Episode 8: Black and Gold Part 3

Conner decided to give up. He slumped to the floor, allowing himself to be pulled towards the perfecting machine. What made it worse was he could hear Dorris a few feet to the right.

“You will be perfected,” she said, over and over again.

As Conner got nearer to the machine, he cried out as he felt a pair of hands pull him away from it. They hugged him and held him upright.

“What the hell are you doing?” Dorris asked.
“But…” Conner spluttered. “You… You’re perfect.”
“Couldn’t you hear me laughing?” Dorris grinned in the darkness. “I was joking! I’m fine. I got myself out. Turns out I don’t need you after all.”
“That wasn’t funny,” Conner laughed. “You scared the hell out of me!”
“Sorry,” Dorris said. “And I’ve got another plan up my sleeve. Come on, let’s go!”

“What just happened?” Jeremy asked as the lights flickered on in the ward.
“The Shadowy Man… He’s here…” Georgia muttered, running over to Pippa. “We’ve got to get out, there’s this man. He’s really dangerous.”
“Who?” Pippa asked.
“You really shouldn’t call me that,” a voice said.

Georgia spun around. The Shadowy Man walked towards here. He seemed angry.

“That is not my name,” he said.
“I’m sorry,” Georgia mumbled. “Please. Let everyone go. They aren’t involved. Whatever you have against the Doctor or me, these people aren’t involved.”
“Carlisle’s waking up!” Becky cried.

Carlisle’s eyes opened, and he moaned groggily. The Shadowy Man sighed.

“Fine, they can go,” he relented. “But it’s safer in here. That Gold thing is still out there.”
“What is it?” Georgia asked. “Why did you bring it here?”
“Me?” the Shadowy Man laughed. “I had nothing to do with it. It flew here.”
“Flew?” Pippa asked.
“Yeah,” the Shadowy Man said. “It seems to be a camera. Sent to monitor someone, or something.”
“You don’t think…” Pippa said quietly.
“What?” the Shadowy Man snapped.
“The Germans,” Pippa said quickly. “There have been talks, about new weapons and strategies.”

Matron Readington could keep quiet no more. She wheeled herself to face the Shadowy Man.

“You must excuse my impertinence,” she said. “But who are you?”
“I come from far away,” the Shadowy Man said. “Watching the Doctor over the mountains, and the rooftops, always out of sight, but never far behind. I’m the darkness, the shadow, I am death.”
“Well he’s a melodramatic bugger, isn’t he?” Matron Readington said, wheeling away from him, muttering.

Georgia looked worriedly at Matron Readington. How would the Shadowy Man react? He seemed to ignore it, and continued to address her.

“Where’s Conner?” the Shadowy Man asked.
“You don’t know?” Georgia asked. “I expect you know about the Doctor…”
“I’ve just been talking to him,” the Shadowy Man replied. “But that’s not what I asked.”
“If I tell you, I deserve some answers,” Georgia said.
“Fine.”
“I think he was evacuated,” Georgia sighed. “He’s in the country somewhere, at Jeremy’s house probably.”
“It’s not far from here,” Jeremy added.
“I could… Go and get him for you…” the Shadowy Man said. “If you want.”
“Thanks, I think,” Georgia said. “But I’d rather the Doctor got him.”
“Okay,” the Shadowy Man said. “But what do you want to know?”
“Why you’re following us. How you got here. Everything,” Georgia said.
“You’d better sit down,” the Shadowy Man said. “It’s a long story…”

2009. The Asteroid Bazaar. The Shadowy Man placed the watch containing the tracking device on his stall. Some way in the distance, the sound of the universe rumbled and groaned, and the TARDIS appeared. Georgia stepped out, and looked around.

“It’s really busy,” she said to the blue box. “I’m not sure about this.”
“Oh, come on Georgia, it’ll be fun,” the Doctor said, stepping out. “The Slitheen have been stopped, Ancient Greece is still there, and the sun is shining! What more do you want?”
“Richard,” Georgia said.

The Doctor swallowed. Richard, Georgia’s brother had died when the Slitheen attacked. After this they would probably head off to his funeral. He took Georgia’s hand, and pulled her along one of the cobbled streets.

“Here we are,” he smiled. “You have to try this, it tastes delicious.”
“Okay,” Georgia said, trying to forget Richard for a moment. “Do I drink it?”
“Yup,” the Doctor said. “How much is that, my good man?”

Meanwhile, the doors of the TARDIS opened again. Conner stepped out, and surveyed the cobbled streets. He grinned at the market stall holders, as he shut the doors behind him. He spotted the Doctor haggling with a market stall holder over a drink he and Georgia were trying. She seemed to be happy, and he didn’t want to ruin that. He walked in the opposite direction, looking at the stalls in fascination.

“Hey, over here! That’s right!” the Shadowy Man said. “Why don’t you try one of my pretty little things?”
“What you got?” Conner asked, heading over to him.
“How about this watch?” the Shadowy Man said, picking up the watch he had placed down earlier. “It allows you to tell the time whenever you are.”
“I’ve got a doctor who can do that,” Conner said. “No thanks.”
“It also allows you to tell where you are, and what century you’re in. Wouldn’t that be helpful? It would certainly impress your doctor,” the Shadowy Man said.
“I haven’t got any money,” Conner said. “I’d better be going now. Thanks for sparing some time.”

