Professor Keller, chapter 2
Nov. 6th, 2015 08:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scripsiTitle: Professor Keller
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: Teen
Genre: Horror
Word Count: 1835
Chapter: 2/?
Characters: Delgado!Master, Original female character, Original male character
Pairings: The Master/OFC, the Master/OMC, OFC/OMC
Warnings: None for this chapter. For the whole fic; mind games. Mental dominance. Brief scenes of violence, but nothing too graphic. Referenced dubious consent, both het and slash. Character death. Suicide attempt.
Summary: Alison and Peter Grey are living a charmed life, young, wealthy and in love. Until they meet a Professor Keller and find themselves trapped in a spiralling nightmare. Set between Terror of the Autons and The Mind of Evil.
Watch Your Step
Don't say a word
Don't say anything
Alison met the Professor again a few days later, quite by chance. She was having lunch on her own as he appeared at her table, murmuring the usual phrases one says to an almost stranger you unexpectedly meet. Alison had to be polite and ask him to sit down, which he accepted. Even if he had been promoted to nice in her book, she still wasn’t sure she wanted a private tête-à-tête like this, but her worry was quickly dispelled. She told him about her new plans to study and was met with such warm appreciation she felt quite exhilarated. He then proceeded to draw her out with such charm she soon was chatting freely, telling him how she had met Peter and then she somehow talked a lot about her husband. How lost he sometimes felt and how he needed to find something meaningful to do.
Professor Keller smiled. “I think I can be of some help here. I admit I first approached Peter with an eye for funding. I still need it, of course, a project of the scale I am thinking of needs a good deal of money, but I think your husband and I could set up something more in the line of a partnership. As it is, I have had to spend far too much time meeting potential backers, and it takes valuable time away from my research. Peter is a very appealing young man with good contacts. If he could be persuaded to take on that part, my workload would ease and I wouldn’t have to spend so much time away from my project.”
He looked earnestly at her. “I have already discussed this with him and he seems very interested. I wonder, what do you think, Mrs. Grey? Perhaps you could be persuaded to add your own considerable charm to the venture?”
Alison smiled back, completely entranced. “Of course. I love that Peter feels so invested in something. It’s just what he needs.”
The Professor insisted on taking her home though it turned out he didn’t drive himself but had a driver attached to his black limousine. Even if the car was large, the backseat felt too small for the both of them and Alison suddenly felt shy after having talked so openly. In the confined space his presence seemed to loom larger and the lingering scent of cigar smoke mixed with his cologne, something spicy and expensive, made it seem much too intimate. Alison became acutely aware of how attractive he was. It was a disturbing and most unwelcome realisation, it made her nervous and she found herself babbling.
“You know, your English is excellent. You don’t have any accent at all.”
He smiled at her in a way that made her think he knew perfectly well why she suddenly fell back to inane small talk. “I have travelled a lot and for a long time.”
“Don’t you miss your home?”
His smile disappeared and his face grew closed. “I miss my home like an ache, but I never go back.”
“Oh,” Alison flinched. This was clearly a sensitive subject. “I am so sorry; I didn’t mean to say something upsetting. It must be very lonely.”
She put an uncertain hand on his sleeve as a peace offering and his face unfroze. “You have a kind heart, Mrs. Grey.”
He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, soft and cool against her fingers. Alison blushed, it was an oddly sensual moment, her hand feeling hot against the smooth leather of his glove. She almost snatched her hand back and was very grateful when the driver stopped at her house before she said something stupid again. She thanked the Professor and hurried inside, refusing to acknowledge how his gesture had made her feel thrilled for no good reason whatsoever.
Alison had a strange dream that night. She was standing on a small hill, watching a landscape unlike anything she had ever seen. Great plains of grass rolled away from her toward high mountains under a vast night sky, but the colours were all wrong. The sky cast a strange amber glow over the scenery and a soft wind made the grass ripple red. She could see stars in unfamiliar constellations and two moons were rising after each other behind the mountains. It was beautiful; eerie but breathtaking. A soft wind touched her face and scents wholly unfamiliar filled her nostrils. She wasn’t alone; Professor Keller was standing a few steps away, watching the grassy plains in front of them. No, watching two children running over it and Alison felt overwhelmed with a sense of loneliness and a sharp longing to join them, quickly quenched with resentment, strong feelings she realised wasn’t her own but his.
“Where are we?” she asked, and he turned to her. His eyes seemed black in the strange light and she could see the unknown stars mirrored in them.
