Doctor Who: The Way Through the Woods (15 page)

The Doctor popped his sonic screwdriver back into his pocket. ‘I’m prepared to put things behind me. Let’s see whether he is.’ He walked across the clearing and gave Reyn an elaborate formal greeting which the were-fox, startled, reciprocated with great elegance.

‘I know your species,’ the Doctor said. ‘I know your myths, your legends, your history. I know all about the Long War and what happened—’ He stopped himself. ‘Anyway, enough of my chit and chat – why don’t you tell me what really brought your ship down here?’

Amy, confused, said, ‘I thought he crashed?’

‘Which I think is probably partly true,’ said the Doctor, ‘but not entirely true. Am I right?’

Reyn, who had been watching the Doctor warily, nodded slowly. ‘I was being chased by enemy gunships. I was attacked and my ship was damaged. That part was completely true. I intended to hide here until my ship was healed. Then the people came and the Shift got under way.’

‘And that’s when all this malarkey with the time pockets and the portal-building and the disappearances started, yes?’

‘Doctor,’ Amy said, ‘hang on a minute…’

‘Make up your mind, Pond! A moment ago you were telling me to hurry up!’

‘Shut up.’ She raised a warning finger. ‘And fill me in on this Long War business, OK?’

‘The worlds inhabited by Reyn’s people, Amy, had – at one point in their history – the misfortune to find themselves living right next door to quite a substantial interplanetary empire. Empires are in general greedy beasts, and this one was no exception. You’ve seen the kinds of technology that Reyn has at his disposal, not to mention the shape-shifting. There was a war—’

‘I’m guessing that it was a long war,’ Amy said.

‘It has been a very long war,’ said Reyn. ‘Several generations now.’

‘And you’ve presumably worked out that they’re rather a long-lived species,’ said the Doctor. ‘So you brought the ship down, Reyn, the Shift began but, given the damage done and your lack of support infrastructure, you’ve not been able either to fix the ship and leave, or else to shut it down entirely and stop people being taken. You’ve only been able to hold back the whole process. Yes, a very difficult situation…’

‘I told you he’d been trying his best,’ Amy said. Turning to Reyn, she asked, ‘Why didn’t you tell me all that earlier? About the war?’

Quietly, from behind her shoulder, the Doctor said, ‘I suspect Reyn’s enemies weren’t only trying to find out how the ship worked, Amy. I rather imagine they wanted to study the shape-shifting too. I’d hide under those circumstances. I might not reveal too much about myself either.’

‘And we’re supposed to be the suspicious ones,’ Amy said.

‘I’ve learned the hard way,’ Reyn replied. He sighed, deeply. ‘I want to leave this world,’ he said. ‘More than anything! I want to get home, return to the struggle. I’ve been away far too long. But I’m stuck here. I have no way out. Either I maintain the environment I’ve created, or the ship shifts and the town and its people are lost. I brought us here! It’s my responsibility. What choice do I have?’

He looked pathetic, the rain running down his red pelt, his ears flat and dejected. Amy put her hand upon his arm.

‘So what you need,’ the Doctor said thoughtfully, ‘is help with the ship. If we can guide the ship successfully through its Shift, you and it would be free to leave—’

‘Yes, but, as I’ve said – I can’t maintain the integrity of this environment and handle the Shift! Not all at once! Something will give!’

‘Yes, yes, that’s what I’ll help with! Hello! This is the help you’ve been waiting for all these years! Here I am! The help!’ He gave a friendly little wave. ‘I’ll go to the ship. Children
love
me!’

‘Doctor,’ Amy hissed. ‘What about Rory?’

‘Ah, yes! The elusive Mr Pond. I wonder what he’s been up to? Certainly not triangulating. Perhaps we should find out exactly what he’s been doing for the past century with that delightful young woman. I imagine Reyn can help with that, guide me through to the ship at the right time. Rory and Emily can help me with the Shift, Reyn can maintain the environment, and when we’re done, you can both set sail again and leave this poor old wood in peace to get on with making acorns and feeding squirrels and being a nice place to go for a picnic. Ha! How does that sound as a deal, Reyn? You get to leave, Swallow Woods gets picnickers, and we get Rory. Actually,’ he looked excited, ‘we might just have a picnic afterwards, too. So. What do you think?’

Reyn did not answer. Close by, dogs were barking.

‘Listen,’ said the Doctor. ‘They’re coming. The humans, their dogs. I’ve met the man in charge. He’s a decent sort, but he’s very cross right now. Things haven’t been going his way recently. He’s not in the mood for holding back. So whatever you decide, you’d better decide it soon. Those dogs are scary, and your ship might not wait for them to board it. Besides, I think the Shift is going to happen whether you like it or not. Look around. Look at what’s happening.’

