Lockdown: Chapter 3 (Getting To Know You)

Caroline and Phil had left McDonalds just before the ambulances arrived and were now heading back up the street and towards the bus station. Phil had seemed a little disturbed by the incident and had made his way to the exit very quickly. When he was a bit further away he slowed down.

Caroline caught up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. ‘Hey, you alright?’

‘Yeah,’ he said flatly.

‘Did you know that girl or something?’

‘No, nothing like that.’

‘Then what?’

‘She was listening to Town FM.’

‘Town FM? Oh yeah, I remember them. A new pirate station isn’t it?.’

Phil turned the corner and they carried on past the library. ‘What do you mean you remember them? We’ve only been broadcasting for two months.’

‘Wait a minute, “we”? You work on it as well?’

‘Yeah. I wanted to try and get on Cool FM, but they didn’t want me so I went to Lee Jackson and he took me on. I only do Saturday’s though.’

‘So, you work for a pirate radio station, which is illegal? Why would that make you so spooked out about that dead girl listening to the station?’

‘Because of the fact that she died listening to the station.’

‘Just a co-incidence.’

‘No,’ said Phil exasperated. ‘A few days ago another person died. They were listening to the station as well.’

‘Then that’s just a co-incidence as well.’

‘I don’t think so, Caroline.’

‘So you reckon the radio station killed those two girls?’

‘Yes.’

‘But...that’s impossible.’ Caroline knew there were some weird things in the universe, but the thought of an amateur radio station being responsible for killing two girls was absurd. Even she used to listen to the station when she was 15. Right about now, actually.

‘Look, I don’t know the guy who runs the station too well but I know he’s a bit of a thug.’

Caroline sighed. ‘It still doesn’t prove that Town FM are responsible for the deaths.’

Phil sat down on a bench and put his head in his hands. ‘I knew it’d cause me trouble.’

Caroline looked on sympathetically and then sat down next to him. ‘Hey, come on,’ she said, putting an arm around him. ‘You’ve had a tough day, missing that interview and everything. You need to relax.’

‘Maybe,’ said Phil, staring into the distance.

‘There’s no “maybe” about it,’ said Caroline. ‘I’ve been through some tough times recently and sometimes you just need a break.’

Phil turned to look at Caroline. He smiled weakly. ‘Perhaps I should start having some fun again.’ He smiled a little.

‘That’s the spirit,’ said Caroline as she patted him gently on his back. ‘You need to go out and have some fun.’

‘Yeah!’ said Phil excitedly. ‘Yeah. I’ve not had a decent night out for ages. I mean there was last night, but it was pretty crap after Davey met that lass.’

‘Then go out and have some fun.’

‘I will do.’ Phil got up and then looked back at Caroline. ‘Thanks.’

Caroline smiled. ‘No problem. Another patient cured.’

Phil turned to go but then turned back to Caroline. She was now staring ahead of her and looked a little lost and a tiny bit sad. ‘Look, I know we don’t really know each other, but, well, perhaps you’d like to come out with me.’

Caroline looked up. ‘What about your friends?’

‘I’d rather go out with you.’

Caroline smiled, but then her smile faded from view. ‘How old are you, Phil? Nineteen? I’m…well, I think I’m thirty now. A little too old for you.’

‘I’m not asking you out on a date! I just reckon you could do with a laugh after leaving your bloke and everything. Come on, it’ll be a laugh!’

Caroline broke into a broad grin. She knew the Doctor would be annoyed, but she didn’t care. Maybe it was time to let her hair down a bit. ‘Okay,’ she said, getting up from the bench, ‘let’s go get us some drinks.’




Sophie walked along side the Doctor. She couldn’t believe this. For so long she’d read about this incredible man, but she’d never gotten to chance to actually meet him let alone team up as one of his “companions”. Despite being interesting he was also a rather charming man. She found herself glancing across at him and grinning to herself every now and again. He was an absolutely bizarre character, but he just seemed to glide past everyone without causing anyone to stare at his odd dress sense.

Eventually they reached the White Hart and the blue police box that disguised the time machine know as the TARDIS.

The Doctor looked all around him for any sign of Caroline and frowned.

‘Can’t you see her?’ asked Sophie.

‘No,’ said the Doctor anxiously. ‘I never should have let her go. Her or Danny.’

‘How old is she?’ asked Sophie.

‘Late twenties…early thirties…I think.’

‘Well then, she can take care of herself. Pin a note on the door of your TARDIS arranging a meeting time this evening and we’ll come back later.’

The Doctor bit his lip as he continued to scan the shoppers. ‘Perhaps we should do that.’

‘Well it’d beat waiting here for her to turn up. In the meantime we can have a little chat, I can make some notes and maybe we can have some drinks along the way.’

The Doctor smiled. ‘Sophie, I think you’ve just persuaded me. I could do with a glass of mineral water.’




‘Bloody hell,’ said Gaz as he watched Danny grinning widely.

‘Do you have a problem?’ asked Danny in the hissing voice he had now acquired.

‘N-no,’ said Gaz nervously.

‘Good,’ said Lee, ‘cos we need to get out of here this afternoon. The cops are onto us and we need a new location straight away.’

‘When will I be free?’ asked Danny.

‘Soon,’ said Lee. ‘We have the ability to get you out, but we’ve gotta help your friends first.’

‘Friends?’

‘The others like you that we’ve contacted.’

‘Then there is a chance for us to be released before 2011?’ asked Danny, wide eyed.

‘Well I don’t know much about that, mate, but your lads want out so we’re helping.’

Danny stared into space and walked over towards the window. ‘Then the failure of 2011 can be averted. We no longer need to fight against the Ancestors.’

‘Our equipment can do it. It can free you.’

Danny snapped back round to Lee. ‘Equipment?’

‘Just look around you,’ said Lee, pointing to the radio console and it’s various devices attached to it. ‘We’re not quite there, but we’ll do it.’

‘Lee,’ said Gaz tentatively, ‘It’s getting towards 1pm. We’ve gotta shut down soon so we can move the equipment.’

‘Alright, yeah, I know!’ grumbled Lee. ‘Did you get in touch with the others?’

‘Yes. They’re gonna be here in ten minutes to help us. Have you found us a decent location yet?’

‘Yeah, don’t worry about that.’ Lee turned back to Danny and began shaking him gently. ‘Come on, Danny. Back to the real world.’

‘What’re you doing?’ asked Gaz.

‘Well we can’t have him walking around all possessed can we? He’ll just draw attention.’ Lee shook him a little harder. ‘Come on mate, back to normal.’

With the final shake Danny jerked, blinked and then coughed. ‘Wh-what’s going on?’

‘We were just having a chat with that visitor inside you,’ grinned Lee.

Fear seemed to flood Danny’s eyes. ‘Yeah. I remember. He took over me completely. He’s never done that before. Not a full conversation and everything.’

‘Yeah, well all he wants is to be free with the rest of his people. We’re gonna get him out of you.’

Danny looked horrified. ‘No! No you can’t do that! They’ll kill us all!’

‘Don’t be daft. They won’t kill me anyway.’ Lee grinned and then guided the shaking Danny to the door. ‘Gaz, go and put the exorcist man into the van out of site and then we’ll start to unplug this shit and wait for the others to turn up.’

‘But they can’t break free now,’ said Danny to himself. ‘It’s 13 years too early!’




Caroline and Phil had set off on the twenty minute walk to Phil’s house when he had suddenly froze and turned to head in a different direction.

‘What’s up?’ asked Caroline.

‘Trust me to forget. I’m meant to be helping the others move the radio equipment somewhere else.’

‘Why?’ frowned Caroline.

‘It helps them to keep out of the grip of the cops. See, the authorities know we’re out there, but it takes them ages to pinpoint us. Lee managed to work out how long it takes them and then we ship out just before they make a raid on us and find somewhere else in the town. Something about the new equipment he’s got helps us to dodge them.’

‘Bloody hell,’ said Caroline as she hurried to keep up with Phil. ‘It sounds dangerous.’

‘Well it is illegal. We’re not really doing anything wrong, though.’

‘Apart from broadcasting without a license, playing music without paying royalties-’

‘Yeah alright,’ said Phil as if he’d heard those words before. ‘I was thinking of getting out of it anyway. Y’know, going professional?’

‘Then do it. If you have a talent for something then go for it.’

‘We’ll see,’ said Phil as they turned a corner.

Phil led Caroline down a long, crowded street with a busy road going through it. Down the street were lots of families and older people, all busy doing there shopping from an indoor market halfway down the street. They passed the Halifax bank and then turned down into a side street and headed for some high-rise flats.

‘Your studio’s in the Freeman Street flats?!’ said Caroline as she gazed up at the gloomy structures.

‘Yeah, Lee rented out a flat from there just for the studio.’

‘God, I’ve never been up there in my life,’ said Caroline in a snooty voice.

‘Well, Your Highness, we can’t all live in nice, posh houses.’

‘And were do you live?’

Phil looked a little sheepish. ‘Devonshire Avenue.’

‘That’s near the college! Those houses are like mini-mansions!’

Phil frowned. ‘Alright, well I don’t like the flats either, but it’s only Lee who crashes out there.’

After about ten minutes of walking they came up towards one of the nearest flats and crossed the pathway to the entrance. Gaz emerged from around the corner looking slightly nervous. He jumped when he saw Phil and Caroline.

