Shareen vs the Universe
Blink
One dark and windy night, a young blonde woman jumped the fence leading into a run-down mansion house. She kicked in some planks barricading a window and made her way inside the property, then began to look around by torchlight, taking the occasional picture with a camera she'd brought with her. The woman soon noticed a spot on the wall where the paper had began peeling and reached up to tear it back, first finding the word 'Beware'. Pulling back more paper revealed 'The Weeping Angels' then 'Oh, and duck! Really duck!' Pulling back even more paper, the woman stared at the sight of her name on the wall: 'Sally Sparrow.' She pulled back the last strip of paper to see 'Duck now!'
Hearing the sound of glass breaking, Sally ducked and a large stone hit the wall where her head just was. She looked at the stone in disbelief and turned to the window, using her torch in an attempt to find the culprit, seeing only a stone statue of an angel weeping. She turned back to the wall and tore away the last strip of paper to see 'Love from the Doctor (1969).
~8~
Having seen enough, Sally went to the house where her friend Kathy Nightingale lived. "Kathy?" Sally called out, climbing the stairs. She then noticed a man in a brown suit on the telly in the living room.
"Your life could depend on this." the man on screen said. "Don't blink! Don't even blink. Blink, and you're dead. They are fast, faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back, don't look away, and don't blink. Good luck."
Sally entered the living room as the video finished. There were several screens set up in the room, all with the same man on them, though on some screens he was joined by a lovely young black woman who looked very irate about something. Sally then went into the kitchen and put the kettle on. While she was waiting for the water to boil, she dialled Kathy's mobile. "Hello?" a groggy Kathy answered
"Bit freaked. Need to talk. Making you a coffee." Sally told her
"Sally Sparrow, it's one in the morning." Kathy grumbled. "You think I'm coming round at one in the morning?"
"No. I'm the kitchen." Sally answered. "What's that on all those screens in your front room?"
"Oh, God." Kathy huffed, then suddenly sounded panicked, "Oh God! Sally, you've met my brother Larry haven't you?"
"No."
"You're about to."
The door to the kitchen opened and Sally saw a brown-haired man with stubble standing there, completely starkers. "Ok." Larry mumbled awkwardly. "Not sure, but really, really hoping. Pants?"
"No." an amused Sally shook her head
"Put them on! Put them on!" a frantic Kathy hissed from down the hall. "I hate you! What were you thinking?!" Larry shuffled away and Kathy sped into the room. "Sorry." she said to Sally, "My useless brother." Then she saw Sally looking rather rattled, and not because of the naked man she's just seen. "Sally, what's wrong? What's happened?"
~8~
Next morning, Sally took Kathy to the old mansion to show her what she'd seen. "Ok. Let's investigate." Kathy said. "You and me, girl investigators. Love it! Hey, Sparrow and Nightingale! That so works."
"Bit ITV." Sally laughed
"I know!" Kathy grinned
They were soon looking through the house.
"What did you come here for, anyway?" Kathy asked, a bit creeped out by the eerie house.
"I love old things." Sally replied, taking a good look around the room. "They make me feel sad."
"What's good about sad?" Kathy asked as they entered the room where Sally had found the message.
"It's happy for deep people." Sally replied. She looked at the message, seeing it in it's entirety. Then she looked out of the window at the angel statue. "The Weeping Angel." she commented
"Wouldn't have that in my garden." Kathy remarked, feeling rather creeped out by the statue.
"It's moved." Sally frowned, noticing that the statue was in a different position from last night.
"It's what?"
"Since yesterday." Sally replied. "I'm sure of it, it's closer. It's got closer to the house." She shook her head and turned back to the message on the wall. "How can my name be written here?" she wandered, "How is that possible?"
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. "Who'd come here?" Kathy whispered. Sally went to answer the door. "What're ya doing?" Kathy hissed, "It could be a burglar!"
"A burglar who rings the doorbell?" Sally retorted
Kathy could see her point. "Ok. I'll stay here in case of..."
"In case of?"
"Incidents?" Kathy tried
"Ok." Sally conceded, and went to the front door while Kathy stayed in the room.
Sally unbolted the front door and opened it to find a man in a suit standing there. "I'm looking for Sally Sparrow." the man said
"How did you know I'd be here?" Sally frowned
"I was told to bring this letter." the man replied, producing an envelope from his jacket. "On this date, at this exact time to Sally Sparrow."
"It looks old." Sally noted, looking at it.
"It is old." the man confirmed. "I'm sorry, do you have anything with a photograph on it, like a driving licence?"
While Sally was dealing with the man, Kathy was in the other room, watching. She heard a noise and went to investigate. "How did you know I was coming here?" she heard Sally say, "I didn't tell anyone. How could anyone know?"
"It's all a bit complicated." the man responded. "I'm not sure I understand it myself."
Kathy peered out of the window. There was nothing there except the statue. Satisfied, she turned around and went back towards the door, not seeing that the statue's hands were no longer covering it's eyes.
"I'm sorry, I feel really stupid." the man said to Sally, checking her driver's licence. "But I was told to make absolutely sure. It's so hard to tell with these little photographs, isn't it?"
"Apparently." Sally shrugged as the man gave her the licence back.
"Well, here goes, I suppose." the man said. "Funny feeling after all these years."
"Who's it from?" Sally questioned
"Well, that's a long story actually."
"Gimme a name." Sally insisted
"Katherine Wainwright." the man replied. "But she specified I should tell you that prior to marriage she was called Kathy Nightingale."
