Mind Games (1/3)
Title: Mind Games
Part: 1/3
Prompt: Sight (oncoming_storms)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 3599
Other parts: Part 2, Part 3
Special thanks to brigadiertardis for her awesome beta help!
“Charley! I thought you were asleep,” the Doctor remarked as his companion stepped into the TARDIS’ console room.
Charley’s frown was worried as she approached him, wearing her nightdress but with a robe thrown over it. “Well, I was,” she said. “But then I thought I heard...a yell or something. So I checked C’rizz’s room.”
The Doctor frowned as well, taking an automatic glance at the TARDIS’ controls to make sure he hadn’t missed some strange event in the last several minutes. “Is he all right?” he asked.
Charley sighed. “I think he’s having a nightmare.”
“Oh.” The Doctor thought for a moment. “Charley...why don’t you go ahead back to bed. We’re going to have a busy day tomorrow.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Doing what?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, “Yet.”
***
“Good morning!” the Doctor declared with a grin as Charley and C’rizz entered the console room in response to his wake-up call. Charley looked hopeful. C’rizz, on the other hand, was rather bleary-eyed. This did not lessen the Doctor’s cheerfulness in the least. “I was just about to put in the coordinates for our next destination.”
Charley began grinning as well. “Where, Doctor? One of the places on our list? Blackpool? The Great Wall of China? I know! A world full of waterfalls!”
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “Charley, I don’t think you’ve ever been anywhere like that.”
“I know. But you probably have been.”
“Well, yes, but...I had something a bit more social in mind, actually.”
That woke C’rizz up. “Social?” he asked skeptically. His social experiences with humans, after all, hadn’t been the most encouraging so far. “With what species?”
“A human. But!” the Doctor added before there was time for protest. “A very special one. One that I think you would especially enjoy meeting, C’rizz.”
Even Charley looked skeptical. “Doctor, have you forgotten-”
“Just listen for a moment, Charley,” the Doctor broke in. “C’rizz, this person I want you to meet is a religious leader. A monk of sorts. We spoke about him once before--the Dalai Lama.”
“The Dalai Lama?” C’rizz repeated, thinking back.
Charley, on the other hand, was incredulous. “We’re going to see the Dalai Lama? The actual one? In person?”
The Doctor grinned. “Assuming you and C’rizz are up for it, of course.”
“Well, I... The Dalai Lama...” Charley marveled. “I’m not Buddhist, but...”
“But...what would we say if we met this person?” C’rizz protested. “If he’s a religious leader, wouldn’t he be afraid of me?”
The Doctor frowned. “I don’t follow. Why would a religious leader be afraid of you?”
“Ohh...you think he’d assume you’re something supernatural. Or evil. Something like that?” Charley asked.
C’rizz nodded. “Unless we’re going to Earth after they’ve started to meet-”
“Nonsense!” the Doctor broke in. “You’ve never met the Dalai Lama. I have, and I know he’ll take it just fine. Now. Any other protests?”
Charley and C’rizz looked at each other.
“Just...a question,” C’rizz ventured.
“Yes, C’rizz?”
“If I meet this... Dalai Lama...what will I talk to him about?”
The Doctor’s expression softened. “Anything you’d like to.”
***
“Here we are!” the Doctor announced cheerfully. “India, the 21st century. 2008, to be exact. It seemed the best time to meet him--and the best him for us to meet, for that matter. Anyway, open the door. Take a look outside!”
“You first,” Charley insisted when C’rizz hesitated.
“All right then.” C’rizz, a bit uncertainly, pushed open the door.
The loud sound of mooing immediately flooded the TARDIS.
The Doctor frowned in consternation. “That doesn’t sound like India.”
Charley rolled her eyes. “Now why am I not surprised?”
C’rizz, on the other hand, had frozen in horror. “I know that sound,” he choked out.
Charley stared at him. “C’rizz! Calm down. They’re only....oh. Cows.”
‘What’s wrong with--ohhh. I remember.”
“How can we tell if they’re the...the rabid type?” C’rizz asked, eyeing the TARDIS’ open doorway in fear.
“Oh, C’rizz!” Charley laughed. “I told you last time, those are only found in America. And we’re not in...” She stopped, blinking. “Well, I suppose we don’t know where we are, actually. Doctor, can you-”
“Shut the door!” the Doctor called sharply before she could finish.
“What?” Charley asked.
“A cow is trying to get into the TARDIS.”
C’rizz’s eyes grew as big as saucers, and he fairly slammed the door. An angry moo could be heard from outside.
“Thank you, C’rizz. I’m sure the old girl wouldn’t have forgiven me for months if I’d let one of them make a mess in here.”
“Yes, well, as sympathetic as I am toward the TARDIS’ sense of decor, isn’t it also about time we had her get us out of here? And to actual...India, did you say? Not Tibet?”
“Never mind that, Charley. But we can’t just leave now!”
