Okay, so I admit it; once the Doctor tripped the fire alarms, evacuated the shop and sealed us inside...that's when I became just a little bit nervous. It was just all moving very quickly...a few short days ago, I was living a normal life. Workin' full time, vegging out in front of the telly on me days off, all the usual stuff. And now here I was - a bargain basement cat burglar, breaking into my place of work at the dead of night. All for a man and a girl I barely knew...
So, alone in the shop, the four of us split - the task in hand was simple enough on paper. Search every nook and cranny. Every small space, every cupboard and hidey-hole, where the Whispering might be holed up. But, as the Doctor accurately predicted, the Whispering would in all likelihood show itself once it realized it was locked in. We then, quite simply, had to capture it in one of the Dimension Trap balls. The only catch was that we had to be done in twenty minutes or less. The fire brigade would turn up, with the police, and quite simply break into the store. The Doctor's magic wand could lock the doors, but it couldn't fortify the place. We had to hurry.
It was hurrying which got Steph killed. Poor Steph. But not only her...
We took the staff area, whilst the Doctor and Rose covered the shop floor...
Midnight, 25th November 2020
"Ready?" I asked Steph through gritted teeth, as we stood before a large walk-in freezer at the back of the store.
Steph's fingers closed around the handle of the freezer. "Yeah..." she whispered, sounding terrified.
"All right," I said, holding the Dimension Trap up above my head, ready to lob it into the freezer if I caught the slightest glimpse of anything moving in there. "One...two...three...go!"
Steph wrenched open the freezer door, and I tightened my grip on the small metal ball in my hand. Adrenaline surged through my body, only to be cut short as soon as I saw inside the freezer - there were rows and rows of freezing meat products, but no child-shaped alien.
I sighed, and Steph slammed the door shut. "Not in there." I said dejectedly.
"No," Steph muttered, checking her watch for the hundredth time. We'd been searching five minutes. We had only five left. The Doctor had cut the alarms after sealing off the shop; the silence was incredibly eerie, considering the usual hustle and bustle of the shop, even back here in the staff rooms.
We walked from the food storage area and upstairs to the staff room, where I'd encountered it the other day.
"This is crazy," Steph moaned, not for the first time that night, "absolutely mad."
"Yeah," I admitted, "yeah, it is...but don't you feel it? When you talk to him?"
"Who? What, the Doctor, you mean?"
"Yeah! He's amazing!"
"Is he?" Steph grumbled, "strikes me that he's just the most insane thing about this whole messed up night."
"Well," I shrugged, "maybe so...but there's something different about him. Have you noticed his eyes?"
"Not really." Steph said bluntly. Quite suddenly, she stopped.
I glanced at her. "What?"
She nodded up at the ceiling above us. I looked; there was a hatch up there. I'd never paid it any mind before. A hatch with a handle, presumably leading to some sort of space between the ceiling and the roof. It was about ten feet above us, however.
We looked nervously at each other. "Well...I guess we should check it..." I said reluctantly.
"Should we?" Steph replied, gulping. "Really?"
Grimly, I bent down. "I'll give you a leg up." I told Steph.
She stared at me. "Why am I going up there?"
"Coz you saw the hatch," I grinned, "this one's all your's, babes."
Steph kicked her trainers off and, muttering some more about the stupidity of the situation we'd been catapulted into, climbed onto my shoulders. With enormous difficulty, I stood up, taking care to make my legs take her weight, as opposed to my back.
"Crikey," I groaned, finally standing upright. "Can you reach?"
"Nearly..." Steph replied. I gritted my teeth as her toes dug hard into the soft part of my shoulders, as she stood on tip-toe to try and reach the hatch. With a final groan and a surge of pain on my shoulders, she managed to grab hold of the hatch. The strain on me lessened as she took some of her weight off by clutching the handle.
"Does it open up or down?" I asked her.
"Down," she replied, "hold my ankles, I'm gonna try pulling it open."
"Right." I said, clutching her tightly. I felt her wobbling like crazy as she tried to pull the hatch down. I heard a scraping noise from above.
"Won't...budge..." Steph exclaimed, pulling it hard.
