Doctor Who: The Way Through the Woods (13 page)

The Doctor, she realised, was standing very close to her.

‘I can end this,’ he told her softly. ‘Whatever has been happening here for such a long time, I can end it. No more disappearances, no more secrets and fears and half-truths and confusion. I can end it all tonight. But I can’t end it from here.’

Porter looked anxiously over her shoulder.

‘It’s coming to an end anyway,’ the Doctor said. ‘The choice now is between the happy ending or the tragedy. But this is when you make a decision, Detective. You can play by the rules, the old rules, the ones that have kept this town terrified for so long, nobody talking about what happens – or you can take a risk. Admit that what’s been going on all these years is real. Bewildering, inexplicable – but
real
.’

Porter was listening to him as if mesmerised. ‘I’ve been watching you a lot the last day or so,’ she said, slowly.

‘You should see me in a fez. Looks
good
…’

‘I couldn’t make sense of your eyes. You don’t look old. Except for your eyes. What do they see, Doctor?’

‘Bad things, cruel things. Terrible things made all the worse by how beautiful they are. And sometimes – yes, often, because the universe is full of wonders as well as terrors – the most marvellous thing that it’s possible to see. Someone opening her mind.’

‘All right,’ said Porter. ‘I know you’re just reeling me in, but whatever you’re doing, it works. I’ll get you out of the station, and then you’re on your own.’ She put her hands to her head and sighed. ‘What am I doing? I
like
my job!’

‘There’s one more thing I need,’ said the Doctor.

‘What more do you want?’

‘There’s a widget. A gadget. A
thing
. About so long.’ He pulled his hands apart about eight inches. ‘Green light at the end. Makes a funny noise… You know, I’m fairly certain that you’ll recognise it when you see it.’

The strip light in the corridor wavered perilously. Outside, the wind was howling.

‘Thirdly,’ said the Doctor, ‘and, I promise that this is finally – might I also ask for some
haste
?’

When the meal was finished, Reyn lifted his hand and, with one wave, the room around them disappeared, leaving only faint golden trails behind it. A new room formed around them; a pleasant chamber with a fire crackling at one end, and two chairs by the hearth. Laura sat down in one of these, and took out a rich piece of embroidery from a workbox at her feet. Reyn bowed to Amy, and left.

Amy stalked restlessly around the room like a wild animal trapped in a cage. The air had an odd flavour – stale, metallic – and she could not shake the feeling of being enclosed in a small space. When she ran her finger against surfaces – the tapestries, the thick stone walls of the castle – flecks of light gathered and followed her fingertip wherever she traced with it. Whatever tricks Reyn pulled to give the illusion of space, there were clearly limits to his abilities.

Reaching the window, Amy tugged at the curtains. Night had fallen and it was pitch black outside. That only added to her sense of claustrophobia. She abandoned her progress round the room and slumped into the chair opposite Laura. She nodded down at her needlework.

‘So is that how you’ve filled the time?’

‘Hardly!’

‘So what have you been doing with yourself for the past, ooh, six decades?’

Laura calmly completed a few more stitches before answering. ‘At first, I tried to get away. You wouldn’t believe how many times I tried to get away! How many different routes I tried! Of course, I always ended up back in the glade. That’s where all the paths lead – the great green cathedral of trees. And Reyn was always there, to bring me home.’

‘I bet he was,’ Amy muttered.

‘After a while it seemed stupid to waste so much energy and emotion on a pointless activity. Particularly when there were so many marvels here to see. Thread this needle for me, will you, Amy? My eyes aren’t what they were.’

Amy squinted, and poked the loose end through the eye of the needle with one quick stab. As she bit off the thread, she said, ‘What marvels are you talking about? What is there to see here? You’re stuck in the middle of a wood!’

‘You saw the valley!’ Laura said. ‘You saw how beautiful it is here! And this is only the most recent of the worlds we’ve lived in. Reyn can create whatever I want, whatever I imagine! Space stations, intergalactic empires, a gothic mansion filled with spooks and ghouls, our own world at any time in its history!’

‘Yes, but it’s all fake, isn’t it?’ Amy waved her hand quickly to and fro, and a trail of golden light followed the movement. ‘I don’t know how he does it – virtual reality, maybe, or a simulation, or something to do with him being a shape-shifter… Oh, I don’t know! I
do
know that none of it is real! It’s horrible! It’s like you’ve been stuck in a role-playing game your whole life!’ She leaned forwards in her chair. ‘Laura, I’ve seen marvels –
real
marvels – things I can touch and smell and taste, and I haven’t had to be stuck in the same place in order to see them! My friend – the Doctor – he’s taken me to places you wouldn’t believe!’

