Entanglement, or the Ghost Field - Part Three: Ghost
Title: Ghost, Part Three of Entanglement
Author: dracox-serdriel
Acknowledgement: A special thanks to my awesome beta reader, rince1wind
Status: Completed as part of horrorbigbang 2013
"What the hell is he playing at?" Gwen demanded.
Rose stepped over the line. "Look at him. He doesn't look anything like that... thing that grabbed me."
The Doctor joined Rose and spoke directly to Vincent. "You said you had friends who need help?"
"Yeah. They sent me ahead for help," Vincent replied. He turned to Dean. "Agent Hetfield, we did like you told us to. We broke camp and hiked out, but we didn't make it. Please - "
"Skinny guy," Dean interrupted as he walked over to The Doctor and Rose. "Yeah, you in the blue suit. You and me are gonna help Vince here - "
"Vincent," Vincent said. "Vince is my father."
"Fine, Vincent, we're gonna help you. Sam, lock down this room till we figure out what's going on. You all should help him."
"Since when are we following your orders?" Slade asked.
"Since you hid in the trunk of our car to get here," Jeet replied. "Are we agreed?"
The Doctor nodded, even though he didn't like the name 'skinny guy.' "Name's JD," he added as he and Dean went over to Vincent. "You can put your hands down."
"Why do you still have that gun?" Vincent asked Dean.
"Just in case," Dean replied. He reached out and shook Vincent's hand.
"What's this?" Vincent protested as he wiped his hand.
"Sorry, salt," Dean said. "Long story, where're your friends?" He didn't bother mentioning the silver ring; Vincent hadn't reacted. So he wasn't a ghost, demon, or shifter.
As soon as they left, Sam handed off a short towel to Jeet. "So you can clean up," he said. "Okay, so, who here knows how to fire a gun?"
"You serious?" Rose asked.
"You just saw what Dean and I deal with," Sam said. "It's safe to leave the circle for now. We've got salt rounds for anyone who can shoot. It'll blast a ghost."
"You say 'ghost,' like it's a thing," Gwen said quietly. "But that man... he was just like Vince. I mean, he was Vince. And Vince is dead, that's what you said. So why did they go off with him?"
Sam shrugged as he replied, "Dean and I investigate strange events, not just spirit activity. Stranger things have happened."
"That's us, me and JD," Rose said. "We investigate odd events, too."
"Whatever you and your partner do, I promise, this isn't it," Sam replied.
"Funny," Rose said, "I was just about to say the same to you."
"You both do weird," Slade said loudly. "So why not work together?"
"That would sound better if it wasn't said by the stowaway in our trunk," Rose said more harshly than she meant. "You promised me you wouldn't follow us."
"Technically I didn't follow," Slade replied.
"Anyway," Sam interrupted. "We came here because of three missing people. Came into the Trine three days ago."
"What's so weird about that?" Rose asked.
"What are you investigating here?" Sam countered.
"A mauve alert," Rose replied.
"A mauve alert?" Sam echoed.
"Universal color for danger. As in, Earth uses red alerts, but other planets and species use mauve."
"As in aliens?" Sam asked.
"Obviously," Jeet spoke up. "DPS. Department of Planetary Security. Where the hell have you been?"
No one else flinched. Sam assumed that he had missed something while hiding from Dick Roman's leviathan attacks. "The weird thing here isn't the spirit activity, it's the doppelgangers."
Rose laughed. "Sorry, what?"
"Doppelgangers. Duplicates. Clones. Copies," Sam reeled off. "That's why my partner and I are here."
"Is that who that man was?" Molly asked as the color returned to her face. "Some kind of... copy? A clone?"
"No," Rose said.
"How do you know?" Sam asked.
"Because I've dealt with this before," she replied. "Calling Vincent a clone or a thing is just you lot being scared."
"That thing is wearing my partner's face!" Molly said loudly.
"We don't know that," Jeet pointed out.
Sam tried to change the subject. He said, "A woman named Dawn Redding - "
"You know where Dawn is?" Gwen asked.
"Well, that's a little complicated," Sam explained. "We came in because she died in the hospital. Except Dawn Redding is still alive."
"What are you talking about?" Molly said, her voice breaking. "Do you mean some kind of clone of Dawn died?"
Sam bit his lip. "The fingerprints were different, but the DNA was identical. Other small things were different, like scars and haircut, so the authorities assumed they were long-lost twins."
"But you said 'copy,'" Molly insisted.
"He also said 'doppelganger,'" Rose said quickly.
Sam considered his options before speaking. "I was there at the coroner's. If Dawn Redding was some kind of copy - and yes, I have seen that before - then it was completely undetectable."
Rose had already drawn up a theory. "Look, when they get back, we can use JD's scanner to identify everyone, if that'll put your mind at ease about Vincent."
Gwen let out a hollow laugh. "You can't put my mind at east about Vince or Vincent," she said.
Molly was shaking, so Gwen squeezed onto the couch to comfort her.
"Molly," Sam began gently. "I don't know why there are two of some people and not others, but until we know, it's important not to panic."
"And why's that?" Molly snapped.
"Because Dawn Redding recorded things that happened here," Sam said. "From what we could make out, the panic led to violence. Unnecessary violence. And that can't happen again."
"But you don't even know what they are," Molly pointed out. "I mean, you said as much."
"We'll find out," Rose said.
"I thought we were fortifying this room?" Slade said, hoping to change the subject. "Something about guns?"
"Actually, we'd do better to salt all the doorways," Sam said. "And windows."
Sam handed salt canisters to Slade, Rose, and Jeet. "All the entries of this room need a strong salt line. Don't do the main door."
The first few minutes of salting passed in silence.
