Tuesday, March 27, 2007

The Enemy Within VII

24. INT. HALLWAY (NIGHT)

The Doctor sneezes and rubs his streaming eyes. He tries to move, but can’t seem to find the energy. The rasping laugh is heard. The Doctor tenses. Another chuckle. Human, this time – with apparently genuine amusement. The Doctor peers through the dusty gloom as a shape emerges from beside the staircase, the source of the laughter.

DOCTOR
Who was it who said the dead have a great sense of humor?

The shape moves into the weak light, revealing it is, in fact PASCOE. He’s not in good shape. His eyes are bone white and a kind of yellow foam drips from his grinning mouth. He is laughing with delight, seeming almost to glide out of the shadows. In his hand is a shotgun – broken. He then un-breaks it and aims at the Doctor.

DOCTOR
Oh, no. One human life is all you get, you appalling apparition! LET HIM GO!

Laughing even louder, Pascoe cocks the shotgun.

DOCTOR
Oh, well, if you want to do it like that.

Pascoe presses the barrel of the shotgun against the Doctor’s forehead. The laughter becomes the evil rasping, throaty voice.

THE VOICE (VO)
The world outside is falling away...

The Doctor stares unflinchingly up at the white-eyed Pascoe. As the possessed manservant’s finger tightens on the trigger, the Doctor reaches out, snatches a broken piece of wood and swings it up, knocking the barrel aside as his momentum drags him out of the way – and the bullets slam into the wall behind the Doctor.

THE VOICE (VO)
No!

The Doctor lunges forward, grabs Pascoe and sends him reeling into the debris. The Doctor stares at the shotgun as if fascinated by it.

DOCTOR
I hate projectile weapons. No stun function built in.

Pascoe screams and lunges at the Doctor who, at the last second, half-turns and crashes the gun butt against Pascoe’s head. His eyes turn normal, then he falls heavily.

DOCTOR
Maybe they do.

The Doctor bends over Pascoe and checks his pulse.

DOCTOR
Be at peace with the world. I’m sure you understand.

The Doctor straightens up to see the black spectre again.

DANIEL (VO)
Why did you kill me?

The Doctor boggles.

DOCTOR
...Daniel?


25. INT. UPPER LANDING (NIGHT)

The Colonel, Maurice, Tracey and Emily are standing near the open door to Theo’s room. Peri runs back into view.

EMILY
What was that noise?

PERI
The ghost. We have to get out of here, we can’t go that way, so we need another way out.

COLONEL
The north staircase leads to the tradesman’s entrance. Come on.

They start to move out, but Maurice doesn't budge.

MAURICE
We can’t go outside!

PERI
We can’t stay here either!

EMILY
And Theo is out there.

MAURICE
Your point being? The last time someone went outside they hanged themselves from a tree! I don’t want to repeat that experiment, I don’t want to go outside and that’s final!

A sizzling flash of light and a massive crash of thunder. The whole house shudders. Peri struggles to keep her balance, and the others barely manage it. The furniture rattles. It fades into hard, loud rain.

MAURICE
What was that?!

COLONEL
Just thunder, you moron!

EMILY
It felt like an earthquake!

COLONEL
So the storm must be close.

PERI
What storm? It was a clear night five minutes ago!

Tracey pulls open the curtains. The window is rendered opaque with rain. More lightning flashes and the window rattles in the breeze.

TRACEY
That’s not natural.

EMILY
What do you mean?

MAURICE
Summer storms always come from the west. This one’s come from the east. From the wrong way. Straight to this house...

PERI
Are you a meteorologist?

MAURICE
What do meteors have to do with anything?! I know the weather round these parts, and that is not normal!

Another lightning flash and another loud crash of thunder. The lightning flash goes on for a surprisingly long time.

EMILY
Theo’s out in the middle of that.

MAURICE
Well, if he is, how are we supposed to help him? If we go outside, we’ll get caught in the storm, probably lost and...

PERI
And if we stay here, we deal with the thing that killed Daniel! My dad once said, “There’s no such thing as bad weather – just inappropriate clothing.” Come on. It’s just rain and lightening.

MAURICE
Have you ever been struck by lightening?!

PERI
No, so this is our chance to find out what it’s like. Come on.

She heads down the corridor. Maurice stays where he is while the others follow.

MAURICE
Fine. Do what you want, but I’m...

There is another crash of thunder. The window shatters in shards of glass. Maurice dives for the sanctuary where the others are. Furniture is knocked over. The gale shrieks down the corridor.

TRACEY
That horrible noise... it... it sounds...

COLONEL
Human.

TRACEY
Yes. Like a human voice.

EMILY
Or an inhuman one.

Maurice looks accusingly at Peri.

MAURICE
Is that really what you want to face outside?

PERI
We only have to get to the TARDIS. Once there, we’re laughing.


26. INT. HALLWAY (NIGHT)

As before. The Doctor and Daniel face off.

DANIEL
Why did you kill me, Doctor?

The Doctor sighs.

DOCTOR
No. Not Daniel. Another plasmaton. Dear me, you are running low, aren’t you?

