Time Book I

The Unquiet Dead

CHAPTER 13| KIDNAPPING IS A SIN

   "First of all you drug me, then you kidnap me, and don't think I didn't feel your hands having a quick wander, you dirty man! Kidnapping is a sin!" (Y/N) says as Gwyneth, the women from before, pours tea for everyone.

   "I won't be spoken to like this!" Sneed, the man from before, says.

   "Then you stick her in a room full of Zombies! And if that ain't enough, you swan off and leave her to die! So come on, talk!" Rose says join in. (Y/N) walks to the Doctor who is standing in the corner next to the fireplace.

   "You alright?" he asks her.

   "Yeah, fine. Charles Dickens is in the room with us though!" she says with excitement.

   "I know!"

   "It's not my fault. It's this house. It always had a reputation. Haunted. But I never had much bother until a few month back, and then the stiffs-" Charles is looking at Sneed with a disgusted look. "The, er, dear departed started getting reckless."

   "Tommyrot," Charles Dickens says.

   "You witnessed it. Can't keep the beggars down, sir. They walk. And it's the queerest thing, but they hang on to scraps."

   Gwyneth places a cup on the mantle piece for the Doctor and hands (Y/N) hers. "Two sugars, sir, ma'am, just how you like it," the two watch her leave. (Y/N) sips her tea.

   "One old fellow who used to be a sexton almost walked into his own memorial service. Just like the old lady going to your performance, sir, just as she planned."

   "Morbid fancy," Dickens replies.

   "Oh, Charles, you were there," the Doctor says.

   "I saw nothing but an illusion."

   "If you're going to deny it, don't waste my time. Just shut up. What about the gas?"

   "That's new, sir. Never seen anything like that," Sneed replies.

   "Means it's getting stronger, the rift's getting wider and something's sneaking through," (Y/N) says.

   "What's the rift?" Rose asks.

   "A weak point in time and space. A connection between this place and another. That's the cause of ghost stories, most of the time."

   "That's how I got the house so cheap. Stories going back generations," Sneed says. Dickens slams the door as he leaves. "Echoes in the dark, queer songs in the air, and this feeling like a shadow passing over your soul. Mind you, truth be told, it's been good for business. Just what people expect from a gloomy old trade like mine."

   Later, the Doctor is watching in the doorway as Dickens searches the coffin in the Chapel of Rest. "Checking for strings?" the Doctor asks.

   "Wires, perhaps. There must be some mechanism behind this fraud," Dickens replies putting the lid back on the coffin.

   "Oh, come on, Charles. Alright. I shouldn't have told you to shut up. I'm sorry. But you've got one of the best minds in the world. You saw those gas creatures."

   "I cannot accept that."

   "And what does the human body do when it decomposes? It breaks down and produces gas. Perfect home for these gas things. They can slip inside and use it as a vehicle, just like your driver and his coach."

   "Stop it. Can it be that I have the world entirely wrong?"

   "Not wrong. There's just more to learn."

   "I've always railed against the fantasists. Oh, I loved an illusion as much as the next man, revelled in them, but that's exactly what they were, illusions. The real world is something else. I dedicated myself to that. Injustices, the great social causes. I hoped that I was a force for good. Now you tell me that the real world is a realm of specters and jack-o'- lanterns. In which case, have I wasted my brief span here, Doctor? Has it all been for nothing?" The Doctor smiles gently at him. "And Doctor your special friend?"

   "All in good time Charles, all in good time."

   In the pantry, (Y/N) and Rose are talking with Gwyneth when the conversation comes to boys.

    "I did plenty of that. I used to go down the shops with my mate Shareen. We used to go and look at boys," Rose says.

   "Well, I don't know much about that, miss," Gwyneth replies.

   "Come on, times haven't changed that much. I bet you've done the same."

   "I don't think so, miss."

   "Gwyneth, you can us. I bet you've got your eye on someone."

   "I suppose. there is one lad. The butchers boy. He comes by every Tuesday. Such a lovely smile on him."

   "I like a nice smile," (Y/N) says smiling.

   "Good smile, nice bum," Rose says. (Y/N) and Gwyneth look at her funny.

   "Well, I have never heard the like," Gwyneth says laughing.

   "Ask him out. Give him a cup of tea or something, that's a start."

   "(Y/N) what about you?"

   (Y/N) stops and looks at Gwyneth with a small smile, "Maybe."

   "Who?" Rose asks.

   "All in good time, Rose, all in good time," (Y/N) smiles.

   "I swear it is the strangest thing, miss. You've got all the clothes and the breeding, but you talk like some sort of wild thing," Gwyneth says looking at Rose.

   "Maybe I am. Maybe that's a good thing-" Rose and Gwyneth continue talking as (Y/N) spaces out and begins to think a small smile on her lips. When she looks up the Doctor is in the doorway about to speak.

   "We're going to have a seance," he says.