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Despairs Darkest Destiny
Chapter 10
The Doctor helped Rose into an ancient chair near the bar before walking over to order some drinks. Rose tried to settle into the chair but the ancient stuffing wouldn't give – she'd might as well be sitting on a wooden bench. Rose glanced around the ancient pub as the chair beneath her groaned in protest, dark maple wood covered the walls and dark furniture gleamed out of the darkness.
The Doctor leant against the bar tapping his fingers along the wood top
'Can I get some service please?' he called out gaining no response. Rose glanced around at the empty wood panels – everything was bare except for one lone photograph that hung on the wall. The weak light reflected off the silver frame, Rose was instantly drawn to the photo. A large house stood lonely in the photograph, it was surrounded by green fields that were lined with tress, and the sun shone into every corner of the photograph yet still the house stood in gloom. Rose slowly stood and limped towards the photo, her fingers gently scrapping the layers of dust and dirt off the surface. Rose looked up and gasped
'I've been here before' she whispered, someone behind her shoulder murmured
'I don't think you have, love'
Rose gasped and swung around. Behind her two men stood, their dark brown beards were greying as they hung of their chins. One man had sparkling blue eyes, the other had dark green eyes – filled with warning. The man with his hand on Roses' shoulder smiled gently
'I'm John Thompson' the man with the blue eyes introduced himself with a smile 'and this is my brother Tyler' Rose looked at him and shuddered when she saw the dire warning in his eyes – he just nodded at her.
'So what's this you say about recognising this old house?' John asked standing before her – Rose was effectively trapped, she looked helplessly towards the Doctor who was now talking to a woman who had appeared at the bar.
The Doctor grinned at the tall blonde who had appeared in front of him
'I'll have two lemonades please' the Doctor said 'Oh and two packets of salt and vinegar crisps' the woman looked at him strangely for a moment before nodded and beginning ot get the drinks
'Is it always this quite?' the Doctor asked cheerfully. The woman smiled at him
'Everyone's at church – it's Sunday morning'
'Everyone except you?' he asked
'There are some of us who don't go' she gestured around them at the few other people who were in the pub clinging to the shadows. The Doctor nodded before turning back to the bar, he ran his fingers along the dark maple wood
'You from outta town?' the woman asked – the Doctor nodded.
'Well I'm Christine'
'Nice to meet you, I'm the Doctor and my friend-' he glanced around 'Who's disappeared, is called Rose'. Christine smiled
'Is that her over there?' she asked gesturing towards a blonde woman trapped between two large men
'Ah, yes' the Doctor said 'I'll just be a moment' he told Christine as he slowly jogged over to where Rose stood
'I see you've been making friends' he called loudly to her, both men stepped aside to let the Doctor through. Rose glared at him then smiled gratefully as he put his arm around her. The brothers exchanged a glance before turning to the Doctor
'Is this your woman?' they asked gesturing to Rose
'Rose? Is Rose my…erm…yep, she's my woman' he mumbled after being elbowed in the ribs
'You see we've been talking to her' Tyler began moving towards the Doctor
'And she don't look in too good shape' The Doctor watched him for a moment then it hit him what they meant
'Oh – you mean… ah' the Doctor began 'She had an accident' he added simply. The brothers looked to one another neither of them believing him, Tyler stepped into the Doctors face
'An accident? Is that right? Is it like the accident you're about to have?' he taunted as his hands moved towards his throat.
'Oi!' Christine shouted from the bar 'not in my pub!'
The brothers looked to one another before mumbling
'Sorry Christine' she looked satisfied and returned to making the Doctors drinks. Rose gulped and tried to change the subject
'So tell us about the house then' she asked weakly. The brothers fell silent then gestured to the nearby table, they sat down on bar stools and the Doctor helped Rose onto the chair beside him as he raised an eyebrow
'It's the house – the one from my dreams' she whispered. The Doctors face turned serious as he nodded in understanding before turning to the brothers, deadly serious. The men licked their lips preparing to tell their story, Christine walked over with the Doctor and Roses' drinks before pulling up a stool. Tyler began the story
'The Cannon house – manor, built in the early eighteen hundreds, generation after generation of Cannon had lived there'
'Who lives there now?' the Doctor asked
'No one' John told them, 'been empty for years – its haunted they say'
The Doctor felt Rose shiver and comfortingly squeezed her hand. Rose smiled back at him as they turned back to the story and lost themselves in the tales of darkness, fear and murder.
When the church service had finished the pub slowly began to fill and the Doctor and Rose were left together alone.
'That's it' Rose whispered 'that's where we need to go' the Doctor nodded in agreement and pulled Rose closer to him, his arm resting on her shoulders. In silence they drank their drinks – there was no need for words.
