Doctor Who: The Curse of Sleepy Hollow

Doctor Who
The Curse of Sleepy Hollow
By Matthew Brown


  In the middle of a dark, dank forest, the sound of the Tardis breaks the silence. The blue box materializes between the trees. The doors of the Tardis open up and the Doctor’s head peaks out the door. He was in his twelfth regeneration. He was a younger man with shabby light brown hair, a crooked nose and big blue eyes. He had a cheeky smile on his face. His clothes consisted of a white, pinstripe shirt, a purple tie, a black open waistcoat, a deep blue cardigan, faded black jeans and a large pair of dirty black baseball boots. 
  “Come on, Doctor, I want to see what the random button has brought us to”, Alice, the Doctor’s companion said from inside the Tardis. She was a short young girl, with long sharp purple hair. She had a round face and warm eyes. She wore a checked blouse with a white and black stripped cardigan that saw a size too big for her. She also wore denim shorts with black leggings and flat shoes with leopard print on them.
  “To be fairly honest, Alice, there’s nothing much here”, the Doctor said.
  “Everything is worth a view”, Alice replied and pushes the Doctor out the way to see where they have landed. Alice’s face displayed dissatisfaction.
  “I told you, just a dense forest. If a little eerie”, the Doctor said looking at the trees.
  “When and where are we?” Alice asked.
  “Smells like the late eighteenth century to me”, the Doctor replied. “As for where we are, I’m a little stumped”.
  “You mean to tell me you don’t know where we are?” Alice laughed.
  “Hey, there are trillions of places we could be. You try and remember them all. Anyway, I can see a road over there”, the Doctor pointed through the trees to reveal a dirt road.
  “Well I’m sure if we follow it we will be able to find somewhere or someone that will be able to tell us where we are”, Alice said smugly. She loved it when the Doctor’s know-it-all manner fails him. 

  The pair followed the road out of the forest and into a glen. The pair moved out the way when a horse and carriage nearly trampled them down. The carriage driver stopped. He was dressed in a coat, waistcoat and breeches. A ruffled shirt and wore and eighteenth century European wig. 
  “Watch where you’re going, you two. It’s getting dark, you don’t want to be outside after the sun goes down”, the carriage driver said to them.
  “Why, my good man? Is there a curfew?” the Doctor said.
  “No sir, the curse. Just past that hill is Tarry Town. It’s a cursed town, but it’s the nearest for miles around. But you don’t want to be out in the open after dark. The devil’s work is afoot here”, he said and without hesitation made haste into the glen.
  “A curse, you say”, the Doctor muttered.
  “So it looks like we might have a bit of an adventure after all”, Alice said gladly.
  “It appears so. I am very curious to find out about this curse that Tarry Town has to offer”, the Doctor said. 
  “Well, if there really is a curse, then I think we should listen to that man and get to the town before dark”, Alice said wrapping her jacket around her tightly.
  “I agree, Alice. Come along then, let’s pick up the pace. Avanti”, the Doctor said. 

  Tarry Town, a dark and dismal town. It was very obvious that the time travellers had reached the late eighteenth century from the economy and fashion the townsfolk wore.
  “I should have guessed the moment we met the carriage driver. We must be in the very Eastern parts of North America. These people are originally from Holland. I should have twigged from the accent”, The Doctor said.
  “Wow, pretty much all of the Europeans wanted to leave and head for the new world”, Alice said.
  “Yes, everyone was excited of more land to expand in. We’re at a moment in time when America had just claimed its freedom from the English”, the Doctor announced.
  “Erm, am I still an enemy then? Being English myself?” Alice said feeling a bit scared at the ever creeping eyes of the townsfolk eyeing the pair suspiciously.
  “Nah, I think you’ll be fine. Just act like an emigrant. Now, who would you go to enquire about a curse?” the Doctor asked whilst eyeing up various townsfolk.
  “Well, curses appear to be much more of a religious thing. So I’d go and talk to the town’s priest”, Alice suggested. The Doctor clicked his fingers.
  “A superb plan. Let’s go find this church”, the Doctor said, taking Alice’s hand. As the wondered through the streets, the more they kept noticing more people eyeing them up.
  “Why do I get the feeling we’re going to be chased out of town, like Frankenstein’s monster?” Alice said.
  “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it”, the Doctor replied. As they reached the church, made of wood like all the houses in the town, and painted white with a steeple on the top, the townsfolk seemed more at ease with them.
  “They’re backing off now, Doctor”, Alice pointed out. The Doctor then began to stare at the ground.
  “Hollow ground. In their eyes we can’t be evil if we can step on hollow ground”, The Doctor said. The Doctor and Alice knocked at the door of the church to be opened by a middle-aged priest.
  “Hello, can I help you?” the priest said.
  “Hello Father, My name is the Doctor and this is my companion Alice Tyler. We were in town and heard some interesting stories and I was hoping if you would be so kind as to tell us if these stories are true”, The Doctor said very politely.
  “Oh, you’re hear about the curse”, the priest said. “You’d best come in”. 

