How Polly Spent the Last 36 Hours of Opposite Plot
After the Doctor let me go, I ran to the IPD offices to try to warn them. As I feared, however, the days of altered personalities had left the department understaffed and in chaos. Sam Vimes listened sympathetically (or, as sympathetically as he was capable of), and then asked me questions. What was the Doctor planning? I had no idea. Had the Doctor directly threatened me? When I said it out loud, it came across as much less threatening as when I'd heard it from him.
It was more than frustrating. The Doctor had said he was going to take over the Island, but I couldn't figure out how. He didn't have a weapon that we couldn't oppose him with, and he couldn't build a big bomb without blowing himself up with us, so what could he use? My mind only came up blank.
In the end, Vimes promised me that he'd look into it. I didn't feel confident. The truth was, Vimes' hands were tied until the Doctor tried something, and since we didn't know what he was planning, by then it would be too late.
As I left the IPD offices and headed out of the compound, sticking to a crowd, I saw the Doctor leaving. He gave me a smile, and it was terrifying. I froze. His last words, 'I know where you live' echoed in my mind. He walked out.
I turned around then, and went to the labs. There, I found Mother, and that's when I broke down crying.
Mother and Daddy did their best to calm me down. They took me back to their hut on the northern beach, and they didn't laugh or complain when I barricaded their front door with a chair. I didn't sleep well that night, and when I did, the dreams involved a lot of me running from scary monsters and rampaging dinosaurs. But when I woke up at dawn, I felt strangely calm. I knew what weapon the Doctor had in mind. Maybe this is how Mother feels when parts of a complex equation fit snugly together.
I woke my parents. "Where does the power for the electric fence come from?"
We had a bit of a row after that. I told them my plan. They thought I was crazy. If I was right, I was putting myself in harm's way. I shouldn't go. Certainly not alone. But somebody should head straight to the IPD Outpost, in case the Doctor was already on his way. Somebody else could go back to the Compound and warn people. And, no, they couldn't come and put themselves in harm's way with me because if anything happened to them, I was as good as dead after all. And, besides, what were they going to do? Ground me?
I left their hut, following the beach east until I came to the pylons which indicated the electric fence separating us from Dinosaur Territory. Then I set out inland.
Before long, I felt a bass beat in my chest. Seconds later, I heard the crash of undergrowth. Then, before I could even react, I got my first sight of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, as big as a bus, as it smashed into view. I froze while it sniffed the air and looked right at me. I stayed still, hoping that what I'd heard, that they could only detect movement, was true, but then it took a step towards me, and I thought I was going to faint. But I saw the collar around the dinosaur's neck flash, and the beast roared angrily, and then turned aside. It stormed away. As its footfalls vanished in the distance, I fell limp against the nearest tree. This was what the Doctor planned to unleash?
I found the IPD Outpost and crept inside, only to be confronted by Keith Mars, head of the IPD, who was understandably interested in why _I_ was skulking about. After I managed to convince him that I meant him no harm, he let me down from the wall and we talked. Turns out that he'd taken a shift out at the outpost, taking a personal hand in case anybody tried anything. I told him what I knew, and he thanked me, and told me to leave. I protested, but he told me in no uncertain terms that he didn't want a civilian standing in harm's way. He was probably right, but it still didn't do much for my ego.
Neither did the fact that, when I left the Outpost, and hid among the bushes, Keith found me within twenty minutes. But he seemed bemused as I emerged from the undergrowth, ferns sticking out of my hair. And then he said I could stay, as long as I stayed out of the way. And, believe it or not, I thanked him.
We were in contact with the main IPD branch, and more than one officer cycled back and forth while we waited. And waited. And waited. We played cards. I shared my sandwich and he shared his. But I could feel the tension rising in my spine.
But nothing happened. Before I knew it, I felt Keith nudging me, and I woke with a start. I'd somehow fallen asleep.
