Chapter 30

The Dark Mummies

"What the bloody hell is that?" Dosrian said as they all retreated from the advancing mummy. Fiver hid behind Kasey and Raven as they all shuffled backwards towards the train set.

"Hey mate, it's a little late for Halloween." Kasey said, "Neat costume though. Can you breathe in that thing?"

It reached out and the four scattered, the mummy lumbering as it regained its footing. It looked directly at Dosrian and began advancing towards him. Dosrian retreated around the other end of the train set and tried to keep the whole set between him and the mummy.

While he was distracting it Raven tried to think of what she could do. She activated her powers and tried to grab the mummy. But as her mind reached out it was as if she was trying to grab onto something insubstantial, or something incredibly slippery that her powers couldn't grab on to.

Okay, if she couldn't grab the mummy, maybe she could slam something into it.

Raven focused on a crate but... what the hell? She's having the same issue again. She couldn't lift up the crate. It was as if it wasn't even there.

She focused on other things around the room. Other boxes, furniture, even collections of dust, but she couldn't pick any of them up!

The mummy had grown tired of chasing Dosrian around the train set and had instead climbed up onto it to get at him.

Suddenly she found something she could grab onto. It was the TARDIS. She looked at it and gave the machine a look. "Sorry about this." She told it and she forced the TARDIS forward and slammed it into the mummy, knocking it into the far wall, and the mummy exploded in a mass of black ash.

Raven removed the TARDIS and placed it back down. The mummy had vanished. But no! Suddenly it had reformed and its piercing, brown eyes focused on Dosrian again. Didn't the thing have green eyes before?

Dosrian again retreated to the other side of the train set and now had his back to them. The mummy stopped on the opposite side and pointed. There was a fizzing noise and BANG! There was a big explosion as part of the train set suddenly blasted itself to pieces, the force pushing them all to the floor.

Dosrian screamed as he was caught in the blast. He was now curled up on the floor clutching at his stomach.

Picking themselves up, Raven and Kasey grabbed Dosrian, linking his arms under their necks and they dragged him up the stairs following Fiver. The mummy clawed at the air for them, all the while making that ghostly moaning noise.

They burst through the door into the kitchen and slammed it shut behind them. Raven closing a latch to hopefully lock it in.

"Why did the train set blow up?" Kasey asked as they gathered themselves.

"Dosrian…" Fiver asked behind them "… Dosrian, are you okay?"

"Go get Tribus!" Dosrian said, "Go get Tribus, and I want you to stay with Frank."

"But I..."

"NO BUTS!" Dosrian shouted at him. "GO!"

Shaken, Fiver ran for the door. "Tribus! Tribus!" He called.

Dosrian lent against the door and Raven spotted a redness spilling from his hands. He was bleeding, and bleeding badly.

"Let me see!" Raven said, forcing Dosrian to part his hands. Something had impaled him through his stomach and out his back. The red stain of blood was spreading out and pooling at his feet. He already looked deadly pale and had trouble standing on his own two feet. "Hold still, I can fix this."

"Is this the End?" He asked, and Raven jumped back when Dosrian suddenly imploded into dust. What remained of Dosrian piled onto the floor and even that seemed to slowly be dissolving and vanishing away.

"What the hell was that?" Kasey asked slowly. The two looked at each other in horror, unsure what they had just witnessed. Did Dosrians body just fly apart in front of them?

Tribus and the Doctor burst into the kitchen.

"Raven, I'm here. What happened?!" The Doctor said with concern in his voice, and he could tell from the look on her face something had happened.

"Dosrian, just kind of..." Kasey said, stumbling over his words in shock.

"Collapsed into dust." Raven said forwardly, and she explained about the creature they had found in the basement.

"Some kind of 'mummy' you say?" Tribus asked, his fingers to his lips in a very Doctor like thought process.

"So you don't disbelieve her story?" The Doctor asked surprised. "No offence, but usually we're met with scowling, scoffing and outright ridicule."

You speak for yourself. Raven thought.

"Fiver explained what he saw. A mummy of some sort, and your friend confirmed it. Either they're all suffering from the same mass delusion, or they speak the truth." Tribus said. He sounded an awful lot like Sherlock Holmes, or how Raven thought Sherlock Holmes would sound. Maybe they were in this 'Land of Fiction' after all.

