Prologue
Megan put some ice in the orange juice, fetched the pint of bitter from the pump and took the money. "Thanks Huw," she smiled as she gave the man his change. She blew out a breath. 'The Stag' was certainly busy tonight! She sneaked a sip of her water, pushed her blonde hair out of her eyes and looked quickly around the bar. There was no sign of Nikki or Mark though.
"Megan!" called David Williams, the owner of 'The Stag'. "The number two pump needs changing. Can you pop down and do it? Quick as you can love?"
Megan smiled at her father. "Right Dad!" she called back. She left the bar and walked down the short stone corridor to the cellar door, opened it and switched on the light.
She started carefully down the stone steps. They could be slippery and she didn't really fancy a trip to casualty in Aberystwyth tonight - going to university there was bad enough! Megan smiled to herself as she reached the bottom of the steps. Growing up in a pub had advantages, and plenty of places to hide and explore, but she always remembered the time when she got locked in the cellar by mistake. She had just turned four and had spent the best part of a day down here in the dark, being too small to reach the light switch. Those hours had seen her imagine all kinds of bogeymen in the darkness and no amount of shouting or crying had brought the comforting arms of her parents. For years after she had never ventured into the cellar again; too afraid to meet the demons she had escaped the first time.
It was a matter of moments to change the pump to a different barrel when suddenly the light above her flickered and went out. Megan's heart leapt into her mouth and all the terrifying memories came flooding back. She felt ice cold in the darkness and looked around frantically. After only a second that seemed to last for eternity, the light bulb flickered back into life. Megan wasted no time and ran back up the stairs to the cellar door. For an instant, she thought the door had been locked and her heart pounded in her chest, but it must have been her panic as after a moment, the handle turned easily. She flicked the light switch off and left the cellar in darkness, closing the door firmly behind her.
Everything was quiet in the cellar until, from the darkness, came an evil snigger.
1.
A warm afternoon sun shone down onto green hills, rolling fields and the leafy trees that speckled the rural landscape. Birdsong filled the air, together with the heady smell of freshly cut grass. In the distance, a church bell rang four times.
A magpie was startled from the branches of a tree and flew off as the sudden unearthly groaning sound of the TARDIS filled the air. The lamp on top of the police box stopped flashing as the TARDIS door opened. The Doctor stepped out and smiled, giving a slow stretch. He breathed in a great lungful of air and let it out again. "Ah, lovely!" he said, taking off his coat and throwing it back inside the TARDIS. He looked around him, putting his hand up to shade his eyes from the afternoon sun. He glanced back into the ship. "Come on you two, don't hang around!" he called.
Jack appeared in the doorway of the TARDIS. He looked around and grinned at the Doctor. "Earth?"
"Of course!" the Doctor exclaimed in mock indignation. "A pleasant British Summer's day – and it's not even raining!" He paused. "Well, not yet anyway!"
Jack stepped out onto the grass, his usual army coat replaced by an open necked shirt and short leather jacket. He was followed by Katherine who still wore the same blue and white patterned dress she had worn in London in their last adventure. "This looks a lot more civilised," she smiled.
The TARDIS has landed on the top of a small hill, in the middle of a wooded copse. Warm sunshine filtered through the leaves and branches. Katherine walked forwards and looked down over the fields and trees, where she could just see some thatched and tiled rooftops and the unmistakeable sight of a church spire. "Doctor!" she exclaimed. "I think I can see a small village over there." She turned to face the Doctor and Jack. "It looks just like Dabarre!" she smiled, remembering the wonderful village where she had spent her childhood. She straightened her dress and started walking briskly down the slope of the hill. "Come on you two," she called cheekily over her shoulder.
2.
Exchanging a rueful grin at the way Katherine had already taken charge, the Doctor and Jack followed Katherine down the hill. "Do you know exactly where we are, Doctor?" Jack asked him.
The Doctor nodded vaguely. "Yes, well early twenty-first century, but definitely not France though. Could be Wales, I think, judging by the colour of those mountains," he replied as he gestured to some rugged, grey peaks in the far distance. He sighed contentedly and rummaged in his jacket pocket to produce a crumpled paper bag. He opened the bag and offered it to Jack. "Jelly baby?" he asked him.
Jack took a sweet from the bag and popped it tentatively into his mouth. "Where did you get those?"
