VIII
A chat with the innkeeper
20th Century
Planet Earth
Wales
The bog
1984
It is still twilight and the Doctor and Terry are standing on some of the big rocks beside the crashed Slitheen spaceship. The Doctor holds his sonic screwdriver in one hand scanning the ship, and tapping the surface of the ship with the other, listening to the hollow sound it makes when tapped.
Terry walks around the outside of the ship, trying to avoid falling into the bog. She holds her handheld device in her hands, scanning the material the ship is made out of and its landing spot. She comes back to the Doctor with no important news apart from that the ship crash landed a week before they did. A fact they already know. This frustrates the Doctor.
"All I can see is that they flew straight out from Raxacoricofallapatorius with this area as their destination. Why they have, I can't tell; we're just going to have to ask them upon meeting. And how they managed to get their ship tangled in time tracks is unclear too." Terry says dryly.
"Well the Slitheen have come here for a purpose and we need to find out why they have," Out of anger, the Doctor slams his fist into the side of the ship. "And nothing is on board! They must've headed east to the village," The Doctor runs his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I'm baffled, Terry, I really am. Why wasn't that village on the map? What have they got to hide there?"
The Doctor ponders at his own question, knowing that the village will certainly have all the answers. Something around here isn't quite right.
Terry feels a drop of rain fall on her cheek and she brushes it away, registering that a storm is brewing. The Doctor, notices that the rain is about to pour down and looks at the dark path between the two hills that April and Rose disappeared down.
"What about Jack Gruntler?" Terry suggests. "We haven't seen him since the Battle of the Cytracik and he knows all."
"Jack Gruntler is getting old and worn. He needs to rest a little longer," The Doctor puts his hands in his pockets and he continues to look at the pathway. "He's still recovering," The Doctor then puts his hand on Terry's shoulder and looks at her as there is a slight rumble of thunder. "I know times have been harder since this battle started but we need to get through this. I promised Declan we would," He then smirks. "But right now there's another mystery on our hands."
They start to take the long walk down the muddy pathway between the two hills as the rain starts to beat down upon them harshly and the storm rages on. The pathway is dark and it gets to the point where the Doctor has to use his sonic screwdriver to light them the way. Yet they reach the village in no time and pass through the stone cobbled streets.
The village looks normal but yet slightly out of the 1980s time zone. The cottages around the village are old. Somewhat Victorian. There doesn't seem to anyone out on the streets, but that doesn't come as a surprise to the Doctor as there is a storm going on.
Terry and the Doctor silently walk around the cobbled streets, seeing flickers of lights through the windows. There seems to be very few shops around; just a cafe, a grocery, a book store and a church. They find a village square in the middle where there is a clock tower and a small fountain. The Doctor stops in his tracks as he looks down at his sonic screwdriver. However there doesn't seem to be readings of anything strange.
But then Terry lightly taps the Doctor's arm and points at something. The Doctor looks up and then notices a silhouette of a human figure standing in a window to a building looking down at them. The Doctor then looks at all the buildings around them and sees that there are many people peering out their windows, looking at him.
"Lets keep walking." The Doctor mumbles, nudging Terry's elbow. They slowly walk away from the square, noticing more people standing in their windows watching them.
They eventually stop at a somewhat welcoming looking Bed and Breakfast. The Doctor clears his throat and glances at Terry before pounding on the wooden door. Terry's eyes are fixed on the door, awaiting the reply. She takes in a deep breath.
"I can smell an alien not far from here." Terry mutters.
The Doctor raises an eyebrow. "Where's the scent coming from?"
"It's all around us," She answers quietly. "It's sort of intermingled with a roast dinner."
"Ahh I could do with a roast right now in fact!"
Soon enough, the small rectangular window in the door opens as the eyes of the innkeeper appears, glaring down at them.
"What do you want?" He orders, his thick Welsh accent ringing.
The Doctor replies in a quivering Scottish accent. "Please sir, we mean no harm. We're just travellers passing through and we have no money to stay anywhere for the night. Nor do we have any clean clothes."
The innkeeper grunts as he shifts on the spot, looking down at the Scottish man on his doorstep, pouting his bottom lip in sympathy.
