ORIGINAL FICTION: 'DOCTOR WHO - THE EMBERS OF DEATH'

“Oh, good grief, Jo. You’ve got us lost again!” Dr. Who looked towards his bubbly companion Jo Grant in the opposite front seat of their quirky yellow roadster Bessie, giving her that regular look of his showing quiet exasperation mixed with good humour. He could clearly see her lovably scatter-brained eyes face down, hard at work surveying the colourful map, but it was also clearly obvious that she had it upside down! A fact that he was quick to make her aware of. 

A different kind of drive in the country!

“We’re not lost, Doctor. We’re simply discovering new parts of Britain that I know you’ve always wanted to see," she said enthusiastically over being anything like convincing. “Right,” Jo said determinedly, pin-pointing her mind and her middle right finger on the location. “I know where we’re going now- turn left two miles ahead. That’ll get us to Raynesbrook Manor.” The Doctor gave a naval gesture to his friend, locked his face in an unflattering but funny way, and said with his best wheezy old-soldier voice, “Yes, Ma’am” - a sight and delivery which instantly made her giggle. As Bessie rode them along she was sure the car’s side horn had further honked happily to her of its own accord!

The Doctor at the wheel of Bessie, watched amiably by Jo Grant.

“It’s a shame you can’t use the TARDIS to get there, Doctor. I’m dying to see it work.” The voice now emanating from the back seat was Captain Mike Yates, clearly fully relaxed and enjoying the jaunt - especially swapping his military clobber for 24 hours for smart casual gear, and what was originally to have been a second chance at a 'first date' night-out on the town with Jo. That is, until the Doctor literally stopped them in their tracks in the UNIT building’s main corridor, holding some home-made instrument and promptly hijacking them into what was, so far, a lengthy but pleasant late afternoon trip into the crisp Autumn countryside.

“As much as I love dear old Bessie here, Mike, I totally agree with you. But my knowledge of how to operate the TARDIS and its various side functions is like a fog swirling in my mind- coming and going with frustrating irregularity. That sensor I’ve jury-rigged up will just have to do in triangulating the location of this new energy reading.”

“And you definitely think it’s alien?” Mike sounded slightly serious now. Jo noticed it too.

“'Alien' as in possibly being a crashed meteorite giving off low level residual energy, Mike. Nothing likely needing an army of men marching to the beat of Colonel Bogey into the grounds of some caught unawares family." The Doctor’s eyes soon lit up ahead. “Ah… here we are…”

Arriving at Raynesbrook Manor.

With afternoon turned rapid evening night, the Doctor manoeuvred Bessie into a perfect left-turn as the clearly refurbished Manor’s lovely near-circular driveway of bleached white pebbles and collection of meticulously trimmed bushes came in to view.

Emerged from Bessie, Mike was holding the portable equipment thingy the Doctor had built, of which the Time Lord was now triangulating several instrument buttons that looked like they’d come off the expensive new colour TV set recently installed in the Mess Room at HQ. Uh oh… I don’t think the Brigadier will be happy with that one little bit, Mike thought as he looked at the Doctor then Jo with the smile and expression that indicated the 'mad professor' was at work, of which she was quietly, playfully stern in response. 

A concerned Mike Yates begins his exterior investigation.

A rather grim-looking but proud servant called Carstairs soon came out of the house to see what all the commotion was all about as the Doctor (wearing a patterned cape coat and regular apparel of red velvet smoking jacket and crisp fused with white frilly shirt - a look which always caught newcomers off guard) took the lead and his friends began polite introductions. Then came Lord Raynesbrook himself -a distinguished man of cap and tweed, his right hand firmly gripping his walking stick in a way clearly designed to assert his authority and point at people with snobby superiority. His family currently abroad, Raynesbrook obviously didn’t like his time wasted, nor have unwanted guests on his land, though he soon backed off when a considerate but firm Captain Yates produced his UNIT credentials…

Introductions and potential animosities over, the Doctor gave a knowing look towards the clearly edgy man of the manor. “Has anything been wrong of late, Lord Raynesbrook? Strange noises, any unusual disturbances, perhaps, in the last few days?”

Raynesbrook's sheepish face ultimately caved in to the newcomer’s question. “Some strange night-time noises. The lights have certainly flickered, from the strikes that we thought were just the norm. But then our handy man and game keeper Wilson disappeared yesterday. He occasionally goes off for a long afternoon or late evening towards the town pubs... we normally get some kind of word about his condition in case we have to bring him back. But he never leaves his dog for very long, though. He and Jessie are near inseparable. And Jessie has felt something too. Barking a lot. Rushing back and forth to the end of the house.”