"Been having a bit of a clear out," replied the Doctor as he chewed on his own jelly baby, "there's loads of stuff in the TARDIS." He frowned. "Some clothes I don't think even you'd be seen dead in!" He ran his tongue over his mouth. "I always used to eat these, don't know how my teeth withstood it!" Then he made a face. "Ugh, red!" He stopped walking abruptly. "I used to love red!" He shook his head in confusion. "Regeneration can be a risky business I suppose!"
Jack laughed out loud and clapped a slightly bemused Doctor on the shoulder as they started following Katherine again.
They walked for a few minutes, keeping a line of gently blowing trees to their left, before they came to an old wooden stile. Katherine climbed gracefully over, and was followed by the Doctor and Jack. There were no trees directly in front of them and she got a clear view of the valley below her. "Look, I was right, there is a village," she said. "It's only about half a mile away."
Jack jumped down from the stile and as he did, his boot brushed at the something on the ground. It was a rectangular piece of plastic. He bent down and picked up a student identity card. A small photo of a pretty redheaded girl in her late teens was stuck to it and the name above read "Nicola Bennett."
3.
Jack picked up the small card from the ground. "Hey, look at this!" he called to the others.
The Doctor took the card from Jack and examined it. "This is a student card. It looks like our Nicola is a tourist too, and from Boston USA no less! Nice place Boston; good tea parties!" He put the card in his jacket pocket. "We'll return it if we see her."
The three travellers continued down the rough muddy track until it ended by a road that went both left and right. The Doctor looked up and down the road. "There you are," he said as he pointed to the left and to some houses that lay on the far side of a large old stone bridge. "The village is just over the bridge."
"Let's go there then," smiled Katherine. "It looks lovely!"
They walked to the bridge and started across it. The bridge was about forty feet in length and spanned a gorge. Jack paused and looked over the edge and down into the deep gorge below. Over a hundred feet below, a small river about ten feet in width trickled between boulders and stones "That's a Hell of a way down!" he whistled, picking up a nearby fallen branch and dropping it over the edge.
The Doctor watched it tumble to the river far below. "Not the best place for Pooh sticks then!" he agreed.
Katherine was ahead of her friends at the far edge of the bridge when she suddenly stopped and shivered. A strange sensation had crept over her, like she walked under a shadow.
"What's wrong?" asked the Doctor walking up to her
"I don't know," frowned Katherine, wrapping her arms around body. "I just got this chill from nowhere."
"Somebody walk over your grave?" teased Jack, catching up with his two friends.
Katherine looked him blankly; she had never heard of the expression. But before she could ask what it meant, there was the sudden sound of scampering feet. A large Alsatian dog came bounding out from the bushes along the side of the road and ran towards them on the bridge, growling and barking fiercely and baring sharp teeth.
4.
The Doctor pushed Katherine behind him to protect her as the dog got closer, still snarling and barking. Jack stood next to him, bracing himself for action.
Suddenly a man's voice came from the bushes. "Toby, down boy!" it ordered sharply.
The dog immediately stopped snarling and turned to sit at the heels of a man who emerged from the bushes. He was middle aged, handsome with greying blonde hair and clearly fit and healthy. He wore a green wax jacket, thick grey trousers and sturdy walking boots. "Sorry about that," he apologised in a light Welsh accent. "He doesn't normally do that to people," he ruffled the dog's ears affectionately, "do you boy?" He straightened up and looked at the time travellers again. "Awfully sorry; the name's Deering, but people around here just call me Sir William. Are you staying at Pontachor?" he asked, proffering his hand.
The Doctor smiled at the unconscious snobbery but shook Deering's hand. "No we've just arrived. I'm the Doctor and these are my friends Jack Harkness and Katherine de Gallois."
Sir William nodded to Katherine. "You're French? En chante mademoiselle!"
Katherine smiled graciously and gave a short curtsey. "Merci, monsieur!"
Deering rubbed his hands together. "Splendid! Well now that we're introduced, I'll walk with you to the village. I'm going back there to meet my wife anyway. Perhaps I can show you the pub? They do a good meal and pint at 'The Stag' and I think they still have a room or two if you want to stay for the night."
The Doctor nodded. "That sounds fantastic. We could all do with a relaxing night!"
