Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 |
Burke strolled into the police station with every intention of interrogating Turlough. "I'm here to see the miscreant in cell 14," he told the officer on duty.
The police officer in question shuffled some papers around on his desk before finding the right one. "Says here that he was released about half an hour ago."
"What? Who authorized his release?"
The officer stared at the paper awhile before replying. "Says here that a Patricia Haggard released him when some solicitor came in wagging a writ. He's out on bail, apparently."
"Damn that Patsy. She knew that I wanted to question him this morning. Couldn't she have waited until after I was done with him?" Before the officer could reply, Burke had left the building.
"Look, Turlough, I'm not too sure about this." Greg was standing behind Turlough, watching him watch a policeman guard a wall in the airport carpark. "Surely this is a matter for the police or the army to solve."
"You said you wanted Tegan back, right?" Turlough replied in a stage whisper. "And you know as well as I that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." Turlough turned away from the corner he was looking around. "She's inside a temporal fissure that's located in that wall. And we need to get her out before she goes mad."
Greg looked at Turlough as if *he* was the one who had gone mad. "So what you are really telling me is that I wasted my money bailing you out. You should have remained locked up." He moved back, wondering if he could get to the car before this nut did something dangerous. Turlough was shaking his head at him and then turned back to look at the policeman. Greg wasn't sure, but he thought he heard the man say "humans" under his breath.
"Ah! Thought I'd find you here!" Greg jumped at the sound of the voice and was disturbed that Turlough hadn't done the same. He was still staring around the corner. He finally turned and smiled at the woman who had sneaked up behind them.
"Hello, Dr. Shaw. Meet Tegan's fiancé, Greg Canning. Greg, this is Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, head of PROBE." Turlough turned back to watch the guard. "Why don't guards in real life act like those in movies? This one is staying at his post and not sleeping."
"Yes, well most guards don't have Detective Inspector Burke to answer to." Liz smiled and shook Greg's hand. "It's nice to meet you. I hope I have the opportunity to meet Tegan soon." She moved behind Turlough and looked at the guard as well. "Now this is the point where the Doctor would find a way to distract the guard so that we could nip into the fissure and save the universe. Have you thought of a similar plan?"
Turlough turned to look at her. "Yes, as a matter of fact." He turned to Greg. "I think that it's time you joined PROBE, don't you?"
Greg looked blankly at Turlough. "I don't even know what PROBE is. And I really don't think I should be assisting either of you. Leave all of this to the police, I say."
Dr. Shaw rummaged through her purse. "I am the police. PROBE is just another division of it. We are concerned with preternatural occurrences and other unusual things, such as these disappearances." She showed him her PROBE ID and her police badge. "Your fiancée is stuck in a temporal fissure, and we need to get her out now. And we need your help." Before he could protest, she put her PROBE ID into his hand. "You have just been conscripted to PROBE. Go to that police officer and tell him that he's been relieved by you, a PROBE officer. We'll join you as soon as he's left."
Greg was about to protest again, when Turlough grabbed him and shoved him around the corner. The policeman almost immediately turned to see him in the shadows. "Hey, you! Get out where I can see you." The policeman reached for his radio as Greg moved out into the open.
"Um, it's all right. I'm one of you. I'm with PROBE. Have my ID here."
Turlough sighed with relief as blind panic drove Greg to the finest acting of his life. He smiled at Liz when Greg showed the policeman his ID. They heard some mumbling between the men, a look of disbelief crossed the policeman's face and Greg shrugged. The policeman finally shrugged as well and left the chamber. Liz and Turlough quickly joined Greg by the wall.
Dr. Shaw hugged Greg when she got there. "You did brilliantly. Thank you for trusting us." She shook her head when he proffered her ID back to her. "You'd better keep that, in case you are questioned while Turlough and I are in there."
Greg nodded and looked at Turlough. He wasn't looking as confident as he had been, and Greg saw him wipe his hands on his trousers more than once. What was he nervous about, Greg wondered. "So now you two are going to walk through a wall, eh?" He smiled faintly.
Dr. Shaw smiled back. "Yes, watch our most famous magic trick." She frowned shortly after. "I only wish it were just a trick. It isn't pleasant in there. That's why we have to hurry. If DI Burke comes here, give him my love, but do whatever you can to prevent him from interfering. We might have been done if he hadn't interfered the last time."
Greg nodded again. Turlough looked even more nervous now, but he attempted a smile. "Thank you, Greg. We'll go and get Tegan now." Greg saw Liz take Turlough's hand and squeeze it. They nodded to each other and then, literally, walked into the wall. Greg stood dumbfounded for a bit, then remembered that he was guarding the wall for them. He turned around and did his best to not think about what he'd just seen.