Just then, there was a bang coming from the room Kathy had been in. "Kathy?" Sally called
"Kathy, yes." the man told her, "Katherine Costello Nightingale."
"Is this a joke?" Sally glared
"A joke?" the man questioned
"Kathy, is this you?" Sally grumbled, going to the other room to give her friend a piece of her mind. "Very funny." She entered the room to find no sign of Kathy. "Kathy?" Sally called, wandering where her friend had got to.
~8~
Kathy meanwhile found herself in the middle of a country field. She had no idea how she'd got there. One moment she was in the room, listening to Sally and the man, the next, she was here.
~8~
In the house, Sally was searching all over for Kathy, but there was no sign of her. "Please, you need to take this." the man insisted, gesturing to the envelope in his hand. "I promised."
Sally decided to play along with whatever strange game this man was up to.
~8~
Meanwhile, Kathy managed to find someone, a man in old-fashioned clothing, who was sitting on a wall eating an apple and reading a newspaper. "Excuse me?" Kathy called to him. "Where am I? I was in London. I was in the middle of London."
"Yer in Hull." the man told her in a thick Yorkshire accent.
"No I'm not." Kathy laughed
"This is Hull." the man told her
"No, it isn't." Kathy insisted. There was no way she could've gone from London to Hull in the blink of an eye.
"Yer in Hull." the man told her firmly
"I'm not in Hull. Stop saying Hull!" Kathy glared
~8~
"Who are you?" Sally questioned as she approached the man with the envelope. "Why're you here?"
"I made a promise." he replied
"Who to?"
"My grandmother, Katherine Costello Nightingale."
~8~
In the field, Kathy decided to check the man's newspaper. "Don't have that in London." he said to her. "There's no call for it. It's all Hull."
Kathy took the paper. It was the Hull Times. Her eyes widened at the date: 5th December... "1920?" she gasped.
~8~
"Your grandmother?" Sally questioned the man sceptically
"Yes." he replied. "She died 20 years ago."
Sally took the envelope and opened it to find photos of Kathy in period clothes. "So they're related?" she asked the man
"I'm sorry?"
"My Kathy, your grandmother. They're practically identical."
~8~
In 1920, Kathy turned and stormed off in shock. "Where're yer going?" the man with the newspaper questioned, getting up to go after her.
~8~
Sally found a letter in the envelope and began to read it. 'My dearest Sally Sparrow' it said, 'If my grandson has done as he's promised he will, then as you read these words it has been mere minutes since we last spoke. For you. For me, it has been 60 years. The third of the photographs is of my children.' Sally looked at the relevant photo, showing Kathy with the man with the newspaper and two children, a boy and a girl. 'The youngest is Sally. I named her after you, of course." The fourth photo showed a much older Kathy with what appeared to be grandchildren.
"This is sick!" Sally said in disbelief, "This is totally sick!" She threw the items on the floor and ran upstairs to look for her friend one last time. "Kathy? Kathy!" she called, but all she found were two angel statues, exactly like the one in the garden, though one was in a slightly different pose, with only arm covering it's eyes. The other arm was hanging down and a key on a string was dangling from the hand. Sally heard a fluttering from behind her. She spun round, only to find another angel statue, this one in the weeping pose. Sally bent down to examine the key one of the statues was holding, not noticing that the one behind her had lowered it's hands, no longer covering it's eyes. Sally pried the key from the statue's grip and looked at it closely. Suddenly, she heard the front door slamming. "No! Wait, hang on!" she called, racing back down the stairs, not noticing that the statue behind her now had it's arm outstretched.
When Sally got back downstairs, she found that the man had gone and the letter and photos had been picked up and placed on a side board. She grabbed them and went to find somewhere to read the rest of the letter, unware that the statues had moved and were watching her from the windows.
~8~
Sally was soon sat in a café, reading the rest of the letter. 'I suppose unless I live to an exceptional old age, I will be long gone as you read this.' the letter said, 'Don't feel sorry for me. I have led a good and full life. I've loved a good man and been well-loved in return. You would have liked Ben." Sally looked at a photo of Kathy and the man with the newspaper in wedding clothes. 'He was the very first person I met in 1920.'
~8~
In 1920, Kathy stalked through the field and saw Ben following her. "Are you following me?" she glared
"Yeah." Ben replied simply
"Are you gonna stop following me?"
"No, I don't think so." Ben smirked
~8~
In 2007, Sally walked through a graveyard until she found headstone marked 'In loving memory Benjamin Wainwright (1897-1962) and his loving wife Katherine Costello Wainwright (1902-1987)
Sally placed some flowers on the grave and read more of the letter. 'To take one breath in 2007 and the next in 1920 is a strange way to start a new life, but a new life is exactly what I've always wanted.'
Sally looked at Kathy's date of birth on the headstone. "1902? You told him you were 18? You lying cow!" she smiled, then turned back to the letter.
'My mum and dad are gone by your time, so really there's only Lawrence to tell. He works at the DVD store on Queen Street. I don't know what you're going to say, but I know you'll think of something. Just tell him I love him.'
Sally left the graveyard, not noticing a statue exactly like the ones from the house watching her.
~8~
Presently, Sally arrived at the DVD shop Kathy's letter specified: Banto's DVDs. She went to the counter where Banto was watching Gangsters on the telly. "Excuse me, I'm looking for Lawrence Nightingale." Sally asked him
"Through the back." Banto told her, and she went through the curtain into the back room.
"Hello?" Sally called out, finding the room empty. Her attention was then caught by a telly. On it was the clip of the man in the brown suit and the black woman.
