This story is dedicated solely to Charlotte, who is 17 today (16/2/2014). This one's for you, sweetie. Have a great day.
Amelia Pond raced across the sparse land of the Valley of the Gods, two black jeeps in hot pursuit. She threw desperate glances over her shoulder, growing ever more anxious as the jeeps gained on her. She turned in the direction she was running just in time, as she came to the edge of a large drop. Amy skidded to a halt, looking left and right in the hope of finding a way out, but she saw none. She turned as the jeeps came to a stop, and Canton and his associates stepped out of the two vehicles.
"Canton." she greeted coldly.
Looking cool as a cucumber, Canton strode forward. "Mrs. Pond."
Amy watched as the suited men who had accompanied Canton on his chase pulled something from the trunk of one of the jeeps, setting it on the floor. "Is that a body bag?"
"Yes it is." confirmed Canton.
Dread filled Amy's heart. "It's empty." she noted apprehensively.
Canton glanced over his shoulder at the body bag. "How 'bout that."
"Do you even know why you're doing this, eh?" Amy asked urgently. "Can you even remember? The warehouse."
Three Months Earlier
At the abandoned warehouse, the Doctor and Lyra hurriedly helped a – now conscious – Canton back onto his feet. Amy stood, horror at what she had done still etched on her face, holding the gun up as the astronaut slowly stumbled towards them. River and Rory emerged from the manhole seconds later, and hurried to reunite with the Doctor.
"What the hell is going on?!" a very confused, and still slightly dazed Canton asked as he ran with the group.
The Doctor froze as he turned and saw some of the creatures behind Canton. "Look behind you!" he warned.
"There's nothing behind me!" he insisted, wondering why on Earth they had stopped running.
"Look!" repeated the Doctor urgently. "Canton, look!"
Hearing the frantic tone in the Doctor's voice, Canton grew tense, slowly turning to face whatever lurked behind him. His expression turned to shock when he saw the creature.
OoOoOo
At the Valley of the Gods, Canton ignored Amy's panicked request that he remember the events of three months previous. Instead, he raised his arm, gun in hand, and fired at Amy. The ginger fell to the floor, her arm stretched out and showing peculiar marks in black ink.
OoOoOo
Within the highly guarded walls of Area 51 in the great state of Nevada, deep within the government facility, sat the Doctor, bound in a straightjacket and surrounded by armed guards. In the three months since the events at the warehouse, his hair had grown out and looked unkempt, and his chin was now covered by a bushy beard. The captured Time Lord watched as Canton approached, his men in tow.
"We found Amy Pond." he informed the prisoner, throwing onto the floor a picture of the shot Amelia Pond. "She had strange markings on her arm. Do you know what they are?"
The Doctor looked down at the picture. If he had any feelings about the fate of his companion, he hid them well. "Why don't you ask her."
OoOoOo
In an abandoned New York building Dr. River Song ran through the unfinished halls, the same markings on her arm that Amy bore. With her scanner in hand, River looked around as the creatures began surrounding her. "I see you." she said, taking the pen that hung around her neck and adding more tallies. "I see you." she repeated.
Canton and his team walked through the building, searching for the mysterious doctor. "Dr. Song!" he called, gesturing for his colleagues to spread out so they could come at her from all directions. "Dr. Song!"
At Canton's calls, River turned around to look for the agent. Her eyes now off the creatures, they disappeared and River started to run.
Hearing his target take off, Canton turned to his men. "Go, go, go!" he ordered, taking chase with the rest of his team. Canton smiled when his team got River cornered at the edge of the building. "It's over." he told her matter-of-factly.
Apparently trapped, River turned to face Canton and his men. "They're here, Canton. They're everywhere." she warned.
"I know." he replied. "America is being invaded." Canton said sarcastically.
River shook her head. "You were invaded a long time ago. America is occupied!" she growled.
"You're coming with us, Dr. Song. There's no way out this time." said Canton smugly.
River simply smiled. "There's always a way out." she stated with a wink. And with that, she stretched her arms out and leaned back, falling off the building.
OoOoOo
"We found Dr. Song."
"These bricks, what are they made of?" asked the Doctor, looking at the black bricks his captors were placing around him. Still keeping his eyes on the bricks, the Doctor switched gears quickly. "Where is she?"
"She ran. Off the fiftieth floor." Canton informed him.
