The Doctor held up the psychic paper. "I'm the Doctor."
"Doctor what?" the man asked.
"If you like. And this is Clara." The Doctor's feet came off the ground and he flew past the man into the house.
Clara followed him.
The man stood in shock for a moment before following. "Are you a ghost too?"
"No, I don't believe so," the Doctor answered distractedly, looking for the man's work area. The high ceilings and large rooms of the old Victorian house made him feel free to fly, instead of a normal house where he felt confined.
"But you're . . . floating . . . like a spirit."
"Relax, I'm just flying. You can too if you really want." He spotted the ghost detection equipment and flew toward it. "Ah, but you are very different! You are Major Alec Palmer. Member of the Baker Street Irregulars, the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare." He floated to the ground to whisper to Alec. "Specialised in espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance behind enemy lines. You're a talented water-colourist, professor of psychology, and . . . ghost hunter!" He shook Alec's hand. "Total pleasure. Massive."
The Doctor floated gently through dark halls, the glow of the candelabrum in his hand streaming ahead and behind the group.
"I won't have this stolen out from under me, do you understand?" Alec warned.
"Erm, no, not really, sorry," the Doctor said.
"I will not have my work stolen, then be fobbed off with a pat on the back and a letter from the Queen. Never again! This is my house, Doctor, and it belongs to me," Alec proclaimed.
The Doctor floated into the music room, followed by Clara. A harp took up one corner and the room was filled with music stands.
The Doctor scanned with the sonic screwdriver as he flew farther into the room. "Ah, the Music Room. The heart of the house. Do you feel anything?"
"No," Clara said.
"Your pants are so on fire."
Clara walked closer to the Doctor. The sonic screwdriver began to misbehave. The Doctor tapped it against his hand and blew on it to get it to work.
"Do you feel like you're being watched?" Clara suddenly said.
"What does being watched feel like? Is it that funny tickly feeling on your neck?"
"That's the chap."
"Then, yes, a bit. Well, quite a big bit." The Doctor replaced the sonic screwdriver in his coat pocket and floated towards the door with a wave of his hands. Another wave allowed him to stop just in front of it and set his feet on the air. He took a step closer to the door and exhaled. He watched his steamy breath float away, quickly dissipating.
Creaking and scraping of boards and stone met his ears.
"I think she's here," Clara said.
The Doctor tried to ignore it, determined to investigate what had caught his interest. He took another step forward and exhaled. His breath was no longer visible. He stepped back and exhaled, seeing his breath again. "Cold spot. Spooky." He spun around. "Cold . . ." He quickly floated a step forward with a wave of his hands, spreading his fingers to stop. "Warm . . ." He floated back, maneuvering his hands the same way. "Cold . . ." He pushed himself to the right. "Warm . . ." He pushed himself back to the starting place. "Cold . . ." He swished to the left. "Warm . . ." He swished back. "Cold . . ." He floated backwards toward the door. "Warm . . ." He floated back to the center. "Cold."
The creaking sound returned. The Doctor lowered to the ground and drew a chalk circle on the floor around himself to mark the cold spot.
Another loud thud startled the Doctor, making him reflexively jump through the air to stand beside Clara.
"Doctor?" Clara began.
"Yes?"
"I may be a teeny, tiny bit terrified."
"Yes?"
"But I'm still a grown-up."
"Mainly, yes, and . . . ?"
"There's no need to actually hold my hand."
The Doctor raised both hands in front of himself. "Clara?"
"Yes?"
"I'm not holding your hand."
They both slowly turned around. A lightning flash revealed a silhouette of the creature behind them. They both screamed and the Doctor grabbed Clara's hand and flew through the halls. He flew toward the parlor, where the ghost equipment was. The Doctor slowed down and let go of Clara's hand when he reached the steps so he wouldn't drag her down the bumpy stairs. He floated down the steps while Clara ran. Alec looked up at them from his equipment.
The Doctor landed at the bottom of the stairs and watched as a swirling, dark vortex materialized in the room. The Doctor whipped out the sonic screwdriver and scanned it. "Has this happened before?" he asked.
"Never!" Alec responded.
