Clarence (Chapter 2)

Chapter 2 (The Void That's Left Behind)

The end of the forest backed onto the edge of the town. A dirt track led from the trees to between a number of rows of small, wooden houses, each of them with smoke coming from their chimneys. They were of a crude but functional design. Made from wood, all on one level with a straw roof and a basic back garden.

“Pretty,” said Holly as they wandered down the track that led towards the town centre.

It was a good ten minute walk from the edge of the forest. They past a number of houses and open spaces with children’s playground equipment before they finally reached a hill that led down and towards the centre of the town.

A number of market stalls were setting up for the day and the market area was surrounded by larger, wooden buildings, which acted as town halls, schools and other amenities. In the centre was a stone plinth, around four foot high with a pole through the centre and a flag hanging limply from the top of it. Holly couldn’t quite see the flag, but it looked to be an image of the Earth with a green arrow pointing from the top of it.

“I think I’d get bored here,” said Holly.

“These people chose this way of life,” said the Doctor, one hand in his pocket and the ball under his other arm.

“I’m afraid I couldn’t do without my every day essentials.”

“I’m with you, Dangerfield,” said Lilly. “Peaceful is nice, but not forever.”

The double doors in one of the larger buildings opened and a distraught looking man walked out, shaking his head.

He was followed by a man in some form of black tunic with a silver badge pinned to the right breast. “I promise you, Owen, we will do everything we can.”

“But you won’t,” said the man - Owen. “What else can you do that you haven’t already done for the others?”

“We may be able to overturn some more clues,” said the man. He put a hand on Owens’s shoulder. “Try and keep calm.”

“It’s just a waste of time,” said Owen, shaking his head and trying to fight back to tears. “The sooner they leave the better.”

“They want to find him as much as we do,” said the man. “To bring him to justice.”

“Screw your justice,” said Owen, pointing a finger at the man. “Justice isn’t going to bring my Elliot back.”

He marched off, much to the bemused face of the man in black.

Owen headed towards the Doctor, Holly and Lilly and glanced at them, and then he did a double take, his eyes flicking down to the ball under the Doctor’s arm.

“Where did you find that?” said Owen, his tears stopping momentarily. He looked tired and miserable, his lines on his face seemed to go deeper than they should do. He looked middle aged, but Holly suspected he was closer to his late thirties.

“In the forest back there,” said the Doctor.

Owen snatched it from the Doctor and turned it over before crying again.

“Do you know who it belongs to?” said Holly.

“Yes,” sobbed Owen. “It belongs…belonged to my son.”

“And he’s gone missing?” asked the Doctor.

Owen nodded, clutching the ball tightly. He couldn’t get any words out.

“Look,” said the Doctor, putting an affectionate arm around Owen, “do you have somewhere we can go and talk about this.”

“My…house,” managed Owen. “That way.” He pointed back the way they’d come. “But I’ve been over it time and time again. I don’t know what more we can do.”

“Let’s get you back there, eh?” said the Doctor, guiding him back up the hill and towards the houses.




The interior of Owens house was as basic as the outside. The front door led into a main room with a kitchen and living space inside. Another door led off to what must have been the bedrooms. Sat inside on a small sofa was a little girl with dark hair. She was dressed in a grey dress and looked like she had been crying.

Stood beside a lit stove, making scrambled eggs, was a woman in a white dress and bonnet. She looked roughly the same age as Owen, had bright blue eyes, but had a pained look on her face.

The girl and the woman looked up when Owen entered with the Doctor, Holly and Lilly.

“Did they say anything?” said the woman, hopefully, and then noticing the ball. “Where did you find that?”

“These kind people found it in the forest,” said Owen, gesturing towards the trio.

“And you saw nothing else? Nobody else?” asked the woman.

“Nobody I’m afraid,” said the Doctor.

Holly sat down next to the little girl. “Hey, you alright?”

“My brother’s gone missing,” said the little girl sadly. She must have only been around five or six. “He went to look for his ball last night.”

