UNIT:X (Chapter 8)

Chapter 8 (The Spider and the Flies)

“You can’t leave us,” said Faith as the Doctor crossed to the helicopter parked on the school playing field, the rotating blades causing his hair to whip up.

“You heard what Bambera said,” said the Doctor, looking down at Faith, “that box is becoming active. I need to know what’s in it.”

“But in the middle of this?” she said, looking all around her.

“I’ll be back,” said the Doctor, nodding at her reassuringly. “My friend is in danger, remember?”

She rubbed her eyes.

“Tired?”

“I haven’t slept in nearly 48 hours.” She looked back up at him. “What do you think is in that box?”

“I have no idea, and that’s what’s worrying me. If it’s reacting to Reikon then it’s potentially of Time Lord design.”

“But why not you?” asked Faith.

“I don’t have the answers, Mrs Crossland. That’s why I need to go. The answers are there waiting.”

“Okay,” she said. “Look I’ve relayed the information you told us to Holly, Double Zero and Swift. How should we proceed?”

“With care, Mrs Crossland,” said the Doctor, getting into the helicopter behind Bambera. “You have Stark. You have yourself. You’re a bright bunch. Probe it and see what you can come up with and I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

Faith nodded, but she wasn’t convinced. “Be careful, Doctor.”

“I will be,” he said as the chopper lifted into the air. “Have a little Faith!” he shouted down to her.

Faith looked up and watched it go before it disappeared into the distance. She turned around and standing there was Stark, a stony look on his face.

“Problem, sir?”

“We have an issue in the town centre, Sentinel,” said Stark. “You need to get your house in order.”



“This is madness” said Osborne, as Taggart checked her ammo. “You heard what that thing does. It creates pocket universes and locks you away until you die!”

“Exactly why we need to stop it now,” said Taggart, checking another gun.

“Oliver’s right,” said Holly, her arms folded. “Last time you went in there you said your men disappeared.”

“We need to save them and we can’t do that if we kill the Jenkath,” said Osborne.

“We need to kill this thing before it takes anyone else,” said Taggart, heading towards the door.

“Come in, Swift,” came Faith’s voice over the walkie.

“This is Swift, over.”

“What are you playing at, Claire?” came Faith’s disappointed voice. “We all want to stop this thing, but going in there all guns blazing is not the way around it.”

“Please don’t try and lecture me, ma’am,” said Taggart, opening the door and heading out into the street. “This thing is messing with all of our heads. I just want it to stop.”

“We all do, but there are innocent people trapped. We need to find a way to save them.”

“There is no way,” said Taggart, her eyes staring straight down the darkened street. She could see the town hall building peeking out from behind a hotel. “Swift, over and out.”

She threw the walkie-talkie down and began marching down the street.

“Claire, please!” said Osborne, following her.

Taggart turned and half-aimed the gun towards him. “That thing...it showed me my family. It nearly took me. I am not going to let it use them to kill me. I owe it to my family.”

“This isn’t the way,” said Holly.

“Just leave me be,” said Taggart. “I can do this. Just stay here.”



Richard was standing beside the lake in the country park. Liam and Molly were feeding the ducks and laughing as the birds took the bread from their hands. Cheryl was supervising them to make sure they didn’t fall in. Richard smiled as the sun beat down on his head and he mopped his brow.

Life was perfect.

And then he frowned. It just wasn’t right. Something about this just wasn’t right. It was a feeling that kept threatening to bubble up to the surface, but every time he thought of this life not being right he would see...

The creature was there again. The black, triangular face with the glowing red eyes. It was standing right beside him, a low growl coming from deep within it. Its body was spindly and narrow with very long arms and legs.

“What are you?” asked Richard.

“I am what is giving you perfection,” came the voice. “Is this not perfect?”

“It is,” said Richard, smiling, “but it can’t be real.”

“It is as real as you want it to be,” said the creature. “I am not making you see this. This is your doing.”

“But why?” asked Richard, turning to the creature again. “How does this benefit you? Who even are you?”

“Your happiness keeps me alive,” said the creature. “That is all that matters.”

Richard shook his head. “This is wrong.”

“You are different,” said the creature. “The others do not question their world. They live blindly on and never doubt.”

“Maybe I’m different because....” He remembered. He remembered the TARDIS and the Doctor and Holly and Lilly. “I’m different because I’ve had my eyes opened up to more things in this universe. To time and space.”

“You are a time traveller?” it asked.

“Thereabouts,” said Richard, nodding. “I can see past your deceptions.”

“You cannot escape. There is no rescue for you. Nobody can break into this little pocket universe I have created. I suggest you sit back and enjoy the rest of your life. The rest of this life.”

The creature disappeared and Richard frowned. But this time he wasn’t forgetting the creature. Molly turned and waved at Richard who waved back. This wasn’t his real family, but if there wasn’t any rescue from the outside, perhaps he could do something from the inside.



The car pulled up and Beth and Faith exited. Osborne and Holly nodded to them.