C’rizz was still looking shaken. “Why not?”
“Well, aren’t you the least bit curious?” the Doctor asked incredulously. “I told the TARDIS to take us to India, and here we are in... Actually, we don’t even know where we are. Let’s find out!” He rushed over to the console, fiddling with it. “The year’s right, that worked out, at least. But the location... Oh.”
“Oh?” Charley repeated.
“Wisconsin.”
“And what does that mean?” the exasperated Eutermesan asked.
“As in, America?”
C’rizz’s eyes widened again. “So those are the rabid kind!?”
“Not in this part of America, C’rizz; you should calm down. And yes, America. Which is very definitely not India. So why are we here?”
“Because you were being rubbish at flying the TARDIS,” Charley said.
“Because there’s something wrong with the TARDIS--again,” C’rizz said simultaneously.
The Doctor winced. “You really have no faith in me, do you?”
“No!”
He sighed. “Well, whatever it is, it seems to want to keep us from going to India, so...” He frowned. “You’re really not the least bit curious?”
Another moo was audible from outside.
“No!” C’rizz cried.
“Well, all right, then. We’ll be on our...oh dear.”
Charley and C’rizz exchanged a look. It was Charley’s turn, so she asked, “Oh dear what?”
“There seems to be a mouse on my shoe.” The Doctor shook his foot, and a small brown creature was seen to scurry across the console room.
“Doctor, sometimes I really think you need to get your priorities straight.” Charley sighed.
“But have you seen these shoes? They aren’t the sort of shoes you can just replace if anything were to-”
“Doctor. We were leaving?”
“Oh, yes. Well, we can’t leave now.”
C’rizz backed another step away from the door. “Why not?”
“Well, because of the mouse, of course. We can’t just take him with us.”
Charley deadpanned. “Doctor, it’s a mouse.”
“I know. And do you know what a mouse could do if it got loose on the wrong planet at the wrong time?”
“Bring it to another place on Earth then! No, wait. I guess we have no guarantee you’d be able to manage that, do we?”
“Charley, that’s not fair.”
“So open the door and put the mouse out there, and then we can go,” C’rizz suggested. “Here, I’ll get the door so we can set it right outside.” He moved to pull the door open, was met with a moo, and shut it again. “Maybe you’d better bring the mouse over first.”
Charley laughed, shaking her head. “C’rizz, there is really nothing scary about cows. But all right. You get the mouse, and I’ll get the door.”
“Good idea.” C’rizz looked down at the TARDIS’ floor, hunting for the mouse. “Now where did it go?”
The Doctor pointed. “Right there. Oh, not the wiring!”
C’rizz suddenly became extremely difficult to distinguish from the colors of the console room. The Doctor and Charley both saw some sort of shadow moving, but the mouse apparently did not. The Eutermesan abruptly became more visible again, his hands already beginning to blend in with the color of the field mouse between them.
“Good catch,” the Doctor remarked.
“Here, C’rizz, throw it out!” Charley pulled open the TARDIS’ door.
There was an extremely loud moo. Charley had to jump to the side to avoid being trampled by the cow that came bursting in.
“That’s odd,” the Doctor remarked.
“I knew they were dangerous!” C’rizz cried triumphantly. “Charley, are you okay?”
“Yes, but...”
The cow began madly running about the interior of the TARDIS then, wild-eyed and clearly startled by what it had just run into.
“Herd it toward the door!” the Doctor directed, stepping forward.
“And what if it tramples us?” Charley asked.
“See, I warned you both.”
The cow, however, seemed to have worked out for itself that it didn’t like this new place. It made for the light outside, bursting back into the mooing herd.
There was a moment of stunned silence.
“Now then,” the Doctor said, straightening his jacket meticulously. “Can you still say you’re not the least bit curious?”
The mouse went rushing across the middle of the console room just then, having broken free from C’rizz in the confusion. It, too, burst out the door.
The three travelers looked at each other.
“Maybe just a quick look,” Charley conceded.
“Are you sure that’s not normal for this cattle?” C’rizz asked.
The Doctor was positively grinning. “Let’s find out!” And he led the way out the door.
Immediately outside of the TARDIS was the expected herd of cattle. What they perhaps hadn’t been expecting was that they all looked as agitated as the one that had come inside. The cows were very active, mooing and circling about and looking generally miserable and upset.
“That’s strange,” the Doctor remarked as he walked slowly through the cattle, watching them curiously.
Charley kept close to him. “It’s like they’re worried about something.”
C’rizz, on the other hand, skirted around the animals. “It’s more like they’re hunting for something.”
The Doctor blinked, looking at the cows again. “Brilliant, C’rizz!” he declared. “I think you’re right. It’s rather like they’re looking for something.”
“Food, maybe?” Charley suggested.
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “In the middle of all that delicious grass?”
“Oh. No, I suppose not.”
“The mice are looking, too.”
“Mice?”