‘You alright, Gaz?’ asked Phil as he watched his friend back up against the wall.

‘Yeah. Yeah everything’s fine,’ said Gaz rather quickly. He looked at Caroline ‘Who’s this?’ he asked, changing the subject.

‘Oh, this is Caroline,’ said Phil.

Gaz grinned and extended his hand.

Caroline shook it. ‘Nice to meet you, Gaz,’ she smiled back at him.

‘Nice to meet you as well.’ Gaz looked at Phil and smiled. ‘Where’d you pick this one up then?’

Caroline and Phil both frowned in unison.

‘He didn’t pick me up from anywhere,’ snapped Caroline.

‘No I didn’t. I bumped into her in the street and we just got talking.’

Gaz laughed darkly. ‘You’re a sly one. Going for the mums now, eh?’

‘I’m not a mum,’ said Caroline, sounding rather more sad about that statement than she thought she would.

Phil closed in on Gaz and looked at him hard. ‘Watch it, Gaz. Some of your other friends might not care about women or give them much respect, but I do.’

Gaz didn’t reply and turned away from Phil. ‘Come on then, Phil, you’re already late. The others are upstairs disconnecting the equipment.’




Okay listeners, that’s it for a couple of hours. We’ve gotta do some moving about now, but we’ll be back on in a couple of hours. Until then we’re gonna broadcast a loop tape of dance music. Remember this is Town FM on 107.9. Keep it locked down!




Lee hung up his headphones and pointed at a weedy looking boy with scraggly hair. The boy nodded and pressed down on a portable tape recorder.

‘It’s running,’ said the boy as he placed it into his extremely bulky backpack.

‘Good,’ said Lee. ‘Now you get on your bike and ride around town for a couple of hours. Go to the woods and the beach. That portable transmitter’ll keep them happy while we switch studios.’

Lee watched the boy leave and then turned to the others. The collection of people standing before him were all fairly young, between the ages of 16 and 25. There were six of them and they were all looking a little annoyed.

‘Where’s he off then?’ said a girl with long, curly blonde hair.

‘Little Dave’s got a transmitter in his backpack with a tape player plugged into it. All he’s gotta do is ride around until we connect back up at the new location.’

‘And what if he gets caught?’ asked a tall boy with a hint of a beard on his unshaven face. ‘That big aerial sticking out of his backpack doesn’t give it away or anything.’

‘He won’t get caught,’ said Lee confidently. ‘A mobile transmitter’s much harder to catch than a stationery one, Mike.’

The door opened and Gaz walked in followed by Phil and Caroline. Caroline looked around her and then at the group of people. They all murmured at her and she nodded a greeting to them all.

‘Who’s this?’ asked Lee.

Phil looked a little nervous and moved to stand next to the girl. ‘This is Caroline.’

‘I told you not to bring anyone up here,’ said Lee, his anger beginning to flare up again.

‘She’s my...err....girlfriend!’ said Phil.

Caroline frowned but decided to go along with this. This Lee looked like a bit of a thug and she had no desire to get into any kind of trouble. Best to keep in the background.

‘It’s still not good enough,’ grumbled Lee. ‘Keep outsiders out of our business.’

‘Oh come on Lee, it’s just a bit of fun.’

Lee stepped across the room in two huge strides and brought his face right up to Phil’s. Their noses were almost touching. ‘It’s not just a bit of fun!’ he growled.

‘Lee!’ said Gaz.

Lee turned when he felt Gaz’s hand on his shoulder. He withdrew from Phil and straightened himself up. ‘Just keep this “posh boy” away from me, okay? I’m off down to the van,’ said Lee as he put on his jacket. ‘Get this stuff unplugged and then I’ll meet you downstairs.’

When Lee had exited Caroline noticed the others had begun murmuring their disapproval. Although she couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying, she got the impression they were pretty pissed off with their “station managers” attitude. Never the less she and the others began unplugging the equipment and loading it into boxes.

Eventually everything was packed away. Gaz took a last look around the grubby little room and then switched the light off and locked the door. The others made their way down into the lifts as he slipped the door key under the door.




When they got downstairs the sky had turned a greyish blue and it had begun to drizzle. Lee emerged from the back of his white van and then locked the doors.

‘We need to put the gear in there, Lee,’ said one of the girls.

‘Yeah I know. Just drop it down there and me and Gaz’ll load it up.’

The girl frowned and the group placed the equipment next to the van. ‘Sure you don’t want us to help?’ she asked.

‘No,’ said Lee quickly. ‘I’ll see you later.’

‘Where?’ asked the unshaven boy. ‘You haven’t told us where the new studio is yet?’

‘Meet me outside Little Marsden School in a couple of hours.’

‘What?’ they all said, including Gaz, in unison.

‘You know my uncles the caretaker there? Well he’s got a little room off the main building that’ll keep us hidden for months.’

‘You have got to be joking,’ said Gaz. ‘It’s a school! It’s too dangerous.’

‘It’s not dangerous,’ growled Lee. ‘Now get going. Get yourselves something to eat and we’ll meet up there later.’

The others walked off shaking there heads. All except Caroline, Phil and Gaz.

‘You too, posh boy,’ said Lee, folding his arms. ‘You and your girlfriend.’

‘Well the thing is, Lee-’

‘What?’ moaned Lee as he began to check the equipment, which was collecting drizzle on the boxes.

‘Well, me and Caroline were gonna go out tonight. It’ll be a bit of a rush if we come to the school and-’

‘Alright, alright,’ sighed Lee. ‘Take her out then. Just make sure you’re in tomorrow at twelve. It’s your show, remember?’

‘Yeah I know,’ said Phil. ‘Thanks!’ he added quickly.

Lee watched Caroline and Phil walk off into the distance and then he shook his head and indicated to Gaz to start loading up the stuff into the van.




At the same time Danny was listening from within the back of the van. He knew it was Caroline outside. They knew it was Caroline. The thing inside knew it was Caroline. He smiled, closed his eyes and leant back. ‘Poor little Caroline,’ he said quietly as he waited for Gaz and Lee to unlock the door.

Lockdown: Chapter 2 (New Friends)

Caroline knew she shouldn’t have walked away. She should have stayed with the Doctor and not gone rushing off in a temper, but he had pushed the wrong buttons once again. The last few weeks had been extremely painful for her.

Caroline tried to put that out of her head. She’d forgiven him and they were on their way. Now, however....they were stuck in the wrong place and the wrong time. Again. She was angry with him. She was angrier than she had ever been before. She just wanted to go back to her own time, to her parents, and try and sort this mess out and get some answers about herself.

‘Watch it!’ came a voice, snapping Caroline back to reality.

She looked up. A tall and severe looking face was looking down at her. ‘Sorry,’ she said.

‘You better be,’ he growled, passing her but keeping his eyes firmly fixed on her.

Caroline watched him go. He looked like a right trouble causer. She sighed and kicked at the ground. She’d somehow found herself wander down the main shopping street and down to the indoor market. In 2012 not much had changed apart from a couple of new shops in the street. Sighing again she turned and headed back towards the bus station and the TARDIS. She needed to stick with the Doctor. It was no use moping around in ones own personal history.




Phil was rushing down the pedestrian part of Victoria Street and was trying to push past the mums and their prams and the kids in their little gangs bunking off school. Funny, not so long ago he would have been hanging around with his gang, but now he had “responsibilities”. He’d put on his best shirt and tie and was half-heartedly determined to get this job.

A few days back he had turned up at an interview for the job as a barman and had made a complete mess of it. He had a hangover, hadn’t shaved and his hair was a mess. His mum had given him an earful when he got home. The interviewers had rejected him straight away. So, here he was with his second interview in only a few days. This time it was for a job at WH Smith in the shopping centre. He’d shaved – twice – combed his messy hair and smartened himself up more than he’d ever done before. He was going to get this job – even if he wasn’t too confident about it.

‘Careful!’ said a dark-haired woman as Phil bumped into her.

Phill turned to say sorry, tripped up over his un-done shoe laces and landed in a puddle on the path left over from the previous night’s rain. He landed on his stomach and said ‘Bollocks!’ under his breath. When he turned around and managed to stand up he saw the dark haired woman looking at him. She was pretty in a natural sort of way. She had straight hair down to her shoulders and it was brushed to the side. She had her hands on her hips and was looking at him as if he’d just told a bad joke.

‘That’ll teach you to run like a madman, won’t it?’ said Caroline.

‘Yeah, thanks,’ said Phil glumly as he looked down at his muddied shirt. ‘That’s that job blown then.’

‘Job?’ Realisation dawned on Caroline’s face and her face broke into a look of pity mixed with guilt. ‘Oh, you had an interview? Oh God! I’m so sorry.’

‘It’s nothing. Really,’ said Phil, trying to brush away the mud and only managing to smear it some more.

‘It’s probably partly my fault as well I suppose. I shouldn’t have been daydreaming. Cant you get another shirt from home?’

‘No,’ replied Phil shaking his head, ‘I’m already five minutes late. It’d take me ages to get back home.’

Caroline was lost for words and didn’t know what else to say. ‘Well, can I buy you a coffee then? Just a way of saying sorry.’

‘Yeah, whatever,’ mumbled Phil, clearly put out by this latest accident and worried about what his mum was going to say.

‘Great. We’ll go to the Coffee Club.’

‘Where?’ asked Phil, confused.

