Chapter 4
John was the biggest advocate for the worst solutions. He wanted to fight the mist head-on like one would attack an enemy. Even though he had heard the cries of the dying horse with his own ears, and heard the Doctor describe what happened to the brick when he tossed it through, he was absolutely certain, beyond any doubt, that he could fight a path through the mist.
On the opposite side of the table was Jacob. He had more moderate ideas, but in the end he really wanted to join John in attacking the mist – he disagreed with the methodology. He thought they should load up the cannon sitting atop the town hall and blow the hell out of the barrier. The Doctor insisted this might make matters worse, and Samuel agreed with him, but John latched onto that idea and ran with it. He insisted only the canon could make a dent in the mist.
Samuel, also known as the mayor, was the most apt to wait it out. He insisted that they had the supplies to last a few days and that they should observe the mist for a while and figure out what it was going to do. He sided with the Doctor more often than not.
The Doctor tried to convince the three of them, the loudest voices among the assembled men, that they should avoid provoking the mist. He used an analogy, suggesting that the demons would attack when they were attacked, and brought the very real possibility of an attack to the table. He discouraged the cannon idea. If the barrier came down lower because of it, it might lop off the top half of the building and crush everyone inside.
When it came down to it, Samuel got the last word. He listened to everyone, and decided he wanted to wait and see. He hoped the sun would rise soon and make the whole event less eerie.
The Doctor kept it to himself, but he knew the sun should have risen by now.
When he got the chance to pose a question to the group, he kept it short and simple. The men were agitated, and there was no use in stirring the hornet's nest.
"Aside from me, has anything out of the ordinary happened lately?"
Blank stares. He was getting a lot of those.
"What about strange weather? Snow in the summer? Weird things in the sky? Did anyone die in the last few days? Have you seen any odd animals around?"
"What are you getting at, Mr. Doctor?" John demanded.
He was getting tired of being addressed like that. "It's just the Doctor, and I'm trying to figure out what might have caused this. There has to be a reason."
"You're the only thing that changed." John was stating the obvious, but he seemed pleased with himself. He was likely to lead the lynch mob, if it got down to that. The Doctor made note to stay away from him in the future.
Mayor Samuel got up, straightening his suit. "Okay, everyone. Get back to your families. Go on, now. Spread the word. Everyone stays put for now."
While the room emptied, the Doctor kept an eye on John, and John kept an eye on him. Humans, in small groups, with a little fear and one instigator, could make rash decisions. If John decided to spread his thoughts on the Doctor, he might start something that put him and Grace in danger.
"Doctor?" Samuel called him over.
"I have nothing to do with this, for the record," he said as he reached that side of the table.
"I didn't think you did. What man could cause this? But I was thinking about what you asked – the thing about the sky."
"Did you see something?"
Could there be at least one answer in this endless line of questions?
"I think so. I could have." Samuel pressed his mustache down, glancing at the window. "It was weeks ago. I thought I saw a shimmer in the sky, like glass fragments. It was gone as quickly as it came. It might not have been there at all."
"No, no. I think it was." The Doctor let that sink in. His swarm theory gathered more weight, but it was incomplete. "Was there anything else?"
"No. Nothing."
Grace was awake when he left the meeting room. When she saw him, she brightened, but overall she looked rather glum. "I was hoping all this was a nightmare."
What a great first impression.
"I'm sorry I got you into this."
"Don't apologize. I like it. I like being here with you, even if it's all crazy. How sad it that?"
"It's not sad."
"But it is. I hardly know you."
"So?"
"Do you know what's happening yet?"
"No." He plopped down beside her. "The mayor thought he saw a shimmer in the sky, and that would make it seem like some sort of swarm, but…"
"A swarm? Like bugs?"
"Something like that."
John stood up suddenly from the front of the hall, brandishing a long knife. His voice was explosive. It seemed that he had been having a conversation with the people around him, and what he shouted only constituted the tail end of it. "Who's with me?"
"Oh, no." The Doctor got to his feet, running to the aisle to cut the group off. They were storming toward the doors. "Stop! I know you want to do something, but you'll get yourself killed."
John pushed him aside, knocking him into the pews.
