《Doctor Who - The Child Doctor Adventures》 The Beginning of the Tragedy Zakopane, Poland, 1932. A British blue Police Box, a spaceship/time machine called ¡°TARDIS¡± (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) materialised in the forest of the Tatra Mountains nearby the town, not too far from the border with Czechoslovakia. From there, a 6 years old-looking child came out of it. He was a beautiful child, with medium-length wavy brown hair, emerald eyes and freckles on his cheeks. He was wearing anachronistic garments for the era he was currently in: A dark green frock coat, grey-ish waistcoat, a green cravat, white trousers, knee-high black socks and brown shoes, making him look like either the son of an English nobleman or a child cosplaying Oscar Wilde. This boy however wasn¡¯t a normal human child, he was an alien traveller, a renegade Time Lord known only as the Doctor. ¡°Woah¡­Look at this view!¡± He said, admiring the town from the forest with childlike glee, ¡°Eastern Europe sure has great rural landscapes, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Curious by this new location, the Doctor decided to go for the exploration. He closed the door of the TARDIS with his key and ran through the forest. He didn¡¯t know why he was running, but he thought it would feel nice doing that. It was a great idea doing that, it gave the Doctor a quick and great landscape, feeling surrounded by so much green felt lovely. Until he reached a cabin. It was small and made of wood, located on a hill and a dirt path leading to it. ¡°A cabin in the middle of a forest?¡± he thought, ¡°Quite an unusual place to live in. There¡¯s a high chance a psychotic mass murder lives there so that the Police and curious strangers couldn¡¯t bother them¡­Let¡¯s go check it!¡± And so he did, he cautiously approached the cabin he noticed someone taking mushrooms and various food from the trees near the cabin. That person was a short young woman, presumably in her early 20s. She had short, slightly messy brown hair and blue eyes and was wearing a black blouse with an orange dress on top of it and a necklace with a blue pendant. ¡°She must be a local.¡± the Doctor thought. Not wanting to bother her, he distanced himself. However, he didn¡¯t pay attention to his surroundings and accidentally crashed into a tree, attracting the girl¡¯s attention. She went to help him. ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡± She lends her hand to him. The Doctor took it and managed to stand up. "I think so, I didn''t pay attention to my surroundings. Thank you." "You''re a bit clumsy, you know?" The girl chuckled, "I''m Mariah, what''s your name?" "Smith, John Smith." the Doctor used his fake identity, "But for my friends I''m the Doctor. Nice to meet you, Mariah. Are you from here?" Mariah seemed a bit reluctant to answer. "Well¡­Not really. I''m from Ukraine, I''m here with my friends." "An Ukrainian? We''re a bit far from it, maybe she''s having a holiday with her friends?" the Doctor thought, scrutinising Mariah''s face. "Say, "Doctor", where are your parents?" Mariah asked.¡°Huh? Well¡­¡± the Doctor thought of a believable excuse, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think I got lost¡­Oh! Idea! Can I stay with you for the meantime?¡± He tilted his head. Mariah nodded. ¡°Sure, why not? I think the others will like you. Follow me!¡± After the Doctor helped Mariah with gathering mushrooms and other stuff, they entered the cabin. ¡°I¡¯m back!¡± Mariah said, ¡°I also brought someone else with me!¡± ¡°Took you long enough!¡± A tall woman with long red hair kept into a braid and green eyes, wearing a long white dress and a long, yellow double necklace spoke with an annoyed tone. ¡°Hehe, sorry, Karin.¡± Mariah sheepishly chuckled. ¡°Who¡¯s that kid?¡± A young man of average build and weight, with dark hair and dark eyes, wearing a blue button-up shirt, black trousers and round glasses. ¡°This boy is called the Doctor, he got lost in the woods, so he decided to stay with us.¡± Mariah explained. ¡°Doctor, these are my friends: Karin, Anatoly and Gregor!¡± ¡°Nice to meet you all.¡± the Doctor slightly bowed. ¡°Nice to meet you too, kid.¡± Gregor, a giant buff man (by the looks probably the oldest of the bunch) with brown eyes, short brown hair and a beard, wearing black trousers, a white shirt with an open collar and a green vest on it. ¡°Great, another mouth to feed." Karin sarcastically said. "Well I couldn''t leave a child alone in the woods, could I?" Mariah justified her reason. "Is there something wrong?" A deep, young male voice spoke. The group turned around, and noticed the presence of another person. They were¡­Off. He looked both young and old at the same time. He had white messy hair, brown eyes, with soft wrinkles around the eyes. He was wearing a pair of grey trousers, a white shirt and a grey vest, along with a light grey fedora, hiding most of his face in the shadows. "Oh, I just found this child lost in the woods, he wants to stay with us for the meantime." Mariah explained. The man looked at the Doctor, analysing him with his cold glare. He took a deep breath and asked him a question: "Did you come here of your free will, or were you sent here?" The Doctor found that question weird so, perhaps out of intuition or just for the giggles, he answered weirdly too: "I am here seventy-five percent of my own free will, sixty-five percent by compulsion." The group was confused, while the man was surprised by this answer, then he said: "He may stay with us." Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Gregor and Anatoly didn''t seem to mind the Doctor either, so they accepted it. Karin gave up, ¡°Fine, but the brat is in your care, Mariah, since you found him.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± the short girl said. "So, did you bring everything we need?" The man asked. Mariah nodded and gave the mushrooms and other stuff to him and went to the kitchen to prepare the dinner. 