The Doctor knelt down, pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver and appeared to be examining the floor where Dosrians ashes had fallen and vanished. It produced a soft whirr as the Screwdriver did whatever scientific magic it was suddenly capable of today.

"Master Tribus." The Doctor announced, "I'd like everyone to gather in the living room if you please."

"Why? Whats wrong?" Tribus asked.

"I'll explain to everyone once they're all in there." The Doctor said.

"Very good, sir." Tribus said and walked away, the small form of Kasey on his heels.

It was strange, Raven thought, how Tribus doesn't seem to be too shocked that Dosrian is dead, nor that he crumbled to dust, in the same way he didn't seem very concerned that his father had died. This put Tribus on top of her list of suspects, he clearly knew something.

The Doctor now sat, crossed legged on the floor. Staring intensely at the spot Dosrian had fallen apart, a look of utter concentration on his face.

Raven knew what the Doctor wanted. He wanted her to ask what was going on, but she just waited and gave him a look to say she wasn't going to ask the stereotypical "What is it Doctor?" that she got the feeling most of his companions would ask right now.

"Alright, I'll tell you what I'm thinking." The Doctor started.

"Shut up, me first!" Raven cut him off. "I have trouble grabbing things with my powers. Crates, the mummy, even dust particles. The only thing I was able to interact with was the TARDIS. Yes, I threw the TARDIS at it, no I didn't damage the paintwork. If the TARDIS has a problem it can deal with me, later."

Raven then stopped and decided to test something out. Her eyes glowed as she used her powers to pluck the Sonic Screwdriver from his hands and it floated into her own.

"There is nothing wrong with my powers. I can move us and the TARDIS around. But I can't interact with anything else in this world." Raven summarised.

"Very good. You're getting used to this." The Doctor smiled.

"Don't patronise me." She said.

"No, I mean it. Most companions would patiently wait for me to explain it all for them."

Raven handed the Doctor back his Sonic Screwdriver. "I'm 'not' your companion." She said firmly.

"Okay, 'Assistant'." The Doctor was mocking her again.

"Anything else you want to call me before I paralyse your tongue?" Raven threatened, it wasn't a serious threat, or she tried to not let it sound like one.

"Only that the problem with your powers might still be a problem with us. If the TARDIS jumped a time track we'd be out of phase slightly with the rest of reality. Last time it happened we couldn't be seen nor could we interact with the world around us, we were literally ghosts." The Doctor shrugged, "Curiouser and Curiouser."

"You may tell me what you were thinking, now." Raven said, crossing her arms across her chest.

"The creature you described is one that appears in Gallifreyan Folklore. They're rather like the Weeping Angels but on a whole different level. They're called Mummies of Misery. It's said when they show up they cause untold damage and bad luck. Only problem is, they're not real. They're made up things like Zagreus or the Toclafane." The Doctor paused. "Evidence is mounting that we're in the Land of Fiction."

"Are these Mummies dangerous?" Raven asked.

"They can be, if you let them into the house." The Doctor said, "All it takes is a small opening to let them inside."

"Fiver opened a window just before it appeared." Raven realised.

"Yes, Fiver." The Doctor thought. "Listen Raven, while I talk to everyone about this I want you to take Fiver to his room and keep him there."

"Why me?" Raven snapped.

"Because he likes you, and I need to tell everyone about the potential danger facing us." The Doctor said.

"Why can't you play baby sitter while I tell everyone what's going on?" Raven asked, she really didn't want to look after that hyper little kid.

"Alright, how would you tell them?" The Doctor asked.

"Dosrian has been murdered by a Mummy, there are probably more and they're coming for us too and by morning we might all be dead." Raven said simply.

"And you don't see what's wrong with how you've phrased that?" He asked.

"No."

"And 'that' is why 'you' are babysitting." Raven frowned, she had hoped saying that would convince the Doctor that she shouldn't be left around kids. She just groaned and sighed deeply, clearly she wasn't going to have her own way this time. But she'll have an opportunity to get back at him, she just had to be patient, and when it happens she'd milk it for all it was worth.

"Okay. But I want to read 'The Deathly Hallows' ahead of you. I saw it in your reading pile, and I know that pile goes down very slowly."

"Knock yourself out." The Doctor shrugged. With that agreed they walked back into the living room and Raven took Fiver aside.

"Fiver, come with me." She said and half dragged the kid away. "Show me your room."

