A couple of days later the Doctor and I bought ourselves new outfits as the Brigadier got him a car as promised and it seemed like we were going to stay here a little longer than planned. Liz and I walked into the garage, just as the Doctor was fixing Bessie…his car, "Come on Bessie…be more cooperative", he told it from beneath the car.
"Doctor", Liz called and he got out from beneath the car to stand in front of us, "You'll never get that thing to work", she told him, which prompted me to elbow her in the ribs and she flinched as she gave me a look.
"He will", I said as I raised my brows at her and she simply shook her head, "Thank you and I'll have you know Liz, that this car of great character. I was lucky to get her", the Doctor told the car, as he polished it.
Liz sighed, "Are you really going to drive about in it", she asked him and I lifted a brow at her questioningly, "Yes, certainly…I've nearly finished my modifications. I thought we might go out for a trial run…now I wonder what this is for", the Doctor asked as he held up a spare bolt, before throwing it away.
My eyebrows raised in alarm at that, "Oh no…she can't, she has a date", Liz told him and the Doctor glanced back at Liz and lifted a brow, "A date", he asked as he turned around to lean against his car.
"Yes, she can't be cooped up in here all day. She needs to experience life Doctor. Have her heart broken and break a few hearts along the way", she said with her hands on her hips and then gave me a wink. I crossed my arms and shook my head, she's unbelievable…I've only been here three days and she's set me up on three dates already!
When I told her this, she simply said, "Well, I'm trying to help you get adjusted…you're only what sixteen", she asked me, "Eighteen", I corrected.
"Well, you need to go out there and do what other kids are doing at your age and not be cooped up in here with an old man…no offence", she told the Doctor who just shrugged.
"There's an urgent message from the Brigadier", she suddenly told us, "He's away, isn't he? Investigating some scientists", the Doctor asked her.
"Yes, but he wanted us to join him", Liz told the Doctor and then read the letter, she pulled out of her pocket, ""Miss Shaw, Miss Wood, and the Doctor will report themselves forthwith to Wenley Moor. Attend briefing at-", "My dear Miss Shaw, we never ourselves anywhere. Particularly forthwith", the Doctor said, cutting her off.
"By "we", you mean you and Acacia", she asked him, "Yes", he told her as he went back beneath his car and she sighed as he did so.
She was silent for a moment, before she said in a mischievous tone, "Oh, Acacia", and I turned my head to face her questioningly, "Yes", I said stretching it out.
"Do you want to know who your date is", she asked me and I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes, "The last two "blind dates" I asked you about and you said no….why the sudden change of heart", I asked her.
"Did you go out with them", I heard the Doctor ask from beneath the car, "No", I said confused and then he started humming.
"Well, do you want to know", she asked me as she acted more and more like a child in front of me and I rolled my eyes as I shrugged, "Sure", I said.
There was a pause and now I was waiting anxiously for her to tell me, "It's Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart", she told me and I swear the air turned cold. The Doctor immediately got out from beneath the car and told us we that we're going; as he grabbed his coat, we all got into his car, and then we drove to the manor.
We waited in the lobby for the Brigadier and the Doctor seemed a little bit more impatient than usual, once Brigadier entered the lobby he said, "Ah, there you are at last", Brigadier said as he walked up to us.
""There you are at last", what is this I hear about you and Acacia having a blind date", the Doctor asked him, "What", Brigadier asked confused. "Liz", I asked suspiciously, "I…might've riled up the Doctor in order for the both of you to come", she told me sheepishly.
"Doctor…what she said before was a lie", I said pointing the last word at her, "Brigadier is not my blind date…not that I was planning on going", I said and crossed my arms.
Then I placed my hands on my hips, "Where are we", I asked annoyed, "In a cave", Brigadier told me, "We can see that", the Doctor told him.
"Or rather in an atomic research center, which has been built into the caves", Brigadier told him, "Why? More security", the Doctor asked, "Exactly", Brigadier replied.
"Come, the meeting is waiting", Brigadier told us as we followed close behind.
Upon entering the room, I suddenly felt under-dressed compared to all the scientists who wore suits and dresses.
"…and I am determined we shall recover our last ground…and go on to make new and important discoveries that lie ahead. Alright, that will be all", the man, who stood in front of the scientists making his speech, said before the other scientists got up and left the room.
There were a couple of men who stayed behind, and the scientist who made a speech before, approached us, "Gentlemen, my colleagues, Miss Elizabeth Shaw, Miss Acacia Wood, and the Doctor. Dr. Lawrence, Director of this establishment", Brigadier introduced. The Doctor, Liz, and I just nodded politely at the man as he did the same. Director Lawrence went on to introduce his second in command who was Dr. Quinn, and went on to explain to us the his establishment was built in order to research the nature of the atom.
