+4+

The mayor

I woke up, because someone was gently pushing on my shoulder.

„Hey, wake up we´re going to meet the mayor."

Grudingly I opened my eyes and blinked aganist the light on the ceiling.

„Do you know the time?", I asked while sitting up.

„7 o´clock in the evening, you´ve slept about two hours."

Feeling a bit dizzy I got up to put on my shoes.

„Pete´s coming to pick us up in two minutes.", the Doctor said and in fact two

minutes later there was a knock at the door.

„Let´s go."

Pete was waiting for us outside. He greeted me with a smile and instructed us to follow him. And again we walked countless corridors and I soon lost orientation. The beardy man took us upstairs and into a corridor to the left where he stopped in front of the second door to the left.

Mayor´s office

Arthur Mullet

I read on the sign next to the door.

„Well, then let´s meet Mr. Mullet.", the Doctor mumbled, so only I could hear him.

Pete knocked at the door and almost immediatley someone behind it asked us to enter.

Pete signalized us to get in. The Doctor went first, I followed and Pete closed the door behind us.

It was quite a huge office. The walls were completely covered with bookshelfs, filled with folders and books. To our right was a sofa made of dark brown leather and to our leftt was a huge wooden desk. A man was leaning against the desk having a curious eye on us.

He was tall, almost as tall as Duncan, brown hair with grey strands in it, he was wearing only black clothes and had bright blue eyes.

His gaze was on the Doctor now.

„Hello, then.", he said in a rough voice. „Take a seat, please."

His smile made me nervous.

„No, thanks.", the Doctor said in his calm voice, „We´ve been sitting around for quite a while now."

If the situation wouldn´t have been that serious I would have grinned at him for this answer.

Mullet just stood there, arms folded, and smiled at us.

„Yes, I can imagine that, I´m sorry it took so long for me to get time for you."

„oh, we all have our business to do, don´t we?", the alien replied.

Mullet, again, just smiled.

„So, I heard you came across the gates and broke into our village?"

„It was more of an accident."

Mullet nodded.

„I heard you had a meeting with the military?"

„Yeah, wasn´t that nice."

„You don´t know why they were shooting at you?"

„We hoped you could explain it to us.", I answered the question.

Mullet shifted his weight a bit.

„I heard the recordings of the investigations. You´re time travellers?"

„Yes."

Mullet laughed.

„That´s amazing! So, they´ll make it one day? Real time machines?"

The Doctor just nodded.

„That´s cool! Okay, sorry I always get distracted."

The mayor now turned his gaze on the Doctor again, curiosity was written all over his face.

„I had a conversation with Dr. Rhymes.", he started, „you´re an alien, a Time Lord, to be precise. Is that true?"

„Yes."

„He also mentioned that you could propably be the man we just needed and help us with the problem above."

It was obvious that he was talking about that zombie creatures.

„So, here´s the deal: You´ll help us find out what made them like this and how we can protect ourselves against it and we´ll let you stay here without asking further questions. You´re ship is gone from what I´ve heard and I´m sure you don´t want to spend the night up there?"

The Doctor just stared at him.

„Was that a threat?"

„No, it´s an offer. If you don´t want to help us and stay that´s fine I won´t give an order to execute you, because that won´t be necessary. You wouldn´t survive with those things above anyway."

„Oh, that´s nice." it escaped my mouth, but the Doctor silenced me by rising his hand.

„Right, then. I´m going to help, but I need information.", the Doctor stated.

„What are they? Humans, I know, but what do you know about how they get turned?"

Mullet´s smile vanished and his expression got serious.

„To be honest we don´t know much about it. Dr. Rhymes said it could be an alien virus, but we haven´t found out how people get infected with it."

„Wait, then it´s not like in books or movies?", I asked. „They don´t infect you when you get bitten?"

„No. Some of us got hurt while fighting them but none of these people got infected."

„A virus that doesn´t seem to spread, interesting. Never heard of anything like that before.", the Doctor said. I could see the excitement in his eyes. There was something new to the Doctor and it needed solving.

