Vortex of Fear ( short story ) Vortex of Fear was the first story in the anthology " " . It was written by Gareth Roberts . It featured the Second Doctor , Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot . Summary . Brachinnen wakes up , locked in his room . He remembers that the Doctor will soon be here , so he uses the spare key that he has obtained to sneak out . However , there are time shifts , and Ferrix finds him , drugs him and locks him back in his room . Kya and Leeth are arguing in the lounge when Ferrix enters . Ferrix is worried about Brachinnen ' s insanity and Kandol ' s suicide . Both men are also concerned about the damaged communications unit . Kya , who has been suspended before , assures them that all is well and she plans to complain to the Agency when they get out . In the TARDIS , the Doctor fiddles with controls while Zoe tries to get his attention . There is a collision alert , but the anti - collision control isn ' t working , so the Doctor tries a materialisation flip - flop , materialising the TARDIS inside the obstacle . They find themselves in what looks like a country estate , though no such thing should be in the vortex . Jamie sees a door and heads through it . Kya , heading to the food area , sees Jamie and thinks he ' s from the Agency . She yells at him and when he denies knowing what she is talking about , she storms off . Meanwhile , Brachinnen wakes , aware that the Doctor will be here soon if he isn ' t already here . Kya returns to the lounge to resume her argument with Leeth . Jamie returns to the Doctor and tells him about the woman . Brachinnen , looking for the TARDIS , can hear Jamie and Zoe . There are several time shifts , during which the TARDIS appears and disappears . He wakes in his room , locked in again . The Doctor and his friends find a storage room . Zoe finds a brochure for the Agency , and the trio learn that the people in this hotel are spending a year in the vortex for tax reasons . The Doctor , recognising that this is very dangerous , plans to shut it down . The Doctor and Jamie enter the lounge ( with Zoe hanging back on the Doctor ' s instructions ) , where Leeth and Ferrix think they are from the Agency . The Doctor and Jamie explain that they are just visiting . When Kya enters , she doesn ' t remember having met Jamie before . Zoe decides to return to the TARDIS , but gets lost despite her excellent sense of direction . She finds herself in a dark room and hears a voice calling for help — it is her voice calling for the Doctor and Jamie . She runs out into a tunnel , and comes across a dead body . Another man approaches , and Zoe tries to hide . She closes her eyes , and when she opens them , she ' s back in the dark room , locked in . She yells for help . The Doctor finds and examines the control panel and the communications unit . He finds that the control panel has been sabotaged , allowing the time wind s to enter the hotel , and that the communications unit itself is fine , but that communications were broken off by the Agency . Jamie hears Zoe yelling for help . He runs out of the lounge . Zoe , finding herself back in the tunnel , sees two men approaching — the same two from before , only the dead man , Kandol , is still alive . As the other man , Leeth , prepares to bludgeon Kandol , Zoe shouts a warning , and Leeth drops his weapon . Suddenly Jamie and the Doctor experience excruciating pain , and when it stops , they see that there are four people in the lounge — Kya , Leeth and Ferrix , as before , but also someone new — Kandol . The four become suspicious when the Doctor claims that Kandol is supposed to be dead . Another wave of pain , from time spillage , hits Jamie and the Doctor . Brachinnen finds Zoe , who doesn ' t recognise him . He then finds himself back in his room , locked in . The Doctor and Jamie find Zoe , and they head for the TARDIS . Brachinnen runs after them , begging for them to take him away . The Doctor refuses , and explains to Zoe that the five people in the hotel have been subjected to the time winds , and that they are " less than shadows " . They would become dust if they left the hotel . Instead , they are condemned to stay in the hotel , repeating various events over and over , with only Brachinnen , a time sensitive , aware of the time shifts . The TARDIS materialises on a beach , and Zoe tries to get the Doctor to explain something to her : she saved Kandol ' s life , therefore aren ' t she and the Doctor and Jamie part of the time spillage in the hotel now ? The Doctor lets himself be distracted , and Zoe realises that he has no intention of answering her question .