Chapter 6
The Vigil
The White Watch team had been tasked with continuing to explore the village with "Spy-Flies", using the robot if necessary to aid the comatose villagers and keep them safe. They didn't want any more people dying in house fires. They used the robot to retrieve the body from in front of the Inn.
The man's driving license said his name was Harry Crankhart. An ambulance was called, and the body was taken away. By midnight, there had been no change in conditions. Lights in houses which had been switched on the previous night, and had been on all day, were now visible in the darkness and gave an eerie, ghostly atmosphere to the deserted streets.
Green Watch arrived not long after midnight and relieved White Watch so that they could go home and get some sleep. They'd brought a replacement battery pack for the robot and swapped them over, putting the existing pack on charge. They then continued to patrol the village, looking for any indications that the village had woken up.
The next morning, Pete and Jackie arrived early at Northumberland Place to do the school run, so that John and Rose could make their way to Canary Wharf together. The previous evening, John had been working in his workshop on an idea to get his sonic screwdriver into the "coma zone" so that he could scan the Abbey ruins.
By 08:00, Julia "Van" De Graff, Jake "The Peg" Simmonds, John "The Doc" Smith, and Camera Director David Rea, had arrived to take over from Green Watch, who had reported to Despatch that there was no change overnight. John was literally bouncing on his toes with impatience, keen to get started.
'Nothing to report. Oh, except for a Barn Owl that dropped out of the sky just over there when it flew into the "coma zone",' Tom "Flash" Gordon reported, pointing to the field on the other side of the drystone wall. 'We sent the robot through the gate to pick him up and bring him back out of the zone.'
'Was he all right?' Julia asked.
'Well. He shook his head, ruffled his feathers, and looked at us as though we owed him an explanation. Hissed at us when he realised he wasn't going to get one, and took off into the night. Away from the zone I might add. Quick learner that one,' Tom said with a deadpan delivery. The team laughed at his descriptions.
'Where's the robot now?' John asked.
'Parked in front of the MIV, ready to go,' Tom reported.
John reached into his pocket and took out his sonic screwdriver, and a bracket he'd worked on the previous evening. 'Molto bene. Right, off you go then. Enjoy your sleep.'
'Thanks guys. Don't get too bored. Oh, and if you want some entertainment, try throwing some treats over there when a local cat comes along,' Tom said.
'TOM!' You didn't?' Julia asked with alarm.
He gave her a "what's wrong with that?" kind of look, but couldn't hold it. His face broke into a grin. 'Nah. But trust me, by 4 o'clock in the morning, we'd considered it. Good night,' he said, and headed to the Range Rover with his field partner.
Jake was still chuckling as the Range Rover drove off. 'You should see him on an open mike night at the pub. He's Torchwood's answer to Jack Dee.'
John laughed in agreement and picked up the remote unit for the robot. He extended the arm and attached the sonic to the arm with the bracket. He drove the robot down the street past the Scythe and Stone, and on to the triangular Green with the five elms and white-railed pond. He drove past the war memorial and turned right into Hickham Lane towards the Abbey.
The drystone wall on the left had a wide gateway and a sign.
St Accius' Abbey
Established: 720 AD
Disestablished: 1493 AD
At the edge of the stone ruins, he used one of the robot's hands to set and activate his sonic screwdriver. He could see the holographic display projected above the sonic through the robot's camera. As he weaved slowly through the ancient archways and past the time ravaged walls, the display told him that something was messing with the temporal fabric of the local area.
'GOTCHA!' he exclaimed, which made Julia and Jake jump.
'Whatcha got Doc?' Jake asked.
John looked at him with a stunned expression. 'Ooh I like that. "Whatcha got Doc". Kind of rolls of the tongue . . . If you'd said "what's up Doc", you could have been Bug's Bunny.'
Julia rolled her eyes. 'John! What have you got?'
He paused in thought. 'No. That's not as good that one.' Julia glared at him. 'Eh? Oh. The sonic. It's detected a temporal anomaly.'
'And in English, that means . . ?' Jake asked.
'Something in the Abbey is hiding; a second out of sync with the rest of the universe.' He saw the blank expressions on their faces.
'Okay. Light reflects off the stones of the ruins and hits your retina so that you can see them. Right?'
'Yeah. We've got that,' Jake said.
'Now, imagine you put a large object in front of those stones. The light from the stones doesn't reach your retinas so you can't see them.'
'Obviously,' Julia agreed.
