Doctor Who: TARDIS Code Redux – The Dream Eaters

Written by Anna Brelin

Prologue:

The 12th Doctor: "Dreams. What are they and what are their purpose? According to science, dreams are stories and images that our mind creates while we sleep. We all dream, even if we don't remember most of it the next day. They can be quite vivid, entertaining, disturbing and sometimes downright random and bizarre. But what if there was a purpose to these dreams? What are your dreams trying to tell you and what if some of these dreams are a warning, a warning of something ominous and sinister, something unseen lurking, just waiting to be let in?

Perhaps it's already been let in and perhaps it has already done what it came to do. Invading silently through your dreams, watching, waiting. Now imagine if that was an alien creature, an alien creature that feeds on your dreams and exploits them, manipulating your reality, making it appear that you are awake when in reality, you are asleep. Your mind is highjacked, made to believe that everything you see and sense around you is real. But the truth is far more darker and much more sinister than you could ever imagine..."

Chapter 1:

All that Elsie could do was run.

Run a fast as she could away from the alien creature that was chasing her. She could clearly see that she was in the park near her flat, running down a long gray brick pathway towards a long, dark tunnel. She could see herself running towards the tunnel, with the alien creature close to her heels. Only she could see the creature and hear the menacing clicking sounds it made as it scurried after her. It seems that the creature was almost on top of her until...

Elsie gasped, waking up with a start as she heard a knock at her front door. It took her a moment to realize that it was just a dream and that she was lying on her sofa in the living room of her flat, covered up with a blanket. Elsie quickly got up and answered the door. It was her friend Abigail, who had known her since she was a little girl, "Elsie, hello."

"Abigail? Is that you?" asked Elsie.

"Well, there's only one of me in this colony last I looked. I hope I'm not here to early."

"To early? For what?"

"For our day out of course. Have you've forgotten that today is your birthday?"

Elsie shook her head and continued, "My birthday, I totally forgot. I turn 219 today. I remember now."

Elsie was an Earth-born Gallifreyan who lived in an Earth colony on the planet Cass Caradrine, located in the Pegasus constellation. She was a young, fair-skinned woman with shoulder-length black hair and bright blue eyes. She often wore an outfit that looked like something crossed between Indiana Jones and Victorian steampunk, which included a black leather jacket, a Union Jack t-shirt, dark colored cargo shorts and dark colored laced up knee high leather boots along with other details which gave her outfit a distinct steampunk vibe minus any head gear.

Elsie quickly invited Abigail into her flat, unaware that they were being watched. Elsie then quickly went upstairs to get dressed as Abigail went to sit in the sofa. Upstairs, Elsie soon picked out something to wear, unaware of the danger that was quietly lurking underneath her bed, watching, waiting. Elsie quickly got dressed, then went back downstairs to fix up a snack of hazelnut coffee and lemon scones for her and Abigail.

Elsie spoke as she poured Abigail a cup of coffee, "So, how's work as a writer?"

"Not very good as of late, Elsie. It's like all the imagination and enthusiasm has been drained out of me. I haven't been able to think up anything decent to write since two weeks ago. I use to be so good at thinking up something to write. Now I'm lucky if I can think up anything, even a short story's worth of ideas."

"I know the feeling. I haven't been able to think up any short stories for the local newspaper since two weeks ago either. Maybe we both have writer's block or something. All writers get writer's block at some point in their lives."

"Elsie, I've never had writer's block in my life. Neither have you. It's unnatural for both of us to have writer's block."

"Which is probably the reason why we're having such a hard time dealing with it. Try finding inspiration, Abigail. It's easy to find if you know where to look."

"Yeah, well it's not easy for me like it is for you," said Abigail, drinking some of her coffee. Suddenly, there was a strange sound, a faint clicking and shrill and the sound of something scurrying across the floor of the kitchen, which was just off the living room. Elsie soon spoke, "Did you hear that, Abigail? It sounded like something scurrying in the kitchen."

