We all sat around a round table in the living room. "This is how Madam Mortlock summons those from the Land of Mists, down in big town. Come, we must all join hands," Gwyneth said. "I can't take part in this," Charles said. "Humbug? Come on, open mind," The Doctor said.
"This is precisely the sort of cheap mummery I strive to unmask. Séances? Nothing but luminous tambourines and a squeeze box concealed between the knees. This girl knows nothing," Charles said. "Now, don't antagonise her," The Doctor said and smiled at me, "I love a happy medium."
"I can't believe you just said that," I said with a chuckle. "Come on, we might need you," The Doctor said to Charles. Charles was about to walk away until I let go off The Doctor's hand and pulled Charles down to the chair between me and Gwyneth. "Please," I asked.
"Oh, alright but only because the lovely miss asked me to," He said. "Thank you," I said and The Doctor grabbed my hand. I looked at him and smiled. He smile back and then he looked at Charles, "Good man." He looked at Gwyneth, "Now, Gwyneth, reach out."
"Speak to us. Are you there? Spirits, come. Speak to us that we may relieve your burden," Gwyneth said. I suddenly heard whispers, "Can you hear that?" I asked. "Nothing can happen. This is sheer folly," Charles said. "I see them. I feel them," Gwyneth said.
We all looked up and saw the gas, "What's it saying?" I asked. "They can't get through the rift. Gwyneth, it's not controlling you, you're controlling it. Now, look deep. Allow them through," The Doctor said. "I can't," Gwyneth said.
"He's right Gwyneth. Just believe it. We have faith in you," I said and felt The Doctor grip my hand meaning that I said the right thing. "Make the link," The Doctor said. "Yes," Gwyneth said.
A figure of a woman appeared behind her. "Great God! Spirits from the other side," Mr. Sneed said. "The other side of the universe," The Doctor said. "Pity us. Pity the Gelth. There is so little time. Help us," The spirit said. "What do you want us to do?" The Doctor asked.
"The rift. Take the girl to the rift. Make the bridge," The Gelth said. "What for?" The Doctor asked. "We are so very few. The last of our kind. We face extinction," The Gelth said. "Why, what happened?" The Doctor asked. "Once we had a physical form like you, but then the war came," The Gelth said.
"War? What war?" Charles asked. "The Time War. The whole universe convulsed," The Gelth said. The Doctor and I exchanged a look before looking back at the Gelth, "The Time War raged. Invisible to smaller species but devastating to higher forms. Our bodies wasted away. We're trapped in this gaseous state."
"So that's why you need the corpses," The Doctor said. "We want to stand tall, to feel the sunlight, to live again. We need a physical form, and your dead are abandoned. They're going to waste. Give them to us," The Gelth said.
"But we can't," I said. "Why not?" The Doctor asked me. "It's not -"
"Not decent?" He cut me off, "Not polite? It could save their lives."
"Open the rift. Let the Gelth through. We're dying. Help us. Pity the Gelth," The Gelth said before it disappeared and Gwyneth dropped to the table. "Gwyneth?" I called as I quickly got up and walked over to her. I tried to wake her up, "Gwyneth?"
"We need her," The Doctor said. "Leave her alone," I said, without looking up at him. I turned to Charles, "Help me place her on the couch." We both pulled her away from the table and placed her on the couch before I walked to the kitchen to grab a cloth and a bowl to full it with water.
"Sam," The Doctor started as he walked to the kitchen. "I know what you want to say," I said. "And my answer is no. You not going to let her be used. Leave her alone."
With that I walked past him back to the others with the bowl and the cloth. I sat down beside Gwyneth and put the cloth inside the bowl to full it with the water. Then I patted the wet cloth on her cheeks and forehead before she started to wake up.
"It's all right. Just sleep," I said softly. "But my angels, miss. They came, didn't they? They need me?" She asked. "They do need you, Gwyneth. You're they're only chance of survival," The Doctor said and I sighed.
"I told you to leave her alone. She's exhausted and she's not fighting your battles," I said and he sighed. "Drink this," I told Gwyneth as I handed her glass of water. "What did you say, Doctor? Explain it again. What are they?" Mr. Sneed asked. "Aliens," The Doctor said. "Like foreigners, you mean?" Mr. Sneed asked.
"Pretty foreign, yeah. From up there," The Doctor said. "Brecon?" Mr. Sneed asked. "Close. And they've been trying to get through from Brecon to Cardiff but the road's blocked. Only a few can get through and even then they're weak. They can only test drive the bodies for so long, then they have to revert to gas and hide in the pipes," The Doctor said. "Which is why they need the girl," Charles said.
"They're not having her," I said. "But she can help. Living on the rift, she's become part of it. She can open it up, make a bridge and let them through," The Doctor said. "Incredible. Ghosts that are not ghosts but beings from another world, who can only exist in our world by inhabiting cadavers," Charles said. "Good system. It might work," The Doctor said.
I got up and walked over to The Doctor, "You can't let them run around inside of dead people," I said. "Why not? It's like recycling," He said. "Seriously, you can't," I said. "Seriously, I can," He retorted back.
