SHROUDED IN DARKNESS
Chapter Five Amy walked beside the Doctor as they followed Narcissa through the town. Amy was lost in her thoughts. Like the Doctor, she had trouble believing that Juliet was a zombie. Except for the bruises and the fact that she was thin, pale and sickly looking she looked like a normal human being to her. The more she saw of the town, the more it creeped her out. She realized that since they had been there, she hadn't heard anyone laugh, there was no happiness and there was no loud talk. The townspeople were somber, mainly dressed in black and she thought the whole town seemed to be in mourning for something. She suddenly wanted to get back in the TARDIS and go but even though she hadn't been with the Doctor for very long, she knew that he would stay until this thing was sorted out. Narcissa led them over a hill and they saw a huge graveyard off to their left while more of the town was on the right. As they passed by the graveyard, they stopped when they noticed there was a large tree in the center of the graveyard. Three nooses hung down from it and they were putting one of the nooses around a young man who had his hands tied behind his back. The man was terrified, standing on a stepladder while two men on stepladders on either side of him prepared him for hanging. Below them was a small crowd, including three men who were pointing laser blasters up at the man in case he tried to escape. "What was this man's crime?" the Doctor asked Narcissa. "Murder. He beat his wife to death," Narcissa said. "Please, I'm innocent!" the man yelled as they tightened the noose around his neck. "Didn't the man get a fair trial?" Amy asked, alarmed. "Yes," Narcissa said as if she was an idiot. "Of course he did. That's why he's about to hang." Amy shivered, knowing she was about to watch a man die. She felt the Doctor's arm go around her and she smiled when he pulled her close to his side. The man was wearing a long black robe that hung loose over his body and was barefoot. He had sandy blonde hair and green eyes and a baby face and Amy couldn't help but think how cute he was and how innocent he looked. She glanced at the crowd gathered around him and noticed some of them looked eager for the hanging to begin and it sickened her that his fellow human beings were treating a man's execution like it was sport. While she watched the men finish tying the noose and a priest come up the ladder on his right side, she felt someone watching her and looked over at the Doctor who was studying her silently. "Are you okay?" he asked her. Amy's heart warmed when he saw the concerned look in his eyes. "So far," she admitted. "I've never seen anyone die before. Have you?" She was taken aback when the warm affectionate look in his eyes instantly hardened. "Yes, many times," he said in an equally hard voice. Amy didn't know what to think of that and the cold look on the Doctor's face unnerved her so she turned back to the crowd. By now, the priest was finished and the two stepladders on either side of the man were removed. While she watched the man plead for mercy, she felt the Doctor shift around behind her and put his arms around her, guiding her back against his body. Amy felt another shiver, except this time it wasn't from fear. She gulped when one of the men who had put the noose around the man's neck walked up to him and without preamble kicked the stepladder out from under the man. The man fell about a foot but his neck didn't break. Amy gasped as the man writhed in agony while he slowly strangled to death. She felt herself staring at him, not wanting to look away as if it were a car wreck. Then she saw to her horror that the man was beginning to urinate and a thin stream of urine was coming out of the bottom of the robe, hitting the ground with a splattering sound. The man was turning blue in the face as he gagged and twisted and Amy finally couldn't stand any more of it. She broke free of the Doctor's arms and hurried away as fast as she could, wanting to get back to the TARDIS and leave Samhain as fast as possible. "Amy!" "I want to get away from here!" Amy said, without looking back. "I want to go now!" She stopped when the Doctor hurried around her and stopped her in her tracks. His expression was no longer hard and cold; instead he had a sad look on his face. "You should have said something. We could have kept walking but you stopped and stood there so I thought you wanted to see it," he said to her. Amy felt tears come to her eyes and the Doctor came closer and put his hand on her cheek while Amy tried not to cry. "That was inhumane," she said, choking up while the Doctor pulled her in for a hug. "They just let him dangle there and choke to death. Why didn't they break his neck or chop his head off or shoot him instead of just standing around and watching him urinate on himself." "I know," the Doctor said softly. "Perhaps they felt he deserved it if he murdered someone. I don't agree with it either but I have a feeling if we tried to stop it we would have ended up next to him." Amy stood there while the Doctor hugged her. She put her head against his chest and heard the faint double beat of his hearts while the Doctor waited for her to calm down. While they were doing that, Narcissa walked up to them. "Is she alright?" Narcissa asked him as she gestured to Amy. "Oh, I think so," the Doctor said. "She just needs to get over the shock of seeing her first death, that's all." "Death is a common everyday thing here. We're used to it," Narcissa replied. "Then why don't you leave?" Amy asked her. "And go where?" Narcissa said. "This is my home, I've lived here all my life. Where would I go?" "I don't know but anywhere where there wasn't constant death would be a very good thing," Amy replied. Narcissa shrugged. "We are all fated to die," she replied matter-of-factly. "We cannot escape it no matter how far we run." Amy had to admit she was right but still, she didn't think she'd want