Scouting for Aliens (Chapter 6)

Chapter 6 ("X" Makes the Spot)

Andy finished the last of his coffee. He, Graham, Mark and Felicity were sat around a small fire nearer to their hammocks. The rest of the group were with Tom under the shelter talking about how to cut wood and carve sticks into tools.

When Graham had returned with Mark, Flick and Andy had seen how shaken he was and had excused themselves from the main group.

“It must have been an animal,” said Andy. “There’s no chance anyone could have been in there.”

“That’s right,” said Graham. “I pulled back the tarp and there was nothing there, mate.”

“Next you’ll be telling me it was the wind,” said Mark, laughing to himself.

“Well what else could it have been?”

“Did you check everywhere in the toilet,” said Flick.

Graham turned to her and laughed. “Well I wasn’t about to go and look under the seat.”

“No,” said Flick, “but that thing is just a raised wooden box with straw inside. The...well, the waste drops through the hole onto the straw. It’s a big enough area for something small to hide in.”

Andy and Graham burst out laughing.

“You’re joking aren’t you, Flick?” said Andy. “Why would anyone hide in a compost toilet?”

“I don’t know,” said Flick, irritated. “I’m just trying to come up with a reason.”

“It was the wind,” said Graham, deadpan.

“Maybe we should go and look,” said Flick.

“Uh-uh,” said Mark. “I’m no coward, but I’m not going back there. Something about the place just didn’t feel right to me.”

“What if you need the loo?” said Andy.

“There’s a bloody shovel over there,” said Mark, nodding towards the shelter. “I’ll find a spot in the woods and dig myself a hole.”

“I still think we should go check it out,” said Flick.

“Ever the adventurer,” said Graham.

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea,” said Andy. “It’s starting to get dark now. We best stay with the group.”

Flick thought for a moment. She picked at a bit of dry mud on the ground and started running her finger through it. She was nervous. She wondered if she should really say anything, but she had come here on a mission – with a purpose. She had to say something.

“I’ve been here before.”

“Eh?” said Mark. “In these woods?”

“When I was a kid,” she answered, looking down at the floor. “It was all fenced off back then. It was totally private.”

“Naughty,” said Graham, pointing a finger at her.

“I was only 12,” said Flick. “My friend and I went exploring.” She looked uncomfortable.

“You okay?” said Mark, putting a hand on his.

“Something....well, something bad happened.”

The three of them didn’t reply. Flick took that as her cue to continue.

“We were out investigating when we arrived at a clearing. Something didn’t feel right. And then there was some kind of...I don’t know...like a flash or something. The next thing I remember was lying on the ground and Lucy being gone.”

“Hang on...you’re telling us this now?” said Andy, looking over his shoulder nervously.

“I just don’t remember anything and they never found Lucy. Lord Harrington wouldn’t let the police conduct proper searches and in the end my family moved away from the area.”

“And they never found her? At all?” said Mark.

“Sounds like that Lord Harrington was up to no good. The dirty ba-”

“It wasn’t Harrington,” said Flick. “He died just recently, which is why this place has been opened up now. Lucy’s parents asked the police to check his manor for any sign of Lucy, but they didn’t find anything.”

“Did they look under the patio?” said Graham.

Flick frowned at him.

“Sorry, Flick,” he said, realising how insensitive he could be at times. “But are you sure he didn’t have anything to do with it?”

“The house was gutted from wall to wall. The grounds where checked. There was absolutely nothing. The police did a search of these woods but there was nothing at all. Lucy had just vanished and my memories were gone.”

“Hang on a mo,” said Graham, realising something wasn’t quite adding up, “why didn’t you try and get here before?”

“It was all locked off. I got on with my life, went to uni, got a job at the vets. You just forget about these things. And then one night I had a nightmare.”

“About Lucy?” said Andy.

“Not exactly. It was about this place. These woods. It was almost like a memory coming back. In the dream I remember standing in a clearing. There was a bright light and then nothing else. I woke up.”

“So you decided to set up this training weekend?” said Mark.

Flick looked a little sheepish. “In hindsight it probably wasn’t the best way of going about it, but Harrington died and the council let it out to the Forest Fall. I just saw the opportunity.”

“But this place is alright,” said Andy, looking around him. “It’s been open for a few months now and nothing bad’s happened.”

“That doesn’t mean that something bad won’t happen.”