'But what if you shifted the object a second ahead of the stones behind it,' John asked. Jake and Julia shrugged. 'The stones, the light reflecting off them, and your retinas are all in sync. The objects atoms are a second out of sync, so the light from the stones go right through it.'
'So you don't see it,' Julia said.
'But it's not only light,' John continued. 'The atoms of your fingers would pass right through it as well, making it . . .'
'Completely undetectable,' Jake finished for him. 'Bloody hell!'
Julia had a wide eyed, open mouthed expression.
'Yeah. I know. Impressive isn't it,' John said with a smug grin.
'No,' Jake said, pointing past him. 'Over there.'
John turned to look where he was pointing. 'Bloody hell!'
['Rose. They're awake!'] John exclaimed in his wife's head.
['What?']
['The people in the village. They're awake!']
['Brilliant! Do you want backup?']
['That would be nice, yes. One of them looks as though he could do with a visit from Alice and her team,'] John replied, referring to Alice Dimaggio, the head of Psychology at Torchwood.
['Okay. I'll mobilise the troops, contact emergency services, and contact UNIT to get some boots on the ground.']
['Thanks Love. I'm going to be a bit busy here. See you later.']
['Yeah. See you later Love. Bye.']
Rose saw Angel "Wings" Coulthard, the alien agent who had a set of bat-like wings, approaching her office at speed. She stood and walked around her desk as Angel knocked and entered.
'Rose. I am sorry for the intrusion, but I thought you would want to know,' she said excitedly.
'Sorry to steal your thunder there Angel, but I know. They've woken up,' Rose said with a smile as she walked out of the office, heading for the Hub.
Angel looked puzzled. 'But there is no thunder forecast. Just cloud with intermittent showers.'
Rose gave a single laugh. Because Angel had learnt English so quickly, she'd forgotten that she still took some of the sayings literally.
'Sorry Angel. That saying means that someone says something that you were going to say before you can say it . . . If you see what I mean,' Rose said uncertainly.
'Ah. I understand,' Angel said.
Rose strode into the Despatch Office. 'Amy. Could you get me Colonel Erisa Magambo on the line please, and then contact Hampshire emergency services. They'll need ambulances and police at Dunwich.'
'Sure, Rose. The Colonel will be on line 5 when she answers,' Amy told her.
Rose put on a headset and heard the "burring" of the ring tone.
['Colonel Magambo,'] the cultured voice announced. ['Is that you Rose?']
'Yes Erisa. Just updating you as promised. Dunwich has woken up,' Rose told her.
['Oh, excellent. How did your team manage it?']
'Well, I'm not sure they did manage it. I haven't got any details yet, that'll have to wait for the debrief. But knowin' my husband, I wouldn't be surprised if he provoked a reaction some how.'
Erisa laughed politely. ['Ah yes. Doctor Smith's reputation is well known to us at UNIT. Well, however it was achieved, UNIT thanks you and your team for what you have done.']
'You're welcome Erisa. I hope on another occasion that we will be able to meet face to face,' Rose replied. She was curious to see if Erisa in "Pete's World" was the same woman she had met in "Donna's World" when Donna had the "time beetle thing" on her back.
['I look forward to it. Until then, I'll say goodbye.']
Erisa hung up and Rose removed the headset. She then tuned in to her husband. ['So how did you manage it then?']
['Me? I didn't do anything. They just woke up on their own . . . Wellll, I did find something hiding in a temporal pocket. Maybe I spooked them,'] John thought to her.
['The idea of using the sonic on the robot worked then.']
['Like a dream. But it could be that whoever it was, had finished what they were doing and left of their own accord. I'm just on my way to the Abbey to get my sonic and see if I can find anything else. After that, I'll call in at The Grange and see what they do there.']
['Okay Love. Be nice, cos I've just had a nice chat with Colonel Magambo and she's very appreciative of our efforts at Dunwich,'] Rose thought.
['Always nice to be appre . . . What d'you mean "be nice"? I'm always nice,'] John thought indignantly.
['If you say so,'] Rose replied teasingly. ['See ya later. Bye.']
After the initial surprise of seeing a young man staggering towards them looking disheveled and confused, the Torchwood team sprang into action. Jake ran towards the man, and Julia went to the MIV to grab the first aid kit. John followed Jake towards the villager, with David filming from behind.
'What . . ? What the hell is going on?' the man asked running his fingers through his disheveled hair and looking up at the sky. 'What time is it? It should be night time.'
['Rose. They're awake!'] John thought to Rose.
['What?'] Rose thought back.
Jake took out his scanner and monitored his vital signs. 'It's 9:27 on the morning of the 25th of September.'
