Chapter 7 (A Holly in the Heart)
Day 15
Lilly stood at the back door. The sun was rising now and the rain in the night had passed over. By all accounts it looked like it was going to be a nice day. Weather wise that was. Lilly continued to gaze up at the sky as she watched a couple of sparrows zoom past, fighting between each other over a worm.
When they had gone she turned and walked back into the kitchen. Sat on the kitchen table was the pile of dry washing that Holly had put out the day before. One of her tops was sat on the pile. It was a slightly crumpled, blue top with short arms and a v-neck.
She grabbed the top slowly and then went to the cupboard at the back of the kitchen. She pulled out the ironing board, switched the iron on, and then carefully ironed the top until not a single crease was left. When she had finished she neatly folded up the top and then placed it back on top of the other clothes.
She made her way into the living room. The curtains were still closed and the Doctor was asleep on the sofa, curled up with a blanket pulled over him.
Lilly walked past as quietly as she could and made her way upstairs. When she reached the top of the stairs she hesitated for a moment as she looked at the door to Holly’s room.
She swallowed and then headed for the door, pushing it open and going inside. The bed was still unmade. Holly had been pretty untidy when it came to things like that.
She sat down on the bed and stared ahead at the wall in front of her. Although they hadn’t intended on staying for very long, Holly had still set about dotting the room with some home comforts. She’d hung all of her clothes up in the wardrobe, set up a portable radio player and placed an alarm clock on the bedside cabinet.
Lilly slowly tipped herself to the side and lay down on the bed. She lay there for a good few minutes, her head resting on the pillow. Her mind was a blank. She didn’t know what to do or to think. This was like something from a nightmare.
A nightmare she had had once before.
She shifted her legs across the bed and they struck something underneath the quilt. Frowning she sat herself up and reached under the covers, pulling out the object.
It was a diary.
His diary.
She gasped as she flicked through it and then threw it down.
“Lilly?” came the Doctor’s voice. He was standing at the door, his hair sticking up at odd angles and his beard looking like it needed a trim.
Lilly looked up at the Doctor, her mouth opened. “She took the diary. She took the diary.”
“Your brothers?” said the Doctor, stepping into the room.
Lilly nodded, holding up the book and showing it to him.
“I thought you’d destroyed it.”
“I…I couldn’t,” said Lilly, her voice faltering. “I put it in the bedside cabinet. I forgot about it when we put Holly in there.”
“Lilly…” said the Doctor, closing his eyes.
“She read it though. She read it.”
“It doesn’t matter now,” said the Doctor, coming into the room and sitting next to her on the bed. “You knew she was curious.”
“She couldn’t just leave it alone, could she?” said Lilly, throwing the diary across the room.
“She never said anything to you?”
“Nothing,” said Lilly. “I had no idea she had this.” Lilly looked up at him with scared, teary eyes. “Was she just pretending to be my friend?”
“No of course not,” said the Doctor, putting an arm around her. “She did it because she wanted to get to know you better.”
“She could have just asked,” said Lilly, her eyes streaming with tears.
“She did ask,” said the Doctor.
Lilly didn’t respond. She just looked at him.
“You kept blocking her out.”
Lilly looked down at her feet, her eyes moving from side to side. “I was just too scared.”
“I know.”
“And look at what happened. I said it’d happen, didn’t I? We got someone killed. Again.”
The Doctor looked at her and then got up off the bed. “We have plans to make.”
“Don’t deny it,” said Lilly.
He didn’t turned to face her. “It’s time we stopped pussyfooting around with this alien.”
“I want to see her.”
“Why?”
“I want to say goodbye before we take her back to her parents.”
The room was cold and white. The air smelt of peppermint and lying on a large table in the centre of the room was Holly, her body still and peaceful.
Lilly stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. She could still hear the gentle hum from the console room, but in here it was much, much quieter.
She slowly walked up to Holly and looked down at her. She looked like she could be asleep. She was in the same, dark clothes she had been wearing the previous night, except her top had been pulled open ever so slightly as the Doctor had examined the puncture marks in her chest.
He had told Lilly that the alien had pumped something into her heart, killing her instantly.
She looked down at her and then took her hand. It was cold. Lifeless.
“Hello, Dangerfield,” said Lilly, her voice echoing around the room. “Thought I’d pop in and see you before the Doctor brings this estate down,” she said, trying to keep her voice as cheery as possible.
She closed her eyes and gripped Holly’s hand a little tighter. “I just wanted to say…how sorry I am. Ever since I met you I’ve just been a heartless bitch. I never…cared for your feelings. I never even considered that you could be a real friend to me.”
She let go of Holly’s hand and walked away, resting her head against the far wall. “I found the diary. My brother’s diary. The one you had been reading. I don’t blame you. I really don’t. If I’d have opened up to you more maybe you wouldn’t have had to take it.” She turned back to face Holly. “When I first met you I didn’t want to know you. I didn’t want to know anybody new. I just wanted it to be me and the Doctor. That way the only people who would get hurt would be him and me. Nobody else.” She straightened herself out. “You see, when the Doctor rescued me from Edinburgh he was already travelling with my brother. And we travelled together for some time, but because I’m so screwed up in my head,” she said, pointing to her temple angrily, “I wouldn’t let my brother in. He tried to get to know me, but I wouldn’t let him. I used to hurt him. Upset him. And then one day, just as I thought I might be able to accept him, he died.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “And then it was just me and the Doctor.” She took Holly’s hand again. “The Doctor tried to help me, but I’m just a bad person. I’m cursed. Every one who has ever known me has had bad things happen to them. My family were bad, my friend, Craig, suffered because of me, my brother died because of me and now you.”