"I don't hear anything Elsie but the sound of our footsteps walking out the door and heading to the shops. Let's get going, Elsie! It's time for our day out. It's your birthday afterall."

"Yes, we best get going. I need to get out of this flat for a while, I'm beginning to hear things that aren't there."

But Elsie wasn't hearing things that weren't there and soon she would learn the truth along with her friend Abigail. Outside, the world was lush, green and beautiful. On one side of the street that Elsie lived on was a bright spectrum of multi-story terraced houses of all bright colors and hues while on the other side there was a rainbow colored rot iron fence which separated the street from the large park beyond it, which featured several playgrounds, a youth and game center, a large fishing and swimming lake, bathing fountains, a large circular stone courtyard, a large fountain and garden area, a few greenhouses and many lush flower beds and herb gardens along with miles of pathways and sidewalks which went through the park and led to other parts of the colony.

The park was situated at the heart of the colony with the large circular stone courtyard, which was lined with park benches, marking the heart of the park, which had a fountain at the very center. A bright spectrum of park benches of all colors and hues as well as Victorian style street lamps lined all the pathways and sidewalks in the park on one side, while the flower beds and herb gardens were situated on the other side, all surrounded by lush, green forest.

Elsie and Abigail walked on the sidewalk along side the rot iron fence as Elsie spoke, "I need to get out of this colony, Abigail. Life here is just getting to boring for me. I want adventure, excitement in my life. I can't honestly get on as a writer if I'm stuck in one place forever."

"Oh not this again. Listen to me Elsie, you don't have the means to leave this colony, none of us do. We are all here because we signed up and volunteered to come here. And we are all happy here, be satisfied with that."

"I didn't leave Earth and come to this colony just so I can sit around and do nothing. I intended to become a writer for the company that makes Bartholonew's Galactic Guides, with all the money I would ever need to travel the universe. I want to see more than just one planet and one people, Abigail. I want to see more, much more."

"Well it didn't work out that way did it? Listen Elsie, let's not talk about this on your birthday. We should be celebrating, enjoying ourselves, not talking about things that will never come to be. A pipe dream that's all that is."

"Well it wouldn't be a pipe dream if I had made different decisions back then."

Abigail continued, "Come along, Elsie, let's not think about this and get to the shops. I'm sure there's lots to see down there."

As they continued down the sidewalk, both Abigail and Elsie walked side by side, laughing and giggling together. Then suddenly, Elsie stopped. Abigail then spoke, "Elsie, what is it?"

Elsie sniffed the air and spoke, "I thought I smelled...well that's not possible is it?"

"What is it? What do you smell?"

"A familiar scent, the scent of another one of my kind. I can smell it. Coming from this way," said Elsie as she started to walk down the sidewalk once more. Abigail soon followed.

Elsie continued to sniff the air, trying to find the source of the smell. This eventually led her and Abigail to the Shops. Here both sides of the street were lined with shops of all kinds, selling many goods from other planets including clothing, musical instruments and other strange and exotic items. Abigail soon spoke, looking through a shop window, "Well, at least we're where we are supposed to be. Come check this out, Elsie!"

"Not now Abigail, I need to find the source of the smell. I haven't seen another one of my kind in ages," said Elsie as she began crossing the street, unaware that a speeding car, which was a bright yellow Volkswagan Beetle, was baring down upon her. Abigail then looked back towards where Elsie was and cried out, "Elsie! Look out!"

Elsie screamed as she saw the car coming towards her, then suddenly someone yelled "Look out!" and grabbed hold of her, pulling her out of the path of the speeding car which drove on, turning a corner with its horn blaring. Elsie was stunned for a moment, then she looked over her shoulder and saw a man, who was actually the 12th Doctor, with his arms wrapped around her. He had saved her. A look of surprise fell upon the Doctor's face as he let go of Elsie, allowing her to turn around and face him. A look of recognition and surprise was on Elsie's face as she spoke, "Hold on, I know you."