15 minutes later, he came out of the kitchen with a vegetable stew. They sat down at the table and went to eat. ¡°Wow! This stew is delicious!¡± Gregor said, taking a bite of it. ¡°I agree, this stew is splendid.¡± the Doctor said. ¡°You must be a world class chef!¡± Mariah commented. ¡°...It¡¯s bland as hell.¡± Karin said, unimpressed. ¡°She must be the fun one at the parties¡­¡± the Doctor thought, sarcastically ¡°Karin!¡± Mariah said. ¡°What? It tastes like every vegetable stew I ate, SO generic!¡± Karin justified her complain. ¡°Well, for a side dish we could bake some bread and utilise the fragaria vesca for some jam¡­¡± ¡°Nobody cares, pipsqueak.¡± Karin ribbed Anatoly. The group laughed at her comment. ¡°Nevermind, she¡¯s actually funny.¡± the Doctor thought. After dinner, everyone went to bed. Since the cabin was small, they had to choose where to sleep. Karin, the man and Anatoly slept in the bedrooms while Mariah, Gregor and the Doctor slept in the living room (Gregor slept on a chair by his request, so that the Doctor and Mariah could use the couch.
The next day, Gregor woke up the Doctor and Mariah at 5 AM. ¡°Morning! Did you guys sleep well?¡± He said. ¡°Ugh¡­What time is it?¡± Mariah asked, still sleepy. ¡°It¡¯s 5 AM!¡± Gregor said. Karin, Anatoly and the man also woke up and went to the living room. ¡°Will you please be quiet?! I¡¯m trying to sleep!¡± ¡°Gregor¡­Why did you wake us up so early?¡± Anatoly asked, yawning. ¡°We don¡¯t have many supplies, so we shouldn¡¯t waste any time gathering food!¡± Gregor said. So, the group minus the man left the cabin to take food. Thanks to Anatoly¡¯s knowledge and the Doctor¡¯s sonic screwdriver, they managed to find various blackberries and elderberries. The man then made cabbage rolls for dinner and everyone went to sleep.
The next day, Gregor woke everyone up again early, much to everyone¡¯s annoyance. ¡°GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!¡± He said. ¡°Geugh¡­¡± Mariah was very sleepy. ¡°What now?¡± the Doctor said. ¡°Again, Gregor?¡± Karin said, visibly annoyed. ¡°Why can¡¯t you let us sleep in?¡± Anatoly asked. ¡°Not today! Storm clouds are gathering outside! We have to find more food before it starts to downpour!¡± Gregor explained. ¡°...You¡¯re overreacting, Gregor.¡± Karin said, ¡°We have enough food to last us for a while.¡± ¡°W-Well, not really.¡± Anatoly said, ¡°We used most of our supplies for last evening¡¯s dinner.¡± ¡°Plus, precipitation here is very high, there might be a chance it may flood.¡± the Doctor said. ¡°You really think it will?¡± Mariah asked, worried. ¡°Yes, very. The cabin is on high ground, but it will be surrounded by flood waters, making it impossible to leave it.¡± the Time Lord explained. ¡°See? Plus, better safe than sorry!¡± Gregor and Anatoly went to another room with a map to plan what to do. The Doctor had some spare time, so he went to chat with Mariah, who was hanging around near the bookshelf. ¡°You seem to like reading books, eh?¡± he said. ¡°Yup! There are so many great books here! Do you have a favourite one, Doctor?¡± The Doctor glanced at the library looking at the titles. ¡°Hmm¡­This one about Metallurgy seems interesting.¡± he said, taking the book. ¡°I know, right? I¡¯m curious about the alloy composition of our cauldron, I¡¯ve never seen something like that before.¡± Mariah said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know you liked these things! You¡¯re a really smart kid!¡± The Doctor slightly smirked, both flattered and smug about her compliment. Gregor and Anatoly came back from the meeting and the group went to gather food. However, while returning, Mariah seemed worried. ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± the Doctor asked, noticing her worry. ¡°I¡¯m a bit worried about the food. We haven¡¯t got much in case of a flood, not even if we ration everything¡­¡± Mariah said. The Doctor took her hand and smiled with childlike glee. ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I¡¯m sure everything will be fine, I promise!¡± Spoilers: It will not.
Mariah seemed to be touched by the child-looking Time Lord to cheer her up, so she softly smiled, slightly blushing: ¡°Thanks¡­You¡¯re really sweet.¡± They returned to the cabin and had dinner with what they had: mouldy bread with strawberry jam and some jelly babies the Doctor had in the TARDIS. Everyone went to sleep. However, the next day, Anatoly woke up early and saw something horrifying. Everyone woke up noticed it: The cabin was surrounded with flood waters: ¡°Great, now I can¡¯t go to the TARDIS even if I wanted to¡­¡± the Doctor thought, ¡°The situation is going extreme, and I can¡¯t do much to help them¡­¡±
The day later, the Doctor woke up early and saw Mariah, petrified. Looks like nobody managed to sleep properly. There was no bread, and everyone was dead worried. Once again, the Doctor decided to check for Mariah. She was trembling from the cold. ¡°It¡¯s cold as hell over here! How can Gregor not freeze to death at night?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because he¡¯s bigger than you, therefore he has more fat content that keeps him warm.¡± the Doctor explained, then he took off his frock coat and gave it to Mariah. ¡°Here, it may not be long enough, but it should keep you warm.¡± Mariah took it and wore it. ¡°Thanks, Doctor. You make it easier to pass the time, you know?¡± After that everyone reunited at the dinner table. The man chopped the last piece of bread six times and gave one each. They ate it slowly and carefully, it may be their last meal for a while. They went to sleep, still starving. The next day, panic creeped in even more. The supplies were exhausted, the rain showed no sign of stopping and their hunger grew even more. While Karin and Gregor discussed what to do next, the Doctor once again went to console a dead-worried Mariah in the kitchen. ¡°Hey.