Spark of Adventure
Blink
Thanks to elleholley for favouriting this story
A young blonde woman climbed over the gates and walked towards an old run-down mansion house on a dark, windy night. She kicked down the planks barricading a window and made her way inside, then she began looking around by torchlight, taking photos here and there. Soon, her attention was caught by a peeling bit of wallpaper. There appeared to be writing on the wall underneath. The woman peeled more of the wallpaper aside to see the word 'Beware' painted on the wall. Wandering if there was any more writing, she pulled off some of the paper below to find the words 'The Weeping Angel' painted there. More paper was pull off to reveal 'Oh, and duck!' painted on too. The woman pulled more paper off to reveal the words 'No, really, duck, Sally Sparrow!' the woman's eyes widened at seeing her name there. She pulled more paper off to see 'Duck, now!' painted on the wall. She ducked and something came flying through the window and smashed against the wall. Sally picked herself up to see a rock lying where she'd just been standing and she looked out of the window to see if anyone was there. All she could see was a stone statue of an angel weeping. She turned back to the wall and pulled more paper off to see the words 'Love from the Doctor, Gazelle and Martha (1969)' painted on there, though in a different colour paint, and in different handwriting, as if someone else had painted it. Sally could only stare in disbelief.
Having seen enough, Sally went to the house where her friend, Kathy Nightingale, lived. "Kathy?" Sally called out, receiving no answer. Her attention was caught by a voice on the telly. On the screen was a brown-haired man in a brown suit.
"Your life could depend on this." the man was saying "Don't blink! Don't even blink! Blink, an' you're dead!"
Then came a woman's voice "They're fast, faster than you can believe." and Sally could see that the man on the screen had been joined by a young brunette woman "Don't turn your back." the woman said in a warning voice "Don't look away, and whatever you do, don't blink!"
"Good luck." the man finished, and the video ended. Sally entered the living room to find more screens, all with the man on them. The woman was with him in some and on one, the man was accompanied by a young black woman.
Sally went in the kitchen and put the kettle on. While she was waiting for it to boil, she dialled Kathy's mobile. "Hello?" a groggy Kathy answered
"Bit freaked, need to talk. Making you a coffee." Sally told her
"Sally Sparrow, it's ONE in the morning!" Kathy grumbled "You think I'm coming round at one in the morning?"
"No." Sally answered "I'm in the kitchen. What's that on all those screens in your front room?"
"Oh, God." Kathy huffed, then suddenly sounded panicked "Oh God! Sally, you've met my brother Larry haven't you?"
"No."
"You're about to."
The door to the kitchen opened and Sally saw a brown-haired man with stubble standing there, completely starkers.
"Ok." Larry mumbled awkwardly "Not sure, but really, really hoping. Pant?"
"No." an amused Sally shook her head
"Put them on! Put them on!" a frantic Kathy hissed from down the hall. "I hate you! What were you thinking?!" Larry shuffled away, and Kathy sped into the room. "Sorry." she said to Sally "My useless brother." she saw Sally looking rather rattled, and not because of the naked man she's just seen. "Sally, what's wrong? What's happened?"
Next morning, Sally took Kathy to the old mansion to show her what she'd seen. "Ok. Let's investigate." Kathy said "You and me, girl investigators. Love it! Hey, Sparrow and Nightingale! That so works."
"Bit ITV." Sally laughed
"I know!" Kathy grinned
They were soon looking through the house. "What did you come here for, anyway?" Kathy asked, a bit creeped out by the eerie house.
"I love old things." Sally replied, taking a good look around the room. "They make me feel sad."
"What's good about sad?" Kathy asked, as they entered the room where Sally had found the message.
"It's happy for deep people." Sally replied. She looked at the message, seeing it in it's entirety. Then she looked out of the window at the angel statue. "The Weeping Angel." she commented
"Wouldn't have that in my garden." Kathy remarked, feeling rather creeped out by the statue.
"It's moved." Sally frowned, noticing that the statue was in a different position from last night.
"It's what?"
"Since yesterday. I'm sure of it, it's closer. It's got closer to the house." she shook her head and turned back to the message on the wall. "How can my name be written here?" Sally wandered "How is that possible?"
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. "Who'd come here?" Kathy whispered. Sally went to answer the door. "What're ya doing?" Kathy hissed "It could be a burglar!"
"A burglar who rings the doorbell?" Sally retorted
Kathy could see her point "Ok. I'll stay here in case of..."
"In case of?"
"Incidents?" Kathy tried
"Ok." Sally conceded, and went to the front door, while Kathy stayed in the room.
Sally unbolted the front door and opened it to find a man in a suit standing there. "I'm looking for Sally Sparrow." the man said
"How did you know I'd be here?" Sally frowned
"I was told to bring this letter." the man replied, producing an envelope from his jacket "On this date, as this exact time to Sally Sparrow."
"It looks old." Sally noted, looking at it.
"It is old." the man confirmed "I'm sorry, do you have anything with a photograph on it, like a driving licence?"
While Sally was dealing with the man, Kathy was in the other room, watching. She heard a noise and went to investigate. "How did you know I was coming here?" she heard Sally say "I didn't tell anyone. How could anyone know?"