Graham scratched at the back of his head and then crossed his legs. “So what are you gonna do?”

“I have a map,” said Flick, ducking into her tent and then pulling out her piece of A4 paper. She pointed at the red cross. “That’s where they found me and in the dream that’s where the light was coming from. It’s about a 45 minute trek from him.”

“Woah, hold on, Flick,” said Mark, holding his hands up. “Do you think it’s a good idea to go off looking for this place?”

“Oh, come off it Mark,” said Graham. “No offence, Flick, but I don’t know if I believe it myself.”

“Things happened to Flick,” said Mark, looking frustrated. “What about what I heard behind the tarp.”

“It’s okay,” said Flick, folding her map away. “I don’t expect anyone to come with me or even believe me.”

“We believe you,” said Andy, “but it’s a bit dangerous, isn’t it?”

“That’s why we wait till nightfall,” said Flick.

“Oh, Jesus, it just gets better,” said Graham, looking away.

“Tom’s not gonna let us go and explore that far out. He’s got a duty to keep tabs on us. We wait till it’s dark – when he’s asleep with the rest of the camp, and then we head out. It’s just 45 minutes away.”

“And you want us to come with you?” said Andy.

“Please,” said Flick, hopefully. “I was gonna go out there alone at first, but-”

“No chance,” said Mark quickly. “You’re not going anywhere on your own. Not out there.”

Flick smiled at him. “Thanks, Mark.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”

“Get a tent, you two,” said Graham, rolling his eyes.

“Are you all in then?” said Flick, the eagerness in her eyes.

Andy sighed and looked at Graham who reluctantly nodded. He then looked at Mark.

“At the first sign of trouble or anything weird we head back, yeah?” said Mark.

“Agreed,” said Flick, nodding.

“Okay then. I’m in.”

“Then I guess I am too,” said Andy. He looked back at the rest of the camp. “Come on, we better get back to them or they’ll start to get suspicious.”



Darkness had fallen. The embers of the fire were going out as Holly prodded at them, causing them to flare up again and fizz with orange light. She watched as little sparks of light danced and floated up into the night air before blinking out of existence.

Richard had retired to his hammock and the Doctor was sat, crossed legged, his torch out as he avidly read a book. She couldn’t make out what it was, but every now and then the Doctor would chuckle to himself.

She looked into the darkness and listened to the silence that seemed to envelope everything around her. She closed her eyes. She could stay like this forever in the peace and quiet. She always liked to go out into the countryside when she was younger and would stay out playing until dusk. She felt she could live here. All she needed was a little log cabin and a few provisions and she’d be sorted.

Well, apart from a log cabin she also needed Lilly. She missed her terribly and wished she was here right now with her. She smiled to herself and felt her heart flutter a little. She hadn’t even felt this way about anyone before. She’d had boyfriends in the past, but it was never anything like this. It had never felt so real and intense as what she felt for Lilly. Now she was apart from her all she wanted was to be back with her again. She wondered if she was up there somewhere, on Gallifrey, wearing that dress and being a princess. The Princess of Jacarthia.

Her heart ached a little more for her.

“I’m going for a walk,” came the Doctor’s voice, pushing away her thoughts.

“A walk? In the dark?”

“I’ve got my torch,” he said, shining it in his face. It reminded her of the first time she had met him beside the cemetery back home.

“Just be careful, won’t you? Maybe I should come with you,” she said, getting to her feet.

“You need to look after Richard,” said the Doctor, nodding towards Richard as he tossed and turned uncomfortably in his hammock.

He bid her goodbye and then disappeared into the darkness. She wondered what was going on in that head of his. As much as she knew about him, it sometimes felt like she didn’t know anything at all. He always seemed to be on alert for something, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.

“Cheryl...” she heard Richard mutter in his sleep.

She contemplated retiring to her own hammock, but then decided instead to sit back down, prodding at the dying fire, thinking of being with Lilly again...



“Madness,” said Graham as he glanced back at the ever-decreasing fire back at their camp. The rest of the group had gone to bed. They’d given it a good hour to make sure everyone was asleep and then headed out of camp armed with torches, packs and a flare gun – just in case.

“You can always go back,” said Andy, as he ducked under a large tree branch.

“And miss all the fun?” He looked at Andy and smiled. “Nah, I said I’d go now. I never duck out of a promise.”

