The Doctor sat gently on the bed, the rustle of hay sounding painfully loud in silence. Gently, he opened the book & began to read.
This journal is the property of Tarlok Elm
12th January, 3980
I wanted to chronicle our journey from the south, but the journey itself proved so arduous & challenging, I had little time or energy to even think, let alone write. Those bloody cultists, they ruined everything! Medway could have been safe if not for their sabotage of the Professor's machine. Instead, all that was left habitable was a portion of the north, which we've spent weeks travelling to, all whilst storms, natural disasters & dropping temperatures battered us.
But we made it, 30 of us! We started off with around 70, but the party dwindled. Mostly thanks to the aforementioned disasters, but others changed their mind or struck off on routes they felt were better.
The Northern Lands weren't really inhabited before all this. There's vast rolling grass-lands, the occasional farm which other travellers have taken over & I seem to remember an old cathedral town. Bolet, I think it's name was, to the far west of where we've settled.
Speaking of which, Pollock preferred the protection of the old Dargeth Forest, one of the oldest forests on the planet, full of game & natural protection. That said, we didn't go too far into the woods, just found ourselves a small clearing & made it bigger.
We're all camping out, plans have been made to build ourselves homes. I'm sitting here next to a dwindling camp fire & wondering just what our lives will be like here in this place. Mayul talks about old spirits that once walked the woods. Nice stories for round the campfire, but I'm not buying it. She's a strange one, then again, most Lurmen are. Pretty though.
15th February, 3980
Phew! It's been a busy few weeks, but we've made a nice home here. Just a few basic huts for the time being, but they'll make do. Pollock & Rangor have worked out schedules & duties for everyone. Hunters, camp guards, farmers, the whole lot. Not that much wildlife live about here, but there is game.
Pollock said we should name our new home. It was Mayul who suggested Salith, the name of her grandmother. Rangor didn't like it, said the name meant doom or something. Mayul argued that it was an old meaning of the word & better translated as destiny. I'm not entirely convinced myself, but these Lurmen are a strange lot. Like us humans but not.
I'm going to be helping getting the cornfield started-
The Doctor interrupted his reading. Whilst the beginnings of the community held some interest, it wasn't pertinent. Skimming ahead, he found Tarlok Elm's journal to be quite comprehensive, if a little bloated. At some point in the ten years between founding the village to the last entry, he'd taken to making entries of little consequence about corn harvest yields & the weather. The tome picked up again, however, 10 years later.
20th October, 3990
I saw a shooting star last night. Didn't glow or anything, but I saw it. Weirdly shaped too. I was so sure it had landed somewhere in the forest but everyone else says it just looks like that. That it probably landed hundreds of miles away & that even if it did land it probably broke apart.
They're probably right. If it did land close by, there was no bang or crash.
29th October, 3990
Something strange has happened. Vork & the other hunters came back today in an odd state, after being gone for a whole week. Shemry, the youngest, was white as a sheet & Vork spoke with Pollock for a full hour alone. I caught him afterwards & he told me that the hunters had been gone so long because they couldn't find anything. No game at all. At one point, they even got lost. Every-time they thought they'd found the right way, a high pitched noise rattled through their heads & left them all so disorientated that they got lost again. Shemry spent most of his time being sick, Ollo turned into a gibbering wreck & Vork's complaining of a splitting headache.
I'm adding this in bed. Something'd been bothering me all day & it came to me whilst I was dozing. I haven't heard any insects. No buzz or chirping, just silence except for the wind. There were little enough birds in Dargeth as it was, but I haven't heard the few there were at all.
31st October, 3990
Vork, Ollo, Shemry & Teshre went back out again. Mayul swears that not two hours later she heard screaming. Pollock dismissed it, she's been getting a little strange of late, but I'm inclined to believe her.
It's got something to do with that star I saw, I just know it. Something's in these woods with us now.