"My wife and Josephine are out there! You do what you want, Doctor, but I'm not sittin' in here another second! You best stay out of my way!"
Henry stepped into his path next. "Mr. John, you'll get yourself killed, sir!"
It was a lot less gentle with Henry. While the Doctor struggled out of the pew, Henry got a hard punch to the face. He hit the ground, and the men went right past him, out the door.
The Doctor grabbed Henry by the arm and helped him up. "We can't let them go!"
It became an event. Those who were awake streamed out of the town hall, some of them following John on a march toward the barrier, and some standing to see what would happen to them. The Doctor started running after them. He managed to get in front, holding both hands out.
"Please, reconsider. I know you want to get to your family. I know that. But this will not help. If you step through it, it will kill you."
John pushed past him again.
He had no other options. He stood about ten feet from the barrier. Grace caught up to him, wide-eyed, and Henry was not far behind. John hit the mist and continued on.
And his screams followed shortly after.
The Doctor flinched. Grace covered her ears. Henry looked away, clenching his jaw.
Silence dominated the darkness for several seconds.
Murmurs started up in the gathered townspeople. Someone screamed. Some of them rushed back into the building, and some fled across the street, going to their own homes. It was an impossible chaos and the Doctor couldn't get his voice above it.
And then the worst possible thing happened.
The rumble came again. The barrier of mist shimmered and began to advance across the pavement. The Doctor shoved Grace back and started running. Henry outpaced them, scooped up his daughter, and turned to stare at the encroaching mist.
It came forward twenty feet, and then went still.
Grace tried to ask, "What is it-?"
But the rumbling struck with more intensity, making the ground tremble beneath them. All eyes were on the mist as it morphed and changed along the bottom, showing a brief glimpse of the sunshine in the outside world, and then the barking started.
"Doctor?" Grace had his hand. She squeezed it, backing away. "Doctor, what is that?"
"It sounds like…" He squinted at the edges of the mist. It was unclear. He took out his flashlight and ran it across the bottom, and his blood went cold. "Dogs!"
Like creatures clawing their way straight out of the depths of Hell, the dogs came. They were figures of the mist, barking and growling, claws lunging forward, teeth exposed. The crowd gave a collective heave toward the town hall and absolute panic spread. Someone struck him and the flashlight rolled out of reach. Grace got pulled in the opposite direction, and he saw Henry get knocked down. The light spun, illuminating bits and pieces of the rushing crowd.
The dogs grew closer. He tried to get a tally of people. He pushed them toward the town hall. He shoved everyone he could get a hand on in that direction.
"Move! Run! Get inside! Go back inside!"
He pushed at the back of the line filing through the front doors. People were falling and stumbling all over each other, desperately trying to escape the furious pack of dogs.
Mrs. Pitcher was stuck on the stairs. He grabbed her under her arms and helped her up, practically carrying her to the top and pushing her through the doors. He got a stray child by the arm and threw him inside as well, and then called out to Samuel, who had been the last to linger. Samuel made a cross on his chest and ran inside as well.
The Doctor slammed the doors shut. Men appeared all around and started piling things against them. Like rain pelting the wood, the dogs slammed against it. Children cried inside the hall. Women covered their eyes and sobbed. The candles went out against the stream of bodies crowding into the back to escape the monsters outside.
Boom.
The dogs piled up against the door in one collective crash. The Doctor and the other men threw their shoulders against the stack of furniture they had created, keeping it from toppling.
Boom.
Their combined weights were barely enough to keep it closed. The doors opened a pinch and snapping, incorporeal muzzles were shoved through.
Boom.
The doors jumped open, and then slammed shut.
Several seconds passed without a push.
The rumbling came once or twice more. Women joined them at the door, and Grace paced behind them. They all looked at each other, listening and waiting for another push to come. The dogs had relented.
The Doctor turned and sank against the pile of furniture, panting. Grace had her arms crossed tightly over her chest. She watched the door, waiting for it to burst open.
She was thinking exactly what he was, what everyone was. Why had they stopped? When were they coming back?
The Doctor took it a step further. What did they want? Why were they here? Were they just toying with their prey?
And the most important question.
Were they going to survive?