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Prologue02. Meetings at the Antioch Hotel
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Giving hitchhiker’s a lift in his car was not something that Terrance often did. He had read far too many reports about the results of such actions. But in the case of this woman Terrance chose to take exception to his unspoken rule. Whether or not he would learn to regret such a decision he would soon see. It did not help that Terrance found the woman incredibly attractive. With those emerald eyes that seemed to bounce out at him. And the bone structure of her face seemed to be sculpted in such a way that it made him want to reach out and take hold of her face. Terrance had always prided himself on the fact that he was not a man driven by his hormones, although he did have a healthy libido. He was the one in control, and not the hormones. At least that was normally the case, but this time around he was finding it a mite more difficult than usual. During the journey back to Maiden’s Port Terrance had tried many time to start a conversation, but each time Rusalka had all but ignored him. He started getting the impression that she did not want to talk, but he could not help himself. He just loved the sound of her voice. So Terrance told her about himself, his dog, his job and why he was going to Maiden’s Port. Rusalka showed very little interest in all that information, but when the costal town was mentioned her interest was sparked. Rusalka wanted to know everything about Maiden’s Port – the place, the people, everything. Terrance told her, after all what harm could it do? After hearing everything that Terrance had to say on the subject, Rusalka decided that she would stay in Maiden’s Port for a while. Terrance was all for that idea, it would give him a chance to get to know her better. He offered to put her up, he had a spare room. Rusalka accepted the offer.
The door opened and Terrance entered the hallway carrying his suitcases. Rusalka closed the door behind them both. After placing the suitcases on the floor, Terrance went over to the phone that sat on a small table next to the stairs. A note was next to the phone; it was from his sister who welcomed him and home and asked him to give her a ring. Terrance decided that he would do so after a cup of Earl Grey. He looked over at Rusalka who stood by the front door, looking around, taking in every detail. ‘Well, this is my humble abode.’ Terrance smiled at Rusalka and she smiled back. Those teeth! ‘Before we settle you in, do you fancy a drink?’ Rusalka replied saying that it would be nice. They made their way into the kitchen that was just beyond the stairs. Terrance had much to ask Rusalka. He had always believed that when he met his future wife he would know for sure. That was the feeling he was getting now. Was this God’s timing? It would have explained why Terrance had picked up a hitchhiker. No sooner had he put the kettle on the boil than there was a knock at the front door. He excused himself and went to answer the door. It was Helena, the old Ukrainian woman from across the road. She said that she had come to welcome Terrance’s guest to the town, and then invited herself in. Terrance shut the door, deciding that he would have a word with Phyllis about her gossip mill. Not for the first time. By the time he reached the kitchen Helena had introduced herself to Rusalka. Helena was surprised that the other woman was from Russia. Knowing that it was always right to be hospitable Terrance offered Helena a drink also. It was at that time that the two women switched to Russian. Terrance could see that Rusalka was as much put out by this intrusion as he was; that must have been a good sign. Their conversation continued and with little else to do Terrance excused himself so that he could unpack, and do a bit of praying. He needed some good advice.
The only light came from the stairwell, which projected a soft hue over the lobby area. It seemed to give the place an aura of intense peace, like a calm before a very violent storm. Amy Carter came down the stairs, having checked to make sure all the night-lights were working correctly on the upper floors, all for the benefit of the guests. Amy looked over at the clock above the reception desk. It was 22:30, time to close the doors for the night. She heard the door open and turned to see who the last visitor of the night would be. It was a short man, wearing the clothes of a bygone era. On top of his head he wore a straw panama hat and carried a red handled umbrella. The little man walked over to Amy and raised his hat. ‘Good evening,’ he said, his grey eyes making contact with Amy’s hazel eyes. ‘Yes,’ Amy replied and smiled. There was a strange intensity about the man that she found compelling. ‘Welcome to the Antioch Hotel. Now can I help?’ The man’s voice was quiet, almost a whisper, but quite clear. ‘I’d like to book two rooms, please. One for myself and one for my niece.’ ‘Certainly.’ Amy walked over to the reception desk and pulled out a big red book. ‘And you name is, Mr…’ The man smiled. ‘Smith. Doctor John Smith.’
