waiting for an answer, and the time lord looked up, nodding; confirming the man's death. 

The Doctor then turned his attention to the blue light, and could see that whatever it was, the source originated from within a spherical metal object, hidden in the rocks. The miners stared in confusion, stood behind the Doctor, and as they saw a silhouette step out of the pod, panic began to rise. As the figure took more steps forward, it was clear that this thing….this man.….it was Trevor! Trevor was alive! 

But at what cost?

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….

The corpses reanimated, and started walking towards the Doctor and Pete. “We have to go!” Pete said, and started running. The Doctor really didn’t want to leave Ace behind, but there was no choice. He had to hope she was safe and started running. Clearly they had the advantage, since he and Pete weren’t dead, and the corpses were only able to walk, but they weren’t far behind.“We have to get back quickly and warn the others!” Pete said.“Well pick up the pace then!”The Doctor was conscious of the army behind them. They were starting to see the daylight ahead; not far to go! The Doctor and Pete sped up every second as the army seemed to be gaining speed as well, slowly but surely. “Doctor-” Pete called back, but the Doctor didn’t respond, he was too busy running for his life, while STILL thinking of a plan. How could he thwart  the plan of the Intelligence this time. During his last encounter with the entity, he’d got lucky - well, actually unlucky. If everything had worked as the Doctor had calculated, the Intelligence would no longer exist.

Pete ran the last mile, and exited the cave system, everything was behind him now, and he needed to warn the others, Edgar, Trevor and his wife! The Doctor quickly followed and was running as if there’d be no tomorrow. “Safest place!?” The Doctor said, almost out of energy. He and Pete stopped briefly, and caught their breath, “What?” Pete returned. The Doctor sighed: “Where is the safest place in this village?”“That would be the bakery- but!” The Doctor interrupted Pete and sped off. “That’s where we're going then!” Pete sighed, still shattered from the running, but as he looked over his shoulder, he saw the horde of possessed corpses exit the tunnel to the mines…

*

“OH MY GOD!” Valarie screamed, as the bodies moved closer. It was as if time had slowed down. Everything was lasting for eternity, or at least it felt that way. Ace was trying to figure a way out of this mess she’d gotten them into, but couldn’t. There wasn’t a way out! At least not one that she could immediately spot! “Val, val! Over here quick!” Ace and Val backed into the corner, and Ace aimed the weapon at the metal ceiling. “What are you doing that for?” Valarie asked confused, but Ace just grinned. Today was a good day! And she was going to make it out alive! They both were! She shot at the metal above them, and the exit door, which was well hidden, blew off its hinges.. “Emergency exit!” Ace said, and threw the explosive weapon out first, then her bag. Valarie ripped off a pipe that used to connect to the engine, and used it to ward off the nine-man army.

Ace was subconsciously calculating the distance she’d need to jump; she needed to get this first try - one mistake and they’d both end up dead. Dead at the hands of the actual dead. She was ready to jump up, and knew that the longer she waited, the more likely they were to die.“Any day now would be nice!” Valarie said, panicking, and Ace jumped up, grabbing onto the sides, using all of her strength to pull herself up and out of the pod. She turned around, and reached down an arm; “Val, grab on!” Valarie looked up, then back at the possessed. She threw the pipe down and jumped up grabbing onto Ace’s arm. However, Ace tried to pull her up and couldn’t. One of the dead workers had grabbed Valarie’s ankles, and were dragging her back down into the death-zone which was the pod. “Please, Ace. PLEASE DON’T LET THEM TAKE ME!” Valarie’s scream echoed through the tunnels, and nobody but Ace could save her now….