“We tried to follow her but she just aimed the gun at me,” said Osborne.

“She’s not acting herself,” said Faith. “We’ve all had our emotions stirred up whilst we’ve been here.”

“How are your nodes?” asked Osborne, looking at the two devices attached to her temples.

“They itch and they’re making me stop thinking about Ruby, but if that helps then so be it. I kinda wish I could wear them all the time.”

“It’ll be alright, boss,” smiled Osborne.

“I know,” smiled Faith.

“So what’s the plan then?” asked Beth, making sure her devices were secure. “Cos there’s just the four of us.”

“Shouldn’t we go after her?” asked Holly.

“That’s the idea,” said Faith, “but the closer we get to the town hall the more difficult it’s going to get even with these things on.”

“Maybe we should take it some of the soldiers,” suggested Holly.

“Uh-uh. I don’t want to put anymore lives in danger. In fact if I were you, Holly, I’d stay here.”

“No chance, Faith,” said Holly. “I’ve been out in space and back in time. If anyone’s qualified to beat up a big, scary dream monster then it’s me.”

“Well on your own head be it,” said Faith. She brought the walkie-talkie up to her mouth. “HQ this is Sentinel, Midnight, Osborne and Dangerfield. Taggart is headed into the lion’s den. Obsidian, I’m expecting you to monitor any unusual activity from the area, over.”

“Copy that, Sentinel,” came Benton’s voice.

“And take care, Sentinel,” came Stark’s voice. “And don’t let the companion do herself an injury. I’ll never hear the end of it from the Doctor.”

“The companion will try not to twist her ankle,” said Holly sarcastically.

“Okay, guys and girls, let’s do this,” said Faith as they began their walk to the town centre.

To be continued...

UNIT:X (Chapter 7)

Chapter 7 (Spitting Out the Poison)

Stark and the Doctor were standing in the darkened bathroom. Robinson was looking past them at the blood-stained bath, knife in his hands, face splattered with spots of blood. It was almost as if he couldn’t see the two Time Lords.

“Robinson,” said the Doctor, “can you hear me?”

Robinson didn’t hear them. He didn’t even flinch.

“This is in your mind,” said the Doctor. “This isn’t real.”

Robinson’s eyes flicked up to the Doctor. “Memories,” he smiled.

“Wonderful memories, old boy,” said Stark sarcastically.

Robinson walked towards them and they parted to let him past. He stood beside the bath, looking down at the body inside – a young man in his early 20’s with dark, blonde hair and brown eyes. A look of fear was etched onto his now-dead face, his mouth twisted into a look of horror.

“Who was he?” asked the Doctor.

“Just another nobody,” said Robinson. He knelt down beside the bath and peered over the edge, looking down at the person.

“The victim was David Webster – an estate agent from Ipswich.” Stark knelt down beside Robinson. “Robinson was seen in a bar having a drink with him. The two left separately. Webster went missing. Robinson was investigated but they found nothing at all.”

“And this is a memory, yes?” said the Doctor, looking down at the body in disgust.

“A mixture of memories and dreams.”

“Interesting,” said the Doctor, scratching his chin.

“Who are you?” asked Robinson, suddenly noticing the Doctor and Stark.

“Now listen, old boy -” began Stark.

“Who are you?” asked Robinson again, raising the bloody knife towards the pair of them. “What are you doing in my flat?”

“We need to leave,” said the Doctor.

“Agreed,” said Stark.

The two Time Lords closed their eyes. When they opened them Robinson was still standing in front of them, the knife pointing menacingly between them. Robinson’s eyes flicked from left to right, unsure of which one to go for first.

“We shouldn’t still be here,” said the Doctor through gritted teeth.

“I know that,” said Stark. He backed up a little bit. “When I say run...”

“RUN!” shouted the Doctor as the two men turned and barrelled through the door.

Robinson was taken by surprise and stumbled back a little, and then a dark looked played across his eyes as he started after them.

They crossed through the sparsely decorated living room and through a door that led down some stairs to the front door.

“It’s locked!” yelled Stark, looking for the keys.

“Smash the window,” said the Doctor, backing up to Stark as Robinson slowly advanced down the stairs towards them.

“It’s double glazing,” growled Stark, hammering on the glass.

“This can’t be happening. It can’t be real,” said the Doctor, repeatedly closing his eyes and opening them again, hoping for a change. “We can’t be trapped here.”



Benton’s computer screen was flickering wildly. The three lines where waving and bouncing off each other as he frantically ran around the room, checking different readings and figures.

“What’s going on, Alistair?” asked Faith.

The three prone men were unmoving, but their eyes were flickering behind their lids rapidly.

“It’s hard to tell,” said Benton, scratching at his hair and leaving it stuck up at odd angles. “We need to stop these lines from mingling though.”

“We need to get them out of there is what we need to do,” said Faith.