“You are not supposed to be here,” he said. “It seems I have been a bit careless.”
He stretched out a hand and touched her temple, his fingertips like ice against her skin. “Go home, Alison.”
And she opened her eyes to the familiar darkness of her own bedroom, Peter’s sleeping form beside her. She turned and put her arm around him, trying to shake the strange dream from her mind. She had an odd headache, radiating from where the Professor had touched her. Alison burrowed herself into the warmth of her husband’s body and thought she was being absurd, the headache had, of course, been the source for the dream. When she woke up the next morning the pain was gone, but she still remembered the dream vividly every time she closed her eyes.
Over the next couple of weeks Professor Keller became a fixture in the Grey's life. Peter came to an agreement with him to take care of finding funders for the Keller process, and the Professor got into the habit of coming over several times every week. He discussed business with Peter and often stayed for dinner or a drink. He was always a very pleasant company even if Alison never felt completely at ease around him. She also found a history class and basked in the Professor’s approval and Peter made plans of his own devices for the future.
“You see,” he told Alison. “If the Keller machine is a success, and I’m sure of that, we will suddenly have a lot of people who have no criminal tendencies anymore. They will all be nice, well-adjusted people, but do you know what most of them won’t have? Proper working skills that’s what. If we are not careful, these people will find themselves homeless and without jobs. So I’m thinking of creating a sort of halfway home. Making sure they get a chance to study or learn some useful skill sets, so they can earn a living.”
Alison looked at Peter’s happy face and felt very proud of him. “I think it’s a wonderful idea! But, haven’t the Professor thought about all the consequences of his machine already?”
“It seems not, but he thought it was a great idea.” Peter laughed. “You know scientist! They are just not practical; they only see the immediate outcome, not the aftermath.”
On Alison’s birthday the Professor gifted her with a necklace. He turned up unannounced just when they were leaving for her favourite restaurant. The necklace was deceptively simple, a string of oblong pearls made from green stone. But when Alison looked at them she could see other colours shimmer in unexpected glimpses, somewhat like an opal, but she had never seen opals in such a shade of dark green. She held it up to the light, watching the multi-coloured sparkles.
“It’s beautiful, but strange too, almost like it is not of this world. I have seen nothing like it before. Thank you!”
“It’s just something I picked up during my travels. It’s merely a trinket, but I rather thought it would suit you.”
He fastened it around her neck, the stones unexpectedly cold and heavy. His finger brushed lightly against her skin and emanated a tingle down Alison’s spine that had little to do with the coolness of the necklace. Peter admired it, but the Professor looked critical.
“It would look better with another dress. The white one you wore last week, I think. You should change clothes.”
Alison looked at Peter who said; “I think you look great, but I’m sure the Professor is right.”
She ran upstairs to change and had to agree it looked better with the dress the Professor had suggested. Alison frowned into her mirror image and touched her necklace and felt oddly disturbed and a little upset even if she couldn’t pinpoint the reason for it. Professor Keller looked very satisfied when she re-emerged and then excused himself though Peter and Alison asked him to come with them.
“Oh no, I wouldn’t dream of intruding. I came here only to wish Alison a happy birthday. Yes, I’m quite sure you should go alone.”
It wasn’t the last time Alison did something the Professor wanted. More and more often he asked for things, small, unimportant things, and she complied. He always sounded so plausible and his recommendations were always good. But she became more and more disturbed by the fact both she and Peter always ended up doing exactly what the Professor wanted. She mentioned it to Peter, but he only said she was being silly.
“Well, if he is right, why shouldn’t we do what he says? I guess it’s because he hasn’t any family of his own to give advice to and he only means well.”
“If it had been your father who meddled into your life like that, you would do the opposite of what he said and you know it.”
Peter just laughed and called her a goose, but Alison couldn’t let go of the feeling it wasn’t quite right. And then there was another thing, something she hesitated to tell Peter. She wasn’t even sure there was anything to tell, most of the time she felt it was all in her own imagination. But she had a growing feeling the Professor had an interest in her which was far from honourable. She couldn’t really tell why, he wasn’t openly flirting with her and he never tried to be alone with her, but there was something in his behaviour that increasingly alarmed her.
Still, perhaps it was all just in her own mind. She felt ashamed over it, but she knew she found the Professor fascinating, even if she didn’t want to be attracted to him. In the end she decided to minimise her contact with him as much as she could, starting with going away to visit her sister. She was sure some time away from London would clear her head and when she came back she would make sure to see as little of the Professor as possible.
