"Ah, well, no, not exactly," the Doctor told him. "They're quite dangerous, in their way, but friendly enough it seems."
"Aye, but no this one out on the moors."
"No, no. I do hope they find her. She seems to be causing quite a bit of harm."
"But that still doesn't explain..." he hesitated. He was finding it difficult to talk about what he had seen, and heard, and even felt on the moor. It wasn't just that thinking of Zoe brought an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach; he was finding it difficult to focus on the memories, so as soon as he meant to talk of them he frowned, uncertain of what he wanted to say. "It doesn't explain Zoe," he finally managed.
"No, it doesn't. You saw her?"
"Aye, she was there, and earlier in my room."
"It was a hallucination."
"She was there, Doctor! I know what I saw, I touched her and she was there."
"It must have seemed very real," said the Doctor with a touch of exasperation. "But it wasn't. If not for the fact that Zoe is several hundred years in the future, returned to her own people, none of the lycanthropes detected any scent but yours."
"Now I take a bath every..."
"Jamie, that is not the point," interrupted the Doctor. "Ah, your night excursions seem to have woken the household."
Jamie followed the Doctor's glance to see that a light in the bungalow were now on, and he could hear the buzz of conversation. Sound carried easily in the quiet night, but it was not enough for him to make out the words said.
"I suppose we'd better tell them where the other two got too," said Jamie.
Presently they arrived in the foyer of the bungalow and found that the house had fallen silent. The Doctor looked from one corridor to the other, and chose the one that did not lead to their rooms. Jamie followed as the Doctor ignored several closed doors and finally stopped at the end of the corridor, facing another closed door.
"I see you've done your exploring," said Jamie.
"Quiet now." The Doctor pressed his ear to the door and frowned. Jamie could hear nothing and he suspected that neither could the Doctor as he straightened up a moment later. He pressed down on the door handle and seemed surprised to find the door unlocked. The Doctor turned to him. "You stay here," he said and stepped into the room.
"Aye, right," muttered Jamie and followed him in.
The light was on and the single bed in the corner was occupied. The drawn curtains had a bright, garish pattern and the room was scattered with toys.
The Doctor knelt down by the boy sleeping in the bed. "He's not breathing. Jamie, find Doctor Hamilton and tell her to come to George's room at once."
"What happened?"
"Now, Jamie! And quickly!"
Jamie raced from the room, shouting down in the corridor in the hope of creating enough noise to attract some attention.
The Doctor checked the boy's heart rate.
"You're up late."
The Doctor glanced over his shoulder to see George's brother, Robert, standing behind the door.
"Help me," said the Doctor.
"No."
The tone more than the word caused the Doctor to whirl around, almost raising his hands protectively. "This is your brother," he said.
"He's dying." The boy stepped forward, closing the door and standing in front of it. "I almost had him before, but you and your friend interfered, and now you do so again. You are not of our pack, or clan, or even our race. It is not of your concern and yet you interfere. I'll have no qualms about taking your life too."
And then the boy's eyes turned a startling emerald green.
It was black.
"I deny this."
The Doctor's voice was strong and clear and certain. Unlike Jamie, he recognised this as a trick, and would fight it from the beginning. He did not understand precisely what Robert had done, but guessed this to be some sort of reality that the boy had willed into creation on the astral plane, where thoughts alone defined existence.
"I don't care," said Robert. The voice was all around him, echoing and screaming into all angles of the black. He was startled by the strength of it. The scream drew on and transformed until it was the long guttural cry of an animal: a wolf.
Out of the darkness the dark shape of a beast sprang at the Doctor, its teeth bared.
+
"Doctor Hamilton!" shouted Jamie again.
"Will you cease making that racket!" she snapped, appearing around a corner dressed in pyjamas and a scarlet dressing gown. "Gracious, what on Earth is the matter with you?"
"George, he's stopped breathing, the Doctor said..."
But Hamilton was already running. She raced through the house, followed by Jamie.
"How long?" she asked over her shoulder.
