Clarence (Chapter 5)

Chapter 5 (Open Your Minds)

Clarence had a white face, dark eyes with blue stars painted around them and a big, red spongy nose. He wore a red, wide smile and big, red, curly hair. He was dressed in an all-over multicoloured suit and seemed to have a smile permanently fixed to his face.

“Can you unhand Mr Benson, please?” said the Doctor, calmly.

Owen looked terrified as Clarence tightened his grip around his neck.

“I did say please,” said the Doctor, tilting his head ever so slightly.

Clarence shook his head slowly.

“And why not?” asked the Doctor. “What is the purpose in terrorizing these people?”

Clarence shook his head again.

“Can’t you speak?” said the Doctor. He looked down darkly at the clown. “Don’t you have your own mind?”

Clarence burst into a chilling laugh as he pulled Owen back and towards the corridor.

“Don’t you dare!” said the Doctor, whipping out his sonic screwdriver and aiming it at the clown. “You’re a robot, aren’t you? Just like the ones in the Psychic Circus?”

Clarence tried to stifle a chuckle.

“If I get the frequency just right I can blow your circuits. Overload your brain.”

Clarence didn’t respond.

“Now let go of Mr Benson.” The Doctor stepped forward. “Now,” he growled.

Clarence shook his head again, and in a lightning fast move pressed the cylinder to Owens’s temple and pressed a button. Owen screamed as he was enveloped in a green, glowing energy beam. And then he disappeared leaving Clarence standing there in the half-darkness of the corridor.

“You monster!” said the Doctor.

Clarence laughed and then slinked into the darkness.

The lights began to flicker again as the Doctor followed Clarence into the darkness. He could hear Clarence’s footsteps getting further away and picking up speed. The Doctor began to jog, shining the torch around him so as not to stumble and fall flat on his face.

He entered the cargo bay and the ramp that led down to the outside. He could see Clarence gleefully running down the ramp so the Doctor grabbed the railings, vaulted over them and let himself fall. He caught Clarence on the back and the clown stumbled to the floor as the pair of them rolled down the ramp to the rocky ground below.

Clarence began to crawl from under the Doctor.

“Wait!” said the Doctor, trying to grab at him and only managing to tug slightly on his baggy trousers.

Clarence turned and hissed at the Doctor, snatching the material from out of his grip and then getting to his feet again, making a run for the pathway that led to the top of the mountain range.

The Doctor got to his feet, rubbed a sore arm, shook his head and then began to run after the clown.

Clarence continued to laugh maniacally as he climbed the path up above.

“What are you running from?” shouted the Doctor, his voice echoing around the canyon.

Clarence didn’t answer, but kept running.

“Why are you killing these people?”

Clarence stopped and then turned on the spot so he was facing the Doctor. The smile - at least the real one - had been wiped from his face.

The Doctor stood in front of him, his hands outstretched. “I just want to try and understand.”

The clown shook his head and then raised his arm. He extended his index finger and a small gun barrel emerged from the end.

The Doctor’s eyes narrowed as he clicked on to what Clarence was doing.

Then there was a single shot and the Doctor felt an impact in his shoulder as he fell back, whacking his head on a cluster of rocks as he hit the ground.

And then there was nothing but darkness.




The Doctor woke up a little while later, the sun high in the sky. Although it was October, the sun still felt warm and he lay there for a moment, enjoying the rays on his face. And then he remembered the sharp pain at the back of his head.

He sat himself up - painfully - and put the palm of his hand to the back of his head. There was a little amount of blood, but nothing too serious. He took a handkerchief from the inner pocket of his blazer and then dabbed on the wound.

He looked around the canyon, but the clown was nowhere to be seen.

He got to his feet and made his way back up the path.

By the time he returned to the town centre it was mid-afternoon. He passed a fountain and spotted Sgt Poulton standing, his arms behind his back, talking to a man with a big, bushy white beard. Poulton spotted the Doctor, made his excuse to the man and then quickly walked over to him.

“You’re new in town, aren’t you?” said Poulton.

“We’re visiting,” said the Doctor, as he sat down on the small stone wall around the fountain. “We’re from Apax.”

“That’s a fair distance,” said Poulton. “What brought you here?”

The Doctor sighed. “Apax is a little too…modern for us. We needed a quiet life.”

“So you’re not just visitors then? You’re intending on staying.”

“Maybe,” lied the Doctor. “Listen, Mr Poulton, if you don’t mind I’d rather be left in peace. I’m waiting to meet with my two friends.”

“You were seen leaving the town with Owen Benson. You were heading for the mountains. Where is Mr Benson now?”

The Doctor looked at Poulton and shook his head. “Mr Benson has disappeared.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“He’s disappeared. Just like his son and anyone else who have disappeared from this town.”

“Fifteen people have disappeared from this town. What do you know of it?”

“Fifteen?!” said the Doctor. He shook his head again. “Never mind what I know of it. What are you doing about it?”

“It is believed that a rouge clown called Clarence went mad and started attacking people. He’s hidden somewhere out there, but only comes out at night.”

“Well that’s a load of rubbish for starters,” said the Doctor, dabbing on his cut again. “He’s just been out in the broad daylight.”

“Where?”

“Back towards the old colony ship. He was hiding out in it.”

“What are you doing going up there?” said Poulton, his face red and angry.

“Are you telling me that you haven’t even searched up there?”