Katherine looked a little nervously at Toby, but the dog seemed to be perfectly happy as they all crossed the bridge and walked towards the village. Katherine looked back over her shoulder at the bridge and shuddered again. She couldn't help feeling uneasy, but the awful creping sensation that she had felt earlier had passed.
"Your village has a very interesting name Sir William," commented the Doctor lightly. "Pontachor?"
"What does it mean in English?" asked Jack.
Sir William paused momentarily before replying. "Fear's Bridge," he said evenly.
5.
Jack blew out a breath at the name of the village. "Bet that pulls in the tourists!" he quipped.
"Ah, ancient legends and superstitions" snorted Sir William, good-naturedly. "It's my wife you want to talk to about all that; she knows it all; teaches in the primary school you know."
Katherine gave the Doctor a worried glance, but he shook his head reassuringly. "Yes I'd like that," he said to Sir William enthusiastically.
"Splendid!" exclaimed Deering. "Keep her out of my way for a few hours at least!" he laughed.
Alongside the road, houses and cottages began to appear as they got closer to the village. Some were big, with large appointed gardens full of wild flowers and colourful borders; others were short rows of small, grey stone cottages with garden gates that led directly onto the road.
"What a beautiful village!" exclaimed Katherine as the road took an abrupt turn to the left, revealing a rolling village green, complete with a small duck pond in the centre and surrounded by graceful willow trees. Clustered around the green were more houses, a small post office, and beyond that they could see an old stone church; the tall spire reaching up into the clear afternoon sky.
"And a very impressive church Sir William," complimented the Doctor.
"Yes it is, isn't it!" replied Deering proudly, slapping his leg so that Toby came to heel. "We almost lost that spire a few weeks ago; terrible storm one night that caused quite a bit of damage!"
"You were lucky," said Jack, looking around the village with interest.
"Not personally," grumbled Sir William with a frown. "Lightning hit my house and I'm still repairing the damage! Still," he reflected, "almost done now. Should be all finished in a week or so! Anyway," he gestured to an impressive coach house with a beautiful thatched roof ahead of them, "here's 'The Stag'!"
'The Stag', was a beautiful example of a country pub with white stonework, painted black wooden beams and hanging baskets stuffed with colourful flowers. A few people sat drinking at benches and tables outside as a pretty, young blonde waitress collected glasses from empty tables.
6.
"Afternoon Megan," called Sir William cheerfully. "I've brought you some customers if you have any spare rooms for the night.
Megan turned and smiled at Deering. "I think we have Sir William, I'll go and ask my Dad."
"Is Louisa in there?" asked Sir William.
Megan nodded and smiled. "I think your wife's in the lounge Sir William" she replied, picking up a last glass and balancing it on a tray.
"Splendid!" Deering exclaimed and made for the pub. "Toby, stay!" he commanded and the Alsatian obediently sat next to the door. The aristocrat glanced around at the Doctor, Jack and Katherine. "Care to join us for a drink chaps?"
Megan smiled at the travellers. "Would you like some food, we've just started serving for the evening."
Katherine suddenly realised how hungry she was. "Oh, yes please!" she replied, and Jack nodded as well.
The Doctor grinned. This was turning out to be just what they needed.
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The gorge beneath the old stone bridge was so deep that even in midsummer the sunshine never quite reached the bottom of it. This lack of warmth may have explained why there was a total absence of flowers in the gorge all year round. Another reason may have been the soil. Although no botanists had ever conducted a survey here, they would have found it grey and barren, with any nutrients having been leeched away. Which was curious since the river that ran through the gorge should have provided plenty.
As the summer afternoon wore on, the shadows in the gorge became longer and the temperature dropped considerably, enough to make it feel quite chilly, even though there was no wind. The river at this time of year was little more than a trickle and at the bottom of the gorge, just above the water line, were several large and heavy boulders that had lain there for centuries covered in various mosses and lichen.
A water rat scurried over the boulders and then quickly stopped and sniffed the air. Without warning it gave a squeal of terror and its' body seemed to twist and thrash about the rock until it fell limply to the ground.
Suddenly, one of the boulders moved ever so slightly. The dirt and shingle that had been unmoved for generations was dislodged and trickled down around it. As the boulder moved again, this time more forcefully, the trickle turned into a stream of grit and pebbles. The boulder was suddenly pushed by some unknown force and flung aside to reveal a dark passageway behind it that led into the side of the gorge.
From the darkness came a low hiss of triumph.