to live in a town where people went missing and turned into zombies on a regular basis. Her heart quickened when the Doctor suddenly put his lips next to her ear. "Are you alright now?" he whispered. "Yeah, I'm fine now." "Good, do you mind if we go back to the graveyard? I want to see where Juliet was buried. Can you handle that?" he whispered. Amy thought for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah, I'll be okay," she said. "Good. Because I'll be right beside you," the Doctor whispered. Amy felt comforted by that and her hearts raced again when the Doctor gently kissed her forehead before he let go. He asked Narcissa about seeing Juliet's grave before going to see her parents. Narcissa studied Amy. "Will she be alright?" she asked him. Amy turned and nodded. "Yeah, I just need to get used to seeing death since I'm traveling with him," she said to her. She didn't see the Doctor's expression but she could sense him stiffening when she said that. The Doctor put his hands on her arms and gave them a squeeze before he came up beside her, smiled affectionately at her and took her hand. Narcissa led the way back to the graveyard. To Amy's horror, the crowd had dispersed but they left the man hanging there. A black and blue bruise ringed his neck from the rope and his skin was grey. His eyes stared blankly at them and as they entered through the iron gate around the cemetery, Amy's stomach turned when she noticed there was now a pile of feces under him. "How long will he stay up there?" the Doctor said to Narcissa with barely contained anger. "About a day. He'll serve as a lesson to anyone else who thinks of committing a crime and then he'll be taken down, cremated and his ashes will be dumped on the rubbish heap. Criminals aren't allowed to have a proper burial," she said. Amy glanced at the Doctor and saw his jaw tightened as his eyes flashed anger. But Narcissa didn't see that. She led them past the hanging man further into the cemetery. Amy noticed that the majority of the graves were above ground mausoleums. Most of them were rectangular with cravings on the top and sides, a granite panel at the front listed the person's name and dates of birth and death. On several of the mausoleums she noticed a strange emblem on the front under the dates of birth and death. It was a dragon like creature inside a circle. She pointed it out to the Doctor and Narcissa looked at the symbol. "That's the crest for The Order of the Serpantine. It's a society dedicated to sorcery and the magickal arts. There are many members," she said. "You said that Dorigon was a sorcerer," the Doctor said. "Yes. The legends say he was a grand master of the order about two hundred years ago before he grew angry and disgusted with the order and left." "Two hundred years?" Amy said in disbelief, "the man's still alive?" "He keeps himself alive through magickal means," Narcissa said, looking back at her. "What sort of magickal means?" the Doctor said, "and why did he become angry and disgusted with the order?" "He became angry and disgusted that the members wouldn't practice black magic or take any chances such as summoning demons. As for magickal means, some say that he calls back the souls of the corpses he takes and the souls keep him young and immortal." Amy and the Doctor shared a look and the Doctor rolled his eyes at that. They passed by a couple of mausoleums and they saw one that was open. The panel was off and lying against the side of it. The Doctor walked up to it and bent down, looking into the hole where the coffin would have been. He squinted and put his hand in while Amy stood behind him and watched. He withdrew his hand and pulled out a sheer linen burial shroud. He examined it. "When they bury people, do they use a coffin?" the Doctor asked Narcissa. "Not usually," Narcissa replied. "What do you mean not usually? When do they use a coffin then?" the Doctor asked. "For people suspected of being vampires or possessed by demons. They put them in an iron coffin and seal it shut so they can't escape," Narcissa said, once again in her matter-of-fact voice. Amy could tell the Doctor wanted to say something sarcastic but he nodded and put the shroud back inside the mausoleum. He stood up and walked around to the panel. He noticed it was blank and looked at Narcissa. "They didn't have time to carve anything on here?" he said to her. "That's a substitute. They put those on the mausoleum when a person first dies until one can be carved and then the real one is put on and sealed." The Doctor nodded. He looked around the graveyard and noticed several house-like crypts near the back. He looked at Narcissa. "For the wealthy?" he said, pointing to them. "Some. There are also communal ones for people who can't afford a proper burial," she said. The Doctor headed towards one that was made of black marble. It was shaped like a small house. The door was made of iron with a skull etched on the front of it. Above the door the words NOTCHE DERUM was carved. Amy frowned and pointed to it. "What does that mean?" she said. "It's Golgoth. It means eternal rest." "Golgoth is the local language then?" the Doctor said. Narcissa stared at him. "Yes," she said confused. "You're speaking it now. Don't you know what language you're speaking?" she said. "I'm wearing a translator pendant," the Doctor said without missing a beat. Narcissa nodded. "Yes, this is Golgotherum and Golgoth is the local language," she said. "And you're the Golgoths then?" Amy said. "No, we are the Goths," Narcissa replied. "I don't doubt that," Amy muttered to herself. The Doctor chuckled at that and gave her a playful punch in the arm. "So, is there anything else you need to see here?" Narcissa asked. "No, I think I'm done here. So if you'd take us to Juliet's parents…" "Follow me," Narcissa said as she turned. The Doctor took Amy's hand and they followed her towards the cemetery entrance.
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