"It's all a bit complicated." the man responded "I'm not sure I understand it myself."
Kathy peered out of the window. There was nothing there except the statue. Satisfied, she turned around and went back towards the door, not seeing that the statue's hands were no longer covering it's eyes.
"I'm sorry, I feel really stupid." the man said to Sally, checkin her driver's licence "But I was told to make absolutely sure. It's so hard to tell with these little photographs, isn't it?"
"Apparently." Sally shrugged, as the man gave her the licence back.
"Well, here goes, I suppose." the man said "Funny feeling after all these years."
"Who's it from?" Sally questioned
"Well, that's a long story actually."
"Gimme a name." Sally insisted
"Katherine Wainwright." the man replied "But she specified I should tell you that prior to marriage she was called Kathy Nightingale."
Just then, there was a bang coming from the room Kathy had been in. "Kathy?" Sally called
"Kathy, yes." the man told her "Katherine Costello Nightingale."
"Is this a joke?" Sally glared
"A joke?" the man questioned
"Kathy, is this you?" Sally grumbled, going to the other room to give her friend a piece of her mind. "Very funny." she entered the room to find no sign of Kathy. "Kathy?" Sally called, wandering where her friend had got to
Kathy, meanwhile, found herself in the middle of a field. She had no idea how she'd got there. One moment she was in the room, listening to Sally and the man, the next, she was here.
In the house, Sally was searching all over for Kathy, but there was no sign of her. "Please, you need to take this." the man insisted, gesturing to the envelope in his hand "I promised." Sally decided to play along.
Meanwhile, Kathy managed to find someone, a man in old-fashioned clothing, who was sitting on a wall, eating an apple and reading a newspaper. "Excuse me?" Kathy called to him "Where am I? I was in London. I was in the middle of London."
"Yer in Hull." the man told her in a thick Yorkshire accent.
"No I'm not." Kathy laughed
"This is Hull." the man told her
"No, it isn't." Kathy insisted. There was no way she could've gone from London to Hull in the blink of an eye.
"Yer in Hull." the man told her firmly
"I'm not in Hull. Stop saying Hull!" Kathy glared
"Who are you?" Sally questioned as she approached the man with the envelope "Why're you here?"
"I made a promise." he replied
"Who to?"
"My grandmother, Katherine Costello Nightingale."
In the field, Kathy decided to check the man's newspaper. "Don't have that in London." he said to her "There's no call for it. It's all Hull."
Kathy took the paper. It was the Hull Times. Her eyes widened at the date: 5th December... "1920?" she gasped
"Your grandmother?" Sally questioned the man sceptically
"Yes." he replied "She died 20 years ago."
Sally took the envelope and opened it to find photos of Kathy in period clothes. "So they're related?" she asked the man
"I'm sorry?"
"My Kathy, your grandmother. They're practically identical."
In 1920, Kathy turned and stormed off in shock. "Where yer going?" the man with the newspaper questioned, getting up to go after her.
In 2007, Sally found a letter in the envelope and opened it 'My dearest Sally Sparrow' it said 'If my grandson has done as he's promised he will, then as you read these words it has been mere minutes since we last spoke. For you. For me, it has been 60 years. The third of the photographs is of my children.' Sally looked at the relevant photo, showing Kathy with the man with the newspaper and two children, a boy and a girl 'The youngest is Sally. I named her after you, of course." the fourth photo showed a much older Kathy with what appeared to be grandchildren.
"This is sick!" Sally said in disbelief "This is totally sick!" she threw the items on the floor and ran upstairs to look for her friend one last time. "Kathy? Kathy!" she called, but all she found were two angel statues, exactly like the one in the garden, though one was in a slightly different pose, with only arm covering it's eyes. The other arm was hanging down, and a key on a string was dangling from the hand. Sally heard a fluttering from behind her. She spun round, only to find another angel statue, this one in the weeping pose. Sally bent down to examine the key one of the statues was holding, not noticing that the one behind her had lowered it's hands, no longer covering it's eyes. Sally pried the key from the statue's grip and looked at it closely. Suddenly, she heard the front door slamming. "No! Wait, hang on!" she called, racing back down the stairs, not noticing that the statue behind her now had it's arm outstretched.
When Sally got back downstairs, she found that the man had gone and the letter and photos had been picked up and placed on a side board. She grabbed them and went to find somewhere to read the rest of the letter, unware that the statues had moved and were watching her.
Sally was soon sat in a café, reading the rest of the letter. 'I suppose unless I live to an exceptional old age, I will be long gone as you read this.' the letter said 'Don't feel sorry for me. I have led a good and full life. I've loved a good man and been well-loved in return. You would have liked Ben." Sally looked at a photo of Kathy and the man with the newspaper in wedding clothes 'He was the very first person I met in 1920.'
In 1920, Kathy stalked through the field and saw the man, Ben, following her "Are you following me?" she glared
"Yeah." Ben replied simply
"Are you gonna stop following me?"
"No, I don't think so." Ben smirked
In 2007, Sally walked through a graveyard until she found headstone marked 'In loving memory Benjamin Wainwright (1897-1962) and his loving wife Katherine Costello Wainwright (1902-1987)
Sally place some flowers on the grave and read more of the letter 'To take one breath in 2007 and the next in 1920 is a strange way to start a new life, but a new life is exactly what I've always wanted.'
