4| Diversion

by Becky Miller

  Though the Doctor now lived his life like a human being, he was still a Time Lord and so he didn't really ever sleep. He would usually just lie in bed with his eyes shut, with occasional periods when he could no longer keep up this appearance every night and he would sit in a lounge chair in the corner of the room reading books or papers.

  In the evening paper he read the article again of the child that had disappeared or ran away as the police stated. Then there were three more articles about people who were missing or had been murdered without evidence of the perpetrator.

  Subsequently the Doctor turned to the sports pages, which proved to be of a merrier tune. The 2012 London Olympics were still a few years away, tough there was a lot of fuss about it already.

  After a few hours he began to doze off and he let himself fall back on his bed. He remained like this for a few minutes when he decided to change clothes and lie in bed anyway. He listened whether Lynne had come home yet, but there was no sound, except a gurgling snoring sound Adrian made in his sleep in the room next door.

  One could say that if a person doesn't sleep, this person doesn't dream either. Well, the Doctor would argue this indeed, but in reality he has been known to have some dreaming spells. It is similar to humans who have dreams because their unconsciousness has to process the events that occurred during the day. A similar situation occurs when the Doctor has too much on his mind and when things have been troubling him.

  This night he experienced a dream. His unconsciousness trying to get a grip on the matter of the missing child and the feeling of concern that was stirring in him.

  He dreamt that Sarah and Adrian had woken up in the middle of the night and left their bedrooms. In a calm and steady pace they'd walked out the front door onto the street. They turned several corners until they reached a field which they entered and headed for the forest at the far side of it. The two children walked in a drone like manner, as if they were under some spell, unable to control themselves. The two were surrounded by the mist that drew over the field and moments later they had vanished from sight. In the distance he could hear the clear voice of Sarah say, what she had said to him yesterday evening: "We are going to look for the Knoba's. They want us to come."

  At this instant he awoke from the dream with a shock. He was sweating all over and looked around in panic. He stood up as quick as his body enabled him and rushed to Sarah and Adrian's bedroom to check if they were still there. Then he heard the sound of footsteps behind him and he turned around to face who of whatever it was creeping up the stairs.

  "Hi, ya. What do you look so shocked about? Is there something wrong?" Lynne said to him as she stepped up the landing.

  "Humph, no. No, nothing wrong, I think." he sighed, still confused. He noticed the wind had picked up overnight and it had started raining quite heavily.

  He gathered himself and as Lynne moved past him to the bedroom he asked her where she had been all night.

  "At work, of course. It was a real emergency and we had to deal with it straight away." she answered him, while moving to the cupboard and taking out fresh clothes.

  "So, you didn't have a minute to call or text me that you had to work late?" he asked her accusingly, while he browsed the cupboard for a fresh shirt.

  She simply replied, no.

  "You used to be so prompt about such things, Lynne." he said disappointedly.

  "Well, it was your idea to get me a job and now I have found one that I actually like, so why not? Why can't I stay out all night? Now it is my turn to get integrated into society and get a proper life!" she called out and on her way out she angrily pushed him aside.

  "Whoa, Lynne. Calm down!" the Doctor said as he held her fists tight to stop her bashing him in her rage. "I am just saying, take it easy. Don't overdo it. You know what we are like." he said calmly while he held her hands loosely in his, as she had calmed down too.

  She knew exactly what the Doctor meant. The Time Lord kind are calmness themselves until they get too excited or stressed and when that happens they can no longer control themselves. Now, the Doctor has had many years of practice with being in tense situations, but Lynne hadn't and her temper was easily stirred.

  And as usual the Doctor was right. She did get carried away with her new job but she was too proud to admit that to him now. Without saying another word she took her keys and mobile phone and left for work again.

  Regretfully the Doctor realised there was nothing he could say or do to help her. She would have to work this out on her own. So he went to wake up the kids and made them breakfast and a lunch bag before bringing them to school.

  This time he didn't bring them all the way to the classroom. He just let them in at the gate and went to the High school where he was due to teach.

  When he entered the classroom, Nick was already there as usual and when the other students had arrived, Mr Smith started his history class on medieval times.

  About an hour into the lesson, there was a knock on the door. It was a staff member who informed Mr Smith there was a call for him. So the Doctor went to the teachers room to answer the call.

