Doctor Who_ Unnatural History Part 5

'The integrity of s.p.a.ce-time has been slowly eroding around the scar. About a month ago it reached a critical level of exposure.'

Sam caught the thick scent of coffee from one shop doorway, beer and smoke from a pub further on. For a moment she heard an English accent in the crowd, tourists as far from home as she was, but by the time she'd turned she'd lost them.

'How do you know all of this?' Sam demanded.

The Doctor looked faintly embarra.s.sed. Fitz said gleefully, 'It was his fault.'

'In a sense,' said the Doctor. 'I was certainly intimately involved.'

Sam said, 'So you want to put everything back the way it was.'

The Doctor blinked at her. Then, slowly, he raised his arms outward, throwing them wide, and leaned his whole body back.

He should have fallen over backward, tumbled right down the hill to the cross-street below, but instead he sort of hung there with his coat dangling out behind him.

Sam felt her eyes twist just trying to take it in he was standing at right angles to the pavement, a perfectly normal way to stand on a city street, but this street was tilted at maybe thirty degrees from where level ground should be.

And he just hung there, at a mind-boggling angle, and grinned like a kid with a new toy.

'Change it back? Why on Earth would I want to do a thing like that?' he said. 'A little local colour is good for tourism. I'm sure a lot of people expect San Francisco to be like this anyway. No, the real problem is very different.'

With a sudden dancing flip of his feet the Doctor snapped himself back up to a more conventional angle, and started back up the hill again.

Sam and Fitz stared at the spot where he'd been standing. 'Thanks for levelling with us, Doctor,' said Fitz.

He made that happen, Sam thought. She looked back down the hill, at the buildings, the people, the water glittering in afternoon suns.h.i.+ne. All of it was reflected in the gla.s.s ball she held in her hands. made that happen, Sam thought. She looked back down the hill, at the buildings, the people, the water glittering in afternoon suns.h.i.+ne. All of it was reflected in the gla.s.s ball she held in her hands.

He changed the whole city. He touched it and turned it impossible.

'The scar acts as a sort of lodestone,' the Doctor was continuing. They hurried to catch up. 'It's drawing all sorts of people to San Francisco, either out of curiosity or just because it's mucked about with their normal forms of interdi-mensional travel. Most of them are harmless. Relatively.'

39.'But he left me here to look for signs of anything that wasn't,' said Fitz quietly.

The Doctor nodded slowly. 'It's only a matter of time before something really really nasty comes along.' He turned suddenly, looking back down the hill at the city under its haze of drizzle. 'And I don't think any of us are ready for it.' nasty comes along.' He turned suddenly, looking back down the hill at the city under its haze of drizzle. 'And I don't think any of us are ready for it.'

She was sure it was colder in here than it had been on the street.

The alley opened up to a loading area, stacked with crates and rubbish dumpsters, surrounded on three sides by the backs of shops. Was.h.i.+ng hung from lines between the buildings, strung from dirty second-storey windows. There was no one around, metal awnings rolled down in the doorways.

Fitz was leaning against the damp wall of the alley, arms casually folded, looking like he wanted to be somewhere seriously else but didn't want either of them to know it.

Sam stepped a little closer to the scar. It hung in the air, close to the back wall of the alley, about level with her face. It looked like. . . like the air was really gla.s.s, safety gla.s.s like in a windscreen, and it had been cracked.

The Doctor had taken what looked like a TV remote control out of his pocket.

He was pointing it at the scar, peering intensely at the device.

'What's that thing?' she asked.

'It's a sort of stabiliser,' he said. 'We came here to heal the scar, to stabilise s.p.a.ce-time. I'm just taking a few readings.' He frowned at whatever the device was telling him.

'Shouldn't you put up a sign or something?' she said. 'What if someone walks into it?'

The Doctor shook his head. 'It's harmless,' he said. 'To almost everyone. Go closer, there's more.'

Tentatively she stepped forward and was striding confidently towards the scar, was striding confidently towards the scar, lean and certain, waving the Doctor and Fitz back. 'Better stay clear Christ lean and certain, waving the Doctor and Fitz back. 'Better stay clear Christ knows what this thing could do to a Time Lord's timestream. You really should do knows what this thing could do to a Time Lord's timestream. You really should do better at picking up after yourself, you know. . . ' better at picking up after yourself, you know. . . '

'Well, yes,' he called. 'But then I'd be perfect, and we don't want that.'

'Heavens, no. You'd be bored silly.'

'And I wouldn't need you to take care of things either. And then where would you be?' you be?'

