Chapter Twenty-Four: Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

River headed out of Granny's house with her cloak hung over her body; she opted for placing on the hood until she saw that it was no longer snowing that morning and kept her head open to the calm breeze. After a few steps out onto the snowy field, River spotted the Doctor standing at the edge of a short hill without his cloak on. He had been staring over the hill, standing stiffly while observing something that appeared to heavily catch his attention. It took a lot to attract the Doctor's attention; River was curious to know what it was this time, so she began approaching him with an amused grin on her face.

"Found something exciting, love?"

The second he heard her voice, he sharply turned in her direction and held up his left hand with the palm facing her. "Don't come any closer."

River hesitantly stopped, seeing how strictly he was instructing her. Taking his warning as him overreacting again, River continued moving towards him. "You're not going to hog all the fun for yourself now, are you?"

"River, I'm serious. Do not come over here."

She saw the deep seriousness in his face and began to grow worried. Again ignoring his warning, she moved closer until she was standing right beside him and looking down the hill to see what he saw. Down below, scattered across the snow-covered plain, were the dead bodies of hunters. Their limbs had been ripped off in gory fashion, causing much of the whiteness surrounding them to be stained with redness. It was a horrid sight for River, whose hand went to her mouth and nose, protecting them from the putrid smell that attempted to plague her senses.

Fighting the urge to vomit, she asked the Doctor, "What could've done this?"

"It was a wolf." From the corner of his eye, he could see her turning to him curiously. "A big…bad…wolf."

"How do you know?"

"Because Snow White heard one while she was camping out in the chicken coup with me last night."

More surprised than ever, River stammered, "Y-You met…the Snow White?"

The Doctor and River heard slushing footsteps approaching behind them and turned to see Red and Snow walking up to the well near them. Again, the Doctor warned, "Don't touch that well."

Red's face registered annoyance with the Doctor's command; she was already starting to pull up the bucket from the well as he gave the demand. "Why? I'm just getting some water to bring in."

"Because there's no water there…there's only…"

As the bucket came up, Red saw how differently the water looked; it was deep red and very thick. "That looks like blood," Red indicated.

The Doctor rolled his eyes in aggravation. "That's because it is." He then saw Snow show up right beside him and River, gazing down over the carnage at the foot of the hill, gasping in horror. "Don't…Oh, never mind. No one ever listens to me."

"Was this the wolf?" Snow questioned.

"Yes, it was." The Doctor stated. "And I believe it was the wolf that got the Cyberman we found by the road last night, too." He was clearly addressing River and Red on the latter clarification, as the quizzical expression on Snow's face told her lack of knowledge on Cybermen.

"Well, let's hope he gets all of the Cybermen and not anymore humans." River yearned.

The Doctor shook his head negatively. "No, River. Let's hope they don't. We need the Cybermen to get us out of here. They're experts on trans-dimensional travel."

River chuckled. "You accepting help from Cybermen? There's a first."

"I'm sorry, but what are these Cybermen you're talking about?" Snow inquired.

"People in metal armor." Red explained, recalling a past conversation with the Doctor on the beings in question. "They're like knights, but their skin is the metal."

The Doctor grinned over Red's simple description. "Very good." His grinning increased as soon as he saw her smirking from his compliment – he was finally starting to get back on her good side again.

"If the Cybermen are powerless against this beast, then it's certainly a danger worth sticking around to stop." River said.

"Oh, I agree." The Doctor acknowledged. "That's why we're staying to take care of it." He noticed the pleased look River gave him and added, "Yes, yes. I'm actually going to help. No reason in running away from a brilliant mystery like this. It'll be like 1879 Scotland all over again." Pulling out his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor returned to Granny's house. River, Red, and Snow looked back at him, each with different manifestations: River was impressed, Red was enthralled, and Snow was confused.

"Who did you say this man was?" Snow asked Red.

"He's called the Doctor." Red responded. "And he's brilliant."

Upon hearing the familiar line, River glowered towards Red, suspecting another possible connection between her and the man she loved…one that she did not approve of one bit.