  The staff member couldn't hear what was being said but through the glass it was obviously a very grave matter. The call only lasted a few minutes after which the Doctor asked the staff member to fetch one of his students, Nick, and take over the class until his return. The staff member did as requested and moments later Nick appeared in Mr Smith's office.

  "I have some bad news for you, Nick." he began, but of course the boy already suspected this.

  "I'd better just tell you what I have been told on the phone just now." he continued.

  "Alright, Sir. What is it?" Nick asked somewhat shaky.

  "The police are at your house right now and they called us to in-- Your sister is missing, as of this morning." the Doctor said.

  "What missing? How?" Nick stammered.

  "The police don't want to say anything else on the matter. But I have a feeling it is related to the boy who went missing yesterday." the Doctor said as he saw Nick's eyes begin to water.

  "Nick, I am so sorry." he said trying to express his compassion.

  "Can I go home?" Nick asked.

  "You may, but there isn't much you can do." the Doctor replied.

  "Not much I can do?! Of course I can do something! The police doesn't do anything. Nobody did anything for the boy yesterday and now the same happened to my sister. Will anybody do something now?" Nick yelled.

  "I am sure the authorities are doing whatever they can." the Doctor said to Nick.

  "What authorities? The police? They never do anything but give people tickets for cycling on the pavement or parking their car for a few minutes longer than they've paid for. The police don't do anything! But I am. I am going to find my sister and I am going to teach the bastard who did this a lesson!"

  "Control yourself, Nick. You cannot do that on your own." the Doctor said, which gave the boy an idea.

  "Then you come with me, Sir. You have told us in class that you used to solve crimes before being a history teacher. Together we can do this!" Nick said and the Doctor realised he had indeed once told his students exactly that. But of course he had meant a different kind of crime. Crimes from alien races against humanity, violations of the laws drawn up by the Shadow Proclamation, not petty theft and kidnappings.

  "No." the Doctor said sternly.

  "What, can't you or won't you?" Nick asked.

  "I- I just, can't, Nick." the Doctor stammered as he tried to control himself. He was sad for the boy and wanted to help him, but he was angry that he had dared ask this of him. He could barely utter the words he was about to say next. The words he always said if there was absolutely nothing that could be done. "I am sorry." And just as he had said those three words, the Doctor felt guilty, because he knew he might be able to help Nick. Certainly not all hope was lost. It was just because he had promised himself not to meddle any more. No more dashing off into the dangerous unknown, to risk
so much to save a few. He had done that too many times and he had seen too much horror during those times. It was a task for the police, they were the proper authorities to deal with this.

  The Doctor let his head hang low and Nick left the room.

  Whether Nick went home or returned to the classroom, the Doctor didn't know for he had his eyes closed in silent contemplation. The boy had pulled a heartstring just then and there was the growing feeling of unease. The Doctor knew deep down inside there was something strange about these kidnappings, but he didn't want to give in to his curiosity.

  "How many does it take?" the Doctor heard in the distance. It caught his attention to a radio which played all day in the teachers room just to break the silence.

  "Indeed how many does it take before the police start doing something about this. Four children in total have been reported missing today. How many more will it take before the perpetrator is caught? The police must take action now, but all they do is take notes and tell us they are not at liberty to disclose any information. Do they even have a clue what they are doing? The friends and families of those affected think not. Amy Baxter reporting from London for BBC radio 1."

  8. The Doctor's theory

  "That's it!" the Doctor exclaimed determinately.

  "That settles it. How many more will it take indeed, well no more. Who says I can't go and help Nick? Who stops me from solving this crime? I might just as well give it a try, for old times' sake." the Doctor encouraged himself.

  "Now where did Nick go?" he thought and went to the classroom. The boy was not there and he told the staff member attending his class that he would not be returning today. Class was nearly finished anyway and the students were to go to Mr Daly's art class next. Then the Doctor put on his black coat and left the school with quick big paces of over a meter long. He went to Nick's house and found a police van parked right outside.

  He went inside the house when he found the front door still open.

  "Hello? Anybody home? Nick?" he said while venturing further into the house.

  A woman came to his calls and she stood silent in waiting of what he would say.

  "Erm, hello." he said solemnly, "Where can I find Nick?"

  The woman looked in quite a state. She had been crying. Her makeup was smudged especially around her swollen eyes and her hair was quite undone, her knot was barely clinging to her head.