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: Teen
Genre: Horror
Word Count: 1835
Chapter: 2/?
Characters: Delgado!Master, Original female character, Original male character
Pairings: The Master/OFC, the Master/OMC, OFC/OMC
Warnings: None for this chapter. For the whole fic; mind games. Mental dominance. Brief scenes of violence, but nothing too graphic. Referenced dubious consent, both het and slash. Character death. Suicide attempt.
Summary: Alison and Peter Grey are living a charmed life, young, wealthy and in love. Until they meet a Professor Keller and find themselves trapped in a spiralling nightmare. Set between Terror of the Autons and The Mind of Evil.
Watch Your Step
Don't say a word
Don't say anything
Alison met the Professor again a few days later, quite by chance. She was having lunch on her own as he appeared at her table, murmuring the usual phrases one says to an almost stranger you unexpectedly meet. Alison had to be polite and ask him to sit down, which he accepted. Even if he had been promoted to nice in her book, she still wasn’t sure she wanted a private tête-à-tête like this, but her worry was quickly dispelled. She told him about her new plans to study and was met with such warm appreciation she felt quite exhilarated. He then proceeded to draw her out with such charm she soon was chatting freely, telling him how she had met Peter and then she somehow talked a lot about her husband. How lost he sometimes felt and how he needed to find something meaningful to do.
Professor Keller smiled. “I think I can be of some help here. I admit I first approached Peter with an eye for funding. I still need it, of course, a project of the scale I am thinking of needs a good deal of money, but I think your husband and I could set up something more in the line of a partnership. As it is, I have had to spend far too much time meeting potential backers, and it takes valuable time away from my research. Peter is a very appealing young man with good contacts. If he could be persuaded to take on that part, my workload would ease and I wouldn’t have to spend so much time away from my project.”
He looked earnestly at her. “I have already discussed this with him and he seems very interested. I wonder, what do you think, Mrs. Grey? Perhaps you could be persuaded to add your own considerable charm to the venture?”
Alison smiled back, completely entranced. “Of course. I love that Peter feels so invested in something. It’s just what he needs.”
The Professor insisted on taking her home though it turned out he didn’t drive himself but had a driver attached to his black limousine. Even if the car was large, the backseat felt too small for the both of them and Alison suddenly felt shy after having talked so openly. In the confined space his presence seemed to loom larger and the lingering scent of cigar smoke mixed with his cologne, something spicy and expensive, made it seem much too intimate. Alison became acutely aware of how attractive he was. It was a disturbing and most unwelcome realisation, it made her nervous and she found herself babbling.
“You know, your English is excellent. You don’t have any accent at all.”
He smiled at her in a way that made her think he knew perfectly well why she suddenly fell back to inane small talk. “I have travelled a lot and for a long time.”
“Don’t you miss your home?”
His smile disappeared and his face grew closed. “I miss my home like an ache, but I never go back.”
“Oh,” Alison flinched. This was clearly a sensitive subject. “I am so sorry; I didn’t mean to say something upsetting. It must be very lonely.”
She put an uncertain hand on his sleeve as a peace offering and his face unfroze. “You have a kind heart, Mrs. Grey.”
He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, soft and cool against her fingers. Alison blushed, it was an oddly sensual moment, her hand feeling hot against the smooth leather of his glove. She almost snatched her hand back and was very grateful when the driver stopped at her house before she said something stupid again. She thanked the Professor and hurried inside, refusing to acknowledge how his gesture had made her feel thrilled for no good reason whatsoever.
Alison had a strange dream that night. She was standing on a small hill, watching a landscape unlike anything she had ever seen. Great plains of grass rolled away from her toward high mountains under a vast night sky, but the colours were all wrong. The sky cast a strange amber glow over the scenery and a soft wind made the grass ripple red. She could see stars in unfamiliar constellations and two moons were rising after each other behind the mountains. It was beautiful; eerie but breathtaking. A soft wind touched her face and scents wholly unfamiliar filled her nostrils. She wasn’t alone; Professor Keller was standing a few steps away, watching the grassy plains in front of them. No, watching two children running over it and Alison felt overwhelmed with a sense of loneliness and a sharp longing to join them, quickly quenched with resentment, strong feelings she realised wasn’t her own but his.
“Where are we?” she asked, and he turned to her. His eyes seemed black in the strange light and she could see the unknown stars mirrored in them.
“You are not supposed to be here,” he said. “It seems I have been a bit careless.”