“I searched but found nothing.”

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “Then he’s doing a pretty good job of evading you.”

“He’s been evading everyone,” said Poulton, looking dejected. “Even his own circus can’t find him.”

“Doctor!” came Lilly’ voice from across the square.

The Doctor got to his feet and walked over to the two woman, followed by Poulton. “Any luck?”

“Something weird is going on back there. This clown went mad and escaped and they can’t find him.”

“I know,” said the Doctor. “I worked that out myself. Owen has disappeared.”

“Oh no,” said Holly sadly.

“That’s not all though,” said Lilly. “This Uncle Joe is a bit of a weird character.”

“You’ve met him?” said the Doctor.

“No,” continued Holly, “but we heard him. We met this couple and they explained what had happened, but before we could find out much more this Uncle Joe told us to leave and not come back.”

“A big, massive booming voice that is,” said Lilly.

The Doctor turned to Poulton. “Have you bothered to investigate the circus?”

Poulton looked confused, his old face creased into a frown. “But the circus are the ones trying to track down this clown.”

“But have you bothered to investigate the circus?” said the Doctor, looking down at the man.

He cowered under the Doctor’s stare. “No. No not at all.”

“Call yourself a policeman,” said Lilly with a tut.

“I didn’t want this job,” said Poulton quickly. “I was a farmer back on Earth. But somebody needed to police the place. Up until this Clarence incident we never had any trouble here. I’m not cut out for this.”

“Never the less,” said the Doctor, “you are the policeman for this town. You are responsible for the wellbeing of these people whether you like it or not.”

“I understand that,” said Poulton, nodding reluctantly.

“So you will start to police it properly,” said the Doctor.

Holly looked around the town. “What do we do then? Go back and find this Uncle Joe?”

“That’s exactly what we do,” said the Doctor, “but I want Mr Poulton here to make sure that everyone locks themselves in their homes and that they don’t come out.”

“But it’s still broad daylight.”

“Haven’t you been listening to me?” said the Doctor, angrily. “Owen was taken in the middle of the day. Whatever ideas you have about Clarence are wrong. He’s obviously getting more and more brave.”

“I thought I saw something in the forest earlier on,” said Holly, remember being in Kat’s bedroom.

“Exactly,” said the Doctor. “So make sure everyone is locked away. Get some helpers if you want. But make sure everyone is safe. Nobody else goes missing. Are we clear?”

Poulton looked up at him and nodded quickly.

“Do you want me to stay and help?” asked Holly.

“No, I want you two to stay with me where I can see you. I need to keep you both safe.”

“And we’re heading back to the circus?” said Lilly.

“When night falls…yes.”




It was night. The sky was clear and the stars glittered down over the mountain range. The Doctor, Holly and Lilly had spent the afternoon with Kat and Heather trying to ease their fears and then had left.

As they crossed the field towards the hill Holly pulled her coat tighter around her and rushed up to the Doctor. “Is this wise?”

“What?” said the Doctor, hands in his pockets and a look of frustration on his face.

“Going there in the dark?”

“They won’t be expecting us,” said the Doctor.

“But Clarence-”

“I think Clarence is the least of our worries,” said the Doctor. “And we’d just as likely be attacked by him in the day anyway.”

Holly looked back. Lilly was a little way off, looking down at the ground glumly. “So you think that Clarence isn’t at the centre of all this?”

“No,” said the Doctor. “Uncle Joe’s circus is…off. I don’t know what it is, but I have a feeling about it.”

“I know what you mean,” said Holly. “Look at Lilly.”

The Doctor looked back at her as she kicked a stone across the ground. “Lilly is often grumpy.”

“She’s been grumpy since we arrived,” said Holly. “And so have you.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I mean, I know you’re unpredictable and all,” she continued, “but you’ve been even more grumpy these last few hours. You and Lilly. I haven’t seen you crack a smile.”

“Nobody has cracked a smile in this town for a while now.”

“That’s my point,” said Holly. “Maybe they’re not just living in fear. Maybe it’s something else.”

The Doctor looked at her. “I do feel a little…down.”

Holly nodded. “I’m feeling it now as well. I feel sad.”

The Doctor stopped and waited for Lilly to catch up with them.

“What?” said Lilly.

He put his arm around her. “Just stay close, won’t you?”

“Why didn’t Clarence try and kill you?” said Lilly, as she looked up at the stars.

“He did try to kill me, but just not in his normal way.”

“What do you mean?” said Holly.

The Doctor stopped. He considered for a moment, and then clasped his hands together in front of him. “I don’t like weapons and I abhor violence, but if you had a gun or a knife, which would you use?”

“The gun,” said Holly.

“Why?”

“Because it’s easier to use. A cleaner kill,” said Lilly.

“Exactly.” Clarence tried to kill me with a finger-gun.”

“I beg your pardon?” said Holly.

“A gun concealed in his finger.” He held his finger up. “Now, why would you try and kill me with a gun when he has a very nice and clean way of killing me with his high-energy beam.”

Holly and Lilly both looked at each other and then back at the Doctor. They both shrugged.

“I think,” said the Doctor, his eyes looking past them, “that Clarence was definitely trying to kill me, but that he most definitely didn’t kill Owen, his son and the other people that went missing.”

“But they were disintegrated,” said Holly.

“No,” said the Doctor, “I don’t think they were disintegrated at all. I think they were transported away.”

To be continued...