"Is it just me or are the walls and doors a little off?" Jeet asked. "Like, they're not quite straight."
"They're not," Slade replied. "They built this around the Parkman School. Didn't knock it down or anything, so the dimensions are all off."
"That's not what I mean," Jeet said. "I mean it's like the wall has sort of ripples. And the doors? Look, no hinges and the frames are - "
"Low maintenance," Slade interrupted. "If the wood warps, you can still get the doors to open and close."
"We need somewhere to put her," Dean yelled from down the hall. "Sammy!"
Sam cleared off a coffee table. "Give me some of those blankets," he said to Jeet.
No sooner had they prepared the table than The Doctor and Vincent carried in the nearly unconscious body of Gwen Castleberry's doppelganger. A tall, wiry man with glasses followed, doubled-down with gear, with Molly Sanderson's doppelganger and Dean bringing up the rear, shotgun ready.
"Slade, do that door now," Sam instructed.
By the time Slade salted the door, both Gwen and Molly had gotten up from the couch and pulled away from the group, gaping at their duplicates.
The Doctor checked the Gwen on the coffee table for vitals. "Jeet, give me a hand here?" he asked. "You've got medical training."
"I'm a pathologist," she said.
"That's dead people, isn't it?" Dean asked bluntly.
"Actually, you need a medical degree to become a pathologist," Sam pointed out.
"'Course you do," Dean said. "So while she's doing that, we need to run some tests."
"Tests?" The Doctor said as Jeet took over.
"To make sure everyone here is human," Dean said.
"As opposed to what?" The Doctor asked, slightly offended.
"Shifter. Skinwalker. Leviathan. Lots of big, bad things can shift into human form."
"That's your theory?" The Doctor asked.
"Actually, Doctor," Rose said quietly to him, "I think they might be... you know, like Mickey and Rickey."
"I agree."
"Listen, I don't speak British," Dean said. "What does that mean?"
"Same people, different universe," The Doctor said plainly. "Nothing alien, just a bit of an overlap."
"Okay, but for those of us who aren't absolutely out of it," Dean said. "We're gonna run these tests."
"I can prove it," The Doctor said. "Question for the room at large: what is the year, and who is currently President of the United States?"
The first Gwen answered, "Two thousand and fourteen, Hillary Clinton."
The other Molly answered, "Two thousand twelve, Barack Obama."
"What kind of Kool-Aid have you been drinking?" Dean asked the first Gwen. "It's twenty-twelve."
"In your universe," Rose said. "But where we come from, it's twenty-fourteen."
"Let's just say, you have your thing," Sam said. "We should still check our thing."
"Which entails what exactly?" The Doctor asked.
"This, this, this, and this," Dean said. He held out iron, salt, silver, and a cleaning agent. "And for good measure." He held up a bottle of water.
"You're gonna make us clean up?" Slade asked.
"Harmless to humans," Sam explained. "But if you're a shifter or Leviathan, it will hurt."
"Or if you're possessed," Dean added.
"Possessed?" The Doctor asked. "Sorry, can I see your badges again?"
"Hey, I'm not the one suggesting freaking alternative universes," Dean said. "You've got that bleeping gadget? We've got this."
The Doctor shook his head and started to fiddle with Rose's detector. "Right, this thing will be able to tell us which universe everything - and everyone - is from. That will help us navigate and get everyone back to the right place."
Sam started testing Slade as Dean worked on the two Mollies.
"So, you're Molly Sanderson?" the first Molly asked.
"I go by Molls," the other replied. "My mom called me that."
"I use Molly."
"Now we can tell you apart," Slade chimed in happily. "Molly and Molls."
"And here we go," The Doctor said, handing Jeet a device. "This'll give you vitals along with a universe of origin."
"What kind of science do you do?" Jeet asked.
"All kinds," The Doctor said. "This device can detect resonance patterns. Each universe has its own frequency. Well, each parallel universe. Obviously you run out of frequencies as you head towards infinity."
"This says you're from neither," Jeet whispered. "You and Rose."
The Doctor winked at her dramatically. "Don't mention it."
"Gwen?" Jeet said to the woman on the table. "Can you understand me?"
"It's Castle," she said roughly. "Call me Gwen if you wanna be slapped."
"'Castle,' I like that," Rose said.
"You said ghosts can't cross a salt line," Gwen said to Sam.
"That's right," Sam replied.
"Then what's that?" she asked.
The Doctor and Dean pulled Gwen back. A flickering figure appeared in one corner of the room. Dean tossed salt at the figure uncertainly, but nothing happened.
"What the hell?" he asked.
"No!" The Doctor said, holding up his detector with glee. "This is a time echo. Bleeding through from another universe."
"How does that work?" Dean asked. "Can it see us?"
"Shouldn't think so."
The figure spoke. "...that long ago, but it was. They're grown now, all of them. And they wouldn't come this year. Couldn't. They've all got their own now. But they love you. Loved. I'm not really sure if it matters. I just came to say I miss you."
"Sounds all wonky. Like a bad bit of audio," Rose said. "What do you think? Seems like someone visiting a grave, doesn't it?"
"Question is, why is this bleeding through here?" The Doctor asked. "At this point, this time..."
"You understand what that person is saying?" Slade asked.
"'Course," The Doctor said. "Just a bit muddled is all."
"What language is it?" Slade asked.
Rose leaned in to The Doctor. "I hear English. You?"
"Yeah, we'll chat about that later," he said to her. He replied to Slade, "Not sure what language. But at the very least, this shows that the ghosts are harmless."
"Except for the one that grabbed me," Rose said, holding up her wrist.
"Well, no theory is perfect in the beginning," The Doctor replied.
