2. Strange and Mysterious
SCENE #14 – EXT – STOCKBRIDGE, ENGLAND – NIGHT (1965)
That night, Nyssa and Billy take a stroll outside. The night seems to be theirs. All is quiet as they walk in Stockbridge.
BILLY
(dreamily) “All the stars are out. There’s even a full moon. Perhaps it’s a romantic evening for us both after all. Hey Nyssa?”
NYSSA
“I’m still worried about what happened to that landlord and his daughter. Where could they have gone? I wonder what that beam of light was.”
BILLY
“Yes.” (Pause) “It’s probably best not to worry about it. There’s nothing we can do about it. Not until the Doctor comes. We may as well enjoy this evening.”
NYSSA
“Oh I’m sorry, Billy. I didn’t mean [to…]”
BILLY
“No, no, it’s alright. I know how concerned you are. I don’t know what’s going on myself and I’m a little worried too. I can’t suggest what else we can do.”
NYSSA
“Neither can I. Oh I wish the Doctor was here. Then he could tell us why we’ve been sent for.”
BILLY
“If he doesn’t come at all tonight or tomorrow, perhaps we can spend the day with you showing me around the place. We can spend some time together, weather permitting. And hoping not any more people will disappear.”
NYSSA
“Yes, I’d like that. Us spending time together.”
A moment of tender silence ensues.
NYSSA
“All the same, I hope the Doctor will show up. I’m feeling uneasy.”
BILLY
(condescendingly) “Nyssa, try not to worry. I’m sure the Doctor…”
They then bump into someone along the way and are immediately startled.
BILLY
(apologetically) “Oh. Sorry. We didn’t see you in the dark…”
DOCTOR
(amazed) “Nyssa; Billy?! Is that you?”
BILLY
(astonished) “Doctor?!”
NYSSA
(thrilled) “Doctor, it’s you! You’re here at last! Oh it’s so good to see you!”
Nyssa steps forward and hugs the Doctor.
DOCTOR
(thrilled) “Good to see you too, Nyssa. And you, Billy. It’s been quite a while.” (Pause) “How are you both? Keeping well?”
BILLY
“We’re doing fine thank you, Doctor! We’re pleased you’ve turned up!”
NYSSA
(assuredly) “We got your message and came here as soon as we could.”
DOCTOR
“Message? What message?!”
BILLY
“The message you sent us in your letter. To come here. It arrived on my birthday, it did.”
DOCTOR
“Did it really?”
NYSSA
“You said for us to meet you in Stockbridge by the end of May.”
DOCTOR
“Did I indeed?”
BILLY
“Don’t you remember, Doctor?”
DOCTOR
“Do I?”
NYSSA
(stresses) “Doctor, please!”
DOCTOR
“There’s no point in ‘Doctor, please!’ at me, Nyssa. I’m very pleased to see you both here, I assure you. But I haven’t sent a letter to either of you.”
NYSSA
“You haven’t sent a letter to us?”
BILLY
“But we’ve got it! Right here with us! Look!”
Billy fumbles in his coat pockets and takes out the letter, before he hands it over to the Doctor.
BILLY
“There you are, Doctor! That’s what you sent us!”
The Doctor takes the letter from Billy, opens it and seemingly reads it. A moment of silence ensues.
DOCTOR
“Hmm.”
NYSSA
“Well, Doctor?”
DOCTOR
“Yes.”
BILLY
“What’s ‘yes’ supposed to mean?”
DOCTOR
(gradually) “This is a letter.”
NYSSA
“Doctor, we’ve just told you!”
DOCTOR
“And I’m afraid I can’t read.”
BILLY
“What? You can’t read?!”
DOCTOR
“Not in this light, I’m afraid. In fact, it’s not even light. It’s dark. Night-time even. We’re standing in a village at a time when little girls and boys ought be in bed.” (agitated; to Billy) “Really Billy, I’m not a magician! You can’t expect me to have good eye-sight reading in the dark! I haven’t even got my glasses on!”
NYSSA
“But Doctor, it’s your handwriting! You sent us that letter!”
DOCTOR
“I don’t doubt it, Nyssa. I don’t doubt you received a letter from me.”
BILLY
“Then why do you deny sending it, Doctor?”
DOCTOR
“Probably because I haven’t sent it yet, Billy.”
