xxᴠ. ʟᴏɴᴇʟɪɴᴇꜱꜱ
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The bunting is out for the 2012 Olympics in the brand new Stratford housing estate, and potholes are being repaired with new tarmac. Life moves on normally.
"Morning, love.", The postman smiles at a woman.
"Morning.", The young mother pushes her pram past Tom in goal and his friend Dale kicking a football on the tiny front lawn while doting Dad washes the car.
"Yes!", Dale exclaims.
"Hiya!", The woman waves.
"All right?", Tom's dad asks her.
On the lamp post is a missing persons poster - Jane McKillen. The scene is watched from an upstairs window by a young girl. An old woman wheels her shopping bag along the pavement nervously. The young girl's mother puts the rubbish out.
"Maeve? Are you okay?", A woman called Trish asks her.
"No, love, I'm not."
"Do you want me to call a doctor?"
"Doctor can't help. Can't you, can't you feel it, Trish?", The woman waved it off.
"I can't feel anything."
"Boys, get indoors! Get inside! Get them inside!", Maeve tells Tom's father.
"What's up with you? They ain't done nothing wrong."
"It's happening again!"
Trish looks up to her daughter's window then goes back inside number 53.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree. Merry merry king of the bush is he. Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra, gay your life must be.", Chloe sings before she turns from the window and starts drawing on a piece of paper.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"They're not safe."
"They're in the garden.", Tom's father points out.
"That's what it likes. It likes it when they're playing. Get them in, I'm begging you.", Maeve cries.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"Merry merry king of the bush is he. Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra, gay your life must be.", Chloe finishes her picture of Dale, with his Union Flag t-shirt.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"It's all right. I've got my beady eyes on them. Come on."
"But, I-"
"Come on.", Tom kicks the ball into the goal, but Dale isn't there any more.
"No!"
"Tom?", Tom's father looks round for his child, who has since disappeared.
"What are you?", Maeve mutters.
"Where's he gone?"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"What do you want with our children??"
Chloe finishes the picture, and the boy on the paper runs forward, screaming silently.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The Tardis materialises in the Tardis-sized gap between a pair of cargo containers. For once, she gets the door on the wrong side. The Doctor can't get out.
"Ah.", He turns her ninety degrees while a train whizzes along the track between the open ground and the housing estate.
"Ah!", He calls out in excitement, this time.
Rose checks out a Shane Ward Greatest Hits poster on one of the containers. As Juliet steps out of the Tardis with a grin.
"So, near future, yeah?", Rose comments.
"I had a passing fancy. Only it didn't pass, it stopped.", The Doctor shrugs.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"Thirtieth Olympiad."
"No way! Why didn't I think of this? That's great.", A large grin overtakes Rose's face.
"Only seems like yesterday a few naked Greek blokes were tossing a discus about, wrestling each other in the sand with crowds stood around baying. No, wait a minute, that was Club Med. Just in time for the opening doo dah, ceremony, tonight, I thought you'd like that. Last one they had in London was dynamite. Wembley, 1948. I loved it so much, I went back and watched it all over again. Fella carrying the torch. Lovely chap, what was his?", Juliet has a random spurt of knowledge. The Doctor looks over at her with his mouth hanging open.
"I was going to say that. Word for word.", He mutters before they see Tom's dad is putting up Missing posters on the lampposts.
"Mark? John? Mark? Legs like pipe cleaners, but strong as a whippet."
"Doctor.", Rose tries to get his attention.
"And in those days, everybody had a tea party to go to.", He is rambling on.
"Doctor!", Rose tries again.
"Did you ever have one of those little cakes with the crunchy ball bearings on top?", He is still rambling on.
"You should really look at this.", Juliet attempts now.
"Do you know those things? Nobody else in this entire galaxy's ever even bothered to make edible ball bearings. Genius.", The Doctor goes to Rose and Juliet, and reads the two posters. The boy's name is Dale Hicks.
"What's taking them, do you think? Snatching children from a thoroughly ordinary street like this. Why's it so cold? Is someone reducing the temperature?"
"It says they all went missing this week. Why would a person do something like this?", Rose shakes her head, disgusted.
"What makes you think it's a person?"
A woman puts out her rubbish and goes straight back inside. There is no one else about apart from the council roadmenders and their white van.