"Whatever this is, it's not a ghost," Sam said. "A ghost would've responded to the salt Dean threw at it, and it wouldn't be able to cross a salt line, either. Trust me: Ghosts are dangerous."
"So, ghosts are real, and this isn't a ghost," Castle said weakly. "That's fine. I could live with that. Just one question: what the hell is it?"
The Doctor replied, "This 'pseudo-ghost' is in fact a living, breathing person in another universe appearing here by what looks like some kind of phasing event. Or maybe the void in this area has gotten weak, letting - "
"What does that mean?" Gwen interrupted. "You're talking like this is stuff that happens. But I'm here, and again over there, so can you please start making sense?"
"I'm making perfect sense, Earth girl," The Doctor replied. Rose bumped his arm to indicate his insensitivity.
"JD," Sam prompted. "You said some of us are from your universe, and some are from another."
"That's what he said," Rose cut in.
"In our universe, ghosts and spirit activity happen enough to keep Dean and I busy," Sam explained. "Not sure why you two are here, but I think it's safe to say - since everyone here has seen it - that the kind of spirit activity we deal with in our universe exist here, too."
"Dude, seriously?" Dean hissed to Sam.
"Just because you don't accept parallel universes doesn't mean they don't exist," Sam said to Dean. "And everyone in this room is human, Dean."
"And that's all you need?" Dean asked.
"It explains the doppelgangers," Sam replied. "And whatever this thing is," he added, waving at the figure still flickering in and out of existence. "It's not a ghost."
"Fine," Dean said. "Then tell me, JD," he said to The Doctor, "what's going on?"
"No idea," he replied. "Isn't that brilliant?"
"Is this guy for real?" Dean asked Rose.
"Oi, he's good at what he does, so shut it," Rose snapped back. "We should be working together. Figuring out how to get everyone back."
The figure disappeared.
The tall, wiry man finally spoke up. "So that was someone from another universe?"
"You are?" Slade asked.
"Irwin. Irwin Rasmussen," he replied. "And I've camped in the Trine dozens of times before. Nothing like this has ever happened before."
"Well, it wouldn't've," Rose replied. "Any kind of transference between parallel worlds takes a hell of a lot of power. It couldn't last long, not without attracting a lot of attention."
"And destroying reality," The Doctor added.
"But I've read stories about things like that," Slade said, pointing to where the figure had been. "That's been happening for years and years now. That's how this area got its reputation as haunted."
"Those're nothing," The Doctor replied. "Just tiny moments when the walls between this universe and the next become translucent. Or less opaque anyway. For some reason it happens in this area with unnatural frequency."
"Unnatural?" Sam asked. "You mean this stuff can happen naturally?"
"The walls and the void between are as malleable as the universes themselves. They have to be, what with expanding and contracting universes here and there. When this type of thing happens - and that's pretty rarely - no one really notices. They see it as blurry vision or fog or a bad storm. It's just a blip. Cleary whatever's happening here is new."
"Look, my troop - that's Castle, Molls, me, and Vincent - we all came here looking for people," Irwin said. "I mean, we were meeting them here today. But I don't see them here." He turned to Dean, "Does that mean that you sent them out of the Trine?"
Sam and Dean traded looks. Sam pulled out a piece of paper and read from it. "Candice York. Toben Harwell. Remy Greenberg."
The room felt colder already.
"That's them!" Irwin said. "You've seen them?"
"Wait," Gwen spoke up. "That's who we came here looking for, too. They missed two check-ins, so we came out."
"You mentioned something about them," Molls added, looking at Sam.
"I'm sorry. We have reason to believe they are all dead," Sam said compassionately.
"What reason?" Irwin demanded. "Did you find their bodies?"
"Not yet," Dean replied.
"Oi," Rose said. "Doctor - "
"I see it," The Doctor said as his breath misted.
"It's okay," Sam said. "She's on the other side of the line. It's fine."
"That's Candice," Molls said.
Candice York - one of them, anyway - stood just outside the lobby door. None of the other ghosts reappeared, but the lights flickered. Sounds began to flood the room.
"Candice?" a man's voice said. "What's wrong. Candice?"
"That's Toben," Gwen said. "But I don't see him out there."
"Time echo," The Doctor said. "Got to be. Look."
He pointed to the sofa that they had gathered around earlier. The faint outlines of bodies were visible, but just barely. They could just make out Candice's form struggling to breathe. The scene played out as if in fast-forward. Candice collapsed, and three other bodies rushed to help her. Her name became a ringing chorus of voices that filled the room with stunned silence.
"She's gone," Toben's voice said. "I can't get a carotid pulse."
"But what happened?" another voice asked.
"I don't know. It's like her heart just stopped."
Again, fading images jumbled together quickly, and more bodies joined. They collectively demanded explanation, and the whirl of response was impossible to understand.
Dean kept watch of Candice's ghostly counterpart, but everyone else stared openly at the shadowy projection. Candice's body was more solid than the others. One of the other shapes touched her, and her eyes moved. Candice's mouth dropped open and twisted as she tried to suck down air, but she couldn't. The image became sharper as her body jerked and shuttered, but none of it seemed voluntary.
"Her heart started again," The Doctor observed.
"What the hell is this?" Vincent asked.
"Find me," Candice's voice echoed from the hall. "I don't want to be stuck."
Everyone turned to see Candice York's ghost disappear. The shadow evaporated seconds later.
Sam and Dean spoke apart in a corner. Vincent, Molls, and Irwin kept to themselves. Jeet remained close to Castle to tend to her leg injury. Gwen and Molly had collapsed behind the couch. Everyone was uneasy.
Rose and The Doctor took the moment to speak privately.
"I used to hear everything in English, but that was only because of the TARDIS," Rose said.