“Easier said than done,” said Benton, tapping in on his keyboard. “They’re trapped. Somehow Robinson’s mind – or his memories – are so powerful that he’s trapped them in there.”

“You mean to say there’s nothing you can do?” asked Faith, looking exasperated.

“I don’t think so.”

Faith pulled out a revolver and aimed it at Robinson’s head. She stared right at him, her arm was shaking. She’d never killed anyone in cold blood before.

“What are you doing, ma’am?”

“Alistair, tell me there’s something else we can do,” she said, cool, calm, but her voice cracking with worry.

“I don’t know, Faith.”

Faith closed her eyes and squeezed the trigger.

“WAIT!” said Benton.

Faith opened her eyes and looked at Benton. He was back at the computer, frowning at the screen. Faith looked back at the three men, both the Doctor and Stark were beginning to stir, opening their eyes.

“Mrs Crossland,” said the Doctor, looking up at the revolver, still pointed towards Robinson’s head. “What in the fifty rings of Krakra are you doing?”

“He’s dead,” said Benton, shaking his head at the laptop. “Robinson’s dead.”

“And just in time,” said Stark, sitting himself up. “The memory – the dream – whatever you want to call it...it was so intense. We couldn’t get out.”

“The trauma of having both of us there must have caused him to die,” said the Doctor, sitting up and rubbing his head.

“But what does this mean?” asked Faith, slowly lowering her revolver.

“I don’t know,” said the Doctor, “but we need to regroup. I have a few theories.”



Holly was sat behind the counter in the darkened undertakers looking at some of the display gravestones in the window. She felt sad. She felt sadder than she had felt in some time and she felt uneasy about being back here. She had accompanied her parents when they had made the funeral arrangements and being back here wasn’t helping her mood.

She felt so alone. She had the Doctor and she had Richard, but she felt so disconnected from everything it was unreal. She wanted to see her again, to see Lilly again. To just look at her grumpy face again. She was scared she’d forget what she looked like.

She sighed and closed her eyes thinking back to that day they were caught in the rain and they almost kissed for the first time.

When she opened her eyes that’s when she saw it – when she saw her. Standing in the orange glow of the street light across the road was a darkened figure. A silhouette of a young woman with long, blonde hair.

“No,” came Taggart’s voice.

“What?” said Holly, shaking her head and blinking a few times.

“I saw you drifting off there,” said Taggart, sitting down on the chair next to her. “No matter what you saw it’s not real. If you interact, if you spend too long even contemplating it then we’ve already lost you.”

“I know, I know,” said Holly. “It’s just difficult.”

“Was it someone you lost?”

“Kind of,” said Holly. “Well, she’s not lost. She’s just out there somewhere. I’ll get back to her though. I’ve promised myself that.”

Taggart smiled and looked across the room and smiled. “As aliens go it’s not the worst way to go. They show you something you love and then...poof...you’re gone.”

“Gone where though?” Holly frowned and angled her head, looking curiously at the red-head. “Did it show you something?”

She smiled sadly. “No. I wouldn’t let it. It tried to show me my family.”

“Haven’t you seen them for a while?”

She shook her head. “They died a while ago now. Remember the day those pepper pot things made all the planets appear in the sky?”

Holly nodded. She remembered it well. She’d been at school at the time and they’d been sent home early. Everyone was terrified, but Holly thought it was cool. That was until she realised what was happening to everyone around the world.

“They were called Daleks.” She screwed her face up at the name. “They killed them. The Daleks killed my brother, father and sister.”

“I’m...I’m sorry,” said Holly feeling even more guilty for thinking it was cool at the time.

“It’s dangerous,” said Osborne, appearing from an interior room. “It doesn’t matter what it tries to show us. Those things aren’t real. As long as you remember that then you’re safe.”

Holly nodded.

Taggart just continued to stare ahead. There were no tears. No emotions betrayed. Holly found that odd.

“As unreal as they are, that thing could make my family come back. It’s a nice thought, isn’t it?”

Holly frowned at her.



“I simply can’t leave now, Brigadier!” said the Doctor.

Bambera was standing in front of him in full uniform. A helicopter had carried her from London to Huxley at the request of Reikon, but the Doctor was in the middle of his meeting regarding what he and Stark had witnessed. Stark, Beth, Faith and Benton were watching on, eager to get on with the briefing.

“Your brother has requested you, Doctor,” she said.

“I don’t care,” said the Doctor. “I’m in the middle of this operation.”

“And he understands that, but -”

“Then tell him no,” said the Doctor returning to the desk.

“He’s made progress with the box,” said Bambera, getting frustrated. “He thinks he may have a way to see into it.”

The Doctor frowned and looked at her. “How?”

“There were sparks. A blue light. It’s reacting to things at last.”

“You can’t leave us, man,” said Stark.

“Hush, Roger,” said the Doctor. He turned back to Bambera. “If I come with you -”

“Doctor!”

“I said be quiet!”

“You have to finish this meeting,” said Stark. “This is a major operation and we’re blind here.”

