DOCTOR WHO: THE FAMILY
Chapter 1
D.A.C. REITH'S OFFICE, SCOTLAND YARD, PRESENT DAY:
"The bodies of the missing Hanners family have officially been recovered, police have confirmed." said the television newsreader authoritatively before pausing for a brief moment of silence. "The family, who have been missing for more than nine years were recovered yesterday evening with positive matches for all family members confirmed as of this morning. No cause of death has been given but Scotland Yard have confirmed an investigation has been launched into their deaths." she added as the television was then switched off.
"This is you Nicola," boomed a deep-voiced man to Detective Inspector Nicola Baxter. The man was her boss, Laurence Reith, and he was also the Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Scotland Yard. He was in his mid-60s with barely any hair left and deep bags under his eyes. His face looked wearied by time but deep down was still something of his younger self there.
"Thank you for this opportunity, sir…" said Nicola politely. She was in her early 40s with a short brown bob of a haircut and a business-like suit at her disposal with pockets filled with pens, pencils and any form of paper she could fit into them. Nicola was career-driven and knew this case would be the one to define her. Until now she'd been in charge of cases against thieves and the odd murder case, but nothing this high profile.
"It's no problem DI Baxter, but we have found some problems from preliminary tests carried out this morning." DAC Reith then said as he slouched back into his seat. He looked concerned but smiled for a brief moment – it was always his way and everyone at the Yard was used to it. Nicola didn't speak and just stared at her boss in silence waiting for his next words. "The pathologists think something odd, erm….how should I say this…other-worldly is involved somehow. I don't know what that it and they can't tell me for obvious reasons, but they've drafted in some experts with immediate effect to join us in the case."
"Who?" interrupted Nicola. "It's my case, I should know all these things, sir."
"The Unified Intelligence Taskforce…UNIT – no, me neither, but they've confirmed what the pathologists feared." DAC Reith said as he leaned forward in his chair looking at DI Baxter all the way throughout. "They think aliens are involved…"
THE TARDIS, UNKNOWN TIME:
The Doctor sat reading in silence as the TARDIS hummed in the background. Life had been so quiet since Amy and Rory had gone for good. It was back to just him and his time machine with plenty of quiet in-between for him to contemplate on things. Yes, there were little trips here and there but something was missing in his life now. Suddenly, the TARDIS monitor beeped and beeped again. The Doctor leapt up out of his seat and rushed over to the centre console. He'd changed it all to rid his memories of the Ponds and he was still getting used to it, but he eventually found the monitor after a brief moment of forgetting where it was placed.
"Ah ha…" he said with his arms waving all about. "Hello?" he asked as the wavy image tried to stabilise itself. "Hello?" he tried again.
"Doctor?" came a wispy voice through the message. "Doctor? Is that you?"
"Y…y…yes," he said. "It's me." He bashed the monitor on its side to make things focus but it didn't work. The Doctor grew impatient with it all and hit the monitor twice more, still nothing happened.
"Doctor," came the voice again as suddenly the picture formed into view with a lady looking on somewhat regally but authoritatively. The Doctor stood back and just grinned.
"Kate." he said simply. "Kate Stewart – you're getting as bad as your dad for contacting me like this. Lethbridge-Stewart's seemingly don't know the meaning of private at times do they?" Kate just sighed at the Doctor's doctor-like behaviour.
"Pleasantries aside Doctor, UNIT needs you and fast. I don't know if you know on the news about the Hanners family, but it's about them. We need another opinion, your opinion."
"Why, what is it? What's happened, Kate?" the Doctor asked as he flicked his hair out of the way.
"We think something extra-terrestrial was involved in this incident. We're not sure and we've got the police on our backs. Their leading officer isn't letting us go I'm afraid. We've had to join their investigation – UNIT and the police don't go hand in hand I'm afraid. We think aliens are involved and they don't. It's why we need you and fast…"
"I'll come right away. Where do you need me?" the Doctor then asked.
"The co-ordinates are being sent to you know," said Kate. "Be quick…" she added as the TARDIS rumbled into life.
