Clarence (Chapter 3)

Chapter 3 (When Clowns Go Wrong)

Owen was helping Heather do the dishes and tidy up whilst Kat was sat on the floor in front of the fire colouring in a colouring book that the Doctor had taken out of his coat pocket. The Doctor had filled in Holly on what had been happening and the three of them were now huddled together around the dining table talking in hushed voices.

“So what’s the plan of action?” said Holly.

“There’s not much we can do if a psycho clown is going around bumping off people,” said Lilly. “Best just to go back to the TARDIS. At least then there’d be three less people for the clown to get.”

“Lilly,” said Holly, looking disappointed at her. She had mellowed a lot, but there was still that selfish, rude side to her.

“Unless you think we should stay, Dangerfield.”

“Does my opinion matter?” asked Holly.

“Of course it does,” she said quickly, and then smiled.

“Then what do you suggest?”

“That we stay and help these people. We help this town.”

“Good plan,” said Lilly. It was almost as if Lilly didn’t want to risk offending Holly.

“I’m in agreement,” said the Doctor. “We can’t leave these people, but we need to find out more about this clown first.”

“Owen said the circus is still here,” said Lilly. “We should start there.”

“Absolutely,” said the Doctor, “but I have other tasks to perform.”

“What?” frowned Holly. “You’re not coming with us?”

“Absolutely not,” said the Doctor. “I’ve never liked circuses, but that’s not my only reason. There’s something else I want to check out.”

“Which is?” asked Lilly, looking frustrated with the Doctor.

“I want to go and check out the colony ship that brought these people here.”

“But that was centuries ago,” said Lilly.

“Yes, but you can’t just hide a giant spaceship. I just want to make sure all the I’s are dotted and the T’s crossed.”

Lilly sighed. “Okay, Doc, but we need to make sure we meet up here before nightfall.”

“Naturally,” said the Doctor. “I’m not in the mood for facing up to a killer clown!”

Owen bustled over and sat down at the table. “What have you three been talking about so quietly?”

“We’ve decided to help you,” said the Doctor.

“No offence, Doctor, but you are just three people. What difference can you make?”

The Doctor smiled. “We have some experience in these types of things.”

“Where’s the circus camped out at?” said Holly.

“On the outskirts of town, near the hills,” replied Owen.

“Good,” said the Doctor. He turned back to Owen. “Now, Mr Benson, I’m going to need your help in locating a bit of an old relic of yours.”




Holly and Lilly had been guided to the edge of the town by Heather with Kat in tow. The town was virtually identical throughout. They passed the market place but there didn’t seem to be much bustle of activity, just a few people here and there quickly making their purchases and then rushing back to their houses.

Although it was the day time, these people seemed to be constantly gripped by fear of the clown.

“Are you going to be okay getting back by yourselves?” said Holly, concerned for the mother and child.

“He never comes out during the day,” said Heather. “People are still scared, but he keeps to the night and the shadows.”

They reached an expanse of fields behind the last set of houses. “If you cross the field for about ten minutes and then follow the curve of the dirt track around that large hill,” she said, pointing into the distance, “you’ll find the circus camp.”

“Thank you,” said Holly, taking the woman’s hand affectionately. “Take care of yourselves.”

“And you two be careful,” said Heather, turning to leave.

“Say thanks, Lilly.”

“Thanks,” said Lilly obediently.

Kat turned to look back at Holly and gave her a wave. Holly replied with her own wave. “Get that next tea party ready, Kat.”

“You’re good with kids,” said Lilly as they began their journey across the field.

“Growing up with Agatha I suppose,” said Holly, smiling at the memory. “I like to think I was a good big sister to her.”

“I didn’t really get to see much of her,” said Lilly, thinking back to when she and Holly first met. “I’m sorry I punched Roxy,” she said quickly.

“Don’t worry,” said Holly, laughing, “I’m not going to bring it up every time we talk about how we first met.”

“Sometimes I think before I act.”

“Shouldn’t that be the other way round?”

“If I hadn’t thought about how to get into A&E, Roxanne wouldn’t have ended up with a bloodied nose.”

Holly laughed. “Makes some kind of sense I suppose.”

“I hate fields.”

“You hate fields?” said Holly, a puzzled look on her face.

“Yeah. The Doctor took me and Caleb to this planet once which was just made of black and white fields. There were loads of other people there as well just standing in each field, not moving or doing anything.”

“Sounds a bit weird.”