„When did you first hear about it?"

„Well, about 5 years ago, I think."

„5 Years? Since then you´re down here?" I was shocked.

„Almost. Dr. Rhymes found this village and we installed the fences around it."

„You found it?", I asked, „But who built it?"

„It´s an alien village.", the Doctor stated. „I´ve heard of places like this before, but I couldn´t remember it properly until right now."

He paused and started to walk around in the room.

„It´s a comubian village."

„Comubian?"

„Comubes. A very rare species that lives in the most far behind places of the universe. „

„But, if they live this isolated, what did they want here?", getting confused had turned into some kind of daily routine.

The Doctor snapped his finger and pointed right at me.

"Very good question! Answer?", he pointed to Mullet now.

„Maybe they crashed around here?", Mullet suggested.

„Possible, most likely even, yes, I think they´ve crashed."

„But where´s the ship then?"

„They have propably left it behind and went to find a place where they can live. They live in villages like this, also they are very good at not being seen. For a very long time my people thought they were just a legend, until one of the scientists found a village like this in a very far away corner of the universe. And they are very hospitaly guys, comubes."

Something didn´t seem to fit here.

„But if they crashed, why didn´t they just sent a distrass signal?"

„Again, very good question! The answer is pretty simple. Or better to be said the possible answers, since they are only suggestions. Theory number one: They couldn´t sent one just because of the fact their communication system broke during the crash. Theory number two: The signal wasn´t strong enough and also got debilitated by earth´s atmosphere. Theory number three, which I think is nonsense, bit still it´s a theory: They sent the signal, but noone came."

The Doctor was walking in circles now, gesturing around with his hands and a thoughtful expression on his face.

„But why would they get so far away from home?"

Another riddle that needs solving.

„And where are they now? Didn´t you see them when you found that village?", I turned and looked at the mayor now.

„No. When we came we searched everywhere for signs of living beings but we couldn´t find anything."

The Doctor sighed.

„It´s their virus.", he stated." A comubian virus. It propably killed them, but has different effects on humans, also this could be the reason why it doesn´t spread like other diseases."

„But it still doesn´t explain how anyone ever got infected.", I threw in.

„Also, if they are dead why didn´t they found any remains? Bones or something?"

The Time Lord looked at me.

„They´re aliens."

Of course.

„They don´t have bones! If they die anything will be rottened and nothing will be left!"

„Exactly. Their bodies basically consits of a jelly-like matter in various colors. They can change colour and they can change into transparence."

„So they can´t be seen.", Mullet pointed out.

„I wish I could to that.", I added admiringly.

„You´re far too loud anyone would notice you immediatly,"

„Thanks.", I hissed to the Doctor.

„Okay, so Ena already stated a very important point. Who was patient zero and how did he or she got infected?"

Thoughtfully the mayor stroked his chin before he replied:

„The first case I heard about was a little girl in Rainbow city, they were talking about in the news. Then there were also cases of animals with the same behaviour."

I thought the Doctor´s expression couldn´t get more curious, but I was wrong. As soon´as Mullet had mentioned the animals it was like someone had given him an injection with adrenaline.

„Animals? Where?"

„I don´t know exactly where, but they were trying to eat members of their own species like cows ate other cows and dogs ate other.."

„Yes, I get it!", the Doctor interrupted.

„Scientists all over the world tried to solve the riddle of that virus, but noone ever found something useful."

The Time Lord growled.

„I wish I could do an examination on my own!"

„You can."; Mullet said, „Or, at least, you an have a laboratory and a body of one of the creatures."

„How did you kill them?"

„You´ve got a laboratory?"

The Doctor and I asked at the same time and then looked at each other, grinning.

„Killing them is easy, it´s a cliché."

„So, its the head then.", I stated and Mullet nodded.

„Dr. Rhymes has a small laboratory down here since he was working on solving this himself. I don´t know if it´s what you´ll need, but it´s anything we´ve got."

„Can I use it?"