¡± the Doctor said. ¡°Hey¡­¡± she said, looking a bit relieved at the sight of her little friend, ¡°How are you holding up?¡± ¡°How I am isn¡¯t important, how are you holding up instead?¡± ¡°Not very good¡­¡± Mariah, other than being worried, she also looked¡­Regretful about something. ¡°Doctor, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°For what?¡± ¡°At this time you would have probably found your parents again and be safe but, instead you¡¯re stuck here starving with us¡­I shouldn¡¯t have brought you here.¡± ¡°Nonsense.¡± the Doctor said, ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Mariah, It was me who asked you to stick around with you, wasn¡¯t I? Plus, if I hadn''t gotten lost here, I wouldn¡¯t have met such a wonderful person like you.¡± Mariah blushed, quite flattered by his compliment. ¡°You really are good with words, aren¡¯t you?¡± The two laughed. ¡°Thanks, Doctor, I feel a lot better now.¡± Later, everyone went to the living room. ¡°We know that we can¡¯t resist any longer like this¡­One of us has to go outside to search for food.¡± Gregor said. Silence fell. ¡°...I¡¯ll go.¡± the Doctor and Mariah said in unison. Everyone was surprised, especially these two. ¡°M-Mariah!¡± Anatoly said. ¡°I¡¯m very agile, I just need to climb a tree and I can jump from branch to branch.¡± the Doctor insisted. ¡°No, I already brought you into this tragedy, I don''t want to have the death of a child on my conscience.¡± Mariah insisted. ¡°Plus, I used to swim all the time back home, so I¡¯ll do it..¡± ¡°...I¡¯ll do it!¡± Anatoly interrupted ¡°You won¡¯t get far if something happens to your glasses, Anatoly.¡± Gregor said. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re blind as a mole rat, remember?¡± Karin said. ¡°I¡¯ll go instead, little guy.¡± Gregor said. ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± Karin said, ¡°He¡¯s the tallest one here, so he shouldn¡¯t have a problem reaching a tree.¡± Gregor grabbed a branch from a woodpile and cutted it in different measurements. ¡°Since we can¡¯t reach for an agreement, let¡¯s draw for it. We¡¯ll pick each one¡­And the one who takes the shortest stick will go outside.¡± Tension raised even further. Everyone took a branch and the one that will go outside is¡­ ¡°Looks like I¡¯ve got the shortest¡­¡± Mariah said. Everyone was saddened. ¡°You don¡¯t need to do this.¡± the Doctor tried to persuade the girl in one last desperate attempt. Mariah answered with a simple headpat. ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­¡± She reached the door. ¡°I watched Anatoly forage earlier, so I know where to search.¡± Everyone was silent and heartbroken. The Doctor, defeated, reached Mariah and gave a TARDIS spare key. ¡°There¡­There should be a blue Police Box with text in English not too far from here, to the East¡­Take this key and enter inside, you will be safe there.¡± He said, trying his best to not burst into tears. Mariah nodded. ¡°Thanks¡­¡± She then returned the frock coat to the Doctor. ¡°Thanks for the coat.¡± She then looked at everyone. ¡°Karin¡­Anatoly¡­Gregor¡­Doctor¡­I¡¯ll keep us alive, no matter what. I promise. G-Goodbye¡± The door shutted behind her, the Doctor could faintly yell about how cold the water was. Then¡­Silence. The Doctor had a terrible feeling that she might not come back alive. £Í£á£ò£é£á£è £è£á£ó £ì£å£æ£ô £ô£è£å £Ã£á£â£é£î£® Despair A day has passed since Mariah left the cabin. The group woke up, more hungry than ever. The Doctor''s morale was terribly low. "Good morning..." Gregor said, " Do you think she managed to find higher ground." "...I believe in Mariah." Anatoly said. "...Me too." Karin said. "....Me too." the Doctor tried to think optimistically, but deep down he knew that the chances that Mariah didn''t reach the TARDIS were awfully high. The Doctor tried to sleep, trying to keep the hunger busy. However, his dream was completely black, he could only hear a female voice, whispering something in Ukrainian. He recognised her voice, it was Mariah''s. "§¥§à§Ü§ä§à§â... §£§Ú §á§à§Ó§Ú§ß§ß? §ä?§Ü§Ñ§ä§Ú, §Ó§Ú §Ó §ß§Ö§Ò§Ö§Ù§á§Ö§è?." these are words she whispered. He woke up in a cold sweat, visibly confused. He noticed a smell, the smell of meat being cooked coming from the kitchen. He went to check it, he found the man, Karin, Gregor and Anatoly ferociously devouring it. "Where did that meat come fro-'''' the Doctor stopped talking and connected the dots, his expression became one of disgust and horror. "Please...Tell me it''s not what I''m thinking of..." Gregor wandered off and Anatoly went to the bathroom and puked in the toilet. The Doctor left the kitchen, hereby refusing to eat that meat even if he was starving. They rationed the meat, so they''ll skip dinner today and everyone went to sleep. The next day, the Doctor noticed Gregor looking outside. "Take a look at the window." He said, "Do you notice anything?" The Doctor looked outside, the flood waters seemed to have receded a little bit, but not enough to let anyone out. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. He suddenly heard whispers again, giving him goosebumps. "§¥§à§Ü§ä§à§â..." "Morning, big guy." Anatoly greeted Gregor. "...Will Mariah make it back?" Gregor asked. "She must!" Karin said. "This might sound a little crazy but...Every night, around 2 AM, I...I can hear her outside. She makes a gurgling noise, like she''s trying to get water out of her lungs." "I think I heard her too. Sometimes, when the rain gets faint, I can hear her whisper." Gregor said. "Same." the Doctor said, "I think I heard her calling my name." "I haven''t heard anything like that." Karin said. "It''s like she''s trying to say something...Right?" ... "...YES." Suddenly, Gregor''s face abruptly changed, becoming more ghoulish. Wide mouth, no nose and dark, inhuman eyes. "What the?!" The Doctor jumped back from the surprise. Gregor''s face returned to normal. "I think I could hear her crying from the radio. But that''s just a broadcast...RIGHT?" Karin''s face became ghoulish for an instant. "I THINK WE SHOULD HAVE ANOTHER PIECE OF MEAT FOR BREAKFAST." Anatoly''s face also became ghoulish. "IT''S WHAT MARIAH WOULD HAVE WANTED." "What''s gotten into you, Anatoly?" Gregor asked. "I''d REALLY like to know that, too!" the Doctor said, shocked. "I CAN''T GET THE TASTE OF MY MOUTH. PLEASE HELP ME." Anatoly''s face then returned back to normal. The man went to the kitchen and boiled another slice of meat. Anatoly and Gregor slowly ate it, extremely reluctant and regretful. The former even started weeping. As for Karin, she ate it in an instant. The Doctor once again refused it. Karin stared at the man. "How much more meat is left?" "...Most of it went bad. This is the last slice." he said. Karin was utterly furious "HOW COULD YOU BE SO CARELESS AGAIN?!" she said, "WHAT THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?! WAIT AROUND AGAIN?!?! THIS STORM ISN''T ENDING!" The man cleared his throat. "Anatoly, I think tomorrow you should look for Mariah...Or forage for plants outside." Anatoly went pale. "OH NO, HE WON''T!" the Doctor objected. "He will drown outside!" "And what should we do, then? Starve to death?" Karin said. "...Let me sleep on it, okay?" Anatoly said. Everyone went to sleep. The next day, Anatoly was still nervous, so the Doctor went to talk with him near the basement. "Hey, thanks for coming over." he said, comforted by the "child"''s presence, "Have you...Checked up the basement door closely? I think I can see her sometimes...She''s been haunting me since she left!" "Same, every single night I can hear her voice, calling for my name, telling me to run..." the Doctor said. "Listen, Anatoly, you don''t have to do this, you know. Please, I lost Mariah already, I don''t want to-" "Please get away from me..." Anatoly left. It seems the Doctor accidentally hit an aching button by mentioning her. He followed him in the living room. "So? What''s your decision?" Karin asked. "...I''ll go." Anatoly said, being pale. "Thank you, Anatoly..." Gregor said. "I know it wasn''t easy, but it''s for the best." Karin said. The Doctor glared at her. Anatoly went to the door. "Huh, I..." "Goodbye, Anatoly." Karin interrupted him. "Good luck, little guy." Gregor said, weakly smiling. "Goodbye, everyone..." £Á£î£á£ô£ï£ì£ù £è£á£ó £ì£å£æ£ô £ô£è£å £Ã£á£â£é£î£® Hunger "See you soon..." Gregor whispered. "All we can do now is wait. Goodnight." Karin went to sleep. "I...I''m missing him already..." Gregor is choking up, "I didn''t...I didn''t tell him the truth..." Gregor curled up on the couch for the night, turning his back from the two. "...I''m sorry, Gregor, I didn''t know how you felt for him..." the Doctor thought, as he went to the bed. While sleeping, he made some order in his thoughts. Two died, we''re now four. Something is sketchy between Karin and that man, who is he in fact? Is he the owner of the cabin? And also, what in the name of Rassilon happened when they first ate Mariah''s flesh? Their faces suddenly...Changed. Yet when I analysed them with the sonic, it says that they are human." His stomach growled. "Or maybe hunger is making me hallucinate." he thought, so he went to sleep. The next day, the Doctor got woken up by whispers once again. "§¥§à§Ü§ä§à§â...§±§â§à§Ü§Ú§ß§î§ã§ñ, §ã§à§ß§ß§Ñ §Ô§à§Ý§à§Ó§à..." Weirdly enough, this whisper didn''t seem much eerie, it felt more...Sweet and tender. He woke up, and immediately noticed the smell of the meat cooking. "Here we go again..." He sighed and went to the kitchen. He saw Karin eating a slice, barely chewing it. "Oh god...Already?" Gregor whispered, conflicted. He eventually succumbed to hunger and ate a slice, tears started streaming down his face. "...I can think straight again. We''ll be out of here in no time, no need to ration anything now." Karin seem calmer now. "...I''m going to lie down on the coach..." Gregor left the kitchen. The Doctor went to the bedroom. Terrible mistake. And so, the next day he went to the living room. "Good mornin-BLOODY HELL!" He jumped back from the shock. He saw Gregor on the couch, with his legs and left arm chopped off. "Doc...tor..." Gregor said, weakened by the blood loss. "Ah, morning Doctor." Karin said, "Have you slept well?" "What''s the meaning of this?" The Time Lord asked, his tone became cold and accusatorial. "Oh, Gregor can''t swim, so, instead of letting him sink outside like a log of wood, I found another way to let him "help" us. I put some of his limbs away, the rest I used for breakfast, care to j-" "Absolutely not." the Doctor coldly interrupted her. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Karin smiled, leaving the owner and the Doctor with Gregor. "Hey..." He said, "All I wanted to do was keep everyone alive and together...But I failed. I''m sorry." "No...I''m sorry, Gregor." the Doctor started shaking, "It was my job to protect everyone, I knew something was sketchy, and I failed. I should have insisted more on stopping Mariah and Anatoly, but instead...I sent them to slaughter." The owner stayed silent, feeling bad for Gregor. "Hey, can you cover me with a blanket?" Gregor said, "I''ve never been this cold...This cabin it chills me to the bones..." The owner found a blanket and covered Gregor with it. "Thanks..." He said, "Watch out for that knife, okay?" Gregor inhaled his last breath. "What the HELL are you doing?!" Karin entered the living room, seeing Gregor''s corpse. "He gave up." the owner said. "We could have kept him alive for another week!" She complained, annoyed. "Oh, boo-hoo! The wannabe Hannibal Lector can''t enjoy her friend''s flesh properly now