Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who
Chapter 11
Maddie's arms hurt. Her head hurt. Her whole body hurt, for that matter. Her eyes were closed and she didn't feel like opening them. What had happened? Maddie remembered blacking out, but that was the extent until she awoke. She was experiencing a strange sensation and she was pretty sure she wasn't on the ground.
Forcing herself to look, she saw that she was hanging, tied at the waist, upper arms, wrists, and ankles, from a thick, round post in the idle of a field. It was dark and the moon was up. She glanced down. Over her dress, Maddie was wearing the same flannel many of the scarecrows wore. What? Then it dawned on her.
The post, the flannel, the hay- it all made sense. They were trying to turn her into one of them. It was her nightmares. They were really coming true. Maddie tried to fight her way free of her bonds. Why? Once her eyes became more accustomed to the darkness, Maddie could see a ring of scarecrows standing watch and a small shack twenty or so feet away.
A lone figure made its way up the hill and toward the shack. It wasn't one of the monsters. Their brisk, strait gait was nothing like the awkward loping of the scarecrows. Once it got closer, Maddie could see it was a man in a trench coat, wearing a dark hat pulled over his eyes. He pulled open the door of the shed and was stepping in when Maddie picked up her courage.
"Who are you?" she asked loudly. She had never been brave enough to talk in any of her dreams.
The man pulled off his hat and to Maddie's surprise, she saw Geoffrey. His eyes had dark circles beneath them, but he didn't look as serious as he usually did. A demented smile twisted his lips and he let off a hellish cheerfulness.
Maddie was going to throw a number of questions, hard fast and furious, at him, but all that came out was, "Why?"
"Because I felt like it." It was a very childish answer, but with the cruelty glazing his eyes, it came across sinister. "I have had such a life." His voice was hoarse, possessed. "I hate the world and the world hates me. This time is repulsed by me. I am an anomaly in nature. An impossibility that disgusts what is normal. I am a futuristic man stuck in a primitive world. The sheep will never accept the rabid wolf as a friend."
"What do you mean by an anomaly of nature?" Maddie inquired. Her arm was almost completely loose. Keep monologue-ing, she thought.
"I come from the twenty-first century." Geoffrey glared into Maddie's eyes and strode toward her. "My accident sent me here. It changed me. I am a logical thinker's worst nightmare." He pinned Maddie's completely free arm back to the beam and tied the hanging rope back around it. Maddie felt her arm grow numb from the cut in circulation.
"How did you make this happen?" Maddie asked, gesturing with her head to the concourses of crudely formed scarecrows.
"My time-traveling disaster gave me unique abilities," Geoffrey answered sullenly. "I can bring bad dreams to life, animate anyone's personal boogey man and sense the fear I need to do it."
"So you reached into my head to get the fear to start all this?" Maddie sagged against the pole. Her dreams were certainly not figments of her imagination anymore.
"Yes."
The night fell silent except for the occasional distant gunshot and the chirping of a lonely cricket. Maddie wondered if the scarecrows had killed Michael yet.
Then it hit her. Doctor Creevins' parting words came back to her in a rush. He had said she had more power over her dreams than she knew. They were still merely a figment of her imagination. Maddie concentrated on memories of exercises the doctor had employed in trying to help Maddie gain control.
Maddie willed the scarecrows to turn on Geoffrey and tie him up. She imagined their lopsided heads turning toward him as they loped in his direction. Slowly, the leering creatures complied, and Geoffrey was confronted with several seven-foot-high monsters that bore down upon him. Maddie could feel her concentration slipping as Geoffrey roared with fury. She willed the scarecrows to let up, certain if they did not they would kill him, but they refused to heed her. She watched in horror as Geoffrey fell beneath the throng. When the monstrosities grew limp, Maddie knew that Geoffrey was dead.
Hundreds of looming figures across the field went limp and began to fade. The ones directly surrounding Geoffrey had disappeared completely. Maddie sighed and tears sprang to her eyes as she looked at the still form of the young man. Tom had been awfully fond of Geoffrey and this would surely break his heart.
The T.A.R.D.I.S. lights flared to life.
"Yes!" The Doctor flipped the switch, starting the time machine.
"What?" Donna asked, closing and cleaning against the doors.