1st November 3990
We found Teshre. There was barely anything left of him, but we recognised that tattoo above his shoulder. His skin looked blackened & dried, like he'd been burned or something. Pollock wants us to go looking for the other three, the whole village, but most refused. They're scared, some are even talking about leaving for the Shadowlands. I don't know what to do.
4th November, 3990
I went out with Pollock to look for the 3 hunters & we spent 4 days tramping about the woods. Lost Pollock a day ago & there's this buzzing in my head that won't stop. I swear at night I can here moaning, but it's always so far off. The silence in the woods just makes it worse.
I feel like somethings watching me.
5th November 3990
I've seen them. Vork, Ollo, Shemry. Shambling about the woods, something wrong with their faces & bodies but not in the same way. Vork looked gaunt & his teeth were sharp as knives. Ollo looked swollen & his hands were gone, like they melted away. Shemry just looked like a ghoul, pale skin, sharp claws on his hands. They were walking about near the Edge, the cliff-face deeper in the woods, Ollo kept making this moaning sound in the back of his throat & the other two were silent. Whilst I was watching them from up a tree, I heard Pollock screaming, the monsters the hunters had turned into were in front of me, so what got him?.
What else is in these woods?
They stalked off in the direction Pollock screamed & after 30 minutes, I jumped back to the ground & ran all the way back to the village. Since I told everyone what I saw, some of the families are making preparation to leave, others have just locked themselves up in their houses.
The Doctor looked up from his reading, had that been a noise from the other room?
"Could have sworn..." he said softly.
It had sounded like a soft rustle of clothing. He waited for anything else, but all that came was a crackle from the stove. Warily, he returned to the journal.
7th November
My hands feel uncomfortable. Not sore, just a weird sensation I can't describe. The Turnbull, Velek & Mornal families all left in the night, the Mornals didn't even finish their supper by the looks of it. Mayul's been quiet, like the village.
There's this faint voice, like it's somewhere off in the distance. I can't quite make out the words, but I would swear that it sounded liked "Obey"
8th Nober
I know what's causing this. Saw them in the woods, metal things with horrible screechy voices, like monsters out of a nightmare. Black One commanded hunters to watch village. Told Mayul, says it's the spirits of the woods. Told her they were monsters from the stars, came on the star that fell. Gave me a charm, a triangular piece of metal. Wearing it round my neck.
Getting harder to write. Hands swollen, head swimming. So hungry. Voices loud now.
10ts NoeR
Obey. Obey. Obey.
14tg Otr
Old man Casti. Heard im screamin bloody muder. Went to lok, house wrecked & wat was left of his han on flor, window at bak broken. Just me, Mayul & a cople other now.
Skin itch, stomach growling. Hungry.
16
Pollock came bck. Looked weird, screamed lik monster. Tried to kill me, so killed im. Eat his face & stomach. Not hunry now, feel stronger
Metal things came out of wood, their voices in my head. Must obey. Mayul trid to sen them away with a Lurmen ritual, they killed her with light. Eat her too, got er strength in me now.
The Doctor closed the book. Several further pages had been written in, but were utterly illegible, except for a few repeated words such as "Black One" or "Hungry". Standing up, he took a step back & pondered.
"The Daleks. They'd indulged in their pet interests, experimentation. For what though?" he thought. "To create guard dogs out of these poor people, of course. Those that weren't good enough were disposed of. Can't be all 30 though, at least one was killed by the Daleks, others eaten or failed to mutate. Must be the top Supreme, that ones always indulged in horrific experimentation. Vivisection, gene-splicing, all sorts of horrors."
The Doctor continued to ponder. Part of him wanted to stay & do something for the villagers. He understood all too well that many of them were likely trapped in their own head, forced against their will to obey the Daleks. Others would be driven mad, like Tarlok, but something of them must remain.
"What can I do?" he thought
It was then he heard it. A heavy thud of footsteps on wooden floor, creaking every so often under the strain. The scrape of floorboards, as if something rough was being dragged across it, accompanied the heavy footfall.
