The Doctor (14 page)

Clearly bored of this room now, the wolf made his way towards the door and sniffed carefully. I wondered why he stared off to his left for so long. There was nothing but a dead end that direction. Jack and Sarah must have gone to the right.
Yeah, good one Daniel, tell the wolf how to find your friends, that’s really clever.
 

The wolf took off down the corridor to the right, dragging me with him. He smelt the air as he went, trying to track his prey. With any luck, Jack and Sarah would have had the sense to split up and make it harder for him—for me—to find them.
 

‘Dan?’
 

Clearly the wolf had ignored that, as there wasn’t any hesitation in his movements. It sounded like Jack’s voice.

‘Jack?’ I replied uncertainly.
 

‘Thank goodness, yes it’s me,’ the voice said, ‘I was worried I wouldn’t be able to communicate with you now I can’t control the wolf.’

My heart felt like it dropped into my feet. I thought that Jack’s voice in my head might mean he could take control back once again. Obviously not.

‘What’s going on Jack?’

It was very weird having a conversation with another person in my own head whilst he wasn’t even in the same room as me. I hoped he wasn’t in any of the nearby rooms either.

‘No idea,’ the voice said cheerfully. How did he always manage to be cheerful at times like these? I couldn’t see anything happy about the current situation.
 

‘We just need to focus on how to get you in control of this wolf of yours.’
 

On second thoughts, I decided that perhaps the voice didn’t sound cheery at all. It was a little forced, like he was trying to tell me something without saying it outright. I wish I knew what it was, but I never was very good at understanding hints. Beth would be the first to agree with that.

‘What do you think I’ve been trying to do all day?’ I said. Normally I would have spoken through clenched teeth to make my frustration quite clear, but I was in my own head, and anyway my teeth were currently in use chewing on some papers the wolf had found—don’t ask me why he was eating paper, I have no idea—but I think Jack got the gist.

‘I know you’ve been trying Dan,’ he said patiently, ‘You’ve been doing so well, but you were lulled into a false sense of security because I was still holding the wolf at bay. Honestly, I should have been paying more attention to you. I ought to have slowly lessened my hold, which would have allowed you the chance to reclaim the wolf yourself. Instead I was so focussed on the Doctor…’

There was that tone in his voice again. What did he want me to understand?

‘…that I left you to fend for yourself. It’s not your fault the wolf escaped Dan, but I need you to concentrate to get control back.’

‘I just don’t think I can do it Jack,’ I said dejectedly. I didn’t have the strength anymore. The wolf was stomping down on everything I had, keeping me buried inside.

‘You have to Dan,’ Jack said. He paused as if he were hesitating before saying what came next. ‘You need to do it for Beth.’

I might as well have just jumped in front of a train going at 100mph. Even the wolf paused in his tracks.

Jack continued, ‘If you don’t get a grip on this wolf, Beth is going to be trapped in her nightmares for the rest of her life. The wolf is nothing—he doesn’t control you, and you don’t need him anymore.’

The wolf had stopped searching now and was paying attention to the voice in my head. Clearly he wasn’t very happy about what it was saying, for he took off at great speed. I could only assume he intended to cut the voice off at the source.

Jack was right, I needed to take control. This wasn’t just about me now. It had never just been about me, but I’d spent so much time wallowing in self-pity I hadn’t even noticed that Beth was involved too. If I had just listened more carefully maybe…

‘Focus,’ Jack warned.

Okay, I needed to focus on how I could fix this now, not what I didn’t do before. Beth might never speak to me again, but at least I could help her by fixing this once and for all. Stop her from ending up trapped in her own head, like I was every time the wolf took over. It was time for him to be gone. Then we could deal with the Doctor.

A renewed strength ran through my veins as I faced up to my greatest fear—confronting the one thing that had told me what to do my entire life. The wolf was currently eyeing up the corridors to the left and right, wondering which way to choose, absent-mindedly picking pieces of paper out of his teeth. At least it wasn’t anything else stuck in his teeth.

‘Bring up a picture of Beth in your mind,’ Jack said quietly. It took me a while before my brain would let me find an image where she wasn’t looking petrified at me because I was the wolf. I settled on the image from the car, just before we went into the Adventure Park on Halloween night. She had been so excited to spend the evening at the park.

‘Good,’ he said, ‘keep hold of that picture. Now imagine the wolf is inside your head. Imagine you are putting him inside a box and shutting him in. Put that box inside another box and just keep going until you feel your control returning.’

That was easier said than done. O’ fluffy one didn’t want to get inside the damn box in the first place. Thankfully the wolf had stopped running when I started to try and box him up in my mind.
 

I don’t know how long it took, but I was exhausted when I finally shut the lid on the wolf and put the biggest padlock you have ever imagined around the box, criss-crossing over itself so he couldn’t break out. I realised I was sitting on the floor now, sweating hard and leaning up against the cool wall. I let my head fall back against it and rested.

‘Dan?’

I wasn’t sure I had the energy to answer him. He waited a few minutes and then said my name again, a hint of panic in his voice now.

‘I’m here,’ I said. That was about all I could muster. I needed to return my attention to the box that was shaking with anger in my head.

Okay, a box inside a box. Couldn’t be that hard could it?

Apparently it was harder than I thought. It must have been about half an hour I wrestled with that box until it was inside a second one. Another half an hour went by before I managed to lock the second box up. I needed a longer rest this time, but I was starting to feel more in control. Jack was sending me snippets of encouragement every now and again, but mostly he was staying quiet and letting me get on with it.

It was another ten boxes before I cracked it. After box five it got a bit easier. After box eight it got a lot easier. By box eleven I felt so good, my head was clear and I was thinking straight for the first time in a long time.

‘I think it’s working Jack,’ I said excitedly. I was pretty sure I heard my voice out loud that time.

‘Great Dan, that’s brilliant. Once you’ve locked up all those boxes you need to throw the box out of your mind. Be rid of the werewolf for good.’

I did as Jack instructed, and threw the box out for good. I leant against the wall, panting, for a few minutes until my breath returned to normal.

I looked down at my hands. They were fur-free! I had finally done it—I was free of the wolf. I did a silent cheer in my head, with a few punches into the air for good luck. Grinning like I had just won the lottery, I thought I would try to find my way back to the study. At least then I would know where I was.

‘Jack, I’ve done it! I’ll head back to the study, see you there?’
 

‘Proud of you Dan. I’ll be at the study in 10.’

Suddenly there was a deliberate scratching noise behind me and my entire body felt like it had been doused in a bucket of iced water. Scratching noises were never a good sign, particularly when they occurred in creepy old buildings.

Slowly I turned around and came face to face, or nose to nose, with the werewolf. No longer hidden inside my head, this was a living, breathing werewolf staring into my eyes. His hot breath was fanning over my face as I stood there, terror running through every muscle in my body.

I waited for the wolf to do something, to attack me, but he just stood there up on his hind legs, looking into my eyes. Very carefully I started to back away, but the wolf mimicked every movement I made, never straying more than a few inches from my face.

‘Jack,’ I said in my head, the panic rising quickly. My hands were clammy as I reached out to the wall trying to steady myself as I stepped back again. The wolf stepped forwards towards me.

‘What’s wrong?’ Jack’s voice replied.

‘The wolf, he’s back. He’s here in front of me. He won’t leave me alone.’

‘What do you mean? He’s back in your head?’ he asked.

‘No, no, well possibly, but he’s actually standing here in front of me.’ My heart was thumping so hard now that I was starting to feel light-headed.

‘Dan,’ Jack said, ‘the wolf can’t hurt you. He’s never been anything more than part of your imagination. If you can see him, it’s because you’re imagining him. Get to the study and we will figure this out.’

The voice was comforting, reassuring. The wolf’s sharp teeth inches from my face was not. I turned and ran. After a few minutes I slowed down, and could hear the padding of the wolf’s footsteps behind me. I fought with myself for a moment before turning around. He was a few feet back now, keeping to the shadows, but following every step I made. Uncomfortable with his presence, I turned away and kept heading down the corridor.
Get to the study, get to Jack.
 

