Chapter 10
Reaching to scratch the back of his neck and then realizing that was impossible, Jamie grimaced. These spacesuits were hot and pretty uncomfortable, but if they were non-permeable as the Doctor insisted then he had no reason to complain. He tried to get his mind off the stubborn itch and instead shone his torch around the darkened area of the abandoned space station. Such a desolate area it was. It was much smaller than the Wheel, probably not big enough for more than ten people or so. Not long after arriving, he and the Doctor did a sweep of the main room and upon not finding anything they separated, Jamie going down one wing and the Doctor the other.
The room he was in looked like a kitchen of some sort. He'd checked the whole room and apart from some very old looking crumbs of food, there was nothing to be found.
"Nothin' here, Doctor," he announced into his radio. He waited about fifteen seconds but when the Doctor didn't respond he tried again. "Doctor?"
Still no answer.
"Doctor, it's Jamie. Do ye read me?!"
Jamie felt his heart speed up as he began to think the worst. Could those wee creatures have found him and attacked him?
"Don't worry, Doctor. I'm on m'way," he said quietly, picking up his torch and hurrying out of the room. He ran at nearly breakneck speed down the wing of the space station and toward the other in pursuit of his dear friend.
He barely managed to hear an exclamation of surprise before he collided with something.
"OOF!"
That "something" turned out to be the Doctor.
"Doctor!" Jamie panted. "I didn't hear ye on the radio and I thought the worst! I thought those creatures had attacked ye!"
The Doctor gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "It's okay, Jamie. I heard you on the radio and I tried to respond, but it seems that something is interfering with the signal. It could be something in the atmosphere here is weakening the signal or scrambling it."
"Oh, aye. I'm just glad yer alright."
"Of course I am. Non-permeable suit, remember?"
Jamie nodded sheepishly. "So did ye find anything?"
"No, but I haven't finished with this corridor yet," the Doctor replied, making a sweeping gesture with his arm. "There's one more room at the end. I couldn't make out everything you said on the radio. Anything at your end?"
"No, nothing." Jamie shook his head. "Just some stale bits o' food."
The Doctor nodded and gestured for Jamie to follow him. The space station was dark save for some very faint lights built into the walls. Jamie assumed they were some kind of backup light source. This place had to have been abandoned a long time ago given how dim they were. The lighting conditions also made their shadows appear longer than Jamie was used to seeing. Recalling what the Doctor said about these creatures and their ability to mimic shadows made a shiver run down his spine. As they headed for the room at the end of the corridor, he occasionally turned and shone his torch behind him, double checking to make sure he only had one shadow.
Also to calm his nerves somewhat, he decided to make conversation. "So, Doctor, ye said ye encountered these things before. Is there anything else ye can tell me aboot them?"
"Nothing I haven't really told you already, Jamie. I wouldn't allow you to go into this situation unprepared."
Jamie nodded and felt a grateful smile twitch at his lips. "Well, thank ye. I appreciate that. Can I ask how ye finally defeated them?"
There was a moment of silence and a sigh before the Doctor began to speak. "There really is no way of defeating them. That's what makes them so formidable an enemy. However I knew the library would hold information about me. I had the Vashta Nerada look me up. Let's just say my reputation alone was enough to make them stand down for a while. After reading about me in the library, they agreed to give me a day."
His reputation alone, Jamie wondered in amusement. Och, I wonder what on Earth could've been in there tae make them cower in such fear?
He didn't realize he mused that aloud.
"Oh, the things I've done, McCrimmon, you'd be surprised," the Doctor replied nonchalantly.
Jamie felt his cheeks burn and the words tumbled from his lips. "No, Doctor, I didnae mean..."
The Doctor chuckled in what sounded like fondness. "It's alright, my boy." He sighed before continuing.
Jamie listened as the Doctor filled him in on what else had happened during that previous encounter. He didn't give many details, but he did mention that woman who had sacrificed herself to rescue the other people on their team. The Doctor didn't say much about her apart from her name – River Song – but from the way he spoke, Jamie could see she must have meant something to him. Recalling his behavior after he'd first told Jamie about Clara, the young man certainly wasn't going to push him for any more information about her. Besides, the most important thing at the moment was figuring out how to stop these creatures.
