It's been a few weeks after the incident involving the female variants that've been dubbed Sabbek, by the mysterious Lovett.
A difficult one, becoming unwilling accomplices, allowing the Sabbek taking their chosen quarry before they're scared off by the bombs used by Theodore and Lovett.
It was not a task both men took lightly and Theodore aimlessly wondered, grimaced, that he chosen wrong, that he could've saved those people, but Lovett told him repeatedly that they had no choice.
There was nothing they could've done for them, without risking everyone else, but now with the bombs exploding in their faces, they'll stay away, but at what cost?
Despite Theodore attempts, he never found Lovett after he disappeared that night.
The files they found, showed that whoever this Lovett was, he wasn't the patient that went into the hospital.
Suppose the administration falsified records, thinking nobody would've looked too closely.
Lovett remained elusive to this day and seemingly knew things that nobody else could've known, giving rise to a theory that he's one of the many people in the role of the Doctor.
Curious why he didn't say he was, he knew by then that Theodore was one, too, but he chose not to say it, making him all the more mysterious.
The trove of information he garnered from his adventures' invaluable, however, helping them understand their new adversaries, Sabbek and the Drekker.
The fear of encountering them again, still strong.
Despite their best efforts, as Al feared before, happened yet again, they're unable to defeat the conspiracy that ravaged societies for decades.
Everyone involved with the coverups in the mental hospital, as colourfully said by Al, all iced by those above who sought protecting their secrets.
Dr. Hans saw no prison for his part, he transferred from the mental hospital despite attempts proving his crimes and ended up dead after a driving accident involving a sleepy lorry driver hitting him precisely.
Despite attempts, police hadn't located Tommy or Trudy, and Mark's murder ended up marked as an animal attack, like the others before him.
His body went unclaimed, many attempts at turning it over to a family member fell apart, that it went through cremation, and his belongings went through moratorium before finally discarded and or sold.
The rest of the patients, having no recollection of that night due to the sedation, went through arbitration before they're sent to different hospitals all over the country, where they remained to this day.
Hawthorne Mental Hospital closed it's doors not long after the incident occurred, likely because people in power realized they've been found, and threw it under the bus as they done before.
Orderlies went through NDAs and released, nobody said a word, and likely won't.
Doctors and nurses threatened with lawsuits should they break their oath and took a vow of silence out of fear for themselves and their loved ones.
Once more, the conspiracy lived on, but Lovett vowed that he'll end the conspiracy, preventing more innocent lives lost to these creatures that once were human.
Once his nerves steadied and he went back to his normal routine, Theodore kept watchful eyes, in case the species reared their ugly heads again, this time in their world.
Al hadn't found anything indicating there's flocks of them lingering around, but Theodore knew it was only a matter of time, maybe he's wrong, this time, and they won't come through those rifts, as they've before.
Hammond, in his infinite ways, found out about the whole thing, relieved that he and Lila's fine, angry at the unjust, but overall, in a much better mood than he was when Theodore ended up hurt by the Daleks of the previous adventure.
Still angry that Theodore risked his life, as he done many times before, but that's expected.
So, now, Theodore's working at the library with Lila and today's a normal day for the most part.
It's slowly warming back up now, people planning their vacations for spring. More rain coming in as the cold and warm air meet, bringing along some storms here and there.
Today's no different, it's been thundering and lighting for the last hour. It won't clear out until sometime tonight and people watched the bright lighting streak across the skies as they walked around the aisles of books.
While shoving books where they belonged, Theodore heard Bill coming up to him, asking him to come to the main counter, someone's calling him.
There's concern in her voice, something unusual, and it made Theodore subtly grimace.
Oh, how he dreaded someone calling him, these days.
Lila poked fun at this, impishly asking if he's got dates lined up for the next few months.
Putting the last book back in its proper place, Theodore followed Bill back to the main counter, and picked up the phone.
On the other end, it wasn't someone in peril, but, rather, it's Ben.
His voice warbled as he tried talking to Theodore, but he managed to force himself to talk properly, telling Theodore that Odette's in the hospital.
"Where?" Theodore immediately asked him.
Ben gave the name and Theodore told him that he'll hear the details when he arrived.
He sat the phone on the holder and immediately reached out to Hammond.
Within seconds, Hammond's storming out of his office, yanking on his raincoat as he joined Theodore.
They didn't say much to the others, only mentioning an emergency.