‘The Coffee- ’ Caroline looked at the corner where the Coffee Club usually stood. It wasn’t there. Instead was a cake shop. ‘Of course this is 1998,’ she said under her breath.

‘So where’s this place then?’ asked Phil.

‘Lets just go to McDonalds, yeah?’

Phil smiled. ‘Yeah, okay.’




This Keely on Town FM 107.9. That was “Waterfall” by the Stone Roses. Well, it’s a grey morning in the streets of Thornsby, but we hope we’ve got enough music to lighten up your day and bring you-




‘Oh, shut up!’ grumbled Bill as he flicked the station off and returned to the counter. Standing there was a young man with short, slightly untidy hair. He was resting his chin on his hand and looked bored. ‘What can I get you?’

‘A cuppa, please. And a full English.’

‘Coming right up.’ Bill put the kettle on and started to cook the breakfast. ‘I haven’t seen you in here before?’

‘No. I used to drink round here though,’ said Danny, remembering that the Doctor had always told him to try and blend in to avoid confusion and problems. ‘Just visiting a few friends. Lived at the Hart for a while as well back in the 80’s.’

‘That would have been when old Harry was in charge, yeah?’ said Bill as he handed Danny his tea. ‘So aren’t your friends with you now?’

‘No.’

‘Not good friends then, are they?’

Danny frowned. ‘I don’t understand.’

‘Well you’re here on your own. They can’t be all that friendly if they’re leaving you here all by yourself.’

The man’s attitude seemed to change suddenly. He frowned and his eyes buried deep into Bill’s. ‘What do you know about my friends?’

Bill frowned back. ‘Nothing, I suppose.’

‘Exactly!’ The radio fizzed and crackled and the mug of hot tea shattered, splattering the pale, brown liquid all over the counter. Danny suddenly came back to his senses. He looked at the shattered mug and then at a shocked looking Bill. Without saying another word he clambered quickly off the stool and hurried towards the door.

In the corner of the room, Gaz sat with his girlfriend, Bethany. Bethany was trying to tell him something important, but Gaz was more interested in his breakfast and what had just occurred at the counter.




The Doctor had barely gotten a few shops down when he felt a hand touch his shoulder. He turned around and standing before him was a very pretty woman. She looked to be in her late twenties and had long brown hair. She wore jeans, an open cardigan and a top underneath. Over her shoulder was a handbag. When the Doctor turned to look at her she seemed to falter slightly and step back, smiling.

‘Can I help you?’ asked the Doctor.

‘Perhaps,’ she said.

The Doctor realised she had an American accent. ‘Do we know each other?’

‘No. Well, what I mean to say is, no you don’t know me, but I know quite a bit about you.’

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. ‘Really?’

‘Yes.’ The woman suddenly remembered her manners and extended her hand. ‘Sophie Hamilton.’

The Doctor took her hand and shook it lightly. ‘Nice to meet you Mrs Hamilton.’

‘It’s Miss Hamilton. I’m not married,’ she said quickly. Then another thought struck her. ‘Actually you can just call me Sophie.’

‘Very well....Sophie.’ The Doctor let go of her hand. ‘Now, what can I do for you?’

‘Well. I’m a journalist. Well, an ex-journalist actually.’

‘For a journalist you seem awfully shy.’

‘Oh,’ Sophie smiled and put a hand to her forehead. ‘I’m sorry. It’s just I’ve read and heard so much about you. All this excitement at meeting up with you has just built up inside me. Guess I could have handled it better.’

The Doctor noticed a notepad sticking out of her handbag. ‘If you’re an ex-journalist then why are you still carrying around a notepad?’

Sophie looked down at her handbag and then back up at the Doctor. ‘Well. I used to work for a newspaper in Seattle until just recently. I found some documents about alien invasions in the late 20th century and your name cropped up quite a lot.’

The Doctor put his hands in his pockets and nodded. In the seventies he had been exiled to Earth by the Time Lords. During that period a number of alien menaces had invaded the Earth (mostly in London) and he had become the scientific advisor for a branch of the United Nations called UNIT. Amazingly the government had managed to hush-up most of the incidents. UNIT was, after all, supposed to be a top secret organisation.

‘I hope you don’t mind me stopping you in the street like this?’

‘Oh, not at all, Sophie,’ smiled the Doctor. ‘What I want to know is this: how did you know I’d be here?’

‘I received a tip-off from someone. Back in Seattle I found a letter addressed to me. It didn’t give a name but it simply said that if I really wanted to speak to you, you’d be here, in this town, on this date in 1998.’

The Doctor looked slightly disturbed. He didn’t like the idea of someone predicting his whereabouts. ‘Could I see the letter please?’

‘Of course,’ said Sophie as she rummaged in her handbag.

The Doctor took the letter from her. It wasn‘t dated. He opened it up and read it:




“Dear Sophie,This may seem a bit confusing to you, but it will all make sense in time. I’ve heard that you’ve been trying to write a book about the alien invasions of the late twentieth century, which involved the organisation UNIT and their scientific advisor, the Doctor. I have reason to believe that the Doctor will be in the English East Coastal town of Thornsby on May 8th this year. He will be hanging around the White Hart pub beside a blue police box. This is the best chance you’ll have. Don’t miss out!

All my love.”




The Doctor looked up from the letter, his face a look of puzzlement and confusion.

‘Something wrong?’ asked Sophie. ‘I know it’s a bit odd. It’s as if the person where trying to match-make us. Y’know, set us on a blind date.’ She laughed.

The Doctor didn’t.

‘What’s wrong?’

The Doctor showed the letter to Sophie. ‘This letter is written in my handwriting.’




‘It was bad, wasn’t it?’

‘Yes,’ mumbled Danny as he walked down the street.

‘’Scuse me mate!’ came a voice from behind him.

Danny turned unsteadily and attempted to focus on the man in front of him. ‘Who are you?’

‘The name’s Gaz. Sorry for bothering you, but I was just sat in the cafe with me girlfriend and I saw what happened with the mug of tea.’

‘Oh, that.’

‘Yeah. Well, Bill’s pretty pissed off with you, but I said I’d sort it out.’

‘So you’ve come to make me pay for the mug I broke? Fine.’

‘It’s nothing to do with the mug breaking. To be honest I was a bit concerned about you.’

Danny rolled his eyes. ‘To be honest, Gaz, I’m a bit sick of people showing concern for me.’

‘Let him speak,’ came the voice in Danny’s head

‘No,’ said Danny, looking up at the sky.

Gaz looked around him and noticed people were looking at Danny.

He looked almost drunk, yet he’d not even touched a drop of alcohol.

‘Listen mate, I know what’s up with you.’

‘Do you?’ said Danny snidely. ‘Come on then. I can’t wait for this. Tell me what you think’s wrong.’

‘You’ve got a ghost inside of you.’

Danny felt his whole body go cold. Something in his head lurched and he heard a faint chuckling beyond his normal perceptions.

Gaz put a hand on Danny’s shoulder. ‘I’ve got a friend who can help you. And in turn you can help him.’

‘I don’t understand,’ said Danny, still feeling like he’d been smacked in the face with a wet fish.

‘Let me take you to meet my friend, Lee. He can help you.’




‘What on Earth were you trying to order?’ asked Phil with a laugh.

‘A McFlurry,’ said Caroline, looking hurt. ‘Believe it or not they’ll be pretty big in a few years.’

‘I’ll take your word for it,’ laughed Phil again as they sat down with their tray of fries and coke.

‘Look,’ said Caroline, fiddling with her straw, ‘I know we don’t really know each, but I’m sorry for what happened outside.’

‘Partly my fault as well I guess,’ said Phil beginning to eat his fries. ‘I just need to get my life in gear.’

‘I know exactly what you mean.’ Caroline looked at Phil. She had this burning desire to pour out her emotions. She didn’t even know this Phil, but he seemed to have a nice enough face. He looked honest and caring. ‘I’ve just had to leave my fiance the evening before our wedding.’

Phil looked up with a start. He wasn’t expecting that. ‘Oh,’ was all he could manage.

Caroline looked down at her drink and gave out an embarrassed laugh. ‘Look at me,’ she said, blushing, ‘I don’t even know you and I’m on the verge of pouring out all my problems onto your plate.’

‘Well we all need to tell our problems to someone.’

‘Yeah, but come on, I’ve only known you for five minutes. What am I saying? I don’t really know you anyway.’ She looked at her watch. ‘Look, I’m here with a friend and he’s probably out there looking for me now. I better get going.’

Caroline got up to leave and Phil stood up with her. ‘Well it was nice meeting you,’ he said, smiling.

‘Yeah. And I’m sorry about your interview again.’

Phil shrugged and smiled. ‘You win some, you lose some.’

Caroline was about to leave when a scream came from across the restaurant. Caroline and Phil both ran towards a crowd that was gathering in the corner. Lying on the floor with a blank look on her face was a girl of about seventeen. Her fries were scattered on the floor and her coke had spilt over her.

She was also clutching a hand-held radio.




‘I don’t understand,’ said Sophie as she read through the letter again. ‘How could this be from you? Are you sure you didn’t plan this?’

‘Of course not,’ said the Doctor. ‘Up until this moment I’d never met you before.’

‘Maybe in a previous incarnation?’ suggested Sophie.

The Doctor frowned. How could she possibly know that he used to be able to regenerate. ‘How did you-’

‘Doctor, I’ve done a lot of extensive research on you. I know that you’re a Time Lord.’