Turlough was standing alone staring at the dispersal chamber where his mother had died moments earlier. He still heard the sound of the machine in his head, visualized his mother crumbling away into nothing. The guard that had been behind him had vanished. All of the government officials who had overseen the execution were also gone. He was absolutely alone. He knew that if he went out into the streets of Trion, they too would be empty. He closed his eyes and tried to make the dream stop.
When he opened them, he was back at Brendon. He was watching the boys playing cricket, not understanding the rules. There was Ibbotson next to him, trying to explain the rules, but Turlough didn't understand what he was saying. He turned to the young man next to him. "Please repeat that," he said. "I don't understand the language!" But Ibbotson merely looked at him like he'd just spoken another language. Turlough looked around the field of humans, each of them so alien and different. He didn't understand anything about them. Why did they do what they did? What were they saying? Why couldn't they understand him?
The voices of the spectators around him got louder and louder, but still he didn't know what they were saying. The noise was like the rumble of a fusion ship as it started for take off, starting like a quiet buzz and turning into a cacophony of sound waves. He put his hands to his ears, but the sound only got louder and more chaotic. He fell to his knees, his arms around his head, and screamed.
An arm came around his shoulder. Someone was rubbing his back. The noise started to fade away and the colors of the field all blended together until he was surrounded by dark gray. He tried to control his breathing. "I think this place likes you less than it does me. It didn't try to evoke any emotions in me this time. It seemed to just focus on you. Are you okay?"
Turlough swallowed hard. His throat was sore from his screaming. Then he nodded, relieved that he could understand what Liz was saying. "I would like to know just what I've done to this entity to deserve its wrath." Liz still had her arm around him, which he appreciated more than she would know. He uncurled from his position on the floor of the void. "Well that was... fun. Let's see if we can't find Tegan and the other people here before it's too late. If it isn't already."
"I like your optimism." Liz supported Turlough as he took a few unsteady, tentative steps. She'd already felt his pulse and knew that his body was still in its flight or fight mode. He seemed to turn at any slight sound or movement, and was constantly clenching and unclenching his fists. "So where should we head?"
Turlough seemed confused by the question at first. Then he remembered the energy signatures that led them to the two other victims the last time. He searched through his pockets until he found the right device and then switched it on. Then he dropped it. Liz picked it up. "Let me carry it. You're shaking too much to hold it steady."
"Sorry," he said. He wiped his hands on his pants, steeled himself for what lay ahead, and gestured for Liz to lead the way. Liz moved into the void and Turlough, still looking around as if there were a predator in wait for them, moved after her.
Detective Inspector Burke walked up to the hospital front desk. He flashed his ID at the attendant as he said, "I'm here to interview the two people we brought in yesterday. Reynolds and Taylor. Where are they at?"
The attendant sighed with annoyance. Cops always felt that they had first priority with patients, she thought, despite what Doctors would say. "They are in the secure wing. Neither patient has been conscious for more than five minutes so you'll have to wait for your interview."
Burke grumbled as he made his way to the secure wing. At least he'd have the opportunity to give Liz an earful. When he arrived, he asked the officer guarding the door if Dr. Shaw was in.
"No, sir. Not seen her since last night when we brought the two stiffs in."
"Look, son, they aren't dead, so treat them with a little more respect. From what I could see of the woman, they went through Hell and back." Burke thought a minute. "Wait, she's not here? Then where is Liz?"
The policeman only shrugged. Burke wondered about the quality of police officers today. He had never shrugged to one of his superiors before. He left to find a payphone to call PROBE headquarters.
Tegan stopped running for a minute and listened. It was a while before her ears could listen to anything other than her heart beating. But she didn't hear the growling anymore. What she had thought was another mind game from the place of no definition had turned out to be some crazed animal. She hadn't actually seen it, but the stench was strong and the growling real. Of course, it really could just be one more hallucination, but Tegan had no desire to see if it was or not. She leaned up against a wall and held her stomach. She was so hungry and thirsty. She almost wished that the dreams would start again so that she'd forget how tired and weak she felt. "Please, somebody help me," she croaked, quietly.
"I don't seem to be picking up three quantum signatures, Turlough. Could one be out of range?" Liz was looking at the energy scanner as she navigated through the void.
"Three? Zimmerman, Tegan, and whom?"
"Jeremy Newman. Remember, he's the reason we found this fissure in the first place." Liz watched as Turlough made a few shaky adjustments to the scanner.