Gone into a rift the brothers formed, gave Ben quite a scare the moment he turned around, seeing them behind him.
"What happened?" Theodore immediately barraged his questions at the actor who looked like he'd gone through mud and God knows what else. His clothes heavy from the water and caked mud, turning the once pristine navy blue to a crumple dingy mess.
Hair, waterlogged, stuck to his face as it dripped with water.
One of his feet completely exposed, covered in mud.
Coughing as he pushed down the air in his throat, Ben replied that a bridge they filmed on collapsed under them.
He and Odette ended up holding to dear life as the bridge opened underneath, Odette grabbing a support beam for them as the crew frantically tried helping them.
Odette pulled him first to the group of the crew mates as they grabbed him by his arm.
He tried grabbing Odette, but the support beam she grabbed started bowing and his gripped slipped.
Plunging into the waters below, Odette ended up swept through the current passing through the bridge below.
While the crew frantically called for help as they scrambled trying to locate Odette, Ben ran alongside the wet lakefront, losing a shoe in the mud, a sock in another, while trying to look for Odette.
She managed to cling to a flat rock as the water thrashed against her as it went around her, her grip slipping.
Panicked, Ben grabbed a rope that the crew mates procured as they located them, and attempted to toss it towards her, but she couldn't grab it.
Thinking on his uneven mud-covered feet, Ben ended up using his scarf, tying it at the end of the rope, in a circle, tossing it again.
This time, Odette successfully grabbed it, and Ben pulled her to the shores with the help of the crew mates behind him, as he frantically collected the fatigued Odette from the frigid waters as she barely touched the lakeshore.
Kept her warm with his body heat until paramedics arrived and brought them to the hospital.
The doctors' with her now and he hadn't gotten a chance to change out of his clothes, his mind aflutter with adrenaline, that he couldn't think much other than what could've happened hadn't they finally pulled Odette from the water.
Hammond comforted him as he tells him, in the only times he showed legitimate concern for Ben, that he did his best, and that it saved Odette's life.
Now, he'd better clean himself up or else he risked ending up in a hospital bed himself.
"Oh, no, I'd rather wait, at least until the doctor comes back," Ben adamantly refused, wanting to stay in case one of the doctors came back with an update on Odette.
Gently prodding him, Hammond tells Ben that while it's touching, he showed great care for their sister, it wouldn't be right getting water and mud everywhere.
"Suppose you're right," Ben conceded that Hammond wasn't wrong and he honestly wanted nothing more than a bath in hot water and dry clothes.
Prodding him, Hammond told him that they'll call if anything changes, for now, hurry on, and get out of those clothes before he gets sick.
They watched him leave, his only shoe squeaking as he walked out of the hospital entrance.
"Now, that's a change in behaviour," Theodore spotted the peculiar change in Hammond, showing genuine concern for Ben, and Hammond responded that he saved their sister, it's the least he can muster as gratitude for risking his life.
As they're waiting, they took their seats among the empty rows of chairs in the waiting area, the brothers agitatedly looking for Odette's doctor.
"I thought uncle would be here," Theodore noted that their beloved uncle hadn't shown up despite the news. He'd be one of the first ones at the hospital before the brothers, but he wasn't here.
Hammond mentioned that their uncle had some business and wouldn't be in range for a while, he talked to him last night.
He'll tell their uncle about the incident when he can, for now, they'll wait and see how Odette faired.
The brothers painfully waited for at least an hour, before one of the doctors came out of the double doors, holding his clipboard.
He called out to the brothers and they immediately identified themselves as Odette's brothers.
Following the doctor, he tells them that Odette suffered only minor injuries.
A broken rib and wrist, but otherwise, she'll recover in no time, but the hospital wanted to hold her for a day or two, just in case.
They can see her, now, she's alert and awake.
The brothers continued following the doctor until he stopped at a room, opening the door, inside, Odette's on the hospital bed, looking at the tray of food the nurse her disappointedly.
Her silver eyes looked up, seeing her brothers as they walked towards her, the doctor giving them privacy.
"Where's Ben?" Odette asks where he went and Hammond told her that he sent Ben home, briefly.
He's soaking wet, covered in mud, wouldn't be right for him getting sick and making a mess in the lobby.
Speaking of, Hammond wanted to keep his promise, and went to call Ben, leaving Theodore alone with Odette.
"I know you're doing stunts, but less excitement for a few days, hm?" Theodore tried finding humour in the otherwise stressful situation.