The Doctor was quite taken aback and began to fidgit on the spot. ‘Who have you been speaking to?’

‘A number of your old friends.’

‘Are you sure you’re human?’ The Doctor realised his mistake about asking that question when Sophie looked hurt. ‘Oh I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that usually when someone’s after all this information about me they usually turn out to be an alien that wants to kill me.’

Sophie smiled at him. ‘Oh no, Doctor, nothing like that. I left my job in Seattle to try and write a book about the invasions and you. This planet has the ability to cover up information that so clearly happened. I remember the Auton invasion of England in the seventies. I was just a little girl, but I remember it.’

‘So why write a book about it?’

‘Because the world needs to know about you. The world needs to know about these invasions. They need the truth.’

The Doctor chewed on his lip, a look of concern on his face. ‘The government - both US and UK - may end up trying to stop your book being printed.’

‘Perhaps, but I have to try.’

‘So where do I come into all of this?’

‘Doctor, you were at the battle lines for all of these invasions. You were there, working with UNIT all the time. Your story has to be told.’

‘I’m not sure about this.’

Sophie took the Doctor’s arm and leant in closer. ‘It’s time this planet woke up to what’s going on around them.’

The Doctor pondered for a moment. He wasn’t exactly one for keeping in the shadows, but he wasn’t sure he wanted the story of his life, of Gallifrey, of his entire race displayed to a planet of humans who aren’t exactly averse to believing this sort of thing.

‘They may not believe you.’

‘There’s a huge possibility in that. I had a hard time believing you were a time traveller from another planet when I first found out about you, but in the end I did believe. Chances are that there’s bound to be a number of people who’ll believe you as well.’

The Doctor looked at her and smiled. ‘I need time to think about this. At the moment I’m trying to get my friend back to her own time.’

‘Well do you mind if I hang around? You know, pick up on how you are in real life?’

The Doctor wasn’t keen on someone following him around and analysing his every move, but this woman seemed genuine. She seemed to really show an interest in him. He broke into a broad smile. ‘Sophie, I’d be glad to have you as company.’

‘Great,’ grinned Sophie. ‘So where do you think your friend’s gotten to?’

‘I don’t know,’ said the Doctor, looking up and down the busy street.




This is Town FM on 107.9. This is Lee, standing in for Tina, who’s away ill. It’s Friday morning and we’re already gearing up for our dance zone for tonight. We’ll be playing you the best tunes from 1998 and also some stuff from 1997. Don’t forget, if you’d like to give us a ring for shout outs, requests or dedications, the number is 0137 233877. Also a reminder that we’ll be going off air between 1pm and 3pm while we switch to our new studios. This is ‘Tubthumping‘ by Chumbawamba.




Lee took off the headphones, lit up a cigarette and then swivelled his chair around. Opening the door was Gaz and a Danny.

‘Whose this?’ he asked, nodding towards the man.

Gaz shut the door and then ushered Danny forward. ‘This is Danny Lennon.’

‘Don’t need anyone else working for us, mate.’

‘Yeah, but I think he might be able to help us with...you know what.’

Lee scrambled out of the chair and eyeballed Gaz. ‘You didn’t tell him, did you!?’

‘N-no. No of course not,’ stuttered Gaz.

‘Tell me what?’ said Danny distantly.

‘Quiet Danny,’ said Gaz. ‘Listen,’ he said, turning back to Lee, ‘we need help, don’t we?’

‘Yeah. We had another attempt a little while ago. No luck again.’

Gaz looked down. ‘After what happened to Lisa I thought-.’

‘Oh, don’t go all mushy on me now, Gaz. We both bought into this. There are going to be casualties.’

‘I bought into the station. I didn’t want to kill anybody.’

‘We’re not killing people. We’re trying to help someone in need. If a few people have to die along the way then so be it.’ Lee looked back to Danny who seemed to be staring distantly at the radio control panel. ‘So, where’d you pick up this loser?’

‘In the Bill’s Cafe. He shattered a mug of tea without touching it. Then I heard him talking to himself down the street.’

‘That doesn’t prove anything,’ said Lee, returning to his seat and picking up his headphones.

‘Then why not just ask him?’

Lee considered for a moment and then put his headphones on. He pressed a button and spoke into the microphone:




That was ‘Tubtumping’. Now for a classic from last year. This is ‘Torn’ by that sexy lass who used to be in Neighbours.




Lee took the headphones off again and looked back at Danny. ‘Come here.’

Danny wobbled forward and then looked down at Lee. ‘Yes?’

‘I’m gonna ask you this once and I want you to answer me honestly.’

‘Okay,’ said Danny blankly.

‘You have one of them inside you, don’t you?’

Danny frowned for a moment and then smiled. His teeth shone white and his eyes seemed to turn to the back of his head and glow white hot. Danny spoke, but not in his normal voice. This time his voice had a cold, rasping sound about it.

‘Yes. I have one of them inside of me. It’s been - I’ve been wanting to escape for a long time.’

Lee nodded and then smiled too. ‘Your wish is my command.’

He laughed, and so did the ghost-possessed Danny.

Lockdown: Chapter 1 (Dark Transmissions)

Thursday, May 7th 1998




The rain swept in one big sheet across the road. People ran, trying to find shelter from the downpour. Only five minutes ago the street had been dry and people were busy walking home from work, taking dogs for walks or getting ready to enjoy another night on the town. Now the streets were deserted.

A little way off a car, headlights blazing, skidded off the main seafront road and turned off into a dingy looking passageway between two old houses. The car cut it’s headlights and slowly drove into the shadows.

The drivers door of the car clicked open and a tall and lithe young man stepped out. He looked to be in his early twenties, had short, cropped, black hair and the expression of someone who had a permanent chip on his shoulder. He slammed the car door shut and looked down the passage, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets.

He looked back at the car. ‘Get out will you.’

The passenger door opened and a smaller man gingerly climbed out of the seat. He had spiked up blonde hair and a very worried expression on his innocent looking face.

‘That was a close one. I thought the cops were gonna pull us over then.’

The first man turned to the second and frowned. ‘Don’t state the bloody obvious!’

‘Sorry,’ replied his partner, putting up his hands. He looked up at the sky. ‘This bloody rain’s not gonna stop is it?’

‘Who am I, Michael Fish!?’ moaned the first man. ‘Anyway, it’s only rain.’

‘Yeah and we’re getting wet.’

There was a sound from one of the passageways near the back of the alleyway. A shadowy figure stepped out from the darkness, unfazed by the soaking rain.

‘Alright, Don?’ asked the first man nervously; a complete change from his previous personality. Now his voice had a nervousness to it.

‘Shut up, Lee’ growled the big shadow.

‘I’m sorry,’ the man called Lee, quickly replied.

The shadow didn’t move.

‘Do you have it?’

‘Yeah,’ said the deep voice. ‘You got the money?’

‘Yeah,’ said Lee. He turned to his partner. ‘Go get it, Gaz.’

Gaz went to the car and took out an envelope. He passed it to Lee and then Lee threw it over to the man. ‘It’s all there.’

‘Of course it is. You wouldn’t swindle me,’ said the man. ‘Here’s your stuff.’

He hefted up a large box from the ground and then threw it to Lee who only just caught it and stumbled slightly under it’s weight.

‘Thanks very much,’ said Lee nervously. He looked at Gaz. ‘Go get in the car and start her up.’

Gaz quietly obeyed and went back to the car.

Lee looked at the shadow. ‘Same place next time then?’

‘Same time, same place,’ said the figure as he stepped back into the shadows.

Lee shivered in the rain. He was completely soaked now and the rain wasn’t easing off. He put the box into the car boot and then got into the drivers seat.

‘I’m soaking,’ complained Gaz.

‘Shut your face,’ replied Lee. His personality had returned to it’s previous unsavoury self. ‘You won’t tell anyone about this.’ It was a threat rather than a question.

‘No. No I wont. I promise.’

‘Good,’ said Lee, nodding and biting thoughtfully on his lip. ‘Let’s get out of here.’




Friday, May 8th 1998




Phil opened his eyes and then snapped them shut again. He had a dull aching pain throbbing just above his eyes and his throat felt dry, like sandpaper. He tried to speak but only managed a very dry sounding gurgle before stopping.

‘Phil, get up!’ came a voice from somewhere in the distance.

He hated this.

‘Phil, get up now!’ came the voice again.

‘Okay,’ managed Phil, still with his eyes closed.

‘You’re going to be late,’ came the voice again.

‘OKAY!’ shouted Phil, and then regretted it. He put a hand to his throat. He wanted to drift off back to sleep, but the pain in his throat and head wouldn’t let him so instead he dared to open his eyes again. Blinding light. He must have forgotten to close the curtains when he stumbled into bed last night. With a grunt he jumped out of the bed, grabbed the curtains, drew them shut and then leapt back into bed with a groan.

The door burst open and the voice of his mum came again, this time louder. ‘I told you not to go out last night!’

‘Mum,’ groaned Phil, pulling the covers over his head, ‘just give me a few minutes.’

‘You don’t have a few minutes,’ she barked at him. ‘Do you want this job?’

‘No,’ he said sternly.

‘Then you can bloody well get out of this house.’

He heard her leave and slam the door to which he winced.

Finally he gave in and reached a hand across to his bedside radio. He flicked the “on” switch and opened his eyes as the DJ came on.