"Martha!" the man scolded
"Sorry." the woman, Martha, mumbled, then moved out of shot.
"Quite possibly." the man said to the camera. "'Fraid so."
At that moment, Larry entered the room. "Oh, hello." he said, seeing Sally. "Can I help ya?"
"Hi." Sally greeted.
"38." the man on the screen said randomly.
"Er, just a mo." Larry said, moving past Sally to grab the remote and pause the video "Hang on. We've met, haven't we?" he asked Sally
"It'll come to you." Sally smirked
Recognition dawned on Larry. "Oh, my God!" he groaned, instinctively putting the bowl he was holding over his gusset even though he was fully dressed this time.
"There it is." Sally laughed
"Sorry. Sorry again, about the whole..."
"Message from your sister." Sally said, getting to the point.
"Oh, ok." Larry said, then frowned when he saw her serious expression. "What? What is it? What's the message?"
"She's had to go away for a bit." Sally told him
"Where?"
"Just a work thing. Nothing to worry about."
"Ok."
"And..."
"And what?"
"She loves you." Sally told him
"She what?" Larry laughed. That didn't sound like his sister at all.
"She said to say. She just sort of mentioned it. She loves you. There, that's nice, isn't it?"
"Is she ill?" Larry asked worriedly
"No! No." Sally reassured him
"Am I ill?" Larry asked, patting himself down.
"No."
"Is this a trick?"
"No. She loved you."
At that moment, the video resumed by itself. "Yeh... yeah. People don't understand time." the man said. "It's not what you think it is."
Larry paused the video again. "Sorry, the pause keeps slipping." he told Sally
"Who is this guy?" Sally asked him. "Last night at Kathy's, you had him on those screens. That same guy. Talking about, I dunno, blinking or something."
"Yeah, the bit about blinking is great." Larry smirked, sitting down. "I was just checking to see if they were all the same."
"What were the same?" Sally asked, "What is this? Who is he?"
"An Easter egg." Larry replied
"Excuse me?" Sally questioned
"Like a DVD extra, yeah? Larry explained. "Ya know on DVDs they put extras on, documentaries and stuff? Well, sometimes they put on hidden ones, and call 'em Easter eggs. Ya have to go and look for 'em, follow up a bunch of clues in the menu screen."
At that moment, the pause slipped again. "Complicated." the man said
"Sorry." Larry said, pausing the video again. "It's interesting, actually. He is on 17 different DVDs. There are 17 totally unrelated DVDs, all with him on, always hidden away, always a secret. Not even the publishers know how he got there. I've talked to the manufacturers, right? They don't even know. He's like... he's a ghost DVD extra. Just shows up where he's not supposed to be. But only on those. Those 17."
"Well, what does he do?" Sally asked, eyeing the man on screen.
"Just sits there making random remarks." Larry remarked "It's like we're hearing half a conversation. Me and the guys are always trying to work out the other half."
"When you say you and the guys, you mean the internet, don't you?" Sally smiled knowingly
"How'd you know?" Larry frowned
"Spooky, isn't it?" Sally smirked
Larry resumed the video. "Very complicated." the man said
"Lawrence, need ya!" Banto called from out front
"'Scuse me a sec." Larry said to Sally, then rushed off to comply, leaving Sally alone with the video playing.
"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect." the man said. "But actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff."
"Started well, that sentence." Sally remarked
"It got away from me, yeah." the man said
"Ok, that was weird." Sally frowned. "Like you can hear me."
"Well, I CAN hear you." the man said, causing Sally's eyes to widen.
"Ok, that's enough." she said, pausing the video again, "I've had enough now. I've had a long day, and I've had bloody enough!" She turned to see Larry walk back in, carrying a folder. "Sorry." she said to him, "Bad day."
"Got you the list." Larry said, pulling a sheet of paper out of the folder.
"What?"
"The 17 DVDs, I thought you might be interested."
"Yeah, great, thanks." Sally said, taking the paper from him and walking out.
As she passed the counter, she heard Banto shouting at his telly. "Go to the police, you stupid woman!" he ranted. "Why does nobody ever just go to the police?"
Sally paused hearing that. She decided she was going to do just that.
~8~
Sally was soon at the police station, telling the desk sergeant about the situation. "Look, I know how mad I'm sounding." she said, exasperated that the man didn't seem to be taking her seriously.
"Shall we try from the beginning this time?" he suggested
"Ok." Sally nodded. "There's this house, a big old house, been empty for years, falling apart. Wester Drumlins, out by the estate. You've probably seen it."
"Wester Drumlins?" the desk sergeant questioned
"Yes."
"Could you just wait here for a moment?" the desk sergeant said, and went into a back room.
Sally gave an exasperated sigh then turned to look out the window, where it was pouring with rain outside. Her attention was caught by the church across the road. Adjacent to the church's windows were two weeping angel statues, exactly like the ones at Wester Drumlins. She blinked and the statues were gone. She went up to the window for a closer look, but the statues had vanished into thin air. "Ok, cracking up now." Sally muttered to herself. She didn't know that the statues were now right by the police station window.
Sally's attention was caught by a dashing black man, who had just come out of the back room, looking at some papers. "Hi, D.I Billy Shipton." he fired off, not looking up from his papers, "Wester Drumlins, that's mine. Can't talk to you now, got a thing I can't be late for, so if you could just..." Then he looked up and saw Sally. His manner immediately changed. "Hello!" he grinned
"Hello." Sally smiled back
"Er, Marcie, can you tell them I'm gonna be late for that thing?" Billy said to a receptionist.