“Yes, I know,” said the Doctor, closing his eyes and balling his fists up. He looked back at the onlookers. “Okay, I think I know what this thing is. You call it a Dream Catcher – I’ve identified it as a Jenkath.”

“How could you possibly know that?” laughed Stark. “And what’s a Jenkath?”

“Do you think me an idiot, Roger?” said the Doctor.

“Oh, please stop bickering you two,” said Bambera, rolling her eyes.

“Doctor,” said Faith softly. “How do you know all of this info?”

“I got the sonic screwdriver to analyse the slime from the streets. It’s coming from the rain – the smell of eggs. The creature is in the air and the atmosphere. That’s how it’s catching everyone.”

“I’ve never heard of the Jenkath,” said Stark, shaking his head.

“They’re almost extinct,” said the Doctor. “Billions of years ago they had a mighty empire on the other side of the galaxy. Their planet was a barren wasteland so they lived in their own dreams. They dreamt of better places and better worlds whilst their bodies just slept.”

“Let me guess,” said Beth, looking sad, “they spent so long in their dreams that their race died out.”

“Eventually, yes,” said the Doctor, nodding sadly. “Some of them escaped the home world though. Legend has it that they landed on planets and then fed off the dreams of that particular worlds inhabitants. They thrive on beautiful and good vibes.”

“How do they do it though?” asked Benton. He shook his head, his arms folded. “The smell of eggs? What’s that all about?”

“It’s just atmospheric conditions.” The Doctor sat on the edge of the table. “They arrive and secrete themselves somewhere dark and out of the way and then they essentially release gas into the air. The rain comes down – very fine rain and mist – and it causes people to hallucinate things.”

“The slime is congealed bits of this mist then?” said Faith, screwing up her face.

“That’s right,” said the Doctor, nodding.

“But that still doesn’t explain where the people go. The ones who disappear. There are no bodies,” said Stark.

“That’s because the Jenkath have a little trick. They are able to manipulate space and time. It’s how they travel from world to world.”

“What a load of rot!” laughed Stark.

“It’s true. If you’d spent more time reading up on our own people’s history you may have seen them there in the very early days alongside the Pythia, the First Time Lord and the Mighty Stormwardens.”

Stark rolled his eyes. “Fairytales! They’re not from Gallifrey.”

“No, they’re not from Gallifrey, but that’s beside the point,” said the Doctor, raising his voice.

“Gentlemen, please,” said Bambera. “We need to get going.”

“Yes,” said the Doctor, calming himself. “As I was saying, they manipulate space and time. As soon as someone allows themselves to succumb to their visions they are essentially transported to their own, private little pocket universe.”

“This gets weirder,” said Benton. “A pocket universe?”

“That’s right,” said the Doctor. “Poof. They disappear from this universe and the Jenkath pops them in their own little paradise world feeding off their emotions until they die of natural causes. It’s quite a pleasant way to die really.”

“That’ll explain Robinson,” said Faith. “His dreams were so twisted and deranged that the alien spat him back out.”

“Got it in one, Mrs Crossland. That seat on the TARDIS is already warm for you.” The Doctor winked at her.

“And what happens to their pocket world when they die?” asked Beth.



“Their little pocket world dies and the Jenkath laps up the remains.” The Doctor suddenly stopped smiling and looked serious again. “And unfortunately I don’t know of any way of getting to these little pocket universes, which possibly means that Richard is lost to us forever.”

To be continued...

UNIT:X (Interlude)

Interlude (Little Box of Mysteries)

“Knock, knock,” came the voice.

Reikon turned around and standing there in full military gear was a dark-skinned woman in her 50’s. She smiled and held out her hand.

“Brigadier Winifred Bambera.”

“Ah, I’ve heard about you,” said Reikon, shaking her hand. “The Doctor worked with you a few times before.”

“Indeed he did,” said Bambera. “I just came to look in on Stark, but the man at the desk said he’s not here.”

“I’m afraid not,” said Reikon. “He’s gone to Huxley to deal with the Dream Catcher situation.”

“Oh, absolutely typical. I needed him stationed here.”

“I’m sorry, where are my manners?” said Reikon, getting up from his stool at his workbench. “I’m Reikon.” He shook her hand

“I’ve heard a little about you – the Doctor’s brother, yes?”

“Adopted brother,” nodded Reikon.

“Yes, he hasn’t said much more than that.”

“He won’t do,” said Reikon, sighing. “The Doctor likes to shroud himself in mystery. He thinks it means it’s less likely for his enemies to target him – to hurt him and the people he cares for.”

“I can understand that.”

“Well it hasn’t doesn’t him much good over the years.”

“No,” smiled Bambera. “I’ll never get over the changing face thing though.”

Reikon arched his eyebrows. “Curse of being a Time Lord.”

“A curse?” She nodded to herself. “Well, yes, I suppose you could see it as a curse. Having to change your face and become a totally different person.”

