Christmas Ghost Stories

Chapter Six: Of Christmases Long Long Ago

By Lumendea

AN: My latest book The Iron Trishula by J.M. Briggs is now out! I always get a rush whenever I send one of my babies out into the world. If you enjoy my work, please consider picking up a copy of one of my books. You can pick up the first one for only .99 cents.

…

Nothing got in her way. Rose stumbled out into the icy air of nighttime York and took a deep greedy gasp. There was a slight tremble in her hands, and the cold in her spine was staying stubbornly in place. She tried to reassure herself that she wasn't really scared, that it was just this place or rather the twisting space-time that was messing with her.

She looked around quickly. She didn't see the Caviler or rather Marchbanks which made her frown. Clearly, he'd been a thorn in Darkening side for his captor to bother with knowing his name. There was a low growl echoing down the streets, and Rose swallowed.

"Stay calm," Rose told herself. "Stay calm. Rule one: don't panic." She summoned her sword.

Nothing came rushing out at her, and Rose looked back at the opening. Her stomach turned, and she decided that it was a better idea to find the Doctor then try to go in herself. Taking another step away, she looked around for any landmark she could use to find it again. There wasn't much, but she noted down the street name and a few little details of the nearby buildings.

"Where's a Bad Wolf poster when I need one," she grumbled.

Then she headed off, looking down all the streets for the Doctor and cursing herself once again for getting separated in the first place.

….

The Doctor was angry. His senses were raw as the different layers of shredding time rubbed against his extra senses. They were frayed and he was aware of the people within each layer would be suffering as a result. What kind of being did something like this? He hoped that it had at least started as an accident and then the power had gone to their heads. Otherwise, he doubted he'd be able to keep his temper in check.

And he'd lost track of Rose! She was bothered by the space-time distortions! He wasn't sure how, but she was running around in a darker version of the real world with her sense being toyed with and without him. At least that damned monster seemed to have moved off. The Doctor walked quickly down the side streets, glancing down each one and trying to find Rose. He didn't dare shout for her, despite the temptation. Then he stopped as a blur of motion down one street caught his eye. He hurried after it and spun around the corner. There was nothing. Then Rose stepped out of the shadows and rushed for him.

"Rose?" The Doctor caught her arms, grinning in relief, but then he frowned. "What's wrong? You okay?"

"This place," Rose managed. "I don't know. I'm so cold, and it's just…" She shook her head and tried to shake it off. "I'll be okay."

"Rose… you shouldn't-"

"This isn't the time," Rose said. "Not here. It'll be okay. Probably just a side effect of my wonderful life history. I found the man behind the curtain of this horror show."

"You did?"

"He's got this machine down in a tunnel," Rose said. "Very old, but way too complicated for Earth. I don't think the entrance is visible in normal York."

"Old tunnels," the Doctor said. "And probably some kind of cloaking system or it only exists in this section of space-time."

"Yeah, it was an old area," Rose said. She shook her head and tried to gather her thoughts. "Doctor, he was dressed like a monk. A really old-fashioned monk. The room was stone." She paused and licked her lower lip, trying to remember the details. "There was a window that had been filled in. Narrow with a slight arch."

"And it was near the walls?"

"I… I think so," Rose said. "The passage curved a bit and was hard to follow. But it was under the old city."

"Potentially part of an old monastery." the Doctor said. "Buried beneath the city."

"That technology definitely didn't belong here. I thought about trying to destroy it, but I wasn't sure what that would do."

"Good." The Doctor relaxed a little and nodded. "Did you see this monster?"

"No," Rose answered. "I heard it, but I didn't see it."

"I did." The Doctor shuddered a little. "I think dealing with the beasty is step one."

"How do we do that?" Rose asked. "I'll be honest; I didn't see much in the way of controls on the machine."

"What did it look like?"

Rose furrowed her brow. "There were a lot of wires and a few gears. Some glowing parts in the middle of everything and a lever." She shook her head. "There might have been more, but I was distracted by Darkening." Rose looked down at her wrist. "My sword was made by the White Guardian. Could it help at all?" She remembered the Neverweres and the Seventh Doctor vividly.

"Likely," the Doctor said. He looked around them. "Let's get to a better lit area."

"Why is everything so dark?" Rose asked. "Is it because the photons aren't able to function fully here?"

