Chapter Twenty-One:
"Get down!"
The sound of gun shots exploded through the air.
Alex dropped down and into his arms fell the body of Alexys. More gun shots surrounded them as he looked to his friend and saw she was not breathing. His vision tunneled to only Alexys. In an instant he was in crisis mode. He placed her on the ground and tilted her head back slightly to lift her chin and open her airway, "Wake up! Wake up!"
"Move!"
A strong arm pushed him to the side.
He fell backward but was caught by someone else.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion as capable hands began pumping at the center of her chest. A mop of blonde curly hair moved hurriedly to cover Alexys' mouth before once again repeating the steps. Another round at the mouth and then suddenly Alexys was gasping.
Alex cried out and rushed to her.
She looked around in confusion, "What happened?! What happened?!"
"You…I…I don't…I…don't remember but you were…you almost died?"
Alexys looked down at the hole in her shirt and the fresh burn in the shape of a circle dead center of her breast bone then looked to him with all seriousness, "The Sontarans?"
"Yes!" he laughed more out of realization and nerves than humor, "The Sontarans."
"Alexys!" it was Nick's voice and suddenly Nick's arms that wrapped around her. She winced with pain in her chest but when he pulled away she grabbed him to keep holding her tight. He cried, "I can't believe I almost lost you."
"Alex, where have you been?"
It was then that Alex realized Luke had been the one that had caught him when he fell backward. He shook his head, "I-I don't know, Luke. I was so scared!"
"I'm here now. I'm here now," he pacified.
"Hate to break up this lovely moment but we've got to run!"
Alex and Alexys looked up to the sultry voice of one of the most beautiful women in the entire universe. They both gasped, "River Song!"
"The very same," she winked but with the black eye patch on it only looked like a blink.
"Uhh, guys! Gotta go!" they looked to one of the other most beautiful women in the entire universe.
They both gasped, "Clara Oswald!"
"Pleasure!" she gave a little curtsey.
River began her run down the other end of the hallway to the back of the house as she shouted, "No time for reunions! We've got to go!"
Nick helped Alexys up but quickly slid her over to Alex. There were tears blurring his vision as he held his friend. It took all of his strength to not break down at the prospect of nearly losing her. So many feelings emerged but he shoved them down with the desire to get out of the house alive.
"Get down!"
Alex and Alexys lowered in time to watch a baseball bat fly through the air.
Alexys shut her eyes but Alex watched the bat bounce off of a Silent's head and it crumble to the ground. Alex looked behind them and saw Luke slamming his baseball bat down over and over again. The sight of buzzing electricity ahead of them cut them off from Nick, River, and Clara but before they could grow concerned another baseball bat flew through the air and landed against the Silent's head. In a rage Nick stomped over and over onto the head of the Silent and Alex looked to Alexys to see if she was watching but her eyes were sealed shut.
The sound of more gun shots up ahead urged them to go forward and with the way cleared they followed River and Clara out of the house and into Nick's Buick Skylark. River jumped into the driver's seat while Alex took shot gun and everyone else piled into the back. Nick ran his hands over Alexys and her face and where she had been zapped by the Silent. He shook his head, "I can't believe that thing almost took you away from me."
"Actually, by my calculations, it saved her life," River spoke over her shoulder.
Alexys looked down at the circular burn that pulsed with something like liquid pain, "It doesn't really feel like that."
"Well, obviously that wasn't its intention. It meant to kill you however you beat the thing to it!" she laughed.
"What does that mean?" Alex had been looking backward while Luke tenderly held his hand then returned his gaze to River.
"It means she had such a fright her heart gave out and the electrical current passing through her body was enough to stabilizer her until River began CPR," Clara explained as she pushed Alexys back, "I need to get a look at this."
"What are you two doing here? Were you here the whole time? Why are you here now? Are you even a doctor?" Alex tried his best not to shout his answers but they came out as shouts anyway.