Sally looked at Kathy's date of birth on the headstone "1902? You told him you were 18? You lying cow!" she smiled, then turned back to the letter.
'My mum and dad are gone by your time, so really there's only Lawrence to tell. He works at the DVD store on Queen Street. I don't know what you're going to say, but I know you'll think of something. Just tell him I love him.'
Sally left the graveyard, not noticing a statue exactly like the ones from the house watching her.
Presently, Sally arrived at the shop Kathy's letter stipulated, Banto's DVDs. She went to the counter where Banto was lounging, watching Gangsters on his telly. "Excuse me, I'm looking for Lawrence Nightingale." Sally asked him
"Through the back." Banto told her, and she went through the curtain into the back room.
"Hello?" Sally called out, finding no one in the room. Her attention was then caught by a telly. On it was the clip of the man in the brown suit and the black woman.
"Martha!" the man scolded
"Sorry." the woman, Martha, mumbled, then moved out of shot.
"Quite possibly." the man said to the camera, then "'Fraid so."
At that moment, Larry came into the room "Oh, hello." he said, seeing Sally "Can I help ya?"
"Hi." Sally greeted
"38." a woman's voice called off camera on the telly.
"Er, just a mo." Larry said, moving past Sally to grab a remote, then he paused the video. "Hang on, we've met, haven't me?" he asked Sally
"It'll come to you." Sally smirked
Recognition dawned on Larry "Oh my God!" he groaned, instinctively putting the bowl he was holding over his gusset, even though he was fully dressed this time.
"There it is." Sally laughed
"Sorry. Sorry again, about the whole..."
"Message from your sister." Sally said, getting to the point.
"Oh, ok." Larry said, then frowned when he saw her serious expression "What? What is it? What's the message?"
"She's had to go away for a bit." Sally told him
"Where?"
"Just a work thing. Nothing to worry about."
"Ok."
"And..."
"And what?"
"She loves you." Sally told him
"She what?" Larry laughed. That didn't sound like his sister at all.
"She said to say. She just sort of mentioned it. She loved you. There, that's nice, isn't it?"
"Is she ill?" Larry asked worriedly
"No! No." Sally reassured him
"Am I ill?" Larry asked, patting himself down.
"No."
"Is this a trick?"
"No. She loved you."
At that moment, the video resumed. "You see, people don't quite understand how time REALLY works." a woman's voice, that Sally recognised as the brunette woman's voice. said from off-camera
"It's not what you think it is." the man on screen added.
Larry paused the video again. "Who is this guy?" Sally asked him
"Sorry, the pause thing keeps slipping." he replied "Stupid thing.
"Last night at Kathy's, you had him on those screens. That same guy and some woman. Talking about, I dunno, blinking or something."
"Yeah, the bit about blinking is great." Larry smirked, sitting down "I was just checking to see if they were all the same."
"What were the same?" Sally asked "What is this? Who are they?"
"An Easter egg." Larry replied
"Excuse me?" Sally questioned
"Like a DVD extra, yeah? Larry explained "Ya know on DVDs they put extras on, documentaries and stuff? Well, sometimes they put on hidden ones, and call 'em Easter eggs. Ya have to go and look for 'em, follow up a bunch of clues in the menu screen."
At that moment, the pause slipped again "Complicated." the man said
"Sorry." Larry muttered, pausing it again "It's interesting, actually. They are on 17 different DVDs. There are 17 totally unrelated DVDs, all with them on. Always hidden away, always a secret. Not even the publishers know how they got there. I've talked to the manufacturers, right? They don't even know. It's like they're a ghost DVD extra. Just shows up where they're not supposed to be. But only on those, those 17."
"Well, what does he do?" Sally asked, eyeing the man on screen.
"Just sits there making random remarks." Larry remarked "It's like we're hearing half a conversation. Me and the guys are always trying to work out the other half."
"When you say you and the guys, you mean the internet, don't you?" Sally smiled knowingly
"How'd you know?" Larry frowned
"Spooky, isn't it?" Sally smirked
Larry resumed the video "Very complicated." the man said
"Lawrence, need ya!" Banto called from out front
"'Scuse me a sec." Larry said to Sally, then rushed off to comply, leaving Sally alone with the video playing.
"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect." the man said "But actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff."
"Started well, that sentence." Sally remarked
"It got away from me, yeah." the man said
"Ok, that was weird." Sally frowned "Like you can hear me."
"Well, I CAN hear you." the man said, causing Sally's eyes to widen.
"Ok, that's enough." she said, pausing the video again "I've had enough now. I've had a long day, and I've had bloody enough!" she turned to see Larry walk back in, carrying a folder. "Sorry." she said to him "Bad day."
"Got you the list." Larry said, pulling a sheet of paper out of the folder.
"What?"
"The 17 DVDs, I thought you might be interested."
"Yeah, great, thanks." Sally said, taking the paper from him and walking out. As she passed the counter, she heard Banto shouting at his telly.
"Go to the police, you stupid woman!" he ranted "Why does nobody ever just go to the police?"