The Doctor and Charley both looked to where C’rizz was gesturing in surprise. Just past the cows--next to the TARDIS, in fact--there was a large group of field mice. The fact that they were all bunched together fully visible in the grass was strange enough to begin with, but these mice were also scurrying around in a distracted fashion, going just about in circles, half climbing on each other and looking frantic.
“Hm,” the Doctor mused. “Even odder.” He turned, scanning the horizon. “Ah!”
Everyone followed his gaze along a winding road--driveway, perhaps?--and eventually to a one-storey house at the end with a barn right next to it. There was a dog in the front yard, barking and running about in frantic near-circles. Next to the house, they could see a pen of chickens behaving in much the same way.
“Now do you believe I didn’t have anything to do with our detour to Wisconsin?” the Doctor asked pointedly.
“But what could be causing this?” Charley couldn’t tear her eyes from the distraught animals.
“A good question. In light of which, I think it may be a good idea to pay our neighbors a short visit.” He started toward the house, Charley following. C’rizz trailed behind, eyeing the cows warily.
As the Doctor reached the front stoop, he pushed the doorbell, and they heard the sound of chimes playing inside.
The inner door opened immediately, as though someone had been standing there waiting for them. A woman was visible through the screen door--brown-haired, perhaps in her early forties. And looking rather rumpled, in a muddy T-shirt and ripped jeans with her hair half pulled back and half in her face.
“What do you need?” she asked, sounding as agitated as she looked. She narrowed her eyes at them. “Are you new around here?”
“Yes,” the Doctor replied smoothly. “We’re just visiting. I’m the Doctor, this is Charley, and the one watching your cows is C’rizz. And you are?”
The woman raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m Linda. But you just knocked on my door. What do you need?”
“Well...” The Doctor furrowed his brow thoughtfully.
Charley rolled her eyes in a way that said, And you didn’t think about this ahead, Doctor? “Your cow just attacked our...vehicle,” she explained smoothly. “We were wondering if something was wrong. Or if that cow should be penned up, perhaps.”
“Oh.” Linda narrowed her eyes at one cow that had just taken off like a shot from the herd. “They’ve been like that lately. Sorry. Your truck okay?”
“Truck?” the Doctor repeated, affronted.
“We think so,” Charley said hurriedly. “Well, maybe not. We’re...having trouble with it. Mind if we come in?”
“You want to use the phone?” Linda asked.
“Yes. Well, he does. Right, Doctor?”
“Charley, I’m not sure-”
She elbowed him.
“Yes. Actually, I think C’rizz had better make the call. It might distract him from your cows.”
“I’m only making sure they don’t attack again,” C’rizz said defensively.
Linda gasped as he turned to face her. “Oh, sorry,” she quickly apologized, embarrassed. “Just, I thought I saw...well... You’re a bit different looking. Not that it’s bad--I don’t mean to be rude--just...”
“Yes, yes, C’rizz is a bit of a foreigner. Now may we come inside? To use the phone, like Charley said.”
The woman looked a bit dubious. “I suppose so.” She stepped back, ushering them inside the door.
The house was a small ranch-style building. The front door opened on two rooms--a kitchen on the left, dirty dishes piled in the sink and a dog bowl surrounded by stray pieces of chow on the floor. On the right was a sitting room with faded brown carpeting. There was a small TV and DVD player at the end of it, on a stand with several shelves of DVDs. A couch was against the wall, a scratched-up glass coffee table in front of it. There were papers strewn about the on the table. The entryway itself was a mess as well--full of shoes and boots, some of which looked rather horrifically muddy.
“Sorry about the house. We’ve been busy lately. Anyway, you two can have a seat out there. And whoever wants to make the call, the phone’s over here in the kitchen.”
C’rizz allowed the woman to lead him to the bizarre device. He took the receiver out of its cradle and stared at the strange numbers.
“Do you need help?”
“No,” he bluffed. “I’ll just be a minute. I’m going to...call someone to pick us up. A friend.”
“All right.” Linda was already pacing nervously about the kitchen.
“Why don’t we all sit down while C’rizz calls our friend?” the Doctor suggested, gesturing toward the other room. Charley took the hint and headed into it with him. Linda followed a bit reluctantly.
“So, tell me about this place, Linda,” the Doctor began, his tone conversational. “Everyone here seems to be in a terrible hurry about something. I always thought the country would be more...relaxed.”
“Oh, it usually is,” Linda assured him. The Doctor and Charley sat on the couch, but she stayed standing, hands folded across her chest as though she were nervous. “Just lately... Well, it’s like there’s something in the air, really. You know how they say animals predict an earthquake before it happens and prepare for it? Not that you’d have anything like that out here, but...like a storm, maybe. Or more like a wild animal that’s been after your cattle. Like there’s something out there that we should be doing something about, or...finding, maybe. Yes, I think that’s more what it feels like. Except we’re not sure what or where. Everybody’s been a little on edge.”
