Timeless [Doctor Who/11th Doctor]

19. Village Mystery

CHAPTER NINETEEN

I had learned from the short amount of time spent with the Doctor that he never came up with a plan until the very last second. Despite this, I'd always ask him "So, what's our plan this time?" and he'd always respond "I don't know yet," with an excited grin. Then, he would ramble away - anything to sound clever - until an idea struck him like a literal light bulb over his head. And the evil would turn and run, as he just strutted back to his TARDIS, before anyone had the chance to thank him (and before he had the chance to tell them they were most welcome).

I was ready for this to all kick in as him, Noah, and I waited around in my kitchen upstairs from the shop. The Doctor was staring at a cup of tea I had made him, until it went cold, his lips pursed. Noah tapped on his own mug awkwardly, making any attempts at conversation. He kept asking things like "If you're an alien, why do you speak English?" and "Do people usually wear bow-ties on Mars?". In response, the Doctor would shoot a helpless look in my direction as I laughed at the interaction from the kitchen counter.

From the TARDIS, he had dragged countless gadgets up to my apartment, some of their metal frames sitting on my poor sofa, some towering in my bedroom.
We just had to wait for the sonic screwdriver to alert us once one of them had scanned something.
So we waited... and waited, and waited.

The Doctor smashed his forehead against the table, letting out a frustrated groan.
It was Noah's turn to direct a baffled look to me, glancing back to the strange man hunched over beside him.
"You good, mate?"
The Doctor's head slowly lifted, scrunching his nose up at the question.
"Humans," he muttered offensively.

With a sigh, I threw down the tea towel I had been wiping the surfaces with. "I'm going to the bathroom."
Honestly, I was just growing tired of their bullshit. It was like babysitting two restless toddlers.

I marched out, locking the bathroom door behind me and splashing water across my face. Through wet eyelashes, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. The bags under my eyes were a little too prominent for my liking, and jumping through time and space had really left me due for a good haircut. I had managed to glamour up the tired look with waterproof mascara (excellent for life or death situations, I had discovered), and a deep crimson lipstick that was beginning to fade. Studying my reflection, I snatched the makeup from the cabinet and ran the paint over my lips to refresh it.
Much better. I winked at myself, straightening out my fringe, as I walked back through to the corridor.

Through the walls, I could hear the pair of men talking now. Like actual adults.
Creeping up to the door, but not yet opening it, my ears pricked to decipher what their muffled voices were saying.
"You're telling me you're not her boyfriend?" I heard Noah ask.
Great, we were still hung up on that, were we?
"Yes," the Doctor replied confidently. "I mean, yes that's what I'm telling you," he stuttered out, realising his answer could've been very open to interpretation.

I gulped, leaning against the wall discreetly as I listened closer.
Noah's laugh echoed through the plaster. "Alright, mate. She could do better than you, anyway,"
Damn right I could, I smirked at his words.
The Doctor murmured something in response, but I couldn't tell whether it was a "No," or an "I know."

Waiting a moment, in order to not give my spying away, I eventually walked back in as casually as possible. "You didn't kill eachother, then?" I smiled at the two of them with my fresh lipstick.
Neither of them were amused.

Suddenly, the sonic began to buzz on the counter, its emerald light blinking between the claws. The Doctor jumped to his feet, the three of us staring at the device's interruption.
"Lottie, your bedroom, now."
I sent my elbow straight into Noah's ribs as he muttered "I bet that's not the first time he's said that" under his breath.

The two of us followed the Doctor into my room, to find one of the gadgets' screens lit up with a red alert.
"I'm guessing... not good?" I inspected it.
"Very not good," he whispered, fiddling with the buttons and wires. "It can't be..."
"Can't be what?" I grew impatient, awaiting an explanation as I swung my feet off the edge of my mattress.

He turned to Noah, who was leaning against an oak chest of drawers, permanently confused.
"You said nothing strange had happened here recently."
"Actually, I think I said something along the lines of..." he mimicked how he had earlier gestured at the Doctor in answer to his question.
Narrowing his eyes at Noah, he dropped the alien equipment to the floor, leaving a clutter on my bedroom carpet.
"You don't remember anything bad happening?"
"Nothing happens here. It's the tiniest village, I think I'd remember if something bad happened."

Snatching the mug out of his hand, the Doctor raised the beverage to his nose and inhaled loudly. Noah furrowed his brow at the strange action.
"Memory wiping technology..." the Doctor muttered, pouring the liquid out into the ground.
"What the hell?!" I scolded him.
Shushing me, he continued putting the puzzle together. "Whatever's been going on around here, someone really doesn't want you to remember it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Using my computer, the Doctor had been sat at my desk for hours, scrolling through articles and CCTV footage from across the village that week. God knows how he accessed some of it.

"You two," he spoke to Noah and I, his eyes glued to the screen. "Go around and investigate. There has to be something suspicious hanging around somewhere. Call if you see anything," he ordered.
So, that's what we did.
I reluctantly left him alone with my computer, and we rushed down the stairs to the street. It was fairly desolate, despite the sunny weather, though it wasn't too unusual; September was arriving and the end of holiday season always beckoned quietness across the village.

"Do you just do what he tells you then?" Noah questioned as we wandered down the cobbled path.
"No," I protested, before realising he was probably pretty spot on with that assessment. "Look, he's the Doctor. He knows what he's doing."
"What does that even mean? 'He's the Doctor?' Doctor who?"

I quickly shushed him as we approached the local pub. Through an alleyway, beneath the hanging sign that read 'The Mason's Arms', a serious conversation echoed.
Leaning against the white brick wall to stay hidden, I listened closely.

"And you think you'll get away with that, do you?" a man's voice came out hushed.
"Well, why wouldn't I?" an elegant lady's reply came. Her accent was most certainly not local; each syllable was pronounced perfectly as she spoke confidently.

Discreetly, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and tapped the large red circle on the voice recording app.

"We're not stupid," the man scolded her.
She chuckled, even the laugh sounding posh. "Of course, you aren't," her words dripped in sarcasm. "Just give it a moment to kick in, darling."
For a minute or so, the conversation fell quiet before I finally heard the man speak again.
"Sorry, I missed that. What can I get you, duck?"
Memory wipe.

Heart racing, I glanced over to Noah, eyes wide. "We need to call the Doctor," I said, more to myself than him, as I dragged him away from the pub with me.
"About what?" he frowned.
"... The conversation. Didn't you hear? It's obviously her."
"Sorry... who? Charlotte, you're making no sense since this guy came along."
I stopped in my tracks outside the post office, studying him with puzzled eyes. Then, realisation dawned. The memory wipe affected him too.

"Ah! Lottie, hello," the Doctor's face popped up on my phone seconds after I rang him. He was using the web-cam on my computer to talk to me.
"Listen, I think we... I know who's doing this," I blurted out, skipping greetings. "Noah's memory has been wiped but there was a woman talking down this alleyway. I'll send you the clip. Gotta dash."
He knitted his brow for a moment, confusion upon his face as he looked downwards at my image on the screen rather than into the camera. "Come back here, I'll handle the rest."
"Sorry, you're breaking up," I lied, making fake static noises into the microphone. "See ya laterrrr!"
"Lottie. Charlotte."

I hung up, shoving my phone back into my leather jacket's pocket.
"Right," I said to Noah, smirking in the same way the Doctor usually would when he had a trick up his sleeve. "Let's solve this mystery."