She shook her head and closed her eyes. When she opened them a stream of tears flowed down. “Apart from Craig, my brother and the Doctor, you were the first person that showed me real warmth. The first one that wanted to get to know me for who I am. The first person outside of my family.” She gripped the hand tighter. “And in you I thought I had found something…someone…who I could be honest with.” She started to breathe heavily. “I should have been honest earlier. I should have told you all of this when you were still alive.” She leant in closer to Holly, her face almost touching hers. “Did you feel the same way? Did you? I guess I’ll never know now.”
She moved her other hand up to Holly’s forehead and brushed her hair out of her face. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without you. I’m so, so sorry.” She leant in and gently kissed Holly on the lips. She looked at her for one moment and then let go of her hands. “I hope you’re with your grandfather now. I hope you’ve found peace, Holly Dangerfield.”
It was mid-day. The sun was beating down and the pavements were now bone-dry again. Parked in the middle of Waterloo Close was the TARDIS, it’s blue paint work standing out against the grey roads. The Doctor was standing in the doorway, Lilly at his side looking stern and emotionless.
The Doctor had a megaphone in his hand and the cord snaked from the megaphone into the TARDIS interior.
He brought the megaphone up to his mouth and spoke. When he spoke his voice didn’t come out of the funnel on the megaphone, but instead from the top of the TARDIS. It seemed to echo all around the estate.
“People of the Runswick Estate, my name is the Doctor. You may know me and my friends. You may have been served by my friend, Holly Dangerfield. She used to work in the paper shop around the corner from Coventry Avenue.”
Lilly looked up at him and smiled sadly.
“What you may not know is that last night Holly Dangerfield was brutally murdered. Murdered by someone living on this estate.”
Doors began to open and people began to emerge out onto the street to watch the Doctor.
The Doctor passed the megaphone to Lilly who cleared her throat. “Holly Dangerfield was a beautiful person. She had goodness in her heart. She didn’t deserve to die. All she was trying to do was help me and the Doctor uncover an alien living at the heart of this estate. An alien that constantly threatened us every time we tried to find it. Holly was a good person, but I am not a good person.”
The Doctor looked down at her with a pained expression.
“I am not a good person and I know that the alien is out there somewhere, listening in. So if you want to make sure you never find out how bad I can get, I suggest you show yourself. On the other hand you can continue hiding and I will hunt you down and show you just what Holly Dangerfield meant to me. It’s entirely your choice.”
The Doctor took the megaphone off her. “I’m fed up of playing tricks. I don’t want to hurt you. I just need to know why you’re hiding.” He looked at each of the residents as they continued to watch the Doctor. “If you are brave enough then come and find me. I will be waiting at the church on Tattershall Lane. If you don’t come…then I will not be held responsible for what my young friend will do.”
The church on Tattershall lane was a more modern affair than a traditional church. It was red-brick and built during the Victorian days and was one of the only few churches still standing in this part of Hanswick. Next to it was the community hall which the Scouts used, but the church wasn’t attended by that many people any more.
The Doctor was sat at the front of the church, his back to the door, with Lilly sat next to him. Neither of them had said a word since the little speech back in the close.
Finally, Lilly turned to him. “I don’t want to be bad.”
He put his hand on top of hers. “You won’t be bad, Lilly.”
“Do you think anyone will come?”
As if to answer Lilly’s question they heard the door open and then a single set of footsteps coming up the aisle.
“Sounds like Human footsteps,” said the Doctor, not turning around. “Still in disguise, eh?” he said, his voice a little louder.
“Still in disguise,” came the old voice.
The Doctor and Lilly turned around. Standing there was Arnold Jefferson, his panama hat in his hands, his eyes looking sad and his face deflated.
“I knew it,” spat Lilly. “All this time Holly was working with you. I knew it was you!”
“Steady now, Lilly,” said the Doctor, getting to his feet. “Arnold. You’re not Human, are you?”
Arnold shook his head, but didn’t answer.
“Murderer!” yelled Lilly, scrambling to her feet.
The Doctor put his arm out and held her back. “Keep calm, Lilly.”
“I’m not murderer,” said Arnold.
“Liar!” snarled Lilly.
“There are three things. Firstly, I didn’t kill Holly. Secondly, I’m not the only alien.”
“What?” said the Doctor, confused. “So there is more than one of you.”
Arnold looked between the Doctor and Lilly. “The reason you couldn’t track us down is because there are more of us than your machines and tracking devices can cope with.”
“How many more?” said the Doctor, looking down his nose at the old man.
“The entire estate. Every single one of us is alien.”
The Doctor didn’t say anything. Lilly just stared at him in disbelief.
“And thirdly?” said the Doctor, finally. “You said there were three things.”
“Yes,” said Arnold, lowering his head a little more. “Thirdly, Holly Dangerfield is not dead.”
To be continued...
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