He then offered us to sit down, which I politely declined as he began to explain to us exactly what his machine did. At least until the Doctor stood and began looking around the room. "Cyclotron, otherwise known as a proton accelerator…It bombards atoms with subatomic particles", Dr. Lawrence told us. "Why", the Doctor asked rather loudly, "We are on verge of discovering a way to provide cheap, safe, atomic energy for virtually every kind of use", Dr. Lawrence told him.
The paused to stand up as Dr. Quinn continued, "We're developing a new kind of nuclear reactor, one that converts nuclear energy directly to electrical power."
"That seems dangerous", I commented, "Yeah, that's all very well but what is going wrong", the Doctor asked.
"Two things: First, an abnormally high rate of personnel trouble. Nervous breakdowns, absenteeism, accidents, but the really serious problem is power losses", Brigadier said and I closed my eyes as I mentally face-palmed.
"There have been a certain number of unexplained leakages in the power supplied by the nuclear generator. I am confident we shall find an explanation", Dr. Lawrence told us.
"That's the problem with nuclear material: radiation poisoning", I said quietly, "They don't know that yet", the Doctor told me.
"Then why don't you tell them", I asked, "I can't interfere, remember", he told me and I shook my head.
"You haven't found one yet, Dr. Lawrence, that's why I'm here", Brigadier told him, "Well, it's a highly complex piece of machinery, naturally there will be problems", Dr. Quinn said.
"Naturally", the Doctor agreed sarcastically. Then they set out a plan to do three things at once; Liz: was to deal with personnel and the Brigadier suggested that the Doctor work with finding out the scientific reason, at least until the Doctor got distracted.
"Doctor", Brigadier asked, "It's the most extraordinary thing. I can't seem to find my sonic screwdriver anywhere", the Doctor told him as he searched his pockets.
"Do you have it in your coat", he asked me, "No", I told the Doctor and he sighed, "You're not proposing to dismantle a piece of equipment, worth fifteen million pounds, with a screwdriver", Dr. Lawrence asked, finding what the Doctor had said amusing.
"Well it's not worth fifteen million pins if it doesn't work, does it", the Doctor told him.
"Doctor, I suggest you start by looking round", Brigadier told him, "Yes, let me take both of you over to installation", Dr. Quinn said.
"Splendid, come on Liz and Acacia; Dr. Quinn which way do we go", the Doctor asked the man, who replied with, "To the left", and we followed after him. I glanced back to look at the Brigadier to see him and the other men get right to work, just as we left.
We entered a room that was filled with scientific equipment, computers, and a large nuclear reactor on the other side of the glass.
"The cyclotron uses power in enormous quantities. Would you care to step down", Dr. Quinn asked us, as he gestured towards the glass door that led to the nuclear reactor room. Walking down the stairs, after going through the glass door, we watched as the scientists worked on the reactor on the lower floor.
"What happens if one of these power losses occurs at a crucial time", the Doctor asked, "So far, we've always managed to stabilize", Dr. Quinn replied.
Walking even closer to the reactor, Liz asked, "If you didn't", "Your nuclear reactor could turn into a massive atom bomb", the Doctor added.
"Then they need to shut it down…"I added as I turned around to face them, "That would be a decision for the Director", Dr. Quinn replied. I felt a light sting in my head, however I was glad no blood was coming out of my nose…which is actually quite gross when I think about it.
Suddenly, Liz grabbed her forehead as if she had headache as well, "Oh", she groaned and knitted her brows in pain, "I think I'd better make a start on the personnel files. I wonder if someone could tell me where to go", Liz asked.
"Yes, of course, Mr. Roberts…take this young lady across to Dr. Meredith", Dr. Quinn told, whom I assumed was Mr. Roberts, then walked away.
"You all right, dear", the Doctor asked her, "Yes. Yes, I'm fine", she told him, "You're sure", I asked concerned.
"You're the last person to ask if I'm alright, but I'm fine", she reassured me, before she and Mr. Roberts left.
"We'll join you later, Liz", the Doctor called, "Are you alright", he asked me, I nodded and smiled reassuringly. Whatever was going on it wasn't only affecting me, even though I had a light headache, but it seemed to effect Liz as well but at a much greater rate.
"You don't mind if I carry on", Dr. Quinn asked us, before he walked away to sit at a desk, "No, no, please do", the Doctor replied, and Dr. Quinn began to work.
"Quite an achievement, building this center in these caves", the Doctor said absently as I took a look around the room.