"Camera! Camera!" the Doctor shouted and grabbed the camera out of Alec's hands. He quickly snapped pictures of the spinning dish.
Crackles of lightning began to form in the vortex as it spun faster. Emma gasped.
"Doctor?!" Clara said urgently.
The Doctor turned to see the image of the ghost lady in the doorway on the opposite end of the room from the black disc. An eerie, distorted shouting met his ears. He quickly took pictures of the ghost lady. Emma's psychic emotions began to overwhelm her.
"Help me!" the ghost called.
Emma collapsed and Alec caught her.
Clara looked up at a crash from upstairs. "Doctor."
The Doctor, Emma, and Alec followed Clara's gaze to see glowing words on the wall above the landing, reading 'HELP ME'. The Doctor jumped and flapped his arms, slowly flying up the steps to see the message more closely. The letters faded along with the spinning disk.
The Doctor jumped and flew from the TARDIS console to the door, spurred by Clara's knocking. He opened it and flew back down to the console.
Clara stepped inside. "Hey! You need a place to keep this," she said, referring to her wet umbrella.
"I've got one," the Doctor said, pointing, "Or I had one . . . . I think I had one," he corrected himself, looking around, "Look around, see if you find it. Did I have one? Am I going mad?"
Clara shook the umbrella off and the Doctor flew rapidly up the steps and took it from her.
"No, not in here!" he objected, "How do you expect her to like you? She's soaking wet! It's a health and safety nightmare." He laid the umbrella on a chair and flew back to the console.
"Sorry," Clara whispered.
The TARDIS rumbled gently, as if in response.
The Doctor landed in the pocket universe on the other side of the portal and looked out at the misty wood. "Whoa!" He removed the harness, letting it drop to the ground. He took a running jump and flew through the forest, swerving between the trees, looking for the traveler Hila. The trees were tall enough and spaced far enough apart he could get up to a nice speed.
The forest ended abruptly and the Doctor swerved upright and spread his arms to slow down, but not before floating slightly off the edge of the universe, where various rocks and debris floated aimlessly. The air didn't extend far beyond the island and the Doctor felt his hold slipping. He quickly flapped his arms and pushed himself back to land. The Doctor let his feet feel the solid ground for a moment before taking to the air again. The wind howled as he continued the search.
"Hila! Hila! Hila Tacorian!" he called.
He righted himself and flapped his arms forward to come to an abrupt stop, feeling the tickly neck feeling again. Something moving quickly caused a whooshing sound. A scampering sound pressured the Doctor to float gently in no particular direction, unsure where the sound came from. He looked around as he floated through the trees, searching for the source of the sounds.
"One . . . two . . ." He closed his eyes. "Three!" he called as he spun around and shot himself through the air.
"Help me! Help!" a female voice called.
Hila appeared out of the fog directly in front of the Doctor. He shot himself straight up to avoid ramming her and quickly curved upside down and dived to the ground, keeping his feet a few centimeters off the ground.
"Ah! Hila Tacorian, I presume," he said as he grabbed her hand. He tried to fly away, but she pulled him back with surprising strength.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
The Doctor turned to face her, but kept his feet in the air. "Collapsing universe. You and me, dead, two minutes. No time, complete sentences . . . abandon planet!" He pulled her more forcefully and made her stumble.
"Wait! There's something in the mist," she said.
"Then run! Run!"
She finally allowed him to pull her and his imaginary rocket boots allowed him to accelerate fast enough to pull her into the air with him. He couldn't maneuver between the trees with her trailing behind him. He slowed abruptly, letting himself drop a little, causing Hila's momentum to throw her above him. She gave a shout and the Doctor pumped his arms to catch her on his back and grabbed her arms. He wavered without his arms to keep him steady, but Hila quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and he spread his arms again, finally able to swerve between the trees and speed up again.
The Doctor suddenly faltered, realizing he was going the wrong direction, but he couldn't stop or it would be too difficult to get back in the air. "Not that way. Which means . . . probably . . . ." he muttered to himself as he curved back the way they came.
"What's wrong?" Hila asked.
"You know that exit I mentioned?"
"Yes?"
"I seem to have misplaced it."
The Doctor heard scampering sounds again and swerved back. The sound seemed to be coming from every direction, probably bouncing off the trees. With his momentum gone, Hila's weight pulled him to the ground.