  The Doctor and Alice took a seat in the front pews. The priest stood in front of them. The church interior was a bit more optimistic than the town it was occupied in. Inside was white and hopeful with a crucifix on the wall by the stand.
  “I am Father Hardwood. Can I ask why do you ask about the curse? People all around these parts know about the curse”, Father Hardwood asked.
  “We’re not from around here. We’re just travellers intrigued by this curse”, Alice said.
  “I’m afraid that talking about it is a little delicate”, Father Hardwood said. 
  “Ahh, you need to relax. Care for a jelly baby?” the Doctor said pulling out a bag of sweets from his pocket.
  “What on Earth are these?” the father asked.
  “Sweeties. I’ve grown very fond of them, they help relax the situation”, the Doctor said taking one of the sweets and eating it, comforting the nervous priest who then decides to eat one himself. Even Alice accepts one.
  “Very nice. Where are they from?” Father Hardwood asked.
  “I think we need to discuss this curse”, Alice said.
  “Are you here to help us rid of this town of this dreadful curse?” Father Harwood asked.
  “I’ll do my best to help”, the Doctor replied.
  “Very well. This is a dreadful curse that has caused much death”, Father Hardwood said.
  “A plague?” Alice said.
  “Not as such. Areas of land outside this town call it the Curse of Sleepy Hollow”, Father Hardwood said. The Doctor and Alice both looked shocked.
  “Doctor, isn’t that-” Alice started but the Doctor butted in.
  “The Headless Horseman”, the Doctor finished.
  “You know our curse then?” Father Hardwood asked.
  “I’ve heard many stories surrounding the legend of Sleepy Hollow”, the Doctor explained.
  “I always thought it was a work of fiction”, Alice said.
  “It started that way, yes. It was mainly because two men wanted the baron’s daughter as their wife. One of these men disguised himself as the Headless Horseman and scared the other man away, making him the successor to the baron’s daughter. 
  “However, after his little joke, something he did must have awoken the real spirit of the Headless Horseman. And now the horseman will find wandering travellers and hunt them for their heads. We have had nine people die at the wrath of the Headless Horseman already. No one knows where the spectre comes from and a few people have seen the actual thing and lived to tell the tale”, Father Hardwood explained. 
  “Doctor, this sounds like the real story of Sleepy Hollow. It can’t be true, it’s a work of fiction”, Alice whispered to the Doctor.
  “Maybe this is the events that led up to the legend of the story”, the Doctor whispered back.
  “Will you be able to banish this demon away from Sleepy Hollow?” the father asked. “I can sense you two are good people, can you help us?”
  “Now we know what we’re dealing with, we’ll see what we can do”, the Doctor announced.

  “Doctor, do you really believe in the Headless Horseman?” Alice asked the Doctor. The pair was put up at the inn. 
  “Isn’t it lucky that my psychic paper managed to announce me as a police officer and you as my assistant?” the Doctor said in a world of his own.
  “Why am I an assistant? Why couldn’t I be a police officer too?” Alice said, forgetting her previous question.
  “The police force is fairly new here, plus there’s no such thing as female police officers. Women’s rights haven’t kicked in yet. But I’ll make sure you get the same privileges as me”, the Doctor said, still admiring his psychic paper.
  “Could there be an actual Headless Horseman?” Alice repeated the question taking the psychic paper away from the Doctor to grab his full attention.
  “Could be, I’ve met headless monks before”, the Doctor replied.
  “How can something headless live?” Alice said.
  “These monks had flaming swords”, the Doctor reminisced.
  “So what’s the plan, DC Smith?” Alice said looking at the psychic paper to see the identification he had given himself.
  “Well, I want to see the bodies of the victims”, the Doctor asked.
  “Oh, dead bodies are never a good thing”, Alice said feeling quite disgusted.
  “You don’t have to do that. How about you go and interview the townsfolk?” the Doctor suggested. 
  “I think I can deal with that. PI Tyler is on the case”, Alice said in character holding a magnifying glass to her eye.
  “Where’d you get that magnifying glass?” the Doctor asked inquisitively. 
  “I picked your pocket just now. Your pockets are bigger on the inside. I felt this, a stethoscope, a bag of jelly babies and what felt like a gobstopper”, Alice listed.
  “Gobstopper!?” the Doctor paused for a moment and felt inside his pocket. His eyes opened with askew. “Erm, that’s not a gobstopper, it’s a piece of that Styron’s brain we met last time. I wondered where I put that”.
  “I need to go and wash my hands”, Alice ran off to find whatever she could fine to cleanse herself. The Doctor moved to the window and looked at the night time eerie atmosphere and that tonight the Headless Horseman might prowl the streets.

