Updated 06/Jan/2019

Chapter 68

The Invisible Monster

Something didn't sit right in Raven's mind. She didn't want Russel and the Doctor to interact. Thinking about it made her realise that though she liked Russel, she didn't exactly trust him entirely. It was kind of like that feeling a small animal would probably get when it spots a predator in disguise. When it spotted something that was 'uncanny-valley' like to it, and it steered clear of it. Part of her felt that way about Russel. There was something a little uncanny-valley about him, but not so much that it put her off. What if Russel was really a threat? And knowing threats to the Doctor, they were always hidden aliens of some kind. That would explain why Russel had her almost spellbound, was his human appearance just a disguise? Were her mixed-up feelings a result of some kind of influence Russel was sinisterly generating?

Love? Ugh! What is love? Except for a biochemical reaction which compels animals to breed. For once, Raven was happy that science did ruin something that was considered 'magical'.

Her mind was wandering again and so she refocused herself back to Russel and the Doctor as they talked. She picked them up as they were in mid-conversation.

"I expected a child your age to be playing with other teenagers." The Doctor said.

"I... don't get on well with other kids," Russel admitted. "Kids my age," he paused to think, "they don't value individuality."

"Trust me, its the same the universe over." The Doctor said. "But they never crushed my individuality." He laughed. "But surely you have your own friends to hang around with?" Russel remained silent on the matter. Raven wanted to see his face, she wanted to know what he was thinking, but he had his back to her.

Looking at Russel, she allowed just a little of her powers to flow, just enough so she could read his surface thoughts and feelings. There was a great deal of anger mixed in with sadness. Angry at what? Angry at who? And why sadness? His melting pot of emotions settled into a depressive state. Then suddenly it was shoved aside. It wasn't gone, it was just moved to the side so he wasn't focused on it.

So Russel wasn't real. He was hiding something. The face and attitude were fake and he was still presenting that fake persona to the Doctor and to Raven.

What was he really thinking? What was he really doing? Raven was starting to feel angry, she felt like she was being manipulated.

Stop, stop! Her mind commanded as a dark aura had formed around her and her powers threatened to seep out. You don't know anything. This is all speculation. Remember, you hide your feelings behind a mask too. Why is it when he does it, it's suddenly suspicious?

Facts before feelings! Raven thought. Facts before feelings.

"Pist!" came a hiss from someone. Raven looked around and saw just behind her was someone new. It was a girl, a girl who was creeping up behind her. Raven didn't feel threatened. If the girl wanted to ambush her then hissing 'pist' is not the way to do it.

"Hel... hello." Raven said in a low voice fixing the girl with a look which said, 'Don't try anything, because I will hurt you.'

As the girl approached her whole body language shifted from one who did not want to be found to someone casually relaxed. The girl was pale, and very skinny but also very tall, at least a full head taller than Raven. Her long blond hair did not match her face shape, as a result, it kind of made the hair look fake. She looked kind of weird and unique, and Raven liked that. As she came closer Raven also noticed she had a nose ring dangling from her nose, like one on a bull. It was kind of cool.

Maybe I should get a piercing. A stray thought said.

Absolutely not! Went another part of her.

"I'm Antonia Hardwick." The girl said. "I saw you with Russel back there."

Oh god, was this his girlfriend? Raven thought. The demon girl had never considered Russel might already have someone else and he was just being friendly with her. But then why was she trying to hide and not confront him directly? Either way, Raven wasn't in the mood to deal with domestic drama right now. Better defuse the situation verbally so she didn't need to use her powers to defend herself.

"We're not seeing each other if..." but the woman hushed her.

"No, no, no. That's not it. We want to warn you about Russel." Antonia said in a hushed voice.

We? But Raven's question was answered when from around the corner came two other girls.

"That's Sarah." Antonia said, pointing at a pretty looking, slim brunette with long curly hair. She looked quite regal in a way. "That's Lisa." Antonia pointed at a tall, overweight girl with her blond hair tied back.

"Warn me about what?" Raven's guard was instantly up, but her mind was intrigued. She wanted to know more about Russel and these girls might be able to provide it.

"We used to go to school with him." Lisa said, "You'll want to steer clear of him if you know what's good for you."

"Are you threatening me?" Raven said, her eyes giving Lisa a dark look that she wouldn't be pushed around.

"No. You'll have to forgive Lisa." Antonia said, "We're just looking out for a fellow girl. We've all got to stick together. This is a man's world, after all."