"Here, here, here. Rethink your questions and understand that us being here has saved your friend's life," River sighed, "But I will tell you this. I have been here the whole time helping to gather clues and keep everyone safe."
"Keep us all safe? So that means you know what's happening?" Alexys jumped forward in her seat but Clara held her back.
"Alex, in the glove compartment I've got a first aid kit. Can you pass that back here?" Nick asked with urgency that did not compromise his manners.
"I might have been a bit presumptuous with my introduction," Clara opened the first aid kit to answer at least one of the many questions that had been thrown out, "But I do have medical experience. I volunteered for ambulance service when I was at University. Dealt with drunkards mostly but handled the occasional bump and bruise."
"With all due respect," Nick looked over the woman, "This is more than a bump and bruise."
Alex looked to the fellas, "What are you guys doing here?"
"Alexys called me and told me she was at the school. The school has been closed for weeks because of the gas leak. She said she was going home so I wanted to check in on her," Nick explained as he grabbed scissors to cut Alexys' shirt into a sudden V-Neck while Clara shined a light on the injury.
"He called me along the way and told me what was happening. You haven't answered your phone all day so I wanted to check in on you too," Luke was rubbing at Alex's shoulder from the backseat.
"And what about you?" Alexys asked River through gritted teeth.
"Part of my mission was to keep tabs on you both. When the golden watches were activated I reprogramed the neural link in my Eye Drive to record a moving timeline of history which I uploaded to the Tardis. I noticed that Alex's timeline was shifting quite rapidly today and that your history had grown dangerously…askew. That was when Clara and I came to check on you both and found these two. I explained everything that had been occurring with the Church of Stillhet," River answered.
"Everything?" the two wondered.
She smirked at Alexys in the rearview mirror, "Well not…everything."
Both Alex and Alexys were silent except for slight wincing on Alexys' end as Nick cleaned up her chest and Clara applied disinfectant. For the first time she looked and saw a round circle at the center of her chest was left with tendrils that broke off like lightning all around. Clara frowned, "Looks like second degree burns."
"What does that mean?"
"It means you need medical attention," Nick answered.
"I have medical attention," Alexys squeaked as she motioned to Clara.
Something suddenly clicked for Alex that he had to share, "Wait…so the Tardis is here? Why can't we just…leave?"
"I'm afraid we are caught in a severe time distortion. The Tardis is stuck here until we can clear up what is happening," River explained, "There is something keeping us here and it is very much on purpose."
Alexys leaned forward slightly but Nick pressed her back against the seat as he dabbed at her chest again and Clara worked on opening her shirt a bit more to get to the lightning shapes on the edge of the circle, "When time keeps jumping do you two get caught in it?"
"As a fellow time traveller, I did until I got my hand on one of these," Clara pulled out the golden compass from her pocket.
"Do you have one?" Alex asked River.
"I was able to take mine apart and use the version of a relativity differentiator it had to upgrade the Eye Drive," she focused on the road.
"How did you know to do that?" Alex asked in amazement.
"It's not that difficult," she winked, "It uses similar components to that of the Tardis. It even has a chameleon circuit and protoplasm!"
"What does that mean?"
Alexys leaned forward again to answer but Clara pushed her back, "It means it can change shape and is kinda sentient. Is that why after sleeping with it I…kinda feel attached to mine?"
"That is exactly why," River nodded.
"Look at the brains on you!" Clara exclaimed as she began unrolling gauze and tape.
"Does it explain the cracks?" Alex questioned.
"No, but that explains why you all are surrounded in so much Artron energy," River huffed.
Alex looked backward to Nick and Luke, "You guys aren't freaking out about this?! I'm freaking out about this and I know about all of this!"
"I'm focusing on bandaging the love of my life back here," Nick answered.
"And I told you, Alex. I know you and your cousin get into some weird things but I'm here for the ride. I'd rather be with you not knowing a single thing about what's going on than hear about it from the sidelines," Luke grabbed the hand he held of Alex and kissed his fingers.