"And I heard colloquial Gallifreyan," The Doctor said. "Should've put me right onto it, but it wasn't till you said you heard English that I realized... whatever is causing the time fluctuations, the echoes, the parallel bleed-through, it's all coming from some kind of technology that also has a telepathic interface."
"Why were we the only ones it translated for?" Rose asked. "I mean, no one else seemed to understand what that person was saying."
"Could be anything," The Doctor replied. "Maybe because we've both interfaced with the TARDIS before, our minds were more open to the connection."
"Well, barring a TARDIS, what else could it be?" she asked.
"That's the thing," The Doctor replied grimly. "I knew so much about the other universe. But this one... It's a whole new place. The Earth is this different, what about the rest of it? For all I know, the Time Lords died out but left behind remnants here. Or maybe some of the other older races involved in the Time War survived. Or didn't fight. I just don't know."
"You okay?" she asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Well, I am in an area where two overlapping parallel universes keep rippling against one another," he replied. "Can't complain about being bored with all this going on, can I now?"
"You miss the traveling," she said. It wasn't a question.
"Everything's different," he said. "But my thoughts, and everything, they're the same..."
"Oh, I dunno about that."
"What're you trying to say?"
"That little bit of Donna in you. It's there, Space man," she said. "I can see it. It's not a bad thing." After a moment, she added, "I miss the traveling, too."
"Yeah, well, you would," he said playfully. "Blimey. When did this conversation turn so domestic?"
"Sorry, sir," Rose said, as if straightening up for battle. "What's next?"
"You trust them? The two gangly FBI agents?" he asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't think they're FBI agents for one."
"But they're right about things."
"They also have an arsenal packed in duffel bags and advocate the use of condiments for self defense," The Doctor replied.
"You're all about with a sonic screwdriver," Rose replied. "Most people would give you the same treatment, 'cept you're usually right. I think they're here to help."
He nodded in agreement.
"What're you gonna do?"
"I need to figure out what kind of tech is here," he said. "Without Jeet following me and reporting everything to DPS. So I'm going to head out and find it."
"None of our phones are working," Rose said. "And you're not going alone."
"I fixed that. Set up a com paging system with our phones."
"When?"
"As soon as I realized there were overlapping universes," he said. "Didn't I mention?"
"You're still not going alone," Rose said. She gave the room a quick scan. "Take Slade."
"Slade?" The Doctor asked. "Why?"
"Because he knows all the stories about this place. That might help you, I dunno, pinpoint something. And you always wind up needing another pair of hands."
"I doubt this lot is just gonna let us sneak off, so - "
"Excuse me!" Irwin announced loudly. "I just - can I have a minute?"
All eyes swiveled to him.
"We all came back here because it was too dark to hike out, right?" Irwin asked. Several people nodded. "So that means, we're all waiting for daylight, right?"
"So what?" Molly asked.
"If we're stuck here until daylight, then, can't we at least search for them?" Irwin asked. "In this building?"
"You wanna walk around a building full of ghosts and time echoes, or whatever the hell they are?" Dean asked.
"That's the only reason we came here," Irwin said. "We came here to find our friends. All of us. You heard Candice. She doesn't want to get stuck here."
"If we do that," Sam began, "you do understand that the only thing we can do is salt and burn her remains."
"Do I even want to ask why?" The Doctor asked.
"It's the only way to put spirits to rest," Sam replied.
"When you say 'rest,'" Irwin asked, "you mean, they won't be stuck here, like she was?"
"She'll pass on," Sam said.
"It's a bad idea to go wandering around," Dean said. "And my damn phone isn't working - "
"Actually," The Doctor interrupted. "I can help with that. I can modify phones to work now I know about the overlap."
"All right, then, phones up," Dean said. "Everyone."
"So, quick tutorial, this is a com system, like an old-fashioned police radio. You can't call just one person. Whatever you say will go to everyone," The Doctor warned.
"Well, as of now, these phones are junk," Sam said. "Radio's better than nothing."
"Then we can look for them?" Irwin asked.
"Till daylight," Sam said.
Dean added, "As soon as there's light and we can get out of here, we're going."
"It's sorted, then!" The Doctor said. "We should break up into groups."
"I'm staying with Castle," Molls said.
"She might need some stitches," Jeet spoke up. "This bandage isn't holding. So I'll stay here as well."
"I've got a suture kit," Sam said. "If you need extra."
"I'll go," Vincent spoke up.
"And me," Gwen said next.
"I guess, me as well," Molly said. "But only if I get a gun."
"These? They're salt rounds," Dean said handing Molly a shotgun. "Won't kill someone, but it will hurt. So don't point it at me."
"We've only got four shotguns," Sam said.
"Only?" The Doctor asked Rose quietly.
"But we've got iron pokers and chains," Sam said. "Molly, Vincent, you're with me."
"Which means Gwen and Irwin, you're with me," Dean said. "And universe boy and girl? What about you?"
"JD and Rose," The Doctor corrected. "And you'll need someone here to keep track of you. Rose, I've wired up your phone to track their com signals and hopefully pick up body heat. That'll be a bit dodgy sometimes, so if you have to pick one to trust, the com signals are the ones. And your phones," The Doctor said as he soniced through the lot of them. "Push the biggest button to call out. Rose and I will keep an eye on things and figure out how to get everyone back to the right place."
"Remember, we have till sunrise," Sam repeated. "And if there's anything dangerous out there, we come right back in here. Let's go."