~8~
Billy took Sally to the station's lock-up garage which was full of cars that had been found abandoned at Wester Drumlins. "All of them?" Sally questioned
"Over the last two years, yeah." Billy replied. "They all still had personal items in them and a couple still had the motor running."
"So over the last two years the owners of all these vehicles have driven up to Wester Drumlins, parked outside and just disappeared." Sally noted. Then she noticed a large box, similar to a phone box, but blue and with police written on it. "What's that?" she asked
"Ah! The pride of the Wester Drumlins collection." Billy replied. "We found that there too, someone's idea of a joke, I suppose."
"But what is it? What's a police box?" Sally asked him
"Well, it's a special kind of phone box for policemen." Billy explained, "They used to have them all over. But this isn't a real one. The phone's just a dummy and the windows are the wrong size. We can't even get in it." He tried the door to prove his point. It wouldn't budge. "Ordinary Yale lock, but nothing fits. But that's not the big question. See, you're missing the big question."
"Ok, what's the big question?"
"Will ya have a drink with me?"
"I'm sorry?" Sally blinked
"Drink, you, me, now?" Billy asked
"Aren't you on duty, Detective Inspector Shipton?" Sally laughed
"Nope. Knocked off before I left. Told 'em I had a family crisis."
"Why?"
"Because life is short and you are hot." Billy smirked, causing Sally to blush. "Drink?"
"No." Sally politely rebuked him and began to walk away.
"Ever?"
"Maybe."
"Phone number?" Billy tried, going after her.
"Moving kinda fast, DI Shipton."
"Billy. I'm off duty."
"Aren't you just." Sally laughed, handing him a piece of paper.
"Is that your phone number?"
"Just my phone number." she told him, "Not a promise, not a guarantee, not an IOU, just a phone number."
"And that's Sally..."
"Sally Shipton, Sparrow." she hastily corrected, wincing at her slip. "Sally Sparrow. I'm going now, don't look at me."
"I'll phone you." Billy called as Sally walked away.
"Don't look at me." Sally called back
"Phone you tomorrow."
"Don't look at me!"
"Might even phone you tonight."
"Don't look at me!"
"Definitely gonna phone you, gorgeous girl!"
"You definitely better!" Sally called back as she left the garage.
Billy smirked triumphantly and turned, only to see four weeping angel statues standing by the phone box, statues that definitely weren't there before. Billy frowned and went for a closer look. He went right up to one, then he blinked...
~8~
Outside, Sally was just crossing the street when she remembered the key she'd found at Wester Drumlins. She pulled it out of her pocket and looked at it. It was a Yale key. Then she remembered what Billy had said about the lock on the phone box being a Yale lock. She realised that this key could be for the box, so she hurried back inside to tell Billy, but when she got to the garage, she found that Billy, the box and the statues were all gone, while the garage doors appeared to have been forced open.
~8~
It all happened so fast for Billy. One moment he was looking at the angel statue, then he blinked and the next thing he knew, he was staggering backwards in an alley at night. He slammed into the wall and slid to the ground. "Welcome." a voice called, and Billy looked round to see Martha and the man from the video approach him.
"W-where am I?" Billy mumbled.
"1969." the man replied, waving some kind of detector around. ""Not bad, as it goes. You've got the moon landing to look forward to."
"Oh, the moon landing's brilliant." Martha added. "We went four times with Shareen. Back when we had transport..." She shot the man an annoyed glare.
"Working on it." the man tried to pacify her
"How did I get here?" Billy asked
"The same way we did." the man replied. "The touch of an Angel. Same one, probably, since you ended up in the same year."
Billy attempted to stand.
"No, no, no, no, no. Don't get up." the man advised him. "Time travel without a capsule, nasty. Catch ya breath, don't go swimming for half-an-hour."
"I don't... I can't..." Billy stammered
"Fascinating race, the Weeping Angels." the man mused, "The only psychopaths in the universe to kill ya nicely. No mess, no fuss, they just zap you into the past an' let ya live to death. The rest of ya life used up an' blown away in the blink of an eye. You die in the past, an' in the present they consume the energy of all the days you might've had, all ya stolen moments. They're creatures of the abstract, they live off potential energy."
"What in God's name are you talking about?" Billy questioned, confused.
"Trust me, just nod when he stops for breath." Martha told him
"Tracked ya down with this." the man said to Billy, gesturing to the device he was holding. "This is my timey-wimey detector. It goes ding when there's stuff. Also, it can boil an egg at 30 paces, whether you want to or not, actually, so I've learned to stay away from hens. It's not pretty when they blow."
"I don't understand, where am I?" Billy asked, still puzzled.
"It's 1969, like he says." Martha told him
"Normally, I'd offer you a lift home, but somebody nicked my motor." the man said. "So I need you take a couple of messages to Sally Sparrow. And I'm sorry, Billy, I am very, very sorry. It's gonna take you a while."
~8~
In 2007, Sally was just looking at the broken garage door when her phone rang, which she promptly answered "Hello? Billy, where are you?" She frowned when she got the answer. "Where?"
~8~
Sally was soon at a hospital. She walked through a ward until she reached a bed where an elderly black man was sleeping. "Billy?" she whispered. The patient just kept sleeping. Sally looked at him carefully. It was Billy, considerably older, but definitely him. Not wishing to disturb him, Sally turned to look out the window at the pouring rain outside.
At that moment, Billy woke. "It was raining when we met." he said
"It's the same rain." Sally replied. She was soon sat at his bedside, looking at a photo of Billy on his wedding day. "She looks nice." she said, looking at his wife.
