Doctor Who_ Wonderland - Mark Chadbourn [23]
My heart was hammering. I couldn't shake the feeling that we wouldn't get out of there alive. The Doctor, though, was unmoved; it wasn't right that there wasn't even a glimmer of apprehension in that situation.
Mathilda swept in soon after. Without saying a word, she moved slowly along our ranks looking deep into our eyes. Her gaze was uneasy; I couldn't tell if she was tripping too or if there was something else wrong with her, but it had an unusual quality that suggested she wasn't quite there.
When she had finished, she took a step back and said, 'Across the heavens, we travel. Nothing here matters.' She gestured around. 'All ephemeral. Death comes when we least expect it. A kiss on the cheek, a cold touch on the back of the neck. All hearts reach out ... in colours ... in colours ...' Her eyes were unfocused; it was almost like she wasn't speaking to us, like she was reaching out to something around us that we couldn't see. I shivered, felt eyes on the back of my head from a corner of the room where nothing stood. I told myself it was Mathilda spooking my imagination.
She looked round at the masked figures then smiled at us and said, 'They live in a place beyond our lives!
'Very interesting,' the Doctor said. 'But if that's all, we'll take our leave now.'
Mathilda shook her head slowly, smiling dreamily. 'They're all around us, all the time,' she said softly. 'Even when you think you're alone.'
A whisper rustled past my ear. My hair was stirred by the motion of the unseen. I glanced at Polly and Ben; they could feel it too. Suddenly I couldn't shake the sight of that poor girl being dragged into the shadows by invisible hands in the Goblin's house.
'There's something here,' I said, moving closer to Ben.
Mathilda's beatific state faded and she examined us again before making a dismissive gesture. 'Nobodies. Give it to them.'
Two of the guards grabbed me roughly and dug their fingers sharply into my jaw so they could force open my mouth. I struggled, but they were too strong. The others were also being restrained; only the Doctor didn't fight back. One of the masked men produced a small pill ready to drive it into my mouth. I glimpsed the pattern on it – Blue Moonbeams.
The Doctor freed one arm and plucked the pill from his captor's hand, tossing it into his mouth with a broad grin. The rest of us gagged as the pills were thrown down our throats. There was a brief moment of chaos as Ben fought back. One of the guards punched him hard in the stomach, forcing him to swallow. Polly choked; tears sprang to her eyes.
It is not dying. It is not dying.
I managed to catch the pill on the tip of my tongue and pin it to my cheek, before feigning dismay as I collapsed to my knees, my hair falling across my face so no one could see. The chalky substance of the pill started to dissolve; I had to get it out quickly before the acid seeped into me through the soft tissue. But I couldn't do it while the guards were there; they'd only make me take another.
'That's enough now,' Mathilda said to the guards.
As they all moved out, I spat the pill into my hand and threw it away with disgust. I could already feel a subtle change beginning; the music was becoming more intense, the colours on the wall glowing with a strange inner quality.
The Doctor hurried over, his own pill held in his open hand where he'd cleverly palmed it with a little of his stage magic. Once he saw I was okay, he turned his attention to Polly and Ben. 'Quickly,' he said. 'There's still time. We have to make them vomit up the pills. Can you do that?'
I nodded, but my attention was wandering to the strange patterns the lights were making on the walls. Oddly, shadows appeared to be flickering on the edge of my consciousness, like when a strobe starts. But it wasn't a pleasant experience; something was starting to scratch at the back of my mind.
The Doctor took my shoulders firmly. 'Summer, I need your help. You must concentrate.'
I turned quickly