The Other Tyler - rewrite

The Bridge

Entering the basement-turned-morgue, Mei covered her mouth, trying not to inhale the scent of decaying flesh. The Doctor gave her a calming look and took hold of her other hand, leading her into the middle of the room with the others following behind them.

"Talk about Bleak House," he commented, trying to make her smile, and it worked.

Still annoyed, Rose bit out, "The thing is, Doctor, the Gelth don't succeed. Cause I know they don't. I know for a fact there weren't corpses walking around in 1869."

"Time's in flux. It's changing every second. Your cozy little world could be rewritten like that," he clicked his fingers, causing Mei to gulp uncomfortably, "Nothing is safe. Remember that. Nothing."

"Doctor, I think the room is getting colder," Dickens commented.

"Here come the ghosts," Mei voiced quietly.

As if on cue, the Gelth flooded the room, the leader they had seen during the séance took up a position under an archway. It spoke with a voice of a child, ensuring Mei's gut feeling that something was incredibly wrong.

"You have come to help! Praise the Doctor! Praise him!"

"Promise you won't hurt her!" Rose demanded, but she was ignored.

"Hurry! Please. So little time. Pity the Gelth."

"I don't like this, something's wrong," Mei murmured, half hiding behind the Doctor as she gripped his hand a bit tighter, something she was doing a lot that evening, but she couldn't help the security it gave her.

"I'll take you somewhere else after the transfer," The Doctor spoke loudly, "Somewhere you can build proper bodies. This isn't a permanent solution, alright?"

"My angels," Gwyneth said in awe, "I can help them live."

Glancing briefly at Rose and then over his shoulder at Mei, the Doctor asked, "Okay, where's the weak point?"

"Here, beneath the arch," came the childish voice and Gwyneth repeated their words as she positioned herself beneath it, facing the others.

Rushing over, hoping to change her mind one last time, Rose begged, "You don't have to do this."

Gwyneth just clasped her hands around Rose's cheeks and said, "My Angels."

As the Gelth cloaked the serving woman, Rose staggered back and Mei reached out her free hand to stabilise her.

"Establish the bridge, reach out of the void, let us through!" the child-like voice ordered.

Gwyneth stood to attention, her eyes wide and glazed over. In a dreamy voice she replied, "Yes. I can see you! I can see you! Come!"

"Bridgehead establishing," the Gelth announced.

"Come! Come to me! Come to this world, poor lost souls!" Gwyneth begged.

"It is begun! The bridge is made!" the Gelth explained as Gwyneth opened her mouth and the rest of the ghostly creatures poured out, "She has given herself to the Gelth!"

"That doesn't sound good," Mei commented, "This doesn't LOOK good either."

Dickens also noticed what she had, "There's rather a lot of them, eh?"

"The bridge is open. We descend." Mei jumped with a small squeal as the Gelth turned from ghostly blue to flaming red with a demonic face and voice, "The Gelth will come through in force."

"I told you!" Mei hissed, slapping the Doctor with her free hand.

"You said that you were few in number!" Dickens called out, his expression one of horror.