Alexys blushed brightly as she looked to Nick who applied gauze while Clara taped it, "The love of your life?"
"Yeah," he spoke with a gentle smile on his features, "I didn't tell you that yet?"
She gave a light shake of her head.
He held her chin gently between his fingers, "I love you."
"I love you too."
"River, where are we going?" Alex looked to see they were driving closer to the school.
"You both have your boyfriends and I thought it'd only be fair we pick up ours!"
"Wait!" Alex shouted, "When I looked through Rose's Dream Journal Silents weren't the only thing I saw! I also saw—"
River slammed on the breaks so hard everyone lurched forward.
"IDENTIFY YOURSELF."
Alex and Alexys gasped with equal parts fear and equal parts amazement, "DALEKS!"
"Guys!" Nick and Luke shouted as they looked out of their windows.
"SILENTS!"
Alexys immediately passed out.
One Hour Later…
Warmth.
It was the first thing Alexys noted when she came back to her senses. A small yawn escaped her lips that soon allowed her to blink her eyes open. She noticed that she was in Nick's arms. His hold on her was tight yet soothing. She was completely comfortable which must have meant it was at his expense but he didn't seem to mind.
There was talking but with her senses still dulled it came as a quiet roar.
She leaned up to kiss beneath Nick's chin happily.
He looked down and she expected to see love but all she saw was fear.
Alexys turned to what made him so afraid…and then passed out all over again.
"Did she just?"
"Yeah…again."
For an hour Alex, Alexys, Luke, Nick, Clara, and River Song were held against their will by Silents and Daleks. Each time Alexys got a look at one of the Silents though she passed out cold. It would have been humorous if they all weren't completely terrified themselves. The whole hour Alex, River, and Clara tried to come up with a plan yet each time their discussion resembled anything about the Doctor they were threatened with Alexys' death. Luke tried on multiple occasions to ask why they were there but each time they were told they were waiting for the Beast.
Alex kept his eyes trained on the Silent in front of them. With no way to communicate all he could do was think and so think he did. He recalled Rose's journal and the mention of "the Beast" in her dream. Attached was a picture of a Silent and a Dalek but it seemed they were in servitude to the Beast. His mind went through all the great monsters of the show in search of who could possibly hold that much control over two terrifying baddies of the Doctor Who universe.
He looked to River again but all she did was search around the room they were held in.
Alex followed her example.
They were in a large room in the A/C Repair School with a black and white checkered floor and lots of space. It appeared to be the size of a ball room with opera styled box seats at random intervals. All the way toward the right stood a large stage with a flight of steps on each side and a heavy red curtain blocking the rest of it. At the front center of the stage was a table that held three large boxes covered by a sheet. Over the stage was a sign that read: Dårlig Ulvkammer. Alex could find no other important detail other than the three Silents that stood watch around them.
A yawn came from Nick's direction and he looked once again to see Alexys waking from her fear induced slumber. This time Nick cupped his hand against the side of her face to block her peripheral vision as he whispered to her the details of their position. Alex looked to Luke who sat with his eyes shut as if resting.
"A-Alex," came Alexys' scared voice.
"I'm here," he spoke softly.
"Can you come to me?"
The Silents made no indication that it was accepted or not accepted.
Alex began to crawl toward where her and Nick sat against the wall. He moved in a position that he covered the Silents but with his back to them he faced their greatest defense. His brows furrowed as he looked to his dear cousin, "Are you alright?"
"My chest hurts," she answered honestly.
When she looked down she saw that the cut pieces of her shirt had been tied into a small knot to cover the wound. She looked to Nick but his eyes remained fixed above Alex's head. Alex frowned, "I'm sorry. What can I do to help?"
Alexys looked between the faces of the individuals with her and understood they were in great danger. Nick had warned her not to look at what held them hostage and so she knew with great certainty it had to be the most terrifying thing in the world. She had to come up with a plan.
"Alexys?"
"I need to use the bathroom," she whispered with an attempt of sitting up. It was enough to get into her pocket but not enough that she could see over Alex's head.