As though he hadn't heard Canton's answer, the Doctor went back to commenting on the bricks. "I'd say zero balance dwarf star alloy. The densest material in the Universe. Nothing gets through that. You're building me the perfect prison." He finally turned to face Canton. "And it still won't be enough."
OoOoOo
Rory ran desperately over Glen Canyon dam, Arizona, surrounded by agents. He ran to the barrier, hoping to find a way out, but of course there was none. His arms, like Amy and River's, bore the tally marks. Admitting defeat, Rory stopped running, turning to face Canton. "What are you waiting for?"
"I'm waiting for you to run." responded Canton. "It'll look better if I shot you while you're running. Then again..." he aimed, "looks aren't everything." he added, shooting Rory.
OoOoOo
Within the warehouse on the corner of Jefferson, Adams and Hamilton, Lyra ran from both Canton and the creatures. Her arm, just like the others, had the peculiar tally marks on them. The blonde froze, looking around, desperate for a way out.
Canton and his men walked idly through the warehouse, eyes searching for the scared woman. "Miss Blake!" he called.
Lyra's eyes fell on the manhole cover and, due to a lack of better options, she dove right for it. Once she reached the bottom of the hole, she glanced around nervously, checking to see if the creatures were lurking around.
Sure she was safe, she sank down to the floor, sticking close to the ladder she had just climbed down. She brought her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "How did I get into this mess?" she asked herself quietly.
"Miss Blake!" repeated Canton. "There is absolutely no point in hiding."
Lyra sighed, taking a deep breath. After a beat, she climbed up the ladder, glaring at Canton as he approached her. "Is this how it ends then, Canton?!" she growled. "I helped you! I thought were were friends! I-"
Her arguments were cut short when Canton shot her.
OoOoOo
Back at Area 51, Canton and his team approached the Doctor's – now finished – cell. Three of his men pulled three body bags into the cell then left Canton and the Doctor to do business.
"Is there a reason you're doing this?" the Doctor asked Canton, looking at the body bags.
"I want you to know where you stand." the ex-FBI Agent answered smugly.
"In a cell." stated the Doctor obviously.
"In a perfect cell." Canton corrected. "Nothing can penetrate these walls. No sound. Not a radio wave. Not the tiniest particle of anything. In here, you're literally cut off from the rest of the universe." he paused. "So I guess they can't hear us, right?"
The Doctor grinned. "Good work, Canton. Door sealed?"
Canton gave a single nod. "You bet."
The Doctor suddenly sprung up from his chair, wriggling out of the chains. The body bags lifted, Amy, Rory and Lyra wriggling out of them, not dead.
"These things could really do with air holes!" exclaimed a very disgruntled Rory.
Canton smirked. "Never had a complaint before."
"Isn't it going to look odd that you're standing here with us?" Lyra asked, concerned that their escape might be short lived.
"Odd, but not alarming." Canton assured her. "They know there's no way out of this place."
"Exactly!" exclaimed the Doctor. "Whatever they think we might be doing in here, they know we're not going anywhere." he said, leaning to the side and coming to a stop against an invisible object. The TARDIS doors opened and the Doctor smiled. "Shall we?"
All five of the 'prisoners' entered the TARDIS. "What about Dr. Song?" asked Canton. "She dove off a rooftop!"
"Don't worry, she does that." the Doctor told Canton, rushing around the console. "Amy! Rory! Open all the doors to the swimming pool! Lyra, get the front doors!"
River fell off the building, arms spread out, not a care in the world. It actually seemed like she was enjoying the trip. The TARDIS materialized beneath her and she fell through the doors, diving into the TARDIS pool with a splash.
"So." the Doctor began, handing a very wet River Song a towel. "We know they're everywhere. Not just a landing party, an occupying force. And they've been here a very, very long time. But nobody knows that, because no one can remember them."
"So what are they up to?" Canton enquired.
"No idea." confessed the Doctor. "But the good news is we've got a secret weapon."
He led everyone outside, looking up at a space shuttle. Behind him, his friends all shared a confused look.
"Apollo 11's your secret weapon?" asked River.
The Doctor glanced back at his perplexed companions and gave a sigh. When would they ever learn? "No, no. It's not Apollo 11." he said, looking back at the shuttle. "It's Neil Armstrong's foot."