Sally paused hearing that. She decided she was going to do just that.
She was soon at the police station, telling the desk sergeant about the situation "Look, I know how mad I'm sounding." she said, exasperated that the man didn't seem to be taking her seriously.
"Shall we try from the beginning this time?" he suggested
"Ok." Sally nodded "There's this house, a big old house, been empty for years, falling apart. Wester Drumlins, out by the estate. You've probably seen it."
"Wester Drumlins?" the desk sergeant questioned
"Yes."
"Could you just wait here for a moment?" the desk sergeant said, and went into a back room.
Sally gave an exasperated sigh, then turned to look out the window, where it was pouring with rain outside. Her attention was caught by the church across the road. Adjacent to the church's windows were two weeping angel statues, exactly like the ones at Wester Drumlins. She blinked, and the statues were gone. She went up to the window for a closer look, but the statues had vanished into thin air. "Ok, cracking up now." Sally muttered to herself. She didn't know that the statues were now right by the police station window.
Sally's attention was caught by a dashing black man, who had just come out of the back room, looking at some papers "Hi, D.I Billy Shipton." he fired off, not looking up from his papers "Wester Drumlins, that's mine. Can't talk to you now, got a thing I can't be late for, so if you could just..." he looked up and saw Sally. His manner immediately changed "Hello!" he grinned
"Hello." Sally smiled back
"Er, Marcie, can you tell them I'm gonna be late for that thing?" Billy said to a receptionist.
Billy took Sally to the station's lock-up garage, which was full of cars that had been found abandoned at Wester Drumlins. "All of them?" Sally questioned
"Over the last two years, yeah." Billy replied "They all still had personal items in them and a couple still had the motor running."
"So over the last two years the owners of all these vehicles have driven up to Wester Drumlins, parked outside and just disappeared." Sally noted. Then she noticed a large box, similar to a phone box, but blue and with police written on it. "What's that?" she asked
"Ah! The pride of the Wester Drumlins collection." Billy replied "We found that there too, someone's idea of a joke, I suppose."
"But what is it? What's a police box?" Sally asked him
"Well, it's a special kind of phone box for policemen." Billy explained "They used to have them all over. But this isn't a real one. The phone's just a dummy and the windows are the wrong size. We can't even get in it." he tried the door to prove his point. It wouldn't budge. "Ordinary Yale lock, but nothing fits. But that's not the big question. See, you're missing the big question."
"Ok, what's the big question?"
"Will ya have a drink with me?"
"I'm sorry?" Sally blinked
"Drink, you, me, now?" Billy asked
"Aren't you on duty, Detective Inspector Shipton?" Sally laughed
"Nope. Knocked off before I left. Told 'em I had a family crisis."
"Why?"
"Because life is short and you are hot." Billy smirked, causing Sally to blush "Drink?"
"No." Sally politely rebuked him and began to walk away.
"Ever?"
"Maybe."
"Phone number?" Billy tried, going after her.
"Moving kinda fast, DI Shipton."
"Billy. I'm off duty."
"Aren't you just." Sally laughed, handing him a piece of paper.
"Is that your phone number?"
"Just my phone number." she told him "Not a promise, not a guarantee, not an IOU, just a phone number."
"And that's Sally..."
"Sally Shipton, Sparrow." she hastily corrected, wincing at her slip "Sally Sparrow. I'm going now, don't look at me."
"I'll phone you." Billy called, as Sally walked away.
"Don't look at me." Sally called back
"Phone you tomorrow."
"Don't look at me!"
"Might even phone you tonight."
"Don't look at me!"
"Definitely gonna phone you, gorgeous girl!"
"You definitely better!" Sally called back, as she left the garage.
Billy smirked triumphantly and turned, only to see four weeping angel statues standing by the phone box, statues that definitely weren't there before. Billy frowned and went for a closer look. He went right up to one, then he blinked...
Outside, Sally was just crossing the street when she remembered the key she'd found at Wester Drumlins. She pulled it out of her pocket and looked at it. It was a Yale key. Then she remembered what Billy had said about the lock on the phone box being a Yale lock. She realised that this key could be for the box, so she hurried back inside to tell Billy, but when she got to the garage, she found that Billy, the box and the statues were all gone, while the garage doors appeared to have been forced open.
It all happened so fast for Billy. One moment he was looking at the angel statue, then he blinked, and the next thing he knew, he was staggering backwards in an alley at night. He slammed into the wall and slid to the ground. "Welcome." a voice called, and Billy looked round to see a man in a brown suit and two young women, one Caucasian, the other black, standing there, the same three people from the video.
"Where am I?" Billy mumbled
"Now, just take it easy." the Caucasian woman advised "Better rest for a moment."
"You're in 1969." the man told Billy, waving some kind of device in his hand "Not bad, as it goes. You've got the moon landing to look forward to."
"The moon landing's brilliant." the black woman, Martha, added "We went four times. Back when we had transport." she shot the other two people glares
"Workin' on it." the man tried to pacify her
"How did I get here?" Billy asked
"The same way we did." the Caucasian woman told him, sitting down beside him "You were touched by a Weeping Angel. Probably the same one that nabbed us, since you're here too. Now, don't get up. Time travel without a ship's not good for the health."