"Please," The Doctor croaks. "My niece, Tiffany," He points to Terry whose face is unhealthily white as a sheet. "She's come down with a terrible cold. Please, have a heart sir. She just needs a little TLC."
Terry gives an unconvincing cough. The Doctor can't help but silently thank Terry for always joining him in his act instead of asking questions or blowing their cover.
The innkeeper remains silent before slamming the window in the door. The Doctor sighs in frustration but then after hearing locks and bolts moving, the wooden door swings open and the very large and round looking innkeeper, leaning on a wooden walking stick gestures them to come in.
"This is only a one-off because of that raging storm," The innkeeper grumbles. "You'd both better be on your best behaviour and don't disturb the missus! She doesn't like me letting travellers stay without fee."
The Doctor strides inside confidently through the warm reception, admiring the woodwork on the walls and the wooden pillars holding up the ceiling. "Oh thank you very much, sir! We won't bother you in the least." The Doctor says, keeping to his Scottish accent.
One of the housemaids scuttles down the stone steps and gives a thick, clean towel to the Doctor and Terry to dry themselves off from the rain. Once dried, they are sat down in the large armchairs by a warm fire, drinking camomile tea.
Terry sniffs her tea before slowing bringing it up to her lips and taking a small sip, instantly recoiling at the taste. The Doctor smirks.
"You don't have to drink it." He whispers.
Terry nods before putting the teacup back onto its saucer on the nearest coffee table. She then glances around the eerily quiet lounge. It is obvious that the villages know about the spaceship and have resulted in staying inside over nights in an attempt to stay safe. She watches the housemaids as a couple walk in and out of the lounge, carrying different bed sheets.
But everything seems too quiet for a Welsh village.
The Doctor watches Terry and even from her expressionless face, he knows that something is bothering her.
"None of the housemaids are human." Terry says before the Doctor opens his mouth to ask her what she is thinking. "They certainly don't smell human anyway."
"Just give them a chance, Terry," The Doctor says softly. "You've never been to Wales before; it's all new to you-"
"Am I interrupting anything?" The Doctor is cut off by a soft female's voice.
Terry and the Doctor turn in their seats to see a young woman, perhaps in her late twenties, standing behind them. She is very slim built with long spindly legs. She wears a short, strapless, black corset dress that contrasts against her very pale skin and bright red lips. Her brown hair is tied up in a neat bun at the nape of her neck. The Doctor looks at her for a while. The woman smirks.
"You may know me as the innkeeper's missus, yet my name will forever remain silent," She giggles as she walks in between their seats and climb inelegantly over the coffee table to stand in front of the fire. She reaches up to the mantelpiece and takes down a packet of cigarettes that is hidden behind a vase of flowers. Both the Doctor and Terry watch her curiously as she lights one cigarette and takes in the first drag. The woman then stares at them back.
"You're not here because you're lost travellers, are you?" She asks abruptly.
"You could call us travellers." The Doctor starts but the woman snorts.
"You're here for the spaceship, I knew it!" She laughs to herself. "Nobody comes to this village. Nobody knows where it is because we built it ourselves. It's got to be that spaceship," The woman looks at the Doctor, admiring his looks. "Who are you anyway?"
"What do you mean, built this village yourselves?" The Doctor inquires.
The woman studies the Doctor as the holds her cigarette between her delicate fingers. "I'll talk if you do," she says with a playful smirk on her lips. "If you tell me how you came to find us, I'll tell you about our cult."
The Doctor and Terry exchange subtle glances. And then with a sigh, the Doctor takes out his physic paper and hands it to the woman.
"Doctor John Smith from UNIT. And this is Second Lieutenant Tiffany Jenner." He says.
The woman stands directly in front of the Doctor and takes the physic paper out his hand to examine it, biting her lower lip seductively.
"Oh I bet you are," She snarls. "And I'm sure you have a lot in mind about these Martians, Doctor." She quickly snaps her hand away when the Doctor tries to reach for the psychic paper. She looks at the paper again before looking back at the Doctor. She licks her lips, and tilts her head to the side. She then pouts. "There are a lot of things I can do with someone of your authority," She reaches down and pulls at his tie. "I could demonstrate for you. Would you mind?"