"Whatever it is, it's got the whole street scared to death. Doctor, what-", The Doctor has run up the street to investigate the front lawn and its goal. He holds his hand out over the grass. A man in a Mini drives into the road, and the engine gives out. One of the road menders comes over to help.
"There you go. Fifth today. Not natural, is it?", He asks the driver.
"I don't know what happened, I had it serviced less than a month ago.", The driver responds.
"Nah, don't even try and explain it, mate. All the cars are doing it. And do you know what? It's bonkers. Bonkers. Come on then, pal. I'll help you shift it. Quicker you're on the way, happier you'll be.", The two men start pushing the car.
"There we go.", Kel, the road mender, smiles.
"Do you want a hand?", Rose offers.
"No, we're all right, love."
"You're not. I'm tougher than I look, honest.", Rose joins Kel pushing at the back, and the engine suddenly bursts into life. Kel falls over, the driver gets back in drives off.
"Does this happen a lot?", Juliet asks, coming over to stand with her girlfriend.
"Cheers, mate!"
"Been doing it all week.", Kel nods.
"Since those children started going missing?"
"Yeah, I suppose so."
Back at the goal.
"Ooo, tickles!", The Doctor mutters.
"What's your game?"
"My er. Snakes and Ladders? Quite good at squash. Reasonable. I'm being facetious, aren't I. There's no call for it."
"Every car cuts out. The council are going nuts. I mean, they've given this street the works. Renamed it. I've been tarmacking every pot hole. Look at that. Beauty, init? Yeah! And all that is because that Olympic Torch comes right by the end of this Close. Just down there. Everything's got to be perfect, ain't it? Only it ain't.", Kel explains to Rose and Juliet.
"It takes them when they're playing.", Maeve walks up.
"What takes them?", Juliet asks.
"Danny, Jane, Dale. Snatched in the blink of an eye."
Tom's dad has the Doctor backing away onto the road.
"I'm, I'm a police officer! That's what I am. I've got a badge and a police car. You don't have to get. I can, I can prove it. Just hold on."
"We've had plenty of coppers poking around here, and you don't look or sound like any of them.", Tom's father insists, making him move further back into the street.
"See, look. I've got colleagues. Lewis and er...", He hesitates so Juliet pipes up.
"Clark. Lewis and Clark."
"Clark? Really?", The Doctor turns to mouth at her. She shrugs as Tom's dad scoffs.
"Lewis and Clark? You're yanking my chain. The two of you look less like copper's than him.", He nods in the Doctor's direction.
"Training. New recruits. It was either that or hairdressing for the blonde. The other was going to be a fashion designer. Guess how that went? So, voila!", The Doctor brandishes his psychic paper in front of Tom's dad.
"What are you going to do?", Trish asks him.
"The police have knocked on every door. No clues, no leads, nothing.", Maeve adds.
"Look, kids run off sometimes, all right? That's what they do."
"Saw it with me own eyes. Dale Hicks in your garden, playing with your Tommy, and then pfft! Right in front of me, like he was never there. There's no need to look any further than this street. It's right here amongst us.", Maeve exclaims.
"Why don't we-", Juliet starts, trying to calm everyone down.
"Why don't we start with him? There's been all sorts like him in this street, day and night."
"Fixing things up for the Olympics.", Kel interjects.
"Yeah, and taking an awful long time about it.", Tom's dad scoffs.
"I'm of the opinion that all we've got to do is just-", The Doctor tries to keep the peace now.
"You don't. What you just said, that's slander!"
"I don't care what it is.", One of the women cries.
"I think we need to just-"
"I want an apology off her.", Kel points at the woman.
"Stop picking on him.", Maeve says.
"Yeah, stop picking on me."
"And stop pretending to be blind. It's evil!"
"I don't believe in evil.", The woman scoffs.
"Oh no, you just believe in tarmackers with sack loads of kidnapped kiddies in their van.", Kel says sarcastically.
"Here, here, here, that's not what she's saying."
"Would you stop ganging up on me."
"Feeling guilty, are we?", The woman teases Kel.
"Fingers on lips!", Everyone joins the Doctor in making the Shush gesture.
"In the last six days, three of your children have been stolen. Snatched out of thin air, right?"
"Er, can I? Look around you. This was a safe street till it came. It's not a person. I'll say it if no one else will. Maybe you're coppers, maybe you're not. I don't care who you are. Can you please help us?", Rose looks up at Chloe in the window. Trish notices and goes back inside. Later, the Doctor is back at Tom's house, sniffing.