"Her name was Sally too." Billy told her
"Sally Shipton." she smiled at the irony.
"Sally Shipton!" Billy laughed. "I often thought about looking for you before tonight, but apparently it would've torn a hole in the fabric of space and time and destroyed two thirds of the universe. Also, I'd lost my hair." he finished good-naturedly
"Two thirds of the universe, where'd you get that from?" Sally asked him
"There's a man in 1969." Billy replied. "He sent me with a couple of messages for you."
"What man?" Sally asked
"The Doctor."
Sally immediately recognised that name from the writing on the wall at Wester Drumlins. "And what were the messages?" she asked
"The first is to find this woman." Billy replied, handing Sally a slip of paper that he'd obviously been carrying for the last 38 years.
Sally looked at the paper to see that it had a name and address written on it: 'Shareen Costello, 41 Eichen House, the Powell Estate, Southwark.' "And what was the second message?" she asked Billy
"Just this: look at the list."
"What does that mean? Is that it, look at the list?"
"He said you'd have it by now." Billy replied, "A list of 17 DVDs."
Sally produced the list of DVDs Larry had given her.
"I didn't stay a policeman back then." Billy explained, "Got into publishing. Then video publishing. Then DVDs, of course."
"You put the Easter eggs on?" Sally realised
"Have you noticed what all 17 DVDs have in common yet?" Billy asked her.
Sally shook her head.
"I suppose it's hard for you, in a way." Billy observed observed
"But how could the Doctor have even known I had a list?" Sally questioned, "I only just got this."
"I asked him, but he said he couldn't tell me. He said you'd understand it one day, but that I never would."
"Soon as I understand it, I'll come and tell you." Sally laughed
"No, gorgeous girl, you can't." Billy lamented, "There's only tonight. He told me all those years ago that we'd only meet again this one time. On the night I die."
"Oh, Billy." Sally sighed sadly
"It's kept me going." Billy said, putting on a brave face. "I'm an old, sick man. But I've had something to look forward to. Ah, life is long, and you are hot." They both shared a laugh at that. "Oh, look at my hands." he sighed, "They're old man's hands. How did that happen?"
"I'll stay." Sally promised him. It was the least she could do. "I'm gonna stay with you, ok?"
"Thank you, Sally Sparrow." Billy smiled, "I have till the rain stops."
And so, Sally stayed. She stayed at Billy's bedside until he passed away peacefully, just when the rain stopped.
~8~
At Banto's, Larry was working when his phone rang. "Banto's." he answered
"They're mine." Sally said on the other end.
"What?"
"The DVDs on the list, the 17 DVDs. What they've got in common is ME. They're all the DVDs I own. The Easter egg was intended for me."
"You've only got seventeen DVDs?"
"Do you have a portable DVD player?" Sally asked him
"Course, why?"
"I want you to meet me." Sally told him.
"Where?"
"Wester Drumlins." Sally replied, "But first there's someone I have to meet."
~8~
Sally arrived at the Powell Estate, a council estate in Southwark. She entered Eichen House and made her way to flat 41 on the first floor. She rang the doorbell and the door was answered by a young raven-haired woman. "Ah, Sally Sparrow." the woman said
"How did you know who I am?" Sally frowned
"It's a long story." the woman replied. "But I'm guessing Billy Shipton sent you here?"
"Yes." Sally answered, "Are you Shareen Costello?"
"Yep, sure am." the woman confirmed. "And now you're here, we can rescue Martha and Peacock."
"Who's Peacock?" Sally asked
"The Doctor." Shareen replied. "The idiot got himself and Martha stranded and it's up to us to help them." She grabbed a jacket and left the flat. "Right, no time to lose." she said.
~8~
That night, Larry, Sally and Shareen met at Wester Drumlins. "You live in Scooby Doo's house?" Larry questioned, looking at the creepy mansion uneasily.
"For God's sake, I don't live here!" Sally scoffed
Larry then noticed the other young woman. "Who's she?" he asked Sally
"Shareen Costello." Sally explained, "Apparently, she knows the man in the Easter egg."
Larry studied Shareen for a moment. "Hang one, I've seen you before." he observed. "You're one of the Bad Wolves."
"Blimey, that's a call-back." Shareen remarked, "Haven't been part of the team for a while now. Anyway, let's cut to the chase."
Larry had soon set up his portable DVD player in the room where the message on the wall was written. "Ok, this is the one with the clearest sound." he rambled as he got the DVDs ready. "Slightly better picture quality on this one, but I don't..."
"Doesn't matter." Sally cut in, not wanting to waste time.
"Yeah, let's get on with it." Shareen agreed
"Ok." Larry pressed a button and the screen showed the man in the brown suit. "There he is." Larry noted
"The Doctor." Sally observed
"Who's the Doctor?" Larry asked her
"The vain peacock there." Shareen replied, pointing to the man on screen.
"Yep. That's me." the Doctor said onscreen
"Ok, that was scary." Sally shivered
"No, it sounds like he's replying, but he always says that." Larry told her
"Yes I do." the Doctor said
"And that."
"Yep, and this."
"He can hear us." Sally gasped, "Oh my God, you can really hear us!"
"Of course he can't hear us." Larry scoffed. "Look." He pulled out a notepad. "I've got a transcript, see? Everything he says. 'Yep, that's me', 'Yes I do', 'Yep, and this', and next it's..."
"'Are you gonna read out the whole thing?'" Larry and the Doctor said together
"Sorry." Larry mumbled
Shareen had to supress a snigger. "In different circumstances, this'd be hilarious." she remarked to no one in particular.