“Nicole would go mad if she knew I was out here doing this,” said Andy, his thoughts floating back to his wife.

“Do you believe her then?” said Graham, just out of earshot of Flick and Mark, who were a few metres ahead, leading the way.

“It sounds a bit crazy,” said Andy, scratching at his beard, “but I don’t see why she would lie. It’s a pretty twisted lie.”

“Unless she’s a psychopath,” said Graham.

“Don’t be stupid,” said Andy, laughing. “She has a map. I think she’s genuine.”

“Yeah, but what do you reckon it is? I mean is it drugs?”

“They were just kids,” said Andy. “It’s not drugs, believe me.”

“Then what? Ghosts? Aliens?”

“I guess we’ll just have to find out,” said Andy.

“Are you serious? You don’t believe in the supernatural, do you?”

“Oh yeah, I regularly enjoy a coffee with my dead grandfather every Sunday.”

Graham whacked Andy on the shoulder and laughed. “Come on, Spengler.”

They walked for a good few minutes before Flick shouted “ow!” and swore under her breath.

“Everything okay?” asked Andy, making his way through the trees to join her and Mark with Graham following up, a little more reluctantly, from behind.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” said Flick, rubbing her knee. “I don’t know what I just walked into though.”

Mark shone his torch just in front of Flick. There appeared to be some sort of tree stump, about two-foot high and covered in vines that snaked up from the forest floor and engulfed the stump.

“That’s odd,” said Andy, reaching out and touching the vines. “Why cut down a tree in the middle of the woods?”

“Maybe it fell down,” said Graham, shining his own torch down at it.

“No,” said Andy. “It’s a clean cut through on top.” He ran his hand over the top of the stump and then frowned.

“What’s up?” asked Mark.

“That’s not a tree stump,” said Andy.

“What? What is it then?”

“It’s smooth. A bit rusted, but it’s metal.”

“What?” said Graham and Mark in unison.

“What’s a big cylinder of metal doing out here?” asked Flick, kneeling down to look at it. She reached out her hand and touched the side. Beneath the vines she could feel the cool, rusted metal surface.

“Shine the torch closer,” said Andy, kneeling down beside Flick.

It was difficult to make out, but it was definitely something like a metal drum, but solid. The vines had grown around it and concealed it.

Graham lifted up his foot and gave it a good kick.

“No, Graham!” said Flick as Graham’s boot met with the metal with a large thud.

“It’s just some junk,” said Graham, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets.

“It could be important,” said Mark.

All was silent in the woods, but suddenly something felt a little off. Flick frowned and put her hand on the ground. She felt around in the dirt, scrambling to find what she was looking for.

“What’s up?” asked Mark, feeling around with her.

“Can you feel that?” she said. “Press down hard. Can you feel it?”

Mark felt and then frowned. “Yeah.”

Andy and Graham both dropped to their knees and felt around. “What the hell is that?” said Andy.

“It’s like a vibration,” said Graham. “There aren’t any roads under here are there? Or pipes?”

“It’s private, ancient woodland,” said Flick. “There’s nothing at all.”

“It’s getting stronger,” said Mark, pulling his hand away.

Flick also pulled her hand away. The four of them could now feel it through their feet. The vibration had turned to a rumbling.

“Maybe we should go back,” suggested Andy.

“I came here for answers,” said Flick.

The four of them stood in the darkness, none of them daring to move a muscle as the vibration and rumbling got stronger and stronger and stronger. The tremors rolled under them and Mark, Andy and Graham found themselves reaching for trees to hang on to. Flick remained standing beside the metal stump, but she had backed away from it a little.

“We need to go back!” said Graham, over the rumbling.

“No chance,” said Flick. “This is it.”

And then, as quickly as it started, the rumbling stopped dead and all was silent.

“Oh,” said Andy, feeling relieved but also a little disappointed.

“Maybe it was just a tremor,” said Mark. “We get them in the UK sometimes.”

“It wasn’t a tremor,” came a voice from up ahead.

The four of them jumped and backed towards each other. Standing with a torch shining under his chin was a man with dark hair, an unkempt beard and piercing blue eyes. He was wearing a long, grey coat and was smiling at the four of them.

“Who the bloody hell are you?”



He stepped closer to them. “I’m the Doctor, and I think you may have just made the biggest mistake of your lives.”

To be continued...