"Ah, it may seem rather callous, but I had completely forgotten about him." He handed the device back to Liz, still uncertain of his stability.
Liz smiled. "You've had a lot on your mind." She brushed her hand through his bangs to straighten them. "I haven't forgotten him, though. I've worked with Jeremy before. He's a good cop. Newly married, even. He hasn't been in here as long as the others, but he's still in danger if we don't find him soon." Liz saw that Turlough was staring ahead, looking at something. She made to turn around, but he stopped her.
"You shouldn't, really. Just stay here." Liz looked perplexed as Turlough walked behind her. She turned around to see him squatting by a prone form. She gasped when she saw the police uniform. Turlough turned to look at her. In answer to the question in her eyes, Turlough shook his head. "Neck is broken." He stood up and moved beside Liz. "I'm sorry," he said as he held her.
After a few minutes, she broke the embrace. "I really think we should continue. This is the first sign of physical violence here. I think that makes our finding the others even more important." Liz went over to Jeremy Newman's body and did a cursory examination before turning on the scanner and continuing. She was silent for several minutes.
Turlough walked along side her, tapping his hands on his legs occasionally, doing everything he could think of to stop thinking. He seemed to be able to resist the memories best when he was distracted by conversation, so Liz's silence was beginning to bother him. "I believe the expression is 'penny for your thoughts'."
"If you're wondering what I'm thinking about, then yes, that's the expression." Liz was silent again.
"Ah, you don't go in for subtlety then, I see." Turlough was happy to see Liz smile.
"I'm sorry. I'm still trying to formulate my theory before I say it out loud."
"Oh good, a theory. You are welcome to state any and every theory you've ever come up with. I'm starting to be dragged back to my past and any distraction would be greatly appreciated." Turlough was tapping on the walls now, while they walked. There was no sound to it, and occasionally the hand would go through.
"Well, I don't think that Jeremy was murdered by whatever inhabits this fissure."
"Then who else? Tegan? Or that Zimmerman?"
"Yes, or possibly one of the others. There were bruises consistent with human hands around his neck. I'm afraid that I don't know how long he's been dead. Do you remember if there were four or five quantum signatures when we were in here yesterday?"
"Remembering is something that I'm doing very well right now. And there were four. As I said, I had completely forgotten that there was a fifth person in here."
"Then he was probably killed shortly after he arrived here." Liz sighed. "I wonder if he was lured in like the others were, or if he just accidentally entered the fissure."
"We may never know." Turlough grimaced as another vision of his mother floated across his mind. "I feel like it's getting worse. How close are we to..." He stopped and listened.
"Did you hear that?" Turlough nodded. "Something was growling. I think it was from that direction." She pointed left. Turlough nodded again. "So you want to go right, don't you?" He smiled. "Unfortunately, both quantum signatures are to our left. I hope you brought your monster-repellent with you."
"Darn, I left it back at Tegan's house. Maybe I should run off and get it? I won't be long." Liz took his hand, which was cold and shaking. He gave her his best reassuring nod and gestured to continue. So they walked hand in hand toward the growling.
Burke stormed into the parking garage, looking for the officer on duty. When he saw Greg Canning, he walked quickly towards him. "Oi! Who are you?" he asked.
Greg looked up at the man bearing down on him. "If you don't mind, sir, this place is off limits. Police cordon." He hoped that would placate the man, but he only got redder in the face.
"I am the police! And I don't recognize you at all. You certainly aren't airport security, you don't have a uniform."
Greg cleared his throat. "Yes, well, I'm working with PROBE. Dr. Shaw asked me to guard this spatio-temporal thingy here. So that's what I'm doing."
"Oh, Dr. Shaw did that, did she? And was she with a red-headed git with an ego the size of the Albert Hall?" Burke was feeling like this whole operation was falling apart.
Greg nodded. "That would be Turlough." He smiled. "The red-headed git and Dr. Shaw are investigating something in this wall here. Are you Detective Inspector Burke?"
Burke looked at the young man before him, wondering what his connection to all of this was. "I am."
"Good. I have a message for you, from Dr. Shaw. She said to give you her love and to prevent you from entering the void." Greg nervously held out his hand to the policeman. "I'm Greg Canning, by the way. My fiancée is apparently inside this void. They are going to get her out, I hope."
Burke ignored the hand and grunted. "I wondered how you related to all this. So you know this Turlough person then. How long has he known Miss Jovanka?"
Greg stared at his hand for a minute before putting it at his side. "Um, well, I only just met him yesterday. He claims to be friends with Tegan for ages. Her parents really like him, so I guess that he's trustworthy. He just takes a little getting used to."
