Chapter Six
The Doctor, Rory and Amy were making
plans.
'We have to go to the try-outs in disguise,' the
Doctor said. 'Sammy Star might spot us. So
might that guard, if he's around. Even if I take
my cool hat off.'
'I'd suggest taking your cool hat off anyway,'
said Amy. 'You know, just in case.'
'I've seen those programmes on TV,' said
Rory. 'People queue up for hours to get in. We'll
have to get there really early in the morning.'
'No, well have to get there really early in the
morning,' the Doctor told him.
Rory looked puzzled. 'Er, that's what I said.'
'No,' the Doctor told him. 'You said "we"
meaning you, me and Amy. I said "we"
meaning just me and Amy. I've got another job
for you, Rory.'
He told the others what he had in mind. Rory
would go to the Golden Years Home for the
Elderly. There he'd talk to Kylie Collins and
Amber Hooper and find out all they knew about
Sammy Star. Meanwhile, he and Amy would
disguise themselves and go to the theatre. Once
inside, they'd find out where the Weeping Angel
was being kept.
'What do we do when we find it?' Amy
asked.
'Good question,' said the Doctor. 'Great
question, in fact.' He stopped.
'So what's the answer to my great question?'
said Amy.
The Doctor looked slightly sheepish. 'Well,
I'm sure I'll have worked out something by
then. We'll have a whole day to sort it out. Rory,
make sure you're back by the evening for the
show.'
'Right,' said Rory. 'You can count on me.'
'Good,' said the Doctor. 'Because I have a
feeling we're going to need all the help we can
get.'
The next morning, Rory caught a tube then a
train and made his way to the Golden Years
Home for the Elderly.
He hadn't been keen on Miss Leake, but was
quite glad when she opened the door. At least
she knew who he was.
'I was, er, just passing,' he said stiffly. He
didn't like telling even little white lies. 'So I
thought I'd pop in and see how Mrs Collins and
Mrs Hooper are today.'
Miss Leake beamed at him. 'Oh, it's the nice
young man from last night! Well now, aren't
you sweet? Come on through, they'll be so
thrilled!'
She led him into a large room. High-backed
chairs were all around the edge, each with a
tiny table next to it. Every chair held an elderly
person, and every table held a cup of tea. A TV
set blared in one corner, but no one was
watching it. They were all staring ahead at
nothing. Although the sun shone brightly, the
French windows onto the garden remained
firmly shut.
'Mrs Hooper! Mrs Collins! I've brought a
visitor for you!' shouted Miss Leake. 'Isn't that
nice? They're very pleased to see you,' she
added to Rory, although they hadn't even
looked at him.
'Er, I'll be OK from here,' Rory said, hoping
to get rid of her. To his relief, she just patted his
hand and left the room.
He went over to the two elderly ladies, who
were sitting next to each other. Not seeing any
spare seats, Rory moved an empty cup and sat
on the table between them. Then he stood up
again. This is silly,' he said. 'Let's go into the
garden.'
Mrs Hooper and Mrs Collins looked as
though he'd suggested bunking off school. For a
second, he saw the cheeky schoolgirls they'd
been once. Of course, if the Doctor was right,
these old ladies had been schoolgirls only a few
months ago.
Rory opened the French windows and helped
the two ladies over the step into the garden.
They all sat down on a little bench by a rose
bed.
'It's lovely out here,' said Rory. 'You ought to
come outside more. Not just sit indoors.'
'There's no point,' said Mrs Hooper dully.
Mrs Collins raised her face to the sun. 'It
makes me think of being young,' she said.
'What happened when you were young?'
asked Rory softly. 'Can you tell me?'
She shut her eyes, letting the sun play on her
eyelids. 'We got lost,' she said.
'Lost,' Mrs Hooper echoed. 'We were so lost.'
'That's what I want you to tell me about,' said
Rory. 'I want to hear about the time you were
lost. It was Sammy Star, wasn't it? It was him
who sent you back in time.'
There was silence. Rory didn't want to rush
them, but after a few seconds asked again. 'Was
it Sammy Star who sent you back in time?'
Mrs Hooper gave a loud gulp. Rory looked at
her, and found to his horror that she was crying.
Both old ladies were crying, huge, choking
sobs. 'Please don't cry!' he said helplessly.
Mrs Collins smiled. In fact, Rory could now
see that they were both smiling through the
tears. He was surprised. 'You're not upset?' he
asked.
'It was real, then...' Mrs Collins whispered. 'It
really happened.'