He beamed at her, taking her left hand and starting to guide her towards the main square. "That's exactly it. Photons are experiencing a muting effect due to time being off. Let's just be grateful that they work at all or we'd both be blind."

Rose shivered at the idea of being completely blind with that monster and Darkening running around. As they walked, she looked around for any others. Every so often she caught sight of one of the people trapped, but none came forward. Rose suspected that with the monster on the prowl they were all too scared of getting too close to the troublemakers.

"I have an idea," the Doctor said. As they walked, he started digging through his left pocket. "If I have the right stuff."

"We have the TARDIS."

"I don't want to draw attention to her," the Doctor whispered. "The more we open the door, the more her defenses will drop."

Rose nodded. The idea of Darkening being able to transport the TARDIS worried her, but at least if things got bad, they could still retreat to the faithful blue box. Eventually, the Doctor had to let go of her hand so that he could dig through his right pocket. He'd gathered a few small trinkets that didn't look like much, but Rose knew better than to assume they were nothing.

He made a happy sound as he pulled out a few more small things in his hand and then started looking around. For a moment, he seemed confused and lost. His brow furrowed and Rose had the distinct impression that he was seeing things that she wasn't. All she could do was hope that it wasn't too bad. Then he shook his head and blinked, seemingly back to normal.

"Electronics store," he announced. "Down this way."

Rose followed, taking a few of the small items from him carefully. They weren't familiar at all, but most looked like some machine parts of some kind. The Doctor had a plan at least, that was reassuring. They reached the electronics store, and the Doctor gently set one of the trinkets on the windowsill so he could pull out the sonic screwdriver. With a flick, he opened the door, collected the bit and stepped inside.

The air was extra stale here. No alarm went off, but then again they were ghosts of sorts. Rose wasn't sure how this all worked in the real world but followed him inside. The Doctor pointed to coils of cable and had Rose start grabbing items including a Blu-ray player. He rolled a long line of cable that he found in the back out the front door. Still not alarms and started to assemble his various pieces together into a machine using the Blu-ray player as the base.

"So, what happens with the things that we move?" Rose asked. "Are they only moved in this slice of space-time or is it reflected in the real world?"

"It's reflected in proper time." The Doctor didn't even look up at her as he answered. "Objects are being affected even if time is slightly out of synch."

"But then surely people have noticed," Rose said. "I mean, this many ghosts moving things, people have got to notice."

"These so-called ghosts don't need to eat or sleep," the Doctor answered. "Their physical needs are completely suspended, so food isn't missing."

"Don't need to," Rose repeated. "But surely it brings them pleasure to at least try new foods?"

The Doctor chuckled and looked up at her. "Are you hungry?"

"No."

"Does food sound good? Think about it?"

Rose did, and her jaw tingled. It was that odd warning signal before you were sick and she promptly pushed away thoughts of food. That was distressing. The Doctor chuckled again.

"Your body doesn't understand what is happening to it, but it knows that it can't handle trying to digest. Anyway, the ghosts don't need to move anything. I'm sure some do and that there are reports of hauntings, but it doesn't achieve anything. When this started, I suspect that they tried to communicate, but eventually… they probably gave up after too many disappointments."

"So they are just stuck here? Watching?"

"Sometimes." The Doctor looked uncomfortable and gave her a soft look. "Rose, their personal time may be distorted as well. If they're lucky, one year to the real world is much shorter to them."

"How likely is that?" Rose wasn't sure if that was better or worse. To see the world in blinks.

"Not sure. Never seen anything like this. We'll help them as much as we can, I promise."

Rose swallowed and nodded. "Let me know what I can do to help."

The Doctor and Rose kept pulling more cabling out of the shop, and Rose was getting worried. While it was an electronics store, there was only so much basic cabling available, even in the back. They stripped wires down and used their sonic devices to alter them just a little before connecting the metal wires in a large braided hoop of metal.

Suddenly a roar echoed down the street, and the Doctor picked up the speed. Rose turned towards the sound, trying to determine the distance, but sound felt slightly distorted just like light. She couldn't be sure how much time they had. Glancing back at the Doctor, she watched him finish the hoop. It was about three feet across.

