Guys!
There's going to be a trailer for series 11 tomorrow! I'm so excited!
And did you see the pictures of David Tennant as the Doctor at the Muppets take over the o2? Because wow. 1) he looks really good, but of course he does, he's David Tennant. And 2) I didn't realize how much I missed seeing him as the Doctor. It made me kinda emotional.
Anyway, exciting weekend for us Whovians. I'm super excited for the trailer. I have a good feeling about this season.
So, here's the next chapter of The Forest-Eyed Girl. Today we start The Unquiet Dead. I hope you guys enjoy it and I won't keep you any longer.
Happy reading!
Chapter 12
The Unquiet Dead part 1
"One of you, hold that one down!" the Doctor shouted, pointing to a large button on the console.
The girls both gave him incredulous looks. They were both already holding other buttons down and the new one he pointed to was out of reach. "I'm holding this one down!" Rose argued.
"And I'm holding this one down!" June yelled over the noise of the TARDIS's wheezing.
"Well, hold them all down!" the Doctor ordered. "June you're closer!"
June shot him a glare from across the console. She reached for the button, but it fell too far away. "I can't reach it!" she yelled.
"It's not going to work!" Rose shouted.
"Oi!" the Doctor exclaimed. "I promised you a time machine and that's what you're getting! Now hold down the button!"
The button was too far away for June to reach with her arm, so she went for the next best thing. She swung her leg over the console and slammed the heel of her sneaker onto the button. The TARDIS lurched, but June managed to keep her position stable.
"Get your leg off of the console!" the Doctor yelled at her.
"I'm holding the button down, damn it!" she snapped. "Now, hurry up! I can't stay like this forever! Where are we going anyway?"
"Well, we went to the future, so now let's have a look at the past," the Doctor said. "1860! How does 1860 sound?"
"Victorian era?" June asked.
"Yep!" he confirmed.
"What happened in 1860?" Rose asked.
"I don't know, let's find out. Hold on, here we go!" The Doctor pulled a lever on the console and they were sent hurtling through the time vortex.
~*O*~
They had all ended up sprawled out on the floor after the rough landing. The Doctor and Rose were laughing. June spared the two a glance and smiled before shakily standing up. She ran a hand through her hair, pushing the stray strands out of her face.
"Blimey!" Rose exclaimed. June held a hand and helped her off of the floor.
"You're telling me," the Doctor said, grinning. "Are you two alright?"
June gave him a thumbs up. "I'm good." She turned to look at the scanner with the Doctor. She didn't know why she bothered. She couldn't understand the gibberish on the screen.
"Yeah, I think so," Rose answered. "Nothing broken." She tried to glance at the scanner as well. "Did we make it?" she asked. "Where are we?"
"I did it!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Give the man a medal. Earth, Naples, December 24th, 1860." He crossed his arms and beamed proudly down at the two girls.
"That's so weird," Rose laughed. "It's Christmas."
The Doctor gestured to the TARDIS doors. "All yours."
"But, it's like, think about it, though," Rose said, her voice growing serious. "Christmas. 1860. Happens once, just once and it's gone, it's finished it'll never happen again." The Doctor shrugged. "Except for you," Rose continued. You can go back and see days that are dead and gone a hundred thousand sunsets ago. No wonder you never stay still."
"Not a bad life," the Doctor said.
"Better with three," Rose smiled.
June laughed and smiled along with her two friends. Yeah, it was truly something spectacular.
"Come on, then," Rose said. She grabbed June's arm and pulled her along as she rushed to the TARDIS doors.
"Hey, where do you two think you're going?" the Doctor shouted after them.
Rose stopped, June stuttering to a halt beside her. "1860," Rose said to the Doctor.
"Go out there dressed like that, you two'll start a riot, Barbarellas," the Doctor said. June sighed. She was destined for another trip to the mess of the TARDIS wardrobe. "There's a wardrobe through there." He pointed across at the hallway. "First left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins, fifth door on your left. June knows the way. Hurry up!"
~*O*~
The TARDIS wardrobe was completely cluttered. The room was large and multiple floors tall. Nothing was organized and things were shoved into corners and against the walls. There were large denim jackets next to togas and tight suits next to American frontier style dresses. Rose's jaw had dropped and she stared around, wide eyed.
