Donna woke with a start. It was another dream. She's been having them for a while now, but they all seemed the same. A volcano erupts, and fire engulfs and entire city. But, not this one. This dream was different. It was snowy. And there were buildings, and some weird creatures. And there was a man. The man was the kind of person where in your dream you know them well, but in real life, they just don't exist. Who was he? Donna thought to herself as she tore out from underneath the covers. She shrugged if off as she left her room, letting the dream slip back into her subconscious.
Donna's mother had found her a job as a secretary at-'oh, no, what was the place called', Donna thought to herself as she grabbed a towel out of the closet. 'Great, I have a job a place that I don't even know the name of, let alone what they do.' She headed into her shower, and got ready for the day.
Her first day at work was pretty basic. When she walked into Roberson & Lizik-as she learned the company's name to be-she was greeted by a young blond woman of about 22 at the front desk. "Hello, welcome to Roberson and Lizik, how can I help you.?" Her voice was sweet, and not in any way false.
"Hello…"Donna glanced at the young woman's name tag, "Lisa. My name is Donna. Donna Noble, I'm Mr. Jones' new secretary."
"Oh yes." Lisa continued her smile. "If you just take the elevator on the right" she pointed to a very blank brick wall, lined with empty benches used by the looks of it only for decoration, in the middle of which a dull, silver elevator sat, waiting to take Donna to her destination. "It's on floor 3. I'll ring him and let him now you've arrived." Lisa turned back to her computer screen and picked up the phone. Donna could hear Lisa talking lightly on the phone as she made her way towards the elevator.
When Donna reached the third floor, a semi-handsome man greeted her. "Are you Ms. Noble?" He didn't smile, just waited for her to nod yes, and led her through a room of cubicles towards a thick wooden door. Mr. Jones answered right away, and the young man left.
"Thank you Howard." Mr. Jones called after the young man. "Ah, Ms. Donna Noble, nice to see you again. If you come in here, I'll show you your desk." He gestured for her to follow him. His office was behind another wooden door, which was placed in a glass wall behind a desk, which Donna assumed, was her new workspace. "Here we are, just get yourself situated, and then if you would please get me some coffee, that would be lovely." He smiled and turned to disappear behind the second door.
"Ok, Mr. Jones." Donna said, as she sat her purse down on her chair, and slipped of her jacket.
"Oh, please, call me Pete." And with that, he disappeared behind his door.
Run…Keep Running. Donna's mind told her, as the man grabbed her hand and through the snow they went, past the buildings, away from those red eyes. A loud beeping sounded, and it pulled Donna slowly out of her reverie, as she struggled to hold on to it, to see his face, just once. But she lost the battle, and soon found herself looking at a dimly lit ceiling.
This was the beginning of her second week as a secretary at Roberson & Lizik, for executive Pete Jones. Donna had fallen into place quite smoothly there, and the day went by in a blur of a routine: Typing, filing, more filing, typing, lunch, filing, more filing, some last typing and then leave. She tended to go to the business' own cafeteria for lunch because this is also where Craig often ate, and she liked casually bumping into him there, but never sat with him, just looked at him while she poked whatever form of over expensive half eaten food remained in front of her. They never talked much either, though he was on the same floor as her. He worked in one of the cubicles outside Pete's office, but he seemed pretty closed off to everyone there.
By the end of the workday, Donna was still typing something for Mr. Jones, when he came in to his office from a meeting somewhere else in the building.
"Oh, Donna, you're still here, are you?" He said, his voice lacking his usual sweetness, and he seemed worried about something.
"Yeah, I was just going to fin-"She started, but was quickly cut off.
"No need, you can…you can finish it tomorrow morning. You can come in early to do so, if you want, just…you should go home." He said, and he went into his office, the blinds already down so Donna couldn't peek through the glass and see what he was up to.
"Well, if you didn't want to pay me for overtime, you could've just said that." She said, slipping into her jacket, and heading out towards the elevator.
When she arrived home, to and empty house, she knew two things. One, her mother had gone out with her girlfriends tonight, and Two, her grandfather Wilfred was out on the hill, stargazing. She went outside to join him.
"Hey, sweetheart." Wilf smiled at her "Come look at this, you can see the constellation Leo perfectly." He motioned for her to come nearer, and she sat down on the ground beside him, and peered into the telescope, putting a smile on for her grandpa's sake. She never enjoyed this space stuff as much as he did, but still found it somewhat fascinating, the vastness of it all.
"Gramps…"Donna started, moving her head away from the telescope and looking towards Wilf, "How big do you think it is. The universe?"