*

The doors to the bakery opened violently, as the Doctor rushed through, not wanting to die, or regenerate this soon. However, the atmosphere was weird. It was silent. Too silet. He paused for a moment, and the only sound he could hear was his breath. “Hello? Anyone here?” he asked, taking slow steps further into the shop. He rang a bell on the counter, and waited for a reply. However, none came, and the time lord was growing more anxious by the minute. Ace could be dead, Pete hadn’t shown up yet, and now  he was isolated in a baron bakery. Suddenly, the entrance-door swung open ominously. “Ah, finally! I was beginning to think I was alone in this village!” The Doctor said, trying to make a joke of the situation, to cheer himself up, but he quickly sighed again as he saw who’d just entered. It was Trevor. His head was hanging down on his elbow, lifeless, his pupils were glowing bright blue, and his face was grey, drained of life.“Well, where’s help when you need it!” The Doctor asked.“You cannot escape this, Doctor!” The Intelligence spoke through the walking corpse. The Doctor replied, calmly, taking control of the situation: “You should know me by now! I always escape!” The Doctor said. As he said this, Pete entered the bakery, and looked in horror. He turned back, to run out of the shop, but he was greeted with another dead worker: It’s arm outstretched!

“Oh, bugger!” He said, and the possessed worker violently placed it’s hand on the old man’s head. Pete screamed in terror. It was beyond pain! Blue streams of light pulsed across his face before lighting up his eyes; he was now dead. His skin was grey and Pete was now under the control of the Intelligence!

“WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?” The Doctor asked, genuinely terrified. “WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO GAIN FROM ALL OF THIS?” He added, and the Intelligence found it amusing.“Perhaps you will never know-” The sinister laugh of the entity chilled the Doctor to his core; it was the most helpless and fearful he’d ever been in a long time. “JUST TELL ME!” The Doctor demanded, raising his voice as loud as ever! “Time will tell….” The Intelligence said, and on that final word, the army advanced towards the Doctor, piling through the door and edging closer. The Doctor jumped over the counter and backed up. He couldn’t escape through the back entrance, as there was banging coming from the other side. The only thing between him and the dead, was a counter, and a door secured by a single lock. By the looks of things, the Doctor’s mind would be consumed by the Intelligence, and he’d be nothing more than an empty shell. 

However, just as all hope was lost, a projectile shot into the bakery, an explosive! The Doctor’s face contorted into an expression of terror, and he ducked behind the counter, as the explosive went off! Shrapnel flew through the windows and the army on the other side had fallen. It wasn’t as destructive as the Doctor had anticipated, and the corpses were still intact. They were merely stunned! “Doctor, quick!” Ace shouted, running into the bakery, and gesturing for him to follow. He jumped over the counter and ran towards Ace! “How did you escape!?” he asked, amazed, but glad! Ace sighed, “Don’t underestimate me, Professor!” They ran out of the bakery, but a horde of more miners were coming. “Who’s this?” The Doctor asked, “Val!” Ace said, and Valarie sighed: “Valarie actually!” she said, “Ace saved my life!” she added.

“So now you’re saying the world, never thought I’d see the day!” The Doctor said, joking, but they couldn’t continue acting as though everything was fine, because it wasn’t. Not anymore. They came to a stop, as a circle of workers surrounded them from all angles. Now it was seriously looking as though they were going to die. There really was no escape. 

One of the workers stepped out into the centre, a negotiator of sorts. It was Trevor, or at least what was left of him. “You will not prevent my conquest, Doctor!” The Intelligence spoke; it’s voice sounded odd. Unusual, like it wasn’t from this universe. “What conquest, this is a small village compared to the rest of the Earth, let alone the galaxy, or the universe!” The Doctor stated. “No, this is the beginning! The beginning of something bigger than you all!” The Intelligence replied. “Enlighten us!” The Doctor said, wanting to know exactly why this was all happening! The lifeless body of Trevor advanced slowly closer, so it was now face to face with the Doctor: “Why did you come here?” Ace asked.

“Nobody knows this place, if anything went wrong, or people went missing, they’d soon be forgotten about! The perfect starting point for an invasion!” 

“And why possess and kill the miners, why?” The Doctor questioned.

“Because I need host bodies!” The Intelligence responded; “Empty shells to carry out my every command! Firstly, I lured the stupid into the depths of the mines, and planted a false image in their heads; a new material - so they just had to go down! Then, once they were isolated, I deactivated their brains and the rest is history!” Ace was confused by what the entity had just explained: “You can’t deactivate a brain...can you?” she asked, and the Doctor nodded: “Apparently, yes!” But Ace still had more questions; mostly because she was hatching an escape plan, but also because she wanted the final piece of the puzzle to fit together.