Elsie had been having strange dreams as of late, one dream being about a man in a blue box coming to save her from a strange creature. She quickly recognized the Doctor as the man in her dreams. Elsie and the Doctor both spoke the same words at once, "I've seen you in my dreams!"

Elsie continued, "You to? But how long have you been dreaming about me?"

The Doctor replied, "Two weeks."

"Same," Elsie pointed at the Doctor and continued, "Hold on, you're who I smelled just now!"

"Apparently so. But I smelled you to. I could smell you all the way from the park. You're a member of my race. I didn't think there were others of my kind around here."

Abigail soon ran over to where Elsie and the Doctor was and spoke, "Elsie, what were you thinking crossing the street like that?! You could have been killed!"

"Actually, there's a more serious matter that we should be discussing that you have failed to notice."

"Like what?" asked Elsie.

"That car that almost hit you. Notice anything strange or odd about it?"

"Not really, I didn't really notice anything odd about it."

"That's because you weren't looking properly. That's how they keep you from noticing them, by wrapping your mind inside a perception filter. But at night, the perception filter becomes weaker and even breaks down in some places, blowing their cover. Have you been noticing anything odd around your house? Strange clicking sounds and scurrying about?" asked The Doctor, talking to Elsie.

"Doctor, what are you talking about?" asked Elsie, looking on.

"This whole colony is trapped in a lie. A lie made up from the collective imagination of the colonists themselves. We're trapped inside a dream cage, made of our own dreams and imagination but built by the creatures that wish to keep us in the dark and trapped inside it. There is another thing you should notice."

"What?"

"Where are all the other colonists?"

Elsie and Abigail looked around, noticing that it was just the three of them around them.

Abigail soon spoke, "Hold on what is going on here? There should be other people around."

"Exactly. And that car that almost hit Elsie, it didn't have a driver."

Elsie and Abigail looked at one another, confused.

The Doctor soon started walking as Elsie and Abigail followed. Elsie soon spoke, "So where are all the other colonists? Surely they've got to be around here somewhere."

"And given the time of day, they should be out," said Abigail, listening on.

The Doctor brought out his sonic screwdriver and scanned around with it as he continued, "Something very bad has happened here, something very strange and we need to figure out what's been going on for the past two weeks to cause all of this," The Doctor suddenly aimed his sonic down the entrance to an alleyway and continued, getting a strange reading on his sonic, "Hello, what is this?"

"What is it, Doctor?"

The Doctor quickly followed the signal on the sonic to an overturned wooden box and quickly knocked it over. There, hiding under the wooden box, was what looked like a strange glowing blue orb of energy. The Doctor continued, "Ahh, what is this then?"

"It looks like an orb. An orb made of some sort of energy," said Elsie, looking at the orb. Abigail stood back and watched from the entrance to the alleyway.

The Doctor scanned the orb with his sonic then looked at the results, "That's no ordinary energy, Elsie. The creatures aren't just feeding on your dreams and imagination, they are collecting it. These creatures are acting like bees, collecting your dreams and imagination like honey, turning your dreams and imagination into another form of energy and then storing it in orbs like this. But why, why are they collecting it?"

"Doctor, what creatures?"

"I call them the Dream Eaters, but there real name I do not know. They've been here for two weeks now, Elsie. A silent invasion, feeding upon and collecting your dreams and imagination, using it, exploiting it. But why they are collecting it, I do not know."

"So what are we going to do? How do we stop them?"

"We need to find there hive, the spaceship that brought them here. It must be somewhere in this colony or close to it."

Abigail soon spoke, looking towards something, "There's more people!"

The Doctor and Elsie quickly went back to the entrance to the alleyway and peered around the corner. Suddenly, the whole area was filled with other colonists of all ages. There were street vendors selling goods from clothing to food and people walking and bustling about. Elsie soon spoke, "Hold on, that's weird. How can they not be there one minute and then there the next?"