"A few minutes," replied Jamie. "I came to look for you as soon as we found him, the Doctor stayed with him."
Presently, they reached George's room, and while Hamilton ignored the rather odd site of the Doctor and Robert staring at one another to reach George, Jamie did not.
He stepped up to the Doctor. "Can you hear me?" he said, waving one hand in front of his eyes. The Doctor didn't blink.
+
The Doctor was running through a forest. It wasn't the most imaginative of forests but it was the best that he could do under the circumstances. He caught his arm on a branch and snagged one the leaves, taking the opportunity to examine his handy work. A moment later he threw the leaf away in disgust. It was like a piece of cardboard, roughly shaped and not quite the right colour, really he needed to exercise a little more delicacy when resorting to his imagination.
Robert had been easy to elude, he had a lot of raw power but was unused to the subtleties of the mental landscape. The Doctor knew, however, that if he let the boy get another clear path to him he could deliver a serious blow to him. Keeping out of his way was the best solution until he could find a way out. He hoped that Jamie had found Hamilton and that the other boy would be all right.
Changing tactics slightly, he halted his stealthy run though the forest and found a tree sturdy enough that he could climb its branches. If Robert wanted to kill him, he'd have to revert to human form, or find a way to bring the tree down, thought the Doctor as he began his ascent.
+
"I've managed to get him breathing again," said Doctor Hamilton with some relief. She sat back on her heels and examined her young patient for any other signs of injury. Finding none, she stood up and turned to Jamie. "Though I'll have to wait until he wakes to see if any real harm has been done."
"Aye, but what's wrong with this pair?" asked Jamie.
Hamilton stepped between Robert and the Doctor looking from one to the other. She stared at Robert's bright green eyes and frowned. "I'd hate to guess," she muttered. "It's out of my field entirely. Where's Vanya?"
"She's out searching for her daughter, with Paul."
"I see. Look, Jamie, I don't understand what's happening between these two. I don't want to leave you here alone..."
"I'll be fine."
She looked at him for a long moment, before nodding. "All right, I'll find Vanya. I'll be as quick as I can." She left the room and Jamie was vaguely glad that he hadn't had to watch her turn into a wolf; the idea unsettled him more that he really wanted to admit.
+
The Doctor was nestled safely in the branches of the tree and had cleared a few leaves away so he could see the ground. Not that he really needed to, the woodland was dense enough the he should be able to hear any large mammal coming in his direction long before he saw it.
Hearing nothing, he closed his eyes, concentrating.
He was real. This tree was an illusion I> /I> This forest was an illusion I> /I> This darkness was an illusion I> /I> There were no sounds here I> /I> There was no matter here I> /I> This was his mind I> /I> His own mind I> /I> He was safe here I> /I> Illusion. Real. Alone I> /I>
+
"Do stop waving those great paws of yours in my face," snapped the Doctor as he opened his eyes and saw Jamie anxiously staring at him. "Now let me see." He stepped forward, eyes fixed on Robert, still catatonic. "Yes, not very refined control at all. It seems he's still in there." The Doctor stepped closer and Robert sprang to life, wrapping strong hands around the Doctor's throat.
The Doctor barely had time to emit a strangled cry for help before Jamie was on top of Robert, knocking him away from the Doctor with a series of solid punches. The boy fell to the floor and the Doctor pulled Jamie away from him.
Robert stood up, his eyes darker now, but still distinctly green, has face was flushed and his fists clenched. "You'll pay for that. I may not have been able to harm whatever you are, but I know how weak you are, human."
"Jamie, get back," cried the Doctor as Robert fixed his eyes on him. The Doctor stepped in front of his companion, shielding him from Robert's gaze.
"You'll not protect him like that," said Robert, falling forward, the shape of his spine changing.
"Run, get out of here!" said the Doctor.
"I can't leave you here," said Jamie, but he saw that the Doctor was busy picking up George.
"No need for that," said the Doctor. "Come on!"
