When Rose looked around a while later, she was relieved to find herself in her room, with several blankets around her and her Snoopy stuffed animal by her side instead of that dreadful Little Franny doll. There was a mug of hot cocoa beside her lamp, and because of both a sudden thirst and how chilly the room felt, she took a sip of it, placing her hands around the mug for a long time in an attempt to feel warm again.
The door opened up a crack, and Rose heard her mummy's voice crying out, "Rose, you've woken up!" She then placed her arms tightly around her daughter, saying "Oh, thank God, baby! I almost thought I'd lost you. For a moment, Truman and Susan thought you were incapable of breathing, and you could only imagine how worried I was."
"It's okay, Mummy. I was just having a vision," Rose said softly.
"According to Susan, it was something stronger than a vision," Jackie explained. "You were supposedly dragged off to a part of the hotel which only a limited number of people are capable of seeing. I didn't understand everything she was telling me, but from what I know, you're very lucky to have come out of it when you did. She was expecting you to remain in that state for nearly half the day, if you could awaken at all."
Stronger than a vision? Rose thought. Had Susan been able to detect how she'd been in contact with the hotel's ghosts, including Therese and Louise Purdue? Had she only been glowing in the vision, or had Susan, Mr. Truman, and her mummy been able to see it as well?
"Are you feeling okay, love?" Jackie asked, now placing her palm around Rose's forehead. "You're showing no signs of fever so far, as Susan said might occur once you woke up, but is anything else bothering you? Are you experiencing any pain or feeling awfully tired?"
"No, Mummy; I really think I'm okay," Rose said, being completely honest about how she couldn't feel anything wrong. If anything, she felt a little too relaxed, as if reaching a high degree of power had eased all possible weakness she could have experienced. But she still had to know whether they'd seen her glowing, and so she asked, "Mummy, can you tell me something?"
"Of course, sweetie. What is it?" Jackie said gently.
"When I was out of it, did I look any different at certain times?" Rose asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, did I ever look as if I changed color? Because around the end of my vision, I started glowing as brightly as the sun, and I felt like I'd suddenly become very powerful," Rose explained.
Jackie frowned out of confusion. "No, love," she answered. "Not once did any of us see you changing color. As a matter of fact, since the three of us left around the time your vision was ending, there's no way we could possibly have been aware of what was happening to you as you were gaining consciousness again."
Tilting her eyes around the room, however, Jackie then noticed that something was different: much of the older toys and items which had been placed in their room upon their arrival, including Little Franny, had been suddenly thrashed all over the place. Several pieces of jewelry which had been placed in a gold-trimmed box in a drawer, were now scattered throughout the floor, with many of the necklaces being torn, a diamond ring being shattered into pieces, and beads from bracelets rolling around the carpet in all directions. Several dresses which had clearly been in the wardrobe before were now thrown in a pile next to Jackie's bed, with one beautiful pink one which Jackie had been planning to have Rose wear for the Christmas party now being covered with what looked like black ink. And then there was Little Franny herself, who had now lost both of her disfiguring eyes and had the skirt of her Victorian gown ripped through the middle, showing off her old-fashioned undergarments.
"Oh, no!" Jackie exclaimed after seeing the full extent of the mess which had formed during her absence. "Something strange certainly did go on with your vision when we left you behind, Rose, because I've been keeping this nice little room as neat as a castle ever since we've gotten here."
"So it wasn't just part of the vision; I really did become more powerful," Rose said, not knowing whether she should be feeling excited about this or scared. Of course, it could have just been her telekinesis at work again, but for some reason, Rose felt that something stronger than this was what had caused the mess in her room. Therese and Louise wouldn't have been so insistent that her powers could possibly help the hotel's ghosts if they'd been referring to her telekinesis.
"Jackie, is everything all right in there?" It was Susan, who came in carrying a hot towel, a mug, a first aid kit and a bowl containing something warm and steaming all the same time. Rose wondered how anyone, even a Time Lady, could be strong enough to walk around carry that much stuff without showing even a hint of losing their balance, and figured that perhaps it was this same strength that had allowed John Smith to remain confined to her mind without too much issues. And so, when Susan got close enough to her, Rose smiled and said, "How are you doing, Susan?"