"You can just say that," Alex chuckled.
"No…" she looked up at Nick with his clenched jaw she wriggled her shoulders around with exaggerated movement, "I need to use the bathroom."
"Oh…"
She nodded.
He furrowed his brows and looked away a moment, "Why are you telling me this?"
Her hand grasped Alex's, "Because I need your help to do it."
WAP.
Alexys wasn't sure how far back she had gone but suddenly she found herself in the hallway being carried by Nick with her friends surrounding her as Daleks ushered them forward. Alex was at her side, holding onto her shoulder and shaking with confusion at the plan. He looked to Alexys and she still had the golden compass in her hand. River Song looked backward at them and understood immediately what she was attempting to do.
Immediately she began coughing.
"SILENCE!" one of the Daleks shouted.
She coughed louder and louder and louder until all that could be heard was her coughing.
Alexys pressed the button.
December 3rd
Alex and Alexys stood before the old church that was the cause of all their misfortune.
The Church of Stillhet.
The lake was empty with not even a dream on the street to accompany them. They looked to one another with understanding that they had no plan. All they had was one golden pocket watch each and four silver pocket watches between them.
They took a step forward but as they did the door opened and out walked Father Blackwood and beside him Zelda.
Alexys looked down to the watch with a small twist of the dial.
December 5th
"What are we doing here?" Alex looked around and found them in the middle of the mortuary.
"Getting supplies," she declared as she began looking through the cabinets.
Alex nodded with understanding at once. While Alexys grasped weapons she could find, Alex went to the chemicals and began collecting bottles of everything he knew to be flammable. Together they found large duffle bags that they filled with items they knew would be of use in their mission.
When they were done they stood beside each other and linked arms.
Alexys turned the dial.
December 3rd
They arrived at the same point they had the first go around.
Once again the lake was empty.
The two looked at one another and stepped forward.
The front door opened to reveal Father Blackwood once again. Beside him was Zelda. Coming from behind him came Hilda and behind her Todd. Slowly another figure emerged taller than the both of them. Alex and Alexys gasped, "Jeff!"
Alexys turned the dial further toward the left.
December 1st
An empty lake met them.
"This has got to work," Alex spoke through gritted teeth.
The two took their steps forward but again the doors opened. Out stepped Father Blackwood, Aunt Zelda, Aunt Hilda, Vaughn, Garrett, Jeff Winger, Dean Pelton, Leonard, Todd, and Chang. They looked to each other with shock.
"One more time," Alexys mumbled as she turned back the dial.
November 30th
The air felt different.
To test it they stepped forward and waited for the doors to open.
Nothing happened. Together they gave a solid nod then ran the rest of the way to the old church. Immediately they began pouring the flammable liquid at the foundation. Alexys silently repeated the Our Father in hopes that she would be forgiven for what she felt to be a great sin. Alex worked with gusto as he imagined how terrified poor Luke was back at the hands of the Silents and the Daleks. Once again he wondered how it was possible for them both to team up.
"I just don't get it…" Alex dropped the last jar of chemicals off to the side.
"Yeah, me either," Alexys agreed before pausing to look at him, "What exactly don't we get?"
"What could the Daleks and the Silents possibly have in common?" Alex elaborated.
"They have to have some common goal. We just have to think? What is something they both can agree on and want more than anything in the world?" Alexys wondered.
"Oh, that is simple Watchers."
They spun their heads around to see Father Blackwood standing behind them.
"We all want the death of the Doctor."
Black sacks wrapped around their head and they were dragged away.
The Spellman cousins were forced onto their knees before the sacks were ripped off. The two blinked hard to adjust from the darkness to the sudden light that came from before them. Slowly they understood where they were.
Together they found themselves inside the Church of Stillhet. They kneeled before the pulpit as Father Blackwood addressed the congregation. The two risked a glance backward and shuddered to find the pews filled with faces of Greendale residents. They looked to each other in disbelief. The church was not supposed to exist and yet it was at full capacity.