"Catch ya breath, don't go swimmin' for half an hour." the man added, sitting down on Billy's other side.
"I don't... I can't..." Billy stammered
"Fascinating race, the Weeping Angels." the man mused "The only psychopaths in the universe to kill ya nicely. No mess, no fuss, they just zap you into the past an' let ya live to death. The rest of ya life used up an' blown away in the blink of an eye. You die in the past, an' in the present they consume the energy of all the days you might've had, all ya stolen moments. They're creatures of the abstract, they live off potential energy."
"What in God's name are you talking about?" Billy questioned, confused.
"Trust me, just nod when he stops for breath." Martha told him
"Tracked ya down wiv this." the man said to Billy, gesturing to the device he was holding "This is a timey-wimey detector my beautiful, brilliant Gazelle whipped up for me." he winked at the Caucasian woman, who blushed slightly "It goes ding when there's stuff. Also, it can boil an egg at 30 paces."
"He put that in." the Caucasian woman, Gazelle, pipped in "He needs to keep it away from hens, cos' trust me, it's not pretty."
"I don't understand, where am I?" Billy asked, still puzzled.
"It's 1969, like he says." Martha told him
"Normally, I'd offer you a lift home." the man said "But someone's nicked our motor. So we need you to take a message to Sally Sparrow."
"And we're sorry, Billy, we're sorry with all our hearts, but you're gonna have to wait quite a while." Gazelle told him solemnly.
In 2007, Sally was just looking at the broken garage door when her phone rang, which she promptly answered "Hello? Billy, where are you?" she frowned when she got the answer "Where?"
Sally was soon at a hospital. She walked through a ward until she reached a bed where an elderly black man was sleeping. "Billy?" she whispered. The patient just kept sleeping. Sally looked at him carefully. It was Billy, considerably older, but definitely him. Not wishing to disturb him, Sally turned to look out the window at the pouring rain outside.
At that moment, Billy woke. "It was raining when we met." he said
"It's the same rain." Sally replied. She was soon sat at his bedside, looking at a photo of Billy on his wedding day. "She looks nice." she said, looking at his wife.
"Her name was Sally too." Billy told her
"Sally Shipton." she smiled at the irony.
"Sally Shipton!" Billy laughed "I often thought about looking for you before tonight, but apparently it would've torn a hole in the fabric of space and time and destroyed two thirds of the universe. Also, I'd lost my hair." he finished good-naturedly
"Two thirds of the universe, where'd you get that from?" Sally asked him
"There's a man and two women in 1969. They sent me with a message for you."
"What man and which women?"
"The man's called the Doctor." Billy told her "And the women are Gazelle and Martha."
Sally immediately recognised those names from the writing on the wall at Wester Drumlins. "And what was the message?" she asked
"Just this, look at the list."
"What does that mean? Is that it, look at the list?"
"They said you'd have it by now." Billy replied "A list of 17 DVDs." Sally pulled the list Larry gave her out of her pocket. "I didn't stay a policeman back then." Billy explained "Got into publishing. Then video publishing. Then DVDs, of course."
"You put the Easter eggs on?" Sally realised
"Have you noticed what all 17 DVDs have in common yet?" Billy asked her. Sally shook her head. "I suppose it's hard for you, in a way." he observed
"But how could the Doctor have even known I had a list?" Sally questioned "I only just got this."
"I asked them, but they said they couldn't tell me. The Doctor said you'd understand it one day, but that I never would."
"Soon as I understand it, I'll come and tell you." Sally laughed
"No, gorgeous girl, you can't." Billy lamented "There's only tonight. Gazelle told me all those years ago that we'd only meet again this one time. On the night I die."
"Oh, Billy." Sally sighed sadly
"It's kept me going." Billy said, putting on a brave face "I'm an old, sick man. But I've had something to look forward to. Ah, life is long, and you are hot." they both shared a laugh at that. "Oh, look at my hands." he sighed "They're old man's hands. How did that happen?"
"I'll stay." Sally promised him. It was the least she could do. "I'm gonna stay with you, ok?"
"Thank you, Sally Sparrow." Billy smiled "I have till the rain stops."
And so, Sally stayed. She stayed at Billy's bedside until he passed away peacefully, just when the rain stopped.
At Banto's, Larry was working when his phone rang. "Banto's." he answered
"They're mine." Sally said on the other end.
"What?"
"The DVDs on the list, the 17 DVDs. What they've got in common is ME. They're all the DVDs I own. The Easter egg was intended for me."
"You've only got seventeen DVDs?"
"Do you have a portable DVD player?" Sally asked him
"Course, why?"
"I want you to meet me." Sally told him.
"Where?"
"Wester Drumlins."
And so that night, they met up at Wester Drumlins. "You live in Scooby Doo's house?" Larry questioned, looking at the creepy mansion uneasily.
"For God's sake, I don't live here!" Sally scoffed
Larry had soon set up his portable DVD player in the room where the message on the wall was written. "Ok, this is the one with the clearest sound." he rambled, as he got the DVDs ready. "Slightly better picture quality on this one, but I don't..."
"Doesn't matter." Sally cut in, not wanting to waste time.