"Who are you?" Sally said to the screen
"I'm a time traveller." the Doctor said. "Or I WAS. I'm stuck in 1969."
At that point, Martha poked her head into shot. "WE're stuck." she grumbled. "All of time and space he promised me. Now I've got a job in a shop, I've gotta support HIM!"
"Again." Shareen muttered. "Don't worry, Martha, I'll get ya outta there." she said to the screen. "And then I'll give Peacock a good slap for ya."
"Thanks, Shareen." Martha winked at the camera.
"Ok, that was brilliant." Larry snorted
"Martha!" the Doctor scolded onscreen
"Sorry." Martha mumbled, then moved out of shot.
"I've seen this bit before." Sally said to Larry and Shareen.
"Quite possibly." the Doctor said onscreen
"1969? That's where you're talking from?" Sally questioned the screen
"'Fraid so." the Doctor said
"But you're replying to me!" Sally pointed out. "You can't know exactly what I'm gonna say 40 years before I say it!"
"38." the Doctor corrected
"I'm getting this down." Larry remarked, starting to write down the dialogue in his notepad. "I'm writing down your bits." he told the women.
"How? How is this possible?" Sally questioned the screen. "Tell me!"
"Not so fast." Larry told her
"Yeh... yeah. People don't understand time." the Doctor said. "It's not what you think it is."
"Then what is it?" Sally questioned
"Complicated." the Doctor said
"Tell me." Sally insisted
"Very complicated." the Doctor said
"I'm clever and I'm listening." Sally said huffily. "And don't patronise me because people have died, and I'm not happy. Tell me."
"You tell him, Sally." Shareen concurred
"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect." the Doctor said. "But actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff."
"Gordon Bennett, he did not just say that, did he?" Shareen remarked
"Yeah, I've seen this bit before." Sally shook her head. "You said that sentence got away from you."
"It got away from me, yeah." the Doctor agreed
"Next thing you're gonna say is, 'Well, I can hear you,'"
"Well I CAN hear you." the Doctor said
"This isn't possible!" Sally frowned
"No, it's brilliant!" Larry laughed, finding the whole thing amusing.
"Yeah, and creepy as hell." Shareen said
"Well, not HEAR you exactly, but I know everything you're gonna say." the Doctor said
"Always gives me that shivers, that bit." Larry remarked
"How can you know what I'm gonna say?" Sally questioned the screen
"Look to your left." the Doctor said
Sally did so and saw Larry writing in his notepad. "What does he mean, 'Look to you left'?" he asked Sally. "I'm written tons about that on the forums. I think it's a political statement."
"He means you." Shareen told him
"What're you doing?" Sally asked, coming over to see what Larry was writing.
"I'm writing in your bits." Larry replied "That way I've got a complete transcript of the whole conversation. Wait till this hits the net. It will explode the egg forums."
Sally went back over to the screen just as the Doctor said, "I've got a copy of the finished transcript. It's on my autocue."
"How can you have a copy of the finished transcript?" Sally questioned. "It's still being written."
"I told ya, I'm a time traveller. I got it in the future." the Doctor said
"Yeah, I was there when he did." Shareen added
"Ok, let me get my head behind this." Sally grunted, trying to make sense of it all. "You're reading aloud a transcript of a conversation you're still having?"
"Yeah, yeah, wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey." the Doctor waved her off
"Actually, never mind that." Sally huffed. "You can do shorthand?" she asked Larry
"So?" he replied
"Oh, we're getting nowhere." Shareen grumbled, then addressed the screen. "Get to the point, Peacock. Never mind that wibbly-wobbly gibberish and tell us what to do."
"We have got big problems now." the Doctor said. "They've taken the TARDIS, haven't they? The Angels have the phone box."
"The Angels have the phone box!" Larry laughed. "That's my favourite. I've got it on a t-shirt."
"Yeah, me too." Shareen said, pulling her jacket open to reveal that she was wearing an Angels Have the Phone Box t-shirt.
"What d'you mean, angels?" Sally questioned the screen. "You mean those statue things?"
"Creatures from another world." the Doctor said darkly
"But they're just statues."
"Only when you see them." the Doctor said ominously
"What does that mean?" Sally questioned
"Lonely assassins, they were called." the Doctor explained. "No one knows where they came from. They're as old as the universe, or very nearly. They've survived this long as they have the most perfect defence system ever evolved. They are quantum-locked. They don't exist when being observed. The moment they're seen by any other living creature they freeze into rock. No choice. It's a fact of their biology. In the sight of any other living thing, they literally turn to stone. And you can't kill a stone."
"Wanna bet?" Shareen muttered
"Course, a stone can't kill you either." the Doctor continued. "But then you turn your head away, then you blink, an' oh yes it CAN!"
Just then, Sally noticed a Weeping Angel in the window. "Don't take your eyes off that." she warned Larry, who shifted his eyes to it.
"That's why they cover their eyes." the Doctor continued. "They're not weeping, they can't risk looking at each other. Their greatest asset is their greatest curse. They can NEVER be seen. The loneliest creatures in the universe. And I'm sorry., I am very, very sorry, it's up to YOU now."
"What're we supposed to do?" Sally questioned
"The TARDIS!" Shareen realised
"The blue box, it's my time machine." the Doctor explained. "There is a world of time energy in there, they could feast on it forever. But the damage they can do can switch off the sun! You've got to send her back to me!"