Amy saw that the trees were in chaos: all the seasons were jumbled up. Here, one tree was full of blossom and heavy with thick green leaves; there, another tree was bright with autumn colours. It seemed that the portal place was breaking down.

‘Trust me,’ said the Doctor. ‘After all, I’ll be trusting you with Amy.’ He leaned sideways. ‘You’re all right with that, aren’t you, Pond?’

‘Oh, great, yeah,’ Amy muttered. ‘Absolutely fine…’

‘All right,’ said Reyn, slowly. ‘I’ll try to direct you through to the ship. I can’t make any guarantees, but I’ll try to get you through to the right time.’ His ears pricked up. ‘As for the dogs,’ he pulled out a small golden device, ‘I can put them on the wrong track for a while. Long enough for you to reach the ship.’

‘Good man! Fox! Foxy-man-thing… Yes, whatever you are, you’re good. Very good. We’re good. Well, you do whatever it is you’ve got to do to confuse poor Inspector Galloway. While
Amy
,’ he beckoned to her, ‘why don’t you come and help me choose which path to take?’

‘I thought Reyn was going to guide you,’ Amy said in a puzzled voice. ‘Ow!’ she finished, the Doctor having elbowed her hard. ‘Yes! All right! I see! Yes! Let’s choose an arch for you, Doctor! A really
nice
arch, one that looks like it’s got Rory’s name written all over it!’

They walked round the clearing and stopped by one of the arches of trees. It was winter over here, wet and gloomy. The Doctor made a big show of waving the sonic screwdriver about.

‘I’d switch that on if I were you,’ Amy said,
sotto voce
. ‘Looks more convincing that way.’

‘Ah, yes.’ The sonic started buzzing. ‘Now, you’ve still got your triangulator, haven’t you?’

‘Of course!’

‘Good. Always a good idea to have a back-up system.’

‘Never noticed you worrying about that much before… Do you still not trust him?’

‘Almost… But I think that war can do bad things to its victims, Amy. Reyn has been on his guard for a very long time. I doubt he’s told us everything. So, no, I don’t trust him, not entirely. Or, to be more accurate, I don’t think he quite trusts me. Which means he might have some more surprises up his sleeve. Which means I’d like to make sure I have something up
my
sleeve. You know what to do if Rory’s triangulator finally sends a signal?’

‘I hit this button… no,
this
button. And then with any luck we’ll all be able to find each other again without relying on Reyn, and I’ll finally get my chocolatey treat. After which I’ll brush and floss, naturally.’

‘Excellent! Yes! Bang on! Chocolates and floss for all!’

‘So… what was it you didn’t want to say about the Long War?’

‘Hmm?’

‘You stopped yourself mid-sentence. What didn’t you say?’

‘Yes…’ The Doctor sighed deeply. ‘I know how that particular war ends, Amy, and it’s a sad story. The thing is – I don’t think Reyn realises that it’s over. Done with.’ He glanced back over his shoulder. ‘Laura Brown’s not the only one lost in time.’

‘One last question, Doctor.’

‘Make it quick.’

‘You said before that going through one of these portals was irrevocable. But I’ve been through one, and I guess Rory must have been through one too, and you’re about to go through one… Does that mean we’re stuck here? Will we ever get out?’

Gently, he touched her cheek. ‘Work to do first, Pond.’

‘That’s not an answer!’

‘Of course it’s an answer. If we want to get out, we’ll have to make a way out.’

‘Do you know how you’re going to do that? No, no, I know the answer to that already. You’re working on it.’

‘How well you know me, Pond.’ He smiled, and drew her in for a hug. ‘Go back with Reyn. Guide me through to Rory. And watch out for any changes of heart at your end. Keep your finger on the button of the triangulator. And I promise you all the chocolate you want when we’re done.’

‘Actually it’s the picnic I’m after now. Pork pie. Hey, watch out, I think Reyn’s done.’

The Doctor switched off the sonic and patted the nearest tree. ‘What a very fine pair of trees these are! These look just the trees for me! What do you think, Pond?’

‘Oh, Doctor,’ Amy said in delight, ‘what a splendid pair of trees! If I had to choose some trees to take me back through time, these would be exactly the trees I’d choose!’

‘Well, now that that’s decided,’ said the Doctor, ‘how about we get on with it? Reyn, what about Inspector Galloway’s search party?’