"Attention."
They looked forward and squinted against the brightness ahead of them. It seemed the windows were facing the rising sun but were covered by a thick curtain that went across the whole wall. The light that filtered through made Father Blackwood seem to glow.
"You are all here to witness something of great beauty. We have in our hold the Watchers that threaten everything that we hold dear and here? Here we have our sacrifice and with this we welcome the Beast who will follow the fissures, swallow the void, and become the universe. Today marks the first step toward the prophecy! This is where an end meets our beginning!" Father Blackwood spun his fingers.
The scene began to unfold before Alex just as he had seen in Rose's dream journal. He looked to Alexys and hissed, "We have to go now!"
"It is too late for escape now, Mr. Spellman," Father Blackwood grinned. He made a circular gesture in the air again and as he did two men grabbed Alexys' arms.
"Let her go!" Alex shouted as he rushed to his feet but someone was already waiting to restrain him.
"Don't be disrespectful, Mr. Spellman. Do you know what The Church of Stillhet represents?" he questioned with the theatrics of a shout but the tone of a whisper.
Alex made no sound.
The man placed his finger to his lips to answer his own question, "The Church of Silence."
It was as if the volume had gone down to zero.
The curtain behind Father Blackwood was opened to reveal a massive crack along the wall unraveling with each passing second. Strong arms grasped Alexys and though she screamed there was no sound that came out. Alex watched in horror as two men pulled her onto her feet toward the crack.
She thrashed wildly against the men as they brought her to it. The closer they took her, the wilder she became. Alex searched around for friendly faces but there was no one but Zelda and Hilda who looked at Alexys with pride.
All was lost until—
CRAAAAASH!
Everyone dropped forward as a vehicle lurched through the front doors of the Church. Alex and Alexys were thrown to the ground in the process and everyone looked up to find the grill of a Tardis blue Eldorado facing them. The front doors were kicked open and out came two of the most beautiful women in the world with what looked like futuristic stun guns.
Clara smirked, "Did someone call a Doctor?"
There was a moment of silence and then Zelda's scream, "GET THEM!"
Clara and River sat back into the car and reversed out of the Church just as everyone jumped to their feet and ran. Alexys and Alex rushed to each other but as they reached other hands grasped them and began pulling them away. The two locked arms tight as they searched their pockets for the compass. Alexys grabbed hers while Alex kicked backward and fought to get closer to his best friend. Alexys spun the dial while a large fist came down against the back of her hea—
December 10th, 1941
The sky was a lovely shade of blue with white bulbous clouds floating across the sea of heaven. The chirping of birds sang a tune of safety and love. The feeling of plush grass like a bed of Earth brought feelings of comfort. A loving wind caressed away fear and doubt. There was only peace.
Alex looked to his left to Alexys who gazed up at the sky, "Where are we?"
"I think the better question is: when are we?"
The two sat up to scope out their surroundings.
They were at the edge of a lush meadow overlooking a beautiful lake. Creatures of all different kinds played in the fields while butterflies flew with bees along the waves of air. A thick forest surrounded the scene as if it were protecting the lake from those that would seek to use it. The fact that Alex and Alexys were allowed there made them feel as though they were welcome. Everything felt so familiar and so at home.
"Oh my God…" Alex looked to Alexys as realization hit him, "We're in the Church."
"Uh…Alex? Buddy…Look around. We are definitely not in a church," Alexys chuckled.
"No! Look at your compass. We have to be in the Church decades before it was even built. There's the lake, there's the woods, the Church will be right here!" Alex used big gestures to paint the scene for Alexys.
She furrowed her brows as she looked down at her palm to the compass. She pressed the sides to open it but it remained locked shut, "Uh…it's not working."
"How is that possible?" Alex pulled out his and tried the same thing with the same result, "Oh no…Alexys when did you take us?"