because it''s rotting!" the Doctor said in a mocking tone, "Go cry me a river." Karin turned around, "What do you mean, brat?" "You didn''t seem very sad or remorseful about eating your friends, did you? And you were awfully pushy and urgent about sending Anatoly outside. Did he taste well, hm?!" he said. "You''re just a kid, you don''t know what you''re talking abo-" "Why, do you have to be a kid to have any common sense?! You''re a human, good heavens! A creature of reason! Yet you devoured your friends, you comrades that escaped with you from the famine in Ukraine like a wild beast!" Karin pulled a knife out of her dress and pointed it at the Doctor. "Enough talking." The Time Lord went silent and death glared at the redhead. "Now..." Karin turned to the owner, "I don''t think I can''t wait any longer..." Her expression turns into a ravenous grin. "Show me where you keep hiding the meat." "...Follow me." The owner obliged and went to the door of the basement, followed by a ravenous Karin and a reluctant Doctor. "Ah, that''s why it''s always locked..." She thought. The owner unlocked the door. "I''ll bring some cutlets up and we''ll have a lovely dinner. You can join us if you want, Doctor..." "No thanks." He politely rejected the offer. Karin went downstairs. In that instant, there was a knowing look between the young-looking Time Lord and the mysterious owner. He seems to also find Karin dangerous and did the first thing he came up with: He locked the basement door "Did you just?!" Karin immediately noticed and started banging on the door. "Let me OUT!" The owner ignored it and left, the Doctor reluctantly did the same. "I''m sorry, Karin, but I''m not going to let you out until you calm down." he thought and he went to the living room to talk with the owner. They sat down. "...Look, I know that you''re probably behind all of this, but for now, I just want to talk. I won''t hurt you if you don''t hurt me, okay?" the Doctor said, "I think I have the right for an explanation, I did answer the question correctly, isn''t that right...Baba Yaga?" "Baba Yaga" was surprised, but regained composure. "...You''re correct, I''ll talk." "First of all, what with that human flesh? Why did they have a ghoulish face for an instant after they devoured Mariah?" "It''s the hunger, slowly consuming them and slowly making the lose their humanity...The thrill of doing something so immoral and the despair for survival kicking in...It makes them regress into wild animals, ravenous ghouls." Baba Yaga explained. "..." the Doctor had a look of disgust on his face, "Why did Gregor, Karin and I heard Mariah''s voice? Was it actually her?" "It might be, the ghosts of my victims are linked to this cabin, filled with rage and sorrow, wishing for revenge, so that they may rest in peace." "So those whispers, those warnings...Mariah''s ghost was trying to warn me?" the Time Lord thought, "How many people have you devoured?" "Don''t know, I lost the count. I''ve been doing it for centuries..." "Have you ever felt remorse?" Baba Yaga looked down. "Many times. I do admit that I felt bad at chopping off Mariah''s corpse and what Karin did to Gregor but, I think it''s too late to atone for my sins." "It''s never too late to ask for forgiveness." the Doctor said, "Sure, they''ll understandably not forgive you for what you did, but it''s important to feel remorse. I suppose most of the ghosts are in the basement, right?" Baba Yaga nodded. "Then let''s go there, and pay for your crimes." the Doctor said. Baba Yaa nodded and escorted by the Doctor, they went into the basement, bracing themselves for the ghosts and Karin, who was lurking in the abyss of the room. Ghosts from the Past The Doctor and Baba Yaga walked down the staircase, the dark abyss of it and the old walls made everything more creepy. Suddenly they felt a presence approaching them. They saw nothing, they only head a familiar female voice. "Doctor, can you hear me?" It was Mariah''s voice, It had her usual cheerful and sweet tone, yet it sounded...Feeble, weak, lifeless. "Mariah..." He said, both sad and happy to hear her voice once again. "It''s so good to see you again!" Even if he couldn''t see her, the two could feel that she was genuinely smiling. "The feeling is mutual, I really missed you..." the Doctor said, "But, if I hear you here, I believe that you didn''t make it to the police box I talked to you about." "Yeah..." Mariah said, she looked at Baba Yaga, seemingly glaring at him. "Don''t worry, I convinced him to pay for his crimes, even if you won''t forgive him." "...That''s a relief, at least he won''t kill you." Mariah said. Baba Yaga was silent. "Before I go further downstairs, I want to tell you something, mainly to you." a tear streamed down the Doctor''s face. "I''m...I''m so sorry, Mariah, it''s my fault you and your friend got killed...I should have protected you, but I failed. all I do is spread death everywhere I go..." "Hey, hey! Don''t be like that!" Mariah consoled her little friend, "It''s not your fault if I''m dead, I did it by my own choice. I''m angry at him, putting Anatoly through Hell and giving my friends that hunger but, as for you...I''m very proud of you. You refuse to join them in desecrating my corpse, even if you were starving to death...You''re stronger than any of us combined." Her words were comforting, managing to calm down the Doctor''s composure. "You''re really good with words, aren''t you?" Mariah chuckled, "We''ll meet again, oh, and one piece of advice: Beware of Karin, she''s ill beyond repair, she''ll rip the flesh from your bones. Good luck." They felt Mariah leaving the staircase, and the two went further down the abyss. The walls became dirtier and sootier. Something approached the two, this time it was Gregor''s ghost. "Doctor!" He said. "Good to see you again, Gregor." the Doctor said, smiling, "Do you