NYSSA
“Wait a minute! You’re saying this letter was sent to us by you at a later point in your timeline.”
DOCTOR
“That’s a fair assumption, Nyssa. And well put I might add.”
BILLY
“No. Sorry. Still not getting it. Please explain.”
DOCTOR
“Plenty of time for that later on, Billy. But just to say, I’ve got a future!” (delighted) “A future for me, which makes me happy indeed! Sheer poetry!”
NYSSA
(puzzled) “Doctor? If you haven’t sent us the letter yet, what are you doing in Stockbridge now?”
DOCTOR
“Ah! Well you see Nyssa, the thing is…”
BILLY
(interrupts) “Doctor…?”
DOCTOR
(to Billy) “Don’t interrupt, Billy.” (to Nyssa) “As I was saying, Nyssa. I came here to Stockbridge because…”
BILLY
(interrupts; urgently) “Doctor, my feet are stuck to the ground!”
DOCTOR
(annoyed; to Billy) “Stop interrupting, Billy! I’m talking to Nyssa!”
NYSSA
(realises; panics) “Doctor, it’s true! I can’t move either!”
DOCTOR
“What?!”
BILLY
“It…it seems to be…some kind of electricity. I can feel some kind of sizzling on the ground through my feet.”
NYSSA
“Same here. But it’s not electricity in the ordinary sense. It’s the sort of energy required for matter transference.”
DOCTOR
(realises) “Ah, yes! Now that seems to explain it!”
BILLY
“Explains what, Doctor?”
DOCTOR
(urgently) “Nyssa; Billy. Hold tight. I’m afraid this is going to be a shock!”
NYSSA
(puzzled) “A shock as in…”
DOCTOR
(insistently) “Just hold tight, Nyssa! This will be over in a few moments.”
Suddenly, Nyssa, Billy and the Doctor get caught in a beam of light.
BILLY
“Hey! We’re caught in a beam of light! The same beam of light that…”
NYSSA
“Doctor! Our bodies are transferring from one place or time to another. This means that we’re in [a…]”
DOCTOR
“Yes, Nyssa. I’m afraid we’re caught in a teleport.”
The TARDIS trio soon find themselves, via the beam of light, transported from 1965…
SCENE #15 – EXT – STOCKBRIDGE, ENGLAND – DAY, MORNING (2010)
…to 2010 in Stockbridge during the autumn. Free from the beam of light, the Doctor, Nyssa and Billy realise that it’s daytime.
NYSSA
“What?! Doctor? Doctor, what just happened?”
DOCTOR
“I don’t know.” (Pause; realises) “I don’t believe it! We’ve moved forwards in time!”
NYSSA
“It’s daylight! Broad daylight! A minute ago it was night time!”
BILLY
“Doctor! My feet aren’t stuck to the ground any more! I can move!”
DOCTOR
“So can I, Billy.”
NYSSA
“Me too.””
The Doctor, Nyssa and Billy find themselves moving freely, as they look around to take in their surroundings.
BILLY
“I feel kind of giddy all over.” (panics) “Wait, wait! Hang on a minute!”
NYSSA
“What?”
Billy checks his pockets before he breathes a sigh of relief.
BILLY
(relieved) “It’s alright, it’s alright. I’ve still got Cuddles in my pocket. Don’t worry Nyssa. I’ve kept him safe for you.”
DOCTOR
“How very reassuring, Billy.”
NYSSA
“Doctor, how can this be? We must have jumped a time track!”
BILLY
“I don’t understand it either. Where are we?”
NYSSA
We’re still in Stockbridge, Billy.
BILLY
Then how come it’s changed so quickly. It seems familiar but there’s something different about it.
DOCTOR
The cars, the new designs on the newsagents, the double-glazing and the satellite dishes on top. (Pause) We’re a few hundred years or so in the future, Billy. Somewhere around the year two thousand and eight, two thousand and nine or two thousand and ten perhaps.
NYSSA
It’s exactly the Stockbridge I remember when I first came here.
DOCTOR
Yes. I remember that time. I was so late joining the cricket season. (to Nyssa) And you Nyssa wrote your novel as well as….
NYSSA
(interrupts; apprehensively) Yes, Doctor. I remember writing my novel.
DOCTOR
(gradually; realises) “Yes, well.”