Reikon relaxed on his stool and folded his arm. “I was always fascinated as a young boy about regeneration. Not all Gallifreyan’s attain it, you know?”

“It has to be earned?” said Bambera, sitting down on the stool next to him.

Reikon nodded. “You join the Academy or the army or whatever...and then you become a Time Lord. Some never earn the power of regeneration. Long life, yes, but regeneration....that has to be earned.”

“How can you just cause someone to change though?”

Reikon smiled, knowingly. “It’s an ancient process. Back in the Old Days, before regeneration, the early Gallifreyan’s were experimenting with it. Some of those early experiments though were disasters. Or so we’re led to believe. The Black Scrolls of Rassilon say that the first person to be imbued with regeneration went crazy. There are stories – or legends – that I remember from being a child. They say that he plagued Gallifrey for generations, killing Time Lords and exacting his revenge for what they had done to him. The called him the Time Lord Slayer. They had to cast him off into the space/time vortex to protect Gallifrey from destruction.”

There was a blue spark from the metal box and Bambera and Reikon both looked down at it.

“Did you see that?” asked Bambera.

“I did indeed.” He peered closer to it. “There has to be a way to open it up.” He placed his hand on the top of it. He wasn’t sure of the exactly feeling, but when his hand touched the cold, metal surface, he felt like someone had dunked him in a bath of ice-cold water. His eyes rolled back into his head and he gasped. There was a flash of blue light and Reikon fell back off his stool.

“Reikon!” shouted Bambera, jumping off her stool and crouching down beside him.

“I’m alright, I’m alright,” he said, his eyes flickering open. He rubbed his forehead. “I’m...I’m alright.”

“What on Earth was that?”

“Progress,” he said. He unsteadily got to his feet and frowned at the box, which was dormant again. “There’s something inside this thing that wants to get out, but we can’t get in.” He looked to his notes and then at Bambera. “What are the chances of you getting the Doctor up here? I have an idea.”

“He’s dealing with the Dream Catcher situation. It may be difficult to pry him away. You know what he’s like.”

“Please, Winifred,” said Reikon, “I have an idea that I want to try. If it works, we crack the box open. If it doesn’t, well then, he can go straight back to Huxley.”

Bambera looked at him. She could see he was desperate to solve this little puzzle. Eventually she nodded. “I’ll go get him myself.”

To be continued...

UNIT:X (Chapter 6)

Chapter 6 (Forgotten Encounters)

“How is she?”

“She’s fine, Faith, absolutely fine.”

Faith rubbed her eyes and then leaned in to look at the laptop again showing her soon-to-be ex-husband on the webcam. He smiled sadly at her and then took off his glasses. He leaned in closer to the lens.

“You know it doesn’t have to be like this.”

“It does,” said Faith, nodding sadly. “Jason, she’s six years old. She can’t keep going through this.”

“I know that,” he said, shaking his head, “but that doesn’t mean we can’t try and make it work.”

“We tried for six years to make it work.”

“We didn’t try hard enough,” he said. “You didn’t try hard enough.”

Faith exhaled and stepped back. “We’re not going down that route again. You knew I was in the military when we met.”

“I thought it’d change when Ruby was born.”

“Jason, it’s ingrained in me. I can’t just walk away from all this.”

She closed her eyes. She realised how cold she sounded. Her and Jason had never intended to start a family. He was an aircraft engineer and she they met on a military base in Iraq. They had moved back to Perth and Faith had fallen pregnant. They had tried to make it work, but Faith had been posted abroad. The distance had put strains on her and Jason’s relationship and they had decided to separate. She had fought for Ruby, but in the end relented, knowing full-well that Ruby could have a much more stable life back at home instead of being based at some military base or somewhere far from her family.

Faith, meanwhile, just couldn’t give it up. She couldn’t give up the life she was born to lead. Her father was a military man, her mother worked for Torchwood back in the 1970’s. It was in her blood. As bad as it sounded, a family life was never part of what she wanted. But now she didn’t have Ruby, she was terrified that she’d never have a relationship with her.

“You didn’t have to join that secret group,” said Jason.

“I couldn’t have turned them down,” said Faith. “Stark had chosen me out of all of those people. It’s what my father did. I wanted this opportunity.” She smiled down at the screen. “Besides, it won’t be forever.”

“Ruby is already six,” said Jason, refusing to smile back at her. “You’ve already missed so much.”

“Daddy...” came an upset child’s voice from off screen.

“Look, I’ve gotta go. Like I said, the chicken pox will clear up. She’ll be fine.” He leaned in. “We’ll speak in a few days.”

“Tell her mummy loves - ”

The screen went black before she could finish. Faith lowered her head. She fought back the tears. It was too much now. Too much to let the emotions break through. She had to remain strong for the rest of the team.

“Excuse me, ma’am?” came Beth’s voice.
She quickly composed herself and turned to face the young woman who was standing with a data pad in her hands.

“I’m sorry,” continued Beth, “but I couldn’t help me, y’know, overhear the end of that.”

