‘I’m almost looking forward to it,’ the Doctor said. ‘Bit of a break. Chance to catch up with a few old friends as I go through the years. Winston Churchill. Agatha Christie. The Beatles.’
He knew the Angel was stone at that moment, but could’ve sworn it glared at him.
There were footsteps outside the door. Could this be it? Was the future him about to walk into the room? Meeting himself was always odd.
Beep beep beep beep. That was the correct sequence of numbers being entered onto the keypad. The door opened...
‘Hey, what’s this?’ said a gruff voice. In the mirror, the Doctor saw a thickset man in blue overalls. It didn’t take him long to decide it wasn’t himself – not even in a new body.
A second man came in. ‘Star said that Angel statue might be out of its box,’ he said. ‘He didn’t say anything about a bloke tied to a chair, did he, Ted?’
‘Yes, hello,’ said the Doctor, not taking his eyes off the Angel. ‘Speaking as the bloke tied to the chair, could you untie me please?’
The first man, Ted, laughed. ‘Not likely! Star’s always saying we’re not to touch a thing in here unless he tells us to. You’ll be one of his magic friends trying out a trick.’
If the Doctor could have turned his head, he would have given the man a hard stare. He had to be content with glaring at the mirror instead. ‘I’m not one of Sammy Star’s magic friends. I’m not even one of his non-magic friends. You have to believe me that we’re all in great danger. Please let me go.’
Ted laughed again. ‘Nah, it’s all a trick, isn’t it? Come on, Larry. Let’s get the statue back in its box.’
‘No!’ the Doctor almost screamed at them. ‘Don’t go near that thing! It’s a monster!’
Larry nodded. ‘You’re right, it’s not very pretty. Dunno how he gets it to move around like that. There again, if I knew his secrets, I’d be the one about to go on telly.’
‘Telly?’ cried the Doctor. ‘What telly? Who’s going on telly? DON’T BLOCK MY VIEW!’
Ted had moved in between the Doctor and the Angel. To the Doctor’s relief, either Ted or Larry had still got their eyes on it. It remained a statue.
The two men picked up the Angel and carried it back into its lead-lined box. The door closed on it. The Doctor thought he heard a movement inside at the very instant it was hidden from view.
‘Got to get it on stage,’ Larry told the Doctor. ‘Mr Star’s graveyard trick’s going to be on telly. The film crew’s already setting up upstairs. Good luck with your trick, mate.’
‘I’m not doing a trick!’ the Doctor told them. ‘I’m tied to this chair so I can’t stop Sammy Star doing a very bad thing. A very bad thing indeed. I can’t really explain it to you because you won’t believe me. You just have to trust me. Let me go now!’
‘Ha ha, good one, mate,’ said Ted. ‘Come along, Larry.’ They carried the box out of the door, and shut it behind them.
The Doctor was left to struggle with his bonds again. He knew as well as Amy did what would happen if the Angel was shown on TV. It could be the end of the world.
‘We have to warn the Doctor,’ said Amy. ‘There’s got to be a way of getting back inside the theatre.’
Rory nodded. ‘There is. I’m just going to walk in.’
‘Er, yeah, right!’ said Amy. ‘I don’t think that’s going to work.’
‘Why not?’ Rory was sure of himself for once. ‘Only one guard saw me, and he didn’t really look at me. I don’t stand out like you. You know, tall, pretty, red hair,’ he said in a hurry as Amy frowned at him. ‘Not to mention dressed in a one-piece silver catsuit. It’s a look people notice. They won’t look at me twice. I’m going to say Mrs Collins or Mrs Hooper left a bag under a seat last night and can I go and get it.’
‘We’ll come with you,’ said Mrs Collins. ‘They’ll believe you then.’
Amy turned to her. ‘Are you sure? It might be dangerous.’
The old woman smiled. ‘For the past few years I’ve barely known my own name, dear. Today I feel young again. If I can help stop Sammy Star, I’m going to.’
Mrs Hooper didn’t say anything. She was staring at Amy. ‘It was you,’ she said.
‘Er, no, it wasn’t,’ said Amy. ‘Really.’ She quickly turned back to Rory. ‘Every second could count. You’ve got to get in there and find the Doctor.’
‘Right.’ Rory and the two old ladies headed off for the theatre.