"Want a hanky?", Rose offers.
"Can you smell it? What does it remind you of?", Juliet asks, also noticing the strange smell.
"Sort of metal?"
"Mmm hmm.", The Doctor nods.
"Oh."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Going between two lots of back gardens. We call it a jennel in my part of the world.
"Danny Edwards cycled in one end but never came out the other. Whoa, there it goes again! Look at the hairs on the back of my manly hairy hand."
"And there's that smell. It's like a er, a burnt fuse plug or something.", Rose says.
"There's a residual energy in the spots where the kids vanished. Whatever it was, it used an awful lot of power to do this.", Juliet tells her.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chloe watches a ginger cat in her front garden, then settles down to draw again.
"You have to come down some time, Chloe.", Her mother, Trish, says.
"I'm busy, mum."
"Look at it in here. You must've used up half a rainforest."
Chloe is drawing the cat on Dale's picture. He is now sitting in the bottom left corner.
"That's Dale. Why did you draw him so sad?", Trish asks.
"I didn't draw him like that. Dale made himself sad, so I'm going to draw him a friend. That's what he needs. More friends."
"Have you seen the TV?", Trish clicks on Chloe's laptop, and News24 comes on with its live Countdown to the Games. Huw Edwards' soft Welsh lilt provides the commentary.
"Look, this'll cheer you up. The Torch is getting close. It'll pass right by our street. And tonight they'll light the Olympic Flame in the stadium, and the whole world will be looking at our city. I mean, doesn't that make you feel part of something? Sweetheart? Chloe?", Trish tries to get her daughter's attention, but she is not having it.
"I'm busy, mum."
"Danny Fairweather carries the torch past them on this wonderful summer's day. Very fitting. We've seen lots of our sporting royalty, too."
"Okay. You're tired, Chloe. I heard you calling out again, last night."
"It's fine.", Chloe insists.
"Nightmares?"
"I'm drawing!"
"Whatever they are, they're just dreams, you do know that? They can't hurt you."
"I'm busy. Unless you want me to draw you, mum."
"If you want to stay cooped up in here, fine. I'll leave you to it.", Trish leaves. The cat picture is finished.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"Aren't you a beautiful boy?", Rose coos as Juliet walks with her.
"Thanks! I'm experimenting with back combing. Oh.", Rose is talking to the ginger cat.
"I used to have one like you. What?", Rose turns to the Doctor.
"No, I'm not really a cat person. Once you've been threatened by one in a nun's wimple, it kind of takes the joy out of it.", The cat goes inside cardboard box.
"Come here, puss. What do you want to go in there for?", Rose curiously follows the cat with her eyes.
There is a distant meow. The box is empty.
"Doctor! Phew.", The smell is very strong.
"Whoa! Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo. Ion residue. Blimey! That takes some doing. Just to snatch a living organism out of space-time. This baby is just like, I'm having some of that. I'm impressed.", Juliet comments. The Doctor, give she look, once again telling her that she had said exactly what he was just about to say.
"So the cat's been transported?", Rose asks.
"It can harness huge reserves of ionic power. We need to find the source of that power. Find the source and you will find whatever has taken to stealing children and fluffy animals. See what you can see. Keep them peeled, Lewis and Clark."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"I've given you friends and you still moan. Moan, moan, moan. You're lucky. You're all together. You don't know what it is to be alone. If you did, you'd be thanking me. No!", Under the gaze of Danny's picture, frustrated Chloe does a big scribble on a piece of paper.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
At the top of the close are the narrow three story houses with the integral garage next to the front door. Rose hears a noise coming from one of them.
"Is that you, puss cat? Are you trapped?", She calls out.
More noises and thumping.
"Not going to open it, not going to open it, not going to open it-", The door is unlocked. Rose gently opens it and a big ball of scribble knocks her down. The Doctor comes running.
"Rose!", Juliet cries running help her to her feet.
"You alright, Sweets?"
"Fine.", Rose breathes out.
"Stay still!", The Doctor points his sonic screwdriver, and the ball becomes hand-sized. Rose grabs it.
"Okey dokey?"
"Yeah, cheers."
"No probs. I'll give you a fiver if you can tell me what the hell it is, because I haven't got the foggiest.", The Doctor tells her.