The Doctor went back to the orb as Elsie suddenly noticed that Abigail was missing, "Doctor, what happened to Abigail?"

"I think the orb has something to do with how the perception filter works. It's readjusting itself, adding elements to the..."

Elsie looked back at where the Doctor was, only to find that he to was missing. Elsie soon spoke, "Doctor! Doctor, where are you? Docto..."

Elsie suddenly stopped, suddenly hearing a familiar sound surrounding her, the sound of clicking and scurrying about. Then something strange happened. There was a flash of light then suddenly, Elsie found herself sitting on a park bench inside the park, far away from the shops. Elsie looked around confused for a moment then suddenly a memory popped into her mind, "Oh, I remember now. I came here to take some pictures."

Elsie suddenly noticed a camera hanging around her neck and soon grabbed hold of it. Elsie paused a moment before speaking again, "Strange. Was I daydreaming just now? Huh."

Elsie was not only a writer for the local newspaper, she was also a photographer, taking pictures to be published in the local newspaper. Realizing what time it was, Elsie quickly got up from the park bench and started taking pictures as if she had completely forgotten what had happened. As Elsie started taking pictures, she could hear music coming from a radio nearby. The song that was playing was titled Walking On A Dream by Empire Of The Sun, a favorite song of Elsie's.

Elsie took pictures of quite a few things that were going on in the park, unaware that she was being watched by something up in a nearby tree. Elsie soon walked down a pathway that led to a tunnel that went underneath a gray brick pathway bridge. As she kept taking pictures, she began to sense something familiar about her surroundings, as if she had seen the place before. Elsie soon brought down her camera and stopped. It was then that she remembered, "Wait, I know this place. The dream I had. I remember. I was walking down this pathway when..."

Suddenly, she heard a familiar clicking sound behind her. Elsie soon turned around and was suddenly face to face with the very creature from her dreams. At first, the creature looked like a furry black blob with long black tentacles trailing from it, clicking loudly.

Then suddenly it began to transform into something that looked like a flat faced creature with no eyes and with the head and body of a lion, all black and covered with scales and with a long scorpion-like tail that ended with a stinger. It had what appeared to be heat sensing gills on the sides of its face, which Elsie assumed was how the creature could see.

Sensing something ominous was about to happen, Elsie started to run, running towards the tunnel at the far end of the path. The creature quickly galloped after Elsie, making clicking and shrilling sounds as it chased her. All that Elsie could do was run, run as far away from the the creature as possible. Elsie soon reached the tunnel and was about to go inside, but then Elsie looked back only to see that the creature was right on top of her, about to attack.

Then suddenly, the familiar sound of the sonic screwdriver was heard, aimed right at the creature. Then a voice, the Doctor's voice, rang out, "Back! Get back I say!"

The creature began to hiss in disagreeement as the sound of the sonic was hurting its ears. Elsie looked behind her and noticed the Doctor, running out of the tunnel and running up next to her, keeping his sonic fixed on the creature as he spoke, "I said back! You can't feed on her! You can't feed on her anymore! Go back to your queen, whoever or whatever they may be!"

Suddenly, the creature spoke with a low, growling voice, "You know nothing of our plans, Time Lord. You are trapped here like everyone else in this colony and soon you will be integrated like all the others. You can not stop us!"

"I answered a distress call coming from this planet and ended up finding an even bigger problem than I originally thought. Do you know how that's like? So tell me, where is your queen? Where is your hive? I know that you are both feeding and collecting from all the people in this colony but why do that? What is the plan?"

"I will tell you nothing, Time Lord. You will soon be integrated, then we will feed upon you."

"I'd like to see you try."

The creature then suddenly transformed back into its original form, black blob with tentacles and quickly scurried away, vanishing into the underbrush. Elsie soon spoke as the Doctor brought down his sonic and hid it away, "What was that thing?!"

