The Lost (short story)

The Lost was the fourteenth short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: The Centenarian. It was originally written by L.J. Scott, but the published book features an alternate text by the editor. It featured the Second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon and Victoria Waterfield.

Summary
Edward Grainger sits in a restaurant across the street from the New York Supplementary Education Institute, which he is investigating. He sees three people outside the building. Two enter, and the other one, noticing that Edward is watching them, enters the restaurant and sits with Edward. Though Edward doesn't know it yet, he is the Doctor.

It turns out that both men are investigating the Institute. Edward's goddaughter, Moira Tillyard, signed up for a class in the Institute, and the only message her family received sounds faked. The Doctor confirms the message is faked and tells Edward that his friends have gone undercover to find out what they can.

Inside the Institute, Jamie fills out forms, with Victoria's help, for a martial arts class. The clerk then brings them to the back room. In the room are three aliens and a column of blue sparkling light. Victoria, meanwhile, finds the Doctor and tells him what happened to Jamie.

When they storm the building and enter the back room, the Doctor discovers that the aliens are Virtors. Two of them are pulling Jamie towards the blue light. The clerk is there with a gun. The Doctor tells Edward that the Virtors are from a planet where time moves more quickly than on Earth. They kidnap humans and bring them to Virtus to work as slaves.

The Doctor signals to Victoria, who is behind the clerk. She stabs him with a pen, and when he turns on her Edward charges him, disarming him. The Doctor, meanwhile, has produced a whistle from his pocket. Blowing on it distresses the Virtors.

Jamie is able to break free, but the Virtors grab the Doctor and take him with them into the portal. Jamie and Victoria are distraught, and when they mention "the Doctor", Edward wonders if this one is from the same organisation as all the other "Doctors" he has met.

When Jamie gets ready to go after the Doctor, Edward stops him and tries to go himself. Before he can do so, the Doctor comes back, followed by several elderly people. He explains that he led a slave revolt on Virtus and is bringing back as many people as he can. Some of them have been gone so long that they will probably need new identities. One of the elderly women recognises Edward — it is Moira, now in her seventies or eighties.

The Doctor closes the portal, and they leave before Edward can get any further explanation.

Characters

 * Second Doctor
 * Jamie McCrimmon
 * Victoria Waterfield
 * Edward Grainger
 * Moira Tillyard
 * Clerk

Continuity
to be added