"I don't know! I just spun the dial and pressed the button! I thought it'd take us to last year at most! I didn't know it would take us to last century! But River did tell us that these things are kinda sentient. Maybe it took us to somewhere we needed to go?" she stood up and began walking to the direction she remembered town being.
"Uh…where are you going?" Alex furrowed his brows.
"I'm heading back to town!" she exclaimed.
Alex shook his head as he pointed in the opposite direction, "Town is that way."
"Oh…you know I'm bad at geography!"
The two walked through the grass on an imaginary road toward Greendale as they filled each other in on the events that had just transpired.
"So when I went back I waited for him at the corner that I had bumped into the Dean. We ended up talking and I found that Clara was waiting for him. Her name was Clarissa and she was a doctor that went by Dr. Clara!" Alex explained excitedly.
"For all the times she pretended to be the Doctor," Alexys pressed her hand to her chest for a moment but flinched at the touch of her still new wound. "I'm thinking this. River has been in the Tardis the whole time hiding out and trying to figure this thing out too. She was also supposed to keep an eye on us? Maybe it's the same thing with the Doctors? Maybe Clara was supposed to keep an eye on the Eleventh Doctor and Rose on…I don't know."
"So Rose was lying about not remembering anything?" Alex's face turned red with each word that left his mouth.
"Yeah! You said you read her dream journal? Maybe that was just a lie that it was a dream journal. Maybe she was trying to figure out what was going on the whole time too and had her own journal like mine," Alexys offered.
"Okay," Alex's face was redder than the red in red, white, and blue. "What's the deal? Tell me what's going on. What happened? How did you even get to see that journal?"
"Well…when I was going back through time," Alex stopped right there.
"Yeah?"
"And I was trying to figure out what was going on."
"Uh…huh."
"I may or may not have had sex with Rose Tyler."
"AHHHHHHHHH!"
The animals that were near ran, flew, and swam away in terror.
Alexys extended her hands for their shake as she screamed, "WHAT ABOUT LUKE!"
"It might have been a threesome!" he completed the tap, tap.
Alexys threw herself at Alex, nearly knocking him down as she jumped and hit his arm with bursts of excitement she did not know what to do with. She thrashed around to get the energy out then calmed down, "So! Where is she on the list?"
"Number one!" Alex laughed at the possibility it could be lower.
"Explain!"
"Me and Luke went to hang out at Dr. Cerberus while she was working. She flirted with us the whole time. We drank a little and after close she took us to the back and told us to wait for her while she got some wine. When she came back she was naked."
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed, extending her hands for the shake again.
Alex tap, tapped as he continued to explain, "She watched me and Luke do it for a while and then she did stuff with me and then with him and then we went to her apartment and then we did stuff all together! It was the best night of my life!"
Alexys screamed a high pitch scream of excitement for her friend.
"But I was under the impression we were having sex with Briar…does this mean that I actually had sex with the Rose Tyler?" Alex began getting more and more excited about the event in retrospect.
"I mean…yeah! Alex! You had a flipping threesome with Luke and Rose Tyler! You are the man!" Alexys could not believe the incredibleness of it.
"Enough about me though. How are you doing? This has been great but we're breezing past something horrifying. You almost died," Alex stopped to put on his friend's shoulder, unsure if it was for her benefit or his.
She frowned, "I don't think I'm ready to process it, honestly. The only thing I do need to process is that I kind of made out with Professor Smythe!"
"What!"
"Yes! It was when I went to the college and everything had changed. I was so scared and I was stuck in the hallway and he opened the door and kissed me and I definitely kissed back!" she held her hand over her mouth, "I told him that I can't though because I'm with Nick and we agreed that as long as Nick is in the picture we can't be."
Alex was quiet, listening to what she said but also listening to what was not said. He knew his friend had a way of deflecting and there were moments he would push back to get deeper to the core. He debated if this was a time but he decided against it, "I just want to say that no matter what happens or who you end up with…I'm happy you are alive. And I'm sure both of them are too regardless of who you pick. I love you. You are my best, best friend."