“So what about that pod? The alien pod in the mines? Is that yours? Were you running experiments on them?” Ace asked. “No. That has no connection with me, it was just convenient!” It replied. “What about the bodies in those chambers?” Ace asked. The host replied: “That wasn’t my doing either. It was here hundreds of years before I arrived!” The Doctor was now aware of the plans, and had no interest in the pod, now knowing that it was of no use to him. “Well, thanks alot for this amazing catch-up. Really should do it more often, honestly!” The Doctor said, trying to buy Ace some time; she’d taken out a vortex manipulator, and was ready to use it. “NOW!” He shouted, and  Ace pressed a button on the device. “See ya!” she said, and linked arms with the Doctor and Val. They teleported away from the danger and into safety; Edgar’s lounge. The ticking of a grandfather clock filled the silence, before Valarie threw up. “Cheap and nasty teleport, those things!” The Doctor said, as if he’d experienced the effects before. Ace was fine, and like the Doctor, had continued like nothing had happened. “How did you know exactly where to set the coordinates?” The Doctor asked.“I started checking every house after we’d escaped the pod, luckily I discovered this house; Edgar’s. I set the coordinates, and then had to guess your next move!” Ace explained. “Quickly, let’s meet the ‘gang’” she said, and took the Doctor into the kitchen, where Edgar, and six others were gathered. One of them was a man, in mining gear, but he was refusing to go to work because of the disappearances. The others were innocent relatives of the workers that had been taken over. The Doctor was introduced to them all: Jackie, Gwen, Mike, Edgar, Iana, May and Joan. “Hello, I’m the Doctor, and we have absolutely zero chance of surviving this!”

*

An hour had passed, and Valarie was sitting on the sofa, talking to the Doctor; who was peering out of the lounge-windows, checking for the oncoming army. “So, who are you? Actually?” she asked, as the Doctor decided to have a sit down in an opposite chair. “Well, it’s hard to explain, and you probably wouldn’t believe me!” he explained, but Valarie was certain she’d understand: “I’ve seen the dead resurrected and heard a voice with no form - I think I’ll believe you!” The Doctor sighed, and decided to tell her the short edition of his life story; after all Ace was the one formulating the plan along with the others. “I’m a Time Lord. My home planet is the planet Gallifrey, and I travel space and time in a machine called the TARDIS, which I stole years ago!” he began, “That’s it really. Experiencing the universe one planet at a time, and the universe is ever expanding. But for some reason I always become the centre of trouble!”

Ace and the others were drawing up the plan of action; they’d each have a role in defending the building. One wrong move, and they’d all end up dead. “Right, you. What was your name again?” Ace asked, and the man replied: “Mike!” Ace continued like there was no interruption:“Yeah, Mike, you need to gather anything we can use as weapons!” she instructed. “Don’t think I need to when we’ve got all of those proper weapons!” he pointed at Ace’s bazooka and canisters of Nitro-9, which were sprawled across the kitchen table. Ace looked over to him: “They’re mine!” she said, bragging. “They’re too dangerous for you to use! So, gather anything you can, go!” With that, Mike left the kitchen, and began his search of the house; it was obviously too risky to go outside, so their resources were restricted.

Ace continued to instruct the others on their roles, while the Doctor and Valarie were still chatting away, but keeping watch on the ever advancing army. Everything was silent outside, weirdly. It was like the invasion had suddenly stopped. “Eerie, isn’t it! It’s too quiet!” The Doctor said, still sitting in the chair. Valarie nodded, picking up a stone cold cup of tea from the table, before deciding not to drink it. “What do you think it’s doing?” she asked, and the Doctor shook his head: “That’s the worrying part. I don’t know!” A million possible reasons for the halt in advancement rushed through the Doctor’s head, and he was calculating the Intelligence’s next move, while also working on a plan to save the survivors. But how can he change history, if he’s a part of it? Ace had already told him that nobody survives the events, so could he really do anything? Could he bring himself to rewrite history? Something he fights to preserve - the web of time, and if he was reckless, the whole universe could collapse…

