The Third Encounter--Part 5

As the Soul Eater sprang at him, the Doctor reached into the pockets of his velvet coat hurriedly. He pulled out a small object and dashed it at the ground just as the thing came within clawing range.

 A blinding flash of light filled the alley. The Doctor and Mel were blinded, but the effect on the creature was far more dramatic. It screamed in unearthly agony, a sound that chilled even the Doctor's blood, and dissolved as though bathed in acid.

 "Magnesium pellet," Mel distantly heard the Doctor say. "Light is anathema to them--not suprising, considering who their master is. Mel, I think we're in a good deal of trouble.

 "You're telling me," she said weakly, just before she passed out.

 

The Doctor scooped her up lightly in his arms and carried her out of the alley, looking about wildly for the nearest hospital. Mind you, they weren't exactly equipped to deal with this, but they'd be better than nothing.

 It didn't take him long to find the hospital. It was even fully staffed, if 'fully staffed' meant an elderly, slightly paternal doctor and a stern-faced matron-like nurse.

 "Hullo there," said the doctor. "I'm Doctor Edmonds. What seems to be the problem with young Melanie there?"

 Lying fluently, the Doctor said, "We were out for a walk when some sort of wild animal attacked her. Only a few scratches, but I think they're poisoned."

 Doctor Edmonds examined her arm. "Mmmm...I do believe you're right." He turned to the nurse. "Nurse Deacon, we'll need to put a touniquet on the arm. Then we can bleed the venom out." A thought suddenly struck him. "Here, now, I haven't seen you around these parts."

 "I'm a friend of Mel's from college," the Doctor responded. "I dropped in unexpectedly for a visit."

 Edmonds nodded absently as he applied the tourniquet to her arm. Sterilizing the area with alcohol, he began to make small incisions. Then he stopped short. "Nurse Deacon, look at this!"

 The Doctor nudged in between them to get a look at Mel's arm. "I was afraid of that," he muttered under his breath.

 Instead of blood, a foul black substance was oozing from the incisions. "Dashed odd," said Edmonds, reaching out to touch it.

 "Don't touch it," said the Doctor rapidly. "Listen to me. You need to amputate the arm above the tourniquet, before the venom has a chance to spread further through her system. Then incinerate the amputated limb."

 "Now look here, young man," Edmonds said sternly. "I am a doctor, and I know the best way to treat an obviously infected wound. Nurse Deacon, get me 150 cc's of penicillin."

 "No, you look here, young man," said the Doctor, rapidly losing his temper. "I am _the_ Doctor, and if I leave my friend to your incompetent butchering, she will be sentenced to a fate quite literally worse than death. Already the mere presence of that venom has induced psychic shock. Now, are you going to perform this operation, or will I need to do it myself?"

 "What do you mean, 'a fate worse than death'?"

 "The creature that attacked her," said the Doctor. "I recognized it. It is not of this world, not even of this universe. It has infected her with something of its essence, and if you don't amputate now, before it spreads, it will alter her entire body on a cellular level. She will become a thoroughly evil being, revelling in chaos and destruction." He pointed at Melanie. "Look," he said, "it's started already."

 Even as they watched, Melanie's fingernails were lengthening into talons.

 Doctor Edmonds looked for a long moment. Then he said, "Nurse Deacon, please prepare the OR."

 The Doctor helped him move her onto a gurney, wondering all the while if there might not be something he was overlooking, some other solution that he wasn't catching. Something that would save Mel from this mutilation.

 He was also wondering how much Mel would hate him when she found out.

 

It had been six hours since the operation. The Doctor had been graciously allowed to remain in Mel's room while she slept, and he was keeping watch over her while simultaneously scanning the local newspaper.

 "It can't be coincidence," he muttered. "There must be something, some reason why he brought me here." He searched through random ads, read articles backwards looking for some sort of hidden significance. As he was looking through the local Calendar of Events, a knock came at the door.

 "Oi!" said a familiar voice from outside. "Professor! Let me in. I've got something important to tell you!"

 "What is it, Ace?" he asked as he strode to the door.

 "This thing that looked just like you came after me a bit ago--turned into something well nasty, though." The Doctor opened the door to see a second Soul Eater, this one with a twisted, warped version of Ace's shape. "Sort of like this," it said in a perfect imitation of her voice.

 TO BE CONTINUED...

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