"Ok." Larry pressed a button and the screen showed the man in the brown suit. "There he is." Larry noted
"The Doctor." Sally observed
"Who's the Doctor?" Larry asked her
"He's the Doctor." Sally replied, pointing to the man on screen.
"Yep, that's me." the Doctor said on screen
"Ok, that was scary." Sally shivered
"No, it sounds like he's replying, but he always says that." Larry told her
"Yes I do." the Doctor said
"And that."
"Yep, and this."
"He can hear us." Sally gasped "Oh my God, you can really hear us!"
"Of course he can't hear us." Larry scoffed "Look." he pulled out a notepad "I've got a transcript, see? Everything they all say. 'Yep, that's me', 'Yes I do', 'Yep, and this', and next one of the women says..."
"Are you gonna read out the whole thing?" Larry said at the exact same time Gazelle said it off-camera.
"Sorry." Larry mumbled
"Who are you?" Sally said to the screen
"I'm a time traveller." the Doctor said "Or I was. I'm stuck in 1969."
At that point, Martha poked her head into shot "WE'RE stuck." she grumbled "All of space and time they promised me, now I've got a job in a shop, and Gazelle's working in a car factory. We've gotta support HIM!" she jerked her head at the Doctor.
"Martha!" the Doctor scolded
"Sorry." Martha mumbled, then moved out of shot.
"I've seen this bit before." Sally said to Larry
Larry nodded just as the Doctor said "Quite possibly."
"1969? That's where you're talking from?" Sally questioned the screen
"'Fraid so." the Doctor said
"But you're replying to me!" Sally pointed out "You can't know exactly what I'm gonna say 40 years before I say it!"
"38." Gazelle's voice said off-camera
"I'm getting this down." Larry remarked, starting to write down the dialogue in his notepad "I'm writing down your bits."
"How? How is this possible?" Sally questioned the screen "Tell me!"
"Not so fast." Larry told her
"You see, people don't quite understand how time REALLY works." Gazelle said off-camera
"It's not what you think it is." the Doctor added
"Then what is it?" Sally asked
"Complicated." the Doctor said
"Tell me." Sally insisted
"Very complicated." the Doctor said
"I'm clever and I'm listening." Sally said huffily "And don't patronise me because people have died, and I'm not happy. Tell me."
"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect." the Doctor said "But actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff."
"Yeah, I've seen this bit before." Sally shook her head "You said that sentence got away from you."
"It got away from me, yeah." the Doctor agreed
"Next thing you're gonna say is 'Well, I can hear you,'"
As she predicted, the Doctor then said "Well, I CAN hear you."
"This isn't possible!" Sally frowned
"No, it's brilliant!" Larry laughed, finding the whole thing amusing.
"Well, not HEAR you exactly, but I know everyfink you're gonna say." the Doctor said
"Always gives me that shivers, that bit." Larry remarked
"How can you know what I'm gonna say?" Sally questioned the screen
"Look to your left." the Doctor said
Sally did so and saw Larry writing in his notepad "What does he mean, 'Look to you left'?" he asked Sally "I'm written tons about that on the forums. I think it's a political statement."
"He means you." Sally told him "What're you doing?" she went over to see what he was writing.
"I'm writing in your bits." Larry replied "That way I've got a complete transcript of the whole conversation. Wait till this hits the net. It will explode the egg forums."
Sally went back over to the screen, just as the Doctor said "We've got a copy of the finished transcript. It's on my autocue."
"How can you have a copy of the finished transcript?" Sally questioned "It's still being written."
"I told ya, I'm a time traveller. We got in the future." the Doctor said
"Ok, let me get my head behind this." Sally grunted, trying to make sense of it all "You're reading aloud a transcript of a conversation you're still having?"
"Yeah, yeah, wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey." the Doctor waved her off
"Actually, never mind that." Sally huffed "You can do shorthand?" she asked Larry
"So?" he replied
"Oh, we're getting nowhere." Gazelle's voice grumbled off-camera "Budge up." the Doctor shifted slightly and Gazelle came into shot, taking up position next to him. "The important things is we CAN communicate." she said to the camera "And we've got big problems. They've taken the blue box, haven't they?"
"The Angels have the phone box." the Doctor added
"The Angels have the phone!" Larry laughed "That's my favourite. I've got it on a t-shirt."
"What d'you mean, angels?" Sally questioned "You mean those statue things?"
"Creatures from another world." the Doctor said darkly
"But they're just statues."
"Only when you see them." Gazelle said
"What does that mean?" Sally questioned
"Lonely assassins, they used to be called." the Doctor said "No one knows where they came from. They're as old as the universe, or very nearly. And they've survived this long because they have the most perfect defence system ever evolved. They are quantum-locked. They don't exist while being observed."
"The moment any other living creature sees 'em, they freeze into stone statues." Gazelle added
"No choice, part of their biology." the Doctor took over "In the sight of any livin' thing, they LITERALLY turn to stone. And you can't kill a stone. 'Course, a stone can't kill ya either, but then you turn your head away, then you blink, an' oh yes it CAN!"
Just then, Sally noticed a Weeping Angel in the window. "Don't take your eyes off that." she warned Larry, who shifted his eyes to it.