„I´m sure Dr. Rhymes won´t be against it and will also be givging you a hand, but I won´t ask him today. He´s been working all day and just went to get some sleep."

„He´s working on this every day, isn´t he?", I asked. „I mean on finding out more about that virus."

„Yes, he his. He´s exhausted now, so you´ll have to wait until tomorrow."

„"That´s fine..", the Doctor said with a smile.

„Good."
The mayor got moving and went to the dor.

„You´re dismissed now, you should get some sleep before tomorrow comes, Dr. Rhymes prefers to get up very early in the mornings. Is there anything you need right now?"

„Yeah, my sonic screwdriver. Would be nice to get it back."

„And my bag.", I added.

Mullet nodded and opened the door, where Pete was still waiting outside.

„Bring them back to their room, give them their stuff back and make sure their clothes get washed and dried."

Pete just nodded and signalized us to follow him.

Before we went Mullet shook the Doctor´s hand.

„I´m glad you stranded here, I hope you can help us."

„I´ll be trying my best."

Back in the room I was sitting on the bed, watching the Doctor who was sitting on the chair, arms folded and legs crossed.

Clearly he was lost in his thoughts, but then he looked at me.

„Something´s missing.", he said, „I am missing something."

Because I didn´t know what to reply to this I remained silent.

Again his expression was thoughtfull he looked a bit stressed and had furrowed his brows. Looking at him I noticed how tired he looked.

„When did you get some sleep last time?"

„Mh?", he looked up, obviously he hadn´t quite heard the question because he was sunken in his thoughts.

„Sleep? When did you last get some sleep?", I repeated.

„I don´t know..", he rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. „It´s been a while."

„Then lay down.", I jumped off the bad and gestured to him to lay down.

„No."

„Why not?" I was standing right in front of him now.

„Look at you, you look exhausted.", I said gently. „You´ll need to have a fresh mind tomorrow."

„I can´t sleep right now, there´s so much stuff in my head going on.."

I interrupted him.

„Which you´ll propably get some answers to tomorrow, so come on, get some sleep!"

„Will you stop annoying me sometime?"

„No.", I grinned.

He sighed.

„If it makes you happy!"

He pulled off his shoes and got up to undo his jeans.

Quickly I turned around.

„What are you doing?!"

„Getting ready for bed!"

„You could have warned me at least!"

„About what?"

„Getting undressed!"

I could hear the sheets rustling when he crawled into bed.

„I didn´t undress, I just got out of those jeans!"

I turned around again and found him in the bed.

„Come on, then. Time to sleep!"

„What?"

„Well, you´re human you need more sleep than I do and the two hours you had earlier aren´t barely enough!"

„There´s only one bed."

„Yes, with room for two!"

„Doctor..", I blushed and somehow almost had to laugh.

The expression on his face changed and suddenly he was blushing too, even more than I did, his face turned to a dark red.

„No! Not like that! I wasn´t... I didn´t mean..."

„I´m engaged!", I grinned.

„But, I didn´t... I´m a Time Lord!"

„You´ve got a snog box!"

„It is not a.. oh, don´t listen do Clara!", he yelled, turning even more reddish in the face.

„You invited me into your bed."

I couldn´t stop a little chuckle escaping from my mouth.

„But, not like that! I.. Oh. Shut up!"

Laughing I got to the bed and sat on the edge.

„Sorry, I couldn´t resist on teasing you a bit."

Kicking my shoes off I turned my head to look at him.

„It´s just so funny how you blush so easily on this subject"

He stucked out his tongue at me as an answer.

„Sorry.", I grinned again and got under the blankets, but trying to lay as far away from him as possible. I felt guilty sleeping in the same bed with a man who wasn´t my fianceé, even if this one here was an alien, but still it felt weird. But on the other hand I really didn´t want to sleep on the floor.

„But I´m not doing cuddling!", I stated and gave him a serious look.

„I don´t need cuddling, I am an adult, I´m 1200 years old!", he said defiant and gave me an offended look.

I laughed.

„Good night, Doctor."

„Good night, Ena."