DOCTOR WHO: SANDSTORM

CHAPTER 1

AFGHANISTAN PLAINS, CAMP ELIZABETH II, PRESENT DAY

Freddie woke up. He looked up to his camp's roof and sighed. He was going home although it wasn't in the best of circumstances. Another friend and colleague on the frontline was being taken home for the last time – it was the fourth inside a month. The fourth friend of Freddie's to be killed in action. He was surprisingly calm but knew deep down how much he couldn't take it.
"Come on, Freddie…" then called the voice of one of his fellow soldiers, it was Gerry, who Freddie had been paired with since the beginning. "I know it's not the best of times, but brave up, man. This'll be the easiest of the lot. I'm sure of it."
"Do you think?" said a forlorn Freddie as he looked at his watch before starting to get dressed. "Four friends, Gerry. Four of my friends are dead. Yes I may be going home but I think that's where I should be."
"Don't be so daft." said Gerry. "The lads can't be without you. You make it worthwhile to be out here. You're all our dad in one go."
"I'm younger than you though…" cut in Freddie as he scratched his stubble. "I honestly don't think I'm cut out for this." Gerry just smiled and hugged Freddie.
"Good luck with it all – not many get this form of leave, so relax as much as you can." Freddie just smirked and collected his things before he got on his way home. There on the journey back it all sunk in. Steve, Billy, Will and Zak were all now dead. They'd been his closest friends since he'd got into the battalion and sent out to Afghanistan, and now they were all gone. Gerry was a good friend but he wasn't Steve, Billy, Will or Zak – they had become Freddie's life and now they weren't there. Holding back the tears, Freddie just looked at Zak's Union Jack draped coffin. Zak had been like a brother to Freddie and he didn't know how to go on without him.
"I can't carry on," he mumbled to Zak. "I know you can't respond but this is just too much…"

TWO DAYS LATER

ST MICHAEL'S CHURCH, ABBEY VIEW

The service had been a nice one and Freddie had coped well, better than he thought. He had cried - he never doubted he would, but he hadn't been an emotional wreck. He was so unused to being in a suit again after months of shorts and vests in the boiling sun, but he was sort of glad to be in cold surroundings. He may only have been thin and not particularly muscular to his other soldiers, but Freddie had always packed a punch when needed. Standing outside the church to see off Zak's coffin for one last time before his private family-only burial, Freddie caught sight of a man in the distance with his hand down a drain. He was going to be walking that way to car anyway, so thought he'd see what the matter was. As he got nearer, he noticed the man was in a golden tweed jacket and had a ridiculous flick of hair that kept going over his eyes.
"You alright, mate?" asked Freddie nervously. The man didn't reply at first but soon did after realising his initial rudeness.
"I'm fine." he reassured.
"Have you lost something?" Freddie then asked. "A watch?"
"No." came the reply. "A screwdriver."
"A screwdriver?" said Freddie. "The DIY store's just down the road. You can get a new one from there." he added. The man fell quiet again and kept scratching his face and ruffling through his ridiculous looking hair.
"It's not just any screwdriver," he then said. "It's a special one."
"Special?" queried Freddie.
"It means something to me." replied the man. "It's something that means me. I can't be me without it." he added before picking up the drain cover altogether. "You won't mind if you hold this for me?" he then asked as he dropped it into the clutch of Freddie's hands. Freddie didn't respond and just let the man carry on searching for his screwdriver. He was peculiar man indeed and Freddie wasn't quite sure how to act around him at all.
"I've not seen you round here before…" he then remarked to the man. "New to the area?"
"Just stopping by…" said the man as he leaned ever-more into the drain making sure his head didn't get stuck. "What about you?"
"I was just on my way to my car-" began Freddie.
"No, I mean the church." cut in the man. Freddie paused. Everything was just still too fresh for him. The emotions were still raw.
"A funeral." he said simply. "A friend's." he added with some emotion still tinged in his voice. "I'm on compassionate leave, you see. I'm a soldier out in Afghanistan. My friend – Zak – he's the fourth friend of mine to die inside a month. My commander thought it was best."
"I'm sorry for your losses." said the man. "Loss at any age is sad one. How old are you?"
"26," replied Freddie. "Turned it a couple of months back. It's not been the easiest of times since." he added with a dried out tear still clearly etched on his face.
"Ah-ha!" the man then called. "I've got it!" he then cheered as he pulled himself away from the drain. Freddie put the cover back on and looked at the man's screwdriver oddly. It wasn't like any screwdriver he'd seen before. It obviously was special to the odd man indeed. "Thanks for your help." the man then said. "I never caught your name by the way."
"Oh, it's Freddie." said Freddie as he held out his hand. "More specifically, Private Frederick Winston Alan James." he added. "And you are?"
"Doctor…" said the man abruptly. Freddie looked on unsure at the man.
"Doctor what?" he asked.
"John Smith." filled in the man hesitantly. "And once again Freddie, thanks for your help."
"No problem, John…" smiled Freddie. It was the first time he'd smiled for a while and he was glad of that. Freddie then made his way back to his car but in that short little walk, the odd man called John had disappeared from view altogether. In the distance though as Freddie unlocked his car, he could hear an odd wheezing noise. He wasn't sure what to make of it, but soon drove off home…