DANIEL
Why did you kill me?

The Doctor starts to sing cheerfully, ignoring Daniel.

DOCTOR
Nostra patria è il mondo intero
nostra legge è la libertà
ed un pensiero
ribelle in cor ci sta.


Daniel looks baffled.

DANIEL
What are...

The Doctor cuts across him, firmly.

DOCTOR
Ma torneranno Italia
I tuoi proscritti
Ad agitar la face
Dei diritti.

DANIEL
Answer me! Why?

The Doctor picks his way over the rubble towards the door.

DANIEL
You think this will change what you’ve done?

Daniel steps out of the shadows, in front of the Doctor, who ducks round him, still chanting.

DOCTOR
Nostra patria è il mondo intero
nostra legge è la libertà
ed un pensiero
ribelle in cor ci sta.


DANIEL
Why? Doctor? WHY? WHY DID YOU KILL ME?

The Doctor reaches the door and starts to tug at the lock.

DANIEL
You can’t ignore me Doctor! Why did you do it?

DOCTOR
Nostra patria è il mondo intero
nostra legge è la libertà
ed un pensiero
ribelle in cor ci sta.


Daniel is standing right beside the Doctor.

DANIEL
Why?

The Doctor ignores him, tugging at the lock. With a scowl, Daniel reaches out and grabs the Doctor’s shoulders and effortlessly hauls him from the door and hurls him across the room. The Time Lord cries out as he is sucked down the hallway. The throaty voice emerges from Daniel’s mouth as he starts to disperse into the gloom.

THE VOICE (VO)
Our homeland is the whole world
Our law is liberty
We have one thought –
Revolution – in our hearts!

He vanishes completely.


27. EXT. QUARRY (DAY) B&W

A barren, rocky space. A few plants are growing. With a familiar wheezing groaning sound, a large upright boulder appears. A blunt-edged chunk of it opens like a door pushed on a telescoping metal tube. Stepping out of the time machine is the cheerful FIRST GHOST emerges, a fit, keen-eyed man of the same age. He wears a long duster jacket with many pockets and buckles, and some sci-fi goggles. The SECOND GHOST - young handsome man in his twenties, clean shaven, and dressed in a conservative practical outfit – emerges far more cautiously.

FIRST GHOST
Well, it’s not exactly a garden spot, but suitable enough. Yes.

SECOND GHOST
Here of all places. The society’s barely reached the industrial age. Everyone will be paranoid, violent and extremely distrusting of outsiders.

FIRST GHOST
And how is that different from most industrial societies?

SECOND GHOST
Oh, very droll.

FIRST GHOST
I just wanted a stroll. We can head back home the moment we’ve stretched our legs.

SECOND GHOST
Yes. You said that before.

FIRST GHOST
Did I?

SECOND GHOST
Yes. When we played truant and stole a skimmer to head for Paradise Island.

FIRST GHOST
That was a special case, my friend. Let us have that stroll.

SECOND GHOST
I suppose it was a total coincidence we landed on the one side of the planet containing the collection of cities where most of the population live inside or between?

FIRST GHOST
I thought you didn’t believe in coincidence.

SECOND GHOST
That’s what I mean.

They move into the outskirts of some woods.

SECOND GHOST
You realize of course we probably won’t be able to pass for natives. Just because they’re humanoid...

FIRST GHOST
My dear friend, I don’t intend to get into some firefight with the locals! What do you take me for. Just a quick escape from Anzor and the others. A chance to relax. But I did notice some sort of primitive stronghold over the hill, a sort of town inside a wooden fence, surrounded by a moat and some wooden spikes...

SECOND GHOST
Anyone who builds something like that won’t be happy about two aliens watching them.

FIRST GHOST
I never said I wanted to be spotted. Come along, where’s your sense of adventure?

SECOND GHOST
Right now it’s stuck in the black star with no life support.

FIRST GHOST
How about your wonder and curiosity?

SECOND GHOST
Back at the ship.

The First Ghost tuts and shakes his head.


28. EXT. OUTSIDE THE MANOR (NIGHT)

Lightning crackles across the sky. The rain is sheeting down.


29. INT. UPPER LANDING (NIGHT)

The lights are flickering. The group moves cautiously down the passage which clearly has not been used for some time.

MAURICE
I’m sure I heard the front door slam.

COLONEL
It was just thunder.

MAURICE
It was not thunder! It was the door slamming BETWEEN thunder!

EMILY
Maybe it’s Theo? He’s found his way back.

MAURICE
Or the Doctor running for it, and leaving us to the mercy of...

PERI
Maurice? Just shut up. You don’t know what you’re talking about. Apart from anything else, the Doctor double-locked the door. So Theo would have to use another way to get in. And the Doctor isn’t going to abandon us.

Maurice is now getting progressively more hysterical.

MAURICE
How do you know?!

PERI
I don’t! You’re just hearing things! It’s either the ghost messing with you or just you cracking up, so either way, just build a bridge and get over it!

MAURICE
Sorry.

PERI
It’s OK.

