Soul's Shadow (Doctor Who - SI)

Part X (IV)

Not even a scream rang through the saloon. Shocked silence was the stranger's only answer as he lowered the gun and raised his head to let people peek at his face.

The grin never quite vanished from the rough face. The man was probably somewhere near the end of his forties, clean shaven and with eyes so dark they almost seemed black. And when he spoke his voice sounded like sandpaper and smoke.

"'eere comes yer payment, Charlie," he said, looking at the bartender. "Ey promised tha will not get'way. Sais goo'bey to' yer wive from ma."

Nothing was spoken as an answer, but still the man laughed as if he had gotten the funniest reply. "Oh ney, ney, ma boy. Nid thys night. Till sun rises, aye? Yee know where."

Another pause stretched in which his grin widened, and then, again as if someone had said a word, he burst out into a rough barking laugh, tipped the barrel of his gun against his hat and took a single step back - froze.

No one spoke, no one twitched a single finger, blood pooled around the dead boy on the wooden floor.

And then the stranger twitched, grinned. And his face crumbled away in sandy, pitch black chunks that trickled to the floor and revealed muscle and bone, red and glistening and slowly evaporating into dust with the same speed that the rest of the man disintegrated.

It was impossible for me to take my eyes from the scene, being too grotesque and too fascinating for letting even a second of disgust or fear shimmer through. Only when the whole man was nothing more but a pile of black sand next to the corpse did I blink again.

Seconds ticked by. Someone moved. The Master lay a hand on my shoulder and slightly pulled me backwards into the crowd that started to thaw from their shock. Without a word they brought a broom and removed the dust. Someone else grabbed the dead boy under his arms and dragged him out of the room.

And then... as if nothing had ever happened... the music and the dance and the laughter and chatting resumed, as loud and as cheery as it had been before.

I gasped at the surreal scenery, let me be pulled by the Master and followed without hesitation. We went back to the room and the portal and only then did he finally speak.

"Now if that wasn't interesting then I don't know what else is."

"Yeah, that was... bizarre," I brought out, still shook by how surreal it had been. "Why did they not react?"

Exhaling slowly I sunk down against the nearest wall, not minding the darkness in the room. It didn't last for long anyway. The Master lit the lamp and held it out to see me. I couldn't read his expression. It was too neutral.

"Do I have your attention now?" he asked in a mocking voice.

"You know anything about this?"

The Master huffed and shook his head. "Not about him. But come on, do you really think this isn't connected?" His eyes gleamed eagerly in the dancing lamp light. "Something's going on here."

"Not when you watch their reaction," I mumbled. "It's as if they forgot the whole thing as soon as the dead man was out of sight. Or maybe... mhmmm... maybe... no, that's dumb." I shook my head. "Can't be. Still an interesting reaction."

A chuckle made me look at the Master. He was observing me, his eyes glued to my face.

"Speaking of reaction." He stepped closer and bent down a bit. "Yours is quite interesting too."

"Uhhh... what... what do you mean?"

The Master poked my head. "Someone just died there and another man crumbled to dust right in front of your eyes. And yet-" he cocked his head to the site- "it doesn't seem to affect you. At all. Why is that, lil' lumin?"