"That's why they cover their eyes." Gazelle said "Not because they're weeping, but because they can't risk looking at each other. Their greatest strength is also their greatest weakness. They can NEVER be seen."
"The loneliest creatures in the universe." the Doctor added "An' we're sorry, we're very, very sorry, it's up to YOU now."
"What am I supposed to do?" Sally asked
"The blue box, it's our time machine." the Doctor answered "There is a world of time energy in there, they could feast on it forever. But the damage they can do can switch off the sun!"
"We need you send the box back to us." Gazelle finished
"How? How?" Sally asked
"And that's it, I'm afraid." the Doctor said "There's no more from you on the transcript, that's the last we've got. We dunno what stopped you from talkin', but we can guess. They're coming'. The Angels are comin' for you, but listen, your life could depend on this. Don't blink! Don't even blink! Blink, an' you're dead!"
"They're fast, faster than you can believe." Gazelle added "Don't turn your back, don't look away, and whatever you do, don't blink!"
"Good luck." the Doctor finished, and the video ended.
"No! Don't, you can't!" Sally protested
"I'll rewind it." Larry suggested, coming over to do so.
"What good would that do?" Sally retorted, then realised something "You're not looking at the statue."
"Neither are you." Larry breathed. They both turned and saw that the Weeping Angel had moved. It was now inside the room, it's arms outstretched and an angry, snarling look on it's face.
Sally and Larry both jumped to their feet "Keep looking at it, keep looking at it!" Sally urged, then she heard a thud behind her.
"There's just one, right?" Larry asked, keeping his gaze fixed on the Angel's outstretched arms. "There's just this one. We're ok if we keep staring at this one statue, everything's gonna be fine."
"There's three more." Sally told him, remembering the other ones.
"Three?"
"They're upstairs before, but I think I heard them moving."
"Moving where? Three of them, moving where?"
"I'll look around, I'm gonna check. You keep looking at this one, don't blink." Sally said "Remember what they said, don't even blink!"
"Who blinks?" Larry laughed nervously, maintaining his gaze on the Angel's arms "I'm too scared to blink."
"Ok. We're going to the door, the front door." Sally said "Ok, we can't both get to the door without taking our eyes off that thing, so you stay here."
"What?!"
"I'll be just round the corner, you stay here!" Sally told him, then rushed to the front door. She tried it, but it wouldn't budge "They've locked it!" she cried "They've locked us in!"
"Why?"
"I've got something they want."
"What?"
"A key. I took it last time I was here. They followed me to get it back. I led 'em to the blue box, now they've got that!"
"Give them the key!" Larry urged
"I'm gonna check the back door, you wait here!" Sally told him and rushed off towards the back door.
"Give 'em the key! Give 'em what they want!" Larry cried "Sally, no, what if they come behind me?"
"Hang on!" Sally called back, trying the back door, but it was locked too "It's locked!" she called
Larry glanced over his shoulder, just for a second, and when he looked back round at the Angel, it had moved again. It was now right in his face. "Sally! Sally!" he cried, focussing on the Angel's razor sharp fangs.
"It won't open!" Sally cried, trying to wrench the door open without success.
"Sally, please, I can't do this!" Larry begged, fighting the urge to blink and keeping his eyes on the Angel's teeth. "Sally, hurry up! Where are ya?!"
Sally checked the hallway she was in, and found another way out. "Larry! They've blocked off the back door, but there's a cellar!" she called "There might be a way out. A delivery hatch or something."
"I'm coming. I can't stay here." Larry called back, backing up towards the door, still keeping his gaze on the Angel's teeth, then he took his chance and made a break for it.
Sally went downstairs into the cellar to find the blue police box from the police station there, surrounded by the other three Weeping Angels. "Ok, boys, I know how this works." she said to them "You can't move so long as I can see you." Larry joined her, as she took the key out of her pocket "Whole world in the box, the Doctor says." Sally continued "Hope he's not lying, cos' I don't see how else we're getting out." she heard a swishing sound behind her, and turned to see the fourth Angel standing at the top of the stairs. "Oh, and there's your one." she said to Larry, as they both walked over to the police box.
"Why's it pointing at the light?" Larry asked
He got his answer a second later when the light flickered. Sally realised what has happening "Oh my God, it's turning out the lights!" she exclaimed, and hastily began searching for the lock on the box's door.
"Quickly!" Larry urged her
"I can't find the lock!" she answered back
Larry turned back to face the Angels as the lights flickered again "Sally, hurry up!" he cried, seeing that with each flicker, the Angels moved, getting closer and closer to them each time. "They're getting faster, Sally, come on!"
Sally finally found the lock, but had trouble with the key "It won't turn!"
The Angels continued their advance. "Sally!" Larry yelled
Sally finally managed to unlock the door and they both scrambled inside just in time. They could only stare in disbelief at the enormous coral-themed room they now found themselves in. Suddenly, a hologram of the Doctor flickered into life on the gantry in one corner of the room. "This is security protocol 712." the holo-Doctor announced "This time capsule has detected the presence of an authorised control disc, valid one journey." Larry felt something hot in his pocket and he pulled out a DVD case he's stuffed in there. He opened the case to find the disc inside glowing. "Please insert the disc and prepare for departure." the holo-Doctor ordered
Sally looked at the console in the centre of the room. "Looks like a DVD player. There's a slot." she said, finding what they were looking for.