"And how're we s'psed to do that, Peacock?" Shareen challenged. "You've never told me how to fly that thing! What if I press the wrong button and blow up the universe or something?!"
"And that's it, I'm afraid." the Doctor said. "There's no more from either of you on the transcript, that's all I've got. I dunno what stopped you talking, but I can guess. They're coming. The Angels are coming for you. But listen, your life could depend on this. Don't blink! Don't even blink. Blink, and you're dead. They are fast, faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back, don't look away, and don't blink! Good luck!" And the video finished.
"No! Don't, you can't!" Sally protested
"You alien git!" Shareen growled, vigorously shaking the screen.
"I'll rewind it." Larry suggested, coming over to do so.
"What good would that do?" Sally retorted, then realised something. "You're not looking at the statue."
"Neither are you." Larry breathed.
As one, the trio turned and saw that the Weeping Angel had moved. It was now inside the room with it's arms outstretched and an angry, snarling look on it's face.
"Keep looking at it." Sally hollered as they leapt to their feet. "Keep looking at it!" she urged, then she heard a thud from nearby.
"There's just one, right?" Larry asked, keeping his gaze fixed on the Angel's outstretched arms. "There's just this one. We're ok if we keep staring at this one statue, everything's gonna be fine."
"There's three more." Sally told him, remembering the other ones.
"Three?!" Larry spluttered
"Oh, you have got to be kidding!" Shareen breathed nervously
"They're upstairs before, but I think I heard them moving." Sally said
"Moving where? Three of them, moving where?" Larry babbled in terror
"I'll look around, I'm gonna check. You two keep looking at this one, don't blink." Sally said. "Remember what he said, don't even blink!"
"Who blinks?" Larry laughed nervously, maintaining his gaze on the Angel's arms. "I'm too scared to blink."
"Yeah, me too." Shareen agreed, focussing her gaze on the Angel's wings.
"Ok. We're going to the door, the front door." Sally said. "Ok, we can't all get to the door without taking our eyes off that thing, so you two stay here."
"What?!"
"I'll be just round the corner, you stay here!" Sally told him, then rushed to the front door. She tried it, but it wouldn't budge "They've locked it!" she cried, "They've locked us in!"
"Why?"
"I've got something they want."
"What?"
"A key. I took it last time I was here." Sally replied
"You've got the key to the TARDIS." Shareen realised.
"They followed me to get it back." Sally agreed. "I led 'em to the blue box, now they've got that!"
"Give them the key!" Larry urged
"No! We can't do that!" Shareen protested.
"I'm gonna check the back door, you wait here!" Sally told them and rushed off towards the back door.
"Hurry up, then!" Shareen hollered. "We can't stare at this bloody thing forever!"
"Give 'em the key! Give 'em what they want!" Larry cried. "Sally, no, what if they come behind us?!"
"Wait! I've got this." Shareen said, producing a compact mirror from her pocket. "I can hold 'em off with this." She then checked the mirror to see if there were Angels behind her. Fortunately, the coast was clear.
"Hang on!" Sally called, trying the back door, but it was locked too. "It's locked!" she called
Larry glanced over his shoulder, just for a second, and when he looked back round at the Angel, it had moved again. It was now right in his face. "Sally! Sally!" he cried, focussing on the Angel's razor sharp fangs.
"You looked away, didn't ya?" Shareen realised, slowly backing towards the door while keeping her gaze on the Angel's wings.
"It won't open!" Sally cried, trying to wrench the door open without success.
"Well, break it down, then!" Shareen urged
"What with?" Sally countered
"Sally, please, I can't do this!" Larry begged, fighting the urge to blink and keeping his eyes on the Angel's teeth. "Sally, hurry up! Where are ya?!"
Sally checked the hallway she was in and found another way out. "Larry, Shareen! They've blocked off the back door, but there's a cellar." she called. "There might be a way out, a delivery hatch or something."
"I'm coming. I can't stay here." Larry called back, backing up to join Shareen by the door, still keeping his gaze on the Angel's teeth.
"Ok, on three." Shareen said to him. "One... two... three!" And they both made a break for it.
Sally went downstairs into the cellar to find the blue police box from the police station there, surrounded by the other three Weeping Angels. "Ok, boys, I know how this works." she said to them. "You can't move so long as I can see you."
Larry and Shareen joined her. "That's it, the TARDIS." Shareen said. "We'll be safe in there."
"Hope you're right." Sally said as she took the key out of her pocket. "Cos' I don't see how else we're getting out." She heard a swishing sound behind her and turned to see the fourth Angel standing at the top of the stairs. "Oh, and there's your one." she said to Larry and Shareen as they walked over to the police box.
"Why's it pointing at the light?" Larry asked
He got his answer a second later when the light flickered. "Oh, that's not fair." Shareen groaned
"Oh, my God! It's turning out the light!" Sally hollered, and hastily began searching for the lock on the box's door.
"Quickly!" Larry urged her
"I can't find the lock!" she answered back
Larry turned back to face the Angels as the lights flickered again. "Sally, hurry up!" he cried, seeing that with each flicker, the Angels moved, getting closer and closer to them each time. "They're getting faster, Sally, come on!"
Sally finally found the lock, but had trouble with the key. "It won't turn!"
The Angels continued their advance. "Sally!" Larry yelled
"Oh, let me!" Shareen said, taking Sally's place at the lock. She managed to unlock the door and they all scrambled into the TARDIS just in time.
Larry and Sally could only stare in disbelief at the enormous coral-themed room they now found themselves in. Suddenly, a hologram of the Doctor flickered into life on the gantry in one corner of the room. "This is security protocol 712." the holo-Doctor announced. "This time capsule has detected the presence of an authorised control disc, valid one journey."
