The Rose & Crown

Chapter Twenty-Four

Present Day

"The Satanic Nebula," the Doctor called towards the wall, then shifted his attention to the fish tank situated above the icebox. "Or the lagoon of lost stars. Or we could go to Brighton!" He exited the kitchen and followed the sound of her shoes tapping around in the next room. Discovering her in her bedroom, he stopped at the entrance and leaned against the doorway. "I've got a whole day worked out," he informed her, impressed with himself for managing his time in advance to prepare something for them.

"Sorry but, as you can see, I've got plans," she replied over her shoulder as she hurried to put on her coat.

A look of confusion formed over his furrowed face as he studied her, unable to place what was unnaturally different about her more than usual. "Have you?" he inquired, failing miserably at sounding interested.

"Look at me," she invited, acknowledging him for the first time.

"Yeah, okay," he replied, perplexed by the request. A test maybe?

"No, no, no. Like, no. Look at me," she tried again, signalling to her hair and clothing as she approached.

"Yep, looking." Definitely a test. But what could I be missing?

"Seriously?" she asked, feeling deflated by his misuse of the obvious.

He found himself increasingly distracted by the brightly lit features of her face, his eyes fixed upon what he could only assume was some sort of reddish war paint plastered to her lips. "Why is your face all coloured in?" he questioned her, watching as she returned to the mirror to apply a floral-scented liquid to her neck and wrists. Something was definitely different about her, he was sure of it. "Are you taller?" he asked, sizing her up and down.

"Heels," she answered, lifting her foot to reveal a black heightened shoe. Taking one last look at her finished form in the mirror, she turned and headed towards him once more.

"What, do you have to reach a high shelf?"

"Right," she replied, smirking at his adorable cluelessness as she passed him in the doorway. "Got to go. Going to be late!"

"For a shelf?" he prodded, trying to prevent her from leaving before he had solved her little mystery.

"Bye!" she called and headed towards the front door. She reached for the knob and began to turn it when an unexpected sensation of fear froze her in place. A tremendous sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach appeared as if warning her of an oncoming threat. "Don't answer it," she blurted inadvertently as though the words had been spoken by someone else.

Employed by his curiosity, he removed himself from the doorway and stepped into the hall. His head tilted as he studied her from afar. "I'm sorry?"

His words seemed to dissolve into oblivion as her consciousness was dragged deep into the dark, unvisited centre of her thoughts. Before she could determine the cause, her mind was flooded with thousands of images bursting into her head faster than she could process them. She gasped as the visions tore through her defences and shattered her understanding of reality. The more she tried to latch onto them, the quicker they passed. It was as if someone's terrifying memories were being downloaded into her thoughts all at once. A dark mask, a hooded demon, a red raven. The emotions rushing through her were so foreign, yet strangely intimate as they consumed her. Red grass, an infant girl, a sea of unknown faces, strange exotic destinations never seen before. They felt so real, so powerful as if she were drowning in the depths of an endless out-of-body experience. She questioned her existence as the fragmented memories swarmed around her. The part of her still fighting to take control was desperately clawing its way to the surface of her thoughts, hoping to latch onto any aspect of familiarity before she became lost in the sea of inevitable insanity.