“It’s fine,” said Faith, nodding. “I’m fine.”

“You sure? I mean, if you wanna talk about it...” she smiled.

Faith smiled. Beth was a sweet girl. Young, but sweet. But she wasn’t old enough to have experienced much of the world yet. At the same time that Stark had formed UNIT:X he had pulled together the team. He insisted on giving them all code names to use in the field and it had stuck with the majority of them.

Beth had been one of the brightest to join the team, but she hadn’t been the first computer expert they had had. In fact the team didn’t start out this way. Back then there was Deadbolt and Skybeat and Sigma....they were all gone now. She wondered what would happen to her daughter if she was gone. Would Ruby even remember her?

“I’m fine, honestly,” said Faith. “What’s happening?”

“Well, Alistair asked me to find you. Apparently we’re picking up some strange readings from Mr Stark and the Doctor. He thinks you should take a look.”

“About bloody time,” said Faith, getting up and grabbing her jacket. “They’ve been out cold for twenty minutes.”



Holly had thought it was a good idea when Faith had suggested it. She had thought it a good idea as Faith ran it by the Doctor and reassured him that she’d be well-protected. She had thought it a good idea when the Doctor reluctantly agreed. She had thought it a good idea right up until the point she was sat in the back of the landrover being driven to the centre of the town.

She shook the thoughts out of her head and stared straight ahead. Claire Taggart was sat in the drivers seat with Oliver Osborne in the passenger sheet. She was in the back flanked by Corporal Pike and Foster. Her hand went to her temples and felt the two, small nodes again, relieved they were still there.

“Stop touching them,” said Osborne, glancing at her in the rear-view mirror. “They’re not gonna come off unless you pull really hard.”

“I’m scared at who’s doing the pulling,” said Holly, moving her hands away.

“There’s still time to take you back,” said Taggart. She looked back at her. “You don’t need to be here.”

“No, I owe it to Richard,” said Holly. “Besides, I was just hanging around like a spare part back there. At least with you two I can get to see some action.”

“It’s just a routine sweep of the area, remember?” said Taggart. “Normally myself and Osborne wouldn’t come – we’d send out the troops, but - ”

“The Doctor insisted,” said Holly, nodding. “Well, I hope I haven’t put you two in danger as well.”

“Nonsense, love,” said Osborne, smiling, “we needed to get out and stretch our legs, didn’t we Swift?”

“Oh, yeah,” said Taggart. “If I see one more black or whiteboard adorned with pink and yellow sticky notes I’ll go crazy.”

Osborne laughed.

“How’d you two get recruited to this group then?” asked Holly.

Osborne smiled and looked at her in the mirror again. “It wasn’t long after you met Stark actually.”

“I beg your pardon?” said Holly, frowning.

“You think we don’t know, Holly Dangerfield?” he said. “You’ve been keeping it quiet from the Doctor as well.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Must have been over a year ago now. You were working in a library in Huxley at the time. There was some lunatic reckoning that he was travelling in time and then Stark and the troops turned up.”

“Okay, you’ve got me,” said Holly, admitting to it. It was true. His name Peter Hooper and he claimed he had fallen in love with a woman called Annabelle from the 16th century. She had dismissed it at the time, but she had witnessed Stark turn up and take him away. He had even spoken to her. But something wasn’t quite right. Why had she forgotten it. She frowned.

“There’s that little memory,” said Osborne, nodding to Taggart. “It’s there, isn’t it?”

“I remember it happening, but it’s right at the back of my mind,” she said. “And I mean right at the back. It’s like if I think about it it appears, but if I don’t it’s like it never happened.”

“It’s called a Forget-Me-Not,” said Taggart. “Created by Benton for use on the public. Not as aggressive as Retcon, but definitely jumbles up those memories.”

“On the way out Stark would have dropped a few pills into the water cooler – it makes you put the memory away. You remember if you need to, but otherwise you don’t really recall it.”

“And what’s Retcon?”

“Nasty stuff,” said Osborne. “Retcon proper wipes your memory. Forget-Me-Not just makes it seem hazy. Makes you question less. Retcon was an issue because it tended to leave gaps in the memory which the victim would then try and refill and go looking for answers.”

“Well, tell Stark cheers from me.” It explains why she had never mentioned the brief encounter to the Doctor before. “What happened to Peter?”

Osborne laughed. “We gave him his wish. He moved to the 16th century and got married to Annabelle.”

“Then she was real?”

“Of course she was,” he grinned. “Anyway, enough chit-chat. We’re here.”

The vehicle pulled up outside a white-bricked building just on the outskirts of the town centre. Holly looked up at the sign ominously – it was Dent’s Undertakers, whom her parents had used for the arrangements for her granddads funeral.

A soldier exited the building and saluted the two senior officers.

“This is the furthest we go at the moment,” said Taggart. She indicated the nodes on the soldier’s temples. “Just remember, it doesn’t block it out totally, but it stops you from concentrating on anything you may see.”

