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After some further investigation, the Doctor finally located Will and Nico. "Alright, the Foretold. Heard of it?" the Doctor asked.
After some further investigation, the Doctor finally located Will and Nico. "Alright, the Foretold. Heard of it?" the Doctor asked.
Will and Nico look up, Will was currently looking for other sighs. Nico seemed to be talking to a Shadow. Nico looks up and raises a brow. "depends. Your foretold and our Foretold could be two completely different things?"
"Hmm, I'll try again. They that bear the Foretold's stare have sixty six seconds to live. Professor Moorhouse, a man on this train, very useful for information. And the murder? Kitchen. It was a cook. Now, we still need to find…. oh, I'm dull. I'm completely, totally, absolutely thick. I'm Mr. Thick Thick Thickety Thick-face from Thicktown, Thickania. And so’s my dad! Well, if I had a dad. Well, I do and I don't. It's complicated, and I don't intend to give any answers, so don't ask." the Doctor said. "She still has her mobile! I could have just called her hours ago. Is there a phone on this train, some means of communication, anything?" he asked himself. "You've found Alison?!" Joe asked, running down the corridor, panting heavily. "Finding. Local knowledge, got a phone?" the Doctor asked. "Er, yes. Here. Can't get a signal though." Joe said, handing over his phone. "Times change. Time for an upgrade. Now here, call Alison." he said, zapping Joe's phone with the sonic.
(Ugh, I'm so tired. How are you?)
Will and Nico watch him think, their eyebrows raising simultaneously. "Can you possibly lead me to the murdered? I could use a good case right now." Nico mutters. "After all, where the death is, Nico is." Will laughs softly as he watches Joe and The Doctor talk. "I'll be asking around." Will says sullenly. He leaves the group, sighing quietly.
(I'm tired)
(Yeah, so am I.)
"Alison, are you there?" Joe asked after having dialed in her number. "Yes, Joe, I am, but-" "Where are you?!" he asked hurriedly. "I'm trapped. In the storeroom. With that Miss. Pitt woman, Maisie. The dorr won't work, it's jammed, and I don't think we'll be getting any deus ex demigod or deus ex sonic screwdriver either. But Joe, I think… I think we might not be alone in here." Alison whispered, looking over at the wall. "What?" Joe replied quickly. "There's a sarcophagus." Alison whispered, looking over towards a blinking machine, coffin-like, with a darkened window for the face.
Will walked through the trains, his eyes on the floor. He was rather tired. Something on this train must be affecting him. He holds his head, trying to think. He ends up coming to the door where Alison and Maisie where. Though, he didn't know that. All he could sense was an odd energy force, one making the golden hairs on the back of his hair raise with caution.
"I'm coming now!" he said, running, not hanging up. The Doctor ran along with him, sighing with exasperation. The two came across Will, and the Doctor ran up to the door, trying to open it. He snatched Joe's phone, he needed to talk to Alison. "I'm going to get the door, hold still." The Doctor tried sonicking the lock and got a shock. "Ow!" the Doctor hissed, cradling his palm. "Computer, can you open the door, please?" he asked. "Call me Gus. I'm afraid this door can only be opened by executive order." Gus told him cheerfully. "Oh. Forget it." the Doctor snapped at the door. The Doctor then tried scanning the door with the screwdriver. It stuttered, blinking haphazardly, then stopped. "Oh. Now the stupid sonic screwdriver's not working." he groaned. "What? What do you mean, it's not working? Why?" Alison said, worriedly. "I don't know. Some sort of a suppression field, I would guess. And it has to be a guess because, as I say, the stupid sonic screwdriver's not working. What are you even doing in there?" he asked Alison. "Helping a friend." she glanced at the worried Maisie. "Listen, just go try and find someone to get us out. The door, as I mentioned to Joe earlier, is jammed. You probably won't be able to open it even with an executive order." she said, with an implied eyeroll.
Nico was glaring at the door as the doctor tried to open it. "I could try shadow traveling through." He offers, looking at The Doctor and Joe. Will nods. "Just be careful." He says softly. Nico nods.
Suddenly, from behind, there was the sound of a laser pistol powering up. "Doctor, move away from the door." Quell said firmly, gun at the ready, two armed guards behind him. "My friend's inside, pudding brain!" the Doctor snapped. "Then they're in trouble, too. I was looking through my files, you're not even on the passenger list." Quell retorted. "Alison, I'm going to have to call you back." the Doctor said, hanging up the phone and slipping it back to Joe. The guards seized the Doctor, handcuffing him. "You know, I'm going to have to talk to your Head Office about this." he snarked. "You are not a passenger. For all I know, you're the one behind the killings." Quell said. "Oh, come on, Captain. How many people have to die before you stop looking the other way? You must have expected a cushy desk job, right? Well that fantasy ends today. I'm just trying to help, just listen to me!" the Doctor shouted, as he was dragged along through the train. In the next car, they came upon a guard shooting at something only he could see. "Get back! Stay back!" he screamed. His shots break glasses on tables. "What do you think you're doing, man?" Quell snapped. "Please, please! Stop! No!" the guard shouted. "Get up, man. That's an order!" Quell said. Suddenly, the man that was shooting, the guard, fell back. He was dead. After a moment of silence, "It turns out it's three. The amount of people that had to die before I stopped looking the other way." Quell amended. The Doctor was released. "Thank you." he nodded, as Joe and Perkins ran into the room. "Same as the others?" the asked in unison, and the Doctor nodded.