But then, of course, it did. With an ear-splitting crumbling noise, the hatch came clear of the ceiling, dropping to the floor with a thud. Steph tumbled from my shoulders at once, but managed to land on her hands and knees. My neck shot up in pain as her weight pulled me down too. We lay there, sprawled on the floor, the discarded trapdoor hatch to our side. I peered up from my new position on the floor, and saw a darkened square in the ceiling. Too late, I realized that it would be extremely difficult to get up there. There was no ladder, and even if Steph stood on my shoulders, I doubted if she'd have the strength to pull herself the whole way up. I knew I wouldn't.
I was about to suggest we call for the Doctor, when I got the first shock of that evening;
"What're you doing?" Bellowed a thunderously deep voice from behind us. "What in the blazes do you think your doing?"
Both me and Steph screamed, and leapt to our feet. Standing over us was a huge man with a very familiar face. His name was Paul (Big Paul), the security supervisor. I seldom spoke to him, but I'd recognize him anywhere. He was a wall. A living, breathing wall. He was twice as wide as me and Steph put together, and it was all muscle. He wore a black t-shirt and trousers, with bare arms revealing countless tattoos. His black hair was close-cut and he had a spectacularly flabby face, no doubt the effect of taking steroids.
Only after we screamed and jumped up did he recognize me.
"You work on the tills," he said, his big brown eyes narrowing. "Lauren?"
"Lynsey," I corrected, massaging my heart, "what are you doing here? The fire alarm-"
"-Was set off by your buddy," Paul growled. "Oh yeah - ever heard of a little thing called CCTV, my love? I recognized him as well; he's that weird dude who spent like the whole day wandering around 'ere the other day."
"What of it?" I asked weakly.
"What of it? You, poppet, are in trouble. That's what! Breaking and entering! What're ya playing it? After the valuables, I'll warrant. Not that you'd have found any up there."
"Where's the Doctor?" I demanded.
"Oh, prancing around downstairs. I'll go get 'im and his chum when you two are dealt with." A cruel smile was tugging at Paul's face.
"Please, mate..." I said helplessly, "just hear the Doctor out...we ain't here to steal nothing, I promise."
"Tell it to the coppers," Paul said softly.
Then he bent down to pick up Steph's discarded trainers (electric blue) and in doing so revealed what was behind him.
Steph saw it first. "Lyn..." Steph said, her round eyes widening. She grabbed my arm. I looked. Behind Paul, just standing there in the middle of the corridor, at the top of the staircase, was a small boy in an old fashioned brown coat and cap.
"Get down!" I screamed at Paul, sending the Dimension Trap flying through the air, a magnificent overarm throw that sent it towards the creature like a missile. But, contrary to my instructions, Paul was already rising, and it bounced off his head with an (in other circumstances funny) bopping noise, rolling down the corridor uselessly. He cried out and clutched his head, before wheeling around to see what we were staring at.
"Who're you, son?" Paul demanded.
"Get back from him," I whispered to Paul, grabbing the man's big tree trunk arm and trying to pull him away. But too late. With an otherworldly screech, the alien rushed him. Paul barely had time to cry out, as he was lifted clean off the floor. Steph and me watched in disbelief as the child, less than five-foot in height and weighing well under ten stones, lifted the titan above his head, six foot five inches and nearer twenty stone than ten. He threw Paul against the wall, splintering it and cracking Paul's head with a sickening crunch. The man slumped to the floor and began to twitch and throb in a violent seizure, and I knew that if he wasn't dead, he'd be so before any ambulance could arrive.
Steph burst into horrified tears (all doubts about the Whispering swept away) and hurled her own Dimension Cannon wildly, not pausing to take aim. It missed by a mile and clattered down the stairs. The Whispering watched it go, that familiar buck-toothed smile spreading across it's lips.
"Who wash that to, Stheph?" It lisped, giggling.
"What are you?" Steph moaned, backing away, sobbing. I moved back with her, my eyes focused on my own Dimension Cannon, which lay a few feet behind the Whispering. The creature advanced on us, hissing like a cat. It's eyes travelled from me to Steph, back to me. Finally, it's gaze settled on Steph. Suddenly, it didn't look like a child anymore - the features were warped and distorted, the limbs all out of proportion. It's arms were growing, the nails spouting sharp talons. Sharp talons which were buzzing with some sort of blue lightning.