"So, if we can't defeat them is there some other way we can get them tae leave the Wheel?"
The Doctor paused. "I will have to try and negotiate with them. It worked last time so I can't imagine why it wouldn't now." He then muttered under his breath, "Unless of course these are their grumpy old great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents..."
Jamie followed the Doctor further down the wing and slowed to a stop in front of a large room on their left. Peering inside, he noticed it looked like a laboratory. He turned and found the Doctor looking inside as well.
"Ah, now, if there are going to be any books on board this space station, no doubt this is the place we'd find them, my dear Watson."
"Eh?"
"Never mind," the Doctor muttered.
Jamie shrugged and followed him inside. The Time Lord gestured to him to check one side of the room while he'd check the other. Jamie nodded and made his way toward the back of the room. He shone his torch around the dimly lit area, not finding anything noteworthy until the beam of light hit a large set of bookshelves against the wall.
Jamie approached the shelves and noticed they were nearly empty, save for a few thin, hardcover books lying haphazardly on top of the second shelf from the bottom. Kneeling, he reached to pick one of them up and then felt another shiver go down his spine. What if these things were crawling with those creatures? He shuddered, suddenly feeling his skin crawl.
"No, wait, the Doctor said these suits would totally protect us from them," he whispered to himself. "Just picking the books up shouldnae do anything."
He worked up the courage to touch them and finally picked one of them up. As he pulled back the worn, hard cover, he frowned. No wonder the book was so thin – most of the pages were gone. All that seemed to remain was the stuff holding the binding together, some kind of glue? There were a couple of pages left, but they were very brittle and pieces of them broke off as Jamie tried to turn them. At first he thought it was due to the gloves of his spacesuit which were large and cumbersome, but the pages themselves looked as if they were very worn and delicate.
He placed the book down and picked up a couple more. They were in the same condition: most of the pages completely gone. The typed words were totally unreadable, as if they were almost melting off the pages.
He turned and found the Doctor crouched on the floor closer to the front of the room, looking under a table.
"Doctor! Ye have tae see this!"
He turned back to the books, staring at them in disbelief and then wheeled around as he heard footsteps approach.
"You found something?" the Doctor asked, crouching next to him.
"Aye, look at these books!"
He handed one of them to the Doctor who shone his torch upon it. He watched the Doctor's face as he flipped the cover of the book over, his brow furrowing and his mouth dropping open as he appeared to be scrutinizing the object.
"Most of the pages are missing." He fingered the remaining pages and pieces of them flaked off on the fingers of his gloves, just as they'd done with Jamie. "They've disintegrated almost beyond recognition." He grabbed his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and turned it on, apparently scanning the book before placing it back on the shelf. Jamie handed the remaining books to him and he repeated the procedure with them.
"I wonder how many they had here," Jamie mused aloud. His gaze settled back on the other shelves and he found what appeared to be little pieces of paper that looked as if they'd been torn off; perhaps bits of other books that were now gone?
"Well, I would assume it was a lot based on the size of the bookshelves," the Doctor returned, still studying the last book in his hand. He suddenly froze and his eyes lit up. "That's why they were heading for the Wheel, Jamie. They're escaping. They're desperate for their life's blood. They have a symbiotic relationship with the trees from their forest and they have to find something, even if it's something as simple as paper made from the trees of that forest, paper which is contained in books!"
Jamie frowned in thought as he took in all the Doctor was saying. Even though the Time Lord was talking at nearly light speed, he thought he had the gist of it. "So, they're heading for the Wheel because of the books in Zoe's library? Is it as simple as all that, Doctor?"
"I can't think of any other reason, my boy."
"But she didnae even have that many there."
"It's possible other personnel there have books as well. We should question them when we get back."
"Er, how are we gannae do that without, as you say, raisin' suspicion?" Jamie asked him pointedly.