"Yes, there are miles of them still in their natural state", Dr. Quinn told him, "Breathtaking. Ever been potholing?"
"No, not for a very long time", the Doctor told him and I lifted a brow at that, "No? Well, I'm very keen on it, at least I was until…" Dr. Quinn said, but trailed of.
"Until what", the Doctor asked, "A couple of our junior technicians went exploring on their day off. There was an accident…one of them was killed. The other is still in the sickbay", he told the Doctor sadly.
"Do you have your own Doctor", the Doctor asked the man, "No, Dr. Meredith comes from in from a local hospital", Dr. Quinn told the Doctor and I narrowed my brows.
"This technician…was he badly hurt", the Doctor asked, "Well now, I'm not sure…they seem to be hushing it up", Dr. Quinn told him.
"That's weird", I commented walking up to the Doctor, "Yes, I wonder why that is", the Doctor asked quietly.
"I beg your pardon", Dr. Quinn asked to which the Doctor replied with, "I said, "I wonder why that is.""
"Oh well", Dr. Quinn said going back to work without a care and I didn't care for his tone or his lack of empathy, "Your technician is injured, they won't let you in to check on him, and you haven't even once to stop and ask why that is", I asked Dr. Quinn quite upset.
"Why would I", Dr. Quinn asked me, "I'm busy and the doctors are taking care of him", he told me before going back to work, I shook my head angrily at the man.
"Dr. Quinn, those power losses, do they take any particular pattern", the Doctor asked him, trying to change the subject, "As far as we can see, they are completely random", Dr. Quinn replied.
"Hmm", I said out loud in thought, "I see", the Doctor replied, "Well, I wonder whether we could possibly check. A fresh pair of eyes, you know", the Doctor asked Dr. Quinn, who just lifted a brow at the notion.
"You and your assistant", Dr. Quinn asked and the Doctor nodded before I could say anything, "Yes, of course…here's the log", Dr. Quinn agreed and the handed the Doctor a book.
The Doctor opened and flipped through the pages, sharing its contents with me and then we noticed something…the log was incomplete. When we shared this with Dr. Quinn, he told us that that couldn't be, that it had been kept every day. Dr. Quinn pressed a button on his intercom and spoke to a woman called Miss Dawson.
"Something strange is going on", I whispered to the Doctor, "I agree, but let's not jump to conclusions just yet", he told me.
Dr. Quinn asked Miss Dawson if she could come down and speak with us, when she did Dr. Quinn asked her if she knew who usually kept the log and she told him, reluctantly, that it was Spencer.
"That explains it, Spencer's the chap who got hurt in the caves", Dr. Quinn told us and I sighed, "No, Dr. Quinn…I don't think it does explain it", the Doctor said, before handing the man the log to look at.
"Look", the Doctor ordered, "At what", Dr. Quinn asked confused, looking up at the Doctor and then back down at the log.
"It's at the bottom…you can't miss it", I commented as Dr. Quinn looked down, his eyebrows raised and his eyes widened.
"There at the bottom of the page, by the strings, the binding…you'll see a shred of paper. Some of the pages have been torn out", the Doctor told him.
The Doctor and I left to go find Liz to see if she had found the records we were looking for, and so far no luck. The man with her was Dr. Meredith and he didn't look all that pleased to see us.
"I take it you two are yet other members of the Unit team", he asked us annoyed.
"Yes, depressing isn't it", the Doctor asked the man sarcastically amused and I lightly elbowed him at the remark, he just lifted a brow at me in response.
"Now, you're the chap we were looking for and wanted to speak to", the Doctor told Dr. Meredith, "Now, look his patient of yours, Spencer, the one who was injured in the caves…may we see him", the Doctor asked man.
"I'm sorry, but that is quite out of the question", Dr. Meredith told the Doctor as he narrowed his eyes, "Care to tell us why", I asked, "I won't allow it, that why", he told me harshly.
"I'm about to move him to a hospital, where he can get treated properly and safely in a secure environment. Besides, neither of you have the authority", Dr. Meredith told both the Doctor and I.
My eyebrows raised and I crossed my arms, then I smirked…this man could stand up for himself and I was quite pleased with that…however it didn't make me any less annoyed. The Doctor, as if he knew I was about to say something…well…"rude"…calmly covered my mouth and in response, I placed my hands on my hips and narrowed my eyes at the wall.
"Dr. Meredith, as associates of Unit, I think you'll find we can do precisely as we please. May we now see your patient", the Doctor asked the man, ever so calmly.
I lifted a brow at the Doctor, "Oh…it seems I have no choice. All right, but I warn you...it's at your own risk", Dr. Meredith said before giving us a confused look before leaving the room. The Doctor removed his hand as He and Liz followed him out, I just shook my head then followed closely behind.
