The Plain People--Chapter 5

DOCTOR WHO- THE MISSING INTERNET ADVENTURES No.7
"THE PLAIN PEOPLE"- Episode Five by David Evans.
This weeks episode: "Pop goes the Worzel"

 Last time:

 "I've done it Doctor. I've done it to your future, and I will do it to you know. Finally, I have destroyed you."

 "This is no trick. That's me in there. The Master has finally won... "

 

Jo Grant walked through the streets of Paradise, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA. Bill Filer had wandered off ten minutes ago saying something about having to check in with Headquarters, so she continued her mission by herself. The Doctor had told her to take the energy device and walk around the village and had given strict orders that she wasn't to investigate anything she found- just report back to the Doctor. This was something he had told her to do before but Jo was taken in by the spirit of adventure that compelled her to dig further into what was going on and usually the spirit of adventure led to Jo being captured and imprisoned by some mad scientist or alien invader.

 Jo passed by the church and looked up. The scene looked like something from a horror film. Thick fog settled over the top of gravestones covered with overgrown grass and brambles. What was even more strange was that the fog was confined to the church ground. Checking the reading on the Doctor's energy device, she moved closer to the church. All of a sudden, lights on the device flashed -- a huge source of energy was nearby in the church. This time, the fog prevented the spirit of adventure taking control, so Jo turned away and started the task of finding the Doctor.

 

The Doctor, Tegan and Turlough were all tied together. The TCE prevented them attempting escape for the time being. The Doctor had been very quiet, Tegan noted. But it was hardly surprising when you had just discovered that you had no future. I guess it must seem like being told you've only got years to live. The Doctor would have two forms to go -- the curly haired Doctor with the long scarf and his next and possibly last incarnation -- her Doctor who dressed in the bizarre cricket gear. The Master watched them gloating. It was the Doctor who finally spoke.

 "Come along old chap, get it over with."

 "Why, Doctor. One might say you were eager to die," The Master replied. "Don't worry, my dear Doctor. I shall kill you soon enough." And with that he left the room.

 "Well, Doctor," Tegan asked "How are we going to get out of this one?"

 "It's quite simple my dear," the Doctor answered. "He's become too big for his own boots. He's not posted any guards. Things must have all been going his way for him to be this careless."

 

Jo was having no look with finding the Doctor. She had looked high and low for him with little success. All of a sudden she saw a figure all dressed in black emerge from round the corner. He laughed an evil laugh and walked off in the direction of the church. Jo darted behind a bush in an effort not to be seen. She recognised the man as the Doctor's arch enemy, the Master -- the reason she was here in the first place. After she was sure he was out of sight, she walked to where she'd seen him emerge only to hear a PSSST emerging from a doorway nearby. It was the Doctor. He signalled to her with his finger to follow him and his two new companions -- Tegan and Turlough. She started to walk but noticed that the Doctor had a small doll of a man (with blonde hair wearing a light coat and a cricket sweater), sticking out of his pocket. The Doctor's eyes met hers and in them she saw a sadness that she had never seen in his eyes before.

 

Half an hour later, the Doctor and his party stopped and sat down on some newly cut tree trunks. Tegan had begun to cry as the impossible sank in -- the Doctor, her Doctor, was dead. Turlough went to comfort her and she thankfully accepted his company.

 Seeing her opportunity, Jo went to talk to the Doctor. "Have you met yourself yet?" she asked him.

 "In a way," He replied, not looking up at her.

 "What's wrong, Doctor?"

 "I have no future, Jo."

 "What do you mean?"

 "That was my fifth incarnation."

 "Who was?"

 "He was," the Doctor said, holding the doll aloft. Jo gaped. She remembered the Master's tissue compressor. The Master had killed the Doctor -- the fifth Doctor. It explained Tegan's tears and Turlough's solemn look. Jo was lost for words, so she said what she said to anybody who had recently suffered a loss.

 "I'm so sorry."

 The Doctor looked up, smiled at her and placed his hand on hers.

 "Thank you, Jo."

 "It must be terrible finding out you're going to die."

 "What shocked me more was that it was such a senseless death," the Doctor replied, "It wasn't an act of heroism to save the universe...it was a needless death. In all the years I've known the Master, I never knew he would kill me in such a boring unoriginal way . . . not even flamboyant or a race against time to try and prevent it." The Doctor stood up quickly wiping his jacket and straightening his cuffs. "Well, no time to mope around, I've got work to do. Just a quick walk to raise the spirit and then we'll get moving." With that he set off towards the woods.

 "Want some company?" Jo shouted after him.

 "No thank you, Jo. I need some private time -- you get to know our new friends better." Jo turned round to face Tegan and Turlough who both looked up at her.

 

Mabel Zook bent over into the ground and pulled out another potato. She was still pondering over what to cook Jacob tonight after he had returned from the fields. As she placed each vegetable that she had wrenched from the ground into a bucket, she felt her back creak. Must be getting too old for this sort of thing, she thought. She walked over to patch of grass and sat down before taking out the letter she had received this morning and had not yet had the chance to read. She looked at the end of the letter to see it was from her youngest daughter -- Annie.

