Chapter 5 (Tracks in the Mud)
Nicole and Arthur had clambered into the old man’s battered Ford Fiesta and were haring down the motorway towards Grantham. Nicole was concerned at the speed they were going and she rubbed her belly gently, but then her thoughts went back to her husband and the danger he may be in.
She laughed to herself. She could scarcely believe she was actually doing this. The old man had told her a spooky story about his adopted daughter in the woods and her friend disappearing, but what evidence did he have? It could have been an accident. She could have witnessed her friend have a tragic accident, her body never found, whilst Felicity could have suppressed those memories. It was known to happen. Selective amnesia.
But something was telling her that that wasn’t the case at all. Something wasn’t right here. Arthur looked terrified as he gripped the steering wheel, his eyes firmly transfixed on the road. He believed in the supernatural danger, and that in turn made her believe in it.
“Should be there soon,” said Arthur without turning to look at her.
“I need to pee,” said Nicole, realising the shaking car wasn’t helping her.
Arthur frowned at her.
“Pitfalls of being pregnant, I’m afraid,” she said, looking a little embarrassed.
“There are no service stations around here,” said Arthur, as they hurtled down a road lined with woodland either side.
“Then we’ll just have to pull over,” said Nicole.
Arthur looked across to her again. “Can you not wait, Mrs Sibley?”
“Have you ever been pregnant?” said Nicole, arching her eyebrows at him.
He let out a huge sigh. “Oh, very well.”
He pulled the car to the side of the road near to a more secluded area. Nicole got out and disappeared into the buses. A few minutes later she re-emerged looking a little more relaxed. She smiled at him as she got back into the car.
“Thank you, Arthur,” she smiled.
“Don’t mention it,” said Arthur. He was about to start the car up when there was a blast of some kind of high-pitched sound. It pierced their eardrums and Nicole clamped her hands over her ears.
“What the hell is that?” she shouted over the noise.
“I don’t know,” yelled Arthur.
And then it stopped dead. The silence in the air was almost deafening. Nicole let go of her ears and looked around her. The road was quiet and the woods around looked still and silent.
“Was it a plane?” said Nicole.
“I don’t know,” said Arthur again. “I don’t like it though.” He turned the key in the ignition. The car spluttered for a few moments, but it didn’t start.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” said Nicole.
He tried the key again. Still nothing.
“It’s dead,” said Arthur. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “They know we’re coming.”
“They?” said Nicole. “Your supernatural things?” Nicole shook her head. “Even if it is something supernatural, how could it affect a car?”
“We’re close by. Maybe a twenty minute walk away from the entrance to the camp. This whole wood is part of the Harrington Estate.”
Nicole looked out of the window. The trees looked dark as their leaves blew ominously in the wind. “But what could actually do something like that?”
He tried the ignition again. “Blast it!” he said, hitting the palm of his hand on the wheel.
“We better call the AA,” said Nicole, reaching for her phone. The screen was dead. She pressed the power button. Nothing.
“Problems?” said Arthur.
“The phone’s dead.” Nicole put it back into her handbag. “Did you say we were only a twenty minute walk away?”
“About that,” said Arthur.
“Then I reckon we should leave the car here and make our way on foot. At least we’ll get to Andy and the others and we can get a lift back with them.”
Arthur nodded. “Do you feel up to it?” he said, nodding at her very round belly.
“Well, knowing my luck baby will decide to pay us a visit today.” She laughed and patted her bump. “At least Andy will be there, and we can’t stay here.”
The two of them got out of the car and locked the doors. Nicole slung her handbag over her shoulder as the two of them made their way down the road.
The sun was beginning to set. The Doctor had gotten a rather large fire going and the three of them were sat around it toasting marshmallows. The Doctor popped a whole one into his mouth and smiled in satisfaction.
“Do you know any ghost stories?” said Holly.
“Real ones or fake ones?” said the Doctor.
“Real ones of course,” said Holly. “Like, ones that happened to you.”