"It's wrong. Those bodies were living people. We should respect them, even in death," I said. "Do you carry a donor card?" He asked. "That's different," I insisted, "That's -"
"It is different, yeah," He cut me off, "It's a different morality. Get used to it or go home. You heard what they said, time's short. I can't worry about a few corpses when the last of the Gelth could be dying."
"I don't care. They're not using her," I said. "Don't I get a say, miss?" Gwyneth asked, making us both look at her. "You don't understand," I said. "You would say that, miss, because that's very clear inside your head, that you think I'm stupid," She said.
"No, that's not true," I protested softly. "Things might be very different where you're from, but here and now, I know my own mind, and the angels need me," She said before looking at The Doctor, "Doctor, what do I have to do?"
I took a deep breath and felt The Doctor's eyes on me but I didn't looked back at him. "You don't have to do anything," The Doctor told Gwyneth. "They've been singing to me since I was a child, sent by my mom on a holy mission. So tell me," She said.
"We need to find the rift. This house is on a weak spot, so there must be a spot that's weaker than any other. Mr. Sneed, what's the weakest part of this house? The place where most of the ghosts have been seen?" The Doctor asked. "That would be the morgue," Mr. Sneed said.
"Okay, come on," The Doctor said before Mr. Sneed started to lead Gwyneth and Charles away. The Doctor was about to follow but I stayed so he turned around to me, "Sam?"
I gave him one last look before walking past him to follow the others. He followed behind me and rushed to my side, "You angry," He stated. "What gave it up?" I asked sarcastically and he sighed, "This is the right thing to do." I rolled my eyes, "Whatever you say," I muttered.
We reached to a door and Mr. Sneed opened it before leading us down the stairs. It was a cold basement where the recently departed lie under white sheets. "Talk about Bleak House," The Doctor said. "The thing is the Gelth don't succeed, Doctor," I said, "Because I know they don't. I know for a fact there weren't corpses walking around in 1869."
"Time's in flux, changing every second. Your cozy little world can be rewritten like that," The Doctor said as he snapped his fingers. "Nothing is safe. Remember that. Nothing."
"Doctor, I think the room is getting colder," Charles said. "Here they come," I said. A Gelth came out of a gas lamp by the door and stood under a stone archway. "You've come to help. Praise the Doctor. Praise him," The Gelth said. "Promise you won't hurt her," I demanded.
"Hurry, please, so little time. Pity the Gelth," The Gelth said. "I'll take you somewhere else after the transfer. Somewhere you can build proper bodies. This isn't a permanent solution, all right," The Doctor said. "My angels. I can help them live," Gwyneth said.
"Okay, where's the weak point?" The Doctor asked. "Here, beneath the arch," The Gelth said. Gwyneth walked to it and I followed her, "You don't have to do this," I said. "My angels," She said as she touched my cheek before Doctor pulled me back and I stood at his side.
"Establish the bridge. Reach out to the void. Let us through," The Gelth said. "Yes, I can see you. I can see you. Come to me. Come to this world, poor lost souls," Gwyneth said. "It is begun. The bridge is made," The Gelth said. Gwyneth opened her mouth and more spirits came.
"She has given herself to the Gelth. The bridge is open. We descend," The Gelth said and suddenly it became more demonic, "The Gelth will come through in force."
"You said that you were few in number," Charles stated. "A few billion. And all of us in need of corpses," The Gelth said as each spirit entered a corpse. The corpses got up and we all backed away. "Gwyneth, stop this. Listen to your master. This has gone far enough," Mr. Sneed said, "Stop dabbling, child, and leave these things alone."
A body came up behind Mr. Sneed, "Mr. Sneed, behind you!" I yelled but then the body grabbed Mr. Sneed and snapped his neck. A spirit of The Gelth had entered Mr. Sneed. "I think it's gone a little bit wrong," The Doctor said.
"I have joined the legions of the Gelth. Come, march with us," The Gelt said through Mr. Sneed. "No," Charles said. "We need bodies. All of you. Dead. The human race. Dead," The Gelth said.
"Gwyneth, stop them! Send them back now!" The Doctor demanded. "Three more bodies. Convert them. Make them vessels for the Gelth," The Gelth said. "I can't. I'm sorry," Charles said before running out.
The Doctor pulled me into a dungeon room and closed the door. The bodies came towards the door, trying to reach us. "Give yourself to glory. Sacrifice your lives for the Gelth," The Gelth said.
"I trusted you. I pitied you," The Doctor said. "We don't want your pity. We want this world and all it's flesh," The Gelth said. "Not while I'm alive," The Doctor said. "Then live no more," The Gelth said.
I looked at the bodies, scared. I swallowed, grabbing onto The Doctor, who then held onto me as well. "But I can't die," I said, shaking my head before looking at The Doctor, "I haven't even been born yet. It's impossible for me to die. Isn't it?" He looked at me, "I'm sorry."
"But it's 1869. How can I die now?" I asked with tears in my eyes. "Time isn't a straight line. It can twist into any shape. You can be born in the 20th century and die in the 19th and it's all my fault. I brought you here," He said. "It's not your fault. I wanted to come," I said.