This is Trigon's world. Raven's mind thought both darkly and sadly.

"Russel is..." Antonia looked hurt and scared, "A nasty piece of work."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "He's been pretty respectful of me so far." Antonia looked briefly surprised, but then she nodded at her.

"Look, we just want to warn you." Antonia said, "If you hang out with him then you'll find out why you should drop him sooner rather than later."

"I'll consider this, thanks. I can look after myself." Raven said flatly, she wasn't about to let a bunch of strangers dictate who she should and should not hang out with.

"Say, wanna go to the book shop?" Antonia suggested. That was a sharp change in the conversation.

"Yeah, we go there every day at four for meetings." Sarah piped up. "It's like a book club."

"Book club? I do like books." Raven's voice stumbled a little, and her voice became a little quieter now she was certain she wasn't being threatened.

"Really, what are you into?" Antonia asked. "Stephenie Meyer?" That was the author of the Twilight Saga? A groan went through Raven's mind.

"What about Jane Helix, or Summer Vale?" Lisa asked. Raven had no idea who these authors were. So, unsure but defensive, Raven listed off a few authors she liked.

"H. P. Lovecraft, Bram Stoker, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mary Shelly, J. K. Rowling."

"Oh, we all love Harry Potter, don't we?" Antonia said, the other two nodded in agreement. "Oh yeah."

"I loved Dracula." Said Sarah rubbing her hands together. "It was delightfully creepy."

"Lovecraft is okay, but god, he was prejudice." Lisa said groaning with a disgusted look on her face like she'd smelt socks that hadn't been washed in four days.

"Oh... kay..." Raven said, she was not used to this positive attention but it was kind of nice to socialise. Maybe she would go to this book shop club thing later, after she makes sure Russel and the Doctor are still safe. "I... I might come to the book club tonight. But listen, you might want to get out of here. This place might be dangerous." Raven thought it better to warn them of the 'something' the Doctor was looking for.

"Yeah, if Russel is here I'd want to clear out too." Lisa said, misunderstanding the warning.

"I just want to find the Doc... I mean my Dad and we'll head back." Raven said.

"Oh, we can't leave you out here by yourself." Antonia said, "we'll come with you."

"That won't be necessary, I don't know you." Raven didn't care if she was being rude. Out of the Doctor, Russel and these girls, it was these girls who followed her, crept up on her and were being so friendly that it unnerved Raven. "I'll think about going to the book club."

Antonia shrugged, "Okay, but remember. Russel is bad news, don't go anywhere near him."

"By the way, we don't know your name." Sarah asked.

"I never gave it." Raven let that hang for a few seconds before saying, "I am Raven, Raven Roth."

The three girls smiled. "We'll see you at the book shop at four." Antonia said, "We girls have to stick together, after all." They waved and began heading back down the road, chatting with each other as they went.

What the hell was all that about? Raven wondered.

Putting that out of her mind, Raven went back to tracking Russel and the Doctor and she tried to catch up with them. Their footprints were easy to follow.

I liked those girls. Said a part of Raven's mind. They unnerved me a little, but they like books. The Doctor wants me to make friends, so maybe I really should go to this book club.

You don't need them. They'll just toss you aside and stab you in the back.

Raven groaned. I'm getting so sick of this, I can't be scared of everyone just in case they'll hurt me, everyone hurts someone eventually. It doesn't mean the friendships that are built end! Indeed, when Harry Potter and Ron fell out in the Goblet of Fire. Sure, it was a stressful time and it was over something so stupid, but their friendship was reforged later stronger than before. Hermoine secretly wanted Ron as her boyfriend, and...

Stop right there! Raven knew where that thought was headed, so she killed it before it could be expressed. Romance is for the weak-minded. The Demon Girl decided. She didn't know if those girls' words could be trusted, but after realising what prolonged exposure to a boy she liked did to her Raven decided she didn't like it. She'd felt all mushy inside.

Screaming! Raven could hear screaming, and it was coming from behind her where those girls were! Raven turned and took off running. If the girls were in danger then surely the Doctor and Russel would turn up there too.

Following the commotion Raven found the girls. Sarah was grasping her neck, her legs dangling in mid-air as something lifted her up off the floor. That something was totally invisible except for a shimmering outline which betrayed its gigantic bipedal shape. Without reaching out to feel anything herself, Raven could feel something radiating from this beast. Utter, intense, rage!