The lights flicker, go out and then return. For a brief instant, two red lights – like eyes – hover in the gloom before them. Simultaneously, thunder rumbles. Peri takes out the torch as the lights return, showing there was nothing there.

PERI
Anyone else see that?

MAURICE
I wish I hadn’t.

TRACEY
What’s smell? It’s like something burning...

PERI
Forget it! It’s just toying with us. How much further do we have to go, Colonel?

COLONEL
Two more corridors after this one.

Peri takes a deep breath and tries to sound chirpy.

PERI
Well, best foot forward...

They head down the corridor again. As they move out of view, we see the shadow-shape is unhurriedly moving down the corridor after them.


30. EXT. ALLEYWAY (DAY) B&W

A medieval-looking alleyway in a medieval-looking city.

SECOND GHOST
Well, it looks as if we got here unnoticed. Which suits me. Should we go back?

FIRST GHOST
Just a quick look round.

SECOND GHOST
You will be the death of me one day.


31. INT. UPPER LANDING (NIGHT)

The group cautiously move down a short flight of stairs into a longer, gloomy corridor. Water is dripping from the ceiling.

PERI
So, people did actually die here?

COLONEL
Years and years ago. Nothing like this has happened before.

PERI
Maybe the ghosts just woke up? No, this doesn’t make sense. It’s one evil ghost after us, not the ghosts of his victims.

MAURICE
Maybe this evil ghost is what caused him to... to... kill them in the first place? A demon? You said it feeds off fear. Maybe it’s only started to get hungry now, years later, when no one would suspect a thing. If anything happens to us, the lines are down, the roads are flooded, we don’t have a hope... What you can’t see won’t hurt you... it’ll...

Tracey shushes him and takes his hand.

TRACEY
You’re getting upset, Maurice. Just relax.

MAURICE
Relax? Are you insane? Are you even aware of the situation we’re in?! DO YOU? Sorry, sorry. It’s just... this is just too spooky! And there have been signs. Haven’t there? Signs and portents.

TRACEY
What are you on about?

MAURICE
Yesterday. We found a dead bird on the lawn. But, but, it wasn’t a normal bird. It was huge, the size of a dog. All distorted and oil black. The monster was dead though. Just seemed to fall out of the sky. Doesn’t that mean something?

PERI
Yeah, you’re panicking! Did the bird say anything? Do anything?

COLONEL
No. It was dead.

EMILY
Well, people do find dead birds and ghosts aren’t involved.

MAURICE
But there are no birds like that in this country! Where did it come from?!

PERI
How should I know? I haven’t even seen it!

MAURICE
So just take it from me! IT WASN’T NORMAL!

PERI
OK, hands up who wants to slap him first?

All bar Maurice raise their hands. Maurice glares at them all, hysterical.

MAURICE
Oh yes, VERY AMUSING! We’re trapped and surrounded by things beyond comprehension, so let’s pick on Maurice! That will cheer us up! That will... Oh my god...

His voice has dropped to a whimper. He raises a shaking hand and points down the corridor into the gloom. The others follow his gaze, despite their best efforts sharing his fear. He whimpers again and points to a patch of shadow in the corner. Just visible on the floor are two shoes, half lost in shadow along with whatever is wearing them. Silence bar the rain. Peri swallows.

PERI
T-Theo? Theo, is that you?

No reaction. The raspy laugh begins.

PERI
Theo?

The laugh becomes a moaning scream as there is another flash of lightning... Maurice and Emily cry out. Peri peers through the flash as it ends. As the thunder fades, she calmly strides over to the shoes and kicks them. They fly across the corridor.

PERI
Just an empty pair of shoes. Now are we moving or not?

The laughter begins again. Peri speaks firmly.

PERI
Ignore it.

She turns and moves down the corridor. The Colonel and Tracey follow, but Maurice and Emily are less eager. Emily pauses by the window and cries out. Maurice flinches.

MAURICE
What? What did you see? EMILY, WHAT DID YOU SEE?

Emily stares through the rain beyond the window.

EMILY
Theo...


32. EXT. OUTSIDE THE MANOR (NIGHT)

Barely visible through the rain, Theo stands absolutely still on the lawn, looking straight at the window. He is soaked. His eyes are locked on the window.


33. INT. UPPER LANDING (NIGHT)

Emily looks through the window with naked relief.

EMILY
Theo...

COLONEL
That’s not Theo.

EMILY
He’s alive! He’s alive and out there!

She turns and runs down the corridor, shoving Maurice and Peri out of the way.

PERI
Hey, no! Wait up!

COLONEL
Emily, m’dear! It’s not him!

MAURICE
What do you mean, it’s not...

Peri looks back and sees the black shape now stands directly behind Tracey.

PERI
TRACEY!

Tracey ducks away. The Colonel spins, raises his rifle and fires point blank at the spectre. A chunk of plaster is knocked loose as the bullets pass straight through the black figure. Immediately the throaty laughter booms around them from all sides. The lights flicker again, then one by one explode in sparks, until the only light illuminates the shadow creature. The Colonel fires the gun again. Peri screams as the darkness becomes pitch black. There is the rasping howl and the sound of flames crackling.

- to be continued...

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