‘Then you of all people should understand, Amy. Of anyone that’s ever come this way – you should understand! That’s exactly what Reyn has done for me! Perhaps aliens and starships and walking through a door out onto a different world isn’t anything particularly wonderful for you, but it was for me! To think that I once thought I might make it as far as Africa!’

‘You’re not even five miles from home! You’re trapped!’

‘Trapped is a state of mind. If we thought that way, we wouldn’t be able to bear it—’

‘Er, excuse me – there’s no “we” about this! I’m not staying here a moment longer than I can help. First light – I’m out of here!’

Laura gave the kind of smile that can only infuriate. ‘We’ll see. We’ll see.’

At this point, Reyn came back into the room. He crossed over to the fire, carrying a third chair with him, and sat warming his hands. In the candlelight, there was a real beauty to him – the thick, well-kept reddish hair; the sad, clever, orange eyes; the melancholy that seemed to gather around him like the light that followed Amy’s finger… Amy shook herself. No, she wasn’t going to be charmed by this creature, however beautiful and lonely and persuasive he might be.

Reyn had become aware that she was watching him. His ears twitched back. ‘I do understand your frustration, Amy,’ he said, ‘but I cannot risk lowering the barriers around the portal place. It’s too dangerous.’

Amy nodded towards the door. ‘Were you standing out there listening for long?’

‘I think you already know that this place is not as large as the impression might give. I could hear your voice quite clearly in the next tower.’

Amy blushed with embarrassment. ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘Didn’t mean to shout. Still, why can’t I try? Isn’t it always worth trying?’

‘I lost count of the number of times I tried, Amy,’ Laura said. ‘We’re only trying to save you a great deal of heartbreak.’

‘It’s true,’ Reyn said, ‘that I cannot be entirely sure what would happen if I let you through, Amy. It may make no difference at all. But my best guess – and it’s an educated guess – is that it would bring on the Shift. That puts the town at risk. I am the one responsible here, and I don’t think that’s a risk worth taking.’

‘Is this place really so terrible, Amy?’ Laura said. ‘Could you not at least wait for a while and see? It might be more bearable than you’re imagining.’

And, for a moment, sitting in that comfortable chair by that warm and lovely fire, Amy was tempted. Would it be so bad, after all, to stay here, in this calm, beautiful place, in this gentle kindly company; to leave whatever disaster was unfolding to somebody else to deal with? This place was enclosed, secluded – perhaps even if Swallow Woods did flood and become covered in water, this place would remain intact, sealed away. She might be safe here.

But she wouldn’t be with Rory, and she wouldn’t be Amy Pond.

‘It’s no use,’ Amy said. ‘I have to take the risk. I know something’s going to happen soon that will destroy the town and flood the valley. But I don’t really know what causes it. What if it’s because I
don’t
try to get out? I don’t know whether the Doctor is free or not, I don’t know whether Jess and Vicky made it, and I don’t know what Rory is doing right now, whenever he is. I do know that I can’t sit around waiting for events to catch up with me. I have to do
something
,’ she said, ‘and then take the consequences. I’ll wait till first light, and then I’ll go.’

‘But you won’t get through,’ Reyn said. ‘I can’t let you get through.’

‘And I can’t
not
try! First light, I’m off.’

Reyn sighed. ‘Here, of course, we don’t have to wait for dawn to arrive. We can bring it to us.’

He waved his hand. Amy got up, crossed to the window, and pulled the curtains back. Already the sky was pale and, quickly, it was suffused with a golden haze. Then the yellow sun emerged. This all took the matter of a moment.

‘Whatever it is you’re doing here,’ Amy told Reyn, ‘it’s pretty impressive.’

‘Thank you,’ Reyn replied. ‘I’ve had a long time to perfect it. Shall we go?’

In the courtyard, the sun was already high overhead. Laura laid her hand, parchment thin with age, upon Amy’s cheek. ‘Don’t be too heartbroken if you find yourself back here with us,’ she said. ‘I’ve had a good life, and a happy one.’

‘I won’t be back,’ Amy said. ‘But I’ll tell your parents you said that, if you like.’

Laura’s face crinkled up with an old but unforgotten pain. ‘Don’t,’ she said. ‘I know you mean well, but don’t hold out hopes like that.’