The Doctor frowned thoughtfully. “Like something’s out there, hm?” He stood. “Well, thank you very much for the hospitality. As soon as C’rizz is done, we should be on our way.” He gave a meaningful look to the kitchen, where C’rizz was trying to look as natural as possible with a phone against his ear, making mumbling noises into it.
When he caught the Doctor’s eye, the Eutermesan stopped immediately, turning to carefully put the receiver back in place. It took several attempts to do so correctly, as he struggled to remember just which way the device was supposed to face.
Charley stood as well. “Are our...friends...on their way, C’rizz?”
“Hm? Oh, yes. They should be here soon.”
“Good! Thank you again, Linda. It’s been very nice to meet you.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay here? Until your friends arrive?” the woman asked, wringing her hands nervously.
“No, I think we’ll just take a walk outside while we wait. Have a good day.”
“Yes...you too,” Linda said, a bit distractedly now, as the three left the house.
“Doctor, why did we leave already?” C’rizz asked once the door had been shut behind them.
“Because I found out what I needed to know.”
“Oh? And what was that, may I ask?” Charley piped up.
“Something is agitating everything in this area. Making them want to do something or go somewhere. They feel like they’re looking for something.”
“We knew that from the animals,” C’rizz pointed out.
“Yes, but I didn’t know it was a psychic field until we talked to Linda.”
Charley and C’rizz looked at each other.
“A psychic field?” C’rizz asked.
The Doctor grinned, proud to have finally figured it out. “Yes, a psychic field. It affects the lifeforms around it, making them do things. Or, in this case, want to do things. But for some reason, this field doesn’t seem to be quite sure what it’s aiming for. Unless, of course, its goal is to make everyone feel agitated. Or it may just want the chickens to walk in circles. It’s hard to tell with these things.”
The companions couldn’t help taking an involuntary look toward the pen of chickens. They were still circling. And the cows were still mooing and milling about. As they watched, one took off running, not quite toward the TARDIS, but not far from it.
“So now what?” Charley asked.
“Well, I would say the field must be originating somewhere over that way, past the TARDIS. How about we take a look?” The Doctor’s expression was eager.
C’rizz’s eyes widened. “Are you sure it’s that way?” he asked in dismay.
“C’rizz, for someone of your size and strength, you have a disturbing squeamishness when it comes to tame bovine creatures.”
Another cow went stampeding off, nearly colliding with the first.
“It’s not like we haven’t gone toward worse before,” Charley remarked.
“Good point.”
The three started toward the cows, staying carefully to the side this time--although cows kept randomly bolting in slightly inconsistent directions, making the task more difficult than it had seemed at first glance.
“Charley!” C’rizz shouted abruptly, giving her a shove that knocked her off her feet--but also out of the path of a newly-stampeding cow.
“Thanks.” Once the cow was safely past, she stood and brushed herself off, looking distastefully at the mud that she had landed in, now spattered all over her clothing. “Ugh, of all the luck...”
“Keep moving, Charley,” the Doctor advised. “You don’t want to encounter any more of that bad luck.”
Once they had passed out of the apparent range of the disturbed cows, the Doctor stopped short, and his companions followed suit.
He turned to watch the cows for a moment, holding a hand out in front of him, thumb spread away from his other fingers. “Yes,” he mused. “If I had to hazard a guess, I would say right...about...here.” He took several steps to the side and stopped, nodding to himself.
“What’s there?” Charley ventured.
“The median point of the cows’ bolting. You see, it may look like they’re going in random directions, but they’re really clustered around one particular point. And somewhere down the line from that point...” He started forward, away from the cows. He had the sonic screwdriver in his hand now, and he leaned over, holding it to the ground as he walked. “...we should find our culprit. Ah!”
“What is it?” C’rizz asked immediately.
“Well, I don’t have the end of it yet. But! There’s a definite energy trail going right through here.” He looked over at his companions. “You can feel it, can’t you?”
“Feel what?”
The Doctor shook his head in amusement. “Charley, you are tapping your foot. And C’rizz, the cows are not going to come over here, whether you glare at them or not. Which is exactly what I mean--don’t you feel that?”
Charley stopped, looking down at her foot as though it were a foreign object. “Oh...I suppose I do.”
“You’re right,” C’rizz said, frowning thoughtfully. “It’s not just about the cows, either. I feel...on edge. Like that woman said. And I have a bit of a headache, too.” He sounded reluctant to admit it.
“Well, I don't have a headache, but I know what you mean, C'rizz,” Charley agreed.
“And I feel the same. We must be getting close-”
The Doctor cut off abruptly, grabbing his head and sinking to his knees with a cry.
“Doctor!”
“Doctor, what is it?”
Charley made to crouch beside him, but he held up a hand. “Don't! There's something else here.”
“But what?”
He cried out again and then, just like that, collapsed on the ground.
