𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙊𝙛 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 ✧ 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 Ⅲ [✓]

Last Christmas Pt. 5

Dream Crabs fall from the faces of the four scientists, {Y/N}, the Doctor and Clara, as the Sleepers clutch their sides and writhe. They all cough violently to clear the mucus as the Dream Crabs twitch and turn to dust.

"Run!" the Doctor shout, one of the Sleepers grabs Clara's arm.

"Argh."

"Clara!" {Y/N} shouts.

"{Y/N}!" It opens its maw and {Y/N} pulls her free. She is staring at the pink tube inside the gap.

"Clara? Come on!"

"Out, out, now! NOW!" Ashely shouts, they back out with the guns and the doors close. Bellows hits a stray hand with the butt of her gun until the doors can fully shut.

"Everyone all right? Good. Bye" the Doctor says.

"Sorry, I'll just go and..." Clara and {Y/N} follow the Doctor.

"No need for chatting, you'll only get attached. This isn't Facebook" the Doctor says as they walk outside.

"Er, what about the Dream Crabs?" Clara asks.

"Oh, they're fine."

"And the people that they're eating?"

"Beyond help."

"Doctor, the others are still in danger."

"Only if they're stupid. There are polar bears on this ice cap. Am I supposed to do something about that, too? "

"We know Dream Crabs are still on Earth."

"There are lots of dangerous things on this funny little planet of yours, Clara, most of which you eat. I'm the Doctor, not your mam" the Doctor walks to the TARDIS while {Y/N} stops looking straight ahead, Clara stops beside her.

"Doctor? If Santa was only in the dream, why was he on my roof?"

"Four. Four patients. Four manuals" {Y/N} mutters smacking her hand against her forehead "hurry! Do you know what I hate about the obvious?"

"What?" Clara asks looking at her.

"Missing it" the Doctor and Clara chase after {Y/N} who runs back inside. On the monitors, the Sleepers are back on their beds.

"As you were. No saluting. Are you the same people as before?" the Doctor asks.

"Of course, they are," Clara says.

"Oh, sorry, I deleted you."

"Well, that's not a very nice attitude, is it?" Shona asks.

"Four manuals, yes?" {Y/N} asks.

"Yes, why?" Ashely asks.

"One each."

"One each, yes. What's the problem?" Albert asks.

"Well, the problem is, you can't see the problem. For instance, you, gobby one" the Doctor throws a manual to Shona.

"I have a name, actually."

"Doesn't matter. I don't need it. When we first met you in the infirmary, what were you doing?"

"Mmm. It's a long story."

"Uptight boss one. What is the primary mission of this polar base?" he throws a book to Ashely.

"It's a long story."

"Sexy one. What brings you to the North Pole at your age?"

"It's a long..." Bellows pauses "story."

"Ok, why are they all giving the same answer, because that is a tiny bit freaky," Clara says.

"If you think that's freaky, try this. We were in the TARDIS. Why did we come here?" {Y/N} asks.

"It's a long story" the penny drops "{Y/N}? Doctor?"

"Dreams. They're funny" the Doctor sarcastically laughs "they're disjointed. They're... they're silly. They're full of gaps. But you don't notice, because the dream protects itself. Stops you asking the right questions. For example, why do you have four manuals, one each, when you have a crew of eight? Or did you forget about your friends in the infirmary here?" the Doctor asks.

"But we woke up," Albert says.

"Dreams within dreams, I warned you."

"This isn't a dream. I know it isn't" Bellows says.

"No one knows they're not dreaming. Not one of us. Not ever. Not for one single moment of our lives. Clara? Page number. Make it a good one" Clara smiles.

"Twelve" everyone opens their manual.

"Very."

"Very."

"Very."

"Dead."

"And who's going to be the first to admit it?" {Y/N} asks.

"Admit what?" Ashley asks.

"That the pain is still there."

"Actually, I think it's getting worse" Shona says.

"Yes, there is an alien organism in your brain, eating it. Of course, it's getting worse" the Doctor replies.

"{Y/N}? Doctor? What are they doing?" Clara asks, on the monitor, the Sleepers are sitting up on their beds.

"Factually, getting up. Significantly, sensing the endgame" {Y/N} says.

"How?"

"I don't understand," Ashely says.

"Well, look at them. Go on. Look at them. Look at them properly. Look who they are. They're you. The Sleepers are you" the Doctor says, the camera on the monitor does a close up of a name badge. Prof Rona Bellows.

"How can they be us?" Shona asks as the monitor zooms up on another name badge. Shona McCullough

"Because we're dreaming, all of us. This base isn't real. None of us are actually standing in the room. Me and the Doctor are probably asleep in our Tardis. Clara, you must be in bed. God knows where the rest of you are, probably scattered all over the world. But wherever you are, the Dream Crabs have got us, and we're all being networked into the same nightmare" {Y/N} says.

"What are they doing?" Bellows asks the Sleepers are walking towards the cameras.

"It's your subconscious again. The Sleepers represent the part of your mind that's already surrendered to the attack. These are dream images of what's coming to kill you."

"That's me? That's actually me?" Albert asks.

"No, it's a metaphorical construct representing a psychic attack within a shared dreamscape. Do please keep up" the Doctor says.

"But it's me."

"Don't get too close" Sleeper Albert puts its hand up to the camera, and Albert leans into the monitor.

"Why?"

"Because this is a nightmare" Albert gets grabbed by the Sleeper's hand and pulled through the monitor with a scream. The Doctor and {Y/N} try to grab him.

"No," the Doctor says, Ashley and Bellows reach out to their Sleeper images on the screens.

"Look out, they're coming through. Out! Outside, now! Run, run, run, run! Run! Clara, run. Run, all of you, run. Run!" {Y/N} says. The Sleepers are in the control room. The Doctor tries to use a fire extinguisher on them but it doesn't slow them down. 

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~Bread 🍞