‘This is Gazza on 107.9, Town FM. It’s a Friday morning and we’ve got the best new songs coming up to wake you from that terrible hangover you’ve all got this morning. Shouldn’t have gone out on student night, should you? Keep your dial locked down to 107.9 Town FM. This is Oasis with ‘Stand By Me’.




Gaz took off his headphones and leaned back in his swivel chair. He ran his hands through his untidy hair and then realised he had forgotten to spike it up this morning. The sounds of Oasis blurted through the make-shift studio and for the first time in ages he felt relaxed. He was sitting in a small room. The walls were plastered with some ancient 1970’s wallpaper and a sofa and table were set against the back wall. The curtains were drawn across the window and Gaz was sat in front of it at a desk which contained a primitive mixing desk, CD player and microphone.

Last night seemed unreal and almost like a scene from a film. He was thankful to get home, get dry and get to bed before being back on at 8am to broadcast the breakfast show. Now, however, he was alone in the studio and happy to have some time to do what he did best – relax and play music.

The door opened suddenly and Gaz rolled his eyes as Lee stomped into the room.

‘You seen my CD?’

‘Which one?’ said Gaz indicating the shelves of CD’s.

‘The green one.’ He began looking through CD’s, pulling them from their space on the shelf and generally causing a mess.

‘It’s here, it’s here!’ said Gaz before Lee could cause any more mess. ‘What are you doing here anyway? You’re not on till nine tonight.’

‘I came for me CD,’ he said, holding the Echobelly album up to Gaz’s face. ‘And I also pay rent for this place so I don‘t need to give a reason.’

‘I told you we can all chip in,’ said Gaz.

‘Not much point now, is there?’ mumbled Lee to himself.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ asked Gaz getting to his feet.

‘We’re leaving the flat. We’re moving on.’ Lee looked down at the CD player. ‘Better get back to your microphone.’

Before Gaz could reply, Lee took his CD and left the room.

Gaz sat back down at his control deck and thought about what Lee had just said. Sure, they were running a pirate radio station and it was illegal, but the coppers couldn’t have found them, could they? They’d only been on a few weeks. Before Gaz knew it the song had finished and he was taken back to the broadcasting world.




‘Stand By Me’ by Oasis. Taken from their number one album ‘Be Here Now’. We’ll be back after this add break.




Lisa Hart removed her headphones as she sat down at the cafe table. She had no desire to listen to Town FM’s local ads for Lee Green’s brother’s chip shop. The waitress walked over and she ordered some toast and a cup of tea. She’d been going out with Lee for about a month up until last week. They’d had a stupid argument over all the money that was going to waste on god-knows what and he’d dumped her. He’d been too obsessed in that radio station and she was sure he thought it more important than anything else in his life.

A little while later, when she was halfway through her tea and toast, she put the headphones back on. They were now playing some Meat Loaf song and she sighed. Lee wouldn’t have allowed that if he’d been on air now. He hated big, power ballads.

Suddenly there came a high pitched whine from the headphones. The whining got louder and more intense. She screamed and leapt to her feet, knocking over the table and chair. Then the whine just stopped and Lisa fell to the floor like a rag doll. The waitress ran over to try and help. One of the customers turned her onto her back. When there was no movement he checked her pulse and then stood up slowly.

‘What’s up with her?’ asked the waitress.

‘She’s dead,’ said the man quietly.




‘You feeling alright, Lee?’ asked the barman.

‘Yeah, Bill,’ said Lee. ‘I’m feeling great,’ he replied distantly.

‘Look, perhaps this isn’t the place you should be at a time like this. You should be with your family.’

‘Look, me and Lisa split up a week ago. Why should I care that she died?’ He took a gulp of his lukewarm tea and then slammed it down. ‘She was a stupid cow anyway.’

Bill looked alarmed. ‘You shouldn’t speak about her in that way. No matter what problems you had at the end of your relationship. Didn’t you have any good times?’

‘Yeah.’ Lee let out a quiet laugh. ‘Yeah we had some good times. Just a shame the good times were outweighed by the bad.’

Bill began wiping the counter top with a ragged cloth and sniffed. ‘They didn’t say what she died of. Apparently she was listening to that radio station of yours-’

Lee looked startled and grabbed Bill’s arm. ‘Will you keep your voice down? I don’t want half of Thornsby knowing I run it!’

Bill pulled his arm away. ‘Okay, okay. I’m sorry.’

Lee relaxed on the stool again and took another gulp of his tea. ‘Anyway, I better get going. Gotta make arrangements for new premises for the station. Can’t have the pigs catching us now.’ He downed the last of his tea and then left.

Bill watched him go and then continued to wipe the top of the counter. A man walked slowly up to the stool Lee had been sitting in and sat down. He wore a brown suit and a flat cap. Although most of his hair was hidden, Bill could tell it was going grey. ‘Can I help you?’

‘Yes,’ said the man. ‘What do you know about Lee Green?’

Bill eyed up the man suspiciously. ‘Nothing. He’s just a regular in the cafe.’

‘He seemed quite happy to talk freely to you about “finding new premises”.’

‘And who are you?’

‘Detective Inspector Harry Spencer.’

Bill stood up straight and backed off a bit. ‘I don’t know anything.’

DI Spencer nodded and then got off the stool. ‘We’ll be in the area anyway. Gotta find out who killed poor Miss Hart, haven’t we?’ he smiled and then walked off.




‘So, what are you saying, Caroline?’

‘I’m saying, Doctor, that we need to get to our own time,’ replied Caroline.

‘But it’s a good landing for the TARDIS.’

‘I’m not disputing that,’ she said. ‘What I’m disputing is the fact that every time we come to Thornsby we always end up in the wrong time.’

‘Well you two were the ones who jumped through to 1998.’

‘We had no choice, remember!’ said Caroline, reminding the Doctor of the fact that they were trapped under the lighthouse with the time window stuck on May 8th in 1998. ‘And now you’re saying the TARDIS is going to need some time to repair itself?’

‘Well, yes. Although the landing here was smoother than most other times, it did put a drain on the power reserves. They need a few days to regenerate themselves. And we’re a little earlier in the day than you jumped to. I suppose the time window was a little broken. Just avoid People’s Park in the late afternoon. After all that’s where your younger selves will be this afternoon.’

Caroline groaned. ‘Can’t you ever just go in a straight line? Point A to B?’

‘Well space and time isn’t just A to B. It’s more like-’

‘Oh don’t give me all that time and space rubbish, Doctor! I’m going for a walk and I WILL BE SOME TIME!’

Caroline stormed off leaving the Doctor and Danny alone beside the TARDIS. The time machine had landed him right next to the White Hart pub.

‘I’m pleased to see you,’ said Danny, giving the Doctor a friendly punch on his shoulder.

The Doctor put a hand to his forehead and frowned. ‘She shouldn’t have run off like that. It’s thirteen years before she left. Right now she’s actually only fifteen years old. She might cause irreparable damage to time if she goes looking for herself. You too.’

‘Oh come off it!’ scoffed Danny. ‘Why would she go looking for her younger self? She’s probably just gone for a walk. She’s got a brain in there, you know?’

‘Never the less, we need to go after her.’

‘Well you go do that then. I’m off for one of those good old English breakfasts. I’ve missed them.’

‘Now look Danny, I can’t afford for you to get lost as well. And you only had a “good old English breakfast” a little while ago in 1988.’

But Danny had already turned and made his way into the crowd of Saturday morning shoppers mumbling something about finding a shop and getting a newspaper. The Doctor shook his head and then turned to go in the direction Caroline had taken.




A little way off stood a brown haired woman. She’d been listening to the conversation between the three people and held a notebook in her hand, tapping a ballpoint pen on her chin. Sophie Hamilton looked from the police box to the disappearing figure of the Doctor and then back again. She had found him at last. She made a note on her pad and then followed the Doctor.

Story 2.3: Lockdown

"So, who told you that she was special? Who told you that bad people will come?"

Thornsby, 1998. The TARDIS arrives to collect Caroline and Danny, but after a disagreement
the three travellers end up seperated.

Danny meets Gaz and Lee who run an illegal pirate radio station. But they've
been doing deals for dodgy equipment and the airwaves are not just filled
with the sound of Town FM...

Caroline bumps into young college student, Phil, and they soon start
to uncover the truth about the station.

The Doctor, meanwhile, meets Sophie - a reporter from Seattle, and
he takes a fateful decision to finally track down some answers
about Caroline. Answers that will leave him with a big dilemma...

This is the third story of season 2, continuing the adventures of the Doctor, Caroline and Danny.

The Lighthouse: Chapter 6 (The General)

The Doctor returned to where Aleena was working just in time to see the whole device shut down and go cold.

“I did it,” said Aleena, aware of the Doctor’s return. “What about your friends?”

“They’ve gone through the time window,” said the Doctor. “They were trapped in the room and had no choice.”

“That was lucky! Can you get them?”

“I should be able to,” said the Doctor, gathering up some of his tools that were scattered around the machinery.

“They’re still fighting out there,” said Aleena.

“I know. Perhaps we should break the bad news to them.”

“No,” said Aleena. “We need to make sure this entire place is destroyed first.”

“Well it’s only a matter of time before it comes down anyway,” said the Doctor, feeling a trickle of brick dust fall onto his nose.