BILLY
“That beam of light had something to do with this! How we ended up here in the future!” (Pause; to Doctor) “Is this one of the reasons why you came to Stockbridge when we met you, Doctor? All those…how many years ago it was?”
DOCTOR
“I detected delta particles from my TARDIS instruments whilst travelling through the time vortex. I traced them to here. Or rather here back in nineteen sixty-five. I never thought I’d return to Stockbridge so soon.”
NYSSA
“Neither did I.” (Pause; realises) “Doctor? You said this might be either two thousand and eighty, two thousand and nine [or…]”
DOCTOR
(interjects) “Yes, Nyssa. In the autumn, I believe I said.” (Pause) “I suggest the best thing to do now would be to go back to the TARDIS.”
BILLY
“Where is the TARDIS, Doctor?”
DOCTOR
(reassuringly) “Not far. Just around that corner. Hopefully it shouldn’t have moved in forty-five or so years. Come on, let’s go and see!”
The Doctor leads the way as Nyssa and Billy follow behind him. As they walk off, they’re being watched by a young handsome man nearby. This happens to be Nyssa’s former flame, Andrew from ‘Circular Time: Autumn’.
ANDREW
(amazed) “Nyssa! You came back! You came back to Stockbridge! After all these years!” (Pause) “This time, it’s going to be different. This time, I’m going to make things right.”
Also watching the Doctor, Nyssa and Billy walk off, and a distance away from Andrew, is Maxwell Edison who hides in the bushes.
MAX
(thrilled) “At last! There you are; the enigmatic Doctor! You came back!” (prays) “Thank you, good sir! Let’s hope the Doctor can help with this book I have and sort out this ‘Stockbridge terror’ we’ve been having!”
SCENE #16 – INT – TARDIS CONSOLE ROOM – N/A
Later on in the TARDIS, the Doctor searches through the cupboards for a particular gadget. He cheers with triumph once he’s found it.
DOCTOR
Aha! Here we are! The rhondium sensor. I knew it was here somewhere.
The Doctor them goes back to the console and switches the device on. It lets out a whirring, whining sound.
DOCTOR
(enthused) Yes! That’s it! The sensor’s definitely detecting delta particles. There’s probably an osmic projection field nearby! (calls) Nyssa; Billy?
The Doctor places the gadget on top of the console. He then presses a few switches and a few buttons on the console.
DOCTOR
(rambles) Of course, it all depends what type of delta particles the rhondium sensor’s picked up. Baryons or resonances are light and divided into four types. The type of electrical charge, isospin of a half; or a quark would have be very definite on how the sensor’s reading. The electrical charges can be very unusual in quantum numbers. Of course with delta rays…
The Doctor’s trail of thought is interrupted as Nyssa and Billy enter.
NYSSA
“We can’t seem to find your rhondium sensor, Doctor.”
BILLY
(realises) “And we see that you already have it.”
DOCTOR
“Indeed I have, Nyssa; Bllly. It was hidden deep in one of my TARDIS cupboards in the console room.”
The Doctor presents the rhondium sensor to Nyssa and Billy in his hands, as it lets out a whirring, whining sound.
NYSSA
It’s whirring wildly, Doctor. (Pause) Have you discovered something?
DOCTOR
Perhaps.
The Doctor then turns his attention to the console, as he presses a number of switches to check the readings.
DOCTOR
Apparently…from the rhondium sensor and the TARDIS data banks, there are disruptions in the time continuum.
BILLY
In English, Doctor?
DOCTOR
(to himself) Usually with osmic fields, they’re initiated when somebody’s projected himself…
NYSSA
(interjects) “Or herself?”
DOCTOR
“Yes. Thank you, Nyssa.” (continues) “…or herself into the future to gain access to premature events. But apparently the field’s reversed somehow. Someone’s been gaining access to the Earth’s past from the present moment.”
NYSSA
“Gaining access to the past? Well I know that to be theoretically possible, but in practice….”
DOCTOR
“Yes Nyssa, it would seem rather unlikely for it to be the case.”
BILLY
“But who would want to access the past? Why do it?”
DOCTOR
“Now that is not so obvious I’m afraid, Billy.”
The Doctor, Nyssa and Billy stand about in the console room, pondering.
SCENE #17 – INT – PRISON CELL, UNDERGROUND BASE – DAY, MORNING (2010)
In an underground base beneath Wells Wood, the medieval knights Alazais and Tristan wake up. They realise they’re in a prison cell.