Will and Nico were stunned for a moment when the doctor was taken and handcuffed. Will grabs Nico's hand and they chase after the guards and the man. When Will saw the man shooting, he stepped back and Nico stood in front of him protectively. Will pushes past Nico when the man falls dead and slowly walks to his side. He was curious. He didn't touch the body, just inspected it. "Will? What is it?" Nico asks. Will hushes him before continuing to inspect the body.
"Ladies and gentlemen, could I have a moment of your time, please? There's a monster on this train that can only be seen by those about to die. If you do see it, you will have exactly sixty six seconds left in which to live. But that isn't even the strangest thing. Do you know what is?" the Doctor asked. "You. The passengers. Experts in alien biology, mythology, physics. If I was putting together a team to analyse this thing, I'd pick you. And I think somebody has. Someone of immense power and influence has orchestrated this whole trip. Someone who I have no doubt is listening to us right now. So, are you going to step out from behind the curtain and give us our orders?" he shouted to the air. Suddenly, a jolt, and a halt. "The engines. They've stopped." Perkins gasped. In a flurry of electronic activity, the 1920s railway carriage decor is replaced by a high-tech laboratory. White walls and tables, with tools, microscopes, bottles of colorful chemicals and substances, something that looked strangely like a space sewing machine, and many more oddities, with blinking lights and screens all 'round. "And the facade drops away, because what use are a bunch of scientists without a lab?" the Doctor asked. A large number of people suddenly disappear. "Teleporter?" Perkins asked. "No. Hard light holograms. They were never really here. Fake passengers to make up the numbers." the Doctor explained. Ting! The thumbs up icon on a monitor is replaced by a monocle. "Good morning, everyone. Around the room you will find a variety of scientific equipment. Your goal is to ascertain the Foretold's true nature, probe for weaknesses with a view to capture, after which we will reverse engineer its abilities. Isn't this exciting?" Gus the cheerful computer said, a little sadistically.
Will looks up at Nico and his eyes widen as he watched the train stop and begin to change. He scrambles up and Nico catches him, holding him protectively.
"Oh, do stop cowering in fear, the both of you." the Doctor snapped at them, then turned to the monitor. "You said capture, implying that you can't control this thing. And yet somehow you got it on board. How?" the Doctor asked, getting straight to business, not beating around the bush. "There is an artefact, an ancient scroll. I have highlighted it for your convenience. For reasons currently unknown, the Foretold appears in the vicinity of this artefact." A small spotlight turns to illuminate a tattered scroll on the door at the end of the car. "Oh, well that's helpful. And let me guess, you made it so we can't remove it? So the beast will keep killing people, forcing us to work to solve it, unless it kills us all first? Right?" the Doctor said, when Joe was giving him a "Can't we remove it" glance of fear. "Correct!" Gus said. "But even if they agree to this, how are they supposed to study a creature that they can't even see? We don't even know what the species is." Joe pointed out, catching onto the whole time and space travel thing. The light flickers. "Perkins, start the clock." the Doctor said quickly. "Approximately one point eight metres tall. Actually, seeing it in the flesh isn't nearly as rewarding as I thought it might be." said a man in the corner, Moorhouse, the mythologist that the Doctor had interrogated. There was nothing to be seen, but by the one marked for death, however. "Oh, dear. What can you see? Details." the Doctor snapped. "Yes. Yes, of course, of course. Uh Well, it just looks like er, a man in bandages. I-" "What kind of bandages? Old? New?" the Doctor barked. "Old." said Moorhouse. "Whole? Ragged?" the Doctor said quickly. "Ragged. Falling off in places. I don't know what you want me to tell you!" Moorhouse moaned. "Listen to me! You can see this thing. We can't. Tell us what you can see. Even the smallest detail might help save the next one." the Doctor said. "The next one? You mean you can't save me?" Moorhouse asked. "Well, that is implied, isn't it? Yes, this is probably the end for you. But make it count. Details, please." the Doctor snapped, irritated.
(Hey, how are you?)