"Thud!" "scrape" "Thud!" "scrape" "Thud!"
A deep-throated, grumbling sound emanated from the adjacent room. The Doctor looked to the front door, but was too late. It stood in the doorway to the stove room & just by the door.
Whatever or whoever it had been, though the Doctor had a sneaking suspicion, they looked nothing like they once did. Standing at 7 feet tall, the creature was naked though it lacked any distinctive features to determine if it was male or female. The hands and arms reached to the creatures knees & terminated in long, violent looking talons. The head was the most disturbing. the mouth was full to the brim with sharp teeth, so much so it couldn't close adequately. In the gloom of the room, & aided by the things heavy brow, the Doctor could not make out the eyes, but an unnerving gleam shined out of the darkness covering the sockets. It's head was bald & the entire body was now coloured a sickly grey colour.
They both stood for a moment in utter silence. The Doctor, amazed & horrified by the mutation that stood before him. The creature that had once been Tarlok Elm, taken by surprise at the intrusion.
The Doctor acted first. Dropping the journal, he lifted the mattress off the bed & used it as a shield. The creature lashed out, straw flying all over the place as it did. More by luck, due to the things surprise at the Doctor's presence, than by superior strength, the Doctor pushed the creature back into the stove room & fled.
Leaving the hut, the Doctor look around for avenues of escape & was shocked to find the village now alive with activity. Some of the former villagers were emerging from the cornfield on mass whilst others were already milling about. What had once been the villagers of Salith presented a grotesque parody now. An old man, his face twisted & unrecognisable as human, wandered around, his right hand replaced with what appeared to be a blade made of his own bones. A woman, shuffling painfully slowly out of the cornfield towards the Doctor, walked lopsidedly due to her right arm being a huge mass of swollen muscles & tissue. Atop her head were what appeared to be deer antlers & her feet had been replaces with hooves. A look of misery & torment etched on her face, such the Doctor had not seen.
Nowhere the Doctor looked could he find escape. About turning, he saw that Tarlok was either still struggling with the mattress or had gone berserk & was venting his anger out on it. The barn to the right of Tarlok's house was the Doctor's only hope.
Darting forward, he unhooked the wooden bar from the double doors, opened them & replaced the bar on the inside. Stepping back, he watched as the door swelled inwards with a riotous creak, before returning to it's original position.
"What to do?" said the Doctor, running a hand through his curly hair. "Can't escape without being attacked, but they'll get in eventually."
The villagers moaned or shrieked outside the barn. A snarl of anger sounded also, clearly Tarlok now turning his attention to the barn.
Reaching into his pocket, the Doctor pulled out the Sonic Screwdriver.
"Useless." he spat."...or is it?"
Dropping to the floor, the Doctor began to unscrew & dismantle the Sonic Screwdriver. Pulling out a long, metallic cylinder from the centre, he opened a flap & inside sat 4 small cylinders. Akin to watch batteries but thicker, they had on either flat side what appeared to be blue gems in the centre. The Doctor slotted one out.
"What's that, Doctor?" he asked himself
"Power cell, main element Tolistophles, chiefly mined in the system of Xynth. Perfectly safe to use as a power supply as long as it's kept in a Dynastream cage with simple Techron adaptors at either end to funnel power & neutralise volatility, but extremely unstable when removed." he said, twiddling the long cylinder in his hand. "If I use one, I'll weaken the strength of the Sonic, but I've no choice."
No floorboards covered the barn floor, which made digging a small hole easy. Gently placing one of the power cells in the whole, the Doctor gently returned the earth back.
Jumping up, the Doctor began to pick up bales of hay & spread it all around. That finished, he looked up into the loft & noticed a large window perched above the barn doors. Unwrapping his scarf & tying one end to the wooden bar, now pushed to breaking point by the creatures outside, he tossed the other end up onto the loft floor above. Ascending a ladder at the back, he rushed over to his scarf & wrapped it firmly around one arm. Pushing the window open he peeked out.
