The Doctor Vanishes… For Now"
Jack Dawkins Steps Back Before the Crown Steps In
For the first time in weeks, Jack Dawkins walked through the underground corridor of his clinic with no patient on the table, no blood on his clothes, and no emergency waiting for him.
The candles flickered against the brick walls.
The silence felt wrong — too quiet, too empty for a place that normally fought death every night.
Jack touched the wooden table where he had saved hundreds.
Then he exhaled.
"I need a break."
His voice echoed in the empty room.
And he meant it.
1. The Truth He Shares With Only a Few
He didn't tell the colony.
He didn't tell the patients.
He didn't tell the criminals who owed him more favors than he could count.
But he told the only people who deserved the truth.
First: Belle
After a long surgery day at the hospital, Jack pulled her aside.
Her eyes widened immediately.
"Jack… what's wrong?"
"I'm pausing the clinic," he said quietly. "For a while."
Belle froze.
"Is the Governor getting that close?"
Jack nodded.
"I need to move the clinic to a safer location. Until then… the Doctor disappears."
Belle swallowed, understanding but hating it.
"Then I'll help you pack the supplies."
Jack smiled tiredly.
"Good girl."
Second: Hetty Baggett
They met behind the butcher shop where she usually collected requests from the criminal side of the colony.
Hetty raised an eyebrow the moment she saw him.
"You look like a man buryin' a body."
Jack smirked. "Almost."
When he told her about the break, her mouth fell open.
"You're WHAT? Jack, half the bloody colony depends on ya!"
"Only for a few weeks," Jack said.
"And… I'm still paying you. Twenty pounds every week."
Hetty blinked.
"Twenty—? Jack, that's— that's more than I ever asked—"
"Hetty," he cut in gently, "you kept me alive more than once. You kept my secret. You deserve it."
She sniffed, wiping her eyes aggressively with her sleeve.
"Damn you, Jack Dawkins… makin' me emotional in public."
Third: Agatha Fox
Belle's mother listened quietly, hands folded, expression sharp as always.
"You're certain the Governor's soldiers are this close?"
"Yes," Jack answered.
"Too close. If they find the clinic… everything collapses."
Agatha nodded slowly.
"Then you will have our protection. Belle's mine. And so are you—at least as far as safety is concerned."
Jack bowed his head.
"Thank you."
She touched his shoulder — rare warmth in her strict voice:
"Rest while you can, Doctor."
Fourth: His Uncle
The old thief was sitting at the kitchen table sharpening a knife when Jack entered.
"I'm takin' a break," Jack said plainly.
His uncle didn't even look up.
"The soldiers gettin' close?"
"Yes."
The uncle nodded once… then smirked.
"So what's the real reason?"
Jack sighed and dropped into a chair.
"I'm bored. I need to steal something."
His uncle exploded into laughter so loud the neighbors probably heard it.
"I KNEW IT! You can take the street rat out of the alleys, but you can't take the alleys outta the street rat!"
Jack only grinned, leaning back, the exhaustion finally lifting a little.
2. The Doctor's Shadow Leaves the Colony
That night, Jack locked up the clinic.
The herbs were packed.
The tools hidden.
The patient records burned.
Belle stood beside him as he sealed the final crate.
"Feels strange," she whispered.
Jack touched the door.
"Feels necessary."
When the torches outside guttered low, Jack walked away.
Just Jack Dawkins now.
No mask.
No double life.
For a little while… he could breathe.
3. But the Colony Won't Rest
Word spread quickly that a new captain was taking over the guard.
A man far more disciplined — and far more dangerous — than Captain Gaines ever was.
Rumors swirled.
Investigations sharpened.
And the Governor drank more heavily each day, convinced the mysterious "Doctor" was hiding right under his nose.
Jack knew he made the right choice.
But he also knew something else:
The Doctor would have to return eventually.
And when he did…
The colony would never be the same.
The Hunter Arrives"
A New Captain, A New Threat… and the Doctor in the Crosshairs
The colony had been restless ever since Captain Gaines' death.
