(AUTHOR'S NOTE) Having finally pulled my nose out of a chemistry textbook, I've done chapter 3 to wind down. Also, I made a grammatical error on my note at the end of chapter 2! It should be capitulo numero dos, not duo. Duo is Latin, not Spanish. (Ta, Kaylee Tam.) So, here's chapter three. Enjoy. (END NOTE)

CHAPTER THREE

The news of two new passengers spread around the ship like wildfire, as talk does in closed environments populated by a relatively small number of people. So, when the Doctor and Peri arrived for dinner, they attracted a number of looks from assorted sailors and other passengers. The Doctor, in his typical way, got chatting to a few sailors, gently and very subtly probing them to get information about precisely what was going on. Peri sighed, and settled on a table close to Jimmy. He glanced up as she sat down.

'Hi,' he said carefully, then glanced down at the book in his lap. Peri returned the greeting, and appraised the sauce-soaked object served by the thoroughly unpleasant looking chef. Potato aux Walnut, he'd said it was. Peri thought it looked more like Oozefish, and decided to eat as much as she could, then get something from the TARDIS' food synthesiser later. Even bland white bars looked more appetising than this pile of… whatever it was.

'You okay?'

Peri glanced up to see Jimmy looking at her, his head cocked to one side. The kid had a slight smile stretching his lips. It wasn't a malicious smile, more an innocent smile, the sort her little brother had used whenever he was trying to be friendly.

'Yeah, I'm fine thanks,' Peri replied, smiling back. Her discomfort must have shown, because Jimmy glanced at her food and said, 'It's not that bad. It's just that Lumpy likes his walnuts.' Peri glanced at the chef, who was serving another portion of slop to the Doctor, looking pleasantly surprised that someone was asking for seconds.

'Well hello there, little lady.'

Peri looked up to see a well-built, classically handsome man striding across the mess towards her, beaming obsequiously. Jimmy muttered something, and slid out of his seat, vanishing through a nearby door. Peri noticed some of the sailors sending pitying glances her way as the man settled in the spot Jimmy had just vacated.

'I don't believe we've met,' he said, retaining the smile, although it made him look like a St Bernard dog. Peri decided she didn't like him, and it was clear from the way other people acted, as if there was a bad smell around, that they didn't like him either.

'I'm Bruce,' the man said, stretching out a hand. Peri didn't take it. Bruce's smile faltered slightly, as if he'd expected Peri to say something. He quickly changed track, 'I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name, miss…'

'That's because I didn't throw it,' Peri replied, spooning a lump of Potato aux Walnut onto her spoon and trying to work out the best way to spill it onto Bruce's pristine trousers.

'I'm sorry,' Bruce said again, 'Where are my manners?'

'That's a very good question,' Peri muttered.

Bruce continued, unperturbed. 'What is your name?'

'Brown. Miss Brown to you.' Bruce leaned forwards, interested.

'Excuse me,' said another voice, causing both Peri and Bruce to glance up. A small blonde woman was standing by the table, with her own bowl of slop. She addressed Bruce when she spoke. 'Mr Baxter, Mr Denham asked me to get you. He wanted to talk about the scene we're filming this afternoon - the argument with Mr Leonard.'

'Ah,' Bruce said, a little disappointed, 'Sorry, Miss Brown, duty calls. Later, perhaps?'

'Much later,' Peri said, 'Try nineteen-eighty four.' Bruce seemed to miss what she was saying as he left the room, looking rather smug. Peri turned to the blonde woman.

'I guess I should say thanks.'

'It was nothing,' the blonde replied, 'He's just very full of himself.'

'I didn't notice,' Peri said, raising her eyebrows. The other woman chuckled, and sat down opposite.

'I'm Ann,' she said, smiling, 'Ann Darrow.'

'Peri, Peri Brown. Short for Perpuguilliam.'

Ann smiled, 'Nice name,' she said.

'Yeah, but it sure is a mouthful.' Ann smiled again.

'So,' she said, a friendly tone in her voice, 'What brings you to this neck of the woods?'

Peri recalled a cover story agreed with the Doctor and the captain, 'The Doctor is a friend of my father, and he's taking me to see the world. Travel broadens the mind and all that.'

'Doctor?' Ann said, frowning slightly, 'As in medical?'

'Everything, really.' Peri pointed to the Doctor, who was amazing the sailors by pulling a frying pan from behind the chef's ear.

'He seems to make friends easily,' Ann remarked.

'He does that,' Peri replied, watching as the Doctor produced a bunch of flowers from a colander.

'By the way,' Ann said, leaning close to Peri, 'A word of warning, be careful of Carl Denham. He won't like a scientist.'

'Why's that?' Peri asked, feeling the familiar inevitability of some catastrophe looming on the horizon.

'He mentioned something about a discovery. Some sort of island,' Ann said, looking at Peri, concern in her eyes. 'He's very protective, almost paranoid. When one of his boxes vanished, he freaked, and almost strangled Jimmy. Then he found it in his pocket.'

'Why Jimmy?' Peri asked, remembering how shy the young man appeared.

'He steals things.' Ann said.

Peri was about to ask about Denham, when a black man stuck his head around the door of the mess. 'Doctor,' he said 'Captain wants to see you in the wheelhouse.'