The radio played as Rusalka sat on the windowsill, looking out at the dark street below. The song playing penetrated her thoughts. The words seemed to echo how she felt. How does it feel… When you’re alone… And cold inside Rusalka knew that inside she getting colder, and there was such an emptiness welling up. Her father was dead and she felt so alone. She could not escape the feeling that somehow Terrance was the answer to that emptiness that she felt. Of course. Terrance. Rusalka could feel herself becoming attracted to him; his looks, his calmness of spirit. Rusalka wished that she could act upon that attraction, but she also knew that she dared not take that risk. Things were happening to her that people would never understand. Rusalka did not understand, so how could anybody else? Her mission kept on taking priority. This other side of her seemed to be becoming predominant. She had no home anymore. Even back in New Moscow she knew that she would be a stranger. Rusalka laughed out as the man continued to sing his moody song. If only the Kremlin still existed. Maybe then she would hide in its shadow. Escape from this new purpose she had. Rusalka knew it was all wrong. But the other side of her kept on telling her that she needed to prepare for the Vrach. And she had four months. Rusalka left the windowsill and returned to her bed. She would begin tomorrow at the Antioch Hotel.
‘J C?’ The Doctor looked up at the plaque above the entrance of the lounge. It read “The J. C. Lounge”. The Doctor turned to Amy who was watching him. ‘Jesus Christ, I presume? It would explain why this place is called the Antioch Hotel. The followers of Jesus were first called Christians at Antioch.’ He smiled at the memory; he was there at the time. ‘A believer then, are you?’ Amy nodded and walked over to the Doctor. ‘Yes, without a doubt. And you?’ The Doctor waved a hand in the air and winked. ‘Let’s just say I keep an open mind.’ He never really liked to commit himself to the beliefs of any one religion. One day he wanted to go back and talk to Jesus, if he had the time. Amy understood what the Doctor was saying; he did not want to submit to any absolute authority. As much as she would have loved to pursue the topic, Amy knew that she was tired. She looked at the Doctor; for some reason he seemed familiar to her. ‘Actually the J C stands for my husband, Joshua Carter. I’m sure that if her were still here Josh would have considered it an honour to be compared to the Lord. But you honour his memory by saying that. Thank you, Doctor.’ ‘You’re welcome, I’m sure.’ Amy clasped her hands together and looked at her watch. 23:45. It was late. ‘Well, Doctor, you are welcome to use the lounge, but I must bid you goodnight, my bed is calling me.’ She turned round to find the Doctor standing next to her. She did not even hear him move. ‘I look forward to meeting your niece when she arrives tomorrow. Goodnight.’ Amy walked off towards the stairs. The Doctor watched her go. ‘Good? For now, that is, until I find out who or what pulled me of course.’ He spoke in a whisper so that Amy could not hear him. He turned and walked into the lounge. He was sure that he saw a good chess set in there.
TUESDAY 10th DECEMBER 1996, 08:55. With the opening of her eyes Ace sat up and instantly regretted the action. The lights came on and her began pounding. She screwed her eyes shut and laid back slowly, waiting for the pounding in her head to subside. It must have been some party last night, not that she could remember any of it, but judging by her headache there must have been a party. Probably at Flo’s, with Shreela, Ange and the rest of the gang. As for her dream… She must have drunk a lot of booze. She had dreamed that she was living on some alien planet hunting a dragon, and involved a short man and a blue box. Unusual as it was for a dream, Ace found that she could remember everything with amazing clarity. The pounding in her head seemed to have clamed down, so she cautiously opened her eyes. She was looking at an opaque ceiling. All around she could hear the gentle hum of machinery. Odd for Perivale. She sat up and looked around; a frown appeared. This room was not her bedroom in Perivale. Yet Ace did know this room. She was fully dressed, again that was unusual. She got up and walked over to a mirror and looked at her reflection. Apart from a lump on her forehead she was… A lump on her forehead! Everything suddenly fell into place. She was in her new room in the TARDIS, and it was not dream. Which meant that there was no party. So why did… Ace nodded her head grimly. She remembered everything. With a new determination in her step she headed out of her room to see the Doctor.
Terrance raised him arm to knock on the door, then stopped. Perhaps he should let Rusalka sleep some more? That way, he realised, he could still have his still time and make breakfast for both him and Rusalka. Terrance smiled. That would be nice. He walked back off to his bedroom.
As Amy straightened the stack of papers on the reception desk she found her thoughts returning to her latest guest. That intense little man who called himself the Doctor. Still she could not escape the feeling that he was familiar, as if they have met before. But if they had then Amy would have remembered. She had a very reliable memory and the Doctor’s face did not ring any bells. Something else did, though. She looked over at the front door as it opened, dinging the bell above. A tall, blonde woman in a trench coat walked in and crossed the lobby. Amy put on her professional smile. ‘Good morning.’ The woman returned the smile, her green eyes alive with energy. ‘Good morning. I understand that you have a job vacancy.’ Amy nodded. No doubt about it, that was a Russian accent.