  "So you are Mr Smith." the woman said emotionlessly. The Doctor could only nod affirmatively. "He is in his room. I will send him down." the woman said and turned away as silently and solumnly as she had come.

  A few moments later Nick was outside with the Doctor.

  "So, what made you decide to help me after all?" Nick asked, but the Doctors face told him he would not get a reply on that question.

  "Now can you tell me what happened? When was she last seen and where?" the Doctor asked while they wlaked down the street towards a restaurant.

  Nick told him that nothing out of the ordinary happened yesterday evening and that his sister was brought to bed by mother as every evening before. Nick is always the first one to leave the house, but he had heard mother tell the police officers inside that his sister Amelia was missing when mother went to wake her up this morning.

  "Right, okay." the Doctor said while processing this information. They took a table and ordered a coke and a cup of tea.

  "Remember carefully: Was anything missing from her room?" he asked Nick.

  "No, her room was just the way it always is. No mess, nothing taken." Nick replied.

  "Hmm, that pendant she was looking for the other night. Did she have it on her last night?" the Doctor then asked hopefully.

  "Now you mention it, yes." she had been crying for it again and would only sleep if she wore the pendant. Mother thought it would be dangerous for her to wear while sleeping, she might suffocate if it became entangled, but mother gave her the pendant on the end. Just so she would stop crying and go to sleep." Nick explained.

  "Do you think the pandant has something to do with it, Mr Smith?" the boy asked.

  "Hmm, I am not sure." he said contemplating. "Look Nick, we have to look for other signs. I mean signs or evidence the police would have missed. Otherwise we will not get any step closer to solving this than they are." the Doctor said convincingly.

  "I see what you mean, Sir. But how?" Nick said eagerly.

  "What do we know about the missing children? What do they have in common?" he asked Nick retorically.

  "Pff, I don't know." Nick said and thought deep, while the Doctor sipped his hot tea. "Ah, they're in the same class. That's it!" Nick said proudly.

  "Very good, but that is not all." the Doctor smiled.

  "Not?"

  "No, you see there is more. This particular class went on a trip together not very long ago. And on that trip they all somehow accuired a pendant. Now, in amonst the many little children in London, they are the ones to go missing. That is no coincidence in my book!" the Doctor said triumphantly.

  "That is exactly what the police are missing. They don't know about the pendants. Should we tell them?"

  "Hmm, no. Not yet." the Doctor said slowly, "First we must know a little more about this pendant, before we can tell the police about our theories. We must be sure of our case, you see."

  "Alright, tomorrow then." Nick said, eager to solve this affair quickly. And Nick was right. One child yesterday, four more today, how many will disappear tomorrow and the day after that. Also the chance of finding the missing children will deminish quickly, so the couple needed to make haste.

  "Tomorrow, we tell the police." the Doctor agreed. "Now before I go home and work out our theory, I need you to do one thing for me, Nick. Can you make me an accurate drawing of how the pendant looks like?" the Doctor asked him with sudden gravity.

  "I will go and do that now, Sir." Nick said confidently. "Anything I can do to help Amelia." Nick said hopeful he could make a difference in retrieving his missing sister. "Thank you, Mr Smith." Nick said cincerely before leaving the restaurant.

  "You're welcome." the Doctor said though Nick could no longer hear it.

  Later that day Nick pushed a letter in the letterbox of the Doctor's blue front door and the Doctor immedeately set to work on researching the pendant Nick drew for him to his best abilities.

  "Ah ! Not Gnomes at all. Knoba's. Knobagibbelers. Yes.-- Hmm, but those are usually not malicious. What are they up to?" the Doctor mumbled when he had found the information he was looking for on his lap top computer. He developped quite an interesting theory of what had happened to the children. A theory the police most certainly did not think of.

  9. Nightmare

  That afternoon the Doctor had received a text message from Lynne telling him sha had to work late again. It didn't surprise him at all and he didn't want to spend any more time worrying about it, so he put the matter out of his mind.

  He cooked dinner for Sarah and Adrian again and tucked them into bed. Without Sarah noticing he had taken the pendant and he hung it on the magnetic board in the kitchen downstairs. Then he changed into more comfortable clothes and went to bed too. He lay with his eyes shut thinking about his theory and deciding how he should tackle the matter first thing in the morning.