Navigation
Entanglement, or the Ghost Field <<< Previous Part:
Part Two: Gallows Pole Primary Post Next Part: >>>
Part Four: Eminence Front
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Ghost (Quantum Mechanics)
n. negative-normed vector
Ghost (Folklore, Traditional Belief)
n. apparition of a dead person believed to appear in the reality of the living, usually distorted in its manifestation
Author: dracox-serdriel
Acknowledgement: A special thanks to my awesome beta reader, rince1wind
Status: Completed as part of horrorbigbang 2013
"What the hell is he playing at?" Gwen demanded.
Rose stepped over the line. "Look at him. He doesn't look anything like that... thing that grabbed me."
The Doctor joined Rose and spoke directly to Vincent. "You said you had friends who need help?"
"Yeah. They sent me ahead for help," Vincent replied. He turned to Dean. "Agent Hetfield, we did like you told us to. We broke camp and hiked out, but we didn't make it. Please - "
"Skinny guy," Dean interrupted as he walked over to The Doctor and Rose. "Yeah, you in the blue suit. You and me are gonna help Vince here - "
"Vincent," Vincent said. "Vince is my father."
"Fine, Vincent, we're gonna help you. Sam, lock down this room till we figure out what's going on. You all should help him."
"Since when are we following your orders?" Slade asked.
"Since you hid in the trunk of our car to get here," Jeet replied. "Are we agreed?"
The Doctor nodded, even though he didn't like the name 'skinny guy.' "Name's JD," he added as he and Dean went over to Vincent. "You can put your hands down."
"Why do you still have that gun?" Vincent asked Dean.
"Just in case," Dean replied. He reached out and shook Vincent's hand.
"What's this?" Vincent protested as he wiped his hand.
"Sorry, salt," Dean said. "Long story, where're your friends?" He didn't bother mentioning the silver ring; Vincent hadn't reacted. So he wasn't a ghost, demon, or shifter.
As soon as they left, Sam handed off a short towel to Jeet. "So you can clean up," he said. "Okay, so, who here knows how to fire a gun?"
"You serious?" Rose asked.
"You just saw what Dean and I deal with," Sam said. "It's safe to leave the circle for now. We've got salt rounds for anyone who can shoot. It'll blast a ghost."
"You say 'ghost,' like it's a thing," Gwen said quietly. "But that man... he was just like Vince. I mean, he was Vince. And Vince is dead, that's what you said. So why did they go off with him?"
Sam shrugged as he replied, "Dean and I investigate strange events, not just spirit activity. Stranger things have happened."
"That's us, me and JD," Rose said. "We investigate odd events, too."
"Whatever you and your partner do, I promise, this isn't it," Sam replied.
"Funny," Rose said, "I was just about to say the same to you."
"You both do weird," Slade said loudly. "So why not work together?"
"That would sound better if it wasn't said by the stowaway in our trunk," Rose said more harshly than she meant. "You promised me you wouldn't follow us."
"Technically I didn't follow," Slade replied.
"Anyway," Sam interrupted. "We came here because of three missing people. Came into the Trine three days ago."
"What's so weird about that?" Rose asked.
"What are you investigating here?" Sam countered.
"A mauve alert," Rose replied.
"A mauve alert?" Sam echoed.
"Universal color for danger. As in, Earth uses red alerts, but other planets and species use mauve."
"As in aliens?" Sam asked.
"Obviously," Jeet spoke up. "DPS. Department of Planetary Security. Where the hell have you been?"
No one else flinched. Sam assumed that he had missed something while hiding from Dick Roman's leviathan attacks. "The weird thing here isn't the spirit activity, it's the doppelgangers."
Rose laughed. "Sorry, what?"
"Doppelgangers. Duplicates. Clones. Copies," Sam reeled off. "That's why my partner and I are here."
"Is that who that man was?" Molly asked as the color returned to her face. "Some kind of... copy? A clone?"
"No," Rose said.
"How do you know?" Sam asked.
"Because I've dealt with this before," she replied. "Calling Vincent a clone or a thing is just you lot being scared."
"That thing is wearing my partner's face!" Molly said loudly.
"We don't know that," Jeet pointed out.
Sam tried to change the subject. He said, "A woman named Dawn Redding - "
"You know where Dawn is?" Gwen asked.
"Well, that's a little complicated," Sam explained. "We came in because she died in the hospital. Except Dawn Redding is still alive."
"What are you talking about?" Molly said, her voice breaking. "Do you mean some kind of clone of Dawn died?"
Sam bit his lip. "The fingerprints were different, but the DNA was identical. Other small things were different, like scars and haircut, so the authorities assumed they were long-lost twins."
"But you said 'copy,'" Molly insisted.
"He also said 'doppelganger,'" Rose said quickly.
Sam considered his options before speaking. "I was there at the coroner's. If Dawn Redding was some kind of copy - and yes, I have seen that before - then it was completely undetectable."
Rose had already drawn up a theory. "Look, when they get back, we can use JD's scanner to identify everyone, if that'll put your mind at ease about Vincent."
Gwen let out a hollow laugh. "You can't put my mind at east about Vince or Vincent," she said.
Molly was shaking, so Gwen squeezed onto the couch to comfort her.
"Molly," Sam began gently. "I don't know why there are two of some people and not others, but until we know, it's important not to panic."
"And why's that?" Molly snapped.
"Because Dawn Redding recorded things that happened here," Sam said. "From what we could make out, the panic led to violence. Unnecessary violence. And that can't happen again."
"But you don't even know what they are," Molly pointed out. "I mean, you said as much."
"We'll find out," Rose said.
"I thought we were fortifying this room?" Slade said, hoping to change the subject. "Something about guns?"
"Actually, we'd do better to salt all the doorways," Sam said. "And windows."
Sam handed salt canisters to Slade, Rose, and Jeet. "All the entries of this room need a strong salt line. Don't do the main door."
The first few minutes of salting passed in silence.