ALAZAIS
(anxiously) “Tristan? Tristan, my friend? How fares thee?”
TRISTAN
“I’m well at the moment, good Alazais. Though rather disorientated.”
ALAZAIS
“Aye, you’re not alone. This place is baffling before my eyes.”
TRISTAN
(perplexed) “We’ve been chained up in such…oddly fashioned manacles. We’re in a dungeon!”
CORPORAL ROGERS
“Why are you two gents speaking like that? You sound ridiculous!”
Alazais and Tristan are startled, as they turn to see Corporal Rogers, Private Williams and Private Stevens chained up with them as well.
ALAZAIS
(challengingly) “Who art thou? What are you three strangers?”
WILLIAMS
“We could ask you the same thing.”
TRISTAN
“Alazais, my friend! They seem such strange knights!”
STEVENS
“Knights?! We’re not knights! We’re the army!”
TRISTAN
“Army?”
CORPORAL ROGERS
“We’re front line troops and we’ve got no time to mess with clowns like you two. So stop this tomfoolery at once!”
ALAZAIS
“Such strange speech they use, Tristan.”
TRISTAN
“Aye, Alazais. They say strange things.”
At that moment, the cell door opens and three people enter to mock them. They’re Melanie, Samuel and Rupert.
WILLIAMS
(cautiously) “Corporal, sir. We have guests.”
SAMUEL
(mockingly) “Well, well, well. All awake at last, hey?”
RUPERT
(mockingly) “Aye! And a right mind-numbing we’re going to give them!”
MELANIE
(to Samuel; Rupert) “Now, now, boys! Calm down.”
STEVENS
(pleads) “Who are you people? What’s going on for heaven’s sake?!”
TRISTAN
“As guards of St. George, we insist you release us…”
MELANIE
“Oh do shut it, you lot! We have our orders to carry out! And you lot aren’t going to stop us!”
Rupert and Samuel laugh out cruelly whilst Melanie remains silent. The knights; Alazais and Tristan, as well as the WWII soldiers; Corporal Rogers, Private Williams and Private Stevens look to see Melanie, Rupert and Oswald standing before them.
SCENE #18 – INT – TARDIS CONSOLE ROOM – N/A
Back in the TARDIS with the Doctor, Nyssa and Billy…
DOCTOR
Local knowledge is what is required on this occasion. We must find out what’s been going on in Stockbridge. And I think the best thing to do would be to settle in and stay somewhere in the village to blend in with the locals. At the B and B or the inn, whichever fits best.
NYSSA
(apprehensively) Can’t we stay in the TARDIS to find answers, Doctor?
DOCTOR
Too risky.
NYSSA
I don’t see how staying in the TARDIS to find information is risky.
DOCTOR
Don’t you? If we’re seen going in and out of the TARDIS, it may gain the attention of onlookers. Particularly those who are causing this cataclysmic thread of events and release of delta particles. Not to mention passers-by who wonder what three people are doing in a police box.
BILLY
Right, so whereabouts are we staying? You two know this village better than me.
DOCTOR
The Red Fern Inn’s the best place to stay. We should go there…
NYSSA
(apprehensively) Can we go to the Green Dragon instead please, Doctor?
DOCTOR
(gradually) Yes, alright, why not? The Green Dragon it is then.
BILLY
(puzzled) What’s wrong with staying at the Red Fern Inn, Nyssa? We stayed there last night. Well, not exactly last night. I mean the night when we were in Nineteenth Sixty-Three before we came…
NYSSA
(interjects) I understand, Billy. (Pause) There’s nothing’s wrong with the Red Fern. I just prefer going to the Green Dragon for a change this time.
BILLY
(puzzled) Okay.
NYSSA
If you wish to stay at the Red Fern Inn, then…
BILLY
No, no. I don’t mind where we stay, Nyssa. I was just curious, that’s all. Hope you don’t mind that.
NYSSA
Not at all.
BILLY
Right then. (Pause) So, we’re staying at the Green Dragon.
DOCTOR
I believe that’s what we’ve all agreed on.
BILLY
(intrigued) What is the Green Dragon anyway?
DOCTOR
Oh, it’s a nice place, Billy. It’s partly a B and B. A bit like the Red Fern Inn, except smaller.