With the seriousness of Wilson’s disappearance now on their minds, and the energy readings from the Doctor’s equipment indeed strongly pointing to the rear of the manor house, the Doctor and Jo, with Raynesbrook, entered the property's lengthy main corridor with haste, whilst Mike, reaching to his inside holster both discreetly and confidently, instigated an outside search of the house, guided by a sheepish Carstairs.

Exploring the coal cellar.

A wall of visually evolving knights’ armour, varying-sized swords and emblems decorated the Manor’s airy main corridor and made for impressive viewing to the new visitors, but they were soon more distracted by the energy reading on the Doctor’s device, whose noise started to buzz higher than ever. And then there was stout sheep dog Jessie, determinedly barking towards the farthest door. As the Doctor, followed by Jo, got down on one knee to shake the adorable dog’s head and give him a prideful look, the energy readings spiked further. Energy readings? More like a life form reading for sure, the Doctor thought. And definitely not from this world. As the Doctor quietly opened the near pitch-black cellar, and turned a light switch clearly not working, Raynesbrook, equally sensing a disturbance of some kind, quietly and firmly removed one of the antique swords from the wall, following the strange but trustworthy duo down the first few darkened steps of the large coal cellar, descending in a way in which seconds suddenly felt like hours of both anticipation and dread. With the energy reader turned over to Jo, the Doctor produced a small and powerful adapted pen torch which he confidently swayed around the eerie, all-too-quiet environment. At first there didn’t seem to be anything, but there was a strong burning in the air that didn’t quite smell of hearth and home, almost polluting the natural senses, of which Jo had now started mildly coughing, soon followed by Raynesbrook. Only the Doctor seemed unaffected so far, due perhaps to his alien metabolism.

The 'creature' revealed!

It was then that the face-down outline of the poor gamekeeper made contact with the torch light- Wilson’s visage partially, thankfully, in shadow, though clearly having died in abject terror-his body a darkened red mixed with grey/black ash colouring. The poor chap, at the wrong time and place he must have fatally disturbed ‘something’, thought the Doctor. Descending the last few steps on his own, it was then that he caught site of a patch of further dark red that seemed to pulse and move of its own free will. This ‘patch’ seemed to be at floor level, further mixing colours with wispy ember sparkles the way a burning coal fire should do on a long and comfy night resiliently fighting the winter tide. Only there was nothing pleasant about this view, as the mass of red/black rock suddenly emerged slowly then near-bolt-upright, gruesomely revealed in its bizarre humanoid shape, generating movements the sound of thick coal rock grinding against itself, and a strange primal sound emerging from what could barely be discernible as a face- more a collection of coalesced stones into a bigger mass than the rest of the body. Jo screamed as the creature moved swiftly towards them - arm-like features covered in triangular sharp rock now reaching for the Doctor. Recognising pure killer aggression, and acting despite all the common sense he normally possessed, the Doctor lashed out at the formidable creature with his Venusian Aikido, yet soon felt the effects of powerful heat and energy shock waves through his arms- sending him flying back to the near top of the stairs. 

Jo Grant- in fiery vision!

Having thrown the energy reading device ineffectually at the creature, Jo, now blocked from the stairs, rushed towards the other end of the coal cellar, her desperate hands reaching out into the dark, her breathing heavy as she looked for what must be a rear deliveries service entrance. But time was running out as the creature now advanced towards her, of which she screamed powerlessly, watched by the shocked Doctor Who. Down but never out, the injured Doctor lunged forward, as, from the top of the stairs, Lord Raynesbrook, having been near shocked to a statue, threw his wall sword down towards him, the Time Lord now lunging forward like a hero of old times trying to parry and hack at the creatures arms and ‘body’ with the heavy instrument of conflict, just as pieces of heavy mineral started to dislodge and resultant sparks flew wildly into the air around him- the odour of unnatural burning intensifying and noxiously smothering the Doctor’s senses. With the creature having been pushed back from Jo, the light source around her opened as the welcome sight of Mike Yates speedily loomed down from the surface entrance and unhesitatingly started shooting at the creature to both injure and distract it. As bullets flew and pinged one by one, and the creature momentarily arched itself from the unexpected, the Doctor and Jo, the latter clearly holding her dearest friend’s injured arm, rushed out through the now visible surface steps as the cover fire continued, helped by a mid-stair level arrived Carstairs. Though still clearly shocked by events, Raynesbrook had now locked and bolted his entrance from the other side. It’s prey disappeared, the creature’s heavy steps now thumped up towards the light above it in pursuit, of which burning red marks could be seen in its resultant aftermath trail.