feel better now?" "Well, I''m dead, but it''s better than last time we met." Gregor chuckled. "Hey, can I ask you something?" The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "Anything, big guy, anything." "When you reach the room, please...Turn on the light, and don''t forget us." Gregor left the staircase, the Doctor and Baba Yaga went further down, the air pressure felt greater and greater... Another ghost approached them, it was Anatoly. "Oh, hello, Doctor." he said. "Hello, Anatoly." the Doctor said, "Just like the other two, I''m not sure if I should be happy or sad to hear you in this place." "Fair enough." Anatoly said, "It''s constantly dark over here, it''s a terrible place. "Where''s Karin?" Baba Yaga asked. "Oh, she''s just below us...Waiting to devour the two of you." Anatoly nonchalantly said. "The whispers told me many things about what happened to them...Worse than any war crime imaginable...Karin is at the bottom of this staircase, she might be alive but if you''re not cautious you won''t be it...See you soon." Anatoly left the staircase. The Doctor and Baba Yaga finally reached the room. The latter turned on the light and were welcomed by the person they expected: Karin. "Took you long enough..." She said, here braid was untied, she has holding her knife and here eyes were filled with murderous intent. She attacked with her knife, her reflexes were fast and the two barely managed to dodge her. The meat made her stronger and managed to stab Baba Yaga with her knife, but with the last life force he had, he took off the knife, blocked Karin and stabbed in the chest. The two fell down the stairs, the Doctor rushed to their rescue. "Hey!" he said. "...Chase...Karin...Let me die...It''s what I deserve..." Baba Yaga said, as he inhaled his last breath. The Doctor obliged and entered the room he saw. The room was pitch black, the rot of decaying flesh is nauseating "It must be where the corpses are located..." He thought, "No wonder he rarely comes here, this smell is unbearable! He opened a door in the eastern section of the room. The ghosts of Mariah, Anatoly and Gregor appeared before him. Saying that they were scary would have been an understatement. Covered in blood, with certain pieces such as the lip and jaw completely ripped off and lifeless black holes where the eyes should be. "Nice to see you again, Doctor." Mariah "smiled". "Blimey...If that''s how their ghosts look like, I don''t want to imagine the state of their corpses." he thought. "You did, kid, you ended this tragedy." Gregor said. "Well done!" Anatoly said. "Where''s Karin?" the Doctor asked. "She''s lost in the abyss." "Her rage blinds her..." "Ravenous, completely ravenous." "I guess it won''t be easy for her to move on." the Doctor said. "Doctor, please...Turn on the light, and bury what''s left of us." Mariah said. "Turn on the light..." Anatoly repeated. "Turn on the light, don''t forget us..." Gregor said. "...I will. I''ll never forget you, guys, I promise." he to the light switch, not before saying one more thing in Ukrainian: "§¥§à §á§à§Ò§Ñ§é§Ö§ß§ß§ñ, §Õ§â§å§Ù?, §ã§á§à§é§Ú§Ó§Ñ§Û §Ù §Þ§Ú§â§à§Þ." (So long, my friends, and Rest in Peace.) Outside the rain had stopped, and the path was now freed. The Doctor kept his promise. After finding a shovel, he took all the corpses (what remains of it) of Mariah, Anatoly, Gregor and Karin and gave them a proper burial. He also buried the bones of the previous visitors, in a sort of "Tomb of the Unknown Victim". He also took things linked to his friends, Mariah''s necklace, Anatoly''s glasses, Gregor''s vest and Karin''s knife and put them in his "Memorial of Fallen Companions" inside the TARDIS. Before he entered however, he had one last vision of the ghosts of Mariah, Anatoly, Gregor and also Karin''s. They didn''t look like walking corpses, they looked exactly how they were when alive, only with a ghostly aura around the. They didn''t say anything, they only waved goodbye to him, while slowly fading away. The Doctor smiled, and waved at them too, and entered the TARDIS. "They escaped from the Holodomor because they were hungry, and they killed each other because of it, such an ironic fate. Goodbye, friends, I would have liked to have you travelling in the TARDIS with me." he thought. He pulled down the lever on the console, and the TARDIS started dematerialising, while only its wheezing, groaning noise echoed throughout the silent woods. The Forest During a dark and stormy night, a group of hooded men wearing grey tunics were carrying a bag, with a person inside. She tried anything, wiggling, screaming for help, it was all for nothing. They entered inside a catacomb, lightened only by torches. Other members of this ¡°cult¡± were waiting in a circle, with a pentagram at the centre. Two other men brought the bag on the pentagram and, while they tied the girl to stakes. The girl was a beautiful young woman with black hair and blue eyes and wearing a white summer dress. ¡°Where am I¡­?! Who are you, people?!?!¡± the girl demanded, panicking. Everyone there ignored her and continued with their business. ¡°The tribute has arrived, we may begin with the ritual.¡± One of the cultists said. ¡°Ritual?! What ritual?!¡± the girl panicked. The cultists surrounded the poor young woman and started chanting ominously in Latin. ¡° O domina Lustaht, te vocamus. Ad potentiam et prosperitatem nostram detrahet. Hanc tuam virginem pro tributo offerimus Dabo tibi avatar ad ambulandum in terra nostra. Hic vocamus, o magne Lustaht . Mortalium regere terram Cum fidelibus catulis!