"That was a dream eater in the form of a Gallifreyan Mountain Manicore. I beginning to see how they work. Taking something from their victim's memory in order to scare them. These creatures are extremely powerful," The Doctor then turned to Elsie and continued, "So, we meet again."

"Again? Oh yes of course, but I thought I was daydreaming."

"You weren't. I'm the Doctor by the way. I remember you from my dreams."

"Same. I'm Elsie Kulbet."

"Elsie, an interesting name for an Earth-born Gallifreyan."

"I know. Hold on, how do you know I am an Earth-born Gallifreyan?"

"I've lived a long time, Elsie, I can tell. So, what are you doing in this colony?" asked the Doctor.

"I live here though I'd rather not," replied Elsie.

"I thought so."

"Thought what?"

"You're restless, Elsie. Your need and desire for a change. That's likely what attracted them to you."

The Doctor soon turned and went back towards the tunnel. Elsie quickly turned and followed.

Elsie spoke as she and the Doctor entered the tunnel and walked down it, "Doctor, I don't understand. How can my need for a change attract a creature like that?"

"With the dream eaters, it's a give and take situation with their victims. They take dreams and imagination from their victims but in turn they create a dream world around their victim made from the victim's own imagination in order to keep them happy but also keep them trapped. Ever heard of the dream crabs? It's allot like that, but different. They are attracted to people with allot of imagination who wish for a change. You might have noticed."

"Noticed what?"

"Do you feel that you have been lacking imagination and enthusiasm these past two weeks? As though your being drained of it?"

"Yes, I have been feeling like that. Even my friend Abigail has been feeling like that."

"That's because the dream eaters are eating your dreams and imagination alive. They are literally draining all the imagination out of you and then using it to build a world around you. The user becomes the experiencer. Though unlike the dream crabs, they are not sticking to your face while they feed upon you. No, they are plugged into you in a different way, different from the dream crabs and this whole colony is under their influence."

"So how do we stop them, these dream eaters?"

"The first thing we need to do is find out where they are hiding, where their hive is. If they are feeding and collecting dreams and imagination like a bee that collects nectar, they are likely living similar to a bee, complete with a queen and a hive."

"So how do we find them?"

"We need to catch a dream eater and put a tracking device on them. That way they will lead us back to the hive."

Elsie continued as she pointed back behind her, "But what about that dream eater we just encountered? We could have caught it."

"No, we couldn't have caught that one. We need a different dream eater, particularly one that is currently hiding out in someone's house. A dream eater contained."

Elsie looked into space for a moment, remembering something as she spoke, "I know where we can find one," The Doctor looked at Elsie as Elsie then looked at him and continued, "Back at my flat."

A few minutes later, the TARDIS materialized inside Elsie's flat, landing in her living room. The Doctor soon stepped out, aiming his sonic around while Elsie stepped out of the TARDIS and spoke, "Doctor, it's amazing in there."

"I know. Being an Earth-born Gallifreyan you've probably never seen the inside of a TARDIS before."

"Actually I have, when I was little. I saw the inside of my father's TARDIS a few times, but it was nothing like what I saw in your TARDIS."

The Doctor scanned the living room with his sonic then looked at the results, "Fascinating."

"What is?"

"This place is infested with dream eaters. We must be close to an entrance to the hive. But where is it?"

Elsie quickly glanced over towards the kitchen, where she caught a brief glimpse of a dream eater scurrying across the floor, "Doctor, there's one in the kitchen!"

"Where?"

"I just saw it now! It's in my kitchen!"

The Doctor used his sonic to scan the kitchen area and then looked at the results, "Interesting. The perception filter is weaker around here. We're near a hive entrance for sure," The Doctor then turned to Elsie and spoke, "Why did you decide to live here in this flat?"

"I don't know. I just woke up one morning and found myself here."

"And you didn't find that strange?"

