Chapter 11

The sky was a dark purple when the Doctor and Jo finally made their way back to the inn. The shadows had grown long and there was a sharp chill in the air. The Doctor explained to Jo what he had learned from the inn's receptionist and Ms. Bertha as they clambered into Bessie.

"I knew the name Henry Chatham sounded familiar," he said as he turned the key in the ignition. "I made a call to Cambridge to confirm. Dr. Chatham was an old professor there. He was also head of polydimensional research."

"Polydimensional?" Jo asked, confused.

"Alternate universes—other worlds, if you will," he explained, gesticulating, as he backed the yellow roadster out onto the main road.

"Those sorts of things exist?"

"Oh, yes, Jo, believe me. I actually saw a few of his demonstrations many years ago. A brilliant man."

Jo turned in her seat. "But Doctor, what does any of this have to do with Brightley's ghost?"

"I'm getting there, Jo." He turned the wheel sharply and the engine roared. "For some reason, Chatham quit his post at Cambridge and became a recluse. That must have been when he took up residence at Brightley."

"I still don't understand. You said Dr. Chatham was declared dead a long time ago."

"Yes, but not before he was able to continue his research. I believe Dr. Chatham set up shop in Brightley, so to speak."

"Do you mean to say," Jo began slowly. "That this ghost is some sort of… byproduct of one of his experiments?"

"Precisely."

Jo sat in stunned silence. And then—"But that doesn't make sense! These experiments… wouldn't they require some sort of equipment? Machinery?"

"Of course."

"Well surely the Duke would have discovered it by now!"

The Doctor changed gears and slammed his foot on the gas. "Not necessarily. Remember, the Duke has only lived at Brightley for a short while and every house has its shut-up rooms. It is entirely possible that he missed it completely."

"I suppose." Jo looked out at the dark countryside. The cold air whipped at her hair as she turned back around. "So what do you think this 'ghost' is, exactly?"

"Well, given the quantum fluctuations and electrical discharge it was giving off, I would say it's some sort of otherworldy being taking advantage of Chatham's machines in order to push itself into our world."

"Oh my! What do we do, Doctor? How do we stop it?"

The Doctor stared out at the thin stretch of road dimly illuminated by Bessie's headlights. "It should be a simple matter of reversing the polarity of the dimension transfer and shutting down the equipment." His face became grim. "A pity it's malevolent. Imagine the things we could learn from such a creature!"

"I can't say I share your sympathy, Doctor," Jo said, giving a small smile. "It did try to kill me, after all."

"The question is where the machinery is. It would have to be a fairly large space—most likely somewhere where it would be protected from the radiation from the sun…"

"The basement!" Jo cried, excitedly.

"Of course!"

The Doctor pulled the car up outside of the manor. He and Jo practically jumped out of their seats in their haste to get to the front door. Their footsteps crunched on the frosty gravel as they jogged across the drive and up the front steps.

"Quickly, Jo!" the Doctor huffed. "We must find the Brigadier!"

They burst through the front doors, gasping for breath. The front hall was lit warmly by wall sconces and a few candles, but there was no sign of anyone being home.

"Brigadier? Sgt. Benton?" the Doctor called out, his voice echoing in the empty house.

The butler appeared from a nearby hallway. He looked at them languidly, his hands clasped behind his back.

"I'm afraid Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Sgt. Benton are still out searching the grounds. May I be of service?"

"Yes, yes!" Jo piped up, almost jumping up and down in her excitement. "Can you tell us how to get to the basement?"

"The basement?" the butler said, taken aback. "Who would you want to—"

"Quickly, man! This is of the utmost importance!" the Doctor practically shouted.

Slightly bemused, the butler thrust his thumb over his shoulder. "Just down that hallway. Third door on the right."

With a brisk 'Thank you' the Doctor and Jo hurried down the hallway. They flung open the door the butler had indicated and rushed down a long flight of unfinished stairs. At the bottom of the stairs was a large door covered in dust and cobwebs. The door handle, however, was strangely clean.

The Doctor slowly turned the handle and opened the door. The room that appeared was pitch black. A cold draft blew out towards them.

"Hold on, Doctor," Jo said. "There's a light switch outside the door."

Jo flipped the switch and two fluorescent lights flickered on inside the room. The room was spacious, but the walls were covered with computers of every size and description. Buttons, switches, and notes covered the countertops in front of the computers. A chalkboard on the wall showed complex equations and myriad variables.

Jo entered the room and ran her hand along one of the countertops. A thick plume of dust ballooned into the air, making her cough.

The Doctor looked around critically, frowning.

"This doesn't make sense," he said.

Jo looked up. "What doesn't make sense?"

The Doctor looked up. "Don't you see? None of these computers—nothing—is running. I expected them to be automatic…"

Jo suddenly noticed the deafening silence that filled the room. She blinked. "But—but what does it mean?"

The Doctor stared at his shoes, grimacing. "It means that this whole situation is worse than I thought. It means that someone had to come down here and operate this machinery. It means someone deliberately tried to kill you, Jo."

"Very good, Doctor."

The Doctor and Jo whipped their heads around to see the butler standing at the foot of the stairs. There was a wicked grin on his face. In his right hand he held a pistol.

It was aimed directly at Jo's heart.


I fear some of the terminology in here may be Really Stretching UNIT Dating. Oh, well. It's not like it hasn't been done before. ;) Anyway, we're getting into the really exciting chapters here guys!

Amron - Answers are coming! I promise! Thank you for reviewing!

Son of Whitebeard - I thought the same thing! Imagine that. :)

iPinkNinja - Thank you very much! I will try to update soon.