Amy watched as they spoke to the man at the door. To her relief, they were let in. It wasn’t in Amy’s nature to stand around waiting for other people to do the work. She knew she couldn’t get into the theatre by the front door. That didn’t mean she couldn’t find some other way in.
She thought back to the time she’d climbed onto the stage. Sammy Star had thought she wanted him to sign her programme. He’d told her to wait at the stage door. Perhaps it would be easier to get in there.
She made her way to the back of the theatre. There were no neon signs or grand entrances here, just dustbins and pigeons. Even the sun stayed out of the gloomy alley.
Amy grinned despite the gloom. She’d spotted something that made her very happy. A lorry was parked beside the alley. Men were lifting down heavy cameras and lights and carrying them to the stage door. It was the TV crew.
She waited until the last man was out of the lorry, then jumped inside. Someone had left a denim jacket lying around, and she put it on. It didn’t hide all of her silver catsuit, but might fool someone at a quick glance. There was a handheld camera on the floor. She picked it up. Carried on her shoulder, it hid her face. Then, trying to look very sure of herself, she walked straight through the stage door.
‘Down there on the left,’ a voice called. She thought she’d better do as it said. To her surprise, she found herself near the side of the stage. The Graveyard Ghost set was already in place. Sammy Star and the other judges were still sitting at the front of the stalls. Amy hurried towards the back of the hall in case they turned and saw her. The cameras and lights were being set up nearby.
At the back of the theatre sat a girl. A girl with long black hair, dressed in a white nightie. All of a sudden, Amy knew what she had to do. There was no sign of the Doctor or Rory. This could all be up to her.
The denim jacket had a pass clipped to a pocket. It read CREW. Amy went over to the girl and waved the pass in front of her nose. ‘Excuse me, you’re needed in make-up. Can you come with me, please?’
The girl followed Amy out of a side exit. Above the door was an arrow pointing to LADIES.
‘Just in here,’ Amy said, at the end of the passage.
‘The dressing rooms are downstairs,’ said the girl, puzzled.
‘Not today. They’ve taken over the ladies’ loos,’ said Amy, and shoved her inside. ‘Come on, come on, let’s have that nightie off you.’
‘You what?’ said the girl.
‘Costume check,’ said Amy. The girl didn’t look convinced, but took it off. She was now dressed only in T-shirt and leggings.
‘I’ll have the wig too, please,’ Amy said. She plucked it off the girl’s head, revealing blonde hair underneath. ‘Bet it feels better without it. Wigs really make your head sweaty, don’t they?’
The blonde girl frowned. ‘Are you really with Wardrobe? I’m going to go and check with Sammy.’
She tried to get to the door, but Amy held her fast. Amy realised she had a scarf in her shoulder bag. On her first attempt she pulled out the bunch of silk flowers, but she searched further and found the scarf. She whipped it out and tied the struggling girl’s hands to a pipe. There was a hankie in her borrowed jacket’s pocket, and she used it as a gag.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘Really I am. Believe me, though, this is a lot better than what Sammy Star had planned for you.’ Then she grinned. ‘You know what? This reminds me of one of the first times I met the Doctor. I handcuffed him to a pipe. Hang on a minute. Have we met before?’
For a moment, Amy had thought t
he blonde girl looked familiar. The girl just glared at her, though, and didn’t answer.
Amy put on the nightie and wig. Once dressed, she looked at herself in the mirror. ‘Perfect,’ she said. ‘All ready to be scared by the Graveyard Ghosts.’
Except tonight, Amy told herself, it would be the ghosts’ turn to be scared.
* * *
Chapter Ten
RORY AND THE two old ladies went through the door marked NO ENTRANCE. There were no guards to be seen, but as they crept further in Rory heard a dog bark.
‘Uh-oh,’ he said. ‘I thought the Doctor was joking when he said about guard dogs.’
Mrs Hooper’s face lit up. ‘It’s all right,’ she said. ‘It’s nothing to worry about.’
‘Er, if you say so,’ said Rory, not at all sure that she was right.
Round a corner, there were the dogs. Two big German Shepherds. To Rory’s surprise, they stopped barking as Mrs Hooper went up to them. They even started to lick her outstretched hand.
‘This is Brandy and this is Lady,’ she said. ‘I made friends with them. I was missing Max so much.’