  He heard the front door open and close and he supposed that was Lynne returning home from work. A few minutes later he realised Lynne had not come upstairs yet. He heard no other sounds and then it struck him that he didn't even hear the usual gurgling sound Adrian makes when he snores. It was just too quiet.

  Anxiously he got out of bed and went to Adrians bedroom and found his bed empty. Quickly he opened the door on the opposite of the landing snd found Sarah's bed empty too.

  "Oh, no!" he exclaimed as fright came over him. He ran downstairs to the kitchen, taking such big leaps that he only used three of the thirteen staircase steps. He took one frightful look at the magnetic board and saw the pandant was gone.

  The dream the Doctor had y
esterday night wasn't a dream, it was a nightmare. And this nightmare had now come true.

  "Adrian! Sarah!" he called as he rushed out of the front door onto the street. He looked around in panic. The street was empty and there was no sign of where the kids had gone. He caled out for them again but his efforts were futile. He rubbed his hands over his face as he composed himself and thought about the most sensible thing to do. He took a deep sigh and went back indoors. He took the phone and called Lynne, but there was no reply. Then he called Nick.

  "Nick, it's the D-, Mr Smith. Sarah and Adrian are gone. Get your father, he is a police officer right? and come over to my house." he ordered the boy who was still not quite awake.

  "Okay, Sir." Nick replied with a tone of disbelief, tiredness and upcoming excitement.

  "Hurry. We've ran out of time. We must act now!" the Doctor said conclusively and put down the receiver.

  Nick had awoken his father and urged him to come to Mr Smith's house. The father was only too happy to comply since he had experienced first hand what it is like to find your child missing.

  "So you say your teacher has a theory on this?" Nick's father asked his son.

  "Yes, I helped him. We figured it out together." Nick said with excitement.

  "And does Mr Smith know where the children are?" his father asked while they stepped into the car. He picked up a colleague on the way over to his son's teacher's house.

  Whilst Nick and his father were on their way the Doctor had put on some decent clothes and waited anxioulsy for them to arrive. "Why?" he thought, "Why didn't I do something sooner? You fool!"

  He blamed himself for not acting when he had first had that feeling he always has when there are strange goings on. I suppose you could call it instinct, although it sometimes seems more like he attracts the danger rather than him stumbling into dangerous affairs by coincidence. When he has this instinctive feeling he must go and see what the problem is. This time he had ignored it and now it bounced back to him twice as hard.

  Minutes seemed to last hours while he sat waiting, hoping that he had done his researh right and that he could find the missing children. Although it were not his own children, and Sarah and Adrian were not even real children at all, he felt responsible for them nevertheless.

  Adrian, he remembered, was the robot boy he found almost destructed when the elevator on an icy future Earth had crashed. The robot had tampered with the elevator, trying to repair it, untill the whole thing became unstable and soured to Earth from kilometers high. The Doctor and Lynne together with the owner of the elevator were inside it. Luckily nobody was hurt, except for the robot. The owner wanted to leave the robot in the debris because she disliked what it had done, but the Doctor found the robot was aclually a very young artificial intelligence, who could feel and think. He could not let it die there and took it with him inside the TARDIS. It had been his project to repair the robot boy and to teach it the ways of many worlds. He had called him Adrian, after a former Scottish companion of his, Adric.

  Now Sarah was a different story, though not long before he came to live in London with Lynne. Sarah was a stowaway. She had been blown into the TARDIS by the wind some time on an earlier adventure. Then she was only a pettal, but she grew and after a while she had become as big as a five year old child. The Doctor had noticed strange sounds in his ship but it was so vast that he did not bother looking where those sounds came from. He even supposed it was the machine itself, since it had a habit of making the most exotic noises at times.

  Thus, once he had found the litlle girl, he had no idea where she came from, neither did she of course, and he could not bring her back to her own world. When he arrived at Lynne's she had the wonderful idea of posing the two off as their children and sending them to school to learn, just like any young child of any race would have the need to learn. They called her Sarah after one of the Doctors female companions, Sarah-Jane.

  While the Doctor sat there remembering, he suddenly heard footsteps on the landing.

  "It can't be Nick, he has no key. And I did hear the door, who could it be?" were the thoughts that raced though his mind, "Wait a minute, I know those footsteps!" He stood up and turned to the door, when it opened and he saw a familiar face enter the room.