Chapter Three – Maggots
"Slow down," I shout as the car nearly runs me over.
It's not really going that fast, but the driver, well I wonder if he should be behind the wheel and he clearly wasn't paying due care and attention, as they say.
"Oh bugger," I whisper under my breath as I realise the vehicle is reversing back towards me. Mind you, the driver might be able to give me some idea where I am, and come to think of it, how on earth I got here.
"What are you doing?" the gentleman asks me.
"I might as you the same question," I retort, looking at his velvet jacket and frilled cuffs. Perhaps he's on the way to fancy dress I wonder.
"What I'm doing is none of your business, but you shouldn't be wandering out here on your own. Now get in." He leans over and opens the car door.
I shouldn't accept lifts from strangers, I realise that. But the car is kind of cute, yellow and old fashioned. And I'm lost with no sight of any civilisation for miles around. So I disregard all my ingrained safety instructions and climb in next to this strange man. Good heavens if my mother could see me now.
"Where are you going?" he asks me.
"I don't know," I answer.
"Well where have you come from?"
"I don't know," I answer again. It's quite a good question. Where have I come from? I wish I knew.
He harrumphs at me and grinds the gears as he sets off down the road.
"I'm the Doctor," he offers his hand, and the vehicle swerves with one less hand on the wheel.
I gawp at him for a moment. I've heard that name before. Yes and I've seen it before, on a door, a door between carriages on a train. I was on a train, and now I was here. Well that didn't make sense.
I feel unsettled, as if I should know who he is, but the memory is teasing me, just out of reach. I shake his hand and relax when he takes a firmer grip of the wheel again.
"Alice," I say. "Nice to meet you."
"I'll drop you off at the colliery," he explains. "You can stay there until this is over."
"What's over?"
He gives me an exasperated look and then turns back to the road.
We drive on for a bit and then he slows the vehicle down a little.
"I don't like the look of that." He squints up ahead.
I try to follow his line of vision and notice a green glow trickling down the hill to his right.
"What is it?"
"I'm not sure, we'd better keep going."
The nearer we draw to the green glow, the more obvious it is that we are going to have to pass very close by it, if not through it.
It soon is very clear that green slime has spread across the road and the Doctor shouts instructions to me. "Keep down, this is very dangerous. Do not put your hands outside the vehicle, do you understand?"
"Yes Doctor." I nod as well, double affirmation.
The Doctor pushes the accelerator to the max and we surge forward intent on crossing the sea of green. However, the car is not powerful enough and we slow down, finally grinding to a halt. We are well and truly stuck.
Looking up the hill I see green maggots crawling through the slime making their way towards us. I hate bugs and slugs and anything slimy. This is not good and I feel my skin crawl. By now the Doctor has climbed into the back seat and urges me to do the same.
"Come on Alice, get a move on."
For the first time I notice my flares as I haul myself across to the back of the car and then the Doctor helps me jump down. He grabs hold of my hand and half drags me to the left up the opposite side to the tidal wave of slime.
My shoes slip and slide on the pebbles and nettles sting my ankles as they creep in under my trousers' defences. The Doctor stops suddenly and pushes me behind him. Standing rock still and steady he tells me to wait where I am. I watch as he climbs higher and then realise that the maggots are coming down from this side as well, albeit slower and the Doctor is taking a closer look.
I watch him silently for a good while and now he is running back down to me gesticulating wildly. I don't understand what he wants but eventually get the impression I may be in some danger.
Looking behind me, I see that a maggot is within metres of me. I gulp, start to run up to him and lose my footing. Grappling for a handhold I feel myself slide back down and my feet touch something cold and gooey. I can hardly bear to look but know that I must.
Turning on my back was a mistake. It is crawling up my legs now, covering me from ankles to knees. It's horrific and I scream for the Doctor to help me.
With a shower of dirt, the Doctor is beside me. He crouches down and watches the maggot crawl onto my stomach. It burns intensely and I scream in pain.
"Help me," I breathe between the bursts of agony.
"I can't, I'm sorry," he answers. "I can't touch it, it's too dangerous." He shakes his head. "There is nothing I can do."
I close my eyes as the pain encompasses me, and through the blistering pain I hear him walk away.
#
"Aargh!" I wake up and shudder, then leap from the bed. I pull back the quilt as if I will find maggots in the bed, but there is nothing there. Trembling violently, I sit on the edge of the bed and take deep breaths in an attempt to steady my nerves.
It's been three nights in a row now. I don't think I can take anymore. I decide to go downstairs and make some tea. It's a long time until morning.