They both raced out the door, hearing a low growl from Robert as they sprinted for the foyer. The Doctor spun round, looking for an exit and choosing one with a door. He nodded towards it. "In there," he said to Jamie as he took a look over his shoulder. The dark shape of a wolf was leaping down the corridor.
He ran through the open door and used his shoulder to slam it shut. "Is there a lock?" he asked, depositing the boy gently on the floor. The room seemed to be some sort of office: there was a desk in the far corner and a telephone and bookcase sat by the door.
"I don't see one," said Jamie, before slamming himself up against the door as he heard a low growl in the foyer. A moment later the door shuddered as a heavy weight careened into it.
The Doctor joined Jamie by the door as Robert threw himself at the door again.
"D'you think we can hold it?" asked Jamie.
"I hope so, at least until Vanya and the others get back. Check on George, would you? Is he breathing?"
"Can you hold this by yourself?" asked Jamie.
"Now, Jamie, if you please."
He moved away from the door and knelt by the boy. "Aye, he's breathing. Feels quite warm too. But there's nought I can do for him is there?" A feeble cough from George attracted Jamie's attention.
"George!" said the Doctor. "Can you hear me?"
Gently, Jamie helped the boy sit up as his eyes flickered open. He looked around the room blearily, taking in the sight of the two men who were strangers to him. The Doctor smiled down at him. "Hello there, I'm the Doctor and this is Jamie. I'm afraid we're in a spot of bother right now. There's werewolf outside the door and he rather wants to come in."
The door shuddered again.
George stood up and looked from one to the other. "Mother told me about you," he said. "Thank you."
"That's quite alright," said the Doctor.
George nodded at the door. "It's my brother out there, isn't it?"
"Ah," the Doctor hesitated. "Yes, I'm afraid so."
"It's me he wants to kill," said the boy. "Let me out, you two can get away."
"Now hang on a minute," said Jamie. "We're not going to leave you to that thing."
"Thing?" said George, rather primly.
"What Jamie means is that we don't want anyone to get hurt," said the Doctor.
"Including us," added Jamie, nodding.
"Why is your brother trying to...hurt us, George, why is he trying to hurt you?"
"Kill me, you mean," said George frowning. He rubbed his head, then said, "I went to speak with Louise, my sister. Robert was furious when he found out what I was going to do. Said she was dangerous, and had attacked people in the village, all the same rubbish that Mother had told me. But she wouldn't hurt me, even if it was true, so I went to see if I could find her, hoping she'd listen and come home. She and Mother have never got along, and I thought that was what had driven her out really. When I reached the boundary of the farm I realised that Robert was following me. He called out to me, told me to come back, that I was a stupid kid. I ignored him, and he got angry, really, really angry. He couldn't control himself. He ran off once I was down, I think. I didn't know why till I heard Louise's growl nearby. She was protecting me, you know."
"That was when we found you," said the Doctor quietly.
"Yeah, I think so. I never did get to speak to Louise and Mother's barely been letting me out of bed she's so worried. Thinks I'll trip on the rug and break my neck or something."
"But that doesn't explain why he's trying to kill you."
"If I tell you, you can't tell Mother, she'll be furious at me, she won't understand."
"It's all right, George, you can tell us," the Doctor said gently.
The boy took a deep breath, and then said, "He attacked Louise, a few weeks ago, that's why she left, she was afraid he'd try and finish her of. I saw it, but I didn't say anything. I couldn't. It would have been his word against mine, with Louise gone, and he's the elder. I wanted to find Louise, to tell her to come back and tell Mother what had happened. She and Mother have never really gotten along, but with two of us, she might believe us, and Louise is the eldest anyway. I mean I had too, when I heard about the attacks in the village and Mother thought it was Louise."
"It was Robert?" asked the Doctor.
"Yes! He's...he's...I don't understand, I know he was angry with Mother, with Louise...with Paul. He used to spend days in his room, and we left food outside the door. And his eyes, his eyes were like grandmother's..."
Something moved in the blackness outside.
Suddenly, the window shattered, sending shards of glass flying into the room, along with the hulking shape of a black wolf, its teeth bared and its eyes red.