Alexys gave a soft smile at Alex. She accepted the words but in the moment could not truly let them sink in. Her mind was focused on the task at hand and so she simply gave him a finger guns and nodded, "I love you too. So, we have more answers but we need to figure out what's going on."
"Right, well. Silents and Daleks are working together with Father Blackwood," Alex spoke his words calmly.
"Right. And the motivation of Father Blackwood is to unleash something called the Beast so that it can 'swallow the void' and 'become the universe'. The motivation of the Silents and the Daleks is to kill the Doctor," Alexys added these points to the list.
"The religion thing makes sense now. The Silents were created as part of a religion. They have mind control properties so I get how all these people fall prey to them."
Alexys nodded, "Right. Their plan is to take over all of Greendale so they can locate the Doctor. They took the pages from my journal so they already know who they are."
"Except for the 10th Doctor," Alex added.
"Right, because you just added that in the new timeline. Speaking of! I think these are the reason once you're corrupted by the Silents you're corrupted all the way through your own timeline," Alexys motioned toward her own compass in hand.
"The question is: where do these come from?" Alex pulled out his to observe it.
"I think it has to be the Daleks. I think they are part of what it is and how it was made."
"But they keep saying it's Time Lord Technology," Alex countered.
"Well, a form of Time Lord Technology. Maybe they got the blue print from somewhere else and used it to make them. I'm sure they're the ones dropping it from the sky too." Alexys was resolved to leave it there until her encounter with Father Blackwood came back to mind, "Wait…I talked to Father Blackwood one on one."
"What? When?"
"After the kiss. I went back to the night at the Blue Moon Tavern. They need the essence of the Doctor. They need these fob watches," Alexys pulled out her pair in the blue bag while Alex pulled out his in the black.
Alex let out a sigh, "Okay…I think we need to start writing this all down. Do you have your journal with you?"
Alexys pulled off the mini backpack that had stayed attached to her during the course of events, "I've got it right in here."
"Perfect! Also…where are we going?"
"I think we should go to the Spellman house. Something tells me it's where we need to be," Alexys was absolutely certain her words were true.
The walk through Greendale was shorter than it had already been. The small town was suddenly much smaller with a lack of residence, commercial buildings, and roadways. It was relatively empty though whoever was out had quite a fright at the sight of the two. They realized they stuck out like a very sore thumb. Their walk to the Spellman Mortuary quickened.
When they arrived it was…different. The signature darkness of the estate was replaced by a small, white farm house. It was surrounded by rolling hills of grass and trees and land as far the eye could see. The sun shined upon it with promise of good fortune. The best fortune was that it appeared empty.
The two looked around the back and found an easy way to enter. It seemed the security systems of old were nothing compared to 21st century street smarts. They entered and were met with a totally different vibe than the Spellman home waiting for them back in their time. The décor was warm, bright, family oriented in a way that was uncommon to the Spellmans. It was lovely.
"I found a date book here," Alex called out from the front of the house. Alexys found him quickly as he read off the page, "It looks like the guy that lives here is our grandfather. The home was left to him after the death of our great grandfather. It's left vacant because he is in the war though some neighbors. Also…it's 1941."
"What!"
"Yeah…no wonder the compasses don't work. They haven't been invented yet," Alex sat down on one of the large cushioned seats.
"So you're telling me we are stranded in 1941?" Alexys shook her head with disbelief, "What are we going to do here! Be pyromaniac spinsters like great aunt Theodosia and uncle Ph—AHHHH!"
Her gasp was so loud it sounded as though her lungs had turned into speakers. Alex jumped as he walked to her, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
She pointed at him and then pointed at her, "WE'RE GREAT UNCLE PHILIP AND GREAT AUNT THEODOSIA. WE'RE GREAT AUNT THEODOSIA AND GREAT UNCLE PHILIP!"
"What? No—"q
"Dear Theodosia, what to say to you?" Alexys began to sing with heightened excitement, "You have my eyes, you have your mother's name. When you came into the world, you cried and it broke my heart!"