¡± While the cultists kept repeating the chant, the girl''s mind became fuzzy, making her in a drunk-like state. "What''s going¡­On¡­?" This was the last thought her mind processed before shutting down. Thus, the transformation began, grey fur started growing all over her body, wolf ears and tail appeared. Other than that, her height increased drastically, from an average 162 cm to a monstrous 245 cm. That process was utterly painful for her, with her body abruptly changing, especially with her muscles and curves becoming much, much more pronounced and her face stretching, forming a snout. And with her sclerae turning red, her transformation was finally complete. Silence fell, one of the cultists approached the girl-turned-Hellhound to free her from the chains: A very fatal mistake¡­ Naturally the instant her right arm was freed, the Hellhound ripped with her claws the cultist''s stomach in a slash, grimly making him a blood fountain. The other cultists couldn''t even elaborate what just happened that the Hellhound freed herself and started massacring everyone in the room. Slashing, ripping limbs with brute force, even biting heads and spitting them away, resistance was completely useless and in a matter of minutes, the walls of the catacomb were painted with a crimson colour¡­ That night, a noise echoed to the town nearby, but it wasn''t the painful screams of the cultists, but just one, monstrous howl.
A couple of years later, the TARDIS materialised at the entrance of a taiga forest, near a village. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. The renegade Time Lord known as the Doctor, regenerated into a child with medium-length wavy brown hair with emerald eyes and freckles on his cheeks. He was wearing a dark green frock coat with a waistcoat, blue cravat and a silver fob chain and shorts with suspenders, knee high socks and black shoes. "Another small village, I see¡­" he thought, "I hope I don''t find cannibals that live in a cabin in the forest this time¡­" He took a pinch of dirt from the ground and sniffed it. "Northern United States, probably near the border with Canada¡­" he said, "The year is¡­1955! Well then, time to explore!" The Doctor, succumbing to one of his new childlike instincts, Naruto-ran towards the small town. The town was exactly as the child-looking Time Lord expected: A small, idyllic relaxing place, with children playing around and the merchants trying to attract customers. However, it was a different story when he arrived at the centre, near the City Hall. There, tons of policemen were patrolling the streets. The curious creature the Doctor is, he went to investigate, hoping he could eavesdrop on the policemen. "Have you found anything in the forest?" An officer with green eyes said. "Not at the moment, sir." The other officer said, "Shall we keep looking there?" "Yes, all the clues lead there, he must be somewhere in that accursed forest." "Don''t you think sir that child might have been taken¡­By them?" "Nonsense, Smith, that''s just a simple legend to scare children. That poor woman had hallucinated due to the shock." "Excuse me!" The Doctor interrupted their conversation with a voice more high-pitched than usual, trying to pass like an actual human child, "What are you talking about? Oh! Oh! I''ve got it! Someone got missing!" "Well, spot on, kid." One of the officers said, "Now, go play with your friends, this is stuff for grown ups." "But I can help! I wanna become a Detective when I grow up, plus, I''m pretty smart! So, can I help you with the case, please~?" The Doctor''s innocent charm managed to convice the two officers to tell him. After all, he''s just a child, right? It''s not like he could do something dangerous. "You see, kid, another child, presumably around your age, got missing a week ago." The officer explained, "His name is Jack Sellers, this is a photo of him." He gave the Doctor the photo of a boy with blonde curly hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a brown shirt and a dirty salopette, presumably after playing in the park. "Where was Jack seen last time?" the Doctor asked. "He said to his mother that he was going to play outside, he would have returned for dinner, but he didn''t." The Time Lord nodded. "I see, I see¡­Where can I find her? I want to talk with her!" "She lives not too far from there, just go right then turn left-" "OKTHANKSBYE!" the Doctor didn''t even let them finish the sentence that he ran away.
He reached the house and knocked on the door. A blonde woman with blue eyes, wearing a white dress opened the door, by looking at the eyes he could tell that she recently cried. "Hello!" He said, in a Mario-esque tone. "I''m the Doctor, Are you Jack Sellers'' mum?" "Huh¡­Yes, yes I am." The woman said. "Come in." "Thank you~!" the Doctor went inside, "I heard your son went missing, I wanted to help them find him!" Jack''s mum softly chuckled, finding the supposed-child''s acting like a Detective very adorable, "That''s very sweet of you, little Detective. Sure, I''ll talk, what do you want me to ask?" "Weeelll¡­Do you have any ideas of who might be the kidnapper? Someone that has a grudge on you? A known maniac? Stuff like that?" Jack''s mum thought about it for a couple of minutes. "I think I do." "Really?!" The woman nodded, "Maybe your parents haven''t told you but, many years ago there was a massacre, around 30 people brutally murdered in one night." "Oh¡­" the Doctor was even more curious by the story. "Who killed those people?" "Nobody knows exactly, but that night we heard a noise, the howl of a wolf like we never heard before. We refer to her as the "Hellhound"." "Cool¡­Did anyone see that Hellhound in person?" the Doctor tilted his head. "Not from what I know¡­But I think Jack wanted to find her and kill her, he''s a sweet boy and wanted to help our town. But now¡­" "Hey, hey hey hey!" the Doctor held her hand, smiling "Don''t worry, ma''am! I''m sure your son will return safe and sound!" The woman felt relieved. "Thank you." "Well then! I''ll go looking for him-" "Wait!" Jack''s mum said, "The same day we heard that howl, a girl suddenly went missing, too." "A girl?" "Yes, if I remember