"Well no, I suppose not since I recognized everything in here as mine. But I had gone to the club the night before and thought I just had to much to drink. Do you think it's significant?"

"Everything is significant when it comes trying to free this colony from the dream eaters. You must have had an enormous amount of imagination and enthusiasm for the dream eaters to want you so close to them. What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a photographer and an artist, but I also write allot. Well not as much as I should be during these past couple weeks. I feel drained, as if my imagination and enthusiasm are being torn away from me."

"The right kind of occupations that someone with lots of imagination and enthusiasm would do. They are feeding on you and collecting from you Elsie."

"Oh no, Doctor, I can't live without my imagination and enthusiasm. In need those to work."

"I know, Elsie, I know," said the Doctor, walking into the kitchen and scanning the area with his sonic. The Doctor's sonic zeroed in on the spot where the dream eater in the kitchen was hiding s he spoke, "Hello? I know you're hiding in there. Come out and show yourself."

Elsie watched as the Doctor got closer to where the dream eater was. Suddenly there was a loud shrill as the dream eater jumped out of its hiding place and attempted to latch onto the Doctor's face with its tentacles. The Doctor quickly fought off the creature and started chasing after it as it scurried across the floor. After a couple failed attempts at catching the creature, which made clicking sounds as it scurried and ran, The Doctor followed the creature upstairs as it was running across the wall, going into Elsie's bedroom. Elsie quickly followed behind the Doctor. The Doctor soon spoke as Elsie entered her bedroom, "Elsie, down here."

The Doctor was lying down on the floor looking at something underneath Elsie's bed. Elsie soon lied down next to the Doctor and looked at what the Doctor was looking at. Elsie soon spoke, "Doctor, it's another one of those strange blue orbs. I didn't notice it under my bed before."

"That's because this orb is brand new, containing a new collection of your dreams and imagination. The dream eaters in your flat have been busy feeding and collecting from you. We all think we are awake when we are actually asleep."

"Doctor, could I be asleep?"

"Likely, very likely. We are sharing the same dreams, Elsie. But how we are sharing them I do not know."

"So what happened to the dream eater we were chasing?"

"It's under the bed, with the orb," said the Doctor, aiming his sonic towards the far end of the bed. Suddenly, there was another loud shrill and the dream eater popped out from a box that was under the bed, grabbing the orb with its tentacles and began running away with it.

"Got it!" yelled the Doctor, seeing a chance to catch the dream eater. The Doctor quickly grabbed the dream eater with both his bare hands as it was running away with the orb. The dream eater began to squeak loudly as the Doctor held it with both his hands. The dream eater tried to wrap its tentacles around the Doctor's neck as he ran out the bedroom door, running downstairs to the TARDIS, struggling with the dream eater as he went.

"Elsie!" called the Doctor as she quickly followed him back into the TARDIS, closing the doors behind her. A few minutes later, the doors opened and the dream eater scurried out. The Doctor soon spoke, standing at the open doors, "Now we will see where they are hiding out. Follow that dream eater!"

The Doctor used his sonic to track the dream eater as he stepped out of the TARDIS once more with Elsie. They quickly followed the dream eater out the front door, across the street and into the park.

"This way, Elsie!" yelled the Doctor as Elsie continued to follow him.

Elsie soon spoke, "So what are we going to do if we find the entrance to their hive?"

"We're going to find the queen and see if we can reason with her."

"And if that doesn't work?"

"We'll think of something."

They kept following the dream eater all the way to a wall that was covered in brightly colored abstract graffiti. They suddenly saw the dream eater scurry right through the wall, causing the Doctor and Elsie to stop and look for a moment. Then the Doctor spoke as he used his sonic to scan the wall, "Of course, the entrance would be invisible. It's a dream cage. The whole colony is trapped inside it."

"So how do we get out and free the colonists?"

"We don't, at least not this way. We both need to wake up!"

...Continued Chapter 2...