Freddie shares a flat with a friend called Buzz. They'd been pals ever since school and knew each other inside out. Buzz was careful not to talk about the funeral when Freddie got back as he knew it would tough on his friend and decided to talk about his latest conquest while out on a pub crawl the other night.
"Blonde." said Buzz simply. "As blonde as you, Fred. But boy did she know how to work!" he then laughed. Freddie didn't and just went to his bedroom. Sprawled out on the bed in just a vest and his pants, Freddie looked to his ceiling. Apart from Buzz making a racket with his music in the living room, it was quiet. Too quiet for Freddie. He didn't like it.
"I miss it…" he muttered. "I miss the camp…" he added. He knew was due back in a couple of days but even so he wasn't sure how to spend the time. Everything was strange and alien to him again. He tried to get to sleep but couldn't get Zak off his mind. Zak had trodden on an improvised explosive and the force of it had blown Freddie onto his back at the time. He was meant to be leading the pair of them on that patrol that morning but he hadn't. He felt guilty. He wanted to atone for error but it would have to be a couple of days yet…

TWO DAYS LATER

AFGHANISTAN PLAINS, CAMP ELIZABETH II

"Hey guys, I'm back…" said Freddie as he dropped his bags by his bed that evening. The others were all quiet and were just looking to the camp's roof. "Has something happened?" Freddie then asked. He looked around the camp and could see no-one was talking. The silence was only broken when the commander entered. He didn't expect anyone to stand; he was forgiving in that respect.
"Freddie…" sighed the commander.
"Yes, commander Blackwell?" he asked.
"Gerry died earlier today." came the commander's blunt reply. "Private Stevens found an IED while out on patrol. His family have been informed." he added quietly. Freddie just fell silent and went to his bed. He didn't cry; he just looked to the roof. He was sure he could hear something coming from under the ground though. He'd heard things like it before and others in the camp has said similar too. The commander was aware of it; just like everyone was of the small tremors that had hit the camp in recent weeks. They'd become part of camp life.
"It's just nature…" Freddie muttered to himself.
"Next stage completed…" came a wispy voice. Freddie thought he was hearing things but he heard it again. It had come from under the ground. He was getting slightly anxious about the whole thing and then suddenly the whole ground shook. It was another small tremor and it jolted everyone around. Freddie and several others were thrown from their beds and fell flat onto the sandy terrain of the ground.
"Good…" came the wispy voice again. Freddie had only seemingly heard it this time and he was getting concerned but priorities were elsewhere.
"There's a war on…" reiterated the commander. "Clear any mess from the tremor and get to bed straight away. That's an order."

NEXT MORNING

Freddie woke up and saw a small hole next to his bed that wasn't there the night before. He noticed several others all around the camp area but no-one else had really taken much notice of them. They were more concerned with breakfast but Freddie was curious. He looked closely at one and peered at it. He was sure he could see something moving below in the tiny gap the hole had created but he wasn't sure.
"TREMOR ALERT!" then cried a voice of warning as the ground shook violently once again. Freddie was getting more and more concerned with each passing tremor. Until three weeks ago, they'd never had such a thing, but they were regular occurrences now. The tremor was only a short one, as most were, so Freddie was thankful of that.
"Private James!" then barked the commander's voice in the distance. "Where the hell are you?" Freddie didn't respond and inspected the small hole even further. "Private James!" then came the commander's voice again. "Do I really have to be right behind you until you take any notice?" he then asked sarcastically. Freddie looked round and saw his statuesque figure looming over him.
"Sorry, sir…" he apologised. "It's just these holes all over the camp ground. They're a little odd aren't they?"
"It's an after-effect of the tremors." said the commander. "I'm glad to see you're taking an avid interest in the ground here, but there are more pressing matters at hand. There is a war on."
"Yes, sir…" said Freddie.
"Now get showered and ready for patrol. Time waits for no-one, Private James!" commanded the commander as Freddie made his way. He couldn't get the holes out of his mind at all. They were getting to him. He was sure it was something more than what was being said…