Ace stopped dead in her tracks upon entering the control room. She could not believe what she was seeing. The Doctor was opening her rucksack. What was he playing at? Ace’s usual response would be to get angry, no one was allowed to go through her stuff without asking. Especially when she was not sure if the trusted them yet. This time, however, her response came as a surprise. ‘Ere, what’re you doing, Professor?’ she asked calmly. The Doctor looked up surprised. There was almost a guilty look on his face, but not quite. ‘Ah, Ace. I have decided on a third rule.’ Ace remembered the first two rules that the Doctor had given her when she had agreed to join him. Number one was that he was in charge (we’ll see, she thought), number two was that Ace was not allowed to call him “Professor” (‘I’m not a professor – I’m the Doctor’), but of course that did not stop her. The Doctor had promised to think of third by the time they reached Perivale. Ace sighed – it looked like he had though of a third, and she had a good idea what it was, too. ‘So, what’s that then?’ There was more than a touch of defiance in her voice. The Doctor noted the tone, and stored it away for future reference. ‘No more nitro-9,’ he said firmly. ‘We can’t have you blowing up parts of England, or anywhere else for that matter.’ Ace knew it. She snatched her rucksack off the Doctor and glared at him. Nitro-9 was her pride and joy; a homemade explosive she had devised some time ago, as class one-C’s prize winning pottery pig collection knew well. There was a canister in the rucksack, but she did not want the Doctor to know that. ‘Well there ain’t none in here anyhow,’ she lied. She hefted the rucksack onto her shoulder. ‘Who told you about it anyway?’ ‘Mel.’ Now Ace was livid. ‘You mean you’ve been checking up on me?’ She was furious, but she had been right. She now knew that she could not trust him. And that cut into her deeply. ‘Why ask Doughnut? You could have asked me, you know! I would have told you if you had bothered to ask. Don’t you trust me or something?’ ‘Ace,’ the Doctor said, shaking his head in dismay. ‘You don’t even trust me yet. I’ve seen the way you’ve been looking at me. Trust takes time. We’ll learn to trust each other. Let’s start now, shall we?’ Ace looked down at the white floor to avoid the gaze. When she looked back up she was smiling. ‘Okay.’ The Doctor watched her as he circled the console. He knew that she had some nitro in her rucksack, but that was okay, too. They would probably need it later. He spoke joyfully. ‘Well, you’ll be pleased to know that we are in a small English costal town called Maiden’s Port. Someone – or something – had pulled us off course. I intend to find out whom. Now we need to blend in to this town to discover who it is. To that end I have booked us into a hotel.’ There was a twinkle in his eyes. ‘Oh wicked! Like spies you mean?’ ‘I suppose you could say that. But it will no doubt be dangerous. It always it.’ Ace took no notice of the caution in his voice. Danger was tantamount to excitement in her books. But she still walked up to the Doctor and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. ‘Don’t worry, Professor, I’ll take care of you.’
Terrance pulled open the food cupboard; it was full. It appeared that his sister had stocked up for him after all. He would have to ring her and say thanks. ‘Oh heck!’ He hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. ‘Idiot!’ He was supposed to have rung her last night. He had got so caught up in unpacking and sending Helena away that he had forgot all about his sister. That was so unlike him. He would ring his sister without fail after he had made breakfast. He pulled out the Earl Grey and turned to the table that was situated in the centre of the kitchen. It was then that he saw the piece of paper lying on the table. He placed the Earl Grey on the table and picked up the paper. It was a note from Rusalka, telling him that she had gone to see about the job at the hotel. Terrance gave an ironic smile. It explained why he had not heard her moving around upstairs yet.
Rusalka stepped out of the hotel and descended the concrete steps, feeling quite pleased with herself. Getting the waitress job had been quite easy, especially when she had mentioned Terrance. Amy’s being his sister would make working there a lot easier. Part of her did not agree, seeing the presence of Terrance’s relations as a liability. Rusalka had no official documents, which could have been an obstacle. She told Amy that they were in transit, but Amy was not too bothered, since she depended on her bother’s reputation for choosing the right friends. Before she left, Rusalka was introduced to a bigoted old man who was a regular at the hotel, Wayne Hutchinson. Amy assured her that she would soon meet all the others, too. It was not something that Rusalka was really looking forward to. But she had much more important things to concern herself with. Like preparing for the arrival of the Vrach in May 1997. It was at that time that she saw the police box on the other side of the road. Back in Russia Rusalka had once been a history teacher, but British history was not really her strong point. Certainly not twentieth century history. She knew that police boxes had been used during the twentieth century, but which part? Ignoring the beeping of cars, she crossed the road. Once she had reached the blue box she held out her hand to it. There was a gentle hum of power. Rusalka tried to pull her arm away but found that she could not. She convulsed in pain. It was as if something had been sucked out of her. With great effort she pulled her hand away and stepped back in frustration.
Ya nye gatova…
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