The Doctor (2 page)

‘Good luck,’ the voice said as we sped away. The cackle that followed was a little disconcerting. I was beginning to wish we had waited for the others first.

The ride started off normal enough, there were the singing ghosts who swooped down on us when we got too close, the portraits that moved alongside the carts until they suddenly fell off the walls, and even the resident poltergeist who liked to fly with the cart and blow in your ears, staying invisible the whole time of course.

All was going well until the voice started talking. This wasn’t like the first booming voice, or even the second high-pitched voice. This was much more mechanical, and it sounded like it was in the cart right behind us. So much so that we both spun around in our seats as best we could when we heard it.

‘You’re never getting off the ride you know.’ There was a creepy laugh and it continued, ‘We’ve never had visitors this late before. We’ve waited a long time for tonight.’

This wasn’t right. I’d been on this ride a hundred times before and I’d never heard that voice. Beth tightened her hold on my hand and whispered, ‘I don’t remember that before. Has your dad changed the ride?’

I shook my head and answered with a simple, ‘No.’ I felt like I’d been doused in cold water. What else was going to happen? One thing was for sure, we were stuck here and would soon be finding out. We certainly couldn’t get off the ride.

CHAPTER TWO

Sarah's Story

The heavy, wooden door clicked open and a small plate of cold food was pushed through the gap. It was probably stale as well; I’d forgotten what fresh, hot food tasted like. In fact, I couldn’t remember if I’d ever actually eaten any. Maybe I’d just imagined what it would taste like. My mother used to try and describe what it was like to eat food that was hot to the touch, that tasted of something, anything. It always made my mouth water. Maybe one day I would be able to try it myself.

I’ve been here, locked up in this cell, for as long as I can remember. I guess I must have been born here, but I never ask questions. I quickly learnt that hearing the answers was worse than having questions, so I stopped asking. My mother promised me she would get me out of here, that we would escape and live a real life. That was before he took her away. I don’t know how long ago it was now, but I never saw her again. I’ve been on my own ever since. Well, almost… he never really leaves me alone for long.

My stomach grumbled and I resigned myself to seeing what excuse for food was available today. I crawled across the gritty floor of my cell and picked up the dry, hard bread from the plate. I tried to break it up with my hands but just managed to gain some new scratches on my fingers. Even by his usual standards this was tough bread. I took a bite out of the corner and winced as the sharp crust scratched my gums, but I was too hungry to give up.
 

Five minutes later I managed to break through the crust and reach some of the more edible bread inside. I pulled as much out as I could and ate it, feeling thirsty. I eyed up the glass of water that had been pushed in next to the food. I had to hope the water wasn’t as dirty as the glass. I guess I should think myself lucky. At least I got some food today.

Sitting back against the rough wall, chewing the last of the bread, I shifted to try and find a comfortable position. I don’t know why I bothered. My hands sifted through the small stones on the floor and I traced the shape of a heart. It glared at me and I rubbed it out quickly, swiping my hands together to clear off the tiny stones. That’s when I saw it. A sliver of light on the floor leading towards me. It wasn’t the cold, harsh moonlight that came in through the heavily barred window, but a yellow light.
 

I looked up, towards the door that locked me in my cell. It was open! Just a crack, but it was open. My hands were clammy as I pushed myself unsteadily to my feet, and my heart was beating quickly. Was this a trick? What awaited me if I tried to leave?

I hesitated, swaying back and forth on the spot. Did I dare leave the cell? Was he just waiting for me to try?

A few more seconds went by as I deliberated, and then I decided. Trick or no trick, this might be my only chance to escape. I tiptoed towards the door and peered through the gap, blinking as my eyes adjusted to the brighter light in the corridor. It was silent and the corridor was completely empty. Slipping my hand through the gap, I pulled the door gently towards me and it scraped gut-wrenchingly loudly along the floor. I froze, waiting to see if he had heard, but no one came.

