Chapter 7 dreams or reality
Sat quietly in the shadows of the dining room Romana fiddled with her breakfast trying hard to forget the events that occurred the night before. She stared at the stillness of the milk seeing the devilish child's reflection, yet again that smile on her face. Suddenly the reflection changed from hers to John's with the blink of an eye. She jerked from the transition. With her hearts beating a full pace she turned round to face the spiky haired man behind her. As she studied his face his eyes were full of sympathy, almost like he knew. He flicked his head to the side as a sign she should follow, and with that walked away down the hall. Heaving out of the heavy chair she followed cautiously.
Walking down the hallway wondering where he'd gone Romana turned her head in every direction. Suddenly an arm pulled her to a tight space and John pinned her up against the wall.
"What aren't you telling us?" he asked.
"Nothing I just had a nightmare last night" she replied shakily.
"You've been shifty since you got here".
"Really it's nothing, I was just a little nervous like you are when you walk in to a stranger's house". As he slowly released his grip from her shoulders be backed away so she could go.
"Just one more thing, change your clothes" and at that moment he winked and added a cheeky grin, then walked away to find Rose. Entering the room the cleaners had already done their jobs for the day as the bed was made neatly and not a single crease covered the bedding. All the pillows were plumped and the on suite scrubbed and polished. Her single bag hung smartly off the chair in the corner. She opened the wardrobe to a mountain of Rose's old clothes.
She pulled out a grey track suit top and put it against her body and peered in the mirror at herself. She cringed in fear of the girl returning and toying with her mind. But the child was nowhere to be seen or heard. Now in confidence she pulled out more and more clothes until half of the contence wardrobe was on the floor. She assured herself that the cleaners would sort it all out, after all that's what they are for. After a full hour of looking she settled with a purple blouse and some baggy jeans. In dismay she started to pick up some of the other clothes. Then one of the cleaners walked in and took over. She said thanks under her breath and walked away. Rose caught site of her entering the front room,
"They suit you nicely" she gleamed.
"Thanks" she replied, her feelings now positive and sunny, even John smiled as he walked past.
But the happiness didn't last. That night she tossed and turned in bed, she gritted her teeth and her eye lids tightened as if in great pain. Her head swelled with the nightmares that took hold of her much needed sleep. A corn field surrounded her and the breeze made it look like golden locks of hair. As she padded on Romana spotted something in the distance. It looked in relation to a man; he stood still as if frozen in melting ice. The sun beat down on her shoulders giving the feeling of a nice warm massage making the place so welcoming. She decided to investigate the stranger; maybe he lived here and could tell her how she could get home. When she made it over she found nothing but a scarecrow, doing his job of minding the fields. Maybe the farmer would return later to check on the wheat.
So she decided to stick around for a while. The stared at the scarecrow and decided something was wrong. As she stepped closer she could swear the arm just moved, and then it twitched again making out the scarecrow was alive. But that would just be silly. Then suddenly its whole arm tired the rope in two. Then its head moved to look at Romana. It wasn't a scarecrow at all but a man in a suit. She wanted to scream but her throat tightened and her whole body shivered in fear. The suit ripped off the mask to reveal a young face and long hair messed up from the cover. But his eyes seemed to tell a different story. They were old and it seemed as if his eyes aged with him but his face was frozen in time. Thinking this was the end she tightened her eyes and prayed it would be over quickly. But the man did nothing of the sort. He just simply stared for a few seconds as if admiring her. Then with a simple bow of his head he walked away and the dream ended.
She awoke to the sound of the birds drawn chorus. No one else was awake as it was four am. She rubbed her eyes a stretched towards heaven. Her eyes seemed to blur to the dim adjusting light that shone through the curtains. As she drew them she immediately raised her hand over her eyes to the strong moon light. As her eyes adjusted to the changing glow she couldn't believe what she saw. Both the girl and the boy from her dreams stood in the Tyler's drive way. In front of them a worm hole leading to the darkness of space. Out stepped a woman dressed from the eighteen eighty's. Her fur hat suggested that she had come from a cold time period and her short curly hair blew in the rush of the time portal closing. Her straight face turned to a smile as she saw her children's faces. Like any other mother she took them under her arms and lead them away to the small road in which Romana had travelled to get there. She closed the curtains quickly and crawled back into bed.
The next day didn't go without mercy. With Rose and John out for the day Romana was left in the care of Jackie and Tony. Tony encouraged Romana to play with him while the time passed by. The small wooden bricks and other classical nursery luxuries reminded her of her days as a young time lady starting school. Tony ran round like any other four year old and Romana laughed as the youngling toppled over time and time again. Jackie stood in the doorway laughing as well and with mum having a good time Tony couldn't help but giggle too. He was still too young to understand what both the women were laughing about. When Pete arrived home the atmosphere picked up a bit as Tony was the first one to great him, his blue eyes swimming with the happiness of seeing has father again. Great full that Tony was out of her hands she went up stairs for a long awaited nap.
The night mares she thought she was now rid of come back for another go on her mind. This time she stood in a disserted stairway. The air was thin as she held her chest and struggled for breath. The underground was no place for a girl like her. Darkness ruled these lands and there's no way of fighting it back. You either embrace it or it will swell around you. The sound of rattling chains rang in Romana's ears making them swell. Heavy padlocks also heaved around and added to the terrible loud noises. She couldn't help but investigate. The creaky door that blocked her way seamed to open by its self, dust emptied in the thousands of particles that surrounded the door frame. The rattles seamed to get louder now that the waves could move more freely as the cover was now destroyed. Making her way through the smell of rotting flesh filled the air and in is presence stood a man wrapped in chains like a prisoner, the chains that bound him were unbreakable. Padlocks as big as a man's hands bolted together the heavy lumps of metal. He was unable to move because of all the pressure that was piled on to his body.
Now Romana was in his sights he seemed to squeeze his body so the chains would slip off. His unlikely tactics seemed to pay off as the chains began to fall from the shoulders downwards. From a door at the other side of the room appeared the rest of the nightmares. Was this the final stages of her dreams as one by one she released them from their prisons. The chains fell to his feet and he stepped out easily. Now the man was free he turned to the rest of his family and laughed so hard he leaded backwards. The rest joined in the laughter as their heads turned to face Romana. She quivered in fear as she backed against the nearest wall. Now mother, father, daughter and son were reunited nothing would stop them as they were the family every time lord feared, the family of blood. Whoever had separated them once before had failed in their mission to rid the universe of their fearsome reputation. As they began to walk slowly towards her the dust under their feet scurried away to land somewhere else. She so desperately needed to wake up. Her bed shook as Rose was now at her bedside. The dream evaporated from her mind as she flung her arms around Rose screaming.