"Well, I can tell you you've just killed it."
"It was never living. It's animated by energy. Same energy that's snatching people. That is so dinky! The go anywhere creature. Fits in your pocket, makes friends, impresses the boss, breaks the ice at parties."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The ball is under analysis.
"Oh, hi ho, here we go. Let's have a look. Get out of here."
"What's it say?", Rose asks.
The Doctor uses the eraser end of a pencil on the ball, and rubs some of it out.
"It is. It's graphite. Basically the same material as an HB pencil."
"I was attacked by a pencil scribble?", Rose scoffs.
"Scribble creature, brought into being with ionic energy. Whatever we're dealing with, it can create things as well as take them. But why make a scribble creature?"
"Maybe it was a mistake I mean, you scribble over something when you want to get rid of it, like a, like a drawing. Like a, a child's drawing. You said it was in the street.", Rose suggests with a shrug.
"Probably.", The Doctor nods.
"The girl."
"Of course! What girl?"
"Something about her gave me the creeps. Even her own mum looked scared of her.", Rose tells him.
"Are you deducting?"
"I think I am.", Rose hums.
"Copper's hunch?"
"Permission to follow it up, Sarge?"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The Doctor rings the doorbell, then rattles the letter box. Trish eventually answers the door.
"Hello. I'm the Doctor and this is Rose and Juliet. Can we see your daughter?"
"No, you can't.", Trish responds shortly.
"Okay. Bye."
"Why? Why do you want to see Chloe?"
"Well, there's some interesting stuff going on in this street, and I just thought. Well, we thought, that she might like to give us a hand.", The Doctor explains.
"Sorry to bother you.", Rose says.
"Sorry, again.", Juliet adds.
"Yeah, sorry. We'll let you get on with things. On your own. Bye again."
"Wait! Can you help her?", Trish calls them back before they can walk off.
"Yes, I can."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The television is on, of course.
"The Torch Bearer is running up the Mall, which I can tell you is-", The Tv is heard in the background as Trish leads them through the house.
"She stays in her room most of the time. I try talking to her, but it's like trying to speak to a brick wall. She gives me nothing, just asks to be left alone."
"What about Chloe's dad?", Rose asks.
"Chloe's dad died a year ago."
"I'm sorry.", Rose apologizes, but Juliet notices the woman's face and her body language when speaking about the man.
"Don't be.", She says, just as Trish speaks as well.
"You wouldn't be if you'd known him."
"How did you know he was horrible?", Trish turn to her, having heard her comment.
"Well, let's go and say hi.", The Doctor interjects before she can answer.
"I should check on her first. She might be asleep."
"Why are you afraid of her, Trish?", The Doctor asks suddenly.
"I want you to know before you see her that's she's really a great kid."
"I'm sure she is."
"She's never been in trouble at school you should see her report from last year. A's and B's.", Trish continues.
"Can I use your loo?", Rose asks suddenly.
"She's in the choir. She's singing in an old folks home. Any mum would be proud. You know I want you to know these things before you see her, Doctor, because right now, she's not herself."
Rose goes upstairs, and hides in the airing closet as Chloe comes out of her room and goes downstairs. She goes into Chloe's room and sees the wall covered in drawings, including Dale and the cat. There is a noise from the wardrobe, and she knocks over a jar of coloured pencils. When she's picked them up again, Dale is scowling.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chloe is getting herself a drink of milk from the fridge.
"All right, there? I'm the Doctor."
"I'm Chloe Webber.", Chloe responds robotically.
The Doctor and Juliet exchange a look that says it all: 'Something's up here.'.
"How're you doing, Chloe Webber?"
"I'm busy. I'm making something, aren't I, mum."
"And like I said, she's not been sleeping."
"But you've been drawing, though. I'm rubbish. Stick men about my limit. Can do this, though.", He gives the Vulcan salute.
"Can you do that?", Juliet asks with a kind smile.
"They don't stop moaning.", Chloe sighs.
"Chloe."
"I try to help them, but they don't stop moaning.", She repeats herself.
"Who don't?"
"We can be together.", Chloe's voice is still robotic.
"Sweetheart."
"Don't touch me, mum."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The doors to the wardrobe rattle again. Rose opens them. A wind blows in her face. She parts the clothes to see a drawing of a bearded, yellow-eyed man.
"I'm coming."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::