Aleena and the Doctor made their way back up to the communication room and flicked on the scanner screen which showed the battle raging up above the atmosphere. Most of the Sontaran ships had been destroyed and a large ship was picking off the remaining survivors.

“That looks like some sort of command ship,” said the Doctor.

“That’s the Victorious,” said Aleena ominously.

“You’ve heard of it?”

“I’ve watched it,” said Aleena. “That’s the General’s ship.”

“Ah, yes,” said the Doctor, folding his arms and leaning back in the chair. “I’ve heard about this General. Who is he exactly?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but he runs the Eyeglass with ruthless efficiency. You only get on board the Victorious if you’re as committed to the cause as he is.”

The Doctor shook his head in disgust. “I think we need to have a little chat with this General.”

“And how do we do that?”

“We go on board.”

“Doctor, that’s insane,” said Aleena, half-laughing. “He’ll have is arrested as soon as look at us. We need to get out of here now.”

“I need to try and speak to him.”

“And say what? Try and convince him to change his mind? He’s been running this operation for decades. He’s not about to give up just because you think you can make him have a change of heart.”

Suddenly the door burst open and a number of armour-clad soldiers burst into the room. They grabbed Aleena and the Doctor and held them with their hands tied behind their backs.

“Let us go!” shouted Aleena.

“Just relax,” said the Doctor. “You do know that the machinery has been disabled and there’s no way for us to get it up and running again.”

“You’re coming back with us. The General will make you fix it,” said one of the masked soldiers. “This is Lt. Everon to the Victorious. We have the prisoners. Bringing them aboard now.”




The Doctor and Aleena had been taken to a small, command shuttle nearby and the shuttle had taken them up into space and to the huge, imposing hulk of the Victorious, which hung in the nebula like a waiting spider would wait on it’s web.

They were taken from the shuttle and down a series of corridors until they reached a huge, metal door. The door slid open and opened out into a large, circular room which contained row after row of computer banks, monitors, readouts, and through the centre of the room was a huge, glass tube, showing the nebula and Equinox outside. It was a 306 degree view screen.

Standing in front of the screen was the General, his hands behind his back and refusing to acknowledge the Doctor or Aleena.

The soldier called Lt. Everon stepped forward. “Excuse me, sir, but we have the prisoners.”

“Excellent,” said the General, his silky tones betraying no emotion.

“It’s nice to finally meet you at last,” said the Doctor.

The General turned to the Doctor and then walked over to him, his dark eyes examining every inch of the Doctor. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“A lot of people have,” smiled the Doctor. “I guess I’m getting a little more well known then I’d like.”

The General chuckled. “I’ve known you for a little longer than you think, though,” said the General.

The Doctor was unsure of what to say.

“Come with me,” said the General, heading towards a small door at the side of the bridge.

“Sir?” said Everon.

“Take the blue girl to the cells. I’ll be okay with the Doctor. I’m sure he’ll understand once we’ve had a chat.”

“Doctor?” said Aleena, as she was quickly moved away.

“It’ll be okay, Aleena. Just stay calm.”

The Doctor was taken through the small door into a large, wood-furnished office. Ornate, wooden panels adorned the walls along with all manner of antique looking furniture. A large glass table sat in the middle and a window overlooked the nebula. The General poured the Doctor a glass of water and then gestured for him to sit down.

“Thank you,” said the Doctor as he took his seat, but continued to stare out of the window.

The General smiled, noticing the Doctor’s confusion. “Oh, it’s not a real window,” he said. “This room is deep in the heart of the ship. That’s a monitor, showing me what’s outside.”

“Lovely,” said the Doctor, taking a sip of his water.

“You, my friend, have caused me a number of problems today.”

“You can dispense with the pleasantries,” said the Doctor.

“Very well,” said the General.

“Tell me who you are and what you are playing at.”

The General leaned back in his chair and tilted his head, looking at the Doctor curiously. “You are a Time Lord, yes?”

“Yes,” said the Doctor.

“I used to work for the Time Lords. During the Time War.”

The Doctor’s heart ached a little at the mention of the Time War. A war which led to the eventual destruction of his home planet.

“You worked for them? What exactly did you do?”

The General got up and turned to face the window, his arms behind his back. “In those very early days of the Time War, the Time Lords were not too keen on going out into the battlefield themselves. So instead they found beings of higher races. I was one of those beings. A Human being from far in the future with advanced awareness and battle skills. They pumped me full of regenerating cells using one of their machines.”

The Doctor’s heart leapt. That’s exactly what he needed if he ever hoped to regenerate again. He managed to hold back his hope though.

“They made sure that should I ever be damaged, by body would heal itself. Not regenerate in the sense that you know it. I’d not change my appearance. I’d just stay like this. Forever.”

“Go on.”

“They gave me my own TARDIS - like the others like me that they recruited - and so off we went to battle the Daleks. And when the Time War was over, I found myself the only survivor of the augmented beings. My TARDIS was damaged and unresponsive. I was thrown from it and found myself falling through the time vortex where I arrived in this time. I barely survived, but the regenerative cells helped me to eventually heal. My TARDIS was lost to me.”

“Okay,” said the Doctor, going through all of these points in his head. During the time he fought in the war, he wasn't always privy to everything the High Council were up to. “That still doesn’t explain why you formed this terrible group.”

“I was…angry at what the Time Lords did to me. They used me as a tool. They made me hate what they had done to me. The Time Lords didn’t care about anybody else. So I wondered why I did. And then I realised that I could use my power - my knowledge - to better the Human race. If the Time Lords could become so powerful, then why not the Human race.”

“So you invaded other worlds just to make the Human race better?” The Doctor felt angry.

“Exactly. What does a soldier do when he is the last of his kind? When there is nothing left for him anymore?” The General smiled.

“He doesn’t go and destroy other races!”

The General turned to face the Doctor. “See, that’s where you’re wrong. When have we ever purposely set out to destroy another race? We want nothing to do with them. We only want the technology to better our own race. I sought out Torchwood. They were a shambles by that point merely existing in this time as a memory. I took the remnants and rebuilt it into Eyeglass.”

The Doctor continued to stare at the General. “I used to have a friend who worked for Torchwood back in the 21st century. He’d be appalled at what it’s become.”

“But we’re not Torchwood, are we? We’re the Eyeglass. Always seeing. Always watching what others are doing. Torchwood is dead.”

As if to punctuate the General’s last word, the ship shuddered and the Doctor’s half-empty glass fell over.

The General frowned and pressed a button on his desk. “Kagawa, what’s going on?”

“It’s the Haven,” said Kagawa, worriedly. “They’re firing on us.”

“What?”

“They just fired at our engines.”

The General straightened himself up and made his way back to the bridge. The Doctor got up and followed.

On the bridge people were busy running around, comparing readouts and all of them with the same question on their mind: why was their own ship firing on them?

“We have the Haven calling us now,” said Kagawa.

“On screen,” said the General, turning sternly towards the large, glass view screen-cylinder.

The image of Paragrim came on screen. Behind him were flames and smoke and the bridge was deserted.

“You were taken prisoner,” said the General.

“Nobody takes me prisoner. Did you think you could hold me?” said Paragrim. “I’ve given your crew over here the chance to escape. They are heading for the escape pods now. What I want is that Aleena woman.”

“What do you want with her?” asked the Doctor, stepping forward.

“To finish the job I started,” growled Paragrim. “I don’t know if anyone’s aware of this, but I seem to have been completely screwed over. Hired to do a job and never got to finish it off.”

“You got the coordinates for safe passage through the nebula,” said the Doctor.

“But I never finished her off.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t in your contract to kill the young lady,” said the General.

“I don’t sign contracts, but I always finish my victims off.”

“You’re a monster!” growled the Doctor.

“And you’re starting to sound like your Eyeglass friends.”

“I’m sorry, but the Doctor and the young lady are prisoners of Eyeglass. You shall not take them. We do not negotiate with other species when under threat.”

“Fine,” said Paragrim, leaning back in his chair. “I’ll just take your ship out and kill you all off.”

The screen went black and the ship shuddered again.

“He’s continuing to fire on us,” said Kagawa.

“You don’t say!” said the Doctor.

“Why aren’t the shields up?” shouted the General, crossing over to the tactical display.

“The Haven has all of our technical data. He knew our shield frequencies. We don’t stand a chance. We need to hand over those two.”

“I make the decisions around her, Lieutenant.”

The Doctor cleared his throat. “Perhaps it would be best-”

“No,” said the General, arms folded and trying to make a decision. “I don’t negotiate with his kind. And anyway, you could help us in the future.”

“We won’t help you,” said the Doctor.

The General scowled and then ordered Kagawa to begin targeting the Haven. When the Doctor was sure that nobody was looking he slowly slinked away into the shadows and headed for the exit.

He followed the corridor around until he reached the brig. The guard was too busy watching the battle on his monitor that he didn’t see the Doctor slip into the room.

Aleena was sat on a plain looking bed and jumped up with delight when she saw the Doctor.

“What happened?” she asked.

“No time to explain. Suffice to say we may have been given a distraction. We need to find the transmat room and beam back down to Equinox. We need to get back to the TARDIS.”

She took his hand and they snuck back out of the prison area and down a series of corridors, elevators and more corridors until they eventually found the room.




A few minutes later the surface of Equinox was lit up by the yellow colour of the transmat beam, and the Doctor and Aleena materialised beside the damaged remains of the lighthouse.