"What are you doing? Stay in the air!" Hila urged.
"I can't!" The Doctor struggled to stay in the air, but the ground came steadily closer until his feet touched the ground.
Hila didn't press further, too frightened and confused. She let go of him and turned her back against his.
The Doctor raised his hands in an attempt to calm Hila as the scampering sounded all around them in the mist. He looked around to recover his bearings. "This way!" He grabbed Hila's hand and ran. He rose into the air, speeding up, but he wasn't sure if he could successfully throw Hila onto his back again.
Before he could try, a looming object appeared in the mist ahead.
"Whoa!" the Doctor said as he slowed and stopped. He looked up at Caliburn House.
"What's that?" Hila asked.
"An echo house, in an echo universe. Clever psychic, that is just top-notch." The Doctor flew, pulling Hila toward the house.
He suddenly realized a large creature was chasing them. The Doctor burst into the house, letting go of Hila, and slammed the doors and locked them. The beast growled and snarled on the other side.
The Doctor lay his ear against the door. "It's looking for a way in."
The door jarred when the monster rammed it, making the Doctor jump back and float defensively. He turned and flew to the music room, Hila on his heels.
"Oh . . . dear," the Doctor said again, standing in the open where the house had just been. He looked around when he heard the creature. "Where are you?"
The creature rustled again and the Doctor ran. He jumped into the air and flapped his arms, speeding and swerving through the forest. He straightened and flapped his arms to slow down and grabbed onto a branch that looked strong enough to hold his weight. It cracked after a moment and broke off, but the Doctor stood on the air. He looked around, trying to decipher which way he needed to go. He was almost certain the creature could climb trees, so he didn't stay long. He ran on the air for a moment and flew away.
He flapped his arms in hope when the house appeared again. He thought he heard a voice calling him. "Emma?"
He thought he heard the beast whooshing in front of him and he swerved sharply, accidentally diving. He quickly picked himself up before smashing into the ground. The creature's snarling echoed all around him. His feet touched the ground and slid to a stop.
He spun around, watching the trees, unable to see anything through the thick mist. "What do you want? To frighten me, I suppose, eh? Because that's what you do. You hide . . . ."
The creature made an unearthly laughing sound.
"You're the bogeyman under the bed. Seeking whom you may devour. Ah! Ah. You want me to be afraid? Then well done."
The creature rattled something somewhere.
"I am the Doctor . . . and I am afraid!" he said, spinning on the spot, certain the monster was right under his nose and he just couldn't find it.
It laughed again.
"So why am I still here, huh?" the Doctor said, beginning to rationalize, "Why not just . . . eat me? Huh? Come on. Because you still need me! Yeah, you need me to piggyback you across." He laughed, logic finally winning out over emotion. "To which I say . . . come on then, big boy . . . chase me." He jumped into the air and flew as fast as he could.
He heard the creature running heavily behind him. His fear kept his rocket boots from working. He swerved through the forest as fast as he could, but he heard the beast catching up. He raced toward the edge of the universe, hoping it would jump off the edge after him.
The Doctor felt the creature's claws around him and gave a shout as it threw him to the ground and stood over him. He rolled over, breathing hard, and looked up at the monster for the first time. Its skin looked similar to melted wax, with a gruesome distorted face on the end of a long, twisted neck and bones sticking out all over its body.
The Doctor heard Clara shouting happily and looked up at the TARDIS flying through the sky. He laughed as the TARDIS knocked the creature back. He stood up as the TARDIS curved around and came back.
"Woo!" Clara shouted again.
The Doctor ran and flew up to the TARDIS, grabbing onto it as it soared overhead.
The Doctor landed in the pocket universe again and quickly removed the harness. He flew rapidly through the woods, excited. "I'm sorry! I understand now!" he called, "I can take you to her! I can take you to a safe place far away from here! You can be together! Well, come on then! She's waiting!"
The Doctor heard the creature's snarling and turned sharply, diving to the ground. He landed in front of the creature with a smile. "Well, hello again, you old Romeo, you!"
The sound of the TARDIS's engines penetrated the misty forest.
"Now . . . here she comes."