Episode 6: The Man Who Was Thursday Part 2

Conner headed towards the Viewing Gallery, only to find it was occupied. He waited patiently outside for a few minutes, when the glass door opened. A pretty girl of about twenty-five emerged, and smiled at him.

“Sorry about the wait,” she said. “I was just tidying the room up.”
“Oh, it’s fine,” Conner blushed. “So you’re a cleaner around here? You must hear quite a lot of stuff you aren’t supposed to…?”
“I’m not a cleaner, no,” the woman laughed. “I just help out, and I heard that a reporter wanted to use the Viewing Gallery, so I offered to tidy it up. You aren’t the reporter, are you?”
“Galactic Times,” Conner explained.
“That explains the question,” the woman nodded. “Yes, I suppose I do hear quite a lot. Why?”
“I just heard a rumour that the Monastery was having some turbulent times,” Conner shrugged.
“Really?” the woman asked, not giving anything away.
“Really,” Conner repeated. “My name’s Conner by the way, Conner Bennet.”
“I’m Claire Fisher,” the woman replied. “I’ve got to go and see if Tracy needs anything, you’ll be okay on your own?”

Conner nodded, and Claire left. He opened the glass door, and entered into the Viewing Gallery. As Father Gabriel had said, there were glass windows in the ceiling, and Conner realised that on a cloudless night, he would indeed be able to see stars. The rest of the room was fairly neutral – just some steps to sit on, and a glass booth under one of the windows, which had no apparent use.

“Right, better call the Doctor…” Conner muttered, dialling the number on his phone.
“Hi, Georgia, is the Doctor there?”
“Hang on,” Georgia replied. “We’re lost.”

In an empty room, Georgia handed the Doctor her phone.

“Hello!” he grinned. “Where are you?”
“The Viewing Gallery,” Conner replied. “It’s a room with windows in the ceiling.”
“Oh, I think we passed that earlier,” the Doctor frowned. “Georgia – go and see if you can find the Viewing Gallery. You know, the one with the windows in the ceiling.”
“And the glass door?” Georgia asked. “Tell Conner I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Anyway,” Conner continued. “I’ve got the Monks at my beck-and-call. And that leaves you to meet Tracy Carter. Oh, and you’ve got to watch out for this woman, called Claire. She’s nice, but she works for Tracy and snoops around a lot.”
“Okay, thanks,” the Doctor smiled. “Just wait there until Georgia finds you. Bye!”

Conner put the phone down, and sat on one of the steps. As he waited, he heard a trickling noise.

“Hello?” he called. “Georgia, is that you? That was quick.”

But there was no reply. The trickling became a splash, and Conner looked up to see water coming down on the window directly above him. He leapt backwards, and ran to the next window, to see rain pouring on it as well.

“Someone help!” he yelled. “The Flood is outside!”

He ran to the door, which was already drenched in water. With a gasp, he fell to the floor, and was forced to crawl away as water began seeping through the windows. He ran towards the booth, and ducked behind the glass as one of the windows shattered. Water began to flood in, in all directions, and Conner was forced to close the booth door as water flooded towards it.

“Hello, what do you require?” the booth asked him.
“A teleport!” Conner yelled.
“Did you say telephone?” the booth wondered.
“Teleport!” Conner repeated.
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t quite catch that,” the booth said cheerily. “Please say again.”

Before Conner could shout and swear at the booth, he was sprayed in the face with water. The booth began to fill up, and when the pressure became too high, the glass cracked, and Conner was thrown onto the Viewing Gallery floor.

“Oh God, I’m wet…” he muttered.

Climbing to his feet, he realised the water had stopped. He looked at his dripping arms and legs, and frowned. The glass door to the room opened, and Georgia stepped through. Immediately, she screamed and leapt backwards.

“Conner, you’re wet!” she gasped.
“But I feel fine,” Conner frowned.
“I’ve got to go…” Georgia said quickly. “Please, don’t come closer. I’m so sorry…”
“I’m fine, honest,” Conner sighed. “Look, I’ll come with you, and we’ll find the Doctor…”

Georgia shook her head, turned, and ran along the corridor. Dripping wet, Conner followed her, hoping to find the Doctor.

“Doctor!” Georgia yelled, as she burst into the empty room.
“What’s the matter?” the Doctor asked, looking up.
“Conner’s wet, and you said you heard the Monks mention the Flood…”

The Doctor gasped, and pulled Georgia out of the way as Conner entered the room. He raised the Sonic Screwdriver, and Conner raised his hands.

“I’m fine!” he protested. “Stop scanning me!”
“It’s just a precaution,” the Doctor explained. “You feel fine, but I’ve never heard of the Flood before. I’ve got no idea what you’re supposed to feel.”

Conner stood quietly for a moment, wondering what would happen if he became one of the Flood. He pictured himself shooting water out of his hands and splashing Georgia with them. It would be like a deadly water fight, where death was a real possibility and Georgia wasn’t in a bikini.

“So…?”
“According to the Sonic Screwdriver, you’re fine,” the Doctor smiled. “So I guess you are okay.”
“I’m still not convinced,” Georgia muttered. “He looks pretty mutated to me.”
“That’s funny; I didn’t know you got wet too?” Conner shot back.
“Now, now,” the Doctor said, raising his eyebrows. “Let’s not bitch…”

Georgia folded her arms, clearly feeling she had been denied an opportunity. Conner frowned for a minute, in deep thought, before he smiled.