For a moment, Susan looked startled, and came really close to dropping the hot towel which she had slung around her shoulder. Then, she chuckled and said, "Well, here I am carrying around all these remedies for nothing. I thought you would still be sleeping and heavily sweating when I walked in here, and it turns out that you're in better shape than the rest of us!"
"I was as surprised as you are, Susan," Jackie said with a nod.
Rose frowned out of curiosity, wondering why it was that her mummy was getting on so well with Susan when the last time something like this had happened to her, she'd slapped Harry Sullivan and refused to trust him for a while. Had her mother already gone through her usual fit of temper, or had her fear this time been so strong that she'd been left incapable of blaming anyone? Or could it be that she'd saved all her anger for Truman, who'd already done enough to trouble both her and Rose?
Oh, your mummy was certainly furious with Susan for a moment, Rose, John Smith answered with a laugh. She not only threatened to have her arrested for her intrusion into the hotel, but also got her aquinted with what has to be the fiercest slap I've ever seen in any creature across the galaxy! As for Truman, I think she was even tougher with him, slapping him about three times and calling him every obscenity in the book on account of what he'd done to her precious baby girl. But of course, fear makes allies out of even the most sworn of enemies, and they were soon working together to keep you well despite all the distrust between the three of them.
Grandfather? Rose heard the excited voice of Susan calling out happily. Grandfather, is that really you?
John Smith laughed once again. Of course it's me, Susan. What did you think I was, a zygon or auton- version of your dear old grandfather?
Susan chuckled out loud, provoking a curious glance from Jackie and a smile from Rose. I think nothing pleases me more than the fact that this version of you has such a better sense of humor than back when you were a young man with an old face.
Oh, please, Susan. I was always a funny man at heart, and you know that better than anyone, John Smith responded stubbornly.
Well, either way, nothing pleases me more than to see that you're still in good shape after all these years, even if you have been confined to the mind of a six-year-old for quite a long time, Susan responded cheerfully.
Rose isn't just any six-year-old girl, though. Yes, she can be incredibly annoying and stubborn at times, taking on a little too much of her mother's traits, but she has levels of intelligence and loyalty which would astonish anyone in the galaxy. And of course, with my very first trusted sidekick by my side once again, I don't believe I could have it any better than this.
Did you mean to say your first trusted sidekick or psychic, John Smith? Rose asked, a little ashamed of having interrupted the happy family reunion, but still feeling as if she had to understand certain things well enough.
However, instead of being bothered by this, John Smith just laughed once again. I guess it can be both, if you want to put it that way, Rose. After all, Susan did demonstrate psychic abilities by both her dreams of Sarah Jane Smith, another future psychic sidekick, as well as during her nasty encounter with the Sensorites.
Susan had dreams about Sarah Jane Smith? Why was that? Rose asked.
That's something I still haven't been able to figure out. I've always thought it was because Sarah Jane Smith would be the next psychic whom I'd be traveling with, and that Susan had been able to form a connection of the mind with her on account of the time vortex bringing the two of them together in ways which I have no way of understanding. However, I've never been able to find out anything to help me come up with any different conclusions. Have you been able to by any chance, Susan?
No, Grandfather. All I can think of is that we were two lonely, frightened girls with abilities beyond our comprehension who would come across the good fortune of having you as a teacher, Susan answered, sounding disappointed upon not being able to come up with anything better than her grandfather could.
Perhaps later on I could have you and Sarah Jane meet up and see if we could work it out with the two of you together, but right now, our main priority is Rose, John Smith said. Seeing from the state this room's in, we owe her the best explanation we can.
The state of this room? Grandfather, what do you...? But upon taking a quick glance at the place, Susan was struck by how messy it all was, with the scattering of all the clothes, jewelry, and toys around every corner. What exactly could have happened while she'd been gone? Was the vision so powerful that it had provoked Rose's telekinesis even as she'd been unconscious?
Rose, I suggest we start by you telling us as much about this vision as you can remember, John Smith told Rose.