['The people in the village. They're awake!'] John thought with a grin.
'9.27 . . ? Morning . . ? The 25th? Friday?' the man repeated as though it was impossible. 'It was twenty past ten at night. And it was Wednesday. How could I lose two days?'
['Brilliant! Do you want backup?']
['That would be nice, yes. One of them looks as though he could do with a visit from Alice and her team,'] John replied, looking at the man in front of him.
['Okay. I'll mobilise the troops, contact emergency services, and contact UNIT to get some boots on the ground.']
['Thanks Love. I'm going to be a bit busy here. See you later.']
['Yeah. See you later Love. Bye.']
John reached them and glanced at the display on Jake's scanner. 'We're not sure. What we do know is every animal within a mile radius has been in a coma. Have you got any injuries? Any aches or pains?'
'Er, no. I had pins and needles in my feet when I first stood up,' the man said.
'That would be from lying in the same position for nearly 36 hours,' John explained.
'That would explain why my joints are so stiff then.'
'Yep. Your core temperature is near normal though,' John said with a frown.
'Ah. That would be the central heating. We've got it on a timer,' the man told him.
'That's fortunate. Oh, John Smith by the way. This is Jake Simmonds, the guy with the camera is David Rea, and the lady approaching is Julia De Graff. We're from . . .'
'Torchwood,' the man interrupted. 'I recognise you from the program.'
'That's right. That's why David's here. He's filming for the show,' John said. 'Probably best if you ignore him for the moment.'
'Erm. Richard Haywood,' the man said, trying to shake hands with John, but not quite achieving it. 'Sorry. Fingers are numb.'
'Right. That'll improve with time. I'd offer to stimulate the nerve endings but a robot's got my sonic screwdriver. Which reminds me, I've got a date with an anomaly.' John turned to Jake and Julia.
'I'm going to the Abbey. Get Richard back to his house.' He turned to Richard. 'Is that first cottage yours?'
Richard nodded. 'Yes. But I'm fine. Honest. I want to help. My wife will look after the kids.'
John turned back to his colleagues. 'Okay. First volunteer then. Next, you need to find the elderly residents, and the residents that don't have central heating. They'll be the most vulnerable to hypothermia.'
Julia looked to Richard for advice. 'Do you know the villagers well?'
'Er, a few of them. We've not lived here long. Moved from London a few years ago,' he explained.
'Who would know then?' Jake asked.
'That would be the Zellabys at Kyle Manor,' Richard told him.
'Right. So, Richard. You go and round up anybody you know who is fit enough and start knocking on doors. Call it a neighbourhood watch,' John instructed before turning to Jake. 'Next. Jakey Boy, see if you can open up the Village Hall and get some tea on the go. Some of these people are going to need hot drinks inside them.'
'Ah, I can help you with that one,' Richard said. 'The Reverend Leebody at the Vicarage has the key to the Village Hall.'
'Off you go then Jake,' John said with a grin. 'Julia. You pop up to the Manor and find out who the most vulnerable are. We'll all meet up at the Village Hall when we're done.'
'Hang on.' Jake said. 'You don't even work in Special Operations anymore. You can't give out the orders.'
'Quite right,' John said. 'As the brains of the operation then, what do you suggest . . . Julia?'
Julia and David spurted a laugh. 'I think our scientific consultant's plan was well considered and practical. I say we go with that one.'
John grinned and winked at her. 'Allons-y,' he said, and ran off down the road towards the Abbey.
['So how did you manage it then?'] Rose thought in his head as he jogged along.
['Me? I didn't do anything. They just woke up on their own . . . Wellll, I did find something hiding in a temporal pocket. Maybe I spooked them,'] John thought back.
['The idea of using the sonic on the robot worked then.']
['Like a dream. But it could be that whoever it was, had finished what they were doing and left of their own accord. I'm just on my way to the Abbey to get my sonic and see if I can find anything else. After that, I'll call in at The Grange and see what they do there.']
['Okay Love. Be nice, cos I've just had a nice chat with Colonel Magambo and she's very appreciative of our efforts at Dunwich.']
['Always nice to be appre . . . What d'you mean "be nice"? I'm always nice,'] John thought indignantly.
['If you say so,'] Rose replied teasingly. ['See ya later. Bye.']
When he arrived at the ruins, he found the robot and patted it on its "head" where the cameras were housed. He removed his sonic screwdriver from the bracket, kissed it, and started scanning the ground.
'Damn!' John exclaimed as he turned in circles with the sonic held out at arm's length. Whatever had been there had gone, and left no residue, no traces.