‘It’ll keep searching,’ he said. ‘But it won’t find its way here. This whole area is now off limits, at least while the power holds. You should go now, Doctor. I can’t hold them off indefinitely. Amy and I will return to my control room, and I’ll guide you through to the ship.’

‘No time like the present!’ Standing framed by the arch of dark bare trees, the Doctor waved to Amy. ‘Cheerio, Pond! See you later! Or earlier! But don’t worry – I’ll be ba—!’

The trees, and the Doctor, melted away.

In the courtyard of the castle, the rain was falling heavily. Laura greeted Amy and Reyn with great relief.

‘Something’s going wrong,’ she said to Reyn. ‘The whole place is breaking down.’ She pointed up at the sky. ‘Look!’

Amy looked up at a sky in confusion: patches of bright blue with fluffy white clouds here; sections of inky black spattered with stars there. It was as if parts thought it was day, and other parts were convinced it was night. A rainbow, broken into sections, was scattered haphazardly about.

‘It’s the Shift,’ Amy told Laura. ‘But we’ve found my friend, the Doctor. He thinks he can control the process, but first we have to guide him through to the ship. Reyn, this isn’t looking good, really. We should hurry. What now?’

Reyn waved his hand in the familiar gesture. The whole castle disappeared, and the three of them were standing in a spherical room, with gun-metal walls. Steps led down to a console; Reyn ran down them and began operating controls.

Laura looked around her in amazement. ‘I’ve never seen this place…’

‘Breaks the illusion, doesn’t it?’ Amy followed Reyn down the steps. ‘OK, are we in touch with the Doctor yet?’

‘Not yet…’ murmured Reyn, busy at the console. A high-pitched squeal filled the control room, making all three of them cover their ears. Then a voice came through.

‘
Pond! Pond! Doctor calling Pond! Can you hear me, Pond?
’

‘
Yes
!’ Amy clenched her fists victoriously. ‘Yes, I can hear you, you crazy time-travelling crazy thing! Where are you?’

‘
Where do you think I am, Pond? I’m in a wood, and it’s raining. Why didn’t we pack the umbrella?
’

‘Because we didn’t want to look like Mary Poppins!’

‘
Ooh, fair point. How’s it going at your end?
’

‘Oh, you know, the usual! End of things! Sky falling in!’

‘
Situation normal, then! Shan’t worry about you too much! Reyn – which way now? We’re aiming for 1917. Try not to land me in the middle of the Civil War. Or anywhere with dinosaurs. They’re cool, but they’re not very early twentieth century
.’

As Reyn set about directing the Doctor through, Laura drew Amy aside.

‘Amy, what does this all mean? Is everything coming to an end?’

Amy, anxious to keep in touch with the Doctor, looked past her at the console. ‘I don’t know. The Doctor isn’t there yet. And then we have to guide the ship through the Shift, and we still don’t really know what’s causing all the damage…’ She glanced at Laura.

The old woman’s face was wet with tears.

‘Laura? Are you OK?’

‘It’s just that it’s been such a very long time…’ Laura whispered. ‘Amy, did you meet my parents? Did you ever see them?’

Amy took hold of Laura’s hand. Suddenly she realised the full extent of the old woman’s predicament. Even if they guided the ship safely through the Shift, even if Reyn and the ship left without any damage to the woods and the town – it was all happening far too late for Laura. There was no bringing back the sixty years that she had been here.

‘I wanted to travel,’ Laura said. ‘I wanted to see strange and beautiful places. And when I thought there was no way back, when I thought I could never see everyone and everywhere I loved again, it was easy to make myself believe that I had been somewhere wonderful, seen wonderful things. But now I’m not so certain any more. Amy, have I been deluding myself? Have I been lost in a fantasy my whole life?’

‘No,’ Amy said, and held her hand tight. ‘No, it’s not been like that. What about Reyn? What about your friendship? An alien were-fox, Laura! That’s pretty astounding! Try saying that at the school reunion! Who else do you know got to be friends with an alien?’

‘You?’ Laura said, and then she began to laugh. ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘Yes, we’ve been friends. And you’re right – not many people get to meet someone so extraordinary. Someone so unique.’

‘It’s not over till it’s over, Laura. Nobody knows what ending they get, and happy endings are sometimes not what you’ve imagined. It looks like Reyn’s going home. Perhaps you could go with him?’

Laura squeezed her hand. ‘Perhaps.’

Reyn looked up from the console. His eyes were bright and his ears up and alert. ‘Amy, I think we’re nearly there. The Doctor’s reached the ship.’