correctly, her name was Heather Campbell." "Hmhmm! Heather Campbell, got it!" the Doctor left the house as he ran towards the small library of the town. As he entered, he went towards the desk. "Good morning!" He quietly greeted the old lady at the desk, "Do you have any journals about the massacre of 6 years ago? I need it for a school project!" The old lady smiled, "Sure, dearie, the journals are in the basement, they''re catalogued by year. Follow me." The Doctor, guided by the librarian, went to the basement, arriving at the journal room. There, he took as many journals as he could about that night and the history of the last decade of this town. According to the information he gathered, this town (named Walcastle) was an unknown town until one man with his family moved there in 1942: Daniel Campbell, an entrepreneur specialising in entertainment such as the construction of parks and zoos. In various photos depicting him at the zoo, there was always a little girl with him. That child was her daughter, Heather . ¡°Oh-ho!¡± the Doctor grinned, ¡°Looks like Heather¡¯s family was pretty famous, eh? I¡¯m not surprised why she was probably kidnapped. I think I should check the forest, I might find something interesting.¡± the Doctor took the photo of a young Heather and went to the forest. ¡°If that Hellhound really existed, where would she hide? Is there a cave near-¡± The Time Lord¡¯s train of thoughts immediately stopped the moment he saw a potential clue: A pentagram formed by tons of smaller stars. "A pentagram? Oh, maybe there''s a cult involved in this mystery?" he thought, "There seems to be a path leading to somewhere." He followed the various traces around the forest, leading to the deeper and darker parts of the forest. Eventually, the Doctor arrived inside a cave. He scanned the sonic screwdriver around and found a lever under a rock, opening a secret passage. "Oh joy, another dark secret path." the Doctor snarkly thought, as he illuminated the path with his sonic screwdriver. "Well then, here we go." So, the Doctor marched downstairs, thrilled to probably meet this so-called "Hellhound". <----To Be Continued next Friday----- Inside the Catacomb The more the Doctor went deep in the catacomb, the colder it got. The walls were crusty and mouldy, as if nobody entered this place in years. "This place is so huge¡­" the Doctor thought, scrutinising the place. "Now I wonder if Jack is really here, he may freeze to death if so-" The Doctor jumped away from an arrow coming at him. "Oh¡­A trap, eh? Am I in a catacomb in the US or an Aztec temple?" He sarcastically thought, as he deactivated the traps surrounding him with his sonic screwdriver and continued exploring. On various walls there were murals depicting a tribe worshipping what seemed to be a wolf-like deity. It seems that this deity gave prosperity to this tribe, by blessing them with fertility and many crops. "Huh, now that''s interesting¡­" the Doctor thought. He kept observing the murals while continuing walking, finding out the name of this deity: Lustaht, Mother of the Wolves. "Lustaht¡­Never heard of that name before. I think this is some sort of temple, maybe its'' adepts kidnapped Heather and brought her here for a weird ritual or something." the Time Lord thought, "Anyway, I wonder where Jack is¡­" The Doctor inspected every single room he could find, and unwillingly found more information about the goddess Lustaht and the tribe that worshipped. It was one of the native tribes of Canada, rival to the Cree people and fought many wars against them. The Doctor couldn¡¯t read much, since most of the text was corroded by Time. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. There wasn¡¯t anything of much importance in the other rooms, but neither did the Doctor find Jack in any of them. However, the more the time passed, the more he felt observed by someone¡­ Or something . ¡°Boooooooring! I can''t find him!¡± the Doctor thought, very annoyed and bored, ¡°And my sonic can¡¯t find his vitals properly-¡± he suddenly smelled something weird, something like iron. ¡°Is that iron? - No, it wouldn¡¯t make sense here, maybe it¡¯s dried blood?¡± he followed to the source of the smell. He arrived in a room with an altar and a pentagon at the centre. With the walls and floor covered in dried blood. "Blimey¡­" the Doctor thought, "This must be where the massacre happened. That Hellhound must have been really hungry, there are signs of wolf bites even on their skeletons¡­This could get very dangerous, I hope I¡¯m not too late¡­¡± the Doctor noticed traces of slightly fresher blood, making a path. He quickly scanned it and found an interesting surprise. "Hold on¡­This isn''t human blood!" He thought, "This type of blood is not in my sonic screwdriver''s database, maybe It''s the Hellhound''s blood? Now that I think of it, if I extract the DNA from those traces, they seem to belong to a canine-like creature¡­This is getting interesting." The Doctor followed the traces of canine blood, calling for Jack''s name. After some minutes, he entered the darkest room in the place, where he find a boy with blonde hair: it was Jack. "Jack! There you are!" "Oh, hi, who are you?" Jack politely asked. "I''m the Doctor, I came here to find you. Are you okay? Are you injured?" "I''m¡­Fine, don''t worry." He softy smiles, "Is there something wrong?" "Something wrong ?! You have gone missing for a week! Your mother is dead worried for you!" "Oh, I see, but¡­I can''t leave the Wolf lady alone." Jack said. " "Wolf lady"?" the Doctor repeated, "Oh¡­You mean that Wolf lady. Anyway, we must escape at once, this place is too danger-" The Doctor got interrupted by a growl. Realising who did that noise, the boy slowly turned to the source of that sound and found exactly what he expected: The Hellhound, Heather . <-------To Be Concluded next Friday-------