The Doctor grips onto the arms of the chair and raises an eyebrow. Terry sighs heavily and rolls her eyes. It is not the first time she has seen someone on their travels flirt with the Doctor.
"Uh and there is a lot work that needs to be done. You have aliens walking around your village, I need to see them," The Doctor hesitates when the woman presses her cheek to his and slips her hand into the inside of his coat, clearly looking for something she thinks might be important. "I can at least help your village."
"You're keen," The woman pulls away from the Doctor with his glasses in her hand. "And what do you plan to do when it is over?" She asks as she places the end of his glasses between her teeth. When the Doctor fails to respond, she lets out another playful giggle. "Well you'd better not keep me waiting. You've admitted that you're here for the aliens."
"You said you're a cult."
The woman sighs heavily and momentarily drops the flirtatious act, knowing that it isn't having the effect she desires from the Doctor. "It's been going on for about five years. Ever since we've heard about the Cytracik," she raises an eyebrow. "I suppose you both know all about that."
The Doctor clenches his fists and restrains himself from looking over to Terry. It is 1984. It is at least another thirty years before the Battle of the Cytracik started. How do they know about it in 1984?
"And what is this cult for exactly?" The Doctor asks through gritted teeth.
The woman twiddles with his glasses. "To get the Cytracik of course. We've secluded ourselves from the rest of Wales. Our past relatives think we're dead. No one knows we are here. So we've formed this cult. We're all in it together."
Then they are very quickly interrupted as the innkeeper joins them. The innkeeper and his mistress pause as they look at one another. She lets out a loud sigh before dropping the Doctor's glasses in his lap and leaving the room somewhat sulkily. The innkeeper pulls out a low stool and sits down in between the Doctor and Terry, clasping his hands and looking into the fire. Terry can't help but still feel incredibly awkward after the woman was flirting with the Doctor. Her mood only becomes more infuriated when the innkeeper sits with them. However the smell of something alien increases.
"I'm warning you now," He says. "Once the morning breaks out, you'd best be on your way to wherever you're heading to. Get away from here as fast as possible. Get yourselves safe."
The Doctor shifts in his seat, glancing at Terry who is slowly shaking her head. He knows that this man is not to be trusted. "Why?" He asks. "I do love a good old folk tale."
The innkeeper looks at the Doctor suspiciously before drawing in a deep breath. "About a week ago, something flew over our heads and crash landed out in the moors," His voice starts to wobble. "At first it sounded like a helicopter or a plane in the far distance and no one took any notice of it for a while. Sooner or later people started to panic as this flying machine in the sky came closer and was heading straight to our village. Yet it flew straight over our heads, black smoke coming out the back and sparks flying everywhere. We watched it as it flew over the hills and crashed somewhere in the distance over the hills. The wreckage has been searched many times before but it is bolted shut. There were no signs of any creatures for a few days until last night," The man closes his eyes momentarily, shaking his head slowly. "Everyone in the village has become very superstitious over this happening. No one goes out later than six in the evening and whatever building they are in, they will stay for the night. Everyone locks their doors and close their shutters. More and more people have gone to church to prey for God's forgiveness as they believe that this is a punishment for their sins," The innkeeper snorts as he says it. "It's a ridiculous assumption! It's clear that we're in the middle of an alien invasion. Where else in the world would have a flying ship like that? Christianity makes me sick."
"Your wife was saying about your cult." The Doctor says carefully.
The innkeeper shoots daggers at the Doctor but relaxes after a moment. "Yes she is one for opening her big mouth."
"What are you, like one big family?"
"We created this cult looking for one thing. The only thing that divides us is religion. Especially in times like this. There is an alien spaceship out there and some are denying the truth because of God."
"A miniature war between the Christians and the Atheists within a cult. All the while you are wanting to go into a bigger fight. Doesn't sound very good to me."
The innkeeper uses his walking stick to help him to stand up. "Come," He orders walking towards the back door. "There's something you should see." He pushes open the glass back doors and steps out in the storm.
The Doctor and Terry stand up. The Doctor takes hold of Terry's elbow, stopping her from following him just yet.
"He's lying. The cult is true but he doesn't fear the Slitheen."
