7.
Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart watched impatiently as his men escorted some more civilians into the waiting army truck. He hated civilian duties and had fought against the assignment, but as usual, the desk bound bureaucrats had won. Not that he had disagreed about the importance of the assignment. He looked up and down the street of terraced houses. He could barely see past about four of them, the light from the street lamps was totally ineffective against the grey, murky blanket that swirled through the air. It was a real 'pea-souper' as they called it. After that terrible smog in London almost ten years ago, the government had to take the situation seriously enough to involve the army. They hadn't evacuated areas quick enough then and people had died. Now they weren't taking any chances.
Lethbridge-Stewart fought the urge to cough as he felt his chest tighten. Pride of command meant that he had opted not to wear anything like a scarf or handkerchief to cover his nose and mouth. The final few civilians were loaded onto the truck and he saw Private Hemmings bang on the back of it to signal it to leave. The truck engine roared into life and it drove away into the gloom.
Hemmings came back and saluted the Colonel. Lethbridge Stewart liked the young soldier, who was keen to learn and had good instincts. Like the Colonel, he had also chosen not to cover his mouth. "All civilians present and correct sir!" reported Hemmings, automatically coming to attention.
"Good work Private," replied Lethbridge Stewart, "now let's just check around in case we have any waifs and strays that have wandered in from another area."
"Very good, sir," smiled Hemmings, then his expression changed as there was a sudden flash of light in the sky, like a flare. Something dark flew over them with a terrifying screech. "What the…..?" Hemmings shouted and clutched his rifle.
Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart looked up to see the creature he had encountered in Kenya nearly ten years ago. For one of only very few times in his career as a soldier, he was frozen in shock. Time seemed to stand still.
Suddenly, Lethbridge-Stewart came to his senses as the thing swooped down on Hemmings with deadly speed, its clawed arms wide. The young soldier only managed to fire a single ineffectual shot before the creature had enveloped him. Hemmings screamed in terror and agony and then he was consumed and was gone. The creature, seemingly sated, gave a shriek of victory and then was surrounded by a vortex of swirling white light.
Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart was left alone in the London terraced street.
8.
The Doctor took a few steps towards the Brigadier and flung his arms around him in a friendly hug. "Oh, Alistair, it's been too long!"
The old soldier was overcome enough at meeting his old friend to forget his stiff military upbringing and enjoy the warmth of the embrace. Then he grabbed at the Doctor's arm and smiled fondly at him. "Steady on now Doctor. I'm not as young as I used to be!" The Brigadier looked deeply into the Doctor's eyes. "It is you, isn't it?" He smiled at the young face in front of him. "You've changed again I see!"
The Doctor stepped back, a grin spread from ear to ear. "Of course I'm me, and yes, I've changed a few times since we last met!" But as he looked closer at the Brigadier, the Doctor's grin faltered slightly at the appearance of his old friend. He had aged more than his years. His hair and usual moustache were now completely white and he had certainly put on a few pounds. But it was his grey pallor and the yellow of his eyes that worried the Doctor.
The Brigadier noticed the Doctor's expression change. "Yes, I know," he muttered irritably, "old age, Doctor!" He grasped at his walking stick and began to walk up the gravel path. "Not all of us can regenerate when we feel like it you know!"
After all their years working together, the Doctor realised immediately that the Brigadier was worried about something and was, as usual, trying to cover it up with bluster. "Nonsense Brigadier," he tried to reassure him, "you still look as fit as a flea!" He started up the gravel path behind the Brigadier, noticing that the rain was just stopping.
The Brigadier just grunted in reply but pointed up the path with his walking stick. "The house is up there. We can have a drink, and talk out of this wretched wind."
"What's wrong Alistair," the Doctor continued quietly as he followed behind him, "why did you call me?"
The Brigadier stopped walking and turned to face the Doctor, looking directly into his eyes.
"I'm dying," he said simply.
9.
The Lethbridge-Stewart estate was a large country house, in more than a few acres of land, about an hour north of Edinburgh. It had been left to the Brigadier by his father, himself a diplomat, many years ago. Now the Doctor sat in a large red leather armchair in the elegant library, surrounded by wooden panels and shelves of musty books, whilst the Brigadier poured two glasses of malt whisky. He passed one to the Doctor and then eased himself into another armchair opposite.