*

Night fell, and shadows were cast all over the village; darkness engulfing and trapping the hopeless survivors, who’d soon be possessed and become part of a much bigger scheme. The building was lit by one candle in each room. The flickering flame lit up the Doctor’s face in the pitch black, and he looked concerned. Even he might not make it out alive. Everything was prepared, and the plan was in place. What could go wrong? The Doctor could think of many, but the pessimistic time lord concealed his thoughts, and allowed the survivors to have hope. Nobody would rather be told they were going to die! Ace entered the lounge, and the lights switched on; finally! She blew out the candle and sat down, placing her weapon next to her.“You ok?” she asked. “No, Ace. I’m really not. And neither should you!” he replied.“Come on Professor, look on the bright side - ”“Bright side? Ace, there is no bright side. Everyone here dies! No records of people surviving this whatsoever, you even told me yourself! Everyone dies here, I can’t save them!” he was angry, and to keep himself distracted, checked outside once more, waiting for the army to begin their final siege.

*“D’you think this Doctor will save us?” Mike asked, and Iana hesitated before answering; she hadn’t the slightest idea. If anything, he should have asked the man himself, Ace or Valarie. “Don’t know!” She replied. “See, thing is - he couldn’t save Pete, and now he’s one of them. A dead man walking! A soulless shell of a person-” Mike was interrupted by Iana. All of this talk of dying clearly had a negative impact on her mental health. “Stop!” she pushed the chair out and stood up, leaving the kitchen. Entering as the woman left, was Val. She sat down in her place, and tried to cheer Mike up. Without any hope or good moral, how would they push through this; to convince themselves to carry on fighting, even when victory seemed unattainable.“You alright then? Seem a bit worried!” Val asked.

“Nah, I’m alright.” Mike lied.“I know you’re not though. I’m not an idiot!”Mike took in a deep breath of air; “Yeah, I suppose. Nerves. I don’t want to die, Val! I’ve literally done nothin’ with my life, and now it’s all about to end!” he was beginning to get emotional; he couldn’t control it, and a tear rolled down his face. He shivered at the prospect of death, but hopefully it wouldn’t come to that. “Look, you’re not going to die. I trust Ace with my life. I know it sounds stupid and  I’ve only known her a few hours, but she’s already saved my life multiple times. From what she tells me, this Doctor of hers always comes out on the other side, even when it seems unlikely!” Valarie explained. “I spoke to him as well -”“What did he say?”“I’ll get to that! Give me a minute!”“Yeah, sorry!” He replied.“Well, he basically said -”

The windows smashed suddenly, and sharp shards of glass flew through the kitchen and lounge. Ace’s arm was sliced as a bit of shrapnel shot past her. “GET DOWN!” She shouted, and her voice echoed throughout the house with authority. Mike and Valarie made their way into the lounge, along with the Doctor and Ace. Everyone, but Jackie braced, and looked for cover. Iana, May and Gwen were all screaming, and Ace was getting annoyed; she wanted to tell them to shut up, but she couldn’t be bothered. What seemed like thousands of hands reached into the building through the broken windows, and as Jackie was grabbing a weapon from the kitchen, she was attacked. “HELP!” She screamed. “No! We can’t! She’s gone now!” The Doctor instructed. Disobeying his orders, May ran into the kitchen to check on her friend but saw nothing! “Jackie?” she shouted over the panic and chaos. She looked to the left and saw her friend, walking ominously towards her; hand outstretched! Nobody heard May’s scream of terror as she was possessed by the Intelligence; they were all too busy thinking of a way to defend themselves, since the army was now inside.