  The next morning was foggy, but apparently Tarry Town was always like that. The Doctor and Alice were called out to inspect something.
  “Mankind is not meant to wake up at this time”, Alice moaned as they made their way to the area of interest.
  “It’s half nine in the morning”, the Doctor pointed out.
  “There’s a half nine in the morning!?” Alice cried.
  “The youth of today”, the Doctor muttered. They came to an area of the town where a few of the townsfolk had gathered. There was also captain of the guard, Captain Townsend. Also Baron Van Tassel was there too.
  “Ahh, you must be the doctor that Father Hardwood mentioned. I am Baltus Van Tassel, Baron to Sleepy Hollow”, said the old baron. 
  “Ahh, you must be the wealthy farmer. Well done you”, the Doctor said childishly. “Would you like a jelly baby?”
  “Oh, thank you”, the baron said smiling.
  “You seem awfully young for a doctor”, said Captain Townsend.
  “Oh believe me, he’s older than he looks”, said Alice. “I’m Alice, the Doctor’s assistant”.
  “Captain Townsend”, the captain plainly introduced himself.
  “So what have we got here, Cap?” Alice said.
  “I’m sorry?” Captain Townsend said.
  “Alice, we’re not in CIS Sleepy Hollow”, the Doctor whispered to Alice.
  “Sorry. I mean, what is it that we’re looking at?” Alice corrected herself.
  “Well, no one was killed by the horseman last night, but he was here. Look below you”, Baltus said pointing at their feet. The Doctor and Alice both looked down to see gigantic, spread out hoof prints.  
  “A horse made these footsteps!?” Alice cried. The Doctor knelt down and began smelling the hoof prints. 
  “What is he doing?” Baltus said.
  “Erm…inspecting”, Alice said, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
  “And what is that?” said Captain Townsend as the Doctor started zapping the ground with his sonic screwdriver. 
  “Sonicing”, Alice said to then be glanced at anyone within earshot with extreme confusion. “It’s a modern technical word. So what have you found, Doctor?”
  “Well, the horse is for real and normal. Well, normal-ish”, said the Doctor.
  “I don’t understand, Doctor”, said Baltus.
  “This isn’t a creature from hell. It’s just your normal average horse that can have the power to stride very very very largely”, the Doctor said.
  “How can a normal horse do that?” said Alice.
  “A mutant horse? A horse fuelled on a large quantity if adrenalin? Or even a horse that had a red hot poker shoved up its-” the Doctor began, but was cut off.
  “I see. But what about the horseman?” said Baltus. The Doctor clicked his fingers and flicked his sonic screwdriver in the air and sonics the surrounding area.
  “Well, the horseman is certainly not human”, the Doctor announced.
  “A spawn of Satan has been set loose on Sleepy Hollow”, a villager cried. People began panicking and running in different directions. Captain Townsend tried to control the panic. 
  “Oh well done, captain. Now people are going to be running around trying to flee this town completely. Nott the sort of thing I need right now. Now would you be so kind as to knock on every door and tell everyone to calm down and not to run away as no one is going to fall victim of this horseman”, the Doctor said, trying to condense the anger within himself.  
  “Why me!?” the captain said.
  “Because you caused this blind panic that has everyone running in all directions. I wouldn’t mind but one of them stood on my foot. Now go and look after them, I’ll deal with this”, the Doctor said. The captain walked away, like a child after receiving punishment from their parents.
  “Do you still want me to question people, Doctor?” Alice asked.
  “No. In fact I need you to do me a favour and I’m afraid it is somewhat boring. But compared what I need to do, I think you’d prefer this”, the Doctor said.
  “What do you need me to do?” Alice asked.
  “Research. Dig up anything you can about the Headless Horseman. Absolutely anything you can. And also try and find anything odd about Sleep Hollow too”, the Doctor asked politely.
  “Consider it done, Doctor. I’ll check at the church”, she said and nodded at the Doctor. “I’ll meet you at the inn before dark”.
  “Good girl”, the Doctor said giving her a thumb up.
  “Is there anything I can help you with, Doctor?” said Baltus, who still remained where he was after the blind panic. 
  “Ahh yes, Baltus Van Tassel. I need your permission to look at the bodies that were buried”, the Doctor said with a slight of empathy in his voice.
  “Well, if it’s all in aid of stopping the horseman, then I will allow it. I must warn you, the bodies are headless. The horseman decapitated them and their heads were never found after. It is a gruesome sight”, Baltus explained.
  “Oh, well it’s lucky that I’m a doctor isn’t it”, the Doctor smiled.