Dry of his second clip bullets, Yates threw his gun at the nearing creature to no avail as it seemingly adapted to its new surroundings. As the Doctor regained his vigour, thanks to his friends, he noticed a nearby pipe outlet going to the back of the house, leading to a sudden ‘Eureka!’ moment as the group now deliberately herded the creature towards an isolated area of brick and glass not far from the cellar. An outside area containing...

A swimming pool!

One desperately in need of cleaning and quickly removed of its partially covering. With the menacing and formidable creature now in the open, to be seen for what it was as a clear fusion of natural coal material laced with an energy aura building in strength, Carstairs and Jo took cover as the others went on the defensive against it- Mike, with Raynesbrook - newly arrived from the other side of the house, distracted the creature first, manoeuvring the unnatural being to a perfect spot, just as the Doctor made a final charge using a long summer-colourful umbrella pole, and all his available jousting might, to propel it into the pool. As the creature went straight into the water backwards, its immersion was soon immediate, as was the natural destructive force it commanded when its minerals and energy detonated with liquid, sending a massive explosion around the Doctor and his friends, all of whom had rushed headlong to the grass beneath them in order to protect their faces from debris. As the last coal pieces and water bursts landed on and around them, Mike Yates, his face and smarts torn and muddy, looked towards the equally battle-dishevelled Doctor, exhaustedly declaring: “So much for the change of scenery!”

Sgt. Benton and his UNIT team arrive.

Two hours later, a small UNIT field team and helicopter arrived at the manor, coordinated by the ever efficient Corporal Bell at HQ, and with the full support of Colonel Letts, currently filling in for the absent Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart on special assignment at Geneva. As Wilson’s body was quarantined and wrapped in hopefully contaminant-resistant material, the Doctor, never looking more serious, had surmised to Jo, Yates and the newly arrived Sergeant Benton that the creature they had just faced was indeed a terrifying fusion of natural Earth coal with a life form composed of an energy he’d never encountered before. The coal had newly arrived a few days before from the Energon company coal mine located forty miles away from the manor, of which Raynesbrook was a keen supporter and member of its board. The worry that this was not an isolated incident, that further contaminated coal could now be arriving in homes around the country, ready to unleash savage hybrid creatures, was too terrifying to contemplate, with U.N.I.T. making rapid plans with the Government and Energon to check, contain and remove all the coal company’s deliveries in the UK and beyond within the last two weeks. Meanwhile, the Doctor and a UNIT task force would make its way to the mine and investigate things there.

The Energon connection!

Old but sprightly Energon boss Montson, having already been worried stiff but determined to sort things out efficiently with all the major parties regarding the dangerous circulation of the company’s product, was now back in his plush office with the Doctor, Jo and Mike, all of whom were looking intently at an operations board displaying the layout of the mine and the levels to which its deep underground mining had considerably stretched. As a plate of tea and sandwiches arrived, the undistracted-from-his-work Doctor was happily eating away as Montson pointed to Shaft 42 - the most recently discovered vein of rich new coal supplies that Energon had once foolishly hoped would make them more prosperous, and the area where the most recent bags had been dispatched.

Descending the mine.

With dangerous suspicions about the cause of the problems, and time not on their side, the Doctor and Jo, who refused to leave his side no matter what the risks, joined Mike in quickly adorning helmets and suitable mining wear, together descending the noisy, restrictive and rather shaky mine lift to Shaft 42, where they would then be followed down, as soon as possible, by Benton and two other officers – Corporals Dicks and Holmes.

The trio never expected a welcoming atmosphere as they walked through the dark and dank structure around them, the wood/metal propped up walls around them looking barely adequate to take the weight. The air was laced with soot, but the lack of sound in the shaft/cavern was as eerie as that back at Raynesbrook Manor, whilst the surrounding lighting was dim almost on the state of blinking out. Abandoning all tools, the work team had clearly quickly departed before UNIT had even arrived, of which and the atmosphere of ominous foreboding was palpable. As Jo and Mike's head helmet lights penetrated the dark as far as they could, the Doctor, with extra torch, looked at a phosphorescent map that showed clearer details of what lay ahead. 

Investigating Shaft 42.

Then they were in the shaft fully as the Doctor caught sight of the opening. It all looked clear enough ahead, but with his energy reader having been damaged and their not having been time to repair it and bring it along, he couldn’t be sure. Best feet forward, and knowing that time was running out to investigate, he walked gingerly towards the seam opening, which was now radiating a hot reddish lava glow that had been clearly cut outside in, its interior further awkwardly propped up. Now the Doctor was able to see the truth for himself.