“I was kind of hoping this place would have collapsed by now,” said the Doctor.

“Don’t,” said Aleena sadly. “It’s been my home for a long time.”

“We need to make sure this place is levelled. Then I’ll get you back to your home world.”

“No,” said Aleena. “I can take myself.”

“How?”

“How do you think I got here in the first place. My original shuttle’s hidden in a cavern not far from here.”

“Aleena-”

“I’ll be fine,” she said, smiling at him.

There was an almighty explosion from up above and the Haven came into view. It was spiralling down into the atmosphere, getting larger and larger the closer it got.

“The General must have put it out of commission,” said the Doctor.

“It looks like it’s gonna crash right on top of us,” said Aleena, worriedly.

“It looks very much like that could be the case,” said the Doctor. “That’ll take out the lighthouse at least.” He turned back to Aleena. “Get to your shuttle. I’ll radio you when we’re both free of the nebula. Just to check you’re okay.”

She nodded. “Good luck, Doctor.”

“You too.”

She turned and walked a little. Then she turned back and crossed back to the Doctor.

“You need to go Aleena.”

She pulled herself up to his height and kissed him on his cheek. “Take care. I’ll miss you. Just make sure you come to Xanji-For as soon as you’ve got Caroline and Danny.”

And with that she was gone, sprinting over the scrubland and over the ridge.

“I’ll miss you too, Aleena.”

The Haven screamed with the sound of twisting of metal as it got closer and closer. The Doctor turned and ran, past the lighthouse and towards the familiar blue shape of the TARDIS. He took one last look as the shadow of the ship was cast over the land around them. Then he dived inside the box and dematerialised.

A few seconds after he had left the Haven crashed, flattening the lighthouse and causing the land all around to shake violently. Smoke and flames billowed up from the ship. And then there was a huge explosion as the engines went into overdrive.

The ship burnt in it’s crater for over twelve hours.




The Doctor had radioed through to Aleena and they had both signalled that they were okay. Now the Doctor was standing alone in the TARDIS console room. For the first time he realised how quiet it seemed without Caroline and Danny.

He had to get to Thornsby to find them, and he made a wish that he wouldn’t encounter any problems getting there.

When he was sure that Aleena’s shuttle was out of the system and well on it’s way to safety, he set the coordinates for Thornsby, 8th May 1998.




On board the Victorious the General stood, surveying the wreckage on the surface below. He had sent people down to investigate, but they had reported that everything inside or under the lighthouse had been obliterated. Even the few remaining Sontaran ships had limped off home, not even bothering for one final skirmish.

The communications console on his desk lit up and the General pressed a button. “What is it, Kagawa?”

“He’s here to see you.”

“Send him in.”

The door swished open and standing there was a battered and blackened Paragrim, his face full of fury.

“Welcome to the Victorious, Mr Paragrim.”

“Why did you transmat me out? You had beaten me!”

“Because, I believe you and I have a mutual enemy: The Doctor.”

Paragrim snarled at his name.

“And I believe we can both help each other.”

“How?”

“I want him dead.”

“My shuttle was on board the Haven. It’s gone.”

“I can get you a knew shuttle.”

“What’s in it for me?”

“How does 100,000,000 credits sound?”

Paragrim smiled.

“And,” added the General, “you get to kill the Doctor for fun as well.”




THE END




Aleena will return in “The Problem With Death” and Paragrim will return in “A Switch In Time”.




Next time: “Lockdown” - the Doctor arrives in Thornsby, 1998 where he goes in search of answers about Caroline, whilst Danny and Caroline get themselves involved with a dangerous pirate radio station.

The Lighthouse: Chapter 5 (Watching Ghosts)

The Doctor had persuaded Aleena to help him shut down the equipment. Danny and Caroline had stayed in the radio room up above whilst Aleena had taken the Doctor down into the bowels of the lighthouse to destroy the time equipment. At the bottom of the spiral staircase, on the ground level, was another, small wooden door. She unlocked it and the steps carried on.

They seemed to be spiralling down for ages until they came to a large, iron door. Aleena took out a key from her knapsack she had grabbed and unlocked the door. Opening it they could feel the freezing cold air from inside, but there was also the hum of machinery coming from down a corridor.

“Are you sure about this?” asked Aleena. “In the five years that I’ve been here I haven’t returned to this room. Not since I installed it all.”

“Yes,” said the Doctor, edging into the darkness and realising that the last time he had been here they hadn‘t really spoken much about how she came to be on this almost-dead world. “So you just found all of this equipment then?”

“When I was exploring this area of space,” she said, pulling out a torch and shining it into the darkness.

“No light switches?” asked the Doctor.

“No light bulbs,” said Aleena.

“Shame,” said the Doctor, feeling along the wall slightly so as to support himself.

“Gotta admit I was pretty terrified when I found that Dalek saucer,” said Aleena, shuddering. “At first I wasn’t exactly sure what it was as it was pretty badly damaged, but once I went inside I spotted them. They were all dead, thank Ireel.”

“Pretty lucky then,” said the Doctor as they turned a corner.

“You don’t have to tell me that, Doctor. I know what they do to people. They almost invaded my world once.”

“Almost?”

“It was at the end of the Third Dalek War. They were just about beaten and the Earth Alliance managed to drive them back to Skaro.”

The Doctor smiled in the darkness. “Good old Earth Alliance.”

“But they always come back,” said Aleena, ominously.

“Yes,” said the Doctor. “They always come back.”

They turned another corner and the room was lit up with a blue glow. Sitting in the middle of the room was a large, gun-metal grey cylinder. A glowing, blue core ran through a glass tube from the floor to ceiling and various wires and panels were connected to the device. It hummed with power, although the room felt ice-cold.

“So, this is it,” said the Doctor.

“Yep, this is it.”

“Let’s get to work.”




Up above Danny and Caroline had decided to take the initiative and had gone looking for a weapons room. Although the Doctor detested weapons, Caroline had figured that their best option would be to at least try and defend themselves. The computer readouts in the radio room had signalled that the Sontaran ships were coming in to land close by, and she wasn’t sure if the Doctor would be able to destroy the equipment and get them out of here in time.

They had wandered down a long corridor until they discovered a metal door leading into a small room.

Dominating the back wall was a huge, cinema screen sized mirror, and in front of the mirror was a large, leather chair. In front of the chair was a small computer console with various dials, switches and readouts. Caroline sat in the chair. The console was already switched on and the mirror was humming with power.

“Be careful,” said Danny warily.

“I’m just sitting,” said Caroline.

She flicked a switch and Danny quickly ran around to the front of the chair.

“That’s not just sitting!” he hissed.

The mirror started to glow and an image appeared on it. It showed an image of the Doctor, Caroline and Danny struggling through the jungles on Theen.

“How does this thing work then?” asked Caroline, concerned at the fact that someone would be able to spy on her so easily.

“Aleena can use it to transport herself anywhere,” said Danny. “So she must just pick a time and jump into it.”

“So,” said Caroline, eyeing up her double on the screen, “I could just hop into that mirror now and it’d transport me to there and then.”

“I presume so.” A worrying thought crossed Danny’s mind. “But don’t!”

“I’m not so stupid,” snapped Caroline. “I know I can’t mess about with time.”

Caroline pressed another button and the screen went blank. It looked simple enough. You simply enter the date, location and time, even to the millisecond, and it would appear on the screen.

She sat for a moment, thinking to herself, and then, with her heart beating faster and faster, she typed in a series of numbers.

“Caroline, no,” said Danny.

The mirror hummed with life and the image changed to that of a young man in old, Edwardian style clothes. He was sat on the edge of a large, four-post bed, a pure-white wedding dress draped over his lap. He simply stared down at it, looking sad.

“You shouldn’t, Caz,” said Danny, softly.

“It’s Will, Danny. It’s my Will,” she said, her voice full of emotion.

“I know,” he said quietly.

“I could just step right into there now and be with him.”

“You could,” said Danny, “but where’s that gonna get you? In the same situation we just pulled you out of.”

“I know,” said Caroline, sniffing and trying to wipe away the tears. “I know.”

“Come here,” said Danny, sitting on the arm of the leather chair and putting an arm around her, pulling her in.

She buried her head on his chest and sobbed. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do, Danny.”

“Think about what William would want you to do,” said Danny, knowing that anything he said wouldn’t help her with her grief. “He’d want you to carry on with your life.”

“But how can I carry on when I see him like that?” she asked, gesturing towards the screen in front of them.

“You heard what the Doctor said. He got on with his life. He’s bound to have some time to get through the grieving process though. It’s only natural. But he will get on with things, just like you.”

Caroline looked at the screen again. Now William was pulling out a large, dress box and folding the dress neatly into it.

“If I ever find a way,” said Caroline, determination in her voice, “I will go back to him. If I ever get this stupid, hidden power out of me, I will go back to him.” She walked over to the screen, her face almost touching it. “I promise.”

“Hey,” said Danny, “let’s take a look at something a little happier.”

He hopped off the chair and looked closely at the control panel. He typed in a few digits and the screen shimmered and changed to the view of a park. There was a set of swings and two, teenagers were sat on them, not swinging, but chatting with each other.

“That’s-”

“That’s People’s Park,” smiled Danny. “And that’s you and I.”

Caroline looked more closely. It was them. A younger version of them. “What year is this?”

“It’s 1998. May 8th 1998 to be precise,” said Danny, smiling.

