DOCTOR WHO: THE KEYS TO DEATH

Chapter 4

"This way!" shouted the Doctor as he rushed up the stairs with River following him just as quick. Amy and Rory were doing their best to catch up but it wasn't exactly happening. After falling asleep in the car for as long as he did with the steering wheel restricting his movements, Rory simply couldn't keep up and he left Amy to run and catch up. Lieutenant Nail and Captain Benson soon passed him and slowly Rory began to feel like his old self again.
"I feel like I'm in my 70's..." he groaned before carrying on regardless through the pain barrier. Further along, the Doctor and River were sensing they were near and then just as Alison was seemingly vanishing altogether, they saw her.
"Hang on!" cried the Doctor as he immediately rushed over.
"I can't!" shouted Alison but the Doctor got a hold of her and River got a hold of him. Amy soon caught up and grabbed a hold of River while Lieutenant Nail and Captain Benson simply joined the line. They pulled as hard as they could and Alison simply couldn't let go now, she had to hold on regardless of it if she couldn't or not.
"Almost there..." said River and in one big pull, everyone got Alison to safety. The door immediately swung back and the key in the lock disappeared in an instant.
"What the hell was that, Doctor?" asked Amy.
"I don't know..." he replied. "I didn't see it, I was focusing on Alison..."
"Well whatever it was, it wanted me..." said Alison. "Thankyou for saving me..." The Doctor, River and Amy just smiled but Lieutenant Nail wasn't pleased in the slightest.
"What the hell do you think you were doing, Miss Harrison?" boomed the big American.
"I was investigating..." she replied. "You brought me in as an Expert and you're not using me, so I thought I do some investigating on my own..."
"She has a fair point..." said River. "She knows this place better than anyone else here and you denied of it...very clever..."
"Were sticking to established protocol..." said Nail. "I can't ignore it...my position would be at risk..."
"So your job is more important than the lives of innocent humans...?" said the Doctor. "I somehow doubt that...so, when I'm done here, I'll express clearly to Major Pamela Blake about your incompetence for the safety of Humanity..."
"Do as you please, Doctor..." spouted Nail before going off back in the direction of the support centre. Captain Benson just smiled apologetically.
"I'm sorry...but I can't prevent him getting like this...I'm just a Captain...he's a Lieutenant..." she said before going off to catch up with Nail. As she made her way, Rory eventually popped into view.
"Sorry..." he said. "My knees have gone...can't feel them and can barely move them either..."
"I think we'll discuss further matters here then..." smiled the Doctor. "Don't want Grandad Rory to miss out..."

"These keys are well pretty much the key, if you'll excuse the pun..." said Alison calmly. "They just appear and disappear at random...I've even got footage of it happening..."
"Really?" said the Doctor. "Where?"
"CCTV..." said Alison pointing at one in the landing they were in. "I installed them not long after the first people went missing. I've even done a test where I put one of these keys blatantly in view of the camera for it to then disappear and then return to where I originally found it..."
"That sounds like basic Time Distortion..." said River. "Anyone out in the stars can get that..."
"So this thing's alien then?" asked Rory.
"I would imagine so..." replied the Doctor. "Its just a shame that camera wouldn't have just caught what just happened to you Alison with it being at that angle..."
"I know..." she said sadly. "I thought it would all be there...but all you'd see from there is my head...not the pink thing..."
"Pink thing?" asked the Doctor.
"You really didn't look anywhere else did you?" said Amy. The Doctor shook his head as if to say no. Alison then tried to recall it as best as she could.
"It was pink and white with purple hues aswell..." she began. "It was sort of like a gas in the way that it moved, but it can't have been..."
"Why not?" asked the Doctor.
"...because it was breathing..." said Alison. "That thing was breathing...that thing was alive..."

"I'm sending in the big guns..." said Lieutenant Nail at the command desk in the support centre. "...whatever grabbed hold of Miss Harrison is definitely within that house...god knows why those ghost things are there..."
"But Sir..." cut in Captain Benson. "It's a listed building...you can't do that..."
"I don't care Ingrid..." he sighed. "That Doctor and his friends have been no help at all...so I am taking charge here...I will dismiss them from duty in the morning..."
"Pamela won't be happy..." said Captain Benson.
"Sod Major Blake..." muttered Nail. "I can take charge here...she knows that...I don't need others...to be honest, I don't even need you Ingrid..."
"Oh, cheers for that..." she retorted before leaving the support centre. Outside of it she had a perfect view of Holmes House and could see faintly a pink glow in one of the rooms. She'd seen that happen all too recently, and then she heard the screams on her communicator.
"Ingrid!" one voice cried. "For God's sake get help now!"
"Mobilise forces..." she spoke into her communicator. "In we go!" and she immediately rushed inside.

"What the hell was that?" asked River as she thought she could faintly hear screaming. Then, there was the sound of gunshots.
"It's happening again..." said the Doctor before rushing off again. The others quickly followed and atleast Rory could keep up this time. As they ran along the winding landings and levels of Holmes House, the sound of gunshots got louder and louder. They could hear Captain Benson barking out commands to soldiers.
"Fire at it! Disable it at once!" she ordered.
"No!" cried the Doctor. "Don't do that..." Ingrid looked round and there almost tumbling down the steps was the Doctor. He could see soldiers were almost being pulled in like Alison but they were stronger and were trying to close the door. The Doctor and Rory immediately rushed over to help while River got out a camera from her side and took photos and diagnostics of the pink flowing mass. Amy and Alison could only look on and hope it would all be fine. The door then closed but the Doctor had seen enough to recognise it.
"Revex..." he muttered to himself. "Revex..."