"Want to play a game?" Fiver asked brightly.

"Sure, why not..." Raven said with not much enthusiasm. Fiver raced up the stairs with Raven following. He seems to have gotten over that trauma quite quickly, weird.

She looked back at the Doctor as he gathered everyone left around him. Raven wanted to hear the start of what he had to say and how different it was from her own explanation. Then he announced to them.

"Gentlemen, I have news. Dosrian has been killed by a mummy, there could be an army of them out there about to attack us, and by morning we might all be dead." He said that very fast. "Anyone interested?"

"What an asshole." Raven mumbled to herself and followed Fiver up to the landing.

But Fiver wasn't in his room. Instead Raven saw that the door at the far end of the landing was ajar. Kasters room. Oh no, who unlocked that door? The boy was about to see his dead grandparent!

But as Raven rushed to collect him the boy came out by himself looking confused. "Where's Kaster? He's not down stairs and he's not in his bed room."

"What?" Raven exclaimed. They had left the body on the bed. She pushed open the door and looked inside and found Kasters body had indeed gone. "What the...?" and she approached the bed. There was a depression in it and no evidence Kaster had been removed, unless he was lifted up directly from the bed. Raven felt a breeze on her cheek and looking at the window it was slightly ajar too. Someone had opened the window. Raven reached up and closed it. Then a horrible thought occurred to her. There might be something in here with them. Raven pulled her hood up up over her head then grabbed Fiver by the arm. "Come on!"

Making sure there was nothing in Fivers room she pushed him in and closed the door after her and listened to the door for that weird raspy noise.

"Why do you wear a hood?" the boy asked Raven. "I think it makes you look kind of cool. Kind of like a Jedi." Raven didn't know how to take that compliment, nor how to take the comparison to a 'Jedi.' Whatever they were.

"Why do you keep your legs exposed?" the boy asked, he was full of questions and they were irritating.

"Let's play a game. It's called sit down and be quiet!" Fiver got the gist that something was up as he flopped himself down on his bed and stared at Raven.

"Dosrian is dead, isn't he?" Fiver asked sombrely.

"Yes," she decided not to sugar coat it, that was more the Doctors thing than hers. Better to rip the band-aid off fast, it would be painful but it'd fade faster. That was her style. A quick pain, then move on.

"You're listening for a mummy aren't you?" The boy said. He didn't seem all that scared for a ten year old.

"Yeah..." Raven said, "Why aren't you scared?"

"Why aren't you?" Raven actually had to admit she was a little scared, she didn't like it when her powers didn't work properly. But she didn't admit this to Fiver. Not for Fivers benefit, but for hers. "You're a very strange boy." Raven wondered.

"You're a very strange girl."

"Are you going to answer everything like that?" Raven asked getting a little irritated. Fiver just shrugged.

Raven stepped away from the door, convinced nothing was about to pop through it and now took in the boys room. She'd never seen a little boys room before, though some books had described one, and it was utterly cluttered with toys, books, and games.

The hyper little boy was just resting on his bed with a book in his hands. Odd how he wasn't as hyper as when they first met. He was running all over the place and as time marched he seemed to become a different boy. Still with plenty of energy, but now it felt more concentrated somehow. Maybe he was feeling a sugar crash or something.

"You remind me a lot of Franky." Fiver said.

"Don't you start psychoanalysing me now." Raven warned, "I'm not in the mood!"

"He likes you." Fiver said.

"Tell him, I think he's a creep!" Raven fired back.

"No, not in 'that' way." Fiver didn't even talk like a ten year old anymore. "He likes you because he thinks you know his pain. But he's afraid to get too close in case he gets burnt again."

"I tend to have that affect on people." Raven said darkly. "I don't 'do' friends."

"He pretends that too." Fiver said, oh great, now a little boy was patronising her too. "He opens up to me because I know his pain too. Though I don't feel it anymore."

Raven rolled her eyes. How could a ten year old possibly know what a man twice his age possibly felt or thought? Least of all, get over it.

"Then, he's nothing like me." she said, "I'd never open myself up to anyone. My baggage is my own, and I know no one wants to hear it."

"He didn't tell me." Fiver said, "I kind of have no choice but to know him. I've known him inside and out since the day I was born."

How in the hell does that make sense?! Raven asked herself rather than verbally express it. She sat at the foot of his bed while he read his book. The Deathly Hallows?! That was quite an advanced book for Fiver. But it proved they were on Earth at least.