  Alice was surrounded by books. Father Hardwood was helping her study. 
  “I appreciate your help, father”, Alice said.
  “I’m glad to be a part of the service of ridding that devil”, Father Hardwood said. 
  “I get the feeling that this is not the work of the devil. I’ve got a funny feeling it might be an alien”, Alice said, speaking her mind.
  “You mean not from America?” said Father Hardwood.
  “I think it goes a little more beyond that. It doesn’t matter. The Doctor is extremely good at solving problems. It’s basically what he does, travels around and helps people. He’s the universe’s doctor”, Alice said.
  “I like that. A guardian angel to every living thing”, the priest smiled. “Just exactly is it you’re looking for?”
  “Anything about the Headless Horseman or strange things that have happened here in Sleepy Hollow. You said the curse was first raised when a man imitated the horseman”, Alice said.
  “Yes, Brom who married Katrina Van Tassel, Baltus Van Tassel’s daughter. This was about two and half months ago. We tried to call for help but to no avail. People say that the horseman is the other man who fought for Katrina”, said Father Hardwood.
  “Ichabod Crane I assume?” Alice said.
  “Yes, a schoolmaster here in Sleepy Hollow. Brom dressed as the horseman to scare him away from Katrina, but in doing so he awoke the horseman. It is said the horseman was a mercenary whose head got blown off by a cannon. But I am not sure. It is either that mercenary back from the dead or it could be Crane returned gone mad and wanting revenge”, the father explained.
  “Oh, there’s this”, Alice said pointing out a newspaper.
  “A shooting star. That happened not so long ago, a few months. I remember seeing the star myself”, Father Hardwood said.
  “Or it could be something else. Something alien. I don’t think Ichabod Crane has returned, the Doctor said it wasn’t human life he could sense. It was something else. Something that wants human heads for some reason. Now this shooting star landed here, beyond the forest it said”, Alice asked.
  “Yes, but when people went to investigate, there was no crater or star or anything”, the father said.
  “Oh this is boggling my mind”, Alice said. “I think I’ve learnt what I need to help the Doctor. I hope he’s having more fun than I am”.

  Meanwhile, the Doctor was helping a couple of grave diggers dig up the nine victims of the Headless Horseman. He’d even taken off his cardigan and had dirk smudged all across his face, as he meant business.
  “I promised myself that I’d stop digging dead bodies. That’s another new year’s resolution down the drain”, the Doctor said to himself.
  “That’s grave nine, sir”, said one of the grave diggers. 
  “Excellent. Please, have a jelly baby”, the Doctor said, passing the bag amongst them all. 
  “Shall I get on with opening the coffins?” said another digger. The Doctor nodded.
  “I warn you, sir, you might want to cover up your nose. The smell of a festering body is atrocious”, said another grave digger.
  “I’ve smelt the swamps Hawankunda, believe me when I say that my sense of smell hasn’t been the same since”, the Doctor said has he approached the coffin. The lid burst open to reveal…nothing.
  “Now, that is odd”, said a grave digger.
  “Open all the coffins”, the Doctor ordered. The grave diggers did as they were told. All nine coffins were opened to reveal no bodies in their coffins.
  “Okay, this really is odd”, said another grave digger.
  “Most curious”, another spoke up.
  “Are you sure bodies we’re place in these coffins?” the Doctor asked in a slightly patronising manner.
  “Sure as god himself, sir. This one should have contained my uncle, well, what was left of him, and now instead of no head we have nothing”, said a grave digger. The Doctor took his sonic screwdriver and examined every coffin.
  “They’ve not decomposed quickly, no evaporation and nothing as disturbed these graves since they were buried. And since you’re sure the bodies went into the coffins before they were buried, then this leaves me with a baffling headache. What is going on here?” the Doctor thought aloud.

