The guards pushed Aderyn and the Doctor along the corridor as they followed Quell. The shots had been let off by a guard in the lounge. He was shouting and begging for someone to get away from him. But no one could see what he was looking and waving his gun at.
"What are you doing man?" Quell demanded. But the poor guard was too panicked to answer. A bullet broke a glass on a nearby table, and the guard dropped to the floor where he lay motionless.
White faced, Quell turned to Aderyn.
"You asked me how many more people had to die before I started listening. The answer is one." He nodded at the guards, who undid the handcuffs.
Aderyn rubbed her wrists then seized a glass from a table. She took a pen from her pocket and tapped it gently against the glass. The passengers and guards in the lounge fell silent and looked at her. "Ladies and gentlemen, could I have a moment of your time, please? There's a monster on this train that can only be seen by those about to die. If you do see it, you will have exactly sixty six seconds left in which to live. But that isn't even the strangest thing. Do you know what is?" blank and confused faces looked back at her "You. The passengers. Experts in alien biology, mythology, physics. If I was putting together a team to analyse this thing, I'd pick you. And I think somebody has. Someone of immense power and influence has orchestrated this whole trip. Someone who I have no doubt is listening to us right now. So, are you going to step out from behind the curtain and give us our orders?"
Perkins appeared suddenly and silently behind the Doctor "The engines have stopped." He said. Aderyn looked at him suspiciously.
The 1920s interior dropped away in a buzz of electronic whirrs. What was left behind was a sterile, high tech look.
"And the facade drops away." The Doctor muttered "Because what use are a bunch of scientists without a lab?"
"Good morning, everyone." Gus said "Around the room you will find a variety of scientific equipment. Your goal is to ascertain the Foretold's true nature, probe for weaknesses with a view to capture, after which we will reverse engineer its abilities. Isn't this exciting?"
The Doctor frowned " You said capture, implying that you can't control this thing. And yet somehow you got it on board. How?"
"There is an artefact, an ancient scroll. I have highlighted it for your convenience." At the end of the carriage, a small panel slide away and spotlights glowed harshly, illuminating an item on the wall. From her position at the other end of the carriage, Aderyn couldn't quite make out what it was. She walked slowly towards it, stopping several feet from it. "For reasons currently unknown, the Foretold appears in the vicinity of this artefact." Gus informed them.
Looking at the scroll on the wall, Aderyn suppressed a shiver. There was something about this scroll that she didn't like, something that just didn't feel right. She was curious about it, she wanted to get close to it, study it, try and decipher whatever it was that was written on it. But at the same time it filled her with a cold dread.
"Well then maybe we should just throw this thing out in the airlock." Quell said definitely. He strode forward and reached for the scroll. The Doctor and Aderyn both lunged for him at the same time.
"No!" The Doctor shouted. But it was too late. Quell's fingers hadn't even touched the surface of the scroll when there was a fizz and he drew his hand back quickly.
"Looks like they thought of that." Perkins muttered.
"What if we just refuse?" Aderyn said suddenly.
"That is your choice of course." Gus said happily "But it would be such a shame if you were all to die at the hands of the Foretold."
"Well there is that." She agreed.
"But even if they agree to this, how are they supposed to study a creature that they can't even see? We don't even know what the species is." The Doctor asked.
"Oh, not including yourself in all of this is see." Aderyn snapped.
"This is your investigation, not mine." The Doctor said calmly.
Aderyn didn't respond to the Doctor as the lights began to flicker. "Someone start counting." She said quickly. The gathered professors and doctors looked around the room, each looking for where the Foretold might be or who could be seeing it.
"It's approximately one point eight metres tall. Actually, seeing it in the flesh isn't nearly as rewarding as I thought it might be." Moorehouse said. He was staring straight down the carriage.
"What can you see? Details." Aderyn said quickly.
"Yes, of course. Well it looks like a man in bandages." Moorehouse stammered. He began to back away from the looming creature.
"What kind of bandages? Old? New?" Aderyn asked.
"Old."
"Whole or ragged?" Every time Moorehouse took a defensive step backward, Aderyn followed.
"Ragged. Falling off in places. I don't know what you want me to tell you."