Suddenly, the whole box shook violently, throwing them both to the floor. "They're trying to get in!" Larry realised
"Well, hurry up, then!" Sally hollered
Larry staggered over to the console and managed to insert the disc into the slot. There was a strange wheezing and groaning noise and what looked like pistons in the column sprouting out of the console began to move up and down. Then, the room began to disappear around them. "What's happening?" Larry gasped
"Oh my God, it's leaving us behind!" Sally realised "Doctor, no, you can't! Gazelle!" she and Larry screamed as the box disappeared completely, revealing the four Weeping Angels. "Look at them. Quick, look at them!" Sally hollered
Larry got to his feet and looked at the Angels. They were all frozen in a circle. "I don't think we need to." he said "They tricked them. The Doctor and Gazelle tricked them. They're looking at each other. They're never gonna move again." and sure enough, all four Angels were looking at each other, exactly what Gazelle said they could never do. Sally and Larry slipped out from the circle and hugged each over in relief, glad it was all over.
A year later, Sally was standing behind the counter of a shop, looking at the contents of a folder, when Larry came out from the back room. "Can you mind the shop?" he asked her "I'm just nipping next door for some milk."
"Yeah, no worries." Sally replied
"What's this?" he asked, noticing the folder.
"Nothing." Sally tried to wave him off, but Larry wasn't fooled. He took the folder and checked the contents. Inside was a photo of the message on the wall at Wester Drumlins, photos of Kathy and Billy's weddings and the transcript of the Easter egg.
"Oh, Sally." Larry sighed in exasperation "Can't ya let it go?"
"Of course I can't let it go." Sally replied
"This, it's over!" Larry insisted. He was pretty keen to forget the whole affair.
"How did the Doctor and Gazelle know where to write the words on the wall?" Sally challenged "How could they get a copy of the transcript? Where did they get all that information from?"
"Look, some things you never find out. And that's ok." Larry told her
"No, it isn't." she huffed
"Ever think this might be getting in the way of... other things?" Larry asked her softly
"We just run a shop together." Sally told him firmly "That's all it is, just a shop."
"Anyway." Larry swallowed, feeling hurt but burying it down "Milk. Back in a mo." he walked outside.
Sally watched him go, and her attention was caught by a black cab pulling up outside. Her eyes widened when she saw the passengers get out. It was the Doctor, Gazelle and Martha, in the flesh, all carrying bows and arrows. She grabbed the folder and raced outside "Doctor! Gazelle!" she called, running up to them.
"Hello!" the Doctor greeted "Sorry, bit of a rush, there's a sort of thing happening. Very important we stop it."
"My God, it's you, it really is you!" Sally gasped "Oh, you don't remember me, do you?"
"I'm sorry, I don't think we've met." Gazelle said to her
Martha came up to them "Doctor, Gazelle, we don't have time for this, the migration's started."
"Look, sorry, we've had complex lives." the Doctor told Sally "Things don't always happen to us in the right order. Get's a bit confusing at times."
That was when it clicked for Sally "Oh my God, of course! You're time travellers! It hasn't happened to you three yet. None of it, it's still in your future's."
"What 'asn't happened?" the Doctor asked
"Sorry, but we've got to cut this short." Gazelle interrupted, checking her watch "Red hatching's in 20 minutes." she told the Doctor
"It was me." Sally realised "Oh, for God's sake, it was me all along. You got it all from me!"
"Got what?" Gazelle asked her
"Ok, listen." Sally told them "One day you're all gonna get stuck in 1969. Make sure you've got this with you." she held out the folder, which the Doctor took. "You're gonna need it."
"Doctor! Gazelle!" Martha called from down the street.
"Yeah, listen, gotta dash." the Doctor said to Sally "Things happening. Well, four things. Well, four things an' a lizard."
"Ok. No worries, on ya go." Sally replied, as they began to walk away "See you all around some day."
"Um, what was your name?" Gazelle asked her
"Sally Sparrow."
"Well, nice to meet ya, Sally Sparrow. Hope we can have a proper meeting one day." Gazelle said, as she and the Doctor went on their way.
Larry at that moment came up beside Sally and goggled in surprise at the sight of the people from the Easter egg. "Goodbye, Doctor, Gazelle." Sally smiled, taking Larry's hand and they went back inside their shop.
Author's notes: And that's series 3's best episode done. Not much from our regular trio, but this was a Doctor & companion-lite episode. Re-watching this episode while writing this chapter, I think Moffat nailed the Weeping Angels perfectly in this episode. It's a shame he had to keep tampering with them in their subsequent appearances, contradicting this episode and reducing their scare factor. I noticed in this episode that Larry quite clearly looks into the Angel's eyes at one point. Now, I'm considering getting rid of the Angel in the mind thing when we get to series 5, as I dislike that element, but just in case I decide to leave it in, I've made sure that Larry doesn't look into the Angel's eyes here. I enjoyed adapting this episode, and I hope I did it justice. Next time, we see the return of Flirt Boy. It's gonna be interesting. See ya there!