  “And all the bodies were missing”, Alice confirmed the Doctor’s story when they were back at the inn. The pair of them was exchanging their news. 
  “Yes and there’s no trace on where they went to. That is fierce power. And now with the news you’ve given me about this ‘shooting star’ and it seems to me that our horseman is a bit beyond the depths of hell”, the Doctor analysed. 
  “Yeah, I’m beginning to think he’s an alien too”, Alice added. “So what do we do?”
  “I want to and try and find this spaceship in the forest. Right now”, the Doctor said.
  “Now!? But it’s getting dark now Doctor, it’ll be dangerous to go now”, Alice added.
  “I know”, the Doctor grinned.
  “Oh okay, but I’m sticking with you like glue”, Alice said putting on her jacket. “It’ll be dark, shall I get a lantern?”
  “Full moon tonight, it’ll light the forest like a firework display”, the Doctor grinned again.
  “Oh a full moon. Nothing good happens when there’s a full moon, especially with you”, Alice moaned as they walked out the door and into the night. 
  “Avanti”, the Doctor cheered. The Doctor was right about the moon lighting the place up, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
  “So, here’s what I’m not getting. The legend of Sleepy Hollow is just a story. But this is clearly all real”, Alice said.
  “Well, I’m sure that Washington Irving had to get the inspiration from somewhere. He must be a resident here in the Hollow. As much as I’d like to meet him, I’m afraid we’ve got more pressing matters afoot”, the Doctor said.
  “I see, and as long as we stop the horseman then it’ll just be a story”, said Alice. “Erm, what does this spaceship look like? And how is it that no one has seen it?” 
  “That is a point”, the Doctor said and pulled out his sonic screwdriver and sonics the surrounding area. “There appears to be alien technology in that direction”. The pair of them moved forward, the Doctor occasionally sonicing the surrounding area. The reached an open area with the one tree in the middle of the area.
  “Okay that’s odd. The surrounding trees are of elm and oak. This tree is like a really dark ebony tree”, Alice said looking at the odd tree. The Doctor sonics the tree.
  “Great Rassilon and Gallifrey! Do you know what this is!?” the Doctor cried.
  “What?” Alice said now sounding worried.
  “It’s a tree”, the Doctor said and ran over to it and put his ear up to it.
  “Again Doctor you have completely lost the plot”, Alice pointed out.
  “Oh there’s only one word to describe this… Whimsical!” the Doctor said smiling manically. “This tree is the spaceship”.
  “Is it like a chameleon arch thing? Like the Tardis?” Alice asked.
  “Oh the genius excels even mine to this ship. It is entirely organic. Oh I would love to see the engine and the entire interior of this ship. There’s not a hint of metal in the design of the ship. I’m just…wow!” the Doctor said in absolute ecstasy.
  “So this is the ship the Headless Horseman came to earth in”, Alice summoned up. “A spaceship made entirely of organic material. Is that even possible?”
  “Oh yes but a massively hard technology to get to grips with. It’s a perfect way of travelling through galaxies in the cleanest way possible. A bit like Hybrid cars in your lifetime”, the Doctor said.
  “Well, at least the horseman is environmental friendly. But why would an environmental friendly alien want to kill people and take their heads?” Alice asked.
  “And I get a funny feeling their bodies too”, Doctor said. Suddenly there was a strange sound, like ribs cracking.
  “Doctor?” Alice said pointing at a side of the tree. The side of the tree began to open, like spaceship doors. Suddenly the sound of a horse whinnying was heard from inside.
  “Alice run!!!” the Doctor screamed. The pair ran deep into the forest as the Headless Horseman and his horse emerged out the tree. The horseman was tall and broad, dressed all in black and no visible head in sight. It had a long, deadly looking sword hilted by the horseman’s waist. The horse was gigantic for a horse, and black in colour like its master.
  “The horseman!” Alice stated.
  “I can see that, and to be honest, Alice I like my head where it is, so keep running!” the Doctor panted. The horseman began to gallop after them. The Doctor and Alice weaved through the trees, easier than the horseman could. Luckily the pair of them reached the town before the horseman could get them.
  “Doctor! Miss Tyler!” they head a voice call after them.
  “Captain Townsend! The horseman is right behind us!” the Doctor said running towards him.
  “Get behind me”, the captain said drawing out his flintlock pistol. The horseman emerged from out the forest and into the town. The captain took aim and shot the horseman. The horse whinnied, but no damage was taken. 
  “We need to get inside”, Alice panted.
  “The church”, Captain Townsend said.
  “The horseman is blocking the way”, the Doctor pointed out.
  “Van Tassel’s mansion is just behind us”, Captain Townsend said. 
  “I hope you’ve got your running shoes on”, the Doctor said. “Run for it!” The three of them turned around and ran for the mansion. The horseman regained himself and withdrew a deadly looking sabre and galloped after the three. The Doctor and Alice were faster runners than the captain and reached the mansion first, rapidly knocking on the door.
  “Open the door, the horseman is after us!” Alice screamed. The door opened with Baltus on the other side. 
  “Quickly get in!” the old man cried and pulled a musket out and aimed. The captain was lacking behind, trying his best to reach the mansion. The horseman was accelerating on him.
  “Come on! Hurry!” the Doctor cried. But the captain’s misfortune, the horseman was quicker and has he passed him, waved his sword right through his neck. The captain collapsed and his head rolled away from his body. The horseman turned around and bent down and picked up the head. Baltus open fired at the horseman. Alice cried at the sight of Captain Townsend headless body. The horseman fled away back to the forest. 