June immediately headed into the room, braving the racks of clothing. The sooner they went in the sooner they would find their outfits and get out. June didn't know how long she would be in the mess. She had been lost for almost an hour the first time she had stepped into the room. "Hurry up," June called to Rose. "Everything's just thrown around. The only way to find anything is to just search for it."
"You're joking, right?" Rose called back, eyeing the brunette across the room as she examined a long dress.
"Nope," June said. She smiled at Rose. "Good luck. Don't get lost."
June had soon enough lost Rose in the wardrobe. However, she did manage to put together an outfit she thought would be time period appropriate. She struggled to hold the mountain of clothing in her arms as she went to stand in the middle of the wardrobe. She called out a general message to Rose, telling her that she would be changing in her room, but she got no reply and wasn't sure if she had even heard her. But June quickly scrambled off to her bedroom to change anyway.
The dress was a dark blue. It had a tall turtle neck, a tight bodice, and a brooch where the neck turned into the bodice. The sleeves ruffled around her wrists and fitted tightly around her arms. The skirt jutted out in every direction and June felt like it was so poufy it could just swallow her whole. She stood on a pair of black Victorian style boots with a small heel to them. She had taken a pair of black gloves to cover the bandages from her burns. She buttoned up a black Victorian jacket with bronze facets over her dress so she wouldn't be cold. She tied her bushy hair into a low ponytail, letting a few strands fall out and frame her face. A black ribbon was tied around the rubber band so no one would see it. She almost felt like she was playing dress up.
June checked her appearance one more time in the mirror inside her closet door. She nodded to herself. She didn't look like a stunning Victorian woman, but it would do. She stiffly walked out of the room, already missing her tee-shirts and jeans.
~*O*~
The Doctor had opened up a hole in the floor while waiting for the girls. And that's where June found him when she walked into the console room. He was tinkering with the TARDIS, standing in a hole in the floor. Rose hadn't made it back to the console room and June wondered if the girl was lost in the wardrobe and if she should go back and help her.
"Blimey!" June was snapped out of her thoughts. The Doctor had left his tinkering alone and was now gaping at her. Maybe not at her… something behind her?
June looked over her shoulder, but there was nothing. She looked back at him, frowning. He still stared at her. "What?" she asked.
"You look beautiful," he said. June furrowed her eyebrows at him as he just smiled at her.
June knew to just accept the compliment. Instead, she smiled, let out a breathy laugh, and looked away. She stared down at the console, biting her lip and laughing through her nose.
"Considering," the Doctor added after a moment.
June looked back at him and frowned. "Considering?" she asked. "Considering what?"
"That you're human," he said.
"You know," June said, "I was going to accept your compliment, but now I don't feel inclined to."
"If you were going to accept my compliment, then why didn't you?" he asked.
"I—" she faltered, "—because I just didn't in that short amount of time between you saying it and then adding 'considering'."
"Hm," he hummed and nodded, unconvinced. "Alright." He went and buzzed a wire under the console with his sonic screwdriver.
June rolled her eyes and let out a small sigh. "Thank you, though."
"You're welcome."
"Alright I'm here!" Rose called, running into the console room. "What do you think?" She spun around, showing off the black and red dress she had found. Her hair was pinned up with some flowers and she wore a black cape over her shoulders.
June nodded. "Pretty good." She gave the girl a thumbs up.
"You look fantastic," the Doctor told her, smiling.
"Thank you," Rose shrugged, a confident smile on her face. She took a moment to look down at the Doctor and furrow her eyebrows. "Aren't you going to change?"
"I've changed my jumper," he said. "Come on."
Rose stopped him from hopping out of the hole in the floor. "You stay there," she ordered. "You've done this before. And so have you." She pointed at June. "This is mine." She rushed to the TARDIS doors.
~*O*~
Rose hesitated in the doorway for a moment and then stepped out of the TARDIS, the doors closing behind her. June smiled after her and turned to pick up the backpack she had left on the console room's seat. She held the two straps like they were purse straps and let the bag hang by her leg.
"Are you coming?" the Doctor asked, looking back at her as he stood by the door.
"Yup." June ran across the console room. She pulled the door open and exchanged smiles with the Doctor before she stepped out.