'We're not mad!' said Mrs Hooper. 'We were
never mad!'
'Of course you're not mad,' said Rory. 'If you
knew some of the things I'd seen... No, you're
really not mad. It really happened, all of it.'
'We had to forget,' Mrs Hooper went on. 'We
could never talk about it. It felt like it was a
dream from long ago.'
'You saw Sammy Star, though,' said Rory.
'Miss Leake said you saw the poster and kept
talking about him. You knew who he was, didn't
you?'
'He was just part of a dream. Someone we
might have seen long ago. Then the dream
came true.'
Rory leant forward. 'Please will you try to
think back? It could really help.'
'So long ago.' Mrs Hooper shook her head. 'It
was so long ago. We had to forget...'
It was long ago for them, Rory knew, but it
was happening right now too. Somehow he had
to get them to recall the past. It might save
some other girl from going through the same
thing.
He had a sudden thought. The MISSING
poster of Amber Reynolds. He didn't think he'd
given it back to the Doctor. Had he folded it up
and put it in his pocket? Yes! There it was. He
pulled out the poster and unfolded it. Then he
handed the paper to Mrs Hooper.
'Amber Reynolds,' he said. 'Was that you?'
She put out a nervous hand but stopped,
seeming too scared to touch the picture.
'Reynolds,' she whispered. 'That was my name
before I married Albert.'
'Think back,' said Rory softly. 'Think back to
who you were then. To what happened to you.'
Mrs Hooper wiped her tears away. Then,
after taking a deep breath, she spoke. 'It was
Max.'
Rory was puzzled. He'd not heard of a Max.
Was this Max in league with Sammy Star?
'What did Max do?' he asked.
She smiled. 'Oh, he was so lovely. He would
run up and give me a great big lick when I
came home from school.'
'Oh, Max was your dog!' said Rory in relief
as he figured it out.
'I loved him so much. He was my only friend.
Dad hit me. Mum let him. Max cared, though.
He loved me as much as I loved him. Then...'
'Yes?' Rory asked, as she paused.
'Then my dad sold him. That was the thing
that made me run away. He was my dog and my
friend, and my dad sold him. A stranger came to
the door and offered him loads of money for
Max, and my dad said yes.'
'That's awful,' said Rory.
She nodded. 'I thought I could earn lots of
money in London. Then I could find the
stranger somehow and buy Max back. Instead I
got... lost. I never saw Max again. I hope he
was happy.' Tears ran down her cheeks again
and this time she didn't brush them away.
Rory gave her a few moments with her longago
grief. Then he asked, 'What happened then?
What went on when you got to London?'
She didn't answer. 'Please,' he tried again. 'I
have to know. The Doctor's counting on me to
find out.'
'The Doctor?' said Mrs Hooper at last. 'I think
I met a doctor. Back then. Back in the dream.'
'No,' said Rory. 'This isn't a doctor - it's the
Doctor. Not someone you see when you're ill.'
'I thought he was mad,' she said, not taking
any notice. 'Him and the red-haired girl. Both
of them, mad.' She sighed. 'They were the last
people I saw before I was lost.'
Rory didn't like the sound of that at all. A
mad doctor and a mad red-headed girl. That just
had to be the Doctor and Amy. That meant that
the young Amber Reynolds was still out there
somewhere. She hadn't been sent back in time
yet.
Whatever the Doctor was up to, it seemed as
though his plan was doomed to fail.
Miss Leake came out into the garden. She
had a folded magazine under one arm and was
carrying a cup. 'I wondered where you were!'
she said. 'All of you out here, now mind you
don't catch the sun.' She handed the cup to
Rory. 'I just knew you'd like a nice cup of tea.'
Rory thanked her, even though he didn't want
a cup of tea
'See, they're fine this morning after a good
night's sleep,' Miss Leake carried on. She didn't
seem to mind that the people she was talking
about were in front of her. Waving the
magazine at the two women, she said, 'Look,
that nice Sammy Star's going to be on TV
soon!' She turned back to Rory. 'They'll enjoy
that. It'll make up for all the silly upset at the
show yesterday.'
Rory didn't agree, but he nodded. He wanted
her to leave so he could find out more from Mrs
Hooper. Then, as she tucked the magazine back
under her arm, he noticed a photo on the open
page. It showed Sammy Star in front of a
gravestone, holding an apple. 'Could I just have
a look at that, please?' he asked, taking it from
her before she could answer.
He read the first few lines. 'Oh no,' he said.
'Now we're really in trouble.'