The pub was filled and everyone seemed to be watching the Doctor and Rose mumbling about them, every now and then a hushed whisper would reach their ears about them
'The strange man and his beaten up girlfriend'
The Doctor and Rose just raised their eyebrows to these rumours especially the ones where the Doctor was 'a killer on the run and had kidnapped Rose'. As soon as she heard these Rose tried to stand up in protest
'I've had enough of this' she announced loudly as she started to make her way towards the door, the Doctor jumped up – instantly at her side as they slowly walked towards the door. The Doctor dropped some money onto the bar and nodded to Christine. As soon as they were outside in the crisp air they felt they could breath. As soon as the door shut behind them they felt the tension break and heard the pub erupt with sound as everyone continued to speculate over the mysterious couple.
'Just ignore them' the Doctor murmured as he felt Rose shiver
'I'm trying' she replied. They looked around at the vacant street, it seemed that the entire population of the tiny village was crammed into the small pub. The Doctor and Rose walked down the street hand in hand as the few children that littered the street turned to stare at them. Ghostly faces watched them from the gutter, their voices silent as they stared at the new comers open mouthed. The Doctor and Rose walked in the opposite direction than which they had came, through winding rows of identical houses and until the road returned to a beaten mud track that endlessly twined between trees and lead them slowly uphill until the village was barley a dot below them. Rose rested back against a tree panting for breath as she watched the Doctor wipe sweat from his brow; they caught each others eye and just grinned. They turned to the other side of the hill and Roses' breath caught in her throat
'Oh Doctor' she murmured as she moved closer to get a better look – even the Doctor was lost for words at its beauty. A single house stood alone, surrounded by fields – it was a manor built of dark grey stone. A sparkling creek gently twined between the trees sneaking through the land to meet a large sparkling lake that stood at the back of the house – it was like it was filled with diamonds. Rose winced and her hand moved to her head – she couldn't tear her eyes away from it. The beauty of the mansion was too strong for her – she just had to look as did the Doctor. The dark stone seemed to rise out of the freshness of the land, its dark presence staining the surroundings. The Doctor and Rose simultaneously moved forwards so their hands met and they began to walk down to the house together.
'That's it' Rose whispered 'That's the place'. The Doctor nodded
'Let's go look shall we?' the Doctor said softly, the only reply he got was the tug of Roses' hand as she began to move forwards. As they slowly moved down the hill the tiny path turned into a gravel track that widened to meet them. A driveway of gravel thickened with weeds lead through apple trees that lined the sides spreading shadows over the pathways. Tiny rabbit froze and watched them from the long grass as the crunch of footsteps on the path filled the air. As they reached the house they saw cast iron gates stood attached to a limestone wall, engraved in the wall were some words
'Advocatus Diaboli' the Doctor read out, Rose frowned
'What's that?' she asked
'It's the houses' name' he told her 'it's in Latin'
'What's it mean?' she asked
'The Devils Advocate' the Doctor slowly said. Rose shivered in response; they stood that way for a moment with the darkness hanging over them
'Right – in we go' the Doctor murmured as he slowly moved the gates open. They groaned and screamed in protest, having been held in one position for so long, after protesting the gate finally swung in motion letting Rose and the Doctor through. Pebbles lined the courtyard, pebbles that then gave way to tiny paths leading into the wilderness. They began to follow one of the paths that lead them behind the house and towards the lake, beside the creek that slowly bled into the lake stood a lady. She was set in stone and her face was yellow with time, moss distorted her features and her base no longer ran with water but was filled with dirt and grim. Rose winced as her nightmares played back to her like memories – this was where Isabella had died. Rose shivered – she felt as though someone was watching her, she turned to look up towards one of the ancient windows. Thick glass still rested in the frame and Rose gasped as she remembered pressing her face to it, looking out over the darkened garden. Rose ran her fingers over her cheeks as though the cold glass was still pressed there
'You alright?' the Doctor asked as he gently rested an arm over her shoulder. Rose nodded and continued to walk on, in her mind she could feel the winter air clawing at her face, the snow wetting her knees and tiny goosebumps covered her skin as Rose moved towards the cemetery. She walked towards four graves that stood starkly in the centre. Abandoned weeds covered the ground as did long dead plants; the Doctor leant forward and gently brushed the cobwebs off the graves
'Beau Cannon, aged two, may he lie with the angels forever. A son –a brother, greatly loved and greatly missed' the Doctor solemnly read from a tiny grave stone.
'Isabella Cannon. Aged thirty six. May she find peace in death. A mother, a wife and a daughter, may she always be remembered' Rose whispered, her heart breaking.
'Lewis Cannon. Aged thirty nine. Died on the 7th of September' the Doctor read out coldly
'Madeline Cannon. Aged twelve, died on the 7th of September. May she rejoin her family and regain her innocence, May heaven never harm her' Rose whispered shaking, she ran her finger along the dark cold stone and looked up at the room where she had once stood. She closed her eyes and felt herself being drawn back into her nightmares. She clutched onto the gravestone knowing that only death was imminent – she realised it was time.