Caroline looked around at him quickly. “That’s when you and I were dating.”

“Yeah,” smiled Danny.

“But why would you bring that up?” asked Caroline, spotting the two of them holding hands.

“Because we were happy then. I don’t mean us being in a relationship, but I mean in general. That year, that spring and summer. It was such a magical time. The only time I’ve really, really felt happy with life. That date has always stuck in my head. One perfect time. Can you remember the summer that year?”

Caroline turned and smiled at him. “It was a good time, wasn’t it?”

“Me and you spending our days walking along the old railway before they pulled it up, long evenings sat on the swings.”

“I still can’t believe you managed to convince that shop keeper you were old enough to buy those bottles of Hooch,” laughed Caroline.

“And I still can’t believe I had to virtually carry you home and sneak you through your bedroom window so your parents wouldn’t find out.”

“And you ripped your shirt climbing down the tree!” said Caroline, laughing out loud at the memory.

“And fell into your dads pond!” exclaimed Danny.

The two of them burst into laughter and Caroline crossed over to him. “What happened to us, Danny?”

“What do you mean?” asked Danny, sounding a little confused.

“I don’t mean the relationship or anything,” she said, quickly, “but as friends. What happened to us?”

“I guess we just drifted apart,” said Danny.

“Yeah,” said Caroline. She stood looking at him for a good few seconds. He was a good friend and right now she needed him.

And then the room shook violently, causing the screen to flicker. A piece of plaster fell from the roof and hit the control panel, followed by some timber. The timber smashed into the control panel and it sparked and started to smoulder.

“What the hell was that?” asked Caroline.

“Most be the Sontarans,” said Danny. “It’s damaged the control panel,” said Danny, flicking a few switches. “It’s stuck on looking at us in 1998.”

“Oh well,” said Caroline, “the Doctor wanted to disable it anyway.”

The room shook again and the wall above the doorway began to crack.

“We need to get out of here,” said Caroline, worriedly.

The room shook again and all the lights went out. The two of them couldn’t see a thing and the only thing illuminating the room was the screen showing People’s Park in 1998. It shook again and Caroline and Danny scrambled for what they assumed was a desk as they heard rubble falling.

And then all was silent.




In the time-drive room, the Doctor and Aleena were aware of the commotion up above and were working furiously to deactivate the machinery.

“Do you think Danny and Caroline are okay?” asked Aleena, unscrewing a panel from the bottom of the main unit.

“Do we have a communication station in here?” asked the Doctor.

“Just use your phone, Doc,” said Aleena.

The Doctor looked a little foolish. “Of course,” he said, pulling it from his pocket and dialling Caroline’s number. He let it ring a few times and when it went to voice mail he tried again. Still no answer.

“You go and find them,” said Aleena, noticing the worry on the Doctor’s face. “I’ll finish off in here. I’m almost done anyway.”

“Are you sure?” asked the Doctor, shuffling impatiently.

“I’m sure. Just go.”

The Doctor took one more look back at Aleena and then turned and sprinted through the tunnel and back up the spiral stairs.

Once he got up to the main area he began calling for Caroline and Danny. And then his phone rang.

“Hello?” asked the Doctor. “Caroline, where are you two?”

“We’re…trapped…” coughed Caroline.

“Trapped where?” asked the Doctor.

“In the time viewing room thingy…”

“What are you doing in there?” scolded the Doctor. “I told you to wait here.”

“We just went to search for some weapons and found it.”

The Doctor skipped across the corridor and headed towards the room. Once he got there he found that the majority of the room and the ceiling had caved in, effectively blocking off the door.

“I can’t get you out,” he said, worriedly. “The whole rooms caved in. Can you move?”

“Yeah…” said Caroline. “Danny’s….managed to clear a space and we’re back…in the room.”

The Doctor hopped from one foot to the other, thinking frantically. Then he clicked his fingers. “Is the screen still on?”

“What?” spluttered Caroline.

“What were you watching?” asked the Doctor, growing impatient with her.

“Just me and Danny in a park in Thornsby.”

The Doctor nodded. “Go through the screen.”

“What?” spluttered Caroline as the lighthouse shook again.

“I’m not going to be able to get you out of this room before this place comes crashing down. Your one option is to cross through the screen into that park. I can then come and get you in the TARDIS.”




In the room, Danny had torn a sleeve off his shirt and was wrapping it around a deep wound on his arm.

“What’s he saying?” asked Danny.

“He wants us to go through the screen,” said Caroline, worriedly. “He said he’d follow us on.”

“Caroline!” came the Doctor’s voice from the phone.

“Yes, yes. I’m still here. But what are you going to do?”

“In a few moments Aleena will have deactivated the time drive. And then we’ll let the Sontarans and Eyeglass battle it out while we get out in the TARDIS. The machinery will be destroyed totally when this lighthouse falls down.”

“I don’t know about this, Doctor. It’s a bit risky. And there’s no guarantee that you’ll get to Thornsby again. Look what happened last time.”

“We have no choice,” said the Doctor sternly.

“Now, what are your exact location details.”

Danny crossed over to the smouldering panel, which still showed the readout. “Friday, May 8th 1998. It’s about 4pm in the afternoon.”

“Good,” said the Doctor. “I’ll come and find you. Go to the pub - the White Hart.”

Danny shifted uncomfortably at the name as he listened to the Doctor on speaker, remembering Lisa.

“Do not be late!” scolded Caroline. “We all know what happened last time.”

“Go!” said the Doctor as the room shook again. “I’ll meet you there as soon as I’ve mopped up here.”

Caroline and Danny grabbed each others hands and walked towards the screen. They stepped through it and the image shimmered. They were gone.




Up above the group of spaceships were busy battling. Volley after volley of weapon fire was sent between the two opposing factions. One of the Eyeglass ships had been hit pretty badly and it’s hull had been compromised.

The golf ball-type Sontaran ships were too quick and agile for the bulky, larger Eyeglass ships and were busy blasting away, avoiding return fire.

On the bridge of the Haven, June Caster was getting more and more worried. She moved the dead body of her weapons officer out of his chair and he fell to the ground with a thud.

“We need reinforcements,” said June, checking the shield strength.

“I’ve sent out a distress call,” said Jameson. “No reply as of yet.”

June cursed the control panel and turned back to face the rest of her crew. “We cannot allow those barbaric creatures to gain control of the time equipment.”

Paragrim shook his head, stifling a laugh. “You lot are finished,” he said.

“What are you still doing here?” barked June. “Get out!”

“It’s a lost cause,” said Paragrim, finally letting out a laugh.

“Then why are you here?”

“Because I want to watch you all fail. And then I’ll leave,” he added, with a twisted smile. “You Eyeglass people are fools. Instead of being subtle and making friends and then taking the tech you need, you’ve instead turned the entire galaxy against you.”

“I don’t care!” growled June.

“No,” said Paragrim, getting up and heading for the exit, “of course you don’t.”

“Turn around and face me,” said Caster, pulling out her blaster.

“Why don’t you just shoot me in the back,” said Paragrim, refusing to turn again.

June pulled the trigger on the blaster and shot three bolts of energy into Paragrim’s back. He stopped and then turned to face her.

“Ouch,” he said simply, and began marching towards her.

“Keep back!” yelled Redcar from near the weapons station.

“Someone needs to teach this little piece of slime what happens when you go against Paragrim.”

June shot again, and now Redcar was shooting with a high-powered blaster rifle. The shots just bounced off Paragrims armour.

“I won’t kill the rest of you,” said Paragrim, putting his hand around June’s throat and lifting her into the air. “I actually quite like some of you. You all have potential to be good agents.”

June gasped for air and the rest of them looked on.

The ship shook again and Paragrim threw June at the control panel. She grabbed at her neck and gasped for air.

“What have you done to her?” asked Otto, crossing to her.

“Crushed her windpipe,” smiled Paragrim.

“Why? Why would you be so callous? She can’t breathe!”

“For the good of Paragrim,” he chuckled. He pulled out his own, large blaster and shot a single bolt at her head. June stopped struggling and lay still on the floor.

“This is exactly why we hate other creatures!” yelled Otto.

The bridge shook again and then suddenly there came a bleeping sound from Jameson’s control panel. She quickly turned to it and looked surprised.

“What is it?” asked Paragrim, picking up June’s dead body and hurling it into the corner.

“It’s another ship. It’s one of ours. Oh my god! It’s the Victorious!”




In space the Sontaran ships were suddenly being picked off one by one by a series of energy bolts. Those bolts were coming from a huge grey, spaceship. It was four times the size of the rest of them and was long and sleek, engines sweeping backwards and glowing white hot.




On the bridge of the Haven the communication screen flickered into life. On the screen was a Japanese man. “Victorious to Haven, do you receive me.”

“Yes,” said Jameson, excitedly. “Thank god you came!”

“Stay calm,” said the man, his eyes betraying no sign of emotion. “He’s coming on board. He should be beaming in right now.”

“Who?” asked Paragrim.

“Me,” came a voice from the doorway behind them.

Standing there was a tall, thin man with swept back grey hair. His long hair was tied into a pony-tail behind his head. He had a beard and his eyes were dark and sunken in. He was dressed all in black and surveyed the room with disdain.

“And who are you?” asked Paragrim, folding his arms and standing his ground.

“I’m the General,” said the man, with a smirk on his face, “and I think you and I need to have a little chat.”