“Doctor!”
Part: 1/3
Prompt: Sight (oncoming_storms)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 3599
Other parts: Part 2, Part 3
Special thanks to brigadiertardis for her awesome beta help!
“Charley! I thought you were asleep,” the Doctor remarked as his companion stepped into the TARDIS’ console room.
Charley’s frown was worried as she approached him, wearing her nightdress but with a robe thrown over it. “Well, I was,” she said. “But then I thought I heard...a yell or something. So I checked C’rizz’s room.”
The Doctor frowned as well, taking an automatic glance at the TARDIS’ controls to make sure he hadn’t missed some strange event in the last several minutes. “Is he all right?” he asked.
Charley sighed. “I think he’s having a nightmare.”
“Oh.” The Doctor thought for a moment. “Charley...why don’t you go ahead back to bed. We’re going to have a busy day tomorrow.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Doing what?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, “Yet.”
***
“Good morning!” the Doctor declared with a grin as Charley and C’rizz entered the console room in response to his wake-up call. Charley looked hopeful. C’rizz, on the other hand, was rather bleary-eyed. This did not lessen the Doctor’s cheerfulness in the least. “I was just about to put in the coordinates for our next destination.”
Charley began grinning as well. “Where, Doctor? One of the places on our list? Blackpool? The Great Wall of China? I know! A world full of waterfalls!”
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “Charley, I don’t think you’ve ever been anywhere like that.”
“I know. But you probably have been.”
“Well, yes, but...I had something a bit more social in mind, actually.”
That woke C’rizz up. “Social?” he asked skeptically. His social experiences with humans, after all, hadn’t been the most encouraging so far. “With what species?”
“A human. But!” the Doctor added before there was time for protest. “A very special one. One that I think you would especially enjoy meeting, C’rizz.”
Even Charley looked skeptical. “Doctor, have you forgotten-”
“Just listen for a moment, Charley,” the Doctor broke in. “C’rizz, this person I want you to meet is a religious leader. A monk of sorts. We spoke about him once before--the Dalai Lama.”
“The Dalai Lama?” C’rizz repeated, thinking back.
Charley, on the other hand, was incredulous. “We’re going to see the Dalai Lama? The actual one? In person?”
The Doctor grinned. “Assuming you and C’rizz are up for it, of course.”
“Well, I... The Dalai Lama...” Charley marveled. “I’m not Buddhist, but...”
“But...what would we say if we met this person?” C’rizz protested. “If he’s a religious leader, wouldn’t he be afraid of me?”
The Doctor frowned. “I don’t follow. Why would a religious leader be afraid of you?”
“Ohh...you think he’d assume you’re something supernatural. Or evil. Something like that?” Charley asked.
C’rizz nodded. “Unless we’re going to Earth after they’ve started to meet-”
“Nonsense!” the Doctor broke in. “You’ve never met the Dalai Lama. I have, and I know he’ll take it just fine. Now. Any other protests?”
Charley and C’rizz looked at each other.
“Just...a question,” C’rizz ventured.
“Yes, C’rizz?”
“If I meet this... Dalai Lama...what will I talk to him about?”
The Doctor’s expression softened. “Anything you’d like to.”
***
“Here we are!” the Doctor announced cheerfully. “India, the 21st century. 2008, to be exact. It seemed the best time to meet him--and the best him for us to meet, for that matter. Anyway, open the door. Take a look outside!”
“You first,” Charley insisted when C’rizz hesitated.
“All right then.” C’rizz, a bit uncertainly, pushed open the door.
The loud sound of mooing immediately flooded the TARDIS.
The Doctor frowned in consternation. “That doesn’t sound like India.”
Charley rolled her eyes. “Now why am I not surprised?”
C’rizz, on the other hand, had frozen in horror. “I know that sound,” he choked out.
Charley stared at him. “C’rizz! Calm down. They’re only....oh. Cows.”
‘What’s wrong with--ohhh. I remember.”
“How can we tell if they’re the...the rabid type?” C’rizz asked, eyeing the TARDIS’ open doorway in fear.
“Oh, C’rizz!” Charley laughed. “I told you last time, those are only found in America. And we’re not in...” She stopped, blinking. “Well, I suppose we don’t know where we are, actually. Doctor, can you-”
“Shut the door!” the Doctor called sharply before she could finish.
“What?” Charley asked.
“A cow is trying to get into the TARDIS.”
C’rizz’s eyes grew as big as saucers, and he fairly slammed the door. An angry moo could be heard from outside.
“Thank you, C’rizz. I’m sure the old girl wouldn’t have forgiven me for months if I’d let one of them make a mess in here.”
“Yes, well, as sympathetic as I am toward the TARDIS’ sense of decor, isn’t it also about time we had her get us out of here? And to actual...India, did you say? Not Tibet?”
“Never mind that, Charley. But we can’t just leave now!”