"Oh. I think we'll never quite know for sure. But I can tell you, I don't think we're completely alone." He replied. Donna rolled her eyes at this statement. All her life, her grandpa had been telling her stories of aliens from other planets. This time, however, he seemed to say it differently, as if he knew now for sure. Donna glanced into his eyes as they stared out into the nighttime sky. They seemed to be hiding something, some sort of secret, that he was keeping from her.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I think I've had enough star-gazing for tonight. I'm gonna go in and make some tea and go to bed." Donna kissed her grandpa on the cheek and headed back inside. Wilf stared after her, still thinking about what he had been told.
That night, the dream changed again. There was smoke, everywhere. And Grandpa, and Mum were there. Everyone was coughing. And there he was again.
Donna woke up coughing, forgetting that that had seemed to be the theme of her dream, as it faded too quickly for her to register it into her awake mind. She did the same routine as usual, then headed to work, and came home. And then started it over again. This went on for a month. But, Donna was a becoming more curious of Pete Jones, and especially many workers. So, after a month and a half at Roberson & Lizik, Donna decided to go to lunch with Lisa Cooper, the young lady at the front desk.
"Sure." Lisa said, stacking some papers into a metal bin. "Where did you have in mind." Donna thought about it, but couldn't think of any place. "There's a new little restaurant that just opened just down the street." Lisa suggested.
"Yeah, sounds great." Donna replied, nodding. They made their way there, and after ordering and small talk, Donna decided to get down to business.
"OK. Now, I don't want to sound mad here, but, I don't know what to say exactly, so, just, hear me out." Donna started, and Lisa sat across from her, paying full attention to her. "Is it just me, or do you think there is something…weird going on at work." To Donna's surprise, Lisa smiled in agreement and replied with a yes.
"I've noticed it since I got the job, but didn't mention it to anyone. I've actually tried to find more out. I've done research on the company. You should come by my flat tonight, I can show you what I've found." Lisa grinned with excitement on sharing her suspicions and Donna was glad that Lisa didn't think her to be crazy. Right then, their food arrived. After eating, Lisa wrote down her address and phone number, in case Donna got lost, and told to come over around 7:00. When Donna returned to work, she headed into the elevator, and only one other person was in there with her; Craig.
"So…..Craig, is it?" Craig nodded, but didn't look at her. "How's…work."
"It's OK, same as always." He replied, still staring at the dull silver sliding door, waiting for it to open. Once it did he dashed out as fast as he could without seeming rude, but Donna still sort of got the message.
The rest of the day went by fast, and before she knew it, it was 6:50, and Donna was turning down Momont Street, heading towards Lisa's house, and knocking on the door.
"Come on in" Lisa answered it and headed back in, Donna followed and closed the pale purple door behind her. Lisa's house was not small, but not large. It entered into a living room, which turned into a kitchen, and on Donna's right was a stairway, up which Lisa was heading and Donna followed. There were four doors, one was the bathroom, one a closet and one Lisa's bedroom. The fourth is the one that Lisa walked into.
"This is my den, I keep everything I've looked up in here. And it's not just about Roberson & Lizik; I have information on a few things. Like, that big spaceship on Christmas a few years back." Lisa held up a picture.
"Yeah…I was hung over that day." Donna replied. "So, where's the info on Roberson and-wait….if you research…aliens and UFO's and things…then are you saying that the company we work for is run by…by spacemen?!"
"Well…Yes, what was your theory?" Lisa's usually smiling face had turned into a sort of confused half frown.
"I didn't really have one I s'pose." Donna felt bad, like she had just insulted Lisa.
"Oh, well. Here are the facts. And you can go by mine, or make up what you think is going on. For one thing, there is no other Roberson & Lizik anywhere, no offices, no nothings. London is the only place they are located. Secondly, they've only been here since May 2007. And thirdly, and this one is the strangest. Every month since they've been in operation, out of their total 500 employees, 100 go missing. One fifth of everyone who works there, just disappears. That's how you got your job. Mr. Jones' old secretary, uh, Sandra I believe her name was, just disappeared." Lisa look at Donna waiting for a reaction.
"Well…maybe it's just a coincidence, a lot of people go missing every year." Donna reasoned.
"Yeah. But, every month, 100 if not more people. That's not the least bit suspicious to you?" Lisa looked concerned, and like she was trying to convince Donna she was right.
"I don't know. I mean…." Donna thought on how to phrase her sentence, "I'll keep my eye out for that I suppose." Lisa smiled at this, and they just talked about other things for awhile, before Donna left.