When Dosrian had called Frank by his name he'd said it with a mocking inflection. Like he meant something playfully insulting, like maybe 'Frankenstein'. Frank was big on science. Was Fiver a clone of some sort? They both had the same eye and hair colour sure and... she'd only just realised something. Fiver didn't call Kaster and Tribus Father or Grandfather, he called them by their given names. Were Frank and Fiver even real brothers?

As she thought deeper and deeper on this she found herself just getting tangled in the mass of possibilities that could explain this. So she filed it away under 'pointless side thoughts' because they clearly had no significance.

Were Frank and Fiver even related? They looked similar, but at the same time very different.

Darkness fell as the lights suddenly went out. Quickly Raven got up and flipped the switch, but the light refused to come on.

"Must be a power outage." Fiver said.

Now looking out the window Raven could see the wind turbine that produces power to the house. It had stopped entirely. Then her attention was snatched by a sight in the snow as she saw not one, but two bandaged, and burnt mummies lumbering towards the house!

"Fiver, with me, now!" Raven commanded and Fiver jumped at her word. They both went back down stairs and to the Doctor who was discussing the power issue with Tribus.

"I built that thing myself, there's no chance of it stopping like that!" Tribus said.

"Everything wears out and stops eventually. Especially if you push it to extremes like in this weather." The Doctor explained.

"No, it's impossible!" Tribus was very sure of that.

"Doctor," Raven said getting his attention, "We have company. Mummies are coming." and she pointed through the window.

"Did they damage the turbine?" Frank asked.

"We need to get the power back on!" Tribus said. "Its the only way we can call for help, and without power this house will start to freeze over."

"Doctor, why don't we just go to the TARDIS?" Raven asked, it was the obvious solution after all.

"Not an option I'm afraid." He said, "There are now more mummies in the basement. We've locked them down there, but they're between us and the TARDIS."

"What's a TARDIS?" Kasey asked.

"Its how we got here. But sadly it's no good to us with those murderous mummies down there." The Doctor said.

"And we have no way of defeating these mummies?" Raven asked.

"None that I can think of. The only thing we can do is run away from them." The Doctor said.

"They've stopped..." Frank said looking out of the window. Indeed, the two mummies had come to a total stop. They were just standing there, the wind buffeting their bandages, the snow still not collecting on them.

They could hear a banging coming from the kitchen as the mummies in the basement tried to break out.

"We have to get the power back on!" Tribus said and he strolled toward the coat wrack with purpose and pulled on a long, black coat. "I'm going out there to fix it." Okay, he was clearly nuts!

"Those mummies are still dangerous." The Doctor said.

"They are also slow on the mark and easy to out run." Tribus said.

"It's blowing a gale out there!" The Doctor shouted at him.

"This family is now my responsibility." Tribus said pulling on some woollen gloves. "I shall protect them with my life, if need be. If getting the power back on saves them, then I shall risk it." Tribus turned to Frank. "You're in charge while I'm gone!" and without another word he flung open the door and was out the door in a flash.

"No wait, wait!" The Doctor said racing after him. "Raven stay here, protect them!" and he was gone out the door and it slammed shut behind them.

"I'll make one thing perfectly clear." Raven said not looking at, but pointing at Frank. "'You' are 'not' in charge!"

At the window they watched as the Doctor and Tribus fought in the snow to reach the base of the turbine. Oddly the mummies didn't seem to want to follow. The Doctor thought it odd too, as he approached a mummy, an insane act only he could be capable of, and waved his hand up and down in front of its face. It turned and looked directly at him, but didn't react. Weird.

Tribus and the Doctor were then at the foot of the turbine and were fast ascending the ladder to get up to the turbine casing. Hopefully the damage wasn't too bad and they could fix it. Raven was still suspicious of Tribus, she stared at him, waiting for him to show his true colours. If he so much as laid a finger on the Doctor then she swore to herself Tribus will feel her wrath, and it would be painful for him.

Suddenly a black mist erupted outside the house near the porch. Another mummy had appeared. It didn't move, it appeared to be waiting. Raven kept an eye on it in case it was up to something. She thought about encasing it in black energy to keep it contained, but remembered that wouldn't work.

The window in front of them was starting to fog up as all four of them watched and Raven rubbed her fingers over the glass to clear it.