  “That is ten victims of the Headless Horseman now”, Baltus said sadly. “Why lord must you curse us this way?” Baltus had foreseen the body to be taken to the undertaker’s. The Doctor and Alice were welcomed to stay at the Van Tassel manor.
  “If only I knew what the horseman wanted”, the Doctor. 
  “Wanted?” Baltus asked. 
  “Yes, what he is is unknown to me so I can’t tell what he wants”, the Doctor said.
  “What I’d like to know is how he can see if he has no eyes”, Alice said.
  “You think this funny, Miss Tyler?” Baltus snapped.
  “Sorry but you kind of get used to this sort of thing when you hang around with the Doctor for too long”, Alice admitted.
  “It is clear Doctor he intends to murder us all”, Baltus said.
  “Where’s your daughter Katrina?” the Doctor asked.
  “Oh, she and her husband Brom left Sleepy Hollow shortly after getting married”, Baltus said.
  “But wasn’t it Brom who awoke the Headless Horseman?” Alice asked.
  “Actually, for once, the time Brom scared Ichabod Crane out of Sleepy Hollow and the arrival of the horseman is coincidental”, the Doctor announced. 
  “Interesting. So the horseman is bound to the Hollow?” Baltus asked.
  “No I doubt that. Alice, pass these around”, the Doctor said handing her his bag of jelly babies. “They’ll help calm us down”.
  “You don’t think the horseman is bound to Sleepy Hollow?” Baltus asked taking a sweet.
  “I just think that Sleepy Hollow was just the nearest town the horseman landed next to”, the Doctor said.
  “Landed? But it came from hell. It came from the fiery home of Beelzebub”, Baltus said.
  “I’m afraid not. It came from the stars. The horseman is from a different world. Humanoid in appearance accept no head. It could be a rogue Headless Monk. But why would it want to collect heads?” the Doctor was more saying this to himself rather than to Baltus.
  “So what do we do know, Doctor?” Alice asked. 
  “I think we need to keep our eyes on the body of our late Captain Townsend. I want to know where the bodies are disappearing to”, the Doctor said.
  “The bodies are gone from their graves!?” Baltus roared.
  “Regrettably so, with no hint as to where they’ve gone. This is what puzzles me about the horseman, he collects heads. It must be him who’s taking the bodies too with some kind of teleporting device to not disturb the graves. So why collect the head and return for the body later?” the Doctor said rubbing the sides of his temples.
  “It is an enigmatic problem”, Baltus said. “But you need rest now. You cannot function properly tomorrow without sleep. You can rest here tonight”.