She grinned wildly and stepped out of the TARDIS. The ground crunched underneath her feet. They were parked at the end of a side street—a side street which was covered in snow. June's breath caught in her throat and she marveled at the snowflakes falling from the cloudy night sky. It was only her second time seeing snow.
June's nose and cheeks were already red and numb from the biting wind. Her body shivered violently in the cold, her teeth chattering loud enough to grab attention. She didn't mind. She looked back at the Doctor. "It's snow," she laughed, her grin growing wider.
"Yeah," he said with an amused smile, nodding his head. "That's what you get when go someplace cold on Christmas." The Doctor looked over at Rose, who hadn't pulled her eyes off of their surroundings. "Ready for this?" he asked.
Rose turned away from the sights for the first time since leaving the TARDIS. She nodded silently. It was as if the shock had taken her words away. She smiled and nodded.
The Doctor grinned at the two girls. "Here we go," he said. "History."
Rose walked quickly ahead of the Doctor and June. Watching her reminded June of a kid at a theme park. A kid who ran ahead, trying to see everything possible, while still trying to keep their family in sight.
The Doctor held his arm out for June. She linked her arm through his and they happily followed after Rose through the streets of Victorian Naples. The old buildings decorated with subtle Christmas decorations and the people in fancy dress casually walking down the street reminded June of a Christmas card.
The Doctor glanced down at June. He couldn't help but feel slightly worried at how much June was shivering and at the loud chattering of her teeth. They hadn't gone to many cold places during their travels—June didn't like the cold as much as she liked the snow—so her body hadn't gotten used to freezing weather. She was constantly shaking and chattering. He didn't exactly want her getting injured from any more extreme temperatures.
They walked until they stumbled upon a street that was full of activity. Horse drawn carriages were rolling down the street. People were running around and walking with their families. A choir was singing Christmas songs. And everyone was fighting the biting cold winds around them.
Rose looked over at June to see if she was just as stunned as she was. The woman had a black glove adorned hand covering her nose and mouth. But June grinned at her, the delight shining in her forest-green eyes.
The Doctor moved away for a moment to buy a newspaper from a man standing on a street corner. He had trouble reading it in the wind. "I got the flight a bit wrong," he said after a moment. June laughed through her shivering. The Doctor sent her a small glare.
"I don't care," Rose said, grinning.
"It's not 1860, it's 1869," he said.
"I don't care," Rose said again.
"Oh no," June said through chattering, her voice dull with sarcasm, "you've screwed up the whole trip." He glared at her again, though he was just a bit amused by her sarcasm. June shrugged and gave him a lopsided smile.
"And it's not Naples," the Doctor said.
"I don't care." Rose was still grinning.
"Where are we then?" June asked.
"Cardiff," the Doctor told her. June nodded. She had never heard of Cardiff.
Rose stopped in her tracks. June looked over her shoulder at the girl, confused. She wondered if there was anything wrong with Cardiff. Rose muttered something to herself and then ran to catch up with them again.
They walked down another street, a perfectly peaceful Christmas street. Well, peaceful until the screaming started. The shouts came from the other end of the street. The Doctor grinned. "That's more like it!" he exclaimed. He grabbed June's hand and ran towards the trouble, throwing the newspaper over his shoulder.
People poured out of a large building, rushing down the steps and out into the street. June was shoved and hit several times while running against the crowd with the Doctor and Rose. They pushed past frantic people and shoved their way into a theatre. There was a small wooden stage and several rows of red seats. An older man stood on the stage, completely shocked, but not running. The only remaining audience member was an old woman with glassy eyes and blue wisps soaring from her wide-open mouth.
June trained her eyes on the wisps, following the swirling shapes. They formed into a bigger figure and whipped around the theatre, scaring people and making them run, causing chaos. June gasped and her grin grew much wider than it had been before. It was a ghost.
"Fantastic," the Doctor gasped from next to her. June tugged on his arm and they smiled at each other. He ran towards the stage and June followed closely behind.
People were still fleeing around them. The Doctor and June stopped by the stage. The Doctor looked up at the older man and asked, "Did you see where it came from?"