“Doctor, I’ve had a thought,” he said. “If the Flood is a threat, why is the Monastery still getting fresh water pumped into the place?”
“Because it’s fresh,” Georgia sighed.
“No, the Monks said they can’t touch any of the water,” Conner replied. “But when I got wet, I didn’t change. So maybe –”
“There’s no Flood!” the Doctor finished. “Ha, brilliant Conner! Come on!”

He made to run to the door, but hesitated.

“That’s all very well and good,” he said. “But it doesn’t help. So there’s no Flood, it’s a myth.”
“Or, someone made it up, to keep the water for themselves!” Georgia cried.
“Brilliant, Georgia,” Conner grinned.
“Thanks,” Georgia blushed.
“But who would come up with something like that?” the Doctor frowned.
“The public don’t have access to the water,” Conner said. “So it must be someone inside the Monastery. That means it’s Tracy, Claire, Gabriel, Isaac or Noah.”
“I’ll tell you what, next time I encounter water creatures without a name, I’ll call them the Flood, how about that?” the Doctor grinned.
“Who told you the story in the first place?” Georgia asked.
“Father Noah,” Conner decided. “Definitely Father Noah, I think… I’ll go ask!”

He ran from the room, and didn’t stop until he found the Monks once more. They looked up as he entered the room, and stopped to catch his breath.

“Is the interview continuing?” Father Gabriel asked politely.
“Soon,” Conner promised. “I just want to ask one thing – which one of you told me about the Flood?”
“Why?” Father Noah snapped.
“He’s wet,” Father Isaac noticed. “Are you safe?”
“I’m fine,” Conner nodded. “But someone isn’t – they’ve been lying to everyone. Who told you the story of the Flood?”
“Father Noah told us,” Father Gabriel said.
“Tracy Carter told me,” Father Noah insisted.

Conner looked at him curiously, trying to decide if he was telling the truth.

“I believe you,” Conner smiled. “Cos Monks can’t lie, can they? I heard that whenever they try to lie, their voices don’t make a noise. Or something like that… Do you think that’s really true? Zac told me, and he’s smart, so I guess it is… Thanks for your help. Bye!”

He ran from the room, leaving the Monks looking perplexed. The Doctor was waiting for him to return, and looked up when he entered the room.

“It was Tracy,” Conner gasped. “Christ, I’m out of breath. It’s a long way, you know.”
“I knew you’d put on weight,” Georgia frowned.
“It’s time to pay Tracy Carter a visit,” the Doctor said, ignoring her. “Let’s go.”

Claire knocked on Tracy’s door, and entered the room. Tracy was sitting on her bed, drinking champagne. Claire noticed the gun, cold and black on her bedside table.

“Yes?” Tracy asked.
“I’ve come to warn you,” Claire smiled. “There’s a reporter here, and he’s digging.”
“What does he know?” Tracy frowned.
“I’m not sure,” Claire shrugged. “But I used the hose – sprayed the windows and doors. You should have heard him; he thought it was the Flood. It may have scared him off, but I doubt it.”
“Did he get wet?” Tracy asked.
“Oh, umm…” Claire began.
“You stupid woman!” Tracy spat.

She tipped her champagne onto Claire’s dress, before throwing the glass across the room, where it shattered into the wall.

“Now he will know that there is no Flood,” Tracy continued. “Now I’m going to have to do something about this myself.”

She climbed off the bed, grabbed the gun from the bedside table, and left the room. Claire sighed, and began to wipe her dress.

“Come on, come on…” Angela Hawkins muttered.

It was nearing closing time, yet nobody seemed to be leaving. She watched the couple called Paolo and Carla examining a small square with the word N-Dubz on it, as the wondered aloud what a Chav exactly was.

“What does it mean, there was a debate?” Carla was laughing. “Surely they know if they’re Chavs or not… And what is a Chav, anyway?”
“I’ve no idea,” Paolo chuckled.

Angela looked sharply to her left as the three people from earlier entered the room via the secure area. The one in the blue suit was looking around for Monks and caught Angela’s eye. She smiled at him, and to her surprise, he headed over.

“Hello,” he said. “We didn’t get a chance to chat earlier, I’m the Doctor.”
“Angela Hawkins,” Angela replied.
“Well, Angela Hawkins, I was wondering if you could help me. I need to know how to get to Tracy Carter, along with my friends Georgia and Conner over there,” the Doctor smiled.
“Oh, I want to speak to Tracy Carter too,” Angela nodded. “We could go together. Isn’t that boy a reporter or something? He could get us into most places.”
“Get us into places?” the Doctor repeated. “Why, is she in a secure area?”

Angela nodded, and the Doctor ran back over to Georgia and Conner. She could see him explaining that Tracy was back the way they had come, as he was pointing at the door they had entered earlier. He ran back over to her, and smiled.

“Right, we’re gonna go back through the door and find a map,” he said. “Conner was given one earlier but he dropped it in the Viewing Gallery.”

Angela had no idea what that was, but she followed him nonetheless. As they headed over to the secure door, it opened, and a masked figure burst through, carrying a gun. Immediately, all the exits to the museum sealed themselves, and the Monastery was inescapable.

“On your knees!” the masked figure shouted.

Georgia grabbed Conner’s hand and pulled him to the floor. A few feet away, Paolo and Carla hugged from their position on the floor. The Doctor got onto his knees, and Angela followed suit. She looked around at the others in the Monastery; from the three Hastings brothers, to the woman named Jessica in the sunglasses, and the overweight retired policeman named Matt Agnew, as well as the six others she didn’t know the name of, and saw everyone was too terrified to do anything.

“Show yourself,” the Doctor ordered.

The masked figure raised the gun, and pulled of the mask. Everyone gasped, and the figure smiled.

“Hello everyone,” Tracy Carter laughed.

To be continued…