Terry stares at the door where the innkeeper walked out of. "He smells like an alien."
"Just be vigilant in this village. Don't trust anyone." With that, the Doctor takes in a deep breath and follows the innkeeper. Terry keeps close behind him.
The innkeeper takes them to a large wooden door in the ground at the back of the building which leads down to a basement. Pulling it open, he beckons the Doctor and Terry to go down the stone steps first. They do so and the innkeeper bolts the doors shut when they are all safely inside away from the storm. The basement is a large wine cellar that is held up by thick wooden pillars. Mistletoe hangs from the rafters.
The innkeeper pushes them forward and they move in and out of the wine stacks until they reach another wooden door. He passes his handheld torch to Terry and unlocks the door with a little difficulty. It finally swings open with a loud creak and the innkeeper steps in first, followed by Terry and then the Doctor. The next room is smaller compared to the wine cellar but there is a police guard standing beside a wooden table and strapped to the table is a Slitheen.
The Doctor slowly approaches the table, frowning at the battered Slitheen on the table. Its breathing is short and laboured.
"We found it roaming the hills," The police guard says. "Shot it down and hid it down here to see if it would talk some sense and explain the reason of its arrival. However it only said three things: Doctor, Time Lord and revenge," He shakes his head. "That could mean anything but it won't talk to us."
"It's probably just something some silly story," The mistress strides into the cellar. "Kill it already and that'll be one down." She stands next to the police guard, her hands resting on her hips as she watches the Doctor intently.
Terry gives the Doctor a meaningful look as he peers around the table to look down at the injured Slitheen, ignoring the others that are watching him expectantly. From the look in the creature's eyes, he can tell how much pain it is in and he knows that it probably won't last the next day.
"I'm so sorry." The Doctor whispers.
A silent moment passes and suddenly anger flashes across the Slitheen's face. It starts to screech loudly as it wriggles on the table trying to claw at the Doctor.
"What did you do?" The guard shouts as Terry pulls the Doctor away from the Slitheen. In a hurry, the guard takes out a syringe from his navy royal blue jacket pocket and stabs it harshly in the wrinkly neck of the screeching creature. The Slitheen falls back onto the table with closed eyes.
The Doctor frowns. "What…what have you done to it?"
"Get him out of here before he causes us more trouble this evening!" The guard orders and the innkeeper does so, pushing Terry and the Doctor out of the room, through the wine cellar and back into the reception to the bed and breakfast. The mistress hesitates for a moment before she runs after them.
"I've had enough of this for one day!" The innkeeper hisses as he pushes the Doctor and Terry through the door. "I'll give you your room for the night and I want you out of here before sunrise. And I don't want another word from either of you!"
"Look," The Doctor starts approaching the innkeeper. "You can't keep that creature down there like that! And to make it more interesting for you the spaceship didn't carry just one creature. You have more of them roaming the village and they want revenge." The Doctor ignores the innkeeper while he flatulences as he speaks. "They will attack and my friends are out there!"
"And what about you?" The innkeeper cuts through the Doctor. "You seem to be able to change your accent very easily. A good way to break your cover, Doctor," The innkeeper smirks as the Doctor looks at him hard. "Yes we do plan to attack this Doctor. You got in our way when we were trying to land on Earth, London 2005 and take back what you did to us. We wanted to rewrite time and allow our plan to succeed. Yet because of you, we got tangled in the time tracks. Our journey, travelling back in time to the moment we first met would have succeeded. We want revenge, Doctor, after you and your silly human allies killed us when we nearly took over Downing Street," He lets out a throaty laugh. "Yes revenge is a sweet thing! I guess it is lucky we landed by a village off the map. A village created by a cult that is after the Cytracik."
"Get behind me, Terry." The Doctor mutters pulling Terry behind him as the innkeeper brings his hands up to his forehead to shed the human skin. The lights in the room start to flicker as a bright blue light shines out of the innkeeper's head, revealing a green Slitheen.
The mistress giggles again as she also starts to shed her skin, revealing another Slitheen. The police guard who is now standing with them does the same.
"I told you I could smell alien." Terry says dully.
"Run!" The Doctor shouts and he and Terry pelts through the door and out into the storm.
