SHROUDED IN DARKNESS
Chapter Four Just before they reached the ward that housed the insane patients, they came to another desk. A stern looking elderly woman dressed in black was sitting behind it. Her snow white hair was tied back in a tight bun and a pair of glasses perched on her nose. She looked up from her paperwork when they approached, her gaze sweeping over all of them and landing right on Amy. The woman's eyes drifted down to the bright red sweater and stayed there. "I'm sorry, prostitutes are not allowed in here," the woman said, glaring at Amy. "Excuse me?" Amy replied. "She's not a prostitute," Narcissa said. The woman snorted and muttered, "You coulda fooled me," under her breath while Amy gave her a look of death. "Madam, we're here to see Juliet," the Doctor said, taking Amy's hand when he sensed his companion might do something rash to the woman when she gave Amy a look of contempt. "Are you family?" the woman said, turning her stern gaze towards the Doctor. "No, they're with me. Juliet is my friend and I'm visiting her," Narcissa said. "They're with me and I will be responsible for them." "Very well," the woman said, letting out a sigh, "go ahead then." Narcissa thanked her and they walked down the corridor directly to the left of the desk. "Hey, what's with her thinking I'm a prostitute?" Amy said to Narcissa. "Red is associated with harlots here, plus no one wears skirts that short, no respectable woman anyway." The Doctor bit his lip to keep his laughter in when he saw the shock on Amy's face. He put his arm around her and gave her a warm smile. "Don't get bent out of shape over that. That's their culture," he said to her. "Yeah, well, someone coulda said something before I decided to walk away from the TARDIS with this on me," Amy replied. As they walked down the corridor, they heard random yelling and some sobbing and moaning. Most doors were open and there were wooden beds inside the rooms with some patients lying in them. A few were up and about their rooms and they waved cheerfully to them as they passed by. Near the back though, the wooden doors switched to solid metal ones with a viewing window in them made of unbreakable alien glass. This was where most of the screamers and groaners were kept. Amy jumped when they passed by one door and a disheveled man suddenly slapped the glass hard with his hand. The Doctor, noticing how startled she was, put his hand around her shoulders while they followed Juliet. They finally neared the back of the building and they noticed two male orderlies standing by one door. One of the orderlies stepped forward when they walked up. "We were told you were going to visit this patient. We were ordered to wait for you and make sure you're safe," he said. Narcissa nodded and the orderly nodded to the other one. The orderly by the door pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the door. He opened the door, glanced inside and beckoned to the Doctor, Amy and Narcissa. They came forward and the orderly let them enter the room. The room was padded with feather pillows that had been nailed to the wall and floor. The three of them struggled for a moment while they tried to walk on the pillows on the floor, then they got their balance and stood there while the orderly shut the door and watched through the tiny window. The only occupant of the room was sitting at the back, her head in her hands and her long blonde hair draped down over her face like a veil. She was thin and pale and they noticed there were bruises all over her arms and legs. She was wearing a black gown that was hiked up to her thighs and she was barefoot. The Doctor slowly walked over to her while the two women followed. "Juliet?" the Doctor said, squatting down in front of her. There was no reaction for a moment and then Juliet slowly raised her head and lowered her arms. Her face was thin, pale and waxy and there were dark circles around her eyes. Her brown eyes were dull looking but other than that, the Doctor couldn't see any evidence of her being undead. He looked at Narcissa. "Okay, how is she undead?" he asked her. "Because I can hear her breathing so she has a heartbeat." "She is a living corpse, that's why. Her body has been reanimated and there is a heartbeat but there's no soul now." The Doctor and Amy shared a glance and Amy could tell by his expression that he wasn't buying that. "Okay, how did she become undead then?" he asked as patiently as he could. "She was found dead in her bedroom," Narcissa said. "The doctors examined her and pronounced her dead. She was buried in the cemetery and two weeks later someone was coming to visit a deceased loved one and found her wandering the cemetery." "Okay, so premature burial then," the Doctor said. "The doctors made a mistake when they examined her, this woman was buried alive, she managed to escape but the shock of being buried alive drove her insane." "No, you don't understand. She has been enchanted, she is the living dead." The Doctor sighed angrily and got to his feet. "Look, Narcissa, I don't believe in enchantments. This woman is quite obviously alive. I see no evidence of her being the undead. She's breathing, she's moving, she's conscious and sees and hears everything we do or say. I don't see any rotting flesh, no vampire teeth, the woman is just a victim of mistaken burial and now she's gone mad. She needs to be treated for her mental illness, not gawked at like an exhibit in a freak show." "She didn't escape on her own," Narcissa said impatiently. "Oh? Passerby hear her cries for help then?" the Doctor said. "No. She was reanimated and kidnapped by Dorigon." "And Dorigon would be…" "An evil sorcerer who roams graveyards looking for freshly buried corpses. He reanimates them after digging them up and enslaves them." "So she's supposedly a zombie then," the Doctor said. Narcissa gave him a blank look. "Zombies are corpses that have been reanimated and enslaved by someone." "Yes, that's what I said," Narcissa said. "And where's the evidence that she's a zombie?" the Doctor said, pointing to Juliet. "I am dead." Everyone looked at Juliet when she spoke to them in a soft voice. The Doctor squatted down next to her. "Juliet, you're not dead. You're alive," the Doctor said to her. "Whatever happened to you, it was a mistake, yeah? You woke up in a graveyard and the shock of that affected your mind. No one has enchanted you." "No, I was dead! My soul is in the land of dreams, I am a corpse." "And this Dorigon is the one who did it?" Juliet nodded. "I escape him but I am no longer a normal person. I am a walking corpse," she said. The Doctor sighed and looked at Narcissa. "What you said to the person at the front desk, are you really this woman's friend?" he asked her. "Yes, I've known her since childhood. I tell you that she was dead, we all saw it." "Who's we? Who else saw her dead?" "Her family, myself, the doctors." "Then I want to speak to her family. Can you take us to them?" Juliet hesitated a moment. The Doctor raised his eyebrow. "What's wrong? The family doesn't believe this codswallop about her being the living dead then?" he said. "No, they do. I just think you won't be able to get much from them. They're very private people." "Has this happened before?" the Doctor asked. "Yes, lots of times." "And the man's never been caught and tried for his crimes?" "He's a sorcerer, no one can catch him." "Fine," the Doctor said, beginning to lose patience, "can you just take me to her family so I can speak to them. If this man is doing this, I want to put a stop to it once and for all." Narcissa studied him for a moment and saw the conviction in his eyes. She nodded. "Yes, I'll take you to them. But I'm warning you in advance, they may not tell you much," she said. The Doctor nodded and he and Amy followed Narcissa while she walked over to the door and signaled the man that they wanted to be let out.
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