Will shakes his head. Memories flash through him. He couldn't take it. Sunlight began streaming from him, his eyes glowing brightly. Nico backs away slowly as Will hisses in pain. Nico shakes his head. "We really shouldn't be messing with mummies right now. Will listen to me." He calls. He swears under his breath.
"Er, flesh. Some of it is visible." Moorhouse said. "Thirty seconds!" Perkins called out. "Er, leathery. Ancient looking. Peat bog preserved." Moorhouse said quickly. "Keep talking. Don't waste this chance." the Doctor scolded. "I want to bargain for my life." Moorhouse whined. "W-w-w-what? Why? What?!" the Doctor stammered. "Well, it says, some of the myths say if you, if you find the right word, if you make the right offer, then it lets you go." Moorhouse answered. "This is not a myth. This is real. Forget your superstitions. Tell us what you can see." the Doctor ordered callously. "This is my life, my death. I'm going to fight for it how I want. Er, I give you-" Moorhouse was interrupted by Perkins. "Ten seconds!" the engineer said. "-My soul. I confess all sins. I give you all my worldly goods. Only, please, please, please. Noooo!" Moorhouse screamed, and fell. "Zero." Perkins groaned. "We apologise for any distress you may have just experienced. Grief counselling is available on request. On the bright side, I'm sure you've all collected a lot of data. Well done, everyone!" Gus announced. "It's recording every death." Joe said, shocked. "Of course it is. That's why we're here. To study our own demise. So let's get to work. Come on. Chop, chop." the Doctor ordered, emotionless.
Will looked at Nico, the ankh glowing on his hand. Nico swears. "What the hell? What did Sadie say if something happened like this? What did she say?" He runs a hand through his hair before looking over at the doctor. "Anything?" He asks the doctor. Will looks around, his eyes glowing as sunlight comes from his hands.
"Deep tissue scan, and quickly." the Doctor snapped at a man in a white lab coat. The man cautiously passed the Doctor a handheld device like a hair dryer and a lollipop combined. "Thank you. And my hypothesis was correct." he said, after he had scanned over the body. "Drained of all energy. On a cellular level. The heat attack is just a side effect, see?" the Doctor said. "Well done!" Gus the sadistic and psychotic computer said cheerfully. "Now, the Foretold. How does it choose who to kill? We've assumed it's random. What if it's not? I want full histories on all the victims. Medical, social, personal." the Doctor ordered. Later, looking at a tablet computer…
*
"Doesn't seem to be any pattern. Their travel history, interests, health. It's all over the shop. Health, really? Why?" Perkins said. "Health? Are you sure? Oh yes, Doctor, yes you are." the Doctor sassed, walking to a whiteboard and taking out a marker. "Mrs Pitt, the first victim. She was over a hundred years old. The frailest passenger on board." he said, writing down her name and drawing in some circular, clocklike, intricate design next. It was some sort of diagram, or language, or even both. "Oh but the next to go, the chef, was young and fit. It's random." Perkins decided. "The chef was ill." Quell blurted. "What?" the Doctor turned, writing down the words "chef" and then drawing a second circular design, somewhat different. "A rare blood disorder. Not contagious, but we kept it quiet." Quell clarified. "Because he worked with food. The next one, the guard?" the Doctor asked, scribbling furiously. "He wasn't ill as such, but he did have synthetic lungs implanted last year." Quell said. "Professor Moorhouse. It seems he was physically fine but suffering from, here we are. Regular panic attacks after a car crash last year." Perkins pointed to the screen. "It's picking off the weakest first. Sensing the illness somehow. The fake organs, even psychological issues. But this is good news, because it means we can work out who is next. I want the medical records of everybody alive who is still on board. If anyone's had as much as a cold, I want to know about it." the Doctor ordered.
*
Later, Joe and Perkins were looking through some other files, showing them to the Doctor. "We have some paperwork. Passenger manifests from other ships. Arthur, sorry, Perkins here recognised a couple of the names. These are missing ships." Joe said. "So, we're not the first. But Doctor, they've been… well, graded." he stammered. "I've got some progress reports. The Gloriana spent three days getting picked off by the Foretold. All died. Performance marked as poor." Perkins said, handing the Doctor over some papers. "The Valiant Heart. Forty two crew, four died. Performance, promising." he continued. "What do you think it means?" he asked.
(Hey, how are you?)
I'm okay. I guess. Um… I'm not really sure how to respond to everything. And the thing about me is I get paranoid or my anxiety pops up, since I can't really reply in such a long way…//
Oh, sorry. I type way too much. You don't need to respond as long as I do, sorry! Really tired right now, let me tell you, icy roads and car crashes are not fun. My…. pretty much everything hurts, lol. I'll try for shorter responses in the future though! Do you want me to put in another reply for you to respond to it something?
Oh my God are you okay?!
Yeah, just a little sore. So, continue?
Yeah. One problem. I'm not sure what I can do with Nico and Will… Heh…//
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