"Nighty-night, pretty!" It said to Steph. Before my best mate of four years even had the chance to scream, it's arm shot out and grabbed her around the neck. She tripped backwards, her bare feet tangling up as she made one final attempt to run. Electricity was pulsing through the monster's arm and into Steph's body.
"No!" I cried helplessly. "No, no, no, no!" I tried to pull the creature off, but it sent me flying through the air with it's free arm. I felt a peculiar sensation in my stomach just before I took off. Then I shot backwards I crashed, hard, onto the floor and felt something in my back shift as I landed. Shooting agony shot through my spine, and I realized with horror that I couldn't move anything below my waist. I looked down and was horrified to see a huge, gaping wound in my stomach...it had stabbed me! It's free arm had become some hideous, razor sharp appendage.
I looked at Steph. My eyes met her's for the last time. She was staring at me, an look of sheer terror etched on her face. Behind that, an accusation. You brought me here, her eyes were saying, and now I'm gonna die!
She did die; quite suddenly she disintegrated on the spot, her body exploding into a cloud of ashes, clothes and all, the dust settling on the floor.
"Steph!" I cried, trying to move, but being met only with an unbearable bolt of agony in my back. I knew she was dead. I caught a glimpse of her discarded trainers from earlier, and started to cry helplessly on the floor. The creature stood over me, no longer even trying to look like a child. It was a monster; some sort of writhing, shifting entity with waxy inhuman features and several limbs, which grew and shrunk of their own accord. Looking at it gave me a headache. I couldn't comprehend what I was looking at, my brain had nothing with which to reference what I was seeing now. And it hurt! It hurt so much! I screamed in agony, and shut my eyes, waiting to be turned to dust like Steph. I deserved it. I brought her to her death. I didn't deserve to go on.
"Oi, mate!" Came a familiar northern burr from somewhere nearby, "pick on someone yer own size!"
I opened my eyes. Thankfully, the Whispering had reverted to the form of the boy. Behind it, having emerged from the staff room, was the Doctor and Rose. The Doctor was grinning, like he had been that day with the rude customer, but like that day his eyes were telling an entirely different story. They were glowing with fury.
He looked at Paul's now still body, and then down at me. "I'm sorry." He told me solemnly, his eyes travelling to the empty trainers, and the pile of dust on the floor. "Is she dead?"
I screwed up my face against fresh tears and nodded. The Doctor snarled and turned back to the Whispering.
"Now look 'ere," he told it, "this 'as gone far enough."
"It hash," the Whispering agreed, "I warned you not to follow me. I gave you fair chanche to leave me."
"You did," the Doctor agreed, "you nearly got away from me at Locus Heights, didn't ya? An' before that on Yaed. But not this time."
His eyes flickered to me, ever so briefly, yet somehow, in that nanosecond, I understood exactly what he wanted of me. I glanced behind me; the Dimension Trap was there. Less than ten feet away. I tried my legs again, but there was no movement. I'd hit the floor with immense force, and for the first time, I noticed that my head was bleeding.
But I could still crawl.
"Tell me then," the Doctor growled (distracting the Whispering), "what now? You can't get out. I've put a dimension border 'round the whole store, mate. The humans can get in, but you can't get out. End it."
I bit my lip hard against the agony of moving; I managed to pull myself along the floor an inch, two inches...the pain from my wound and my wrecked spine was beyond all belief, and tears rolled down my cheeks. But I bit my lip tighter. If I cried, it would see what I was doing. Bracing myself, I took another slide along the floor towards the little metal ball. I wondered why the Doctor or Rose didn't use their's, but then I thought of how quickly the thing got away last night, how astonishingly fast it could move. It could cut the power at any time and scarper...but was the Doctor telling the truth? Was it confined forever to the store now? I hoped so.
I edged further along. Behind, I could hear the Doctor still talking to it, Rose as well.
"Listen," Rose said, "this has got to stop, and you know it. We'll never stop chasing you. Will we, Doctor?"