Larry felt something burning in his pocket and he pulled out a DVD case he'd stuffed in there. He opened the case to find the disc inside glowing.
"Please insert the disc and prepare for departure." the holo-Doctor ordered
Shareen moved to the console. "There's a DVD player here." she said to the others. "Put that in and we're in the clear."
Suddenly, the TARDIS shook violently, throwing Sally and Larry to the floor. "They're trying to get in!" Larry realised
"Well, hurry up, then!" Sally hollered
Larry staggered over to the console and handed the disc to Shareen who inserted it into the slot in the console. The TARDIS' engines wheezed and groaned into life and the Time Rotor started moving up and down. Then Sally and Larry saw both Shareen and the console room begin to dematerialise around them. "What's happening?" Larry gasped
"Oh my God, it's leaving us behind!" Sally realised
"Oh, no, no, no!" Shareen cried before both she and the TARDIS disappeared completely, revealing the four Weeping Angels. "Look at them. Quick, look at them!" Sally hollered
Larry got to his feet and looked at the Angels. They were all frozen in a circle. "I don't think we need to." he said. "He tricked them, the Doctor tricked them. They're looking at each other. They're never gonna move again."
And sure enough, all four Angels were looking at each other, exactly what the Doctor had said they could never do. Sally and Larry slipped out from the circle and hugged each over in relief, glad it was all over.
~One Year Later~
Sally stood behind the counter of a shop looking at the contents of a folder when Larry came out from the back room. "Can you mind the shop?" he asked her. "I'm just nipping next door for some milk."
"Yeah, no worries." Sally replied
"What's this?" Larry asked, noticing the folder.
"Nothing." Sally tried to wave him off, but Larry wasn't fooled. He took the folder and checked the contents. Inside was a photo of the message on the wall of Wester Drumlins, photos of Kathy's and Billy's weddings and the transcript of the DVD Easter egg.
"Oh, Sally." Larry sighed in exasperation. "Can't you let it go?"
"Of course I can't let it go!" Sally replied
"This is over." Larry insisted. He had been spending the last 12 months doing his upmost best to forget about the whole affair.
"How did the Doctor know where to write the words on the wall?" Sally challenged. "How could he get a copy of the transcript? Where did he get all that information from? How did Shareen know who I was?"
"Look, some things you never find out." Larry told her. "And that's ok."
"No, it isn't." Sally huffed
"Ever think this is getting in the way of... other things?" Larry asked her softly
"We just run a shop together." Sally told him firmly. "That's all it is, just a shop."
Larry looked hurt but he quickly supressed it. "Anyway... milk. Back in a mo." And he headed out the shop.
Sally watched him go and her attention was caught by a black cab pulling up outside. Her eyes widened when she saw the passengers get out. It was the Doctor, Martha and Shareen, all carrying bows and arrows. Sally grabbed the folder and rushed out. "Doctor! Shareen!" she called, rushing up to them.
"Hello!" the Doctor greeted. "Sorry, bit of a rush, there's a sort of thing happening, fairly important we stop it."
"My God, it's you, it really is you." Sally said, then turned to Shareen. "Oh, you don't remember me, do you?"
"Remember what? Have we met before?" Shareen frowned
Martha came up to them. "Doctor, Shareen, we don't have time for this." she told them. "Migration's started."
"Look, sorry, I've got a bit a complex life." the Doctor told Sally. "Things don't always happen to me in order. Gets confusing, especially at weddings. I'm rubbish at weddings, especially my own."
"Now why doesn't that surprise me?" Shareen smirked
Realisation suddenly dawned on Sally. "Oh, my God! Of course, you're time travellers. It hasn't happened yet! None of it, it's still in your future!"
"What hasn't happened?" the Doctor asked
"Look, love to stay an' chat, but we've gotta get a move on." Shareen interrupted, checking her watch. "You said red hatching was in 20 minutes." she reminded the Doctor
"It was me." Sally realised. "Oh, for God's sake, it was me all along. You got it all from me!"
"Got what?" the Doctor asked
"Ok, listen. One day, you and your friend over there are gonna get stuck in 1969." Sally told him. "Make sure you've got this with you. You're going to need it." She held out the folder and the Doctor took it.
"Doctor! Shareen!" Martha called from down the street
"Yeah, yeah, we're coming." Shareen called back to her
"Yeah, listen, gotta dash." the Doctor said to Sally. "Things happening. Well, four things and a lizard.
"Ok. No worries, on ya go." Sally replied as they began to walk away. "Shareen? See you around, some day."
"Sorry, what was ya name?" Shareen asked her
"Sally Sparrow."
"Ok, well, see ya around, Sally Sparrow." Shareen called as she and the Doctor went to join Martha.
Larry walked up at that moment and looked dumbstruck at the Doctor and Shareen. "Goodbye, Doctor, Shareen." Sally smiled, taking Larry's hand and they went back inside their shop.
Author's notes: And that's Blink in the bag. First of all, I know Shareen's role is fairly limited in this chapter but at least she gets a bigger role than the Doctor! Admittedly, Shareen's plot involvement boils down to the fact that I'm not imaginative enough to write original moments covering what happened to the TARDIS crew in 1969 so I had Shareen team up with Sally and Larry instead. This chapter makes this story my longest yet, beating the previous contender, The Adventure of a Lifetime. And we're now halfway through series 3's home run of great episodes. Next time we've got the return of Jack Harkness. See ya there!