We walked to the medical center of the facility, then went into one of the rooms where Spencer was being held. Upon entering, we noticed the lights were dimmed, but we could still see a man squatting next to a wall and…drawing on it? I tilted my head in confusion as I carefully moved closer to examine the drawings on the wall, I was quick to pull away from Dr. Meredith's grasp as he tried to grab my arm.
"How long has he been like this", the Doctor asked beside me, "Since he came out of his coma, with occasional spells of trying to throttle me", Dr. Meredith told him.
"So…he tried to choke you? Why", I asked, "I…I don't know", he told me at a loss.
"Was he much of an artist before the accident", the Doctor asked the man, "Not that I know of", Dr. Meredith replied.
"Astonishing", I heard the Doctor comment quietly as we walked up even closer to Spencer, as he still had his back facing towards us.
"Careful you two", Dr. Meredith warned, but the Doctor ignored him as he lightly tapped Spencer's shoulder, "What's this old chap", the Doctor asked, and the man cowered away like a frightened animal.
"It's all right old chap, take it easy", the Doctor told the man, before he turned around and launched for the Doctor's throat.
"Doctor-agh", I screamed as I knelt on the ground trying to grab an invisible hand that was grabbing my throat, but there wasn't one. The only person who was getting choked was the Doctor, so why…I wondered as I gasped for breath.
My throat ached as I felt the hand grow tighter and tighter around my throat, and the Doctor glanced at me in alarm.
"It's all right…old chap. Settle down now…calm down", the Doctor told the man, who was choking us.
Everyone glanced between the Doctor and I in wonder and confusion, "It's okay…sshh…it's okay. No one…is going to hurt you. Sshh", I told the man soothingly, between silent gasps.
The man slowly let go of the Doctor's throat, he went back to sit on the floor, and went back to drawing on the wall; I sighed in relief.
A few tears went down my cheeks as I stood rubbing my aching throat, "That's it…no one is going to hurt you", the Doctor reassured Spencer, who I think was ignoring us now.
"Are you two alright, I did warn you-", "Yes", the Doctor said cutting of the man, "But…what was that? You were getting choked Doctor and from the look of it so was she", Liz asked very confused.
"Well, we'll explain later", the Doctor told her reluctantly, it seemed we were telling everyone…later, lately I thought.
"Are you alright, Doctor", I suddenly asked him, "Yes, I'm all right…what about you", the Doctor asked me as I rubbed my throat, "Yes…um…I-I think he's scared", I said, but it came out more like a question.
"Yes, he's frightened", the Doctor agreed, "So was I, what's made him like this", Liz asked, "Well, some people with certain forms of PTSD…Post Traumatic Disorder…draw whatever the mind is afflicted of and in this case…" I said and trailed off.
"What? Some sort of giant dinosaur and cavemen", Liz asked me unbelieving. "Yes. The mind can interpret different things while under stress…he's having mood swings, sudden acts of aggression-", "Thanks for the information, but there is no such thing as PTSD…he is simply a sick man", Dr. Meredith told me, cutting me off.
I narrowed my brows I anger, "Your so called "treatment", don't make you patients better. You make it worse", I told Dr. Meredith angrily, "He's safer here than in your hospital." Then I turned away coldly, but then I felt something…fear, loneliness, and helplessness; these feelings weren't mine…then I turned my head to look at the man who was squatting down on the floor before my nose started bleeding and I fainted.
Then I saw something strange as someone caught me and my eyes were closed, green scales…what? I was carried into another room where I was laid out on a bed and then covered with a blanket.
"What the hell is going on Doctor", Dr. Meredith asked the Doctor as I blinked open my eyes. The Doctor refused to say and instead said, "I need to see Brigadier, can you take care of her while I'm gone", the Doctor asked the man, "Of course", Dr. Meredith replied as the Doctor came up to me.
"I'm fine", I told him an tried to get up, but immediately laid back down as my head ached, "No, you say that you are, but you're not", the Doctor told me sternly and I was a bit taken a back at the tone.
"I'll return", the Doctor told me before he held my hand and then he was gone, after that Dr. Meredith came into the room. He checked my temperature, blood pressure, and when it was time to check my heart beat his eyes narrowed in confusion.
"What's wrong", I asked him as he removed his stethoscope, then wrapped it around his neck, "It could be nothing, but it was faint…I swear I could hear an echo heartbeat", he told me as he stood back up, my eyes only narrowed in confusion as my heart raced at the possibilities. I was frightened…my body was changing and no I'm not talking about puberty changing…transforming into something that I couldn't even began to comprehend…