"Release her!" Raven called at it, but it ignored her. Sarah looked like her neck was going to snap! The creature then swung its other arm in an attempt to grasp one of the other girls. They both panicked and ran away from the lumbering beast, all crying about a big monster. Which frankly, wasn't useful to helping Sarah.

Raven knelt down, picked up a rock and threw it at the monster. The rock passed straight through it, just like the Doctor described, it was semi-material.

Should she delve into her powers? Should she risk the evil within her getting out? Sarah was turning white. Raven decided. Raising her arms and waving her fingers she reached into herself and began to speak her magic chimes.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinth..." suddenly Sarah dropped to the floor, luckily landing in the mud. The thick, gloopy mud which stuck to her clothes and hair. The outline of the creature had also vanished.

"What the hell was that?" Sarah asked.

"Would you believe a mysterious psychokinetic, semi-material, apparition?" Raven said looking around warily.

"A what? Where did it come from?" Sarah said, gasping for breath.

"What part of 'Mysterious' did you not understand?" Raven bit a little."Just go find your friends. I need to find the Doctor." and Raven was off again, she could see a shimmering in the distance, and so she was giving chase.

What am I supposed to do once I catch up to it? Raven thought briefly, but she was too preoccupied with trying to track it to consider how she was supposed to defeat it.

She was brought to a crashing halt when she ran headlong into someone and they both fell to the ground with Raven landing on top.

"Russel?" she asked.

"I heard someone scream. Are you alright?" He asked as they both got up.

"I'm not a screamer." Raven dusted her arms down. "And where is the Doctor?"

"Your Dad?" Russel asked, "I thought he was following me, but I think that thingy of his got caught on some bushes."

Raven spotted a scuff mark on his arm. "What's that?" she asked.

"I slipped and hit a tree, it's nothing." Raven was instantly suspicious. "Is something wrong? I thought you went back to town."

"I..." Raven was about to argue back when she saw the shimmering creature coming up behind Russel. "Russel, be calm and don't move."

"Why, what is it?" Russel froze.

"Something more dangerous than squirrels," Raven said as she stepped past Russel and closer to the creature.

You're not supposed to be using your powers! She reminded herself. Russel slowly turned to look, and the creature charged right at them!

Oh shit!

Raven's mind was screaming for her to run, but in the intervening time her mind told her, versus the time it took for her legs to move, Russel had gripped her hand and was already pulling her off the trail and between the trees. Branches snapped, and rustled as Russel waved his arms to clear their path.

Raven saw the Doctor, he was standing off in the distance facing away from them using that scanner device on a bush. He failed to notice the two teens running from an invisible shimmering monster which chased them through the forest. Oddly, the monster made no noise as it lumbered after them, so it didn't attract the Doctors attention. Raven wanted to call out to him, but by the time he took notice Russel, Raven and the Monster were gone.

Raven didn't appreciate being led, nor having her hand took like this, but given the circumstances she guessed she could forgive Russel for being so forward.

Unfortunately, soon they'd ran out of places to run. Laying in front of them was the bend of a river. They couldn't go left, nor right. They were trapped.

"Oh, great going." Raven said more calmly than she felt. "Want to try leading me to safety next time?"

"We're going to have to swim."

"NO!" Raven insisted and pulled her hand from his.

"I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." Raven ignored him and she turned to look for another way out. No way was she going swimming. But it was too late, the monster was upon them and it was going to strike! Raven raised her hands and waved them. It was no good, she'd have to use her powers. She began to mutter her chimes again. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinththo..." then Russel stood in front of her arms spread, shielding her. "...Russel! MOVE!"

Raven heard something within Russel sharply snap. The chilling sound of bone breaking. The boy was flung back into her and the pair were sent flying over the side and into the middle of the river. The deep, deep, dirty river.

Once the water covered over Ravens face flashes of dead pirate corpses with their inky guts spilling out raced into her mind. Raven began to freak out. She couldn't tell which way was up!

Russel was beside her in the water, he could swim, he'd help her! But the unfortunate thing was that he was clearly unconscious and starting to drown himself; Oh great! Raven looked around. Which way is up? I can't tell!

Raven clutched her hands to her neck. Already, her lungs were burning to breathe!

To Be Continued...

Authors notes: That bit where the Doctor doesn't notice Raven, Russel and the monster; had this been a tv episode I'd have shot as something comical. Like the camera is focused on the Doctor calming checking the plants with his scanner as he hums to himself calmly, while behind him the hectic chase was on.