“Yeah,” said Lilly, nodding. “Turns out they were life-sized chess pieces and the fields were giant chessboards being controlled by a demigod.”

Holly looked at Lilly. “Okay…”

“We managed to get out of there in one piece though. Put Caleb off chess for life…” she trailed off.

Holly looked at her sadly.

“Don’t look at me like that, Dangerfield,” said Lilly, marching on ahead of her.

“I’m sorry,” said Holly, quietly.

They rounded the large hill which led through a short valley before finally coming to a clearing surrounded by trees. A huge white and red tent was set up in the centre with caravans dotted around it. There wasn’t much movement, but the girls could hear shouting coming from somewhere near the big tent.

They looked at each other nervously and then made their way down to the encampment.




Owen had taken the Doctor to the west of the town where they too had been greeted by fields and hills, but soon the hills turned into rocks and the rocks soon became small mountains.

“A Gallifreyan went up a hill and came down a mountain,” he chuckled to himself. “You alright, Owen?”

The tired-looking Owen nodded wearily. “Yeah, just not used to being in the mountains these days. I used to play up here as a boy until my friend fell and broke his neck. We never came back.”

“I’m sorry,” said the Doctor. “You can go back if you like.”

“No,” said Owen, wearily, “if this helps us find this psychopath then I’m happy to come with you.”

“Good man,” said the Doctor, clambering up onto a rocky ledge.

“I still don’t know what going to the old colony ship will do to help us though.”

“Well, I’m not sure myself,” said the Doctor, “but I like to make sure I’ve covered all possibilities.”

“Nobody has come out here for years though. The records say that the ships were stripped of everything when the foundations for the town were lain.”

“You never know though,” said the Doctor, as they made their way down a very narrow passage between the base of the mountains. “Old clowny-boy may be using it as his secret lair.”

Eventually the passage widened out until it reached a large, canyon with a ledge running all around the edge. A small, steep track led down the side of the canyon and sat in the middle of the canyon was an old ship. It was of an ugly design. Long and box like. The underbelly had a ramp that led down to the ground, but the doors to the interior at the top of the ramp were sealed up.

“Wow,” said Owen, gazing at the ships.

“Don’t tell me it’s the first time you’ve seen them,” said the Doctor, one hand on his hip and the other shielding his eyes from the mid-day sun.

“Never had any reason to come up this way,” said Owen. “We were always told not to come too far towards the canyon as it was dangerous.”

“Never listen to what people tell you to do, Owen,” said the Doctor. “If I had I’d have never have left my home and come all the way out here.”

They made their way down the steep pathway until they reached the bottom, the sun now being obscured by the large ship.

“I wonder how the girls are getting on,” said Owen, as he gazed up at the underside of the ship.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” said the Doctor. “Lilly knows how to handle herself.”

The Doctor climbed the gentle incline of the ramp and took his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket. He aimed it at a control panel, pressed down and the door clunked. The Doctor grinned at Owen and then pocketed the device again.

“How did you do that?” said Owen as the double doors slide open.

“Magic,” said the Doctor as he made his way into the darkened interior.

The inside was in absolute darkness and the Doctor found himself walking more slowly than usual so as not to accidentally trip up over anything. Their footsteps echoed in the darkness. The air smelt stale, which was understandable as the place had been empty and sealed up for centuries.

“Can you get the power on?” said Owen, keeping close by to the Doctor.

“Hopefully,” he replied, taking a torch from his pocket and shining the beam around.

It lit up their surroundings quite well. A rail led up either side of the ramp until it levelled off into the interior. They were standing in a large cargo hold with a set of steps leading off to the left. There were empty packing cases dotted here and there, but apart form that - nothing else.

“Do we go up?” said Owen, stepping into the beam of light and looking up the steps.

“We can’t go back down…yet,” said the Doctor as they both climbed the steps to the next level.




The woman with the olive skin and curly dark hair burst out of the caravan door, turned around and shouted something back into the interior, and then slammed the door, walking across the grass towards a smaller caravan.

“Wait,” said a man as the door burst open again. The man was dressed in a blue jacket, white trousers and a white shirt. He had a full beard and dark, green eyes with his dark hair swept back and neatly fixed down.

“Why should I wait, Ringo?” said the woman.

“Because we need to talk,” said the man.

“I’m fed up of talking. We need to leave now.”

“We can’t leave without Clarence,” said the man, following hot on her heals.