"Ah, the wag reveals himself, does he?" the man grumbled, clearly not pleased at his performance being interrupted by ghosts. "I trust you're satisfied, sir!" he yelled. The Doctor looked offended and June laughed. She couldn't be sure how the man could think it was a prank or a joke. They didn't have the technology or the tricks to make an effect similar to the very real ghost flying around the room back in the Victorian era.
"Oi! Leave her alone!" Rose shouted, her voice one of the loudest things in the room. Two people had grabbed the old, now unconscious, woman and were dragging her away. "Doctor, I'll get them!" she shouted. She started towards the strangers.
"Be careful!" the Doctor yelled back. He hopped up onto the stage and then turned and helped pull June onto the stage. June silently cursed how restrictive her skirt was.
The Doctor went over to the man. "Did it say anything?" he asked. "Can it speak? I'm the Doctor, by the way. And she's June." June looked at the man and smiled slightly upon hearing her name. But she quickly looked back at the ghost. She didn't want to take her eyes off of it.
"Doctor?" the man asked. "You look more like a navvie."
"What's wrong with this jumper?" the Doctor asked.
June grinned and ran over to him. "Doctor," she beamed, tugging on his jacket sleeve. He looked down at her. "Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize." She laughed and beamed excitedly.
"Oh, I knew it was only a matter of time before you said that," the Doctor grumbled. He watched her pure enthusiasm at the sight of what she assumed was a ghost and couldn't help but wonder why she was so excited about it.
Ghosts—one of the greatest mysteries on Earth. So many people, including herself, believed that they were real and yet, there was never enough proof. She knew it wasn't very logical to believe in them, but ghosts were cool. They helped explain unexplainable events and were the basis of stories that sent shivers down her back. As June stood in that theatre, it seemed that ghosts were pretty real, and it excited her extremely.
The blue ghost scared more people and soared through the theatre. And then it disappeared into a lamp. The only evidence of ghosts June had ever seen was gone. She frowned.
"Gas!" the Doctor exclaimed. "It's made of gas."
~*O*~
June and the Doctor left the theatre. The man from the stage followed them out, intent on speaking with them. They stepped out into the cold air just in time to see the blonde of Rose's hair as she was shoved into the back of a hearse. A black-haired woman shut the door of the hearse and took a seat next to an old man.
The Doctor yelled after them. "Rose!" They ran after the hearse as it trotted down the street, but they weren't fast enough to catch it.
"You're not escaping me, sir," the man from the theater called, racing after them. The Doctor and June gaped in the hearse's direction as it got further and further away. Neither of them paid attention to the man. "What do you know about that hobgoblin, hmm? Projection on glass, I suppose. Who put you up to it?"
June turned to the Doctor. "We're not going to just stand here, right?" June asked. "We have to go after her!"
The Doctor grinned at her. "Of course we are," he said.
"Well?" the man asked, demanding answers.
"Yeah, mate. Not now, thanks," the Doctor said, brushing him aside. "Oi, you!" he pointed at a driver of a carriage and began to run towards him. June wasn't far behind him. "Follow that hearse!"
The Doctor pulled the carriage door open and hopped inside, pulling June along after him. June had a sort of messy grin on her face. "We're hijacking a carriage," she whispered to him.
"I can't do that, sir!" the driver called down to them.
"Why not?" the Doctor asked. Then he looked at June. "Yeah, we are."
"I'll tell you why not," the man snapped, appearing at the carriage door. "I'll give you a very good reason why not. Because this is my coach!"
"Well, get in, then!" the Doctor said. He reached over June, grabbed the man, and forcibly pulled him into the carriage. June sat, squished between the two men, feeling very awkward as the stranger sat way too close to her. The carriage was obviously only met for one or two passengers. "Move!" the Doctor yelled.
There was a loud crack and then the carriage lurched forward, jumping and hobbling down the street. "Come on, you're losing them!" the Doctor yelled to the driver.
"Everything in order, Mister Dickens?" the driver asked.
"No!" Dickens shouted. "It is not!"
"What did he say?" the Doctor asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"Let me say this first," Dickens started.
"Dickens," June told the Doctor. "He called him Dickens." And the Doctor gaped at her. She frowned at his shock.
Dickens continued, "I'm not without a sense of humor."
"Dickens?" the Doctor asked.