'Bags the Caribbean.' She grinned and raised the stabilising device, but felt something throb in her head and something throb in her head and stood frozen, a hand reaching to her temple, the world swaying around her. stood frozen, a hand reaching to her temple, the world swaying around her.

'She's here,' she breathed.

40.'This is where it happened,' said the Doctor, from right behind her ear. 'It was so sudden. . . '

She was much closer to the scar, though she couldn't remember walking. Her legs felt like giving way. The Doctor danced round in front of her, coaxing her onward. 'Come on. One more step. We need to know what happened. Come on. . . '

Another step towards the scar, the Doctor's stabilising device wavering in her towards the scar, the Doctor's stabilising device wavering in her hands. It looked like a hobbyist's home-made remote control. Behind her Fitz was hands. It looked like a hobbyist's home-made remote control. Behind her Fitz was asking, 'What if this doesn't work?' asking, 'What if this doesn't work?'

'Then we'll still have to find a way of m.u.f.fling the scar's energy pulses,' said the Doctor. 'We can't risk letting it attract Sam? Are you all right?' Doctor. 'We can't risk letting it attract Sam? Are you all right?'

'Yeah.' Though her ears were pounding and her mouth had gone cotton. 'I'm just. . . getting flashes ' just. . . getting flashes '

Closer again to the scar now, like a step-zoom. Her ears were pounding and her mouth had gone cotton. Not so cool and perfect now, are you, Blondie?

The web of fractures filled her view, just a metre or two away. Now she could see individual filaments, streaks of air that bent the light and left her seeing sideways through them. And in the centre, something A glimpse of blue. Straight lines bent at tortured angles, folded and mangled till you could barely catch a glimpse through the prism of the scar. Something trapped in the centre. Somehow she knew it was screaming.

'There's something '

'My TARDIS.'

'But why did you '

The words came in a blizzard. 'She's m.u.f.fling the energy surges. Her dimensional framework is wrapped around the wound in s.p.a.ce-time. But she can't take it much longer, she's getting close to breaking up '

'But why didn't you just '

'I couldn't stabilise the scar. We didn't know what had happened to Sam, we might need it to get her back, so I put the TARDIS there as a stopgap. Please, Sam. We've got to hurry. I need to know.'

'Right.' She took a breath and thought blonde and stumbled and dropped stumbled and dropped the stabiliser and waved Fitz's supporting hands away. The gale in her head was the stabiliser and waved Fitz's supporting hands away. The gale in her head was drowning her out. 'It's those dreams I had. About the other me. The one in drowning her out. 'It's those dreams I had. About the other me. The one in King's Cross. I'm seeing ' Her eyes twisted and King's Cross. I'm seeing ' Her eyes twisted and the scar was inches away now, everything she could see bent and shattered through it. the scar was inches away now, everything she could see bent and shattered through it.

She dreamed about me. I never dreamed.

'Can you see her?' insisted the Doctor. 'Can you reach her?'

41.She answered, 'I can't,' but the Doctor hadn't asked anything and she could feel herself the dark-haired herself herself the dark-haired herself brus.h.i.+ng against the scar and feeling her blonde self brus.h.i.+ng against the scar and feeling her blonde self brus.h.i.+ng against the scar, a man dreaming he was brus.h.i.+ng against the scar, a man dreaming he was a b.u.t.terfly dreaming he was a b.u.t.terfly dreaming he was a man, and she was pitching face forward into the shattered prism and felt a man, and she was pitching face forward into the shattered prism and felt herself somehow pus.h.i.+ng her other self out of the way, and distantly she could see herself somehow pus.h.i.+ng her other self out of the way, and distantly she could see another dark-haired her about to hurtle in and push her back another dark-haired her about to hurtle in and push her back Oh G.o.d.

'You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!' she shouted, and swung at the Doctor's face.

He leaned backward, easily, her fist sweeping past his nose. She kept on shouting, 'You wanted me to fall in, didn'tcha? And push her back out instead.'

She grabbed his lapels, shoved him against the wall. He held the stabiliser in a death grip, holding it up, away from her. 'That's all you wanted me for!'

'No no no! I just wanted to find out what '

'Don't you get it?' Sam yelled. ' She's She's the freak! the freak! She's She's the mutant! I'm the real one!' Her arm was already swinging back. She was going to smash his face in and run all the way to the airport. the mutant! I'm the real one!' Her arm was already swinging back. She was going to smash his face in and run all the way to the airport.

Fitz grabbed her from behind in an awkward bear hug, trying to pin her arms. They lurched about together. The Doctor made that scar he changed the The Doctor made that scar he changed the whole city he'd change me the same way whole city he'd change me the same way 'Let her go,' said the Doctor.