“Maybe introductions are in order,” said the Doctor.

Owen placed the ball gently down on the wooden table in the centre of the room and then nodded. “My name’s Owen Benson, this is my daughter, Kathryn and my wife Heather.” He stuttered. “My son’s name is Elliot.”

“Call me Kat,” said Kathryn to Holly.

“Will do, squirt,” said Holly, wrinkling her nose at the little girl.

“My name’s the Doctor, this is Holly Dangerfield and this young lady here looking a little down in the dumps is Lilly Galloway. We’re travellers.”

“We never get travellers,” said Heather, getting some plates from a cupboard under the sink.

“We’re from another colony world.”

“Ival?” asked Owen.

“No,” said the Doctor, searching his list of colony names that he’d encountered over the years, “Apax.”

“That’s a bit of a journey.”

“Yeah,” said Lilly, “we’ve been travelling for some time. But that’s not important.”

“No,” said Owen. “No it’s not.”

“You say you’re son went missing?” continued Lilly.

Owen took a deep breath. “That’s right. Last night. Him and his friends were out playing when I went to collect them. Elliot must have snuck out to find his ball because he didn’t come back. I went searching at first light but couldn’t find him.”

“I’m afraid, Mr Benson,” said the Doctor, “that we found the ball a little way from the path in a ditch next to some scorched ground.”

Owen closed his eyes and Heather put her hand to her mouth as she dished up the scrambled egg. “It’s just the same as the others. I knew it, Owen.”

“I know,” said the man, nodding sadly.

“What’s the same as the others?” said Lilly. “Have there been other disappearances?”

Owen nodded. He then turned to Kat. “Why don’t you take Holly and show her some of your dollies?”

“But I don’t want to play,” said Kat, grumpily.

“Aww,” said Holly, in a mock-disappointed voice, “I wouldn’t mind seeing your dollies.”

Kat smiled. “Okay,” she said, getting up and guiding Holly towards the interior door.

Holly turned back to Lilly.

Lilly mouthed. “I’ll fill you in later,” to her.

“It upsets Kat too much,” said Heather as she handed plates of food to the Doctor, Lilly and Owen.

“What upsets her?” said the Doctor.

“Talking about the disappearances,” said Owen.

“So there have been others then?” asked the Doctor, leaning forward with his interest piqued.

“Too many to count,” said Heather. “It started about five months ago. A circus came to town.”

“Oh, god,” said Lilly, shovelling some egg into her mouth. “Creepy circus alert.”

“They weren’t called the Psychic Circus by any chance were they?”

“No,” said Owen. “Uncle Joes Circus.”

“Well that’s one thing I suppose,” said the Doctor, relaxing a little.

“So the circus turned up and people started disappearing?” asked Lilly.

“Not exactly,” said Owen. He sniffed away the tears. “One of their clowns went crazy. He disappeared from the circus in the night and they’ve been searching from him ever since.”

“What did the police say? I’m assuming that was the police you were talking to.”

“Sergeant Poulton? Yes, but he’s no good. He hasn’t turned over a clue in five months. Why would he have any luck now?”

“You have to have faith.”

“How can you have faith when you have to lock yourself away in your own home and live in fear?” said Owen.

Heather sat down at the table opposite the Doctor and Lilly and looked at both of them, fear in her eyes. “He comes at night and he takes people who aren’t safely locked away.”

“Takes them where?” asked the Doctor.

“Nobody knows, but all that’s left is…” she put a hand to her mouth, the tears flowing again.

“All that’s left,” continued Owen, “is scorched ground. It’s how he…kills them.”




In Kat’s basic room Holly was sat on the bed whilst Kat got her dollies to have a pretend tea party with each other.

Holly got up and walked over to the window, her arms folded. She looked out of the glass towards the forest. She was right. Lilly had felt something earlier on, but she felt it now. Something wasn’t right out there.

And for a fleeting second she thought she saw a flash of colour behind the trees, but when she tried to find it again…it was gone.

To be continued...