The Silver Stream

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

The Doctor sat quietly on Dorothy’s settee, resting his chin on the handle of the umbrella.  He buried Tremas in the first patch of Earth he could find.  The cat told him he had tried to put up a fight for them once he realised the man meant harm to his owners but the man just kicked him hard against the wall.  The Doctor hated cruelty of any kind, particularly to animals.  The Master had bribed him with beef steaks.  Obviously whilst he was eating the cat’s thoughts were less controlled with ecstasy.  

How on Earth could he find where they had gone?  He had nothing.  The TARDIS was taken.  His first port of call in a crisis.  It seemed this time that the Master had, indeed, got the better of him.  

It was not that, that hurt him.  What pierced his hearts was the fact that Dorothy’s deepest feelings were being prayed upon.  A lump formed in his throat... “Ace... de-ar-est, ACE!” he broke down his eyes streaming with tears.  So much that his hands were soaked.  “I wish I could... Really, do you think I may want to...”

The Doctor was sobbing so loud that he almost did not hear the doorbell ring.  Slowly, he rose to answer it.  The Doctor found Kate Stewart standing there looking grave. What light of hope that was present in her eyes disappeared as she saw how pale the Doctor looked.  Then she realised he had been crying.  Not a very good omen, she thought.

“What’s happened?” she asked.  “I know what happened in Ox-”  The Doctor stopped her by handing her a letter. Kate read it.  “NO, she can’t have! Doctor?”

The Doctor mechanically moved back to the living room.  By his side was what was left of his dear women.  Nancy’s engagement ring which he placed reverently on the mantlepiece... and Dorothy’s old jacket.  The Doctor picked it up again and tried to wear it but it was too small for him.  Kate took the jacket away and hid it out of his sight. She understood his need to wrap himself up in something of hers to him, though, she wished she could wear her father’s uniform.  The Doctor seemed lost without Ace.  Kate’s heart turned to jelly at the sight of this wonderful man who normally had the answers to suddenly having none!  

“Right,” Kate said brusquely in an effort to maintain some form of control.  “We need to get my team mobilised here, most of UNIT are busy tackling the Cybermen in the City Centre but there are two I can always rely on.”

2

Dorothy woke up in a bed in a white room.  Turning round she noticed it was a double bed.  With black sheets.  Closing her eyes she tried to work out how she got there, the moment she did she had pictures flashing through like an old fashioned slide show.  

Coffee... She remembered coffee.  Sunshine.  Yes, it was sunny and she was drinking coffee.  Green dress.  Must have been wearing green.  Shaking her head she was about to give up when... A man clouded all other images.  Silhouetted.  Could not quite see his face but there were two pin sharp points of ice blue in the otherwise very hazy black image.  

When she raised the covers she saw that she was in a pair of silk red pyjamas.  How?  She rose out of bed and walked up to a door.  The corridor was white too.  Rather slowly she shuffled down the hall and noticed lots of other doors.  Was this what...?  No, it could not be.  She felt her heart thud too much for it to be that.  Then she bumped her elbow against a handle.  Wincing she rubbed it better as she travelled further down the twisting, winding path-way.  Something about this was familiar... And those ice blue points in the black vision frightened her...

3

Once Tegan and Turlough had heard they were around almost as straightaway as you could be in a car.  Tegan almost threw up when she witnessed the carnage of bodies still laying sprawled on the floor... tears sprang to her eyes as she saw mothers holding babies underneath the rubble.