It dawned on Alex then as he skipped to Lin-Manuel Miranda's part, "Oh, Philip, when you smile I am undone. My son."
"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Come on. Let's…let's look around for pictures to make sure!" she began running through the hallways in search of anything that would disprove her.
Alex sat down on the chair again, "No…you're not wrong. The only thing we know about great uncle Philip and great aunt Theodosia was that they were spinsters that burned the house down. They were Edward Sr.'s half siblings that came to stay with and they were weird. The town's people did not trust them. They're a cautionary tale. Also…I have no doubt you came up with those names."
"So…what? Is this a paradox? Is this meant to be? Are we meant to be here?"
"It could be why your compass took us back here. You and River say it's sentient. It could have taken us here on purpose," Alex spoke but stared off into the distance as he considered what that could mean.
"So what? We just burn down the house? WHY WOULD WE BURN DOWN THE HOUSE?" Alexys shouted.
"I don't know…but what I do know is…we are about seventy-nine years in the past."
"So we should totally take baths and then meet back up here?"
Alex chuckled, "We should totally take a bath and then meet back up here."
Two Hours Later…
"I see we both had the same idea," Alexys smirked as she walked down the stairs in a pair of clothes she had found to belong to their grandfather.
"I did, I did," Alex grinned, standing from his seat to show off.
"Don't you look quite fetching!" she clapped her hands happily.
"Ah, thank you. Ah, thank you," Alex smiled before taking a seat once more, "Uhhh, I'm sorry Alexys but I'm pretty sure women do not wear pants in this time period."
Alexys scrunched her face toward him but removed her small velvet bag and her cell phone from her pocket, "If I wore a dress there would be no way for me to hold onto this."
"True, true," he nodded his head.
"I took the liberty of filling everything into my journal. Want to see?" she pulled out the small book from under her arm and handed it to Alex.
"Of course," he took the small book with something nagging at his mind. He opened the page to where the small ribbon bookmark waited and gasped, "ROSE TYLER!"
"What?" Alexys looked to the man in confusion. "What about her?"
"This is Rose Tyler's dream journal. This is what I found in her apartment!"
"How is that possible? Nick gave it to me? It's mine?" Alexys took the book back from him, "I mean…I get timey wimey spacey wacey stuff but…what?"
"Why have you been writing all this down?"
"So we could get everything out on paper and can figure out what the details mean."
"What gave you that idea?" Alex wondered as he relived the moments of finding the journal and reading it and then rushing home and then them actually experiencing it, "I don't get it…"
"We're supposed to be back here then," Alexys met his stare, "This is supposed to happen. Our only mission now is to figure out why we are back here. We can assume that we've done it before but what did we miss the first time around. We know we set the house on fire and somehow Rose gets this book. What else? What can there be done that we didn't already do?"
Alex let out a sigh, "I looked around while you were still in your bath. There is nothing out of the ordinary here. Everything looks normal. I don't know what we're doing here or how to get out."
"About leaving," Alexys pulled the compass from her other pocket and began running two fingers around it in a circle, "Do that to your compass."
Alex followed her instruction, "Okay?"
"Now counter clockwise."
"Okay."
"Back to clockwise."
"Uh-huh."
"Now use your ha—"
"Do you want me to follow the steps of from the dance?" Alex interrupted to get to the point.
"Yes! Don't you feel it?"
Alex could not deny it. When he followed the circle around the compass he felt a slightly shiver through him. It was as if the compass was an animal lightly stirring from slumber yet he knew it would need more to actually wake it up, "It needs more. Some sort of jump start."
"I think we should go to Greendale," Alexys sighed, "I think we can definitely find what we're looking for there."
"Is Greendale even around?" Alex wondered, continuing the rotation of the compass.
"Yeah and apparently the Church of Stillhet has been around too. If there are any clues we're going to find about why we're here. I have no doubt it'll be there."