 Dear Momma,
I am so terribly happy that it is difficult to write. Our new farm is a dream come true and so far I have spent all hours of the day outside in the corn fields.

 Mabel read through the rest of the letter and wiped a tear as she read the letter's conclusion.

 I miss you and Father very much and I wish you were here to share my new life with me,

 Love,
Annie.

 Putting the letter back into her pocket she picked up the bucket of vegetables and entered the house via the kitchen door. She put the vegetables to soak in a bucket of water before turning. It was that moment when she realised, she wasn't alone. Sitting at the old oak table in the old oak rocking chair was Jacob.

 

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart was interrupted from his work by a knock at the door. He'd been looking into a file on a magazine journalist--Jane Smith or something and had been trying to decide if she could cause a problem. In the past few months a number of the articles she had written in Metropolitan magazine had caused quite a stir in Geneva. New technologies that others shouldn't know about were regular features in her articles.

 He put the file away and ordered the person outside to enter. It was Sergeant Benton.

 "Yes, Benton what is it?"

 "UNIT USA called for you, sir. You wanted to speak to the man who the Doctor was helping -- Bill Filer," Benton informed him.

 "And what of it?"

 "Well, they've finally got in touch with him, sir and he's waiting for you on line 7."

 "Thank you, Benton. Dismissed," the Brigadier ordered.

 "Sir," Benton replied, and left the room.

 The Brigadier waited until the door was closed and then picked up the telephone and switched onto line 7. He hoped that the annoying Filer fellow would tell him that the Doctor was on his way back. UNIT always seemed so vulnerable while he was away.

 "Lethbridge-Stewart here, is that you Filer?"

 "Yes, Brigadier. I hear you loud and clear."

 "How's the Doctor and Miss Grant coming along?"

 "They're just fine. The Doctor believes that these sightings of the Master are just false alarms. They're spending a few days with the Amish people before they head back."

 "Oh." The Brigadier paused. "Well as long as the Master's not involved. I'll send the chopper over in a couple of days, alright?"

 "Excellent, Brigadier. See you then. Goodbye."

 Filer put the phone down. Or at least the man masquerading as Filer did, using a voice replicator he had purchased at an Ogron market. Confidently, the Master laughed and carefully stepped over the small doll that once was Bill Filer. He had killed one Doctor; all that was left was the second.

 

"You're early, Jacob," Mabel Zook exclaimed. She turned round and began to take the vegetables out of the bucket and went to the draw before taking a knife to begin peeling the potatoes. Picking out the largest one, she began to scrape away the peel and place it on the sideboard. Five potatoes later, she realised something was wrong.

"I got a letter today," Mabel began, "It was from our Annie, she says she misses us but she's very happy on her new farm." She was expecting a "That's nice, dear," but she never heard a word. All she heard was silence.

 

The entity that was once Jacob Zook sat. The mind controller had controlled its muscles electrochemically, even though he had died. For some reason, the entity had returned here.

 But no conscious though circulated within Jacob's brain. The small implant attached to his neck had needed to recharge its energy supply after searching for the one known as the Doctor with no success.

 

Mabel looked her husband straight in the eye and saw the lack of life within them. She also saw the strange implant attached to the back of his neck. "Oh, my Jacob. What have they done with you?" she said as tears streamed down her face. Mabel felt as though she was about to faint. Her world had collapsed with Jacob. The one she relied on and depended on was gone . . . unless . . .

 She looked again at the implant on Jacob's neck and then to the knife on the kitchen side.

 

Mr Anthony was not having the best of days. Jacob Zook had failed to kill the Doctor and he hadn't had a chance to contact his master. What was even worse was that Jacob Zook had disappeared. Using the tracer, he found his target. Jacob had returned to his old house.

 Of course, Mr Anthony knew that it wasn't really Jacob. It was just his body. His soul had died earlier in the day, which could account for why he had returned home. Some part of Jacob's brain must still be active and interfering with the equipment. Upon entering the house he immediately saw Mrs Zook trying to dislodge the implant from the back of Jacob's neck.

 "Kill her."

 Mabel Zook, unprepared, looked into her husband's eyes as they closed in for the kill. Jacob Zook stood back looking at the corpse of his wife and screamed. Mr Anthony looked upon the scene and trembled.

 

The Doctor hummed an old Venusian Lullaby to himself as he crossed through the woods and entered a corn field. Looking from side to side he realised the field owners would have a good harvest this year.

 "What does this say about the old ways?" he said to himself. The Doctor had never been somebody who had been against change; actually, he was usually all for it, but some of the methods of these rather backward people still bore fruit in this era of Earth's history. An era which some (rather jokingly, the Doctor thought) referred to as the post modern age.

 The Doctor felt far more relaxed than he had earlier. Even though he had witnessed the death of himself in the future. He had carried the shrunken version of his future self in his pocket and now as he was alone, he took it out and studied it. "Rather strange attire, I must say." Noticing something he bent down and looked at the figure more closely before exclaiming, "Good grief." All of a sudden, he heard a sudden rustle next to him. While he had been examining his future self he hadn't noticed a group of scarecrows like those in the barn encircling him. He looked around. He was surrounded as the ominous figures got closer and closer . . . .

 TO BE CONTINUED

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