NYSSA
It has a history to it as well. Dates back to when St. George fought a ‘fiery dragon’ during the Middle Ages. We were there, weren’t we, Doctor?
DOCTOR
Yes, Nyssa, I hadn’t forgotten. You outwitted me with your ‘one step ahead’ tactics during that time.
BILLY
I suggest we go there now and take the vacancies they’ve got before night falls.
DOCTOR
Agreed. Come on then. Let’s go before all the rooms are booked and taken.
The Doctor is about to pull the door lever, before he stops momentarily. Nyssa and Billy stare at him curiously.
NYSSA
(concerned) Doctor? Is everything alright?
DOCTOR
(gradually) Last time we were here in Stockbridge, it was destroyed, Nyssa. My favourite place in the universe crumbling into chaos.
NYSSA
I know, Doctor. It was such a horrible and sad time.
DOCTOR
I’ve such fond and happy memories of staying in Stockbridge. Living the life of an English gentleman. And saving the village from trouble when it ran into it too often. Now I’m doing the same again. If only what I’m doing now will be able to delay Stockbridge from being destroyed all those years to come. But I know that can never happen.
NYSSA
There’s nothing you can do about it, Doctor. Just focus on the present and hope you’ll save Stockbridge from being destroyed sooner than later at the present time.
DOCTOR
Yes, Nyssa. I hope so too. (Pause; quotes) ‘Sweet smiling village, loveliest of the lawn, thy sports are fled, and all thy charms withdrawn; Amidst thy bowers the tyrant’s hand is seen, And desolation saddens all thy green.’
BILLY
(continues; quotes) ‘One only master grasps the whole domain, And half a tillage stints thy smiling plain. No more thy glassy brook reflects the day, But, chok’d with sedges, works it weedy way.’
Moment of silence.
BILLY
(laughs; nervously) I learned that poem when I was at school. ‘The Deserted Village’ by Oliver Goldsmith. Part of a project in my English classes where I had to prove I could speak properly.
DOCTOR
(amazed) I’m learning new things about you every day, Billy.
BILLY
Likewise with you, Doctor. And you, Nyssa.
NYSSA
I hope more pleasant surprises will come along your way, Billy Walker.
Another moment of silence.
DOCTOR
Come on now. Best foot forward. Outside.
The Doctor pulls the door lever. The TARDIS interior doors open, as the Doctor heads out. Nyssa and Billy follow after him.
BILLY
(politely; to Nyssa) Ladies, first.
NYSSA
(teasingly) Thank you, kind sir.
Nyssa heads out first with Billy behind her. The TARDIS interior doors close behind them once they’ve gone out.
SCENE #19 – INT – MAIN HALL, GREEN DRAGON – DAY, AFTERNOON (2010)
It’s now the afternoon. The Doctor, Nyssa and Billy eventually arrive at the Green Dragon as they enter the main hall.
NYSSA
They may not have many rooms available Doctor, if we’re unlucky.
DOCTOR
(retorts) “Nonsense, Nyssa! I’m certain we’ll find accommodation!”
BILLY
“I suppose we’ll have to go to the Red Fern after all if we can’t get a room.”
At that moment, a lady named Mrs. Withers enters.
DOCTOR
(to Nyssa; Billy) “Excuse me, you two! I know that lady.” (cheerfully; to Mrs. Withers) “Hello, Mrs. Withers!”
MRS. WITHERS
(pleasantly) “Good morning, Doctor!”
DOCTOR
(astounded) “Mrs. Withers! You remember me!”
MRS. WITHERS
“Of course, Doctor. I remember you for as long as I can remember.”
DOCTOR
“It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it?”
MRS. WITHERS
“Oh it has, Doctor. Indeed it has. Have you come to stay overnight at the Green Dragon?”
DOCTOR
“Yes we have thank you, Mrs. Withers. A few nights, if that’s alright?”
MRS. WITHERS
“That’s absolutely fine, my dear. Lovely weather, isn’t it?”
NYSSA
(whispers; to Doctor) “Doctor, isn’t that…?”
MRS. WITHERS
(interjects; to Nyssa) “Marjorie Withers? Yes, dear.”
DOCTOR
“Marjorie! Mrs. Marjorie Withers the Third, I presume.”
MRS. WITHERS
“Of course, my dear. My family’s had a strong lineage in Stockbridge dating right back to the Middle Ages. But surely you know that already, Doctor.”