“We’re all going to die aren’t we!” Mike cried as he could hear the smashing of more glass, and the sound of the walls being knocked down. Valarie shouted over to him: “NO! Not today! You trust me don’t you!?” she asked, and Mike nodded. “Doctor, what do we do?” she turned to the expert in danger, and he quickly thought of a last minute plan. “Fortify upstairs, I’ve got a plan!” The Doctor said, and ran to the front door. Ace led the others upstairs, narrowly avoiding the possessed corpses of May and Jackie. “Quickly!” she shouted and Mike ran up the stairs, the last one. They were all led into an upstairs bedroom, but Ace lingered on the landing for a second, watching as a three-man army began their ascent up the stairs. She threw a canister of Nitro-9 down the steps, and the small explosion did no damage to the surroundings, only to the workers. The explosion might’ve severed the connection between the Intelligence and the miners, killing them for good. Ace felt bad; she’d actually killed three innocent people. Well, they were dead already!

*The Doctor was now standing outside in the pitch black; the only lighting was emitted from the eyes of the dead; burning bright blue. There was a deathly silence, and other than the whistling wind, no other sound could be heard. The Intelligence was waiting; the Doctor was about to make a speech. “Hello, I’m the Doctor- but of course, you already knew that!”“What do you want, time lord?”“Well, I think we should make a deal; you can have my mind - all of my knowledge and power, my physical form and the ability to regenerate...but only if you stop the attack!” The Doctor said, serious. The Intelligence knew the Doctor wasn’t lying, so considered his offer. “I accept!”“Are you sure?”“I. ACCEPT!”“Ok, but let me warn you-”“No.”“Pardon!”“No. You’ll not warn me of anything!” The Doctor was confused after this statement, until without warning, the Intelligence began it’s assault on the Doctor’s mind, dispossessing the bodies of the workers, causing them to collapse to the ground. The Doctor was being taken over by the Intelligence, but he wasn’t weak. Apart from forgetting Ace, he wasn’t weak! He knew he wasn’t! His mind was struggling to fight off the Intelligence. It was like a parasite. A virus latching on to him, trying to infect the host cell. “NOT TODAY!” The Doctor had both hands on his head, and fell to his knees. He was slowly being drained of all energy, and soon the Intelligence would succeed.…

*Ace and the others were sealed away. Isolated from the danger. They tried to peer out of the window to see what was going on, and what exactly the Doctor was doing, but it was too dark to do so. All they saw was black. Pitch black. The lights flickered like crazy, until the bulb blew and there was no longer light. Everyone was anxious. Maybe the Intelligence had done this deliberately? Now that it was gaining strength, who knew what it was capable of?

Edgar struck a match, and lit a candle in the room, providing little light, but it was better than nothing. They all sat down, and tried to relax; it was difficult to calm down because of the situation! Valarie had seen enough madness today to cope with it, Ace was waiting patiently for the outcome of the Doctor’s confrontation with the entity, and the others were composing themselves. Nobody spoke, because nobody knew what to say. They were just calmly waiting for a quick and painless death, or a miracle.

*

The Doctor’s eyes opened; burning bright blue. He was now possessed by the Intelligence; the only body it would need to control. The Doctor was more intelligent and more capable than all of the previously possessed combined, and now that it was in control of this time lord, the real war could begin! An image flashed through his head; Ace. He must kill Ace! Standing up and dusting dirt off of his clothes, the Doctor advanced towards the house..

Ace heard the door open and immediately ran downstairs, dropping all of her weapons. “Doctor, you’re alive!” As she ran towards the time lord, beyond happy to see him alive; the Doctor grabbed her by the neck: “THE. DOCTOR. IS. GONE!” Ace was suffocating, but before she died, the Doctor threw her across the hall, and into an antique cabinet with china and cutlery.Valarie was shocked, and the Intelligence looked up the stairs; into her eyes. It was coming to kill them next. Or was it? Another image shot through the Doctor’s mind; a blue box! The TARDIS! The Doctor walked out of the house and through the fields in the distance. Valarie entered the bedroom in which everyone had fortified, and pushed past the helpless locals. She looked out a window and saw the Doctor/Intelligence, moving towards a blue box. “We must go!” she said, and shot off down the steps and out of the house.