"Is it just me or are the walls and doors a little off?" Jeet asked. "Like, they're not quite straight."
"They're not," Slade replied. "They built this around the Parkman School. Didn't knock it down or anything, so the dimensions are all off."
"That's not what I mean," Jeet said. "I mean it's like the wall has sort of ripples. And the doors? Look, no hinges and the frames are - "
"Low maintenance," Slade interrupted. "If the wood warps, you can still get the doors to open and close."
"We need somewhere to put her," Dean yelled from down the hall. "Sammy!"
Sam cleared off a coffee table. "Give me some of those blankets," he said to Jeet.
No sooner had they prepared the table than The Doctor and Vincent carried in the nearly unconscious body of Gwen Castleberry's doppelganger. A tall, wiry man with glasses followed, doubled-down with gear, with Molly Sanderson's doppelganger and Dean bringing up the rear, shotgun ready.
"Slade, do that door now," Sam instructed.
By the time Slade salted the door, both Gwen and Molly had gotten up from the couch and pulled away from the group, gaping at their duplicates.
The Doctor checked the Gwen on the coffee table for vitals. "Jeet, give me a hand here?" he asked. "You've got medical training."
"I'm a pathologist," she said.
"That's dead people, isn't it?" Dean asked bluntly.
"Actually, you need a medical degree to become a pathologist," Sam pointed out.
"'Course you do," Dean said. "So while she's doing that, we need to run some tests."
"Tests?" The Doctor said as Jeet took over.
"To make sure everyone here is human," Dean said.
"As opposed to what?" The Doctor asked, slightly offended.
"Shifter. Skinwalker. Leviathan. Lots of big, bad things can shift into human form."
"That's your theory?" The Doctor asked.
"Actually, Doctor," Rose said quietly to him, "I think they might be... you know, like Mickey and Rickey."
"I agree."
"Listen, I don't speak British," Dean said. "What does that mean?"
"Same people, different universe," The Doctor said plainly. "Nothing alien, just a bit of an overlap."
"Okay, but for those of us who aren't absolutely out of it," Dean said. "We're gonna run these tests."
"I can prove it," The Doctor said. "Question for the room at large: what is the year, and who is currently President of the United States?"
The first Gwen answered, "Two thousand and fourteen, Hillary Clinton."
The other Molly answered, "Two thousand twelve, Barack Obama."
"What kind of Kool-Aid have you been drinking?" Dean asked the first Gwen. "It's twenty-twelve."
"In your universe," Rose said. "But where we come from, it's twenty-fourteen."
"Let's just say, you have your thing," Sam said. "We should still check our thing."
"Which entails what exactly?" The Doctor asked.
"This, this, this, and this," Dean said. He held out iron, salt, silver, and a cleaning agent. "And for good measure." He held up a bottle of water.
"You're gonna make us clean up?" Slade asked.
"Harmless to humans," Sam explained. "But if you're a shifter or Leviathan, it will hurt."
"Or if you're possessed," Dean added.
"Possessed?" The Doctor asked. "Sorry, can I see your badges again?"
"Hey, I'm not the one suggesting freaking alternative universes," Dean said. "You've got that bleeping gadget? We've got this."
The Doctor shook his head and started to fiddle with Rose's detector. "Right, this thing will be able to tell us which universe everything - and everyone - is from. That will help us navigate and get everyone back to the right place."
Sam started testing Slade as Dean worked on the two Mollies.
"So, you're Molly Sanderson?" the first Molly asked.
"I go by Molls," the other replied. "My mom called me that."
"I use Molly."
"Now we can tell you apart," Slade chimed in happily. "Molly and Molls."
"And here we go," The Doctor said, handing Jeet a device. "This'll give you vitals along with a universe of origin."
"What kind of science do you do?" Jeet asked.
"All kinds," The Doctor said. "This device can detect resonance patterns. Each universe has its own frequency. Well, each parallel universe. Obviously you run out of frequencies as you head towards infinity."
"This says you're from neither," Jeet whispered. "You and Rose."
The Doctor winked at her dramatically. "Don't mention it."
"Gwen?" Jeet said to the woman on the table. "Can you understand me?"
"It's Castle," she said roughly. "Call me Gwen if you wanna be slapped."
"'Castle,' I like that," Rose said.
"You said ghosts can't cross a salt line," Gwen said to Sam.
"That's right," Sam replied.
"Then what's that?" she asked.
The Doctor and Dean pulled Gwen back. A flickering figure appeared in one corner of the room. Dean tossed salt at the figure uncertainly, but nothing happened.
"What the hell?" he asked.
"No!" The Doctor said, holding up his detector with glee. "This is a time echo. Bleeding through from another universe."
"How does that work?" Dean asked. "Can it see us?"
"Shouldn't think so."
The figure spoke. "...that long ago, but it was. They're grown now, all of them. And they wouldn't come this year. Couldn't. They've all got their own now. But they love you. Loved. I'm not really sure if it matters. I just came to say I miss you."
"Sounds all wonky. Like a bad bit of audio," Rose said. "What do you think? Seems like someone visiting a grave, doesn't it?"
"Question is, why is this bleeding through here?" The Doctor asked. "At this point, this time..."
"You understand what that person is saying?" Slade asked.
"'Course," The Doctor said. "Just a bit muddled is all."
"What language is it?" Slade asked.
Rose leaned in to The Doctor. "I hear English. You?"
"Yeah, we'll chat about that later," he said to her. He replied to Slade, "Not sure what language. But at the very least, this shows that the ghosts are harmless."
"Except for the one that grabbed me," Rose said, holding up her wrist.
"Well, no theory is perfect in the beginning," The Doctor replied.