DOCTOR
“Oh I’ve met your ancestors, Mrs. Withers.”
MRS. WITHERS
(intrigued) “Have you, dear?”
DOCTOR
“Hmm. As well as your descendants.”
MRS. WITHERS
(puzzled) “Indeed.”
BILLY
(whispers; to Nyssa) “I’m not sure I’m following what the Doctor’s saying here.”
NYSSA
(whispers; to Billy) “That’s nothing new.”
MRS. WITHERS
(to Doctor) “A few nights you said, Doctor? At the Green Dragon?”
DOCTOR
(graciously) “Yes, Mrs. Withers. That would be splendid.”
MRS. WITHERS
“Breakfast as always, Doctor?”
DOCTOR
(to Mrs. Withers) “Oh yes, Mrs. Withers. We’ll definitely have breakfast at your B and B. How could we refuse such generous service?” (to Nyssa; Billy) “Hey, Nyssa; Billy?”
BILLY
“Yes. Perhaps staying here wasn’t a bad idea after all. Nice idea, Nyssa.”
NYSSA
(quietly) “Thank you, Billy dear.”
MRS. WITHERS
(to Doctor) “I’ll see to your rooms, Doctor. Why don’t you make yourselves comfy? I’ll make a nice pot of tea for the three of you. How about that?”
DOCTOR
(delighted) “Tea?! How absolutely delightful! Isn’t it, Nyssa; Billy?”
NYSSA
(to Mrs. Withers) “Yes. Thank you, Mrs. Withers.”
BILLY
(to Mrs. Withers) “Yeah, thanks. I can do with a cuppa.”
MRS. WITHERS
“I’ll go and put the kettle on then.”
Mrs. Withers then hums a little tune as she goes off into the kitchen. The Doctor, Nyssa and Billy meanwhile make their way for the lounge, as they head off down the corridor.
BILLY
“You two certainly know your way around here. Means a great deal to you this place, I can see. I feel left out.”
DOCTOR
(to Billy) “Nonsense, Billy. Stockbridge is a place for everyone. If you know where to find something in it.” (to Nyssa) “Isn’t that right, Nyssa?” (Pause; concerned) “Nyssa?”
NYSSA
(troubled) “Doctor! Look over there!”
BILLY
(puzzled) “What? I can’t see anything.”
NYSSA
(insistently) “No Billy, look! There’s somebody hiding over there! I can just make out a shape, but…”
Just then, a Roundhead soldier appears out of the blue. The soldier roars as he charges at the Doctor.
DOCTOR
(cries; urgently) “Nyssa; Billy, stay back! Get out of the way!”
NYSSA
“Doctor, look out!”
The Roundhead charges onto the Doctor, raising his sword and ready to strike him. The Doctor however manages to hold the Roundhead’s arm with the sword in his hand back.
ROUNDHEAD
“Die dog! We don’t want any of your wretched cavalier sort! We stand for Parliament! Supreme control of our land!”
DOCTOR
(soothingly) “Now just calm down a minute. If we could just talk this out.”
ROUNDHEAD
(cries) “Die, dog! Die!!!”
BILLY
(shouts) “Get off him, will you?! You mad lunatic!”
Billy reaches out to grab onto the Roundhead soldier to pull him back.
NYSSA
(cries) “Billy, be careful!”
Billy manages to get the Roundhead soldier off the Doctor. This is before the Roundhead pushes Billy to one side onto the floor. Billy is out of sorts before he sees the Roundhead charge towards him, growling like mad. Billy soon finds himself struggling with the Roundhead.
BILLY
“Nyssa! This lunatic’s going to strike his sword! He’s trying to kill me!”
NYSSA
“Hold on, Billy! I’ll help you!”
DOCTOR
“No wait, Nyssa! Look!”
The Doctor, Nyssa and Billy watch as the Roundhead soldier then staggers back and gets caught in a beam of light. The Roundhead is soon spirited away. Once the Roundhead’s gone, the TARDIS trio become astonished as they remain silent.
DOCTOR
(gradually; fascinated) “He’s gone! The soldier’s gone! How fascinating!”
Meanwhile, Nyssa helps Billy up from the floor.
NYSSA
“Billy, are you alright?”
