A/N: Okay, so I know I said I wouldn't start anymore fanfictions until Promises and Virtual Reality were finished, but I have changed my mind. For those who have read Avenging Time, I have also started on the sequel and I will try to get that out there by the end of the week. AP tests are almost over and I should have more time to write. :)
"I'm off!" Alfie called to his parents. Today was his first day of college and he was not going to be late again. His dad came into the hallway with a dish towel in his hand, looking at the clock.
"A bit early, don't you think?" he asked as Alfie sighed. His dad was the reason he was always late. His dad figured as long as you got somewhere, it didn't matter if you were late or not. However, Alfie doubted that his professors thought the same way. "Your mum is going to want to say goodbye."
"Tell her for me," Alfie smiled and closed the door. He didn't think that his mum was up yet, and he couldn't wait for his mum. Not on the first day of college. His dad protested through the door as Alfie bounced down the walk, heading for the bus stop. His dad unlatched the door and called out to him.
"Have a good day!"
"Thanks Dad!" Alfie called back with a smile, a little relieved to be out of the house again. His younger sister, now going into the ninth grade, had been fussy all summer, and Alfie needed a break.
As he made his way down the street, a strange man in a trenchcoat and a pinstripe suit bumped into him. Since the man had been running, he knocked Alfie on his behind. He pack fell into the bushes with a strange thunk. As the man ran back to Alfie, he looked in the bushes and saw an angel statue crouching in the bushes, its hands covering its face. Alfie went to grab his bag when the strange man grabbed his wrist.
"Don't touch it," he warned, making Alfie think that this man was absolutely insane. The man gently reached for the bag and dragged it away from the statue. "That was close."
"It's a statue," Alfie pointed out as the man sighed.
"Yep, it sure is. Sorry about knocking you down, though. Have trouble with, um, steering. Happens every once in awhile," he explained, making no sense to Alfie. Soon, a blonde woman came running up to them.
"Doctor!" she shouted, slowly down to them. Alfie picked up his backpack and looked at the couple. "What are you doing? I thought we were tracking, er, um, something."
"We are. I just bumped into this lovely young man and thought I should apologize," the Doctor answered with a smile.
"Well, we need to get a move on before we lose the signal," the woman explained, confusing Alfie even more. The man agreed and shook Alfie's hand.
"Sorry for knocking you over, but we best be off. Have a good day!" the Doctor called out before he started dashing away with the woman. Alfie stared at them, wondering if they had broken out of a psychiatric ward, but shrugged it off and headed for the bus.
~~A~~
Alfie arrived at the college just in time for class. Exhaling, he slid into a chair in the lecture hall and rubbed his face. He couldn't forget the image if the crouched statue that looked like it was waiting for him. Every time he closed his eyes, it would be there. That and the man who had knocked him down. Alfie felt a deep connection to the man, but couldn't pin point why. He pulled out some paper and pencils from his backpack as the professor walked in. Alfie did a double take, realizing that he knew the professor.
It was the strange man, now with glasses, that he had met earlier.
The professor looked around the hall, smiling at all the brilliant young minds in there.
"Good morning," he greeted, walking over to his desk. Alfie's jaw dropped to the floor as she stared at his new teacher. How was that man a professor? He was way too young for that. "Welcome to astrophysics. My name is Dr. John Smith. Let's get started."
Alfie closed his mouth and grabbed his pencil. If he managed it this far to get to teach at a college, Dr. Smith probably knew what he was doing. He began to wonder where the woman was that was originally with the man.
Once the lecture was over and people started to leave, Dr. Smith called Alfie over to his desk. He bit his lip and walked to the front of the class.
"Hello again," the professor whispered. Alfie nodded.
"Hello. Why did you call me up?"
"I need to talk to you. Have you noticed anything strange about the statues? Anything at all?"
"Other than the one in my neighborhood? No, not really. Is this going somewhere?" Alfie asked, thinking that the man may have been completely mad.
"Are you sure? They haven't been moving or anything like that?" He implored insanely, making Alfie very uncomfortable.
"No, they've been like statues. Except the one from this morning," Alfie replied as his professor look over his shoulder and took a deep breath. Alfie scrunched his eyebrows together and turned to see what he was looking at.
"How about now?" The professor asked, staring at the entrance. There was a angel statue at the top, covering its face with his hands. Alfie took a step back, shocked.