But when his replacement marched through the gates at dawn, restless became terrified.
Captain Jonathan Rourke.
A former Imperial investigator.
A soldier known for discipline so sharp it cut deeper than any blade.
A man who once shut down an entire smuggling empire in London by following a single rumor.
And now he had arrived in Port Victory.
On his first day, he summoned the Governor.
1. The Governor Learns the Captain's Mission
Governor Edmund Fox sat behind his large desk, hungover and weary, nursing a glass of watered-down rum.
Rourke entered without waiting to be invited.
"Governor Fox," he said briskly. "Let us be clear from the beginning."
Fox blinked.
"…about what?"
Rourke placed a folder on the table — thin, but dangerous-looking.
"I'm here to find the man they call the Doctor.
The surgeon who appears from shadows, performs medical miracles, and vanishes."
Fox nearly choked on his drink.
"Rumors," he muttered. "Most of it nonsense."
Rourke's eyes didn't blink.
"I do not chase nonsense."
He opened the file.
"Captain Gaines was investigating him before he died."
"There are testimonies."
"There is evidence of forbidden medical tools."
"And someone with impossible knowledge is operating somewhere in this colony."
Fox's hands shook just slightly.
Rourke leaned forward.
"I will find him. And when I do… I expect the full support of your office."
The Governor swallowed hard.
"Yes. Of course."
Rourke nodded, then stepped out, boots echoing like judgment in the hall.
When the door shut, Fox collapsed into his chair, whispering:
"Jack… what have you gotten yourself into?"
2. Belle Hears the News First
Belle was sorting bandages in the hospital when she overheard the guards speaking.
"The new captain's already looking for the Doctor," one said.
"Says he's gonna tear the colony apart if he must."
Belle's heart stopped.
Her hands shook so badly she dropped the stack of linen.
She rushed out of the room, ignoring the nurses calling after her.
She needed to find Jack.
Now.
3. Jack's First Day of 'Rest' Ends Abruptly
Jack was sitting on the rooftop of his uncle's house, trying — and failing — to relax.
The wind smelled of the ocean.
He had stolen half a loaf of bread for fun.
He hadn't touched a scalpel since yesterday.
Nice. Peaceful.
Then Belle burst onto the roof, out of breath.
"Jack— the new captain— he's looking for the Doctor!"
Jack froze.
"…Already?"
Belle nodded, panic flooding her eyes.
"They say he's frightening. He questions everyone. He reads people like books. He—"
Jack gently took her hands.
"Belle… breathe."
She tried.
Failed.
Tried again.
Finally her breathing steadied.
Jack's voice stayed calm, but inside his instincts were roaring.
A hunter like Rourke was a nightmare.
A man who followed patterns.
Clues.
Rumors.
Small details.
Exactly the details Jack had worked so hard to hide.
"This is bad, isn't it?" Belle whispered.
Jack nodded once.
"Very bad."
4. Jack Makes a New Rule
That night, Jack gathered Belle, Hetty, Agatha Fox, and his uncle in a dimly lit room.
He looked at each of them — the only people who knew he was the Doctor.
"No one speaks of the clinic," Jack said quietly.
"No one hints about the Doctor.
No one slips.
Not once."
He faced Belle last.
"And you must stop visiting the old clinic location. Rourke will have it watched."
Belle nodded reluctantly.
His uncle crossed his arms.
"How serious is this captain fellow?"
Jack didn't answer at first.
Then:
"He's the kind of man who finds the truth even when it's buried."
A cold silence filled the room.
Agatha Fox spoke first.
"Then we bury it deeper."
Jack managed a tired smile.
"I intend to."
5. Captain Rourke Begins His Hunt
That same night, Rourke stood on the edge of the colony, staring toward the dark alleys.
His lieutenant approached.
"Captain, where do we begin?"
Rourke's eyes narrowed.
"Criminal circles first. The Doctor hides where honest men do not."
"And if they protect him?"
Rourke smirked.
"Then we squeeze until they stop."