Face-Painter (short story)

Face-Painter was the fourth short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors. It was written by Tara Samms. It featured the Second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon and Victoria Waterfield.

Summary
Rachel is being paid to take care of three people, namely the Second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon and Victoria Waterfield, who have no faces. They are somehow able to see, hear, talk and eat. Rachel has a routine for taking care of them. They stay in a room in the basement of her house, and she locks them in at night. They stay in the house every day except Thursday, which is the day Rachel takes them to see the Face-Painter. He is a tattoo artist who paints faces on them.

One Thursday, Rachel takes "her kids" to the Face-Painter. Victoria asks for the same face she always asks for — one that she drew on a piece of paper. The drawing is old and creased, and the Face-Painter decides to paint the face with the creases on her. Victoria is very upset when she sees it. Jamie won't say what face he wants, so Rachel asks Face-Painter to give him Brad Pitt's face. She has Face-Painter paint a large sunflower on the Doctor's empty face.

That night, after Rachel locks the "kids" downstairs, she gets drunk and listens to their talk. Victoria despairs of them getting their faces back, and Jamie thinks someone has their faces, and even thinks Rachel has them in jars upstairs. The Doctor tells them that they must still have their faces, but they are under some kind of spell, and someone wants to make them despair.

Rachel brings Jamie upstairs to show him that she doesn't have their faces in her jars. He then grabs the downstairs key from her, and lets the Doctor and Victoria out. He wants them to leave, but Rachel, crying, begs them to stay. The Doctor thinks they will be punished further if they leave, and the three of them go quietly back downstairs.

The next day, Rachel goes to Face-Painter to get a tattoo for herself. To her surprise, he starts telling her that she broke the rules, that she can only come on Thursdays. He grabs her face, and she realises in horror that he has no face. She screams.

Characters

 * Second Doctor
 * Jamie
 * Victoria Waterfield
 * Rachel
 * Face-Painter

Continuity
to be added