  “I’m dying for a shower, Doctor”, Alice said the next morning. The Doctor reached inside his pockets and pulled some deodorant.
  “There you go, that might help your self-esteem”, the Doctor smiled. They had reached the undertaker’s to inspect the body.
  “I put him in a coffin ready to be buried later today”, said the creepy looking undertaker. 
  “Very prepared for this sort of thing aren’t you?” the Doctor said.
  “That’s my job, young sir”, the undertaker smiled. Alice didn’t like this man much.
  “I need to examine the body”, the Doctor ordered.
  “But the coffin is nailed tightly”, the undertaker said.
  “Now!” the Doctor barked. The undertaker led them to a back room to reveal a coffin lay on a table. The undertaker took a crowbar and began to crack open the casket. The Doctor put an arm around Alice to comfort her. The lid of the coffin flew open and inside was no body.
  “I don’t understand, where’s the body?” the undertaker asked with a genuine shock on his face. The Doctor soniced the coffin and smiled.
  “A fresh disappearance managed to leave a slight trace of a teleportation device. Now we know definitely how he’s taking the bodies”, the Doctor said turning and leaving the building.
  “So where do we go from here?” Alice said, stopping the Doctor in the middle of the street. The Doctor’s eyes diverted to the people who were backing coaches and wagons full of items.
  “They’re leaving. The news of Captain Townsend has made them loose faith in living here. They’re running away to get away from the wrath of the Headless Horseman”, the Doctor said softly.
  “What do we do?” Alice cried. The Doctor put his hands on Alice’s shoulders to comfort her.
  “We need to confront the horseman. Face to…mmmmm”, the Doctor thought of nothing to say at that point.
  “And what do we do from there? Convince him that cutting off people’s heads is wrong?” Alice snapped.
  “Obviously”, the Doctor smiled. 

  The Doctor and Alice returned to the forest after nightfall.
  “This is a very bad idea”, Alice complained.
  “I’ll let you know when the plan goes wrong”, the Doctor said.
  “Not without a head you can’t”, Alice said.
  “Touché”, the Doctor said. They reached the horseman’s tree ship. The Doctor began to sonic around until he found the entrance to the ship. The ship doors opened up and the Doctor stepped inside. Alice slowly followed him after. The inside of the tree smell odd, musky and decrepit. The sights were like the inside of someone’s body, but rather an earthly colour, full of greens and browns. 
  “Don’t let your excitement get the better of you”, Alice whispered. The Doctor moved forward and found what looked like a chair. Inside it, the Headless Horseman sat. Alice screamed. The horseman suddenly stood up and withdrew his sword.
  “Nice ship you’ve got here. You must be a genius to construct a perfectly functional form of organic polarity matrix technology”, the Doctor said politely. The horseman stopped in his steps and replaced his sword back in his scabbard.
  “You are not from the Hollow”, a hiss was heard from the neck of the horseman.
  “Ahh so you are capable of speech. So come on, why are you here?” the Doctor said. Alice was holding he Doctor’s hand.
  “I crashed here. I was travelling from the Rackash system”, the horseman said.
  “You’re Rackashion. That explains a lot”, the Doctor said.
  “What does it explain?” Alice asked.
  “The Rackashion race is quite an ugly race of people and believe me they’re the first to admit it. It’s the reason why the horseman won’t go out in daylight because his true form is too hideous it would literally frighten people to death. However, Rackashions can go invisible when sunlight is gone. He’s not headless, just invisible”, the Doctor smiled.
  “That explains him, but why is he collecting dead bodies?” Alice asked.
  “My ship needed repairing”, the horseman hissed. 
  “Oh I see”, the Doctor said.
  “What?” Alice asked.
  “This ship is made out of organic material. Trees, animals and intelligent life forms like humans. You hunted humans down to find the parts you need”, the Doctor said.
  “I tried to kill them in a quick humane way”, the horseman said. “Decapitation is quick and painless. I took the heads first as heads die quicker than the body. I would take the heads during the kill and teleport the body away from their graves to regain the rest of the body. I may be considered monstrous but I will not disturb graves”, the horseman hissed.
  “You’re ship must have took extreme damage to take ten people to repair it”, Alice snapped.
  “It would take about fifty people to repair my ship. But I have been resourceful, I only need one more human body to complete my repairs and return to my travels. And now I have two humans wonder into my ship, saving me the effort of hunting the parts myself”, the horseman said retrieving his sword. The Doctor laughed nervously. 
  “Alice, I’m letting you know now that the plan has took a different turn”, the Doctor said.
  “Running time?” Alice asked.
  “Yep”, the Doctor replied and with that the pair of them sprinted out the tree and back into the forest. The horseman was suddenly on his horse and out of the tree, chasing the pair of them back to Sleepy Hollow. The Doctor and Alice reached the town and hid in the blacksmith’s forge. The waited and heard the horse pass by.
  “That was close, Doctor”, Alice said. Suddenly a sword’s blade appeared in the wooden wall.
  “Run again!” the Doctor cried. The pair ran but the horseman’s blade caught the Doctor’s arm, slashing his skin. The horseman burst through the wall and raised his sword ready to strike the Doctor down. Alice quickly picked up a hammer on the anvil and through it with all her might into the horseman. The horseman fell to the floor. The Doctor quickly picked himself up and grabbed a sword from the wall of the blacksmith’s shop and stood his ground. 
  “Doctor, you can’t fight him”, Alice said.
  “Alice, get out. I’ll do what I must to stop the horseman killing again”, the Doctor snapped. Alice hesitated before she opened the door and left. The horseman regained to his feet and picked up his sword.
  “You will not live this”, the horseman hissed.
  “Oh believe me, I have plenty of sword fighting experience”, the Doctor said. The horseman moved forward to fight the Doctor. The Doctor parried every blow the horseman swung at him. The fight moved out of the building and into the street. Alice was still there and screamed at a point when it looked like the horseman was about the kill the Doctor. Townsfolk entered the street and saw the Doctor fighting the horseman. 
  “Take aim”, Baltus had said to guards. The guards pointed their rifles at the horseman.
  “No, you might hit the Doctor”, Alice screamed. The Doctor and the horseman were locked in battle. 
  “You fight well”, the horseman hissed.
  “I’m glad in this regeneration my sword fighting skills have been reprised”, the Doctor said. “I’ll give you one last chance. Stop this fight and do not kill another living soul and I will help you repair the rest of you ship and leave”.
  “I do not trust you. You were sent to kill me. Here we are now and you plan to kill me. Prepare to die”, the horseman said breaking away and preparing to swing at the Doctor’s head. The Doctor ducked and rolled towards the horseman and thrust the sword deep into the horseman’s chest. A slight gasp was heard from the invisible head before the body fell down and died. 
  “Doctor!” Alice screamed, running towards him and hugging him when the Doctor got up off the floor. 
  “It’s okay, the horseman is dead”, the Doctor announced. 
  “Oh Doctor, thank you so much. You have saved Sleepy Hollow from the wrath of the Headless Horseman. How can we repay you?” Baltus said as the entire town cheered.
  “Let Alice go and celebrate with your people. But I must ask that you let me dispose of the body properly”, the Doctor announced. There was the sound of a scream. The horseman’s horse returned to its master and stayed still next to him.
  “Is that a Rackashion horse?” Alice whispered.
  “I’m afraid so. A horse without a master is a tragic thing. They are very devoted to their masters”, the Doctor said. 
  “You may dispose of the body and make sure that horse does not return to our town”, Baltus said. The Doctor nodded. He picked up the body of the horseman and placed it on his horse’s back. 
  “Alice, go and celebrate with the people. I’d rather do this alone”, the Doctor said. Alice hugged the Doctor and joined the people in the celebration. The Doctor led the horse back through the forest and to the tree ship. He removed the body from the horse and placed it inside the tree. The horse followed its master’s body into the tree.
  “Always and forever loyal, until the death”, the Doctor said sadly. He closed the door to the ship and then pointed the sonic screwdriver at the tree. The tree caught fire and ship suddenly became engulfed in flames. The Doctor watched for a while at the cremation and walked away, a sad and angry look on his face.