Panic took over and I ran. Fast. Through the corridors, one after the other. They all looked the same and I had no idea where I was heading. Was I just going around in circles? Down another corridor I went. They were dimly lit, with just enough light to see the end of the corridor and into the next. My hands raked the walls as I moved. I wanted to touch something, to be sure this was real. It was cool in the corridors and they smelt musty, like they had been locked away for years. I kept running, worried someone was chasing me, but I heard nothing except for my own footsteps.

Finally I came to a long corridor I was sure I hadn’t been in before. At least, I hoped I hadn’t. I slowed down and looked around carefully. There was a wooden door at the end of the corridor, but otherwise it looked the same as all the others. I wondered where the door might lead to — it had to be worth a try. I moved closer to the wall and crept forwards, trying to stay in the shadows. I reached the door and put my ear up against it to listen. Nothing. Just silence. I really should have been more concerned about the silence. He always knew what was going on. No matter what I did he knew everything. I should have been worried that I had got this far without anyone noticing, or at least it seemed like no one had noticed. But I wasn’t. I wanted to escape more than anything, and this was my chance. I took it.

Pushing open the door just a little, I squeezed through the space it had left me. I couldn’t believe it, I was actually outside. Breathing in the freezing cold air, I shivered, pulling my thin cardigan closer to me. It wasn’t much warmer in my cell, but here there was a breeze that seemed to be grasping at me all over, sneaking in through my cardigan to get at my skin. Looking around, I saw that I was standing near a great forest, the tops of the trees hidden in a thick mist. The moonlight was shining brightly, leaving shadows on the floor that seemed to be creeping towards me. I shivered again. It was always night-time here. I didn’t even know what the sun looked like, though my mother had tried to describe it to me. I just wish she was here to guide me now, she always knew what to do.

A noise from the old house behind me brought me to my senses. I needed to run! The trees would surely provide some cover, give me the best chance of escape. I took off, my bare feet landing heavily on the broken twigs and wet leaves that littered the floor. Breathing through the pain, I kept running. If I stopped he would catch me. I just had to keep moving.
 

The trees grew thicker and thicker as I ran further into the forest. Even the moonlight was struggling to find me now. I was covered in scratches from the branches that lay in wait as I ran past. But I couldn’t stop. I mustn’t, he’d catch me if I did.

My foot landed on a sharp stone and I fell to the ground, crying out in pain. My ankle twisted as I went down and it was throbbing relentlessly. I grasped my ankle hard, trying to lessen the shooting pains running up my leg. My breathing was raspy now, the damp air filling my lungs. Resting my head against a rough tree trunk, I waited for the pain to subside. That’s when I heard it.

Crash
.

It sounded like a giant moving through the forest, tearing up everything in its path. I kept deathly still.

Snap
.

The slow crunching sound of a tree branch being ripped off filled the air. I had to move. Now.

Holding my breath, I got up and placed my weight gingerly onto my damaged ankle. Okay, I could just about tolerate it. I limped forwards, holding on to the tree branches as I went. He was thundering somewhere off to my right so I headed to the left. I had to keep quiet now, it was my only chance.

I moved as quickly as I could through the trees, flinching at every crunch underfoot, every thud of a branch that hit me when I failed to get out of the way in time. I could still hear him moving around through the forest. The noises were getting nearer and the misty air seemed to be hindering my ability to breathe. I moved faster, as fast as my ankle would let me. I squeezed through the trees ahead; if they got any denser I wouldn’t be able to get through. The crashing sounds were getting closer and closer. He must know I was here.

He was coming up behind me. There was nowhere to hide, he’d find me if I tried. My mind had gone blank as I stared around at the trees. I couldn’t climb any; he would just tear them down. I don’t think he’d care if he killed me while doing so. Maybe he’d be disappointed for a few minutes that his toy was broken. But then he’d just get a new toy.

Rip
.

Another tree damaged. He’d see me any second. Suddenly I spotted a hole through the bushes ahead. If I could squeeze in there maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t see me. I hopped over and leant down, crawling into the hole. It was quite small and I was getting scratched all over, but I didn’t care. If it led me to safety it would be worth it. The hole was actually a tunnel, and I could see the light coming in from the other side. If I could just shimmy through I’d be free. I dragged myself along, grabbing the leaves and branches and pulling hard. I didn’t have far to go.