"Yes," Dickens said.
"Charles Dickens?" the Doctor asked.
"Yes," Charles Dickens said. June gaped at the man, suddenly aware that the strange arm that was squished against hers belonged to one of the most famous authors of all time.
"The Charles Dickens?" the Doctor asked. June laughed excitedly.
"Should I remove the gentleman and the lady, sir?" the driver asked.
"Charles Dickens? You're brilliant, you are!" the Doctor exclaimed. He grinned wildly and began to ramble on in excitement. "Completely one hundred percent brilliant. I've read them all. Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, and what's the other one, the one with the ghost?"
"A Christmas Carol?" Dickens asked.
"No, no, no, the one with the trains," the Doctor said. He glanced at June. June shook her head and shrugged. She might've known who Charles Dickens was, but she had only ever seen various adaptations of A Christmas Carol. It made her feel slightly embarrassed. She was sitting next to the man, she should probably know more than just A Christmas Carol. "The Signal Man, that's it!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Terrifying! The best short story ever written. You're a genius."
"You want me to get rid of them, sir?" the driver asked.
Charles Dickens looked quite pleased with the Doctor's praises. "Er, no, I think they can stay."
"Honestly, Charles," the Doctor said as he repositioned himself in his seat so he could look at the author better. "Can I call you Charles? I'm such a big fan."
"A what?" Dickens asked. "A big what?"
"Fan," the Doctor repeated. "Number one fan, that's me." He beamed at the man. "She's a fan too, just not as much as me."
It took June a moment to remember that he was talking about her. Charles Dickens glanced down at her with confusion, though she wasn't sure over what. June smiled at him and nervously gave a thumbs up. "Yup," she said.
"How exactly are you a fan?" Dickens asked. "In what way do you resemble a means of keeping oneself cool?"
June began to crack up. She clapped a hand over her mouth and leaned over, closing herself up more so that Charles Dickens wouldn't think she was just some weird randomly laughing girl. She couldn't help herself. He had been so sincere and genuinely confused.
"No, it means fanatic, devoted to," the Doctor corrected. "Mind you, I've got to say, that American bit in Martin Chuzzlewit, what's that about? Was that just padding or what? I mean, it's rubbish, that bit."
"I thought you said you were my fan," Dickens said.
"Ah, well, if you can't take criticism," the Doctor said. June's giggling had stopped as she swallowed a smile. "Done laughing?" he asked, a small amused smile on his face.
"For now," June said. "Just imagine yourself as a ceiling fan." She laughed again. "You could be more useful that way."
"Oi! Watch it," he lightly scolded. He couldn't hide the small smile he wore, though. June snickered. "Go on, Charles," the Doctor said, redirecting his attention again, "do the death of Little Neil, it cracks me up. No, sorry, forget about that. Come on, faster!" the Doctor shouted at the driver. And the carriage only seemed to rattle more, which June assumed meant that they were going faster.
"Who exactly is in that hearse?" Dickens asked.
"Our friend," the Doctor told him.
"Rose," June interjected.
"She's only nineteen," the Doctor continued. "It's my fault." June frowned. "She's in my care, and now she's in danger."
June hit his arm lightly and caught his attention. "It's not your fault," she told him. "Honestly, I wish you'd stop saying things like that. It clearly wasn't your fault. You didn't send her out to get kidnapped or anything. Stop taking the blame."
"June…" he started softly, but he was interrupted.
"Kidnapped?" Dickens asked.
June turned and nodded. "Yeah. The people driving that hearse just kidnapped her. I dunno what they did to her." Because she knew that Rose wouldn't have gone down easily.
"What are we wasting my time talking about dry old books?" Dickens asked. "This is much more important. Driver, be swift! The chase is on!"
"Yes, sir!" the driver said.
June laughed. "Hell, yeah."
"Attaboy, Charlie," the Doctor beamed.
"Nobody calls me Carlie," Dickens said.
"The ladies do," the Doctor said. June snickered a bit.
"How do you know that?" Dickens asked.
"I told you, I'm your number one—"
"Number one fan," Dickens droned, looking out of the window.
June and the Doctor grinned at each other, both of them in small fits of laughter. "Charles Dickens," June mouthed to him through a large grin.