" Listen to me! You can see this thing. We can't. Tell us what you can see. Even the smallest detail might help save the next one." The Doctor said.
"The next one? You mean you can't save me?"
"Well, that is implied, isn't it? Yes, this is probably the end for you." The Doctor conceded.
"But make it count." Aderyn added, nudging the Doctor.
"Some of the flesh is visible." Moorehouse said "leathery. Ancient looking. Peat bog preserved."
"Thirty seconds." Perkins said. He had a pocket watch in his hand.
"Keep talking. Don't waste this chance." Aderyn said calmly.
"I want to bargain for my life." Moorehouse shouted.
"No!" The Doctor shouted back.
"Well, it says, some of the myths say if you, if you find the right word, if you make the right offer, then it lets you go." Moorehouse said.
"This is not a myth. This is real. Forget your superstitions. Tell us what you can see." The Doctor snapped.
"Ten seconds." Perkins informed them.
"This is my life, my death. I'm going to fight for it how I want. I give you my soul. I confess all sins. I give you all my worldly goods." Moorehouse stammered. A few seconds later, he fell to the floor.
"Zero." Aderyn whispered. She stared down at the lifeless body on the floor.
"We apologise for any distress you may have just experienced. Grief counselling is available on request. On the bright side, I'm sure you've all collected a lot of data. Well done, everyone!" Gus said cheerfully.
Aderyn looked away from Moorehouse and turned back to the scroll. "It's recording every death." She said.
"Of course it is." The Doctor said. He grabbed a handful of white lab coats that had been hanging on a coat stand and began to hand them out to people "That's why we're here. To study our own demise. So let's get to work. Come on. Chop, chop." He offered one to Aderyn but she refused. Instead she took off her jacket and rolled up the sleeves of her jumper.
"Are you ok?" He asked her.
"I don't know. Something about this scroll doesn't feel right." She muttered.
The Doctor's attention was soon drawn away from her when his phone rang.
"Clara Oswald." He said.
Clara and Maisie sat cross legged on the floor, an array of papers on the floor in front of them. Clara had been determined to do what she could despite her current situation. In the box she had been sat on, she had found several interesting papers.
"Okay. So, first things first. The sarcophagus is actually a secure stasis unit." She said quickly.
"Yes. It's where they want us to put the Foretold if we capture it." The Doctor told her.
Clara dropped the papers she had been holding "Well, that would have been good to know."
"Sorry, teeny bit busy round here. What else?"
Clara shuffled through the papers in front of her "We have some paperwork. Passenger manifests from other ships. Maisie recognised a couple of the names. These are missing ships."
"Please terminate your call and return to work." Gus said sternly.
"So we're not the first." The Doctor said slowly
Aderyn looked round at him. He looked at her solemnly. She walked over to him and leant close to the phone.
"I've got some progress reports." Clara continued.
But Gus had other ideas "Please terminate your call and return to work." he repeated.
"The Gloriana spent three days getting picked off by the Foretold. All died. Performance marked as poor. The Valiant Heart. Forty two crew, four died. Performance, promising."
"Please terminate your call and return to work." Gus said for a third time. Aderyn waved her hand at one of the computer panels, shushing him.
Quell tapped her politely on the shoulder "You'd better do as he says."
Aderyn looked around at Quell, but he wasn't looking at her. He was looking out of the window. Both Aderyn and the Doctor turned to see what had his attention. Outside the window they saw a man in chef's whites and an assortment of catering equipment drift passed.
"I've got to go." The Doctor said quickly into the phone, which was soon put back in his pocket.
"I'm sorry. I know that must have been distressing for you. But if you are disobedient again, I will decompress another area containing less valuable passengers." Gus said, his cheerful demeanour returning.
"Less valuable passengers?" Aderyn mused "How does it choose?"
Perkins shrugged "Well, I'm assuming qualifications."
Aderyn tutted "No, no, no. Not the computer, the Foretold. How does it choose who to kill? We've assumed it's random. What if it's not? I want full histories on all the victims. Medical, social, personal."
"Well done." Gus chimed.
"Don't mention it." Aderyn said darkly "seriously, don't mention it."