Crash.

He was right behind me now. I just had to hope he wouldn’t spot me. I was almost fully in the hole, out of sight. Almost.
 

Two great hands grabbed hold of each foot and started to pull me backwards. The pain in my ankle sprang back to life and shot through my whole body, causing an involuntary whimper. I stretched forwards as far as I could and my hands grasped hold of the first thing they met. It was warm. A pair of hands. Someone had reached in the other side of the hole and was pulling me forwards. Pulling me away from him. And they were winning.

Inch by inch I crept forwards through the hole. It was out of my control now. I could see the light getting bigger and bigger as I reached the exit. Finally his hands let go of my feet and I was swiftly pulled the rest of the way. I threw my arms around my rescuer and buried my face in his clothes. The relief coursing through my body was unbearable. Tears were streaming down my face and I breathed deeply.
 

My rescuer smelt familiar.

It was as if time had stopped when I looked up at the face. I could hear nothing, see nothing, feel nothing other than the person in front of me. The last person I wanted to see. Small beady eyes stared back at me, almost completely hidden under the bushy brown eyebrows. A large beard hung in tangles from his chin, and he was grinning maniacally down at me. His hands held on to me tightly. Too tightly.

It was him. Him and his mind tricks. There was nothing else I could do; I screamed.

CHAPTER THREE

Jack's Story

I stepped out of my 4x4 and onto the pavement. The sun was struggling to break through the clouds and it was much too cold outside. The kind of cold that makes me want to get straight back in the car and turn the heat on full blast. Pulling my vest tighter to me, I hooked my thumbs through the armholes and shivered. I thought spring was supposed to be warm.

The passenger door slammed shut and my partner came to stand next to me, all six foot four inches of him. It was useful having a partner that looked like he could take on most wrestlers and win with his hands tied behind his back. Not that I was small, mind you, but anyone could look short next to Tez. The muscly build didn’t hurt either.

Tez and I were part of the P.A.D.S team; the Paranormal Agency’s Detective Service. Always the first ones on the scene of any crime that involved unusual activity. The
serva
—that’s what we paranormals call all the non-paranormals, observant creatures that they are—Crime Scene Investigators didn’t know we existed. We come and go before they even know a crime has been committed. It was our job to remove any evidence of paranormal activity, and to track down the criminals that the
servas
would never find.

‘Gonna be a long day Jack,’ Tez sighed, straightening his vest. He never could get it to fit quite right. I’d recommended he try a larger size, but apparently my input was not required. I think he just liked to impress the pretty girl who sat on reception at headquarters, but my input on that wasn’t appreciated either.

‘Isn’t every day a long day?’ I said truthfully.
 

We were standing at the gates to the local college, which was eerily quiet considering it was mid morning. A group of pale looking students languished at the side of the building, with a couple of the Paranormal Agency’s Police Service team, who were taking statements. We’d probably have to take the statements again; the P.A.P.S and P.A.D.S teams were notoriously competitive. At last count we were winning, but they weren’t far behind. Right now, however, we had a situation to take control of. Quite a few of the students were nursing injuries, some looked worse than others. The report we’d received said that a young male had suddenly started attacking the other students, and that he was
not quite himself
. Shame the P.A.P.S had got here first, or we might actually have a little more information to go on.

Over the last five years we had seen similar cases where victims had been turned into some kind of monster, werewolves seemed the most common, and they had started to attack friends and family. After the third crime scene appeared we suspected we were dealing with a serial killer. After the fourth we knew we were. If our suspicions about today were correct then this was number twenty-two… that we knew of.

I looked at Tez, who took a deep breath. ‘Let’s go.’

We walked tentatively through the open gates, waved a greeting to the P.A.P.S, and went into the old school building. Pushing open the door, we moved into the corridor and surveyed the scene. There was a lot of blood everywhere, but thankfully no bodies. It must belong to the survivors outside.