Chapter 7

The house creaked as it twisted in the night wind. The Doctor sat in his room, exhausted but unable to get to sleep. Not being allowed to sleep during either the night or day was starting to take a toll on him. He would have to have a word with Lethbridge-Stewart about this.

An owl hooted and he started upwards. After realizing what the noise was he collapsed back into the chair, chuckling to himself. Here he was, a monster fit for nightmares, and he was afraid of a silly owl.

If his associates back at Cambridge could see him like this…

A shriek pierced through the night air.

Instantly, the Doctor leapt up and opened his bedroom door. He stepped out onto the landing. Several more doors opened and the Brigadier and Benton appeared in their pajamas. Everyone twisted their head to find the source of the scream.

Then they saw it. It shimmered menacingly like a reflection in a rippling pond. It was bright white and electricity arced across it, sizzling like firecrackers. It stalked slowly but confidently down the hallway making all the air around it seem to shiver.

And it was heading towards Jo. It was backing her up against the banister that overlooked the first floor. She searched wildly for some way to escape but found none.

"Doctor!"

"Jo!"

BANG!

The gunshot echoed throughout the house. The Doctor turned to see the Brigadier in his pajamas, pistol still cocked and ready to fire.

"My God, man! Do you sleep with that thing?" the Doctor yelled.

"I—"

"You haven't stopped it! Look!"

Indeed, Jo was now pressed against the banister with only a wooden rail and 30 feet of air between her and the ground below. And it was still advancing.

"I'm coming, Jo!" the Doctor called and he started to sprint towards her.

She tried to scoot right or left, but it was far too close now. She pushed herself up onto the railing and peered down, judging the distance to the ground. It reached out to her with its slender, malevolent arm.

"Doctor, I – aaaaAHHHH!"

She fell.

The Doctor didn't think. He rushed past the creature, placed a hand on the banister, and leapt over.

For a second they seemed to hang there, suspended. His eyes were locked onto hers. His cape fluttered behind him, as if in slow motion. It felt as if they would float there forever.

Then the world came crashing down around them. The Doctor grabbed Jo and pulled her into his arms. And then they were soaring upward, the pull of gravity now meaningless. The Brigadier and Benton watched with eyes and mouths wide open as the Doctor and Jo hovered at eye level with the creature, standing on nothing but air.

"Doctor! What on earth?!" Jo screamed, clinging in terror to the lapels of his jacket.

The Doctor ignored her, ignored everything, except the creature in front of him.

"Who are you? Tell me! WHO ARE YOU?"

The creature responded by taking a step forward. It stood there for a moment in apparent confusion before blinking out of existence.

A weary silence replaced the previous chaos. The Doctor seemed to become suddenly aware of his position and gently flew himself and Jo over to the now empty landing.

Everyone stood stock still as the Doctor alighted on the ground. The Brigadier still held his gun slackly in his hand. He gulped.

"Doctor…how?"

The Doctor finally released Jo and spoke quickly. "I don't know. I—"

"What on earth is going on?!" The Duke finally appeared from around the hallway corner. He was in his dressing gown and the little hair he had stood up ridiculously. "I heard shouts and gunshots! For God's sake! I told you to investigate, not destroy my house!"

The Brigadier looked at his gun and then hastily hid it behind his back. "Yes, sir. We just…we just had an encounter with Brightley's resident ghost."

Instantly, the Duke's manner changed. "You did? Did you get a good look at it? What do you make of it?"

A shout came from downstairs. "Is everything alright? I heard such a commotion!" The butler appeared at the bottom of the stairs, blinking in the dim light.

"It's alright, Wesley. You can go back to bed. It was that dratted ghost," the Duke called down the stairs.

Jo shivered, still staring at the Doctor. "Yes…yes, well that…that dratted…g-ghost t-tried to kill me!"

"Kill you? Ms. Grant! Are you alright?"

"Yes, yes I am." She sniffed and folded her arms defensively. "What was it, anyway?"

"Doctor?"

"What?" The Doctor was staring at the place where he and Jo were floating. "I…I…Yes, I saw it."

"Well?"

"I…it…" He caught sight of Jo and swallowed. "I still can't say for sure. I…I must say, it didn't seem very ghost-like, did it? Not in the traditional sense, anyway."

"It seemed to me like a man who'd been electrocuted," said Benton.

"Exactly. Which makes me wonder if all this business is as supernatural as we thought…"

"Do you think so?" asked the Duke.

"Well, I can't say anymore until I've gathered more information."

"Well, in that case I think we should all be getting back to bed."

"I agree, sir," said the Brigadier.

"Alright, then. Good night Brigadier, Sergeant, Ms. Grant, Doctor." The Duke nodded and then left the hallway.

"Good night."

Hearts still pumping, the rest of the group returned to their respective bedrooms. The Doctor remained in the hallway, breathing heavily. When he was quite sure he was alone he allowed himself to drift a few inches above the ground. Eyes wide, he leaned heavily against the wall and ran a hand over his face.

"No. Not a good night at all."

"Still Got Legs" (the album) is very good! Listened to it while I was writing this.

iPinkNinja - Thank you so much! The lack of Classic Who on FF is a bit depressing, isn't it?

Eryaforsthye - Thank you! I do try to update on a regular basis.

Amron - Thank you! I certainly will.