"I know," he mouthed back silently. "Fantastic!"
~*O*~
Charles Dickens knocked on the undertaker's door. June stood back with the Doctor. She was shivering in the cold. She noticed the Doctor's concerned look so she smiled at him through chattering teeth. He seemed unconvinced.
The front door swung open and the same black-haired girl who shoved Rose into the hearse stood in the doorway. June immediately tensed up. "I'm sorry, sir. We're closed," the girl said. She sounded soft, nervous even. It made June stop and frown. She didn't seem like the type to be shoving people into hearses.
"Nonsense. Since when did an Undertaker keep office hours? The dead don't die on schedule," Dickens snapped at her. "I demand to see your master."
"He's not in, sir." The girl tried closing the door.
June audibly coughed. And mixed in with her cough was, "Bullshit."
Dickens slammed his hand against the door and forced it open again. "Don't lie to me, child!" Dickens yelled, effectively stunning the girl. "Summon him at once."
June felt something prod into her arm. She glanced to the side. The Doctor had elbowed her. She expected something important, but he simply said, "Language." June gaped at him.
"I'm awfully sorry, Mister Dickens, but the master's indisposed," the girl insisted.
"Having trouble with your gas?" the Doctor asked. A large, madly flickering flame sat in a gas lamp on the wall inside. June assumed that something about the flame wasn't normal.
"What the Shakespeare is going on?" Dickens wondered.
"Don't we still have to find Rose?" June asked.
The Doctor ran inside the house, right past the girl in the doorway. June followed, giving the girl a cold glare as she passed. The girl seemed to visibly shrink. June felt a pang of guilt in her stomach.
The Doctor had his ear pressed against the wall, listening for something.
"You're not allowed inside, sir, ma'am," the girl said.
"There's something inside the walls," the Doctor said. "The gas pipes. Something's living inside the gas."
"Ghosts," June said with a smile. "Some grim grinning ghosts are living inside the gas."
"Stop," the Doctor said, frowning at her. June just smiled happily at him.
"Let me out! Open the door!" the faint voice of Rose Tyler screamed.
"Rose!" June exclaimed, she already started down the nearest hallway.
"That's her," the Doctor said.
The Doctor caught up to her and the two of them ran towards Rose's shouts. They passed an old man along the way—June assumed the master of the house. He yelled something at them, but neither of them cared. They further they went, the louder Rose's cries were and the closer she was.
They stopped at the end of a hallway where Rose's voice was the clearest. The Doctor stopped in front of a door and glanced at June out of the corner of his eye. He said, "Watch this." The Doctor kicked the door in. June nodded in approval.
Inside the room, Rose struggled against two corpses which tightly held her. June felt slightly sick at the sight of the dead bodies. The Doctor walked into the room and yanked one of the corpses' hands away from Rose and pulled her away. "I think this is my dance," he said.
Rose rushed to the doorway and stood with June. "You okay?" June asked.
Rose nodded. "Better now." They smiled at each other.
"It's a prank," Dickens said from behind them. "It must be. We're under some mesmeric influence."
"No, we're not," the Doctor insisted. "The dead are walking."
June looked over the two corpses and frowned. "They're not exactly happy haunts, are they?"
"Stop with the Haunted Mansion jokes," the Doctor said, frowning at her.
June frowned right back. "Make me," she spat.
The Doctor decidedly ignored the comment. He looked down at Rose and smiled at her. "Hi," he said.
"Hi," Rose smiled back. "Who's your friend?"
"Charles Dickens," June and the Doctor chorused. Then they both exchanged annoyed looks.
"Okay." Rose nodded faintly.
"My name's the Doctor," the Doctor said. "Who are you, then?" What do you want?"
The young man's corpse opened his mouth and replied in a chorus of different voices. "Failing. Open the rift. We're dying. Trapped in this form. Cannot sustain. Help us." A strangled cry followed and the two corpses opened their mouths. The blue gas—ghosts—left their bodies and flew into a gas lamp. The corpses collapsed onto the floor and the room went silent.
Tell me what you guys thought of the chapter!
I have no clue when I'm updating next, but I'm aiming for next week.
Reviews, follows, and favorites are very much appreciated.
Until next time,
~ C.C.