“Okay,” said Holly, nodding. “So if I see something what do I do?”

“Don’t pay it any attention,” said Osborne, taking a large gun from one of the soldiers. “Just keep on walking. The Doctor’ll bloody kill us if he finds out we’ve lost you.”

“I still can’t quite believe we’re out here,” said Holly, looking nervously around her.

“It’s like he said – it’s just a sweep.”

“Yeah,” said Holly, “but I just wish he was out here with us.”



“Hmmm,” said Benton, rubbing his chin and then realising he hadn’t shaved that morning.

“Hmmm?” said Beth, entering the room with Faith in tow.

“Just checking my e-mails,” said Benton, and it keeps glitching, like there’s some kind of interference. But,” he said, clapping his hands together, “there are more important things at work.”

He swivelled round in his seat. The Doctor and Stark were laying either side of Robinson.

“Beth said there was activity?” said Faith.

“That’s right,” said Benton, nodding, “and it’s rather worrying.” He pointed to a monitor which showed the brain activity of all three of the patients. Each of the lines was wavering erratically. “We need to make sure these lines don’t mingle. If they do then we’re in some very serious trouble.”

“In what way?” said Faith, looking at the Doctor more closely.

“Well, whatever’s going on in there is causing the three of them immense stress. If they mingle it could mean that they fall into a coma and become trapped forever.”

Faith leaned in closer to the Doctor. “What’s going on in there, Doctor?”

To be continued...

UNIT:X (Chapter 5)

Chapter 5 (Nightmares)

The man was curled up in the corner of the makeshift cell. It was actually a large store cupboard for sports equipment that the soldiers had cleared out. It was serviceable enough, but only temporary. The man had his feet and hands bound together.

The Doctor shook his head when he walked in. “Was there really any need for this?”

Taggart nodded. “I’m afraid so. When he was found he took out two UNIT troops with his bare hands before we got him under control.”

The Doctor crouched down in front of the man and put a hand on his shoulder. The man flinched and then looked up at him. He had pale, grey eyes and his hair had gone almost white, but he didn’t look to be a day over forty.

“It’s okay,” said the Doctor, soothingly, “nobody’s going to hurt you. What’s your name?”

“His name is Trevor Robinson.”

“I asked him, not you, Miss Taggart,” said the Doctor.

Faith stepped forward. “He won’t answer you, Doctor. He doesn’t speak. He just shouts and gets angry.”

“Who is he?” asked Holly, crouching down to join the Doctor.

“He’s a criminal. He’s a thief, an abuser and potentially a murderer, although they could never prove that.”

“Oh,” said the Doctor, moving away a little bit.

“He was moved to Huxley about four months ago for his own safety,” said Taggart.

“He was one of the first to disappear,” said Faith, “but he was also the only one to come back.”

“He was found in Vere Street curled up in the road and going out of his mind.”

“Sounds like it couldn’t have happened to a nicer person,” said Holly, getting up and returning to Faith and Taggart.

“True,” said Faith, “but it still doesn’t explain why he came back.”

The four of them were interrupted by Beth rushing into the room. “Sorry to interrupt, people, but the boss is here.”

“Oh, joy,” said the Doctor.

“Stark?” asked Holly.

“Stark,” nodded the Doctor.

The team headed outside the building to the sports field as a helicopter descended through the rain clouds and touched down in the centre circle of the football pitch. Stark clambered out of the passenger seat and neatly brushed his hair back into place before saluting Corporal Pike.

“Hello, Roger,” said the Doctor.

“Doctor. Miss Dangerfield,” he beamed. “It is good to see you again. No grumpy blonde? Don’t tell me – she stayed in Jacarthia.”

“Let’s not talk about it, please,” said the Doctor, noticing Holly’s uneasiness.

“Indeed,” said Stark. “There are more important tasks at hand.” He approached Faith and nodded to her. “Report, Sentinel.”

“Well, sir,” said Faith, “we haven’t made much progress since we got down here, but we have lost Richard Hicks to the Dream Catcher.”

“So zero progress then,” said Stark. “How is Mr Hicks?” He turned to the Doctor.

“Ready to return to life,” said the Doctor. “So we need to find him.”

“Oh, I agree,” said Stark as he began to march towards the school building. “This monster needs to be stopped immediately. Can’t have him running around making people disappear, can we?” He looked back at the Doctor. “Your brother says hello, by the way, and no, before you ask he hasn’t cracked open your box of delights yet.”

“He’ll get there.”

“He’s a fool,” said Stark, as they entered the main building and made for the incident room. “He should leave well enough alone. That box has been sealed for a reason.”

“It was also given to me for a reason,” said the Doctor.

“If you’ll forgive me, sirs,” said Taggart, “but this isn’t really relevant to the current crisis.”

“Indeed not, Swift,” said Stark, “you’re keeping your team in line I see, Sentinel.”

“I prefer to think of us as working as a unit rather than me leading them,” said Faith.