The Doctor stuck another marshmallow onto the end of a stick and looked at the fire, watching the soft, fluffy shape begin to brown and turn crisp. “Well there was one time a while back. My friends and I found ourselves at a haunted prison-”
“Time I took a leak,” said Richard, getting to his feet.
Holly laughed at him. “You’re not scared, are you, Ricky boy?”
“Don’t be daft,” said Richard, looking at her with his eyebrows arched. “I just always pick my toilet breaks at the dullest point in movies.”
“Hey,” said the Doctor, “you haven’t even heard the story yet!”
“Carry on without me,” smiled Richard as he disappeared into the woods.
“Shall I?”
“The moments gone,” said Holly, as she popped a marshmallow into her mouth. “You know, I’m glad we did this. You know, come out here.”
“Me too,” said the Doctor. “It’s what we all needed. Richard needs to come to a decision on his wife, and you and I need a break from Stark and the Master and all the upheaval.” He put his now marshmallow-less stick on the ground and looked at her. “Have you given any more thoughts to leaving?”
“I don’t know,” said Holly. “I just have absolutely no idea. One minute I want to stay and the next I don’t. I don’t want to be here without Lilly though.”
“Well, I’m no expert on relationships,” said the Doctor, “but if you ask me if something is worth fighting for then you should stick with it.”
Holly nodded. “I know exactly what you’re saying, Doctor, but am I big enough for her to take her away from her home planet?”
“Gallifrey isn’t everything,” said the Doctor, shrugging his shoulders. “I left, remember? Once you get past the beautiful scenery and the towering cities it becomes just another ordinary planet.”
Richard was a little way off and had just zipped up his flies when he heard the crack of a twig. He turned around to look for a sign of movement, but there was nothing there. He frowned and glanced over to where the other fire was. The smoke was still gently rising. He wondered if someone from that camp was out here somewhere. He was concerned – they had no idea who they were.
The sun had set and it was starting to get dark. The birds were twittering their early-evening calls and it was starting to feel a little chillier. He could see the Doctor and Holly back towards the fire in deep conversation.
And then he heard the crack of the twig again.
He spun around and out of the corner of his eye, as fast as lightening; he saw a flash of something disappear through the undergrowth. Something greyish.
Bloody rabbits, thought Richard.
And then he felt the impact in the backs of his legs and he fell forward, colliding with the tree.
“What the hell!” he shouted as he scrambled around to see what had pushed him over.
There came the cracking of twigs again.
“Who did that?!” shouted Richard, angry with himself for being taken off guard.
“Are you okay, Richard?” came the Doctor’s voice from back towards the hammocks.
“I’m fine,” said Richard, brushing his jeans down. “I just...I don’t know...slipped or something.”
“Are you injured?” said the Doctor.
“Just annoyed,” said Richard as he got to his feet. He scanned the area for any sign of the grey blur or the culprit of the attack (he felt stupid for thinking of it like that), but there was nothing. “Must have been a deer,” he muttered to himself as he headed back to the camp.
“Here it is,” said Arthur. “The pathway leading to the survival camp. Not far now.” They had reached the turn off from the road just as the sun had gone down.
Nicole was out of breath and put her hands on her hips, leaning backwards slightly to stretch her back. “Did they take their cars down there?” said Nicole, nodding towards the narrow path.
“No, the whole point of these things is to make you feel like you’re out in the wild.”
“So where are the cars then?” said Nicole.
Arthur’s face fell. He walked over to the large open area where the cars should have been parked. There were tracks in the dried mud showing the cars arriving, but not leaving.
“They were here.”
“How many cars did they have?”
“I don’t know,” said Arthur.
“There were about a dozen leaders,” said Nicole, trying to remember what Andy had told her. “So maybe half a dozen cars.”
“They arrived, but they’re not here now,” said Arthur.
“So where the hell have the cars gone?” said Nicole, as she began to shiver in the evening air.
To be continued...
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