  The next morning the Doctor and Alice walked through the forest once more. 
  “Doctor, are you okay? You have been quiet all night and morning”, Alice said gently.
  “I’ve ended so many things in my life. I’ve stopped conquerors, ended evil empires and even wiped out my own people. I killed someone last night. It’s never something I ever get used to”, the Doctor said sadly.
  “Doctor, I hope it’s an experience you never have to do again”, Alice said kissing the back of the Doctor’s hand. “Even a doctor needs to have someone look after him”. The Doctor slowly smiled and hugged Alice.
  “So, how about that shower?” the Doctor said. 
  “Magic to my ears, Doctor”, Alice smiled. They returned to the Tardis. 
  “Good to see you again, old girl”, the doctor said.
  “What will happen to Sleepy Hollow now?” Alice asked.
  “Well, I’m sure you know that it will be written in stories as the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. It’ll become a very popular story, but the people who were present at this point in time will be the only people in existence who know that story is true”, the Doctor said.
  “I’m glad, I don’t think the modern world will cope if they learn that the Headless Horseman was real”, said Alice.
  “Yes, now shall we get a move on”, the Doctor smiled. The pair of them entered the Tardis, which begins to light up and the engines begin to roar. Slowly and magically, the Tardis dematerialises and disappears onward to its next destination in time and space.


The End

 

Tags: