A/N: This is a tribute to all those who were heartlessly murdered in the Sandy Hook mass murder. Yesterday was the 1 year anniversary. Read the description for what this story's about.

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who.

The two children ran in terror through the halls of the school. Behind them, gunfire ripped through the air, killing their classmates, their teachers, their friends.

They reached a broom closet and ducked into it. One of them, a little boy, broke down sobbing. The other, a little girl, was slightly older than him. She was crying too, but silently. They simply couldn't fathom why anyone would cause as much horror as they had seen. All their short lives, they'd been surrounded by people who loved and protected them. Now, that world was shattered, and for what? For an insane man's revenge.

The little girl heard footsteps. She quickly silenced the little boy, but muffled cries were still breaking loose from him.

Then that man, that horrible, evil man who had murdered everyone they knew in cold blood, opened the door. He had a pistol in his hand. The two of them cried freely now.

The man raised the gun, aiming straight at the little girl. His finger tightened on the trigger. Then the little girl said a single word.

"Why?"

The man hesitated, and that moment of hesitation saved the lives of those two children. For right behind the man, a little blue box began to appear, and a whooshing, groaning sound was heard.

The man turned around. Then the doors flew open.

Out came a man in a suit, his face clouded with anger.

"Why?" he asked, jabbing his finger into the man's face, taking no notice of the gun pointed straight at him. "Why? They are children. They have their whole lives ahead of them. They have families. They have things, great things that they could do someday. They have lives, lives that would be so much more than this if not for the demented reject of society who brutally destroyed them."

The man paced while the two children shrank back into the confines of the closet.

"Why?" he demanded. "Why? ANSWER THE QUESTION!" The sudden shout took the man by surprise. He jabbed his gun at the angry man.

"And just who do you think you are?" he demanded.

The mysterious man stared at him. The gunman stared back at him, at his eyes. He didn't like what he saw there.

"I am the Doctor," he replied. "I am the Oncoming Storm, the Bringer of Darkness, the last of the Time Lords. And what are you?"

He didn't give him a chance to reply. Instead, he ripped the gun from his hands and threw it to the ground. The gunman had never been disarmed that easily. This Doctor was a force to be reckoned with.

"I am going to give you one chance to surrender," the Doctor said through clenched teeth. "Come with me, and I may be slightly lenient. And that is far more than you deserve."

The gunman nodded slowly. Hatred built up inside him, but he forced himself to bide his time. He'd find a weapon somewhere, he thought. Then he'd kill the Doctor and go back to the school to finish what he'd started.

The Doctor took him into his blue box. He blinked, looking around.

The Doctor grabbed him and threw him against the console.

"Where we are going is a thousand times worse than any hell you've ever dreamed of," he told the wretched gunman. "And I am leaving you there. Personally, I think you're getting off lucky, considering what you've done."

The Doctor threw the TARDIS unto gear, and then they were off. Once they reached their destination, he threw open the doors, shielding himself from the horrors he saw there. The gunman screamed at what he saw.

"No," he begged. "No! Please! I'll do anything!"

The Doctor's smile was cold, no trace of humor within it. "Funny thing. Just a minute ago, you were pointing guns at children. Now it's you who's begging for mercy. Well, what mercy did you show them?" As it had been this whole encounter, his voice was tight with anger. Without further ado, he grabbed the gunman's collar and threw him out the doors of the TARDIS, into the horrors beyond.

The Doctor sat alone, grim-faced. He watched on the TARDIS screen as police cars and ambulances sped to the scene, along with the cars of frantic parents. Many of them would never see their precious, wonderful little children ever again. Many of them would never have that kind of joy again.

"I didn't save them." His voice was hollow.

"I DIDN'T SAVE THEM!" He leaped up and smashed his fist against the TARDIS console, breathing heavily. When the red rage cleared, he sat back down.

"I didn't save them," he repeated, one last time. Then he put his head down on the console and the tears came freely as he cried for all the innocent lives that had been lost on that horrible, horrible day.

A tribute to all who died in the Sandy Hook tragedy. We will never forget them.