The Brigadier indicated the room around him with his glass. "What do you think? I never really had chance to spend much time up here before I retired."
The Doctor sipped appreciatively at his drink. "It's lovely. What about your house in Sussex – that was Doris's wasn't it? Does she like it up here?"
A shadow crossed the Brigadier's face at the mention of his second wife, and he glanced down. "Doris died in a car accident three years ago Doctor – I'm on my own now."
The Doctor put down his glass and leant forward. "Alistair, I'm so sorry," he whispered.
The Brigadier just nodded and sipped at his drink. There was an awkward pause before the Brigadier cleared his throat and pulled out the signal device from his pocket. "I didn't know it would still work," he said lightly, "after all these years! You came back to deal with the Zygons and their Loch Ness monster last time I called you Doctor, remember them?"
The Doctor nodded silently, watching the Brigadier carefully.
"Zygons, Autons, Yeti, Cybermen! We've certainly seen them off," continued the Brigadier. "And what about those awful pepperpot things, the Da……"
"Brigadier!" The Doctor's voice was quiet and kind, but firm. "You said you were dying?"
The Brigadier looked the Doctor directly in the eye. "A tumour Doctor; on my liver. They say I have a month."
The Doctor sighed sadly, he feared as much. "Surely there's something they could do?"
The Brigadier shook his head. "Inoperable I'm afraid, and anyway," he chuckled darkly, taking another sip of malt, "I'm too old to survive the surgery!"
Suddenly, there was a terrifying screech from outside the window.
10.
The Doctor leapt out of his seat as a shadow flew past the window with a shriek. He watched the scaly creature circle in the sky with an empty feeling in his stomach. "Oh no," he muttered quietly, recognising it at once. The Doctor had encountered them before; where the compassion of a friend had almost destroyed the world.
The Brigadier pushed himself to his feet with his stick and came to stand next to the Doctor, his mouth open in astonishment. "That creature, I've seen it before!"
The Doctor turned to him urgently. "You have? Where Alistair?"
The Brigadier ran his hand over his face. "It was years ago, I was just a young man; once when I was stationed in Kenya, and the other in London in the Fifties. It was before I met you Doctor. I'd forgotten all about it," he tailed off, "until now." The Brigadier swallowed nervously and faced the Doctor. "How could I forget?" he growled, "I'm not senile yet!"
The Doctor shook his head, a terrible expression on his face. "No, Brigadier there's nothing wrong with you, it's the temporal distortion." He groaned. This is all my fault!"
"What do you mean?" asked the Brigadier.
The Doctor sighed. "I cheated. I arrived after……." He corrected himself quickly and the Brigadier seemed not to notice anything as the Doctor hastily continued. "I arrived at the wrong temporal location and made the TARDIS hop back a bit to correct it. That's breaking the rules."
A flicker of a smile crossed the Brigadier's face. "You never were much for rules Doctor! Why is it so important this time?"
The Doctor ignored his friend's irony. "I crossed someone's personal time-stream Brigadier – yours! That's why that thing is here."
They both watched the creature turn in the sky and swoop down close to the building again, almost as if it were searching for something, its red eyes burning with hunger.
"That creature," asked the Brigadier, "what is it?"
"It's called a Reaper. It's here to close the tear in the Space-Time continuum, like an antibody sterilising a wound. That's why you've encountered it before – it's hunting you Brigadier!"
11.
As the Doctor and the Brigadier stared out of the large library windows, the Reaper turned and swooped again. This time the burning, malevolent eyes found them. The creature gave a triumphant shriek and flew straight towards the window.
The Doctor instantly jumped in front of the Brigadier to try and protect the old man, who fell backwards with a cry of alarm.
The Reaper crashed into the window with terrifying force, smashing the glass and frame alike.
The Doctor threw up his hands to protect his face against the shards of glass as the splinters flew across the room like knives.
Fortunately, the Reaper was just a little too big to get directly through the smaller window, but it raked out with its' massive arms, the sharp talons clawing against the walls and floor as it attempted to squeeze through.
The Doctor knew that the Brigadier would never be fast enough to outrun the creature so he had to take a chance; he only hoped he was old enough! He glanced around and to his relief saw that the Brigadier had managed to get to safety behind a massive leather sofa, so reached down and picked a length of timber that had splintered from the window frame.
The Reaper had almost managed to manoeuvre its' scaly body through the smashed window when the Doctor stood directly in its' path and smashed the length of timber across its' head.
It should have been like using a matchstick against an elephant, but the effect was incredible.
The Reaper gave another shriek, this time higher in pitch, and pushed backwards, its' head thrashing from side to side as if it was scared of the Doctor.
The Doctor knew his advantage was only temporary. He dropped the piece of timber and jumped across the leather sofa to land next to the Brigadier. He helped his still dazed friend to his feet and, with his arm around the Brigadier's shoulder, supported him to the library door.
They managed to get through the door and the Doctor slammed it behind them, dragging a heavy side table from its position against the wall to block the doorway.
The Brigadier had recovered his composure but was breathing heavily. "Just like old times Doctor?"
12.
Doctor grinned at his old friend, but then instantly his expression changed to that of concern. The Brigadier was pale and shaking, and beads of sweat stood out on his forehead. "Are you alright?"
The Brigadier cleared his throat and wiped a hand across his brow. "Of course I am. It'll take more than one monster to rattle this old soldier, you should know that Doctor!"
A gentle smile returned to the Doctor's face. "What did you do?" asked the Brigadier.
The Doctor pursed his lips. He could still hear the Reaper thrashing about in the other room. "The Reapers don't like things that have lasted a long time. It disorientates them; too difficult to consume you see, and I'm a bit older than I look!"
The Brigadier grunted indignantly. "I should be a bitter pill to swallow then!" He raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean they can't attack you?"
The Doctor shook his head. "No, far from it. It was a bit of a surprise for it that time. We shouldn't count on that again. I might just be a heavy lunch next time!"
"What now then?"
The Doctor ran his fingers through his hair and then winced as he heard the Reaper crashing about and screeching behind the shut library door. "Let's get away from the immediate area first."
The Brigadier nodded and walked along the hall as quickly as he could manage, but the Doctor could see he was leaning heavily on his walking stick. "Is your TARDIS here?"
The Doctor nodded. "Down the hill, but it could just make things worse if that thing in there was to sniff out all the lovely temporal energy inside it. At the moment there's just one here, but that could bring more of them Brigadier."
There was a sudden crash and the door to the library cracked, pushing the table to one side as the reaper threw itself against it.
"On the other hand," continued the Doctor quickly, "We don't have much of a choice, and at least it'll give me a chance to think." He took the Brigadier's arm. "Come on Brigadier, time for a look around the TARDIS!"
13.
The journey from the house to the TARDIS seemed to the Doctor to be a hundred times longer that it really took. He held on to the Brigadier's arm whilst moving him as fast as he decently could, trying to avoid slipping on the still muddy grass and gravel. He constantly looked over his shoulder, expecting the Reaper to work out where its' prey had gone, get out of the house and swoop down on the defenceless pair. But their luck held, and whilst the Doctor could still hear the creature shrieking with bloodlust, it never appeared.
Eventually, to the Doctor's relief, they reached the TARDIS and he opened the door. He stepped back with a smile and let the Brigadier enter first. The old soldier glanced inside and then exchanged a wry smile with his friend before grasping his stick and stepping into the ship.
The Brigadier looked around with a mixture of awe and fond memories. The last time he had been inside was a very long time ago. The TARDIS had looked very different then. "Been doing some redecorating?" he asked.
The Doctor looked up from the console where he had been pushing buttons and twisting levers. "This is 'coral' apparently," he grinned, "do you like it?"
The Brigadier walked slowly up the ramp that led to the console and smiled. "You are an amazing man Doctor."
The Doctor laughed. "No more amazing than you Alistair!" He glanced down at the monitor screen. "Now then, let's see if we can't rustle up something to help us!" He pressed some more buttons. "Ah, now that's an idea; bit risky though, but it could work………"
The Brigadier sighed and the Doctor realised he was waiting for an explanation. "Sorry, sorry, force of habit. That thing out there feds on temporal energy created by a paradox. Well this old TARDIS has seen plenty of them, so we could draw some energy from her and use it to sate the Reaper. There's only one problem; if I activate the console to draw out the energy, it could actually attract more Reapers."
"Is there any other way?" asked the Brigadier.
The Doctor shook his head and then grinned dangerously. "Not really, so hold on!"