"We've got the all clear," he said. "It's over. Everybody's back to normal."
I went limp with relief.
Keith walked me back to my own hut, helpfully navigating me past several trees, and I fell into my bed just as the sun peeked over the horizon. Then I slept until midafternoon.
It was more than frustrating. The Doctor had said he was going to take over the Island, but I couldn't figure out how. He didn't have a weapon that we couldn't oppose him with, and he couldn't build a big bomb without blowing himself up with us, so what could he use? My mind only came up blank.
In the end, Vimes promised me that he'd look into it. I didn't feel confident. The truth was, Vimes' hands were tied until the Doctor tried something, and since we didn't know what he was planning, by then it would be too late.
As I left the IPD offices and headed out of the compound, sticking to a crowd, I saw the Doctor leaving. He gave me a smile, and it was terrifying. I froze. His last words, 'I know where you live' echoed in my mind. He walked out.
I turned around then, and went to the labs. There, I found Mother, and that's when I broke down crying.
Mother and Daddy did their best to calm me down. They took me back to their hut on the northern beach, and they didn't laugh or complain when I barricaded their front door with a chair. I didn't sleep well that night, and when I did, the dreams involved a lot of me running from scary monsters and rampaging dinosaurs. But when I woke up at dawn, I felt strangely calm. I knew what weapon the Doctor had in mind. Maybe this is how Mother feels when parts of a complex equation fit snugly together.
I woke my parents. "Where does the power for the electric fence come from?"
We had a bit of a row after that. I told them my plan. They thought I was crazy. If I was right, I was putting myself in harm's way. I shouldn't go. Certainly not alone. But somebody should head straight to the IPD Outpost, in case the Doctor was already on his way. Somebody else could go back to the Compound and warn people. And, no, they couldn't come and put themselves in harm's way with me because if anything happened to them, I was as good as dead after all. And, besides, what were they going to do? Ground me?
I left their hut, following the beach east until I came to the pylons which indicated the electric fence separating us from Dinosaur Territory. Then I set out inland.
Before long, I felt a bass beat in my chest. Seconds later, I heard the crash of undergrowth. Then, before I could even react, I got my first sight of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, as big as a bus, as it smashed into view. I froze while it sniffed the air and looked right at me. I stayed still, hoping that what I'd heard, that they could only detect movement, was true, but then it took a step towards me, and I thought I was going to faint. But I saw the collar around the dinosaur's neck flash, and the beast roared angrily, and then turned aside. It stormed away. As its footfalls vanished in the distance, I fell limp against the nearest tree. This was what the Doctor planned to unleash?
I found the IPD Outpost and crept inside, only to be confronted by Keith Mars, head of the IPD, who was understandably interested in why _I_ was skulking about. After I managed to convince him that I meant him no harm, he let me down from the wall and we talked. Turns out that he'd taken a shift out at the outpost, taking a personal hand in case anybody tried anything. I told him what I knew, and he thanked me, and told me to leave. I protested, but he told me in no uncertain terms that he didn't want a civilian standing in harm's way. He was probably right, but it still didn't do much for my ego.
Neither did the fact that, when I left the Outpost, and hid among the bushes, Keith found me within twenty minutes. But he seemed bemused as I emerged from the undergrowth, ferns sticking out of my hair. And then he said I could stay, as long as I stayed out of the way. And, believe it or not, I thanked him.
We were in contact with the main IPD branch, and more than one officer cycled back and forth while we waited. And waited. And waited. We played cards. I shared my sandwich and he shared his. But I could feel the tension rising in my spine.
But nothing happened. Before I knew it, I felt Keith nudging me, and I woke with a start. I'd somehow fallen asleep.
"We've got the all clear," he said. "It's over. Everybody's back to normal."
I went limp with relief.
Keith walked me back to my own hut, helpfully navigating me past several trees, and I fell into my bed just as the sun peeked over the horizon. Then I slept until midafternoon.