"Well, we'll ask Zoe first. Perhaps she knows something," the Doctor returned distractedly as he appeared to be scanning the rest of the room with the sonic screwdriver. Jamie caught the resulting frown on his face.
"What?"
"No sign of any Vashta Nerada here."
"Is it possible they've all gone toward the Wheel already? How many d'ye think there were?"
"I don't know," the Doctor replied as he made his way out of the room, continuing to scan the atmosphere around them. Jamie followed him as they made their way back down the corridor in the direction from which they'd come.
"Anything?"
"No."
Jamie inwardly breathed a sigh of relief but the Doctor seemed puzzled, and maybe a bit troubled as well.
"This must mean they've gone and are heading for the Wheel, like you've said. We need to contact Zoe."
As if something read their minds, Jamie's radio crackled to life.
"Doctor! Jamie! Do you read me? Please answer me!" a voice belonging to Zoe shouted. It was a bit muffled and not totally clear, but Jamie could hear the desperation in her voice.
He pushed the button on the radio. "Zoe?"
"Zoe, this is the Doctor. Do you read me?"
There was a bit of static for a few seconds, and then ... "Yes, loud and clear! You have no idea how worried I've been! I've been trying to reach you for nearly half an hour now!"
Jamie released the breath he'd been holding. The poor girl sounded almost as if she'd been trying to keep from crying.
"I'm sorry, the signal in here has been pretty weak," the Doctor replied. "What's the matter, Zoe? Did anything else show up on the scans?"
"Yes, and you need to get back here now!" she shouted.
Jamie felt his heart leap into his throat. "Zoe, has something happened? What is it?" he nearly choked out.
"Those Vashta Nerada creatures, I've been watching them on the scans. They're heading straight for the TARDIS and they're picking up speed!"
Jamie turned to the Doctor and saw him screw his eyes shut.
"What is it, Doctor?" he asked quietly.
"My library," the Time Lord replied simply. "The Vashta Nerada must have been attracted to my library whenever I opened the TARDIS doors."
"Ye mean ye have books that were made from that same paper?"
"No, but I have books that are made from a derivative of that paper. The trees are from a very similar species, so it's not unheard of that the Vashta Nerada had sensed it and got a bit confused."
"Oh, well, then we can explain to them their mistake and send them on their way."
"It's not that simple, Jamie. They won't need the books, certainly not, but that doesn't mean they'd refuse a little snack. And with you, me, and Zoe on board the TARDIS, it'll be like a smorgasbord to them."
"A what?"
"An all-you-can-eat dinner special."
"But I thought ye said these suits were non-permeable! All we've got tae do is tell Zoe tae put one on and we'll all be protected!"
"Ah, yeah, about that ..." The Doctor suddenly appeared awkward. "I might've made a teeny tiny little mistake. These suits aren't entirely non-permeable."
"WHAT?"
"In my haste I picked up the wrong suits, alright?!" The Doctor sighed and appeared overly contrite. "I'm sorry, Jamie. If we get back to the TARDIS and manage to get inside before the Vashta Nerada I'll get us the right ones!"
Jamie couldn't believe his ears. It was a good thing these creatures were no longer on board this space station, otherwise he and the Doctor could have been goners. But now Zoe's life could be in danger as well.
"For now, Zoe is safe in the TARDIS. They can't get in."
Jamie stared at the Doctor incredulously. "Maybe so, but they can get in once we go back inside the TARDIS!"
The Doctor held up the other two suits they'd brought. "Not if I trap them in these first. She said they were heading for the TARDIS. That doesn't mean they've reached it yet. If we can beat them there, we'll have a good chance of heading them off."
"But what aboot the other people on the Wheel? Aren't they in danger as well?"
The Doctor nodded. "That's why I want to trap them and get them to stand down." He watched the Doctor reach for his radio again. "Zoe? It's the Doctor, do you read me?"
"Loud and clear. Please hurry back!" Zoe's voice cried fearfully.
"Don't worry. As long as the TARDIS doors are shut, you're safe. We're on our way. Sit tight."