The others followed soon after, gathering weapons. Edgar was last to leave the bedroom, and he removed a plank of wood; a shotgun was hidden under the floorboards, and he intended to use it! Mike grabbed Ace’s bazooka, and then exited the structure…

The Doctor, or rather, the Intelligence was moving towards the TARDIS. As it burrowed deeper in the Doctor’s mind, images of importance were revealed. More details about the TARDIS and how it worked would soon be at its disposal. While moving closer to the TARDIS, the Doctor fell to the ground; he was fighting back, or that’s what it seemed like. The Intelligence was now too strong for the disturbance to  cause any harm, and continued with the journey towards the time machine.

“OI!” Val said. Standing on either side was Edgar and Mike, both holding weapons, ready to fire. Mike didn’t have a doubt in his mind; he had no loyalties so he would shoot, even if it meant killing the Doctor. It was the same with Edgar; kill or be killed. “Stop, now! Before I shoot!” Mike announced, and the Doctor slowly pivoted round to face the survivors!

“You may as well give up now!”“Why? What would be the point in giving up?” Val shouted.“Because it’ll save you energy. Energy that you’re wasting on trying to stop me!” The Intelligence replied, with the voice of the Doctor. Valarie had to find a way to distract the evil entity long enough; keep it talking to prolong their lives. At this point in time, now they’d even be glad if they just lived a little longer.

The Intelligence turned back to the object of interest; the TARDIS, but a voice caught it’s attention: “We will shoot!” Valarie stated, and the two either side of her armed the weapons. They were willing to shoot if necessary. “Take one more step and we’ll shoot!” she said. The Intelligence took a step forward; a succession of bullets and explosive projectiles flew through the air, but they didn’t scratch the target. There was some sort of force-field shielding the Intelligence, and bullets couldn’t penetrate it. ‘How convenient’ thought Valarie.

Just as the entity was about to get close to the TARDIS doors, they crippled in pain, and the Doctor began to fight back one final time. A blue outline of a figure, in the shape of the Doctor himself, started to phase in and out of existence, until it was expelled from the time-lord’s body. The Doctor shouted at Val, Mike and Edgar: “RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!”“What is that in your head?” The entity questioned, in fear.“Can’t handle the truth?!” The Doctor questioned, taking the high ground, now in control.“Only I know. Your secrets are hidden from even you! Not even YOU know what I do!” The Intelligence mocked the Doctor! “What do you mean?! Tell me!” The Doctor demanded, but the Intelligence laughed. “I’ll leave it to you to find out. It might take you a few hundred though!”

The Intelligence, in the form of the Doctor, began to fade away - it was leaving Earth or teleporting to another time. Clearly it’s plans had gone wrong, and after being in the Doctor’s head for too long, it’s powers of mental capabilities had diminished.

“You can’t just leave! Not like this!” The Doctor shouted at the top of his voice, trying to get the attention of the sentient being. “Oh yes. How could I forget?!” The Intelligence clicked it’s fingers, and it disappeared in a massive wave of white light; white light that made everything blur into one. The Doctor was propelled a few centimetres off the ground and backwards into the TARDIS doors. He lay on the ground, unconscious…

*

The village of Melltith Glowyr was peaceful. Well. In a way. No sound at all. No birds were chirping, as they usually did, and no mining was taking place. It was the early hours of the morning, and the sun was beginning to rise. The aftermath of the events during the hours of darkness was devastating. Buildings had collapsed and the mines had caved in. The secret of the pod would be kept for eternity, and no one would know who or what it truly belonged to, how the myth came about, and why the canaries were turned to stone. But maybe some secrets were best left unknown, like what the Intelligence had seen in the Doctor’s mind. He was so much more than just a time lord, and he didn’t even know it.

The Doctor shot awake, and everything was still blurry. His surroundings mixed together into a wave of colours, and he couldn’t quite piece everything together. He got himself to his feet, stumbling a bit, and walked through the ashes. He called out for help but nobody answered! Had anyone survived the explosion? He walked through the remains of Edgar’s house, or at least the structure. Most of the building had caved in on itself, and all that was left were three walls, the staircase, and the sofa, which sat in the centre of the mess. Wooden planks littered the ground beneath his feet, and he cautiously moved through, checking for any bodies, making sure there were survivors!