PATHOLOGY LAB, UNIT HQ, LONDON, PRESENT DAY:
"What's your verdict?" asked one pathologist as he eagerly waited for the Doctor's response.
"Don't rush him…" said Kate. "The Doctor is the expert here, let him decide when to speak." she added as she watched the Doctor survey what remained of the Hanners family. Laid out side by side, all four family members had decomposed badly but showed signs of something wrong on them. Marks and gashes all over their bodies with a circular tattoo-like insignia imprinted on their palm made UNIT wonder what it possibly could be.
"We assumed they were attacked by a bear or something like that at first," Kate then carried on as the Doctor continued his examination. "But given everything else, it didn't strike us as a normal bear attack."
"Is there such a thing as a normal bear attack, Kate?" the Doctor asked.
"I would not know." she said as behind her a door buzzed and in stepped a woman in a hurry.
"I hope you realise what a delay this is causing in the case, my case…" she said sternly. Kate just looked at her and took her to one side.
"DI Baxter I understand that you want to do your job, it's fully understandable but we need to take our time here." she said. Nicola just shook her head.
"Who's he?" she then asked in the direction of the Doctor. "Won't he contaminate things dressed like that?"
"I assure you I won't…" the Doctor answered simply as he examined the mother's body with a magnifying glass. He frowned considerably. "She's different…" he said.
"Different?" said Kate. "She's different, how?"
"The marking is fainter on her than any of the others. Her, I'm sorry, what was her name?"
"Henrietta." said Nicola.
"Henrietta," the Doctor then repeated, "she tried to stop something happening to the others. Her wounds are more defence-like than anyone else's. She struggled the most to fight off whatever it was."
"Was she the first to die then?" the pathologist asked. The Doctor shook his head.
"No-one died first, they all died in the same moment as if their life switches were turned off in the same second. Someone pulled the plug on them. Lives drained and bodied ruined. Some injuries were before death in the struggle, but the majority are post death. Someone got a right proper kick out of this."
"Someone….alien?" Nicola then asked. "That word sounds so odd, but could it be the case? I need to know, I need to clue myself up on it otherwise. I was preparing for just a regular murder or tragic accident case here, but now I don't know what to think with you lot saying aliens and such." The Doctor stayed silent and just paced round the lab a couple of times. No-one spoke and just waited for him to speak. Kate could see he wasn't quite himself but didn't know why. She knew her dad wouldn't have accepted the Doctor acting like this, but she didn't want to intervene, not yet anyway.
"Whatever did this, whoever killed this family meant it and meant it well. This was no accident," the Doctor began to explain. "What do we know about their last moments?" he then asked.
"They were going on a holiday to Cornwall," began Kate. "Their car broke down just outside Horace Hill Woods."
"Oh, I don't like the sound of this…" muttered the Doctor.
"It was night time, the kids, Henry and Grace, were worried as you'd expect and Henrietta made a call home letting friends know of their problems."
"Grainy CCTV then showed John, the husband, get out of the car," continued Nicola. "And then was never seen again. Henrietta and the kids disappeared soon after. Screams were reportedly heard and the car had part of its roof ripped off, but their bodies were nowhere to be found. The footage ends after everyone leaves the car, so whoever or whatever did what they did to the roof is a mystery."
"The thing is to turn up nine years later though in the area first searched and in the open is strange, Doctor, isn't it?" Kate asked. "Searches were carried out at the time and then here we are nine years on with their bodies. No-one buried them after killing them."
"Where we they all that time?" DI Baxter then asked "It just doesn't make sense. Three detectives retired because this case got too much for them – I don't want to be the fourth. I want to solve this. I want the Hanners' relatives to get some closure."
"You're not the only one…" said the Doctor. "Because there is most definitely something other-worldly about this and I'm not in the mood for letting a repeat offence happen."
"So, what do you suggest?" Kate then asked.
"I need to see the scene of their demise…" said the Doctor. "Something is bound to fall into place there."