Okay, Rose answered reluctantly. I was in the ballroom of Northern Horizons, but the year was completely different, since it was New Year's Eve of 1924. Everyone who was at the party at that time and had died was there, and they were all acting as if they'd been stuck in that same day for a long time, thinking that I was just another guest. One of the ladies then put me in a room where Therese and Louise Perdue, the two twins who were killed by their dad in 1980, had been staying for twelve years now. They explained a lot of the situation to me, including how the words "dab flow", which were seen when Peggy died, had also been found when many of the party guests and hotel workers died years later. It turned out that "dab flow" is "bad wolf" spelled backwards, and that's supposed to be how they call the person that's supposed to save all the ghosts trapped in the hotel. At the end of my vision, I appeared at the exact moment when Therese and Louise were going to be killed by their dad, and I started glowing like the sun. But the twins kept trying to stop me from doing that, saying that I had to save them in some other way, and that's when I woke up.
The glowing. That must have been what caused this all to happen, Grandfather, Susan said seriously. But what could that mean? Was the glowing itself supposed to save the girl's lives, or was it supposed to represent Rose's telekinetic abilities at work?
Susan, I believe that it represents something stronger than telekinesis. The way I see it, it's supposed to be a power Rose has which has remained dormant throughout most of her life, left incapable of manifesting itself until the time was right. Because Rose was able to come in close contact with ghosts for the first time in her life, this power was finally able to let itself loose, perhaps permitting her to get the chance to either bring people back to life or to make significant changes to a particular point in time.
And yet she didn't get the chance to do anything with it, Susan said.
Not yet, my dear Susan, John Smith insisted. But she may get another opportunity to do so in the near future. For all we know, this power had been slowly awakening ever since she'd first set foot in Northern Horizons, or perhaps even before then, probably starting when Michael Truman's girlfriend's cousin had died in that car accident which Jackie had been involved in.
The one which I saved her from.
Yes. I feel as if that was the first event which led up to this point. Although one person connected to the cycle had died, another had been saved, which upset the entity looking to feed itself off from these series of deaths. As a result, it haunted those who survived, resulting in the burning of Rolling Meadows Nursery School and the later death of Hannah Lewis. However, it has not succeeded in claiming either the lives of Jackie or Rose yet. While that may just seem like mere luck, I believe that in addition to my presence in Rose's mind, this dormant power has also been keeping Rose safe this whole time. It had to, since the entire reason behind this power's awakening was to save those same people who've been trapped by the entity that caused this series of haunting events to happen in the first place.
Are you trying to suggest that this entity is somehow both enabling and preventing Rose from fulfilling this destiny of hers? Susan asked.
Exactly, my dear. Many of the most dangerous of adversaries end up doing this, sometimes by accident, and other times to give their target a false sense of hope, making them believe that they've found a way of putting a stop to their misery once and for all, only to have them face an even greater defeat which they often bring upon themselves. It gives the adversary a lot less work to do if it choses to go towards that path.
But could leaving the hotel be an option at this point? Would that put a stop to this cycle?
I think that would actually make things worse. That young woman who died in the car accident tried to stay away from the hotel as well, and look at what happened to her. I don't want to make things any harder for Rose and Jackie by insisting that leaving Northern Horizons will do them any good.
At that moment, Truman walked in, and upon noticing the heavy look of concentration on both Susan and Rose on what appeared to be nothing in particular, he asked Jackie, "What are those two doing?"
Jackie shrugged. "As far as I know, it's some form of psychic communication."
"Certainly something only an alien and a psychic girl are able to do," Truman responded with a smile. "Was Susan the one who woke Rose up, by the way?"
"No; she awoke shortly before I got back here," Jackie answered.
"And was she also responsible for the big mess in this room?" Truman asked scowling, since he despised seeing any part of the hotel in such disarray, "Or did you somehow cause it while you were in such a panicked state?"
"There was no way I could have done this, Truman; I would have had to have gone bonkers if I was to suddenly thrash the whole room," Jackie responded, sounding as if she'd been accused of a major crime.
"No need to get worked up, Jackie. I just can't stand to see things being so out of order," Truman said, shaking his head and still frowning as he kept scanning through the place.
Meanwhile, John Smith and Susan were talking through plans of what they were to do next. So, are you still going to want to leave Rose's head after all that just happened? Susan was asking.