“HELLO! ACE! VAL!” He called once more, and he was starting to gain vision, but the ringing in his ears wouldn’t go away any time soon. He continued through the rubble and debris of Melltith Glowyr, and soon found Valarie! “Where’s Ace!” the Doctor asked, distressed. “Thanks!” Valarie said, as the Doctor helped her to stand. She’d lost balance, and she couldn’t really stand, or see. “She can’t have gone far!” He said, worried for his companion. She could be - he didn’t want to think about it. After all they’d been through, she couldn’t just die. He had to find her quickly, before it was too late. Valarie helped to look for survivors of the explosion, but there weren’t many. A few had only just made it, but were broken. They couldn’t handle it all, and were having a mental breakdown. Valarie couldn’t comprehend what they were going through…

...until she could! She saw a body in the distance, barely visible. As she walked over to it, Valarie was thinking the worst. What if it was Ace? What would she tell the Doctor? What if it was Edgar? No matter who it was, it wasn’t going to be good. But the worst possible outcome was reality- She turned over a plank of wood, and there he was! Edgar was dead, hidden under a pile of wooden floorboards. A tear rolled down her eye, and she was so distressed, she couldn’t even cry. It was like she was frozen with shock, and she couldn’t express herself at all.

The Doctor was still searching, and heard distant cries. All of these people were suffering, and this was all his fault. He tried to alter history, and this is what happened. It wasn’t him that would suffer the consequences, but everyone around him. He realised now, that death always follows.

“Doctor!” Val called from a distance. She’d composed herself, but inside, she felt like screaming. However, she didn’t want to show the Doctor how badly this had affected her; he was about to go through enough. When the Doctor arrived, she gestured to the ground, and his attention moved. For the first time in years, the Doctor was severely angry. How could this happen? Why did he let it happen? Ace was dead. Lifeless. Soulless. 

Ace was dead.

*

His long walk through the fields and back towards the TARDIS was awful. He’d left all of the survivors to rebuild or move on. There wasn’t anything else he could do. As he was carrying Ace in his arms, he was hoping for a miracle. She can’t be dead. No way. He refused to believe that this was the end. This was the worst thing that could’ve happened, after everything with Destari, Fenric, the Cheetah People, the Master, and their most recent encounter with thebeings of Appleby house.

As the doors opened and he slowly entered the TARDIS,carrying the body of Ace, the Doctor noticed a familiar figure flicking switches and pulling levers on the console; Destari! She looked smug, as if she’d known this was going to happen. The Doctor wasn’t finding it funny; and his eyes were dead. “Hello Doctor!” she said, still tapping away on the console. The Doctor didn’t talk for a while. A million thoughts were flooding through his head, confusing him - “Why are you here, Destari?” he asked, as he placed Ace’s body onto the ground. Destari grinned, and laughed at the Doctor. “Why do you think? For a time lord with tonns of knowledge, you are really stupid!” she said, “I’m here to give you an offer!” She let this statement sink in, to allow the Doctor to really question what she was going to offer. “I’ll help you, but you’ve gotta help me in return!” She added: “Fair?” she stated.

The Doctor was desperate for help, but was cautious of this offer. “What’s the catch?” he asked, seriously. He knew that whatever Destari wanted in return could potentially ruin lives, and maybe even destroy the universe. “Oh, well. Can’t give that away now can I? Why spoil the fun?” she replied. Destari was enjoying this. “Tell. Me. Now!” The Doctor replied, looking angrier than ever before. Rage was bottling up inside of him, and he could snap at any moment! “Well, If you accept my assistance, you’ll soon find out!” she replied, “Simple as that!” The Doctor looked down at the body of Ace; she shouldn’t have died. It was all his fault. “Fine!” he said, and Destari smiled: “Here’s my proposal: I’ll bring Ace back to life…on one condition...”

NEXT EPISODE: QUEEN DESTARI

COMING LATER THIS YEAR