Finally having made it back to the Wheel's hull, the Doctor and Jamie hurried down the corridor toward the TARDIS. The Time Lord couldn't believe how stupid he'd been, not even thinking for a moment that the books in his library could add another element of danger to their predicament. It was a good thing Zoe had stayed back on the TARDIS to monitor the scans, and that her radio transmission alerting them to the situation had finally come through.
Suddenly hearing a sigh, he turned slightly and found Jamie gazing up at him almost dubiously.
"What?"
"It's just … I can't believe the situations we get ourselves into."
"Hey, with your memories back, this should come as no surprise to you."
"Aye, but ..."
"Look, I know I was careless and should have been paying more attention. I don't deny that. I'm usually more on top of things than this. The only thing I can blame it on is -"
"Hey, y'know, at yer -"
"If the next word out of your mouth is 'age' I'll have the TARDIS shave your head while you sleep."
He grinned inwardly as he watched Jamie quickly clamp his mouth shut, followed by a teasing grin tugging at a corner of his mouth.
Seemingly wanting to change the subject, Jamie cleared his throat. "So, er … the TARDIS is just ahead. What's the plan?"
The Time Lord had to admit to himself he hadn't thought very much about a plan … A Plan A, anyway. He had been focusing much more on a Plan B, a backup plan in case they weren't able to keep the Vashta Nerada from infesting the TARDIS.
"Well, you're a fast runner, Jamie. As soon as I get the doors unlocked, we'll run inside at lightning speed and immediately close the doors behind us."
He watched Jamie quirk an eyebrow at him. "Yer joking. Ye really think that's gannae keep them out?" He then paused in thought. "Wait, how fast are they?"
"Oh, they're … quite fast."
"Doctor, we don't stand a chance! We'll be putting Zoe and ourselves in danger!"
"Alright, look. I know it sounds ridiculous but we've got no other alternative. I'll scan the area outside the TARDIS for their presence before we enter and if it's all clear, we'll head inside. Does that sound better?"
Jamie paused and then nodded. "Aye. It'll give us a head start anyway."
They finally ended up in front of the TARDIS and the Doctor removed his screwdriver once again. Another scan came up empty. Perhaps the Vashta Nerada were distracted and had moved to another area of the Wheel. Not that that was any better, obviously. He had to get to the bottom of it one way or another, but defending the TARDIS and his two companions was his priority at the moment.
He signaled to Jamie, letting him know the area was clear and he crept up to the doors. Removing his key from his pocket, he inserted it and gave it a twist, allowing the lock to give way. Placing his hand on Jamie's back he guided him forward, mouthing 'Go!'
The young man nodded and the Doctor timed swinging the TARDIS doors open with his running start. It took about two seconds, but they both landed inside the TARDIS and the Doctor had quickly shut the doors behind them.
"Zoe! Put this on!" he shouted, throwing one of the spacesuits to Zoe. Zoe regarded him incredulously and he watched her do as he'd ordered.
"B-but ye just told me they're not entirely non-permeable!" Jamie protested. "How is this gannae keep her safe?!"
"It's better than nothing at the moment, Jamie!" the Doctor snapped before firing up his sonic screwdriver. Yes, he wanted Zoe and Jamie to have the highest amount of protection possible, but right now he had to make sure none of the Vashta Nerada swarms had been able to sneak aboard the TARDIS.
Practically leaping from corner to corner of the room, he performed a thorough scan of the immediate surroundings for the presence of the Vashta Nerada.
There were none. None at all.
He heaved a sigh. It seemed he and Jamie had made it back inside before they had a chance to join them.
"We're alright," he said, directing his gaze back to his two companions. "The scans came up negative. Looks like we've beat them here. Now, we have to step outside and deal the area between the TARDIS and your library. They're most likely still there and we can't let them threaten anyone else on the Wheel." He quickly turned to look down one of the corridors. "This time I'll get the right suits for us."
He was about to make his way out of the room when Jamie cleared his throat.
"Er … Doctor?"
The Time Lord turned and suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Jamie was looking nervously down at the extra shadow that had suddenly appeared behind him.
"No ..."