"The numbers have dropped, but how? They're just gone. Nothing. No source. No receptor, like the traveler just turned off…" he cut off, dropping his hand. "Oh."
The T.A.R.D.I.S. landed, and the Doctor pushed past Donna to open the doors. Donna gasped at the sight.
Michael watched in shock as all the weapon-wielding monsters toppled and began fading. Tom and Trevor stood up on shaky legs next to him. Trevor's arm bled profusely and Tom had sustained a plum-colored bruise on his lower jaw.
Once Michael had recovered from the heat of battle, he remembered Maddie and Geoffrey. By the time the words had formed in his mouth, Tom and Trevor were already out the door and running down the stairs.
They followed the direction they had seen the scarecrows carrying Maddie go. The sun dawned pale and watery over the purple horizon. The sunrise was not as glorious as it usually was.
It was perhaps thirty minutes before they found Maddie and Geoffrey in a field. Maddie was tied to a pole like a scarecrow and Geoffrey lay on the ground, unmoving. Trevor dropped to his knees and searched for a pulse. Maddie's eyes fluttered open, and seeing Trevor at his work, said, "You won't find one. He died more than half an hour ago." Her voice was flat, void of her usual character. There were tears dripping down her cheeks and Michael rushed to her side to help her down.
"What happened?" Tom asked steadying Maddie when she hit the earth.
"He's the reason the scarecrows came to life," Maddie explained, panting. "He called himself an anomaly of nature. He thought the world hated him. He was out to get revenge."
"How do you mean?" Trevor had not left Geoffrey's side.
"I don't understand it myself," she replied. "But I think I know someone who might."
Tom made the decision to leave Geoffrey in the field and to go into town to assess the damage. Maddie was not particularly pleased as she found her ankle was swollen and town was a good walk away.
"Would you like me to carry you?" Michael asked in Maddie's ear. Before she could answer, he swept her up into his arms. Maddie squeaked as the earth disappeared beneath her feet, but relaxed after a moment.
"How's that ankle?" Trevor inquired, catching up to them. Maddie smiled at him, too exhausted to answer.
The scene that awaited them was horrid. Small groups of people huddled against buildings, shielding the faces of children in the folds of their clothing. Others lay unconscious or dead in the street, some severely bludgeoned, and some wounded from artillery. A red-cheeked man came forward and grimly shook Tom's hand.
"Would you gents help us," he begged.
"Certainly," Michael replied. "Is there someplace sheltered we can leave Maddie?" He bounced her slightly as he spoke.
Maddie ended up at a table in the nearby ice cream parlor in the care of the slender woman who worked there. After a short conversation, Maddie found out her name was Mrs. Gertrude and that the scarecrows had come out of nowhere and had begun attacking. After a small cup of tea, and a slightly altered retelling of Maddie's story, Tom returned, an expression of despair on his face. Michael was behind him, looking confused.
"Ernest Crate is dead," Tom said.
"What?" The spirit of joy that had bubbled to life in the conversation between the two women deflated.
"He was killed protecting a number of children from the orphanage," Tom continued. "The children are all safe, but Ernest did not make it."
"I didn't even get to say goodbye…" Maddie's voice quavered and she felt tears well behind her eyes. They crept out slowly at first, but soon turned into a monsoon. "Poor Ernie."
"Who was Ernest?" Michael asked gently. He pulled up a chair next to Maddie and tugged her into a tight embrace. Maddie let her shoulders shake and she cried harder and harder. She had forgiven Ernie, but they had never had the chance to patch up their friendship.
"He was her childhood friend," Tom answered when Maddie's sobs continued. "Ernie was the reason she was so terrified of scarecrows."
"Excuse me!" Doctor Smith and Miss Noble entered the ice cream parlor, and Maddie waved at them. Doctor Smith, who had spoken, jogged up to their table. "What happened?"
"Who are you?" Tom asked, crossing his arms.
"This is Doctor Smith and Miss Noble," Maddie explained.
"Erm… it's just the Doctor," Doctor Smith said sheepishly. "And this is Donna. So what happened."
"My brother's friend brought my nightmares to life and attacked the Town," Maddie elaborated, resting her elbow on the table. "We were hoping you could tell us the rest."
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I wrote this in hopes that
You'd read and review