"Never," the Doctor said solemnly, "I'm sorry. Your a hunter, I know. It's you instinct. I get it. I do. But you don't belong in this universe. Just by being 'ere, your damaging the fabric of reality!"
The Whispering chuckled (the laugh icy, rattling and cruel). "Tell me then, Doctor," it said, it's voice no longer high pitched and lisping. It was now dry, husky and deep. "Tell me...how much are you prepared to lose to stop me?"
I turned around to watch, still edging towards the ball. I was close now...very close. And it hadn't noticed me yet!
I watched the Doctor frown. "What d'you mean?" He asked urgently. But then Rose doubled over, clutching her head and gasping.
"Doctor..." she moaned helplessly.
"Ach, no, no!" The Doctor cried, grabbing Rose, and looking into her eyes, "no! Let her go! Don't do this! Just end it!"
To my horror, Rose's hands closed around the Doctor's throat. He pulled her off easily, but she struggled to hurt him in whatever way possible. "Kill the girl!" The voice cried, the noise seeming to come somehow from Rose's mouth and the Whispering's at the same time. "You use that weapon, Doctor, and I'll burn out her brain! I'll have time! You wanna end it? End it! End it now! Be alone again, Time-Lord!"
"Let her go!" The Doctor wailed, still fighting Rose off, who was trying relentlessly to strange him. Except she wasn't; she wasn't doing anything. The Whispering was doing it through her. Using her.
"You ain't got the guts, have you?" It hissed. "Too scared to travel alone, too scared to let someone else die! Your a coward! And I'll take you! I'll take both of you! Then I'll take Lynsey Perron!"
I inched a little further towards the ball. Then, with a final burst of effort, I stretched out my arm and felt my hand close around something hard and metal. However, that movement sent pain beyond all imagination soaring through me, accompanied by a stomach-churning grinding from somewhere in my ruined back. I cried out in agony, and the creature wheeled around. I threw the Dimension Cannon wildly.
And I hit it directly on the head.
The Whispering screamed in a cold fury as the ball stuck to it's flesh and started glowing green. I tried to grin triumphantly, but the agony prevented that. Instead I blacked out...somewhere at the back of my mind, I was aware of just how hideously injured I truly was; I could feel blood on the floor around my head, could taste it in my mouth and feel it flowing from my nose, and of course continue to spurt from the wound in my stomach. I opened my eyes weakly again, and vaguely registered the Doctor hugging Rose tightly, and the boy-shaped creature being absorbed into the little metal ball. My vision was going blurry and darkening up.
And I was sure I was gonna die...I could feel it...
My eyes opened again. "Hey, hey" the Doctor said bending down and touching my arm gently. His wise blue eyes looked down on my lovingly, and he smiled. "You did it!" He told me.
My vision closed up again, but I heard his voice regardless.
"You'll be fine, Lynsey. I'll fix ya up. Just stay with us..."
The Doctor's Diary, Entry 1972 Part 2
Poor Steph. Poor security guy, who's name I never knew. And poor Lynsey...
But we did it! She saved us! Cor blimey, it was touch and go for a moment there. It tried to take Rose! My Rose! It got into her head, and tried to burn her mind out! It would've done as well, if Lynsey hadn't got it by surprise.
I've destroyed it. It's over. Incinerated the Dimension Trap which contained it, burning it out of existence forever. It wouldn't have suffered. It wouldn't have known anything about it, once it was trapped in there. I wish there had been another way, yeah. I'd sooner have returned it to it's own universe. But I can't. My people could have done it. They would have done it...but they're gone. They're all gone.
Rose will recover quickly enough, hopefully with no side-effects. Lynsey, however, is a different story.
She's hurt. Very badly hurt. I told her she'd be fine. That I'd make her well again. And if I do that, I'll ask her to come away with me and Rose. Rose agrees. We'll be a team.
If she recovers...
In my hearts, I know she probably won't. Even the best medicine probably can't save her now. Her spine's broke, her insides are mashed (the internal bleeding is massive), and her skull is fractured. So no - I'm hoping for the best, but expecting the worse. I were just too much of a coward to tell her that. I told her she'd be fine...
I've got a plan. I'm gonna try my best for her. Let's see if my best is enough...