Chapter Twenty-Six: Doctor and Tracker
When the Doctor agreed to help Red with her "wolf situation," he did not anticipate her and Snow actually going with him and River to track the beast down. A half an hour out in the woods and Red was already becoming bothersome as he scanned certain footprints that he found in the snow with the sonic screwdriver. Red informed the Doctor right away of what type of creature made the prints, giving him zero opportunity of glimpsing over the readouts on the sonic. Just as he found a pair of footprints that looked like a wolf's, Red suddenly said before he even had a chance to scan, "That's a…"
"OK, that is becoming slightly annoying." The Doctor blurted out in aggravation.
Red jumped in alarm from the tone of his voice. Seeing how aggravated he was, River stepped in to calm him. "Relax, love. She's only helping."
After taking a deep breath, the Doctor nodded in acceptance of this and returned his focus on the prints in the snow. River glanced at Red, who looked upon the Doctor with concerned eyes, and grew a bit curious. "So what really possessed you to come with us on this search?"
Before answering River, Red quickly looked to Snow, who appeared a bit agitated the entire time they were out there. "We just…want to help." Her answer (and the quick look she gave Snow) made River a little suspicious, although she would not press on about it any further for the sake of their current business out in the woods.
Meanwhile, the Doctor continued to come across prints from other various woodland creatures until he finally found ones that were much bigger. Taking a quick scan of these prints, the Doctor afterward checked the readouts, a mixture of delight and surprise emerging on his face. "We've found it!" The others soon approached, seeing the footprints that he found.
Snow's eyes grew wide. "T-That's our wolf?"
"It certainly is!" The Doctor joyously exclaimed while fiddling with the sonic screwdriver. "Now to just adjust the sonic's settings to center on our wolf by tracking his prints."
Watching the Doctor work, Red began to feel a little insignificant. "You know, Doctor…I'm a very good tracker. I can find where the wolf is much faster than…"
"I appreciate the assistance, Red, but it won't be needed." He hardly looked her way while focusing on the sonic screwdriver and following in the direction that it led him to. "Now then, onward ho!"
Red disapprovingly sighed, following the Doctor with Snow and River in tow. Although River was somewhat delighted over how he was blowing off Red's attempts to help, she could not help but to feel a bit sad for the young woman – she was only trying to help after all. But River knew that the Doctor worked best without much assistance, so she allowed him to do what he had to do in finding the wolf.
The group moved in the directions that the sonic screwdriver and the wolf's footprints were leading them in for a couple of minutes before reaching a point in the tracks that made the alien device short circuit – at least that's what the Doctor believed it to be doing. Smacking it a few times, he bellowed, "Blimey! What is it with this thing? Just when I have it on 'wolf,' it changes to 'human'!"
River, Red, and Snow looked to the ground and spotted the reason behind the sonic screwdriver's sudden "malfunction." "Erm…Doctor? You might want to look to the ground again."
The Doctor did as Snow suggest and looked, discovering how the tracks to follow after the wolf's contained a peculiar design to them. Crouching down to get a closer look, the Doctor realized that the new set of tracks was half wolf and half human (the human side appearing more like a boot print). Astonishment registered on the Doctor's face as he began to see what type of creature they were dealing with. "It's Scotland 1879 all over again."
"What?" River queried, barely catching what the Doctor muttered.
"We're not dealing with a wolf." The Doctor clarified. "We're dealing with a werewolf."
Puzzled from this revelation, Snow asked, "What is a…werewolf?"
"A man that starts out a man, bitten by a wolf, and then turns into a wolf under a full moon." The Doctor rapidly explained.
Catching on, Red reacted with surprise. "Oh, Gods! I think I know of such a creature! There's a story I heard once…during Wolfstime, on a full moon…"
"Later, Red." The Doctor insisted. "Right now, we need to continue following these tracks to find out where this man-who-becomes-a-wolf lives." He then hurriedly followed the remaining tracks, leaving behind a disgruntled Red.
"Is he deliberately ignoring me?" Red wondered aloud.
River tried her best to hold off smiling. "It's what he does, dear."
The boot prints that the Doctor followed through the snow led him and the women back to the cottage. Stopping near the home of Granny and Red, the Doctor stood in shock to see how the tracks led to one of the windows. Snow, Red, and River were just as surprised to see where they ultimately ended up. "Who's gone to your window, Red?" Snow asked.
Red's mouth gaped open; the horror on her face showed as realization set in. Snow saw this and realized herself who it was. "Is it Peter? Has Peter been to your window?"
The Doctor, for the first time since they set out on the expedition, focused his attention solely on Red. "Who's Peter?" Red could barely answer him in the state of shock she was in. The Doctor had to depend on the passionate gaze that River directed at him to make the connection. Nodding understandingly, the Doctor muttered, "Oh…I see."
"Last night," Red finally managed to say, "before the killings, he never joined in to hunt the wolf."
Snow shook her head in rejection. "I'm sure that he wouldn't have killed…"
"He wouldn't!" Red fervently exclaimed. "But when the wolf takes over…"
"There's a hunting party going out tonight." River reminded everyone.
Red's eyes widened in alarm. "They're gonna kill him…or he's gonna kill them."
"Then you have to stay away from him." The Doctor asserted, much to the scare of the three women accompanying him. "If he's the werewolf, then you should do as your grandmother says and stay inside this very night."
"She can't do that." Snow contradicted. "She loves him. If anything, she should go to him and tell him…warn him!"
"It'll be dark soon." The Doctor indicated. "We can't risk it."
Red angrily advanced on the Doctor. "You know, all my life, I've been told what to do…been treated like a child. I don't need anyone telling me what to do anymore."
"Red, you need to listen to me." The Doctor demanded. "I forbid you to see Peter tonight!"
His command made Red chuckle amusingly. "Wow. You really sound like my grandmother. Why is it when I begin to trust you again you give me another reason not to?" On this question, she walked away from the Doctor, returning to the cottage. Snow quickly followed after her, leaving the Doctor alone with River.
Dejected, the Doctor watched her and Snow angrily go inside the cottage. "It's been a long time since something like that has happened."
River snickered. "C'mon, sweetie. You've had plenty lose trust in you. You'll get hers back once she sees you're only trying to save her."
"I meant it's been a long time since someone's related me to a grandparent."