Below, he counted 25 villagers, all of them in some state of horrific mutilation. Tarlok had pushed his way to the front of the throng & was lashing at the doors with his large talons, letting loose a bestial growl as he did.
Taking a deep breath, the Doctor heaved on his scarf & with great effort, pulled free the locking bar. Quickly gathering it up, he watched as the villagers of Salith either rushed or shambled into the barn.
"21...22." he counted softly, his hearts pounding.
The 25th villager passed the threshold, the creature he had seen in the cornfield, sniffing & snuffling as it did. Taking his chance, the Doctor leapt from the window & hit the ground heavily. Pain shot up his legs & he stumbled as he launched himself towards the barn doors. Pulling both closed, the last sight of the barn interior the Doctor had was of Tarlok, hurtling towards the door. The Doctor had enough time to slot the locking bar onto the door before the force of Tarlok slamming into the door knocked him on his back. Looking up, he saw that the wooden bar would not last much longer. Standing up, he untied his scarf from the door & fled, counting his steps.
"38, 39, 40. 40 feet, should be enough." he said.
Turning, he raised the sonic screwdriver & squeezed the button. The electronic whine that it emitted registered much lower & slower than it normally did. For a moment the Doctor worried the range was too weak now & watched in horror as the locking bar splintered. It was then that an almighty explosion knocked the Timelord off his feet & everything went black.
A small squad of Daleks were situated at the top of the rock-face the Doctor had climbed some time ago. The Supreme Dalek & an NCO Blue had their eye-stalks tilted upwards in the direction the explosion had sounded from. Two Silver Daleks were examining the area & took no notice.
"Explosion 8 kilometres from our present location." said the Blue Dalek. "Most likely the location: the Village"
"All Dalek units, converge on forest village!" ordered the Supreme Dalek
The Doctor awoke, his head aching & a taste of coppery blood in his mouth. Sitting up, he touched his forehead, & examined a flesh wound caused by shrapnel. Looking around, the village was a shadow of it's former self. The barn was smouldering, fiery mess, the stone houses had been demolished by the explosion & the wooden huts & cornfield burned wildly.
"Explosion was more powerful than I thought." he muttered
Standing up, he shambled over to the fiery ruins of the barn & examined the wreck, his face unreadable.
"A violent end, but I couldn't leave them like that." he thought.
Clutching his head, the Doctor pulled out his compass. The plastic was cracked, but the device was still readable. Turning westward, the Doctor moved on. As he reached the shelter of the trees, he gave one last mournful look at the village before disappearing into the gloom.
It was an hour later when the Daleks converged on the remnants of the village. Various Silver Drones fanned out & established a perimeter, overseen by a Blue NCO, it's bumper large & it's light emitting ears bigger than it's fellows. The Supreme & the Red Dalek stood near to the barn, examining the ruin. Another Blue Dalek, different to the other, it's bumper & ears smaller, stood some feet behind them with a black domed silver Dalek.
There was little left in the ruin of the barn, charred wood & still burning hay, but the two leader Daleks continued to survey it intensely.
"Readings confirmed, Supreme Leader. It is beneath the rubble & detritus" said the Red Dalek
"Abomination." boomed the Supreme Dalek. "Report, your Masters order it!"
A few moments passed by, the only sound being the crackling & snapping of wood as the fire still continued to burn, before a movement became clear near the area that had been the centre of the barn. A form rose slowly out of the embers & charcoal, it's skin burned & blackened in places. Tarlok Elm towered over the Daleks some 4 feet away, but he quickly fell to his knees & bowed his head.
"Masters..." he growled through sharpened teeth.
"You failed to capture the Doctor." rumbled the Supreme. "But through Dalek scientific ingenuity, you have survived the encounter with him. You still have your uses, but we will not accept further failure. You will join the hunt for the Doctor!"