The Shape on the Chair (short story)
The Shape on the Chair was a short story published in Doctor Who Storybook 2010. It was written by Matt Jones.
Summary[[edit] | [edit source]]
One night in an orphanage dormitory, Rosie climbs into her older sister Lola's bed and tells her that "the man on the chair" is back. Lola assures Rosie that what she's seeing is just a pile of clothes. When the pair try to sleep, Rosie sees the shadowy shape on the chair stand up and begin sniffing the air – Rosie recognises it as the monster from her nightmares. Rosie screams and the creature charges at her. Lola grabs her younger sister and they run towards the dormitory door. The monster grabs Rosie's arm, and Rosie is held in a tug-of-war between Lola and the creature made of clothes. The creature is stronger, and begins pulling Rosie into its newly-opened mouth. Lola tries to pull her sister free. The Doctor then arrives and begins pulling Lola away from the monster. Lola is still holding Rosie, who in turn is pulled out of the monster's mouth. Suddenly the Doctor loses his grip on a doorknob and falls forwards, knocking Lola over too. Rosie is quickly swallowed whole, and the creature that swallowed her vanishes.
Mrs. Hatchet enters the dorm, demanding to know what's causing all the noise. She asks the Doctor to identify himself, and the Doctor presents his psychic paper, claiming to be an orphanage inspector from The Crabtree Trust. He implies that the orphanage is being considered for a grant, and that he'd need to thoroughly inspect the premises before money could change hands, and Mrs Hatchet becomes very obliging. Finally, the Doctor asks if Lola may accompany him on his inspection, as a guide.
As the pair begin investigating, the Doctor assures Lola that he will find her sister. In the kitchen, Agatha tells the Doctor that a number of girls have gone missing from the orphanage, and that Mrs Hatchet usually pretends they have "run away". She says she can hear these girls crying inside the orphanage walls. While the Doctor inspects the walls with his stethoscope, Agatha tells him that objects sometimes move of their own accord, and that recently a girl was injured by a mangle. The Doctor beckons for Lola to use the stethoscope, announcing that he can hear the faint cries of the missing girls. Lola hears her sister's voice. The Doctor notices a seam of green crystal in the wall's stone bricks, and tries to recall where he's seen similar crystal before.
Agatha excuses herself to feed the furnace, mentioning that yesterday the furnace tried to bite her. Suddenly all three become aware of an orange glow growing from the cellar door, and hear clanking steps coming up the stairs towards them. The Doctor tells everyone to climb onto the table, and from there he and Lola watch the furnace scuttle around the kitchen floor. Agatha falls to her knees in prayer, and repeats the Our Father until the furnace eats her whole. The Doctor points his sonic screwdriver at a washing line hanging above them, loosens its knot, and quickly fashions a lasso. He lassos a large pan of gruel, pulling it onto the furnace and extinguishing its flames.
Lola and the Doctor investigate the dark basement. Lola hears the trapped girls' voices again, and her sister's is the loudest. She snatches a candle from the Doctor and rushes towards the sound. She finds a door ajar, opens it, and goes through. The door slams shut behind her, the candle is extinguished, and she is left alone in the dark.
The Doctor, chasing Lola, finds that the door has vanished. The walls of the basement begin to close in – the Doctor tries to push them back but cannot do so. When the room is reduced to the size of a coffin, and the Doctor is seconds away from being crushed, the walls suddenly stop. The Doctor is trapped, with no means of digging his way out. Realising that he might break his promise to Lola to rescue her and her sister, the Doctor begins to despair. The more he despairs, the more the green crystal seams in the building's brickwork begin to glow. Upon seeing this glowing, the Doctor remembers what the crystal is and realises what he can do to make things right.
Lola stands still in the dark, regretting every time she had refused to play with her younger sister. Suddenly she hears a noise, and sees some bricks begin to slide out of the wall and float in the air around her. The Doctor pokes his head through this hole in the wall, grins at Lola, and pulls her out of the dark room.
The Doctor tells Lola that the green crystal is Lucidian, and explains that the Lucidians were explorers who sailed between stars. Because space has no wind, he says, the Lucidians filled their ships' sails with feelings – hope and wonder – which were greatly amplified by the Lucidian crystal. The Doctor explains that this same crystal is within the bricks of the orphanage, and is magnifying and reflecting the emotions of the orphans. Lola realises that all she needs to do to be safe is to stop being afraid. The Doctor agrees, and then says that in order to keep everyone safe they must work out what was making them afraid in the first place.
Mrs. Hatchet is drinking in her parlour when the Doctor and Lola appear in the doorway. The Doctor confronts her, saying her unpleasant demeanour makes the kids afraid of her, that their fear makes them appear ungrateful for her care, and that this perceived ungratefulness only worsens Mrs Hatchet's bad moods. He urges her to break the cycle for the children's sake. Enraged, Hatchet begins to yell at the Doctor, and the walls in the room begin to glow. Mrs Hatchet herself begins to glow, her eyes burning green. Lola can almost taste the intense bitterness and resentment emanating from Mrs. Hatchet. Suddenly she begins to feel a new, competing emotion – the Doctor's bravery – which he is pitting directly against Mrs. Hatchet's anger. The green glowing room slowly begins to glow more white. When the Doctor mentions Mrs. Hatchet's deceased husband, who built the orphanage, and asked what he would think of Mrs. Hatchet now, Mrs. Hatchet becomes so furious that the anger and pain she releases physically harms the Doctor, knocking him down. Lola rushes to him and, fearing she may never see her sister again, begins to empathise with Mrs. Hatchet's pain at losing her husband. Overcome with feeling, Lola runs to Mrs. Hatchet and hugs her, exclaiming that she knows how she must feel. Mrs. Hatchet is stunned by this, and for the first time in a long time she doesn't feel alone.
The room lights up pure white. The missing girls climb out of the walls, and begin running through the orphanage to find their siblings and friends. Lola eases Mrs. Hatchet into an armchair, and then goes to find her sister. When she sees Rosie climbing out of a painting Lola helps her down, and the sisters embrace.
The next day the Doctor says goodbye to Rosie and Lola, telling them that they need to stay with Mrs Hatchet as she is depending on their kindness. He also wants to thank Lola for saving the other girls, and so announces that he's brought in some helpers to help the girls look after Mrs. Hatchet. He opens the TARDIS door and out step a couple who are dripping with seawater. They are Rosie and Lola's parents, who had been lost at sea. While the parents and children have an emotional reunion, the Doctor slips away unnoticed.
Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]
Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]
to be added
Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]
Mrs. Hatchet refers to "King William". Given that the story takes place in 1852, during the reign of Queen Victoria (TV: The Curse of Peladon, Tooth and Claw), she is likely referring to Victoria's predecessor, William IV, who was the King of the United Kingdom until his death on 20 June 1837. (PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac)
Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]
to be added