The woman stopped in front of her own caravan and turned to face the man called Ringo, her red dress spinning around her as she turned to face him. “Clarence is a lost cause,” said the woman.

“Please, Carlotta,” pleaded Ringo. “We need to be careful what we say.”

“The sooner we get away from this planet the better.”

Holly and Lilly rounded the corner causing both Ringo and Carlotta to turn and stare at them in amazement.

And then Ringo broke into a smile, putting on a fake, Italian-sounding accent. “Ah, welcome to Uncle Joe’s Circus. My name is Ringo, and this is the lovely Carlotta.”

Carlotta rolled her eyes and went into her caravan, slamming the door behind her.

“Lovely,” said Holly.

“She’s not always like that,” said Ringo, still with his fake smiled affixed to his face. “She’s had a rough day.”

“We heard,” said Lilly, her arms folded. Lilly walked around Ringo and then leaned up against the caravan, her arms still folded. “You’ve got a killer clown on the loose.”

Ringo’s smile faded and he closed his eyes, nodding. “Yes, I know.”

“Where’s that lovely accent gone?” said Holly.

“It’s all just a show,” said Ringo, looking dejected.

“We’d have never guessed,” said Lilly. “Now, tell us about this clown.”

“I can’t,” said Ringo.

“You’re in charge, aren’t you? You’re the Ringmaster?”

“I’m the Ringmaster, yes,” said Ringo, “but Uncle Joe is our benefactor, and if he says we have to stay then we have to stay. He’s in charge.”

The window to the caravan creaked open and Carlotta stuck her head outside. “Uncle Joe is getting too big for his boots.”

“Be quiet, Carlotta,” said Ringo. “He’ll hear you.”

“Can we see him?” said Lilly.

“And who are you?” said Ringo, realising these two had just appeared from nowhere.

“Concerned residents of the town back that way,” she replied.

“You’re not from this planet,” said Ringo. “You’re definitely not from the colony. You don’t dress the same as them.”

“Oh, leave them alone, Ringo,” said Carlotta. “Why don’t you both come in for a drink of Yin Tea?”

“Yin Tea?” said Holly as Carlotta opened the door and stood to the side for them to walk in.

“A speciality where we come from,” said Carlotta.

Ringo looked visibly worried as Holly and Lilly entered the caravan, but Lilly flashed him a smile as she walked passed him and he reluctantly followed them inside.

The inside was warm, inviting and red-flamed candles cast a glow about the place. Various decorative ornaments hung from the ceiling and along the entire right side of the living area was rows and rows of books.

“Sit down, please,” said Carlotta as she made her way to the kitchenette. She poured four cups of steaming hot tea and then return to the banquette to sit opposite Lilly and Holly. She turned to Ringo. “Come on then.”

Ringo sighed and sat down next to her.

Holly sipped the tea and her eyes widened. She turned and smiled at Lilly. “Tastes good.”

Lilly sipped. “Not bad I suppose.”

“You’re Gallifreyan,” said Carlotta. “But you’ve never seen your home world.”

“How’d you know that?” said Lilly, her cup stopping just short of her lips.

Carlotta pointed to her temple and smiled at her. “It’s my gift. I’m psychic.”

“And you?” said Lilly, turning to Ringo.

“As I said,” said Ringo, “I’m the Ringmaster.”

“Ringo the Ringmaster,” said Lilly. “You don’t seem very cheery. Job getting you down?”

Carlotta stopped Ringo from talking and leaned forward. “There has been an incident here.”

“Yeah,” said Holly, “one of your clowns has turned into a killer.”

Carlotta nodded. “That part is true,” she said, sadly, “but that’s not the full story.” Her dark eyes burrowed deep into Holly’s.

“Then tell us the full story,” said Lilly. “And stop probing her mind.”

Holly frowned and then shook her head. She wondered what that tickling sensation in her head was.

“I’m sorry,” said Carlotta. “I’m just so used to using my powers to get to know people. Sometimes I find it hard to switch it off.”

“Carlotta,” said Ringo, “maybe these people can help us to track down Clarence.”

“I’ve already told you - Clarence is a lost cause,” said Carlotta.

“But why?” asked Holly, trying her best to concentrate on the here and now and not thinking about Carlotta’s possible probing of her mind.

“Clarence’s programming has failed.”

“Programming?” said Lilly with a frown.

“Yep,” said Ringo. “Clarence and all of the other clowns are robots.”

To be continued...