‘Oh!’ All of a sudden Rory figured it out. ‘You made friends with them when you were in the theatre before. When you were young. To the dogs, I guess you still smell like the same person!’
Mrs Hooper didn’t want to leave the dogs, but they had to go on. Rory stopped a bit further along. ‘Did you hear something?’ he asked. He listened again. Yes, there it was. A voice was calling. It was the Doctor’s voice!
‘Don’t worry, Doctor, we’ll get you out!’ Rory shouted back as he reached the door. Then he stopped. ‘The door’s locked,’ he called to the Doctor.
‘Yes, I know that,’ the Doctor’s voice came back.
‘Do you know the code that opens it?’ asked Rory. ‘There’s a keypad here.’
‘No,’ came the Doctor’s reply. ‘Come on, come on, Rory! A four digit number, there are only ten thousand possible ones. Get those fingers working!’
‘Er, OK,’ said Rory. He touched the keypad. 0000. Nothing. 0001. Nothing. 0002. Nothing. ‘This might take a little time,’ he said.
A wrinkled hand reached out and pushed his hand aside. A wrinkled finger punched in the numbers 2906. The door clicked open.
‘The 29th of June,’ said Mrs Collins. ‘My birthday. I noticed that the code was my birthday. It’s all coming back to me now. Being here again.’
Inside the room, Rory began to untie the Doctor. Mrs Collins and Mrs Hooper were looking past him. As if in a dream, they walked towards the mirror. Mrs Collins reached out a hand and touched her image. The image’s fingers met hers.
‘So old,’ she said in wonder. ‘We got so old. I was young when I was in this room before. Young and pretty. Scared but so full of hope.’
Mrs Hooper nodded. ‘My hair was long and golden. I didn’t like hiding it with a wig, but he said I had to. This room... I was waiting in this room. Waiting to go on the stage. They were going to film it. I was going to be famous. Then a mad man came in and spoilt it all. That man there.’ She pointed at the Doctor. ‘It all happened in my dream. The red-haired girl was in my dream too. She stole my clothes and took my place. I was so angry. Then suddenly I was so lost.’
Rory and the Doctor listened with horror. ‘That was you!’ said the Doctor. ‘The girl I met here, today, that was you!’
That wasn’t the bit Rory latched on to. ‘The red-haired girl took your place?’ he said. ‘Doctor, it’s Amy! She’s taking part in Sammy Star’s act!’
The Doctor threw off the last of his bonds and jumped up. ‘She’s up there with a Weeping Angel!’
The Weeping Angel was on stage. Two men had taken it out of a large box and put it in its place. Sammy Star had walked past Amy as she stood in the wings, watching. ‘I’m off to get changed,’ he’d said. ‘You know what you’ve got to do?’
She had nodded, keeping the dark hair of the wig over her face as much as she could. He didn’t seem to notice she wasn’t the same girl. Well, with a new girl each day, he probably couldn’t keep track.
‘Good,’ he’d said. ‘Nothing must go wrong today. I am about to get my revenge.’
That hadn’t sounded good. Amy knew now more than ever that she had to foil his plans somehow. Her idea was simple. She’d go along with the act as much as she could. The only thing was, she would never take her eye off the Weeping Angel. Not for a single second.
A short while later, a voice called ‘Action!’
Mist came out of a dry-ice machine and crept across the stage.
Amy had seen the show, so she knew what she had to do. She copied Kylie Duncan’s movements as closely as she could.
Sammy Star, dressed as the Graveyard Ghost, emerged from his grave. Amy didn’t have to pretend to be scared. There was a mad look in his eyes that was very, very scary.
She darted away from him, and spikes sprang up near her feet. She was being herded towards the tall tree that would become a walkway.
It felt real. It was real. The person chasing her might not be a ghost, but he wanted to hurt her.
Sammy Star was throwing apples as Amy reached the tallest tree. Its bark fell away as she began to climb. Amy had never been scared of heights, but this walkway felt really high right now. She paused for a moment, dizzy, and Sammy Star’s dagger nearly went through her foot.
Up and up she climbed. Somehow she kept her eyes on the Weeping Angel below.
She was aware of a noise from down in the theatre. Someone was shouting. It might have been the Doctor, but it seemed so far away.