C’rizz was still looking shaken. “Why not?”
“Well, aren’t you the least bit curious?” the Doctor asked incredulously. “I told the TARDIS to take us to India, and here we are in... Actually, we don’t even know where we are. Let’s find out!” He rushed over to the console, fiddling with it. “The year’s right, that worked out, at least. But the location... Oh.”
“Oh?” Charley repeated.
“Wisconsin.”
“And what does that mean?” the exasperated Eutermesan asked.
“As in, America?”
C’rizz’s eyes widened again. “So those are the rabid kind!?”
“Not in this part of America, C’rizz; you should calm down. And yes, America. Which is very definitely not India. So why are we here?”
“Because you were being rubbish at flying the TARDIS,” Charley said.
“Because there’s something wrong with the TARDIS--again,” C’rizz said simultaneously.
The Doctor winced. “You really have no faith in me, do you?”
“No!”
He sighed. “Well, whatever it is, it seems to want to keep us from going to India, so...” He frowned. “You’re really not the least bit curious?”
Another moo was audible from outside.
“No!” C’rizz cried.
“Well, all right, then. We’ll be on our...oh dear.”
Charley and C’rizz exchanged a look. It was Charley’s turn, so she asked, “Oh dear what?”
“There seems to be a mouse on my shoe.” The Doctor shook his foot, and a small brown creature was seen to scurry across the console room.
“Doctor, sometimes I really think you need to get your priorities straight.” Charley sighed.
“But have you seen these shoes? They aren’t the sort of shoes you can just replace if anything were to-”
“Doctor. We were leaving?”
“Oh, yes. Well, we can’t leave now.”
C’rizz backed another step away from the door. “Why not?”
“Well, because of the mouse, of course. We can’t just take him with us.”
Charley deadpanned. “Doctor, it’s a mouse.”
“I know. And do you know what a mouse could do if it got loose on the wrong planet at the wrong time?”
“Bring it to another place on Earth then! No, wait. I guess we have no guarantee you’d be able to manage that, do we?”
“Charley, that’s not fair.”
“So open the door and put the mouse out there, and then we can go,” C’rizz suggested. “Here, I’ll get the door so we can set it right outside.” He moved to pull the door open, was met with a moo, and shut it again. “Maybe you’d better bring the mouse over first.”
Charley laughed, shaking her head. “C’rizz, there is really nothing scary about cows. But all right. You get the mouse, and I’ll get the door.”
“Good idea.” C’rizz looked down at the TARDIS’ floor, hunting for the mouse. “Now where did it go?”
The Doctor pointed. “Right there. Oh, not the wiring!”
C’rizz suddenly became extremely difficult to distinguish from the colors of the console room. The Doctor and Charley both saw some sort of shadow moving, but the mouse apparently did not. The Eutermesan abruptly became more visible again, his hands already beginning to blend in with the color of the field mouse between them.
“Good catch,” the Doctor remarked.
“Here, C’rizz, throw it out!” Charley pulled open the TARDIS’ door.
There was an extremely loud moo. Charley had to jump to the side to avoid being trampled by the cow that came bursting in.
“That’s odd,” the Doctor remarked.
“I knew they were dangerous!” C’rizz cried triumphantly. “Charley, are you okay?”
“Yes, but...”
The cow began madly running about the interior of the TARDIS then, wild-eyed and clearly startled by what it had just run into.
“Herd it toward the door!” the Doctor directed, stepping forward.
“And what if it tramples us?” Charley asked.
“See, I warned you both.”
The cow, however, seemed to have worked out for itself that it didn’t like this new place. It made for the light outside, bursting back into the mooing herd.
There was a moment of stunned silence.
“Now then,” the Doctor said, straightening his jacket meticulously. “Can you still say you’re not the least bit curious?”
The mouse went rushing across the middle of the console room just then, having broken free from C’rizz in the confusion. It, too, burst out the door.
The three travelers looked at each other.
“Maybe just a quick look,” Charley conceded.
“Are you sure that’s not normal for this cattle?” C’rizz asked.
The Doctor was positively grinning. “Let’s find out!” And he led the way out the door.
Immediately outside of the TARDIS was the expected herd of cattle. What they perhaps hadn’t been expecting was that they all looked as agitated as the one that had come inside. The cows were very active, mooing and circling about and looking generally miserable and upset.
“That’s strange,” the Doctor remarked as he walked slowly through the cattle, watching them curiously.
Charley kept close to him. “It’s like they’re worried about something.”
C’rizz, on the other hand, skirted around the animals. “It’s more like they’re hunting for something.”
The Doctor blinked, looking at the cows again. “Brilliant, C’rizz!” he declared. “I think you’re right. It’s rather like they’re looking for something.”
“Food, maybe?” Charley suggested.
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “In the middle of all that delicious grass?”
“Oh. No, I suppose not.”
“The mice are looking, too.”
“Mice?”