BILLY
(reassuringly; to Nyssa) “Yeah, Nyssa. I’ll be alright, thanks.” (to Doctor) “How about you, Doctor? Are you alright?”
DOCTOR
“Oh fine, Billy. Couldn’t be better. Not bruised a bit. Enjoying Stockbridge too.”
NYSSA
“Doctor, that soldier! He just appeared out of nowhere! He must have been an apparition of some kind.”
DOCTOR
“I don’t think so, Nyssa. He was real enough.”
NYSSA
“Why was he trying to attack us then? He said something about…you standing for Parliament.”
BILLY
(thinks; gradually) “Roundhead! That’s it! That’s who he was! He was a real Roundhead soldier!”
DOCTOR
“I’m inclined to agree with you, Billy. He was a Roundhead, yes.”
NYSSA
“And what’s a Roundhead? Could someone explain?”
BILLY
“Oh some name they gave to the Parliamentarians back in Tudor England. They fought in the English civil war against the Cavaliers. But that was all long ago. In the sixteen hundreds or something.”
NYSSA
“That soldier was definitely out of time then.”
DOCTOR
“And he certainly disappeared abruptly, didn’t he?”
A moment of silence ensues. The Doctor, Nyssa and Billy are then interrupted as Mrs. Withers appears, carrying a tray with a pot of tea and three cups on it.
MRS. WITHERS
(surprised) “Oh! You’re not in the living room yet! Ah well, I’ve brought your tea so we can go in! Lovely weather, isn’t it?”
SCENE #20 – INT – MAIN BAR, RED FERN INN – DAY, AFTERNOON (2010)
At the Red Fern Inn, Andrew is on the landing upstairs…
ANDREW
(calls; apologetically) “I’m very sorry, Mr. Jackson. I don’t know what came over me. I’ll remember next time.”
…before he enters his room at the inn. He shuts the door behind him and sits on the bed, feeling apprehensive. A moment of silence ensues, before he lets out a deep sigh.
ANDREW
(to himself) “Come on now! Snap out of it! You mustn’t let this get to you when you’re working!”
Andrew then lies on the bed, sighing deeply as he reflects on things that have happened recently.
ANDREW
“It’s just that…now that Nyssa’s back, I don’t know what to do. I haven’t seen her for such a long time.” (Pause) “I have to find her. I must find her before she disappears again. But how to go about it?”
Andrew lies on the bed for a bit, as he thinks about ‘how to go about it’ with Nyssa. Eventually…
ANDREW
(realises) “The book! That’s it, the book! I’ll play it gently from that angle. It’s a good thing I’ve still got it and brought it along with me.”
Andrew then gets up from his bed and goes over to the bookshelf on the wall. He searches for the book he wants to help him reunite with Nyssa.
ANDREW
“Now…where did I put it? I know I put it on this bookshelf.”
SCENE #21 – INT – LIVING ROOM, MAXWELL EDISON’S HOUSE – DAY, AFTERNOON (2010)
At the same time, Max searches his bookshelves in the living room of his house. Max gets increasingly anxious as he searches the bookshelves.
MAX
(panics) “Where is it? Come on, where is it?! I know I put that book somewhere on these shelves!”
Frustrated and anxious, Max pushes the books off every shelf to find the one he wants.
MAX
“They don’t call me ‘Mad Max’ or ‘nutty’ for nothing!”
Eventually, Max comes across a book on one shelf. He takes it out slowly with one hand. Max looks at the book with increasing fascination.
MAX
“Here it is then! The strange mysterious book! I’ve found it! The dangerous book that’s been giving me a lot of trouble!”
Max then sniffs the corner of the book, before opening it up to reveal the pages inside. He sniffs them too.
MAX
“Pages and front cover still smell nice though. Like roses, sort of.” (Pause) “I must show this to the Doctor. He must see this book for himself.”
Max then gets up, before tripping over some books he threw onto the floor. He soon regains his balance.
MAX
(disapprovingly) “Somebody needs to clear this lot up before I get back!”
Max then makes his way out of the living room of his house. He leaves a pile of books on the living room floor behind him.
SCENE #22 – INT – GUEST ROOM, GREEN DRAGON – DAY, AFTERNOON (2010)
Back at the Green Dragon, the Doctor, Nyssa and Billy are in the guest room provided for them by Mrs. Withers. They discuss certain matters about what’s been happening recently.