'Ah,' the Doctor sighed, 'and we were getting on so well.' He stood up. 'Maybe later, gentlemen.'

Captain Englehorn examined the Doctor as he sat on the other side of the desk. He was short, with a long blonde fringe flopping over youthful features. His clothes were strange as well – a cricket costume, embroidered with question marks, and a stick of celery pinned to his lapel. Englehorn was pleasantly surprised to see the Doctor placing a cheque on the table, made out for six thousand US dollars. The Doctor caught the captain's glance, and smiled, 'If we're passengers, we should pay.'

'Thank you very much, Doctor,' the Captain said.

'Don't mention it,' the Doctor said, settling back in his seat, 'Now, tell me about Skull Island.'

Englehorn sighed, 'It's an old legend of a phantom island, roamed by fantastical creatures, and it can't exist. Is that enough information, or do you want to hear the more outlandish myths? The ghost ruins? The living skeletons?'

'Oh, that'll do fine, Captain,' the Doctor said, looking deep in thought. 'I've found a number of myths that do exist, so it's perfectly possible that Skull Island can exist.'

'Oh God,' Englehorn muttered, 'How sure are you?'

'Sure enough to not be sure. I said it was a possibility, not that it did or didn't. Although it's unlikely.' Precisely how he knew, the Doctor wasn't going to say. He'd first met Peri when the TARDIS dropped him off in 1984, and Skull Island hadn't existed then, nor had it ever.

'Denham thinks he has proof,' Englehorn said. 'Can you explain that?'

'Not without seeing it. I've got some… equipment that can find out a lot about things.'

'Doctor,' Englehorn leaned forward in his seat, 'Denham wants me to head south-west. It seems like he has a pretty good idea about where the island is.'

'The Indian Ocean? Hmm.' the Doctor paused, his brow furrowed in thought, 'I'll need to look in some of my books, see what I can find. I think we should be careful in the near future, just in case.' Englehorn looked a bit annoyed at the Doctor telling him what to do, but realised the other man had a point.

'Alright, Doctor. Check your books. I want to know if you find anything.'

'Aye aye,' the Doctor smiled.

'Jimmy has agreed to let Miss Brown use his cabin.'

'But where will he sleep? Peri and I have sleeping gear in the TARDIS.'

'I have no idea of what's in your box, but if you're passengers you'll need cabin space.'

'So we will,' the Doctor acknowledged, 'I noticed you've got someone sleeping in the hold, so I take it I'll have to bunk down with him?'

'Sorry about that,' Englehorn said.

The Doctor entered the hold, humming to himself as he turned over the day's events in his mind. Peri was ensconced in Jimmy's cabin, whilst the boy himself was nowhere to be found, and he had also shed some light on the other people on the ship. Added to what he'd gleaned from the ship's crew, it pretty much completed the picture. Carl Denham was a slightly shady filmmaker who had yet to put in an appearance, and he was on the ship making a romantic picture. Peri had met the leads, Bruce Baxter (or 'Captain Sleaze' as she knew him) and Ann Darrow. Apparently the two were polar opposites. Then there were people they all had yet to meet - Herb, Mike, Fay, a James Leonard, Will, Preston and Jack Driscoll. The Doctor remembered finding the name 'Driscoll' on some preserved folios of early twentieth century plays in the New York National Museum in 2589. It appeared that Denham had neglected to mention the mythical island in the contracts, and it was only due to Jimmy overhearing something that the Captain knew.

The Doctor heard a squelching noise, then realised he'd trodden in something again. Idly, he wiped his shoe on a blue rag on the floor, tutting to himself.

'That's my shirt, you know.' The Doctor glanced towards one of the cages, where Jimmy had propped himself up on his elbows, causing the duvet to slide down his chest.

'Sorry,' the Doctor replied guiltily, picking the shirt off the ground and inspecting the damage. He glanced up. 'Nothing a wash won't fix,' he said with a small smile. Holding the shirt, the Doctor stepped up to the blue box, the TARDIS, and slid a key into the lock.

'How did it do what it did?' Jimmy asked. The Doctor turned back, watching the boy with a keen eye. He sighed.

'It's very complicated,' the Doctor said, 'beyond the science of this world,' he added when he saw Jimmy's expression at being patronised. 'It sort of vanishes and reappears somewhere else, and it's surprisingly roomy inside.'

Jimmy narrowed his eyes – there was something the Doctor had just said…

'You said 'this world',' the boy said. It was a statement, not a question. The Doctor paused, realising he'd said something wrong. Earth wasn't supposed to discover extraterrestrial life for another three decades.

'Where did you get that?' the Doctor asked, changing the subject as his eyes flicked to an ugly scar on Jimmy's shoulder. The boy looked away, immediately uncomfortable. He settled down onto his back, lifting the duvet to cover the scar. The Doctor spoke quietly; 'Don't tell me if you don't want to,' then he turned, rotated the key in the lock, and stepped inside. For a brief moment, a bright white light was visible through the open door, then it clicked shut.

(AUTHOR'S NOTE) Work had started on chapter 4, but it might take longer than expected, as next week is Panto week, and I have to juggle that with more assignments from the Vampyr, her partner in crime and work on chapter 2 of my other story – Jumper: Continuum. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this, and thanks to anyone who has, or will, leave a review, (hint hint). (END MESSAGE)