“A good team needs a good leader. Remember that, Sentinel.” Stark clicked his fingers at one of the soldiers and instructed her to get him a cup of tea and then sat down in a chair by the table. “So, my people, what are we doing about this crisis? Oh, Custard Creams!”

“Well what do you expect us to do?” asked Osborne from the corner of the room. All eyes turned on him. “We can’t go into the hotzone because of that thing and we can’t just sit here and do nothing.”

“Okay, Ollie,” said Faith. “We’re all frustrated, I know.”

“Well forgive me, Faith, but I would like to go home and see my family at some point before Christmas.”

“Ah, Christmas,” smiled Stark. “But Mr Osborne is correct of course. We do need to deal with the creature.”

“I have an idea,” said the Doctor.

“I’m all ears,” said Stark flicking his earlobes.

“That man, Trevor Robinson, we could try and link into his mind.”

Stark arched his eyebrows. “Telepathy?”

“Yes,” said the Doctor.

“Very dangerous on an unhinged mind,” said Stark, sipping his newly arrived tea and dunking in a Custard Cream.

“But there’re two of us here,” said the Doctor. “Two Time Lords. We can both support each other.”

“I never said I’d be joining you,” said Stark.

“No, but if you want me to try and help you all out of this then I’m going to have to try, and I’ll need you, Roger.”

“I’m touched,” said Stark touching his chest.

“Is this safe, Doctor?” asked Holly.

“Not really,” he said, “but we don’t have much of a choice. I need to see into Robinson’s mind. I need to see why he was sent back and nobody else was.”



Richard was back at his fruit and veg stall. It was another gloriously sunny day in the centre of Huxley and business was great as usual. The barbeque the previous day had been a success and he had woken up as fresh as a daisy, despite the cans of beer consumed with friends and family.

Ellie, his sister, strolled over, her shopping bag under her arm. She picked up a pineapple from the stall and smiled at him.

“Hello, sis,” said Richard, taking the money from her.

“How’s my big bro doing?” she asked. “It’s a glorious day, isn’t it?”

“Absolutely beautiful,” said Richard. “Did you enjoy it the other day?”

“Of course I did. Johnny couldn’t stop laughing at that joke you told about the time machine.”

“The one stuck as a blue police box from the 1960’s? Yeah, I know. Madness isn’t it?”

“Where do you come up with these stories?” said Ellie, popping the pineapple into her shopping bag.

“Just got a good imagination I guess,” he said, tapping at his temple.

“I hope the weather stays fine,” she said, looking up at the blue, cloudless sky.

“It isn’t forecast rain,” said Richard, checking his phone.

“No,” said Ellie. “I can’t remember the last time I saw rain.”

Richard frowned. “It’s always nice weather. Never a cloud in the sky.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?” said Ellie.

“Yeah, of course it is.” He looked down at his weather app again and frowned. “It’s just...well, I just can’t remember when it last rained. Isn’t that odd?”

“Not really,” she said, walking away from the stall.

“Are you sure? Something doesn’t feel quite right.”

“Don’t worry about it, Rich,” she said. She turned back to face him, her face beaming. “And why would it rain anyway? It hasn’t rained here ever.”

Richard frowned once again. She was right. In all of his years of being on Earth he had never, ever witnessed a single rain drop. A single day of bad weather. Not even a five minute shower. He shook the thoughts out of his head though. There was something dark at the back of his mind telling him to stop thinking, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to see it again.

So what if it didn’t rain? Life was good. This was all he needed.



“I strongly advise against this,” said Faith as she helped Taggart lay Robinson flat on his back. “I may be in command here, but I am still the CMO. As much as I want an answer to this I have duty of care as well.”

“And I thank you for your concerns,” said the Doctor, kneeling down in front of the shaking Robinson, “but if Richard is trapped we need to rescue him. Robinson is the only way.”

“How ever barmy this is,” said Stark, also crouching down in front of the Doctor, “he’s right. Robinson could be the key to all this.”

“Are you ready, Roger?” asked the Doctor, placing his left hand on Robinson’s left temple.

“Ready as I can be,” said Stark, putting his right hand on Robinson’s right temple.

With their free hands the Doctor and Stark reached out and touched fingers.

“Contact,” said the Doctor.

“Contact,” replied Stark.



There was a momentary flicker for both of the Time Lords and then their visions went dark. The Doctor could hear something coming from the darkness and slowly the world around them came into focus. They were standing inside a bathroom, blood dripping down the white, ceramic tiles.

They heard footsteps and turned towards the bathroom door. Standing there with a large, bloodied carving knife was Robinson, but he seemed oblivious to the two Time Lords.

“This is in his head?” said Stark.

“Oh dear,” said the Doctor, turning to face the bath.

Lying in the bath, face down with a young man with multiple stab wounds in his back. Blood was everywhere and ran freely from the wounds and into the plughole.



“I guess that rumour of Robinson being a murderer was true.”

To be continued...