NYSSA
“That soldier appearing to us out of thin air, Doctor. Something like that might happen again if we’re not careful.”
DOCTOR
“Try not to worry about it, Nyssa. We’ll just have to be prepared next time.”
BILLY
Next time? You think there’s going to be a next time?
DOCTOR
These phenomenon seem to be frequent occurrences, Billy. And if what you and Nyssa said is true about people disappearing when you were in nineteen sixty-five, then this must be the focal point in the present day where people are taken out of their time zones and being put into now.
NYSSA
Doctor, it may be connected to those delta particles you were talking about. Space-time fissures could be occurring at this moment.
DOCTOR
Yes, I take your point, Nyssa. Let’s check my rhondium sensor, shall we?
The Doctor takes out the rhondium sensor from his coat pocket and switches it on to check to see if any signal’s coming through. No signal is being emitted yet.
DOCTOR
Hmm. Nothing at the moment. Wait for a few seconds, I think.
NYSSA
(curiously) Doctor? How long has it been since you last saw me and Billy?
DOCTOR
Hmm? Oh quite a while, I think. Time is relative, you know.
NYSSA
That’s not what I meant, Doctor. How long have you detected delta particles in space-time before meeting us?
DOCTOR
“Hmm? Oh my landing in nineteen sixty-five was pure coincidence, I assure you. I only found out about the delta particles when I arrived. I hadn’t expected to meet you two at all.” (distracted) “This rhondium sensor’s not working! Why won’t it receive anything?”
The Doctor bangs the rhondium sensor on the edge of the bed, as he becomes annoyed.
BILLY
(reassuringly) “Give it time, Doctor. Your rhondium…thingamajig is bound to work eventually.”
DOCTOR
(gradually) “Yes.” (Pause) “Yes, of course. You’re right, Billy. The sensor’s bound to work eventually, I’m sure.”
Moment of silence, before the Doctor hears something nearby.
DOCTOR
(cheers) “Hear that!”
NYSSA
(puzzled) “Hear what, Doctor?”
DOCTOR
“The sound of a cricket ball being hit! I wonder if that was a six!”
The Doctor then gets up and looks out of the guest room window.
DOCTOR
“A cricket match! A cricket match in Stockbridge! How splendid!”
Billy goes over to join the Doctor at the guest room window.
BILLY
(intrigued) “A cricket match?!”
DOCTOR
(thrilled) “Yes!” (realises; disgruntled) “It’s the cricketing season again! And I’ve missed it so late again! Oh really! This is the limit!”
BILLY
“I’ve never seen a proper cricket match before! Looks interesting!”
DOCTOR
“Well, Billy! Why not go outside and see it in clear view?”
BILLY
“Yeah alright. Don’t mind that. I’ll watch it for a bit.”
DOCTOR
(to Nyssa) “Nyssa, do you want to join us?”
NYSSA
(gradually) “Do you mind if I don’t join you, Doctor? Cricket’s not really my thing. And I’d rather take a stroll around the village to get some fresh air, if that’s alright.”
DOCTOR
“Yes Nyssa, of course. By all means, take a stroll around the village if you want to.”
BILLY
“Do you want me to accompany you, Nyssa?”
NYSSA
“No thank you, Billy. You go with the Doctor. I’ll be fine.”
BILLY
(gradually; disheartened) “Okay. Fair enough.”
NYSSA
(reassuringly; to Billy) “You enjoy the cricket match with the Doctor, Billy.” (to Doctor) “Look after him won’t you, Doctor?”
DOCTOR
“I will, Nyssa. Don’t you worry. Billy and I will enjoy the match. Take care of yourself now.”
NYSSA
(gratified) “Thank you, Doctor.”
Eventually, the Doctor takes Billy with him to go outside.
DOCTOR
(enthusiastically) “Come on, Billy! Let’s go and see what’s left of the match.”
BILLY
“Doctor…?”
DOCTOR
(encouragingly) “Come on, come on! We don’t want to miss out!”
BILLY
(to Nyssa) “See you later, Nyssa dear.”
NYSSA
(to Billy) Yes, Billy. See you later.
With that, the Doctor drags Billy out as they leave the guest room to watch the rest of the cricket match outside. Nyssa remains in the guest room for a bit, before she too gets up to go outside and take a stroll somewhere.
© Tim Bradley, 2018
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