Burke nodded. Then he looked at the wall behind Greg. It didn't look any different from the rest of the wall, but he remembered what had happened to him the last time he'd gotten too close. Liz was inside there, with some alien that no one but some disembodied voices on a phone actually knew, and Burke was worried. He touched the wall and after a second, felt it give way. He inhaled deeply and stepped forward. Greg only looked on shocked as yet another person vanished into the wall.
The growling was only intermittent, but the stench was continuous, and it was growing. Liz was suspecting that Zimmerman, who had been in this madhouse longer than anyone else, had reverted to base instinct. She couldn't imagine being trapped in this place for four days with something pulling up undesirable memories constantly. And he was probably starving. She quickened her pace, imagining that Tegan might be his intended meal.
Turlough was walking alongside her, tightly holding her hand. He hadn't stopped talking since they started after the growling. It seemed to help him block out whatever was trying to dredge up his memories. He wasn't even speaking in English, and he occasionally would ask her questions, sometimes in French, sometimes in German, and other times in a language she suspected was his native language. He stopped for the fourth time and banged his head against the wall. Liz stayed with him while he cursed the place yet again. She didn't say anything, there really wasn't anything she could say to help.
Turlough took a deep breath. "If I were telepathic, like the Doctor, I'd be able to block all of this."
"I think it was a bad idea bringing you here. Look, I'll go on ahead, you should go back to the entrance. I'd suggest running back." Liz knew this wasn't the best idea, since she didn't like the idea of his being alone in here. Actually, she wasn't too thrilled with the prospects of being alone in here either, but he had to get out of here before he did something to hurt himself.
"No. I don't want the same thing happening to you that happened to Newman. You are the second human that I've grown fond of. I'd rather not lose you. And Tegan's closer now than ever. I can't let her down now." Turlough gave Liz's hand a squeeze and moved forward. The stench was overpowering, a cross between old urine and body odor. They heard the shuffling of feet ahead of them and stopped. Something was breathing irregularly in the next chamber. They moved into it, cautiously.
Burke still didn't see what all the fuss was about. To listen to Liz and that alien you'd think that this place was a nightmare. It was bizarre, of course, but he'd not seen anything frightening. He had no idea where they had gone since they hadn't left anything to mark their passage. So he'd resorted to laying down loose change and other things from his pockets at each new chamber that he entered.
After his initial shock of being in something that was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside, Burke had just accepted that this place existed, that is was alien, and that there was a fugitive at loose in it. So all that remained was apprehending the fugitive and rescuing Liz and anyone else that might be trapped in here. He smiled at his simple plan and continued in the direction that he had dubbed "North."
He had passed though 17 chambers before he saw anything that looked different from the rest of the place. As he moved to the bundle on the floor, he noted that it was a policeman. The missing Jeremy Newman. Burke sighed. He examined the body and saw that the neck was broken. It seemed that there was something in here that wasn't very welcoming. He hoped that for Liz's sake, that the something wasn't Turlough. He picked up the body with a fireman's lift and moved back toward the entrance.
In the third chamber from where he had found Newman, he was unable to find his marker. He moved back to the previous chamber and took another direction to be on the safe side. That room was also lacking a marker. He had been very meticulous about putting markers in every room. Even resorting to taking the buttons of his jacket off. But now it looked like one might have been moved. He moved back into the chamber he had first headed to, certain that it was the right way, and then moved to the next. Again there was no marker. The body of his fellow officer was getting heavy, so Burke stopped speculating on who might have moved his markers and continued moving toward the exit.
When he'd counted to twenty chambers and still no exit, he knew he was lost. He laid down the body and sat next to a wall. He began to understand why Reynolds and Taylor nearly went mad in this place.
Turlough was expecting to be attacked, as had already happened to him twice in this place, but Zimmerman was merely crouching at the other side of the chamber, looking at them. The man's clothes were soiled and torn and his eyes were glazed. If the man hadn't been dehydrated, he would probably have been foaming at the mouth. Liz was talking to the man, trying to calm him down, but Turlough didn't think that he understood what she was saying.
"Liz, I'll distract him and you go into the next chamber. Try to find Tegan. I'll be all right." Liz stopped her protest and nodded. Turlough waved his arms and made noises to get Zimmerman's attention. "Oi! Human! Your ancestor was an ape and your descendants can't get into space!" Turlough watched as Liz slipped behind the man and moved into the next chamber. Then the man before him started to move closer, growling as he did. So what gene propelled him to try to become the martyr, he wondered.
Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 |