I decided that the werewolf didn’t have plans to eat me—he’d had plenty of opportunity since turning into Houdini and escaping 12 locked boxes. Comforting myself with the thought that I just needed to lock him back up, I kept going. Right now I needed to find Jack and Sarah. Ignorance is bliss. With that in mind I walked purposefully on and left the wolf to his own devices, which mostly involved following me.
 

I made it to the study in one piece, but no one was there. Apart from the werewolf, who I could sense was hanging back behind me. Surely Jack should have made it by now?

‘Jack,’ I whispered, ‘Where are you?’

Silence. I shivered and looked around. It was one thing being stuck in this building, and its never-ending corridors with Jack. It was another thing entirely being lost inside it, alone. Well, no that wasn’t completely true. The delightful werewolf currently haunting me was keeping me company. I wandered slowly down the corridor, hoping to hear some sound that might betray Jack or Sarah’s location. I jumped violently as I saw a movement beside me, only to realise a moment later that it was my own shadow.
Get a grip Daniel.

‘Dan,’ Jack whispered so quietly I only just caught the word. That was strange, I could normally hear him clearly in my head, even when he whispered.
 

‘Dan,’ the whisper came again, only slightly louder this time. I spun around.

‘Jack,’ I hissed, looking at the head floating right next to me. His body followed his head around the wall and into the corridor with me. ‘You scared me half to death!’

‘Sorry,’ he said coming close so he could talk quietly. ‘but we have a problem.’

I did not like the sound of that, I already had a huge problem, I didn’t need any more. When Jack said we had a problem, there was a very good chance I wouldn’t want to hear what he was about to say.

‘I think I know why we haven’t come across the Doctor yet.’

Was he pausing for dramatic effect? Because it was damn well working. Since I was quite unnerved by his insistence on whispering, I settled on glaring at him until he continued.

‘I believe our new friend is not who she says she is. I believe Sarah is the Doctor in disguise.’
 

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Sarah

‘I am me, but is me who I am anymore?’
 

I’d worked hard to control what was happening to me, to understand the connection between my mind and my father’s. The one thing I had learnt was that fighting for control didn’t work. I needed to relax, let the thoughts flow freely. Once I understood this, it didn’t take me long to begin to tap in and out of his thoughts at will. Confident that he could not detect me doing so, I tried to deepen my connection. I knew my father was impersonating me to gain the boys’ trust, but I needed to know more.

‘Where is she?’ Daniel said, his eyes narrowing.

‘She’s in her old cell,’ Jack said, ‘and we need a plan.’

The image of the boys faded as quickly as it had come and I returned to the darkness in my cell. That was definitely not from the connection with my father. I sat back against the cool wall and rubbed my head, trying to think. I’d been looking at the boy called Daniel, which had to mean I was seeing things from the other boy’s point of view. So it had to be his head I was in. I just couldn’t understand why. Unless… could he be telepathic too? Or was this all an elaborate trick that my father was playing on me?

I sighed and lay down on the floor, resting uncomfortably on my bent arm. My head was swimming with thoughts; mostly mine, but a few were a little too crazy to belong to me. I tried to make sense of everything but my head was heavy and my eyes flickered under the strain of trying to see in the dark.

I woke up a while later to another connection with Jack’s mind.
 

Unfortunately I couldn’t see anything, but the loud breathing and lack of voices suggested they were all fast asleep. Actually on second thoughts, Jack was somewhere between dozing and pretending to be asleep. Every so often his eyes would open a tiny amount—I assumed it was to keep an eye on the fake Sarah. Probably a good job seeing as she was lying there staring wide eyed at the boys. I didn’t think it had passed Jack’s attention either. I shuddered to think what she—sorry he—had planned for them. And me.

Then, just like that, the connection closed. I sat up and hit the heel of my hands on the floor in frustration. Was I doing this? And if so, how? If I could figure that out then I could learn to use it rather than letting it control me.

I had to try and speak to Jack, to communicate with him. My father was not someone you wanted to mess with, and they needed to get out of here before they got hurt. The problem was, I didn’t know how to communicate with Jack. It had come naturally to me once I had started seeing things from my father’s viewpoint, and even seeing into his mind. It was like I already knew how to do it. But Jack, he was different. There was a connection between us but it wasn’t the same, and I didn’t know how to control it.