Sighing, Odette replied that it had not been her day.
"How did the bridge collapse?" Theodore asks her as he took a seat beside her with curiosity in his icy blue eyes.
Slightly moving in her spot, mindful of her broken rib and wrist, Odette responded that it's looking like a failure in the support beams.
"Father would've punched many lights out for that error," Theodore sighs as he fondly remembered their late father taking construction seriously.
He never let anything slide and if he had to, he'd build things on his own, if he didn't trust the contractor enough.
Slowly nodding, her raven hair stiffly moving, Odette responded that if their late father were here, he'd hug her tightly, before leaving to track down every person responsible in the construction of the bridge.
As they're talking, Theodore noticed a look in Odette's face and asked what was wrong, she looked up at him as she tells him that while she and Ben were hanging for dear life, she swore seeing a person on the beams below the bridge.
A man.
Standing there on one of the beams underneath the bridge, looking at them, disappeared as soon as Odette dropped into the water.
"Surely, you're mistaken, you were stressed, after all," Theodore tried to find reason for why Odette would've saw a man looking at them on the beams. The bridge collapsing underneath them, trying to hold on for dear life, it would've made her brain see things that weren't there.
Frowning, Odette wasn't convinced, and Theodore asks why she thought that.
"I don't know… I thought… I thought I saw glowing eyes," Odette revealed that she thought the man looking at them had glowing eyes, bright enough that they pierced through the shadows of the bridge's underside.
She swore feeling those eyes on her when she pulled Ben up to the crew mates, but the man disappeared as soon as she lost her grip on the bending broken support bar.
"Are you sure?" Theodore raises his brow as he didn't question his sister, it's unheard of that she'd make up things, much less something like this.
As she nods, Odette swears by what she saw.
Whether he had anything to do with the bridge collapse, she doesn't know, but nobody mentioned seeing him, that it's hard to say.
Uneasy, Theodore wondered who the man was, glowing eyes, that seemed farfetched to normal perspectives, but to them, it's hardly farfetched.
Poking his head in, Hammond says that Ben's on his way back to the hospital, and that Odette has plenty of time for rest.
The production company and Hammond's insistence gave her an opportune time for healing.
"In a few days, I'll be fine," Odette protested that she didn't need the extra time-off, she's already healing as they speak, but Hammond reminded her that people don't know that about her.
Injuries that would've prevented a normal person from working for weeks, healed in about three days for someone like the Smith siblings.
Besides, what's wrong with some free time?
"Oh bother," Odette sighed as Hammond approached the two.
Hammond pointed out that Odette's truly lucky and it's a miracle no one else gotten hurt from the bridge collapse.
"Father would've beaten them to a pulp," Hammond sighed as he brought up what their father would've done in this situation, hearing the unchecked faults in the bridge caused the collapse, he'd hunt down every person who knew and did nothing.
Theodore responded that they're fortunate that Odette only had a broken rib and a wrist, nothing serious.
The siblings talked amongst themselves until the door opened yet again, Ben stepped through the door, wearing a new set of clothes and shoes, his hair thoroughly cleaned.
He's happy that Odette wasn't severely injured, oblivious to her healing nature, and thanked Hammond for letting him visit Odette.
"Of course," Hammond gave a subtle nod before looking towards Theodore.
He silently told Theodore that they should take their leave, leave Odette and Ben alone.
"It's only fair," Hammond tells Theodore.
Subtly nodding, Theodore agreed with Hammond and the brothers told Odette that they should take their leave, work's never over.
They gave their sister a hug and shook Ben's hand before they left the room, giving the two privacies.
Leaving the hospital, they went back to the library, where they worked until closing, and went off to their respected homes.
Deep in thought, Theodore stepped inside his flat, petting his fur friends, feeding them plenty, and lounging on his chair.
He wondered about the man with glowing eyes, why he was watching Odette and Ben hanging on for dear life, if he's responsible for the bridge collapsing, why was he there, and what the purpose of his presence was, and this continued until Theodore remembered the time.
He sauntered into his kitchen, preparing dinner, devouring it whole, showering afterwards, and readied for bed with his ferrets taking a section of the bed.
Stretched out on his bed, Theodore closed his eyes, falling asleep to the snores of his ferrets.
In the corner of his room, there's subtle movement, and glowing eyes looking over at Theodore.
When Theodore turned his whole body in his sleep, the eyes disappeared.
"For you… he waits… for you…" an echoey voice whispered.
THE END