"We need to lure it into the hoop," the Doctor said. Standing up, he moved back to the machine he'd cobbled together. "Then I need you to touch the wires with your sword. Touch, not cut."

"And this will do what?"

"Should snap the creature back into the proper space-time location."

The should hung in the air, but Rose didn't push. They were in warped space-time caused by an unknown alien using a machine they knew very little about. Around her, the colors were shifting in and out, and Rose was starting to worry that they'd end up distorting between points in time. If she lost the Doctor… Rose pushed that idea away.

Keeping her sword up, Rose looked back at the loop and tried to sort out her strategy. There wasn't much she could plan for, but the Doctor nodded encouragingly and shifted back from the loop. There were no details that Rose could see. It was a gaping mass of black, a void in the rough shape of a ten-foot-tall creature with legs and short arms, a bit like a bear maybe. It roared, and Rose raised her sword. It moved closer, the force of its weight on the ground making it shake. Rose's hand trembled, but she stayed firm and kept her sword at the ready. When it came close enough to lunge at her, Rose swung her blade. It sliced into the creature's arm, and there was a burst of golden light. With a roar, it wheeled back, and Rose jumped back across the loop.

For an instant, she feared that she'd gone too far and it would run. But then it roared again, the sounds shaking the world around them and lumbered forward. Rose held her breathe. It crossed into the loop, taking a swing at her.

"Rose! Now!"

She thrust the sword down, tapping the tip against the coils. There was a flash of golden light. For a split second the sounds were clearer, and the taste of the air was fresher. Then the light cleared and the world dimmed once more, but the creature was gone.

"Fantastic!" the Doctor cheered. Jumping forward, he grinned at Rose and swept her into a hug. She laughed with relief and hugged him back, letting the sword return to bracelet form. "Lucky to have one of those blades handy."

"Lucky," Rose repeated with a smile.

"Yes, my Fortuna," the Doctor said fondly.

"Doctor!" Another voice called. "Rose!"

They both turned and found a blonde woman with short hair jogging towards them. It only took Rose a moment to recognize the figure.

"Kate!" Rose cried in relief. The woman looked exhausted but pleased as she looked at Rose. "You're alright!"

"I'm fine, Rose," Kate answered.

Rose hugged her, not letting Kate's hesitation stop her. The woman almost slumped against her, and Rose wondered just what had happened. "I'm fine, just tired. I've been running around trying to find some of the others."

"You can't find them?" Rose asked in alarm. "But everyone was taken."

"Apparently our host when he takes groups of people, scatters them in different layers." Kate's tone was sharp and vicious. "So that they can't support each other or work together. It's only luck that I'm here with you at all."

"How'd you find us?" the Doctor asked.

"Followed the uproar."

The Doctor smiled at that before turning his attention back to his wiring. Kate glanced at what he was working on and then back towards the shop they'd pulled it all out of. Rose did not doubt that she was checking the name for cleanup.

"So, what are we dealing with?" Kate asked.

"Alien who landed on Earth, probably through a wormhole," the Doctor said. He didn't even look up and kept twisting the different wires together. "Had enough equipment that he could try to get home. Set himself up as a monk, likely for privacy and access to gold, and tries to build another portal for himself. It doesn't work, and he creates a localized rip in space-time. As he tries to fix it, he can't, but he finds that he can build bubbles of time-space." The Doctor shrugged. "Can't say for certain when he started all this."

"The oldest ghost I've come across is Tudor," Kate said.

"Yeah," the Doctor said softly.

"Wait," Rose said. "Darkening said something about fading into the ether." The Doctor's whole body tensed. "Doctor?"

"Darkening isn't human and is in control of the machine. He survives, but… his victims. Some of them will eventually be swallowed up by the distortions. There were probably older ghosts once upon a time, but they've been consumed."

"So, if we can't escape-," Kate said.

"We can," the Doctor said firmly.

"Can we use this to snap the others back to their places?" Rose gestured to the coil.

"I wouldn't want to use this on a sapient being," the Doctor said. He shuddered a little and Rose decided to let it drop. "But we can use it to disrupt Darkening's machine." Bending down, he picked up his machine and Kate scrambled for the coils once he had turned it off. "I think it's time that I met this Darkening face to face."

In the softly glowing Christmas lights strung up around them, the Doctor looked extra dangerous. Rose almost felt sorry for Darkening.