"Whatever this is, it's not a ghost," Sam said. "A ghost would've responded to the salt Dean threw at it, and it wouldn't be able to cross a salt line, either. Trust me: Ghosts are dangerous."
"So, ghosts are real, and this isn't a ghost," Castle said weakly. "That's fine. I could live with that. Just one question: what the hell is it?"
The Doctor replied, "This 'pseudo-ghost' is in fact a living, breathing person in another universe appearing here by what looks like some kind of phasing event. Or maybe the void in this area has gotten weak, letting - "
"What does that mean?" Gwen interrupted. "You're talking like this is stuff that happens. But I'm here, and again over there, so can you please start making sense?"
"I'm making perfect sense, Earth girl," The Doctor replied. Rose bumped his arm to indicate his insensitivity.
"JD," Sam prompted. "You said some of us are from your universe, and some are from another."
"That's what he said," Rose cut in.
"In our universe, ghosts and spirit activity happen enough to keep Dean and I busy," Sam explained. "Not sure why you two are here, but I think it's safe to say - since everyone here has seen it - that the kind of spirit activity we deal with in our universe exist here, too."
"Dude, seriously?" Dean hissed to Sam.
"Just because you don't accept parallel universes doesn't mean they don't exist," Sam said to Dean. "And everyone in this room is human, Dean."
"And that's all you need?" Dean asked.
"It explains the doppelgangers," Sam replied. "And whatever this thing is," he added, waving at the figure still flickering in and out of existence. "It's not a ghost."
"Fine," Dean said. "Then tell me, JD," he said to The Doctor, "what's going on?"
"No idea," he replied. "Isn't that brilliant?"
"Is this guy for real?" Dean asked Rose.
"Oi, he's good at what he does, so shut it," Rose snapped back. "We should be working together. Figuring out how to get everyone back."
The figure disappeared.
The tall, wiry man finally spoke up. "So that was someone from another universe?"
"You are?" Slade asked.
"Irwin. Irwin Rasmussen," he replied. "And I've camped in the Trine dozens of times before. Nothing like this has ever happened before."
"Well, it wouldn't've," Rose replied. "Any kind of transference between parallel worlds takes a hell of a lot of power. It couldn't last long, not without attracting a lot of attention."
"And destroying reality," The Doctor added.
"But I've read stories about things like that," Slade said, pointing to where the figure had been. "That's been happening for years and years now. That's how this area got its reputation as haunted."
"Those're nothing," The Doctor replied. "Just tiny moments when the walls between this universe and the next become translucent. Or less opaque anyway. For some reason it happens in this area with unnatural frequency."
"Unnatural?" Sam asked. "You mean this stuff can happen naturally?"
"The walls and the void between are as malleable as the universes themselves. They have to be, what with expanding and contracting universes here and there. When this type of thing happens - and that's pretty rarely - no one really notices. They see it as blurry vision or fog or a bad storm. It's just a blip. Cleary whatever's happening here is new."
"Look, my troop - that's Castle, Molls, me, and Vincent - we all came here looking for people," Irwin said. "I mean, we were meeting them here today. But I don't see them here." He turned to Dean, "Does that mean that you sent them out of the Trine?"
Sam and Dean traded looks. Sam pulled out a piece of paper and read from it. "Candice York. Toben Harwell. Remy Greenberg."
The room felt colder already.
"That's them!" Irwin said. "You've seen them?"
"Wait," Gwen spoke up. "That's who we came here looking for, too. They missed two check-ins, so we came out."
"You mentioned something about them," Molls added, looking at Sam.
"I'm sorry. We have reason to believe they are all dead," Sam said compassionately.
"What reason?" Irwin demanded. "Did you find their bodies?"
"Not yet," Dean replied.
"Oi," Rose said. "Doctor - "
"I see it," The Doctor said as his breath misted.
"It's okay," Sam said. "She's on the other side of the line. It's fine."
"That's Candice," Molls said.
Candice York - one of them, anyway - stood just outside the lobby door. None of the other ghosts reappeared, but the lights flickered. Sounds began to flood the room.
"Candice?" a man's voice said. "What's wrong. Candice?"
"That's Toben," Gwen said. "But I don't see him out there."
"Time echo," The Doctor said. "Got to be. Look."
He pointed to the sofa that they had gathered around earlier. The faint outlines of bodies were visible, but just barely. They could just make out Candice's form struggling to breathe. The scene played out as if in fast-forward. Candice collapsed, and three other bodies rushed to help her. Her name became a ringing chorus of voices that filled the room with stunned silence.
"She's gone," Toben's voice said. "I can't get a carotid pulse."
"But what happened?" another voice asked.
"I don't know. It's like her heart just stopped."
Again, fading images jumbled together quickly, and more bodies joined. They collectively demanded explanation, and the whirl of response was impossible to understand.
Dean kept watch of Candice's ghostly counterpart, but everyone else stared openly at the shadowy projection. Candice's body was more solid than the others. One of the other shapes touched her, and her eyes moved. Candice's mouth dropped open and twisted as she tried to suck down air, but she couldn't. The image became sharper as her body jerked and shuttered, but none of it seemed voluntary.
"Her heart started again," The Doctor observed.
"What the hell is this?" Vincent asked.
"Find me," Candice's voice echoed from the hall. "I don't want to be stuck."
Everyone turned to see Candice York's ghost disappear. The shadow evaporated seconds later.
Sam and Dean spoke apart in a corner. Vincent, Molls, and Irwin kept to themselves. Jeet remained close to Castle to tend to her leg injury. Gwen and Molly had collapsed behind the couch. Everyone was uneasy.
Rose and The Doctor took the moment to speak privately.
"I used to hear everything in English, but that was only because of the TARDIS," Rose said.