“That’s not a natural rock fissure.” The Doctor was using his torch to further illuminate the interior of what was almost like a separate cave, showing the visual evidence to Jo and Mike, whose rifle was now clearly off his shoulder arm and ready. “I was right all along. A meteor. It must have crashed into the mountain thousands of years ago, then got caught in the coal overflow. It’s lain dormant until reawakened by the march of human progress.” The Doctor continued his observations. “The inner energy core was disturbed and its life force seeped into the surrounding coal being processed." The Doctor looked more resolute than ever. “Well, now we know for sure. Mike, contact Colonel Letts and...”

The unnerving face of one of the coal-fused aliens.

The Doctor never finished his sentence, as Jo’s scream quickly brought to their shocked attentions two creatures similar to the one that had been encountered at Raynesbrook Manor, but even larger and bulkily formidable, literally like they seeped out from the nearby craggy walls. The Raynesbrook creature must have been the start of some kind of symbiosis life cycle, thought the Doctor, as future dread formed in his mind. One of the creatures was now literally upright to quickly block their path to the safety to the shaft entrance. As Mike Yates started firing his rifle, that creature swiftly grabbed his gun from the shooting end and, with the intense heat running though his body, quickly destroyed it, throwing its black ash remains away as it continued its advance towards them. 

Preparing for the end?

Soon backed into the shaft and with the creature at the other side of the cave nearly upon them, the Doctor, ever the protective Mother Hen, and Mike shielded Jo from them as best they could as she shut her eyes awaiting the inevitable - the red aura darkness and the intense intermixed smell of coal and heat getting closer than ever...

"All of you, GET DOWN!" 

The shout of the newly-arrived Sergeant Benton couldn’t have been more welcome to the trio who immediately did as he ordered, barely seeing the two locked-on bazooka launcher shells speeding down the outside shaft corridor towards the creatures and which soon smashed them in half - huge shards of spiky coal, dust and lava/energy erupted from them. Not fully destroyed, the creatures had been sent a small distance away from the grounded heroes, though their swaying lost top body halves were now start to coalesce anew. Thankfully, they were just far enough away for the Doctor, Mike and Jo, shaking their bodies down to make sure they were not contaminated by any energy, to escape back to the shaft and the awaiting lift, whilst Corporals Dicks and Holmes, having briefly congratulated themselves on their bazooka efforts, provided escape fire with their unshouldered automatic weapons. As the creatures roared back to full existence, the pair threw all their used weapons at the creatures, then, with seconds to spare, leaped onto the moving underside of the lift now moving above their heads, grappling on twisted hanging metal struts as the creaking and groaning people carrier only just took the strain of the entire group ascending to the surface. The unusual and fierce inhuman cries of the creatures’ unnerved the exhausted escapees now looking down through the lift gaps, shocked further to see them grappling the outcrop walls to begin a pursuit climb, but they were thankfully far too late to catch-up as the winded group finally reached the surface light of the pit head.

Huge adapted water cannons had soon blasted the two pursuant creatures back down the mine, their ‘bodies’ retrieved by UNIT. Having been further adapted with lengthy piping, the cannons were then used to completely flood Shaft 42 and douse the energy meteorite inside it. A special demolitions team would need to blow a hole above its located area, of which the remains would be removed via a special crane currently being developed by the Norwegians. Too dangerous to be examined, and not a life form as such that could be communicated with by the Doctor, plans were underway to put all the meteor remains and its creatures within the confines of a soon-to-be-launched top secret unmanned joint British/American Deep Space Probe 5, whose destination took it near the Perseus Arm realms of the Milky Way, sending the energy/meteor far enough away from Earth to be any bother.

Time for a celebration drink!

After a week of organisation with the Government and Energon, the core UNIT team and the Doctor were now back in Montson’s office. As Mike Yates was getting some non-regulation hot Coco ready for Jo, the Doctor received a special delivery from Lord Raynesbrook- a distinguished bottle of wine from his keen vintage collection, sent as a Thank You for saving all their lives. With the happily wide-eyed Doctor extravagantly opening the bottle, a mighty ‘Hurrah!’ was heard as the cork finally popped out and the glasses were eagerly dispensed for filling.

As the group raised a toast for a job well done, and the newly arrived Montson got some red back into his once pale, deadly serious cheeks, Benton looked towards his colleagues and said as he indulged himself, “Ah… this is the life. All I need now is a leather sofa, a cigar and a comfy fire.”

“Hopefully, not a coal one!,” the Doctor quickly replied. Of which a hearty laugh was shared by all.

 THE END