Suddenly she was free. She turned to sprint for the main road.

The mouth of the alleyway was blocked by a solid wall of little men in grey uniforms.

Sam froze. 'Oh no, who are you?' she said.

'Run for it!' shouted the Doctor.

Sam turned no other way out of the alley turned back, stumbling backward as the grey men advanced. There were half a dozen of them, all looking pretty much alike, medium heights, medium builds. Their faces were rounded, vague. They were like a row of n.o.bodies.

Some of them were carrying what looked like nets.

Sam yelled and ran straight for them, smas.h.i.+ng into one with her shoulder.

A hand s.n.a.t.c.hed at her arm, spinning her around. Two were grabbing at Fitz.

Two others were struggling with the Doctor. She had a glimpse of his super-science machine, cracking open as it smashed against the wall.

Sam elbowed her a.s.sailant in the face. She yelled as the other one grabbed her hair. Swearing, she struggled in her jeans pocket for her rape alarm. There! There!

She shoved her thumb hard into the on-switch and threw the thing at the wall. The alley was suddenly screaming, the sound loud enough to hurt, echo-42 ing back from every surface. The grey man went for the alarm, dragging her by the hair, but she swung round and bit his arm.

She saw the Doctor push two fingers hard into the chest of one of his oppo-nents. The man toppled backward, as though stunned.

Sam took the gla.s.s ball from her jacket pocket, aimed carefully for the other man's head, and let it fly.

She missed. But the ball shattered right next to the guy, startling him, and the Doctor tripped him up and s.n.a.t.c.hed the remains of his remote control.

Something landed on her from behind, with incredible force. She went down, her head smacking on the road, her skull making an ugly crunching noise.

The rape alarm shut off at last, but her ears were still ringing, her whole head was ringing. She felt like she was going to be sick.

The Doctor grabbed her, picked her right up off the ground. 'No!' she yelled, trying to fight, but he was too strong and she couldn't see because something was running down her face into her eyes.

'G.o.d, no!' She clawed at his coat. 'Don't throw me in, G.o.d, please don't '

But he was running, carrying her in his arms. Through the stuff in her eyes she got a glimpse over his shoulder, the grey men chasing after them as they ran out of the alley.

The ringing in her head was so loud she had to shut her eyes to stop it.

Chapter Four.

Bird of Paradox.

The Doctor's face swam in front of hers, his eyes inches away from her own. 'If there's a concussion, it's only a mild one,' he murmured.

'You sure?' Sam asked. The hotel room was an uncertain haze, brown wall-paper and generic landscape paintings just out of focus. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to jump out of the walls and attack her.

She was sitting in a little chair, the Doctor kneeling beside her. His fingers stroked a damp face cloth across her forehead, wiping away the dirt and dried blood. He was gentle and tender and it still hurt like h.e.l.l.

Fitz sat cross-legged on the bed, fiddling with the broken machine. Its hi-tech metal case had split open, and something that looked like blancmange was oozing out. 'This thing has beeped its last,' he said mournfully.

'Oh no no. No, not now.' The Doctor swung round to grab the device and frantically started checking it. 'Without the stabilising device, I can't heal the scar or extract the TARDIS.' She could see his hands shaking, the frantic intensity as he peered at the controls. 'The toolkit I brought from the TARDIS isn't enough.

I could fix anything else, but the core's been smashed.'

'What happens if you can't get the TARDIS out in time?' asked Fitz quietly.

The Doctor balled up the face cloth. 'She'll be crushed. We've got a bit more than two days. Of course her plasmic sh.e.l.l, her dimensional skeleton, will probably bind the scar. Permanently. It won't be able to cause any further problems.'

Fitz's mouth twitched. 'And we'll be stranded here.'

The Doctor gripped the device until his knuckles turned white, as though he could squeeze the life back into it.

Then he made himself put it down. 'First things first,' he said. He took out a sticking plaster and carefully applied it to the cut on Sam's forehead.

'Ow,' she said. The room was starting to come back into focus, as if she was waking up from a bad dream. 'What are we going to do about those guys?

Should we call the police, or what?'

44.'Could you describe them?' said the Doctor. 'Think for a moment.'

Sam opened her mouth and closed it again. 'It's the knock on the head,' she said. 'I can't quite remember. . . '

But the Doctor was shaking his head. 'Sam,' he began, 'I don't think there's a word in any Earthly language for how sorry I am that you were hurt '

'Sure. Right.' She pulled away sharply, and waited a moment for the room to catch up with her. 'Not that you would have minded me getting killed killed, though.'

'What?'