After all that just happened, do you really believe this is a sensible possibility? John Smith responded, sounding somewhat impatient.
I understand, but this was the main reason why I came this far to see you. When I met up with Nina in Paris, she said that shortly after I helped Rose and her mother, I would be able to help set you free. Rose would be gaining a lot of power in a very short period of time, and while this would come along with advantages for you, it also meant that your time with her would become limited…
Limited? John Smith demanded. Do you mean to say that I'll have to be leaving Rose sooner than I expected? Why didn't you tell me this ahead of time, Susan? Why did you have to wait until she started having one of her more dangerous visions to let me know?
The more John Smith got upset, the harder Rose found it to remain focused on what he and Susan were saying. As a result, she now turned her gaze toward the pink dress she was supposed to wear for the Christmas party, and started noticing that what had looked like a splatter of ink now formed something much clearer: letters, based on what she was able to see. They were messy and bloated, yet still formed some sort of message.
Rose? Are you still listening to us? John Smith asked her in a gentle tone then he'd been using with Susan.
I'm trying to, Rose said, but deep down, she wished that she could just focus on what was around her for the moment. Things were already complicated as it was without hearing an alien and his estranged granddaughter go over all the scary stuff that had been happening to her.
Well, did you just hear what I was telling Susan about my time with you?
Our time together? Are you trying to say that you've been with me for too long now? She may not have been able to hear every word, but she'd understood that the time John Smith had spent in her mind was coming into question.
Although I'm going to do the best I can to remain inside of you now that you're in danger, I can't promise you that I'll be able to stick around much longer after that.
Rose now got a sad look in her face as she said, But how do you know that?
Nina, who held my grandfather in her mind before he came into yours, told me upon my arrival on Earth, Susan explained. She'd contacted me telepathically with some help from Grandfather's TARDIS, and when I came to Paris, she helped me come in contact with him, much of which I'd been able to do when he remained in a dormant state. Nina also managed to foretell some of what's going on right now, including how you were to become much more powerful in the months to come, and how this would limit how long Grandfather would be able to stay inside of you.
And how long will that be? Rose demanded.
I have no idea at the moment, Susan responded. However, we have come up with a plan for how we'll approach this. Tell her now, Grandfather.
So what we decided is to have the party go on as usual, John Smith said. Truman will contact Victoria and Laura and apologize for the way he treated them, and as a result, both will be able to provide much needed help to your mother and the other guests should anything bad happen. Also, I'm going to help you get in contact with Christine, Sarah Jane, Clara, Allison, and maybe even Nina if possible. By doing so, you'll make it harder for this spirit to bring you down because your communication with other psychics can serve as a shield that can protect you from paranormal attacks of any kind.
But will I only be in contact with them telepathically, or will they have to come to Northern Horizons? Since Christine's in Florida and Sarah Jane is supposed to be going on a trip to her sister and dad, the only people who would be able to help are Alison and Clara.
There's no need for them to ever set foot in the hotel, Rose, although it could be a big help to us if they could show up. Simply communicating with them telepathically will be enough to…
Before she knew it, Rose caught herself staring at the pink gown once again, and the writing was now clearer than it was before, all written in blotted capital letters:
DAB FLOW
"Rose, is something wrong?" Susan asked her out loud.
"What's going on, Susan?" Jackie demanded firmly, with a dark look in her eyes which hadn't been there before.
But Rose failed to respond for a while. Then, she heard a horrifying hissing voice saying, Cry wolf all you want, Bad Wolf, but when trouble comes, no one will want to listen to you, as all the guests of the 1924 New Year's Eve party and Jean Purdue learned the hard way. This was followed by a wild laughter which sounded like the combination of screaming and howling, and grew louder and more disturbing as it went on.
Deeply disturbed by this, Rose placed her hands around her ears and yelled, "No! Stop it! Just leave me alone!"
Never! The sharp hissing voice yelled. You'll be haunted by your powers and their consequences for as long as you live, Bad Wolf!
Rose then let out a shattering scream which caught the attention of everyone in the room, and as she did so, the glass of the mirror started cracking apart, followed by the tumbling of all the clothes which remained in the wardrobe, and the tearing of the pink dress, being slowly reduced to shreds, but with the black ink remaining as clear as ever.