The Doctor and Charley both looked to where C’rizz was gesturing in surprise. Just past the cows--next to the TARDIS, in fact--there was a large group of field mice. The fact that they were all bunched together fully visible in the grass was strange enough to begin with, but these mice were also scurrying around in a distracted fashion, going just about in circles, half climbing on each other and looking frantic.
“Hm,” the Doctor mused. “Even odder.” He turned, scanning the horizon. “Ah!”
Everyone followed his gaze along a winding road--driveway, perhaps?--and eventually to a one-storey house at the end with a barn right next to it. There was a dog in the front yard, barking and running about in frantic near-circles. Next to the house, they could see a pen of chickens behaving in much the same way.
“Now do you believe I didn’t have anything to do with our detour to Wisconsin?” the Doctor asked pointedly.
“But what could be causing this?” Charley couldn’t tear her eyes from the distraught animals.
“A good question. In light of which, I think it may be a good idea to pay our neighbors a short visit.” He started toward the house, Charley following. C’rizz trailed behind, eyeing the cows warily.
As the Doctor reached the front stoop, he pushed the doorbell, and they heard the sound of chimes playing inside.
The inner door opened immediately, as though someone had been standing there waiting for them. A woman was visible through the screen door--brown-haired, perhaps in her early forties. And looking rather rumpled, in a muddy T-shirt and ripped jeans with her hair half pulled back and half in her face.
“What do you need?” she asked, sounding as agitated as she looked. She narrowed her eyes at them. “Are you new around here?”
“Yes,” the Doctor replied smoothly. “We’re just visiting. I’m the Doctor, this is Charley, and the one watching your cows is C’rizz. And you are?”
The woman raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m Linda. But you just knocked on my door. What do you need?”
“Well...” The Doctor furrowed his brow thoughtfully.
Charley rolled her eyes in a way that said, And you didn’t think about this ahead, Doctor? “Your cow just attacked our...vehicle,” she explained smoothly. “We were wondering if something was wrong. Or if that cow should be penned up, perhaps.”
“Oh.” Linda narrowed her eyes at one cow that had just taken off like a shot from the herd. “They’ve been like that lately. Sorry. Your truck okay?”
“Truck?” the Doctor repeated, affronted.
“We think so,” Charley said hurriedly. “Well, maybe not. We’re...having trouble with it. Mind if we come in?”
“You want to use the phone?” Linda asked.
“Yes. Well, he does. Right, Doctor?”
“Charley, I’m not sure-”
She elbowed him.
“Yes. Actually, I think C’rizz had better make the call. It might distract him from your cows.”
“I’m only making sure they don’t attack again,” C’rizz said defensively.
Linda gasped as he turned to face her. “Oh, sorry,” she quickly apologized, embarrassed. “Just, I thought I saw...well... You’re a bit different looking. Not that it’s bad--I don’t mean to be rude--just...”
“Yes, yes, C’rizz is a bit of a foreigner. Now may we come inside? To use the phone, like Charley said.”
The woman looked a bit dubious. “I suppose so.” She stepped back, ushering them inside the door.
The house was a small ranch-style building. The front door opened on two rooms--a kitchen on the left, dirty dishes piled in the sink and a dog bowl surrounded by stray pieces of chow on the floor. On the right was a sitting room with faded brown carpeting. There was a small TV and DVD player at the end of it, on a stand with several shelves of DVDs. A couch was against the wall, a scratched-up glass coffee table in front of it. There were papers strewn about the on the table. The entryway itself was a mess as well--full of shoes and boots, some of which looked rather horrifically muddy.
“Sorry about the house. We’ve been busy lately. Anyway, you two can have a seat out there. And whoever wants to make the call, the phone’s over here in the kitchen.”
C’rizz allowed the woman to lead him to the bizarre device. He took the receiver out of its cradle and stared at the strange numbers.
“Do you need help?”
“No,” he bluffed. “I’ll just be a minute. I’m going to...call someone to pick us up. A friend.”
“All right.” Linda was already pacing nervously about the kitchen.
“Why don’t we all sit down while C’rizz calls our friend?” the Doctor suggested, gesturing toward the other room. Charley took the hint and headed into it with him. Linda followed a bit reluctantly.
“So, tell me about this place, Linda,” the Doctor began, his tone conversational. “Everyone here seems to be in a terrible hurry about something. I always thought the country would be more...relaxed.”
“Oh, it usually is,” Linda assured him. The Doctor and Charley sat on the couch, but she stayed standing, hands folded across her chest as though she were nervous. “Just lately... Well, it’s like there’s something in the air, really. You know how they say animals predict an earthquake before it happens and prepare for it? Not that you’d have anything like that out here, but...like a storm, maybe. Or more like a wild animal that’s been after your cattle. Like there’s something out there that we should be doing something about, or...finding, maybe. Yes, I think that’s more what it feels like. Except we’re not sure what or where. Everybody’s been a little on edge.”