"What about me? I saw the fall of Troy, World War Five. I pushed boxes at the Boston Tea Party. Now I'm going to die in a dungeon in Cardiff," The Doctor said. "It's not just dying. We'll become one of them. We'll go down fighting, yeah," I said. "Yeah," He said. "Together?" I asked. "Yeah," He repeated before we linked our hands together.
"I'm glad I met you," The Doctor said with a smile. "Me too," I said with a smile. "Doctor!" We heard Charles as he ran back in, "Doctor! Turn off the flame, turn up the gas! Now, fill the room, all of it, now!"
"What're you doing?" The Doctor asked. "Turn it all on. Flood the place," Charles said. "Brilliant. Gas," The Doctor said. "Am I correct, Doctor? These creatures are gaseous," Charles said. "Fill the room with gas, it'll draw them out of the host. Suck them into the air like poison from a wound," The Doctor said.
The bodies started walking towards Charles but then all of the spirits started exiting the bodies. The Doctor opened the dungeon door and stepped out with me following. "Gwyneth, send them back. They lied. They're not angels," The Doctor said.
"Liars?" Gwyneth asked with a frown. "Look at me. If your mother and father could look down and see this, they'd tell you the same. They'd give you the strength. Now send them back," The Doctor said. "They're too strong," Gwyneth said.
"Remember that world you saw? Sam's world? All those people. None of it will exist unless you send them back through the rift," The Doctor said. "I can't send them back. But I can hold them. Hold them in this place, hold them here. Get out," Gwyneth said.
She pulled out something from her pocket and I knew what she was trying to do. "No! You can't," I said and The Doctor grabbed my arms to stop me from walking towards her. "Sam. Get out. Please. I won't leave her while she's still in danger," He said and I stared at him for a moment before nodding and then I ran out with Charles.
As we ran off to safety, I occasionally looked back watching for The Doctor. We got outside the house and waited for The Doctor. Suddenly, there was an explosion from the house as he got out and Charles and I ducked. We got up as The Doctor stood up as well and I looked at him.
Gwyneth wasn't with him.
She was dead.
"She didn't make it," I said sadly. "I'm sorry. She closed the rift," The Doctor said. "At such a cost. The poor child," Charles said. I looked down before back at The Doctor, "I did try, Sam, but Gwyneth was already dead," He said, "She had been for at least five minutes."
"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning. "I think she was dead from the minute she stood in that arch," He said. "But she can't have. She spoke to us. She helped us. She saved us. How could she have done that?" I asked.
"There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy. Even for you, Doctor," Charles said. "She saved the world," I said, "A servant girl. No one will ever know."
... ...
After a little while, The Doctor and I went back to the TARDIS while Charles followed us. "Right then, Charlie boy, I've just got to go into my . . . shed. Won't be long," The Doctor said. "What are you going to do now?" I asked.
"I shall take the mail coach back to London, quite literally post-haste. This is no time for me to be on my own. I shall spend Christmas with my family and make amends to them. After all I've learned tonight, there can be nothing more vital," Charles said. "You've cheered up," The Doctor said.
"Exceedingly. This morning, I thought I knew everything in the world. Now I know I've just started. All these huge and wonderful notions, Doctor. I'm inspired. I must write about them," Charles said. "And that's wise?" I asked.
"I shall be subtle at first. The Mystery of Edwin Drood still lacks an ending. Perhaps the killer was not the boy's uncle. Perhaps he was not of this Earth. The Mystery of Edwin Drood and the Blue Elementals. I can spread the word, tell the truth," Charles said. "Good luck with it. Nice to meet you. Fantastic," The Doctor said.
"Bye then, and thank you," I said and then kissed Charles on the cheek. "My dear, how modern. Thank you, but, I don't understand. In what way is this goodbye?" He asked and I smiled. "Where are you going?"
"You'll see. In the shed," The Doctor said. "Upon my soul, Doctor, it's one riddle after another with you. But after all these revelations, there's one mystery you still haven't explained. Answer me this. Who are you?" Charles asked. "Just a friend passing through," The Doctor replied.
"But you have such knowledge of future times. I don't wish to impose on you, but I must ask you. My books. Doctor, do they last?" Charles asked. The Doctor smiled, "Oh, yes," He said. "For how long?" Charles asked.
"Forever," The Doctor replied and Charles nodded on response. "Right. Shed. Come on, Sam," The Doctor said. "In the box? Both of you?" Charles asked. "Down boy," The Doctor said, "See ya."
He stepped into the TARDIS and I gave one last smile to Charles before following. I closed the door and walked towards The Doctor, "Doesn't that change history if he writes about blue ghosts?" I asked. "In a week's time it's 1870, and that's the year he dies. Sorry. He'll never get to tell his story," He said.
"He was so nice," I said. "But in your time, he was already dead. We've brought him back to life, and he's more alive now than he's ever been, old Charlie boy," He said and smiled, "Let's give him one last surprise." He pulled up a lever, making the TARDIS to slowly disappear in front of Charles.