"Rose!" Jackie yelled, sounding more outraged than concerned as she gripped her daughter by the shoulders. "Rose, what they done to you?"
"Jackie, be careful with her!" Susan said, placing an arm around Jackie's shoulder. "In the state she's in, you could cause some serious harm…"
Before she could go on, however, she felt the sting of Jackie's hand around her cheek for the second time that day, followed by a raging and barely human voice yelling out, "Get the hell away from my daughter, you old witch! Your meddling has caused nothing but chaos ever since I first laid eyes on you! But now, I've had enough. If I see you here one more time, I swear I'll kill you!"
Susan then backed away with fear, remaining speechless. This couldn't be Jackie speaking; she may have had a dark side, but it was nowhere near as cold and menacing as this.
Rose, who was now crying, called out, "Mummy, leave her alone! She's our friend! She never meant to hurt us!"
"Jackie, listen to your daughter," Truman insisted. "Susan really doesn't mean to cause any harm to you or your daughter!"
"Shut up!" Jackie screamed, holding up a baseball bat that had been under the bed a while before, just as her face was flashing red with the darkest rage she'd ever experienced in her life. "If the two of you don't get out of our room right now, I'll swing this bat right into your faces, and then you'll know better than to mess with my daughter! Am I understood?"
Truman then held Susan's hand. "I suggest we do as she says right now, Susan."
"I agree," Susan said, her eyes now filled with tears. "But shouldn't we first…?"
"Get out of here right now!" called out the exact same hissing voice Rose heard earlier, only now coming through Jackie's lips as she continued to hold the baseball bat in the air.
With the two of them holding tightly unto each other's shoulders, Truman and Susan raced out of the room, coming across not that differently from Victoria and Laura when they'd been threatened by Truman himself a while before.
Once in the lobby, Susan finally spoke up, saying, "That wasn't Jackie acting out, Truman! I heard the voice of the entity from before coming across very clearly just now, and there was this rage running through her which seemed so unnatural for someone of her temperament. I think it actually possessed her just now."
"I think you may be right, Susan. Jackie can be a tough one sometimes, but never in a menacing way," Truman responded. "However, I still think it's best if you stay away for a while, at least until I know that Jackie is herself once again."
"You're right," Susan said softly. Then, with a kind look towards him, she said, "Thank you for all the help you gave me today, and I'm sorry if I came across as too threatening earlier on."
Truman gave her a small smile and said, "All's forgiven. If anything, you proved to be quite a strong alien over there. I'll see you later."
"Goodbye, Truman, and don't forget about the people you yourself owe an apology to," Susan said with a mischievous smile as she started walking towards the exit.
"I won't forget," Truman called back, making a mental note to himself to call Victoria and Laura as soon as possible. Even if his moment of rage wasn't as bad as Jackie Tyler's just now, it still scared them a great deal, and he owed them a lot on account of that.
Meanwhile, almost as soon as the moment of rage was over, Jackie was left trembling and silent for a long time, unable to comprehend what she'd just done. Then, as her senses started slowly returning to her, and she gained awareness of what happened, she looked with fear all around her. And upon seeing Rose seated on her bed, with her arms around Snoopy as she was quietly sobbing, she immediately embraced her daughter and cried, "Oh, baby! I'm so sorry that I scared you that way! I really don't know what came over me just then. It felt as if something dark and evil had taken over me, making me act so horribly ever anyone who came across as a threat."
"It's not your fault, Mummy," Rose said softly. "There's something terrible haunting this place. I saw some of what it's been doing in my vision, but I think it will only get worse if we leave. That's what John Smith thinks."
"But what could we possibly do, love? How will we survive Northern Horizons now?" Jackie asked desperately.
"John Smith says he'll put me in contact with other psychics, since he thinks it will make it harder for the thing in this place to continue bothering me," Rose explained.
"Well, let's hope John Smith is right, because I have a feeling it may take more than just that to overcome something as evil as this," Jackie said, keeping her arms around her daughter, and for the first time, wishing that she'd never decided to work at Northern Horizons.