The Doctor finished haggling with the stall holder, and he and Georgia downed their drinks in one. Georgia spluttered and spat hers out.

“What are you trying to give me?” she laughed. “It’s disgusting!”
“It’s lovely!” the Doctor protested. “Oooh, you’ve gotta eat some Vargoine cheese! It’s blue! Did I tell you that joke?”
“What joke?” Georgia frowned.
“Basically, the Vargoine’s favourite colour is Pink. I’ve always said it’s because their cheese is blue!”
“I don’t get it,” Georgia said.

The Shadowy Man stood over Conner, who was on the floor, looking up at him with a dazed expression.

“You will take this watch,” the Shadowy Man said. “And when asked, you will say it was given to you as a birthday present from the Doctor.”
“I will,” Conner said blankly.
“Good,” the Shadowy Man said. “Now, return to the Doctor and suggest you move on.”
“I will,” Conner repeated.

He stood up, and walked off.

“Oh, hey Conner,” Georgia said as Conner joined them.
“Hey,” Conner smiled. “You ready to go?”
“Sure,” the Doctor said. “If you’ve finished…?”
“Yeah,” Georgia said. “But I… I don’t wanna go home yet. I’m not ready.”
“Well there is one thing we could do,” the Doctor said. “Something mysterious is going on at a Ballet School, and we need to go undercover to check it out. I’ve whittled down the suspects to two people – a horse that never leaves his camera behind, and a man in a wig.”
“I’m guessing it’s the man in the wig,” Conner laughed, leading the way back to the TARDIS.
“We’ve got the next Sherlock Holmes here…” Georgia teased, as the TARDIS faded away.

Back in the hospital, Georgia looked up at the Shadowy Man.

“Where did you go next?” she asked.
“I followed you,” the Shadowy Man said. “But I didn’t make contact until you landed on Vesualas. Conner passed through a portal. He fell off the Statue of Liberty.”
“He’s always been overdramatic,” Georgia said dryly.
“I took him to another portal, and told him how to defeat the Ghosts,” the Shadowy Man continued. “And then I left.”
“But you helped us save Vesualas,” Georgia said. “Then why did you attack us in Farringham? You could have just left us to die on Vesualas.”
“Because you weren’t supposed to die then,” the Shadowy Man replied cryptically. “I wouldn’t actually have killed you in Farringham. It was a test. To see how powerful you were as a team.”
“Right,” Georgia sighed. “I’m confused.”
“So am I,” Pippa said.

Georgia remembered the others in the room; Pippa, Becky, Carlisle, Jeremy and Matron Readington. They were just watching her and the Shadowy Man talk. It wouldn’t even make sense to them.

“Forget it,” the Shadowy Man said. “It’s not important. What is important is the fact that I saved Conner. From the TimeSpan ship, where I worked for a while.”
“Thank you,” Georgia said, unsure of what to say. “You certainly seem to get around.”
“I guess I do,” the Shadowy Man said, a flicker of a smile on his face. “I even watched you from the shadows, in Norway.”
“That doesn’t sound creepy at all,” Georgia laughed nervously.
“Anything else you want to know?” the Shadowy Man asked.
“Your name would be nice,” Georgia said.
“I’m not sure,” the Shadowy Man said. “I suppose it won’t hurt to tell you… It’s –”

High up in space, an elegant hand pressed a button, which was labelled ATTACK. Back on Earth, the man of Gold appeared in the ward. It fired a splodge of Gold from its hands, which landed at Georgia’s feet. She screamed as the splodge formed a little Gold man.

“Get out of here!” she yelled at Jeremy.

She kicked the small Gold man, who splattered into the large Gold man, and melted back into its chest. Jeremy ran towards the door, and tried to open it.

“It’s locked!” Jeremy cried.

The Shadowy Man ran to the door and kicked it open, ushering Jeremy through it. Becky pulled Carlisle out of his bed, and dragged him to the door. They reached the door and the Shadowy Man helped Carlisle through it. Pippa stood frozen behind Georgia, who was trying to keep the Gold man busy. Matron Readington grabbed Pippa and tried to wheel towards the door.

“Oh!” Pippa said, able to move again.

She ran to the door, leaving Georgia in the middle of the ward. The Shadowy Man raised a small black object, and the door slowly began to seal itself.

“Georgia!” Pippa screamed. “Come on!”
“I’m coming!” Georgia cried.

She turned and ran, wheeling Matron Readington to the door. The Gold man followed at a slow pace, thunk-thunking along the floor. Georgia reached the door, which had nearly sealed itself. Matron Readington’s wheelchair was too wide to fit through.

“Oh no!” Georgia said. “There’s not enough room!”

The gap was closing, and the Gold man clunked closer and closer. The Shadowy Man grabbed Georgia’s hand and pulled her through the door, before it sealed. They group faced the door with shocked expressions. Clunk clunk!

“I’m sorry!” Georgia sobbed into the Shadowy Man’s shoulder.
“There was nothing you could do,” Pippa soothed.

There was a scream from behind the door, as the Gold killed Matron Readington. Everyone fell silent once more. A large dent appeared in the door.

“We’ve got to go,” the Shadowy Man said. “This won’t happen again. Come on.”

He led the group away from the door in silence. Maybe they could escape, maybe they could stop the Gold, but it wasn’t going to bring back the old lady in the wheelchair, whose blood seeped along the hospital floor in silence.

To be continued…