Higher and higher, until she could go no further. This was it. This was the end. Sammy Star was behind her. He was going to throw the apple that would knock her down. Any moment now would come the blinding flash.
With one hand, Amy reached into her bag and pulled out her pair of sunglasses.
She put on the sunglasses. The other hand reached out and caught the apple. She wobbled, but didn’t fall. There was a blinding flash...
Amy, with her dark glasses on, kept looking down at the Angel.
The Doctor and Rory burst in, Mrs Collins and Mrs Hooper behind them. Amy was poised on the top of the walkway. ‘Keep looking at the Angel!’ the Doctor yelled, although he knew it was useless. He ran towards the stage as fast as he could. If he was close enough to the Angel, maybe he’d still see it through the flash. At least he’d be offering himself as a victim rather than Amy.
He couldn’t run fast enough. He couldn’t get there in time. Sammy Star raised his hand to throw the apple. There was a blinding flash...
When the Doctor stopped blinking, he saw that the Angel hadn’t moved. Amy, still at the top of the walkway, was staring at it through her sunglasses.
‘Yes! Oh, good girl, Pond!’ he yelled. ‘Now come on down. Mind the spikes. Tell you what,’ he called to a man in the wings, ‘just get rid of the spikes, will you?’
The spikes slid back down, and the Doctor climbed up. Scattered apples rolled off the stage behind him. He looked up at Sammy Star, still near the top of the walkway. The magician didn’t even move as Amy made her way past him.
‘Time to retire, I think,’ said the Doctor.
Sammy shook his head. ‘Not yet. Oh, not yet. I’ve barely even started.’
‘She locked me in the loos!’ A blonde girl ran onto the stage. The girl the Doctor had met before, the one he now knew was Amber Reynolds. ‘Oi, you, what do you think you were playing at?’ Amber yelled at Amy. ‘I’d have been there all day if someone hadn’t found me.’
‘Stop!’ the Doctor yelled. The girl was getting close to the Angel. ‘Stay away from that!’
‘Nooooooo!’ It was like the night before all over again. The screaming of an elderly lady in the stalls. Everyone turned to look at her.
The Doctor couldn’t help it. His eyes flicked away too, just for an instant.
When he looked back, the Angel had moved.
The blonde girl was gone.
* * *
Chapter Eleven
THE CAMERAS WERE still rolling as the judges jumped to their feet. ‘We were promised a show to astound us,’ said Austin Hart with a sneer. ‘This is hardly such a show.’
‘It’s just, like, really dumb,’ said Daisy Mead. ‘Yawn-arama.’
Amy, now down on the stage, was again amazed. A girl had just been blasted into the past, but these judges thought it was nothing. Just because they’d been looking away when it happened.
Sammy Star called down to the judges from the top of the walkway. ‘Oh, I’m going to give you a show,’ he said. ‘I’m going to give you a show you’ll never forget. You’ll be sorry for the way you laughed at me. Let’s see if you’re still laughing when the Angel gets you.’
The Doctor looked up. ‘You don’t want to do that,’ he warned.
‘Oh yes I do,’ ranted Sammy. ‘They’re rude and they laugh at people and it hurts so much. I wanted what they’ve got! I wanted to be famous! When I found the Angel, I knew just what I had to do. I could get everything I wanted. Fame, and revenge. Austin Hart, Daisy Mead and Bill Evans being zapped into nothing? I’ll be on every news channel in the world.’
‘Get out of here!’ shouted the Doctor. But no one moved. ‘I’m talking to all of you! Every person in this theatre! Leave now!’ There was a second’s silence, and then people began running to the doors. The judges, the film crew, the stagehands. Only Rory, Amy and the two old ladies stayed still.
‘No!’ screamed Sammy Star. He was still at the top of the walkway, and was holding something in his hand. A wire trailed from it. Amy felt suddenly cold. It was the control for the pyrotechnics. She watched helplessly as the Doctor ran towards the walkway. But Sammy hit the button before the Doctor could reach it. There was a second blinding flash.
‘Amy!’ shouted the Doctor.
Amy was still wearing her dark glasses. But even so, she was taken by surprise. By the time she was able to focus on the Angel, it had moved.
It was right next to her. Amy gasped in horror. She was trapped at the very edge of the stage. The Angel was now blocking her only escape.
Doctor Who: Magic of the Angels Page 5