"What is it?" He demanded, looking to his professor, who stared at the thing.
"It's a Weeping Angel, and it's looking for something," he answered breathily. Alfie laughed dryly, not wanting to believe it.
"How can it be looking for something? It's a statue!"
"Until you blink," the teacher replied cryptically. "Start for the door."
"Why?" Alfie snipped, frustrated and confused. The professor pushed him toward the exit as he stared at the statue. "Hey!"
"What?!" The professor demanded, looking at him, forgetting the angel. Remembering, he looked back and the statue was halfway down the desks, but now it was snarling and had its class outstretched toward them. Alfie's hand flew to his mouth as he tried not to scream. "We have to get out of here. Now," Dr. Smith whispered before running to the door. He shut it closed and pointed a glowing stick that made a strange noise at the door. He put the device and his glasses in his pocket and smiled. "Sorry about that. We need to talk."
"I think so, yeah. How did that statue move?" Alfie mumbled, thinking that he was going insane.
"It just looks like a statue. It's a defense mechanism. Once something looks at it, it turns to stone. However, when it turns around or blinks, they become flesh and they're faster than you can imagine. They don't kill you though," Dr. Smith began as Alfie sighed.
"That's good, isn't it?"
"They send you back in time. They feed on time distortion. Once you go back, you'll be dead by the time you get back to the moment they sent you back. You probably would never see the people you loved ever again. In my opinion, that's worst than dying," Dr. Smith explained as Alfie hung his head.
"Dr. Smith-"
"Call me the Doctor. Everyone does," he urged.
"Doctor, have you been checked to make sure that you're okay?" Alfie asked gently as the Doctor stare at him.
"Of course not! There is absolutely nothing wrong with me," the Doctor insisted as the door crashed behind him. They turned to see the angel once again free and coming towards them. He stared at the angel as Alfie began to panic. It ripped apart the door, for God's sake! He fought the urge to run as the Doctor stayed completely still.
"What do we do?" Alfie whispered in order to keep the whine out of his voice. He was frightened and panicky.
"Stare at it, and don't you dare blink. If you must, then tell me. That way we don't blink at the same time," the Doctor informed as Alfie swallowed.
"Have you met these things before?" He murmured, almost like he was afraid that the statue would hear him.
"Sort of. It was a different universe and I was a different man. It's all very complicated and maybe we'll live long enough for me to tell you the tale," the Doctor answered, not making a spot of sense. Alfie bit his lip and sighed.
"Sounds good."
"I'm going to get closer. Maybe I can stop it somehow," the Doctor stated, getting closer to the thing. As he drew near the creature, he noted small nicks in the stone, like someone tried to cut it or something. Either way, it was injured and it seemed to be suffering from something.
"You should step back, Doctor," Alfie suggested as the Doctor nodded. He knew that an injured creature was by far the most dangerous.
"Start running," he whispered as he ran past Alfie and grabbed his hand. They ran to the library and shut the door. They glanced through the glass and sighed. The angel was still on the other side of the door. Alfie accidentally blinked when the Doctor looked away and saw that the angel was gone.
"Doctor?"
"It's given up on us for now. I guess it found easier prey. We should be safe for now," the Doctor replied as he stool out his hand. Alfie shook hesitantly as the Doctor smiled. "Nice to meet you, uh-"
"Alfie. Alfie Owens," he answered.
"Nice to meet you Alfie," the Doctor grinned before leaving.
"You said that you would tell me how you knew those things!" Alfie hissed as the Doctor turned around.
"I know, but not right now. Don't you have class? We'll have coffee later and discuss it," the Doctor bargained as Alfie agreed.
The Doctor quickly left the library and took out his cell phone. He hated the devices, but Rose insisted he first arrived. He dialed her phone number and waited as the phone rang. He was glad to have the thing in the end, since it connected him to Rose, no matter where he was at the time.
"Hello?" A familiar voice asked as he smiled.
"Hey, Rose. Where are ya? Just finished the lecture," he informed as he leaned against a wall.
"Great. I'll meet you somewhere. Where are you?" Rose asked sweetly, loving when the Doctor called her.
"Just outside the campus library."
"Oh, I'm just across the street. Wait there and I'll be there soon."
"Watch out for the Weeping Angel," he warned as she sighed.
"Of course," she whispered before she hung up. He pocketed his phone and watched the clouds go by.