"And I heard colloquial Gallifreyan," The Doctor said. "Should've put me right onto it, but it wasn't till you said you heard English that I realized... whatever is causing the time fluctuations, the echoes, the parallel bleed-through, it's all coming from some kind of technology that also has a telepathic interface."
"Why were we the only ones it translated for?" Rose asked. "I mean, no one else seemed to understand what that person was saying."
"Could be anything," The Doctor replied. "Maybe because we've both interfaced with the TARDIS before, our minds were more open to the connection."
"Well, barring a TARDIS, what else could it be?" she asked.
"That's the thing," The Doctor replied grimly. "I knew so much about the other universe. But this one... It's a whole new place. The Earth is this different, what about the rest of it? For all I know, the Time Lords died out but left behind remnants here. Or maybe some of the other older races involved in the Time War survived. Or didn't fight. I just don't know."
"You okay?" she asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Well, I am in an area where two overlapping parallel universes keep rippling against one another," he replied. "Can't complain about being bored with all this going on, can I now?"
"You miss the traveling," she said. It wasn't a question.
"Everything's different," he said. "But my thoughts, and everything, they're the same..."
"Oh, I dunno about that."
"What're you trying to say?"
"That little bit of Donna in you. It's there, Space man," she said. "I can see it. It's not a bad thing." After a moment, she added, "I miss the traveling, too."
"Yeah, well, you would," he said playfully. "Blimey. When did this conversation turn so domestic?"
"Sorry, sir," Rose said, as if straightening up for battle. "What's next?"
"You trust them? The two gangly FBI agents?" he asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't think they're FBI agents for one."
"But they're right about things."
"They also have an arsenal packed in duffel bags and advocate the use of condiments for self defense," The Doctor replied.
"You're all about with a sonic screwdriver," Rose replied. "Most people would give you the same treatment, 'cept you're usually right. I think they're here to help."
He nodded in agreement.
"What're you gonna do?"
"I need to figure out what kind of tech is here," he said. "Without Jeet following me and reporting everything to DPS. So I'm going to head out and find it."
"None of our phones are working," Rose said. "And you're not going alone."
"I fixed that. Set up a com paging system with our phones."
"When?"
"As soon as I realized there were overlapping universes," he said. "Didn't I mention?"
"You're still not going alone," Rose said. She gave the room a quick scan. "Take Slade."
"Slade?" The Doctor asked. "Why?"
"Because he knows all the stories about this place. That might help you, I dunno, pinpoint something. And you always wind up needing another pair of hands."
"I doubt this lot is just gonna let us sneak off, so - "
"Excuse me!" Irwin announced loudly. "I just - can I have a minute?"
All eyes swiveled to him.
"We all came back here because it was too dark to hike out, right?" Irwin asked. Several people nodded. "So that means, we're all waiting for daylight, right?"
"So what?" Molly asked.
"If we're stuck here until daylight, then, can't we at least search for them?" Irwin asked. "In this building?"
"You wanna walk around a building full of ghosts and time echoes, or whatever the hell they are?" Dean asked.
"That's the only reason we came here," Irwin said. "We came here to find our friends. All of us. You heard Candice. She doesn't want to get stuck here."
"If we do that," Sam began, "you do understand that the only thing we can do is salt and burn her remains."
"Do I even want to ask why?" The Doctor asked.
"It's the only way to put spirits to rest," Sam replied.
"When you say 'rest,'" Irwin asked, "you mean, they won't be stuck here, like she was?"
"She'll pass on," Sam said.
"It's a bad idea to go wandering around," Dean said. "And my damn phone isn't working - "
"Actually," The Doctor interrupted. "I can help with that. I can modify phones to work now I know about the overlap."
"All right, then, phones up," Dean said. "Everyone."
"So, quick tutorial, this is a com system, like an old-fashioned police radio. You can't call just one person. Whatever you say will go to everyone," The Doctor warned.
"Well, as of now, these phones are junk," Sam said. "Radio's better than nothing."
"Then we can look for them?" Irwin asked.
"Till daylight," Sam said.
Dean added, "As soon as there's light and we can get out of here, we're going."
"It's sorted, then!" The Doctor said. "We should break up into groups."
"I'm staying with Castle," Molls said.
"She might need some stitches," Jeet spoke up. "This bandage isn't holding. So I'll stay here as well."
"I've got a suture kit," Sam said. "If you need extra."
"I'll go," Vincent spoke up.
"And me," Gwen said next.
"I guess, me as well," Molly said. "But only if I get a gun."
"These? They're salt rounds," Dean said handing Molly a shotgun. "Won't kill someone, but it will hurt. So don't point it at me."
"We've only got four shotguns," Sam said.
"Only?" The Doctor asked Rose quietly.
"But we've got iron pokers and chains," Sam said. "Molly, Vincent, you're with me."
"Which means Gwen and Irwin, you're with me," Dean said. "And universe boy and girl? What about you?"
"JD and Rose," The Doctor corrected. "And you'll need someone here to keep track of you. Rose, I've wired up your phone to track their com signals and hopefully pick up body heat. That'll be a bit dodgy sometimes, so if you have to pick one to trust, the com signals are the ones. And your phones," The Doctor said as he soniced through the lot of them. "Push the biggest button to call out. Rose and I will keep an eye on things and figure out how to get everyone back to the right place."
"Remember, we have till sunrise," Sam repeated. "And if there's anything dangerous out there, we come right back in here. Let's go."
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Part Four: Eminence Front
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Ghost (Quantum Mechanics)
n. negative-normed vector
Ghost (Folklore, Traditional Belief)
n. apparition of a dead person believed to appear in the reality of the living, usually distorted in its manifestation