He stretched out a hand and touched her temple, his fingertips like ice against her skin. “Go home, Alison.”
And she opened her eyes to the familiar darkness of her own bedroom, Peter’s sleeping form beside her. She turned and put her arm around him, trying to shake the strange dream from her mind. She had an odd headache, radiating from where the Professor had touched her. Alison burrowed herself into the warmth of her husband’s body and thought she was being absurd, the headache had, of course, been the source for the dream. When she woke up the next morning the pain was gone, but she still remembered the dream vividly every time she closed her eyes.
Over the next couple of weeks Professor Keller became a fixture in the Grey's life. Peter came to an agreement with him to take care of finding funders for the Keller process, and the Professor got into the habit of coming over several times every week. He discussed business with Peter and often stayed for dinner or a drink. He was always a very pleasant company even if Alison never felt completely at ease around him. She also found a history class and basked in the Professor’s approval and Peter made plans of his own devices for the future.
“You see,” he told Alison. “If the Keller machine is a success, and I’m sure of that, we will suddenly have a lot of people who have no criminal tendencies anymore. They will all be nice, well-adjusted people, but do you know what most of them won’t have? Proper working skills that’s what. If we are not careful, these people will find themselves homeless and without jobs. So I’m thinking of creating a sort of halfway home. Making sure they get a chance to study or learn some useful skill sets, so they can earn a living.”
Alison looked at Peter’s happy face and felt very proud of him. “I think it’s a wonderful idea! But, haven’t the Professor thought about all the consequences of his machine already?”
“It seems not, but he thought it was a great idea.” Peter laughed. “You know scientist! They are just not practical; they only see the immediate outcome, not the aftermath.”
On Alison’s birthday the Professor gifted her with a necklace. He turned up unannounced just when they were leaving for her favourite restaurant. The necklace was deceptively simple, a string of oblong pearls made from green stone. But when Alison looked at them she could see other colours shimmer in unexpected glimpses, somewhat like an opal, but she had never seen opals in such a shade of dark green. She held it up to the light, watching the multi-coloured sparkles.
“It’s beautiful, but strange too, almost like it is not of this world. I have seen nothing like it before. Thank you!”
“It’s just something I picked up during my travels. It’s merely a trinket, but I rather thought it would suit you.”
He fastened it around her neck, the stones unexpectedly cold and heavy. His finger brushed lightly against her skin and emanated a tingle down Alison’s spine that had little to do with the coolness of the necklace. Peter admired it, but the Professor looked critical.
“It would look better with another dress. The white one you wore last week, I think. You should change clothes.”
Alison looked at Peter who said; “I think you look great, but I’m sure the Professor is right.”
She ran upstairs to change and had to agree it looked better with the dress the Professor had suggested. Alison frowned into her mirror image and touched her necklace and felt oddly disturbed and a little upset even if she couldn’t pinpoint the reason for it. Professor Keller looked very satisfied when she re-emerged and then excused himself though Peter and Alison asked him to come with them.
“Oh no, I wouldn’t dream of intruding. I came here only to wish Alison a happy birthday. Yes, I’m quite sure you should go alone.”
It wasn’t the last time Alison did something the Professor wanted. More and more often he asked for things, small, unimportant things, and she complied. He always sounded so plausible and his recommendations were always good. But she became more and more disturbed by the fact both she and Peter always ended up doing exactly what the Professor wanted. She mentioned it to Peter, but he only said she was being silly.
“Well, if he is right, why shouldn’t we do what he says? I guess it’s because he hasn’t any family of his own to give advice to and he only means well.”
“If it had been your father who meddled into your life like that, you would do the opposite of what he said and you know it.”
Peter just laughed and called her a goose, but Alison couldn’t let go of the feeling it wasn’t quite right. And then there was another thing, something she hesitated to tell Peter. She wasn’t even sure there was anything to tell, most of the time she felt it was all in her own imagination. But she had a growing feeling the Professor had an interest in her which was far from honourable. She couldn’t really tell why, he wasn’t openly flirting with her and he never tried to be alone with her, but there was something in his behaviour that increasingly alarmed her.
Still, perhaps it was all just in her own mind. She felt ashamed over it, but she knew she found the Professor fascinating, even if she didn’t want to be attracted to him. In the end she decided to minimise her contact with him as much as she could, starting with going away to visit her sister. She was sure some time away from London would clear her head and when she came back she would make sure to see as little of the Professor as possible.
