Doctor Who

From the tree came a vast, luminous green imprint of itself - a ghostly silhouette that hovered above the small crowd and let out a deafening shriek.

'It's the entity leaving,' cried the Doctor over the din. 'Keep going, Rob!'

Robert let the axe fall again and again into the trunk's open wound.

The terrifying shape was twisting into a swirling vortex, which sent a vicious wind whipping about the house. It was so strong the residents could hardly keep their footing.

Miss Sillington gripped onto the Major. 'I feel strange,' she said.

'Here, let me have a go,' said Mr Plympton, and he waded forward and grabbed the axe from Robert.

He was followed by the Major, who took his turn enthusiastically chopping, the strange green energy whipping about him all the while.

Blow after blow rained down and the tree creaked and splintered.

It was then that the whirlwind began to lose its strength, and with a final piercing howl it was sucked in upon itself, until just a single ball of light hovered over the Doctor, and then disappeared.

The Doctor collapsed.

The Major passed the axe to Mrs Mann. 'All yours, dear lady. Finish him off!'

Laughing, the landlady delivered the final chop, and with a deafening crack, the tree fell, crashing down across the garden and two more besides.

Then there was silence.

Eventually, the residents began chattering amongst themselves, in a way they hadn't done the whole time the Doctor had been with them. It was as if a light had been turned on and they saw one another - and themselves - for the first time.

The Doctor staggered to his feet and rubbed his head.

'The thing in the tree - is it dead?' asked Miss Sillington.

'I don't think it can be killed. It's just fled to another host. As I said, it inhabits the oldest life form around. And right here, right now... that's me.'

Miss Sillington looked at the Doctor, clearly confused.

'I'm 904, you know,' he said.

Later that night, the guests of No.1 Gallows Gate Road were once again gathered around the dining table. A crackling fire blazed in the hearth.

'Let us raise a glass to the Doctor,' said Mrs Mann.

Everyone lifted their glasses. 'To the Doctor,' they said with one voice.

'I'm not sure if I can accept everything you told us, Doctor,' said Major Woolly. 'But I must say I haven't felt this much get-up-and-go in years.'

'I'll second that,' said Miss Sillington. She wore her hat, now decorated with leaves from the fallen oak tree.

'I can't believe all this stuff about aliens either,' said Mrs Mann, 'and goodness knows how I'll explain that mess outside to the neighbours, but I finally feel able to make some changes around here.'

'And I'm signing up on Monday,' said the Major. 'Even a duffer like me might be of some use. If only to the Home Guard.'

'Good for you,' said the Doctor.

'I'm already making notes for my novel,' said Clive, tapping a notebook in his jacket pocket.

'And I'm going to get back to my painting,' said Miss Sillington. 'I fancy doing a portrait. Maybe someone famous even. I could do one of you, Doctor.'

The Doctor smiled warmly, but remained silent.

'You are staying on, aren't you?' asked the elderly woman nervously.

At that moment, Mrs Baxter burst in carrying a huge bowl of stew. 'And don't ask what I had to do to get this little lot,' she said, placing the dish proudly on the table.

'It looks lovely, Bertha,' said Mrs Mann.

'Now, it's not that I don't like it here,' said the cook. 'but come January I've fixed to move down to my sister's in Bridport.'

'You're leaving us?' asked Miss Gibbs.

'Now don't try talking me out of it because when I make up my mind...' She trailed off as if waiting for someone to protest. But no one did. 'I'll fetch the bread and butter then,' said Mrs Baxter, sighing and shuffling out.

And whilst most of the guests were busy helping themselves to portions of stew, the Doctor noticed Clive Plympton give Miss Gibbs a coy smile. Her face lit up with happiness.

The Doctor chuckled quietly to himself and glanced around the table. Robert was shovelling forkfuls of food into his mouth.

'I definitely know now what I want to be when I'm older,' he said.

The Doctor couldn't help but smile proudly. 'It's not all fun being a time traveller,' he said. 'But I'm very flattered, Robby-boy.'

Robert frowned. 'I don't want to be like you, silly!' He flicked a glance towards the garden. 'I want to be a lumberjack.'

The Doctor closed the front door of No.1 Gallows Gate Road behind him, having slipped away when nobody was looking.

Across the street stood the TARDIS.

As he unlocked the door and went in, the Doctor wondered, and not for the first time, if his ship had somehow sensed the alien parasite. One thing he knew for sure though was that he couldn't keep it locked up in his mind forever. The TARDIS's telepathic circuits would help flush it out into the Time Vortex. That was one place where it couldn't do any more harm.

In the moonlit street, a battered blue box let out a wheezing and groaning sound, and then slowly vanished into the night.

THE END