Just through the snow Raven could see Tribus and the Doctor working at a panel at the top of the turbine. Raven wanted to project her consciousness over to them, but if she did that she might not notice if a mummy was coming up behind her. So her mind stayed here.

You be careful up there! She thought to herself, because she couldn't bring herself to say it to him telepathically. She waited for her mind to be in conflict with her about this thought, but it remained silent and focused on what was happening.

Tribus held out two cables in front of the Doctor, motioning that something was wrong before going back to work again. The Doctor appeared to be thinking, concern on his face as he scratched his head. His clothes were not suitable for the outside storm, but then neither were Tribus's, but both men seemed to be fine as if they were used to these conditions.

Raven hoped the Doctor wouldn't get hypothermia or something. She'd gotten too used to him now to go for a long stretch without him being in the background of her life somewhere.

Suddenly with a loud clang that echoed throughout the forest, the turbine began turning again. The lights in the living room flashed back on and the heaters produced heat again. They did it! Now they watched with baited breath as the two slowly began walking back towards the ladder to go back down to the ground. It was still dangerous up there and the sooner they were safely on the ground, the sooner Raven could release a breath she didn't realise she was holding. She had to admit she was growing attached to the Doctor, and was starting to almost see him like her guardian. She didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

The mummy by the porch raised his arm and pointed. BANG! A blast erupted right next to the Doctor and he fell over the edge! Ravens eyes grew wide as cold fear gripped her heart.

"DAD!" Raven screamed.

What did you just call him?!

SHUT UP! She was too focused on the Doctor to want to argue with her mind. The Doctor was now dangling from a loose cable. Raven had never felt this sensation before, it was as if her heart had stopped for a brief moment when she thought the Doctor was about to fall to his death. Tribus was at the ladder and was leaning over from the rungs to help pull the Doctor back towards the ladder, a dangerous and brave thing for Tribus to do, especially in this storm. Maybe he wasn't as bad as she thought he was. Raven rested her hands against the glass and as she watched her fingers began to curl up, her nails scratching into the glass as she watched.

Tribus took the Doctors hand and hauled him back onto the ladder. They were safe. The Doctor was safe.

The tension melted away, and then Raven realised what she'd just screamed out and called the Doctor in front of everyone. Raven took Kasey and Frank by the front of their collars and roughly pulled them close to her hooded face, without looking at either of them she said in a threatening tone. "You mention what I called the Doctor to anyone, and the mummies will be the least of your problems. Do I make myself clear?"

Both Kasey and Frank nodded, and she released them. "I mean that, Fiver!" She warned the little boy, who made a motion like he was zipping his mouth shut. Cute... very cute.

The mummy pointed again and suddenly... the ladder collapsed, and both men were falling to their doom!

"NO!" Raven screamed. Quickly splaying her fingers Raven called out her chimes. "Azarath Metrion Zynthos!" and produced a dark platform to catch them. The Doctor landed safely on it and Tribus... just past straight through it! NO!

Holding her left hand aloft to keep the Doctors platform in existence, Raven moved her right hand to the other side and motioned to cast her spell again and produce a new platform for Tribus. "Azarath Metrion Zynthos!" she called again, and another disk appeared, and Tribus fell through that too! Trying again, she attempted to grab him, but she couldn't! Like everything else in this world she couldn't interact with it! Okay, maybe a portal to teleport him here. But he passed through it as if it was nothing too! Now it was too late! NO!

Tribus landed in the snow with a soft thud, white snow erupting from where he'd landed and Raven felt his life force wink out of existence in an instant.

Raven nearly lost concentration and she had to fight to keep the Doctors platform in existence as she slowly lowered him to the ground.

Tribus was dead, and Raven felt like it was her fault.

To Be Continued...

Authors notes: I forgot to mention in the last authors notes that I created Frank to be almost Ravens exact duplicate personality wise. I did this because while at a Christmas party one time I did meet someone who was my own exact double personality wise, and honestly rather than connect we found each other very irritating to the point where we had to be as far away from each other as possible. Apparently there is a psychological reason for this that I honestly haven't widely researched myself. But I just thought it'd be interesting for Raven to react to someone of the opposite gender who is very similar to her. Obviously she's irritated, and I guess from her point of view any criticisms she gives Frank is then automatically a criticism of herself, and she doesn't like that. That's why she describes him as an irritating Mirror.