Donna didn't have to wait long to see things happening. The next day, Craig wasn't at work. Donna thought that maybe he was sick, but he wasn't there the whole week. Concerned, not much on never seeing him again, but more about what Lisa had said, Donna knocked on Pete's door after lunch, and he politely told her to enter.
"Sorry, if I'm interrupting." Donna said, peeking in around the heavy door.
"No, no, it's fine, come on in." Pete motioned her inside. "Have a seat." He pointed to a chair much more comfortable looking than the one inside Donna's office.
"It's alright, I only have a quick question." Donna looked around the room, and then back at Pete, who was looking at her patiently. "Is…is Craig alright, he's been sick for a week now and-"
"Oh, yes, actually. He isn't sick. He quit. Last Friday."
"Oh, any particular reason why?" Donna inquired. For once Pete was beginning to look annoyed.
"Nope." He went back to his work, and Donna left the room. Sitting at her chair, Donna immediately went on the internet to see if she could find anything out, like Craig being a missing person or something. She was about to type his name in, when Lisa came in through the door.
"Donna, I have got something to show you." Lisa said, quiet, but excited. Donna began to rise out of her chair, but Lisa told her not to. "We can't go right now. But….oh…you're not going to believe it." Aware of something going on outside, Pete Jones opened the door.
"Oh…Mrs. Cooper, shouldn't you be at the front desk, and not interrupting Mrs. Noble's work?" He said, with a grin. Lisa opened her mouth to say something, but he continued, "Actually, Mrs. Cooper, I just received an email regarding tonight's meeting, and I think you should tag along. I'd like to see what you thing about our new plan we have. Just, come up to me office at 5:30 or so…and I'll walk with you to the boardroom." He smiled and turned back into his office after instructing Lisa to leave. Donna was still interested in what Lisa wanted to show her, so she decided she'd stick around until after the meeting to catch up with Lisa. It was going to be harder than she thought. Mr. Jones didn't want Donna around after 5:00, and she had to pretend to leave. On Donna's way out, she passed Lisa, who instead of looking ecstatic about being involved, she was in fact concerned.
"What's wrong Lisa?" asked Donna, placing a hand on Lisa's small shoulder.
"This is how it happens. Donna….I think I'm next." Lisa couldn't get more words out, despite Donna's questioning. All Lisa could do was slide a note into Donna's hand, and walk off. Donna quick walked into an empty room, and read the note.
Donna, here is where to go to find what I wanted to show you. On the elevator, you have to press the B1 button, to go to the basement. This requires a key. I have placed the key underneath my mouse pad at the front desk. After you reach the basement, follow the tunnel until you come to two doors. The one on your left is where you should go. I think after that you will find what it is I wanted to show you, and that I was right. Don't get caught Donna, I need you to find someone who knows how to deal with them. Thank you.
xxxx
Lisa Cooper
Just as Donna read the signature, a loud scream rang from down the hallway. Frightened, but still curious, Donna crept along towards the source, only to find 4 shadows moving about in a unlit boardroom. On the table was the silhouette of what appeared to be Lisa's body.
Donna realised she had to get out, or she'd probably share the same fate as poor Lisa. She slowly crept towards the stairwell, thinking that it would be safer, in case they trapped her in the elevator or something. On her way down, she passed a man. He had been moving to fast for her to really see any features on him, especially in the dimly lit stairwell.
"I wouldn't go up there, there's…monsters or something. Figures, though…now I'm back looking for a job again." Donna said, the Man stopped and turned around, the light they came through shined faintly on his face. "Oh…hold on. I know you!" Donna looked at his face. He seemed sad, his eyes even more so than his frown.
"No…you don't know me. Now, go home Donna Noble." He said softly, and went back up the stairs, to go deal with the aliens.
"Well, I know you from my dreams anyway." She said, even though he had disappeared through the door. "Wait, how does he know my name?" Donna was curious as to how this strange man appeared to know her, and decided to wait for him. She could hear sounds of arguing. And a few noises that seemed to belong to a sci-fi movie, laser blasts and the like. Eventually, the man came back, and Donna, who had been sitting on the bottom step rose up as he reached her.
"Alright, I want some answers, how do you know my name?" Donna asked. The man looked at her, and after a few seconds of silence, he opened his mouth to speak.
"I had been in earlier, and I saw your name on your desk." And with that he exited the building, Donna decided not to follow, and went home.
That night she had a new dream. There was a giant wasp chasing her, and the man. She decided that it was just a coincidence, but if she ever did see him again, she would have a few more question for him.
As the months passed, the dreams changed, though they were often forgotten by the time Donna rose out of bed. And she never saw the man again.