The Doctor frowned thoughtfully. “Like something’s out there, hm?” He stood. “Well, thank you very much for the hospitality. As soon as C’rizz is done, we should be on our way.” He gave a meaningful look to the kitchen, where C’rizz was trying to look as natural as possible with a phone against his ear, making mumbling noises into it.
When he caught the Doctor’s eye, the Eutermesan stopped immediately, turning to carefully put the receiver back in place. It took several attempts to do so correctly, as he struggled to remember just which way the device was supposed to face.
Charley stood as well. “Are our...friends...on their way, C’rizz?”
“Hm? Oh, yes. They should be here soon.”
“Good! Thank you again, Linda. It’s been very nice to meet you.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay here? Until your friends arrive?” the woman asked, wringing her hands nervously.
“No, I think we’ll just take a walk outside while we wait. Have a good day.”
“Yes...you too,” Linda said, a bit distractedly now, as the three left the house.
“Doctor, why did we leave already?” C’rizz asked once the door had been shut behind them.
“Because I found out what I needed to know.”
“Oh? And what was that, may I ask?” Charley piped up.
“Something is agitating everything in this area. Making them want to do something or go somewhere. They feel like they’re looking for something.”
“We knew that from the animals,” C’rizz pointed out.
“Yes, but I didn’t know it was a psychic field until we talked to Linda.”
Charley and C’rizz looked at each other.
“A psychic field?” C’rizz asked.
The Doctor grinned, proud to have finally figured it out. “Yes, a psychic field. It affects the lifeforms around it, making them do things. Or, in this case, want to do things. But for some reason, this field doesn’t seem to be quite sure what it’s aiming for. Unless, of course, its goal is to make everyone feel agitated. Or it may just want the chickens to walk in circles. It’s hard to tell with these things.”
The companions couldn’t help taking an involuntary look toward the pen of chickens. They were still circling. And the cows were still mooing and milling about. As they watched, one took off running, not quite toward the TARDIS, but not far from it.
“So now what?” Charley asked.
“Well, I would say the field must be originating somewhere over that way, past the TARDIS. How about we take a look?” The Doctor’s expression was eager.
C’rizz’s eyes widened. “Are you sure it’s that way?” he asked in dismay.
“C’rizz, for someone of your size and strength, you have a disturbing squeamishness when it comes to tame bovine creatures.”
Another cow went stampeding off, nearly colliding with the first.
“It’s not like we haven’t gone toward worse before,” Charley remarked.
“Good point.”
The three started toward the cows, staying carefully to the side this time--although cows kept randomly bolting in slightly inconsistent directions, making the task more difficult than it had seemed at first glance.
“Charley!” C’rizz shouted abruptly, giving her a shove that knocked her off her feet--but also out of the path of a newly-stampeding cow.
“Thanks.” Once the cow was safely past, she stood and brushed herself off, looking distastefully at the mud that she had landed in, now spattered all over her clothing. “Ugh, of all the luck...”
“Keep moving, Charley,” the Doctor advised. “You don’t want to encounter any more of that bad luck.”
Once they had passed out of the apparent range of the disturbed cows, the Doctor stopped short, and his companions followed suit.
He turned to watch the cows for a moment, holding a hand out in front of him, thumb spread away from his other fingers. “Yes,” he mused. “If I had to hazard a guess, I would say right...about...here.” He took several steps to the side and stopped, nodding to himself.
“What’s there?” Charley ventured.
“The median point of the cows’ bolting. You see, it may look like they’re going in random directions, but they’re really clustered around one particular point. And somewhere down the line from that point...” He started forward, away from the cows. He had the sonic screwdriver in his hand now, and he leaned over, holding it to the ground as he walked. “...we should find our culprit. Ah!”
“What is it?” C’rizz asked immediately.
“Well, I don’t have the end of it yet. But! There’s a definite energy trail going right through here.” He looked over at his companions. “You can feel it, can’t you?”
“Feel what?”
The Doctor shook his head in amusement. “Charley, you are tapping your foot. And C’rizz, the cows are not going to come over here, whether you glare at them or not. Which is exactly what I mean--don’t you feel that?”
Charley stopped, looking down at her foot as though it were a foreign object. “Oh...I suppose I do.”
“You’re right,” C’rizz said, frowning thoughtfully. “It’s not just about the cows, either. I feel...on edge. Like that woman said. And I have a bit of a headache, too.” He sounded reluctant to admit it.
“Well, I don't have a headache, but I know what you mean, C'rizz,” Charley agreed.
“And I feel the same. We must be getting close-”
The Doctor cut off abruptly, grabbing his head and sinking to his knees with a cry.
“Doctor!”
“Doctor, what is it?”
Charley made to crouch beside him, but he held up a hand. “Don't! There's something else here.”
“But what?”
He cried out again and then, just like that, collapsed on the ground.
“Doctor!”