Reyn bent to kiss his lady’s hand and then, in the blink of an eye, he and Amy were standing once again on the edge of the wood. Looking back down into the valley, Amy saw Laura’s castle. A soft spring rain was falling, and a double rainbow had formed across the bowl of the valley, brightly coloured and essentially ephemeral.

‘Good luck,’ Reyn said. ‘Although I think it won’t be long before you’re back with us again.’

‘Nothing ventured,’ Amy said, and plunged back underneath the dark cover of the trees.

As Emily kept speaking, her words seemed to have a soothing effect not just on Harry, but even on the ship. The lights settled down and the noise fell back to its gentlest hum. Best of all, from Rory’s perspective, the walls stopped shaking.

‘There,’ Emily said. ‘No need for us all to get so worked up. I told you, it’s only Harry. Oh, but Harry, have you been here by yourself all this time? Did you get lost?’

‘
Lost
…’ whispered the young man. ‘
Lost
…’

‘Eh, now, come on, Harry, I know you must have been scared – heaven knows me and Mr Williams have been – but can’t you even manage a hello? We’re old friends, aren’t we?’

‘Emily,’ said Rory. ‘I’m not sure that’s Harry.’

‘What? Don’t be daft – look at him! You saw his picture over there! Besides, I’ve known Harry Thompson since he was toddling round our yard. I’d recognise him anywhere!’

‘What I mean is, it might
look
like Harry, and it might even be his body, but…’ Rory struggled to explain. ‘It’s not him inside.’

‘Well, that’s just a load of old nonsense.’ Emily stared into her friend’s eyes and squeezed his hand again. ‘You’re there, Harry, aren’t you? You’ve just had a shock.’ To Rory, she said, ‘Given you don’t know what a white feather is, or a conchie, do you think it’s possible you might not recognise shellshock when you see it? Well, I can, and that’s what it looks like to me. Harry’s here, aren’t you, love? We’ve just got to find a way to make you feel safe again.’

‘
Safe
…
Safe
…’

Emily made Harry sit down on the steps. She knelt down in front of him, putting his hands within hers. ‘Can you tell us what happened, love? Can you remember?’

‘
Remember…
’ The young man’s eyes came sharply into focus. He stared so hard at Emily that Rory was suddenly afraid for her. He reached forwards to try to disentangle their hands, but Emily shook him off.

‘We’re getting there,’ she said. ‘He’ll be talking soon. Isn’t that better than running around getting nowhere?’

‘Remember…’ Harry’s voice was getting steadily stronger. ‘The long journey… The dark, the cold… Saw light! Felt something… something new… Pain…’

‘I know, love,’ Emily said consolingly. ‘Go on, now, you’ll feel better once you’ve let it all out.’

‘Needed rest. Needed time… to
think
!’ The young man’s voice became suddenly excited. ‘To know! To grow! To become… to become
different
…’

‘Eh, now, love, you’re not making much sense.’

‘Emily,’ Rory said quickly. ‘Wait a minute. Look – I think I might know what’s happening here. A dark journey? That’s not how it was for us, is it? We came through bright sunshine, remember?’

‘Yes, but you said the place could change—’

‘Can I have a go? Can I talk to him? I promise I won’t say anything to upset him.’

Emily looked at him doubtfully. ‘Well, all right then, but be kind.’

Rory knelt down in front of the young man. ‘Your long cold journey,’ he said, ‘were there stars?’

‘Stars… suns… worlds… Then the pain. Then this world. Fell here. The pain too much… Still wanting to know, to see, to learn… So much here to know, to learn… So much… Soon be ready… Soon be… Soon be me!’

‘Mr Williams, I’m not sure it helps sending him off on flights of fancy like this—’

‘One more question, Emily, I promise.’ Again Rory addressed the young man. ‘What have you learned? Who did you learn it from?’

Emily frowned at him. ‘Eh?’

‘Just let him answer, Emily. Then I’ll know for sure.’

The young man looked at Rory. His eyes were vacant and unfocused.

‘What did you learn?’ Rory said again. ‘Who taught you?’

‘They came here. There were none before. Then they came. They love and live and quarrel and die in less time than it takes for a tree to grow. They are like the leaves. They are cruel and kind and brave and afraid. Sometimes they know no better. Sometimes they are at fault. Sometimes they doubt. Sometimes they believe. And always they want to know…’