My Guardian Alien

The Tracker

"This here," the Doctor began, "Is a tracker for our shapeshifter friend. Every time a shapeshifter shifts shapes, a type of audible residue is left in the air. It sounds a bit like this."
He lifted his sonic screwdriver in the air and activated it. An earsplitting sound erupted in the room. Zanolith mouths the words, "Turn it off! Turn it off, please!" The Doctor obeys. "That's the sound amplified by one. It's so quiet yet loud, that even if you make it louder by just one more decibel than this, you could explode a head." He awkwardly smiled at that point, gaining a strange look from the professor. "That is why I trust Cassidy with this instrument." He thrust the tracker helmet at me.
"You trust me with the safety of the heads of the smartest people I know?! Are you insane, Doctor?" I yelled. He shrugged and said, "Mildly. And yes. I do trust you." He smiled, and it comforted me. "Now this helmet protects you from ear ringing, hearing loss, and head explosions. This remote here picks up the sound and transfers it to the helmet in a safe measurement so you can hear it safely." I looked up at him, having to tilt my head upwards due to the helmet obstructing my vision. "So, no head *kachoo*?" I said. He smiled and said, "Yes, Cassidy. No head *kachoo*. Right then! Out we-"

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We heard it. A loud scream. Zanolith and the Doctor both dashed out the door toward the sound. I set the helmet down because I felt that Yipet was in the building and ran after them.

It was terrifying. There, at the two men's feet lay a body. It's form was so mangled, it was impossible to tell if it was male or female. I felt sick. The Doctor stared down at it, and only said, "I'm so sorry." Zanolith turned to him and said, "The Zygon got it. This is what we see every time we get a call. It's painful, but sadly, you eventually get used to it." "Who was it? The first victim?" Zanolith looked down and blinked back tears. "It was my wife. We were life and lab partners, then one day, I walked in and she looked almost like this poor person here. I could tell it was her by the lab coat, tag and locket the monster left behind on her body." He reached in the neckhole of his shirt and pulled out a locket and sighed, his eyes dark with sadness. "I wear this every day, to remember her."

"Remembrance." They said in unison.

"Not as close as having them back," the Doctor murmured. "but it's all you've got at this point." Zanolith looked up at him. "Family member?" He asked. "Whole race." the Doctor answered and briskly stepped away, as if to change the topic. "Right then. Sound! Cassidy! Where's the-" He stopped as soon as he saw me. "Cassidy. Where is the tracker helmet?" I pointed to the lab. "In the lab. Yipet's there, it's safe." He sighed and turned toward the hill it rested on. "Cassidy, come on. Zanolith, could you guard the perimeter? Make sure nobody gets in the scene."

He tucked his thumbs under his suspenders and flicked them as he started off. I couldn't tell if he was upset or not, but I apologized anyway. "Sorry about what?" He asked. "You know. Leaving our most important asset to this case in a laboratory where it has no use there." He chuckled and patted my head. "As long as it's still there, you're fine."

We got there, and he froze.