Alien on a Bus
A Doctor Who Novel (fan fiction)
By: Jamie Panko
Chapter One:
Bus Driver
"It all started when I met this man." As I laid there in my hospital bed, I was ready to admit everything. This was my last secret, and the world was ready to hear it.
"Who, grandma, who?" my bright-eyed twelve-year old granddaughter and grandson replied.
"the Doctor."
I hadn't said that name in over fifty years, but it still sent a happy feeling running through my old, tired body. "I met him one day, just showed up at my door. But I'll never forget him." I closed my eyes and memories shot through my head.
"It all started, one day long ago. It seemed like such a normal day." That day started to replay in my head.
My feet padded down the steps; while I was still in my silky puppy dog PJ's. I had just woken up, and being the bratty twenty-year old I was, I wasn't happy about it. I scanned the room. My new apartment had a shine to it, like a new car, but I was sure that wouldn't last long. Breakfast consisted of toast and tea, as always, and then I set off to work. I had a nice little job, working at the shop. Barely scrapping by, but aren't we all around that age?
I sat on the cold, hard bench set aside for bus users and looked around. I was the only person who used this bus stop on Tuesdays. Nothing peculiar was going on, that was until I heard the noise. It was a sort of groaning, wheezing sound. It was like nothing I had ever heard before. I jerked up to a standing position and circled around. I saw nothing of any interest and sat back down. "What could that have been?" I mumbled. Almost immediately I saw the public bus screech around the corner. I jumped on and sat in my usual seat. I noticed how I was the only person seated on the bus. This was very strange, for the bus is typically so crowded from the other bus stops that at least five people have to stand up and hold onto the dirty metal ceiling bar for dear life (the bus driver wasn't the most skilled). I pushed the worry out of my head and decided to think about what I should do at work today instead. I slowly said the list to myself "File my papers, etc.," the list ran longer than I thought it would.
That was the very moment, my life changed forever.
An eerie green light came from the front of the bus. The vehicle jolted to a stop. I slowly stood up and made my way up the driver's seat. It wasn't the driver anymore, but a sickly yellow thing with bulging eyes. I did a horrifying scream and somehow was able to reach for the lever that opened the bus doors. I sprinted down the street, not really having a destination in mind, but just trying to get away from the ghastly thing I had just seen.
I turned my head around, still running. That was the mistake of my life. I ran smack dab into a man. We both toppled to the ground. "OW!" I groaned. He got up and offered his hand. I took it and shakily stood up. "I'm so sorry, I-I'm just kind of in a hurry, I wasn't looking where I was going. Are you alright?" He said. "Aye, I'm fine, just a little shook up." I dusted the dirt off my clothes and finally got a good look at the man. He had floppy black hair and was wearing a brown-ish suit, blue shirt, black pants, and suspenders, but, what really caught my attention was his red bowtie. I guess he noticed me staring at it with a weird look because he loosened up, held his head high and said, "Bow ties are cool." I rolled my eyes and he changed the subject.
"Have you seen anything…peculiar?"
"Well, I did see - …wait, why would you like to know?"
I thought his asking was suspicious. "I-I'm trying to find…something." He was getting more suspicious by the sentence.
"Well, I would like to know. If you told me what you're looking for maybe I could 'elp ya." I stood my ground. "Alright, call me crazy…but an alien." He seemed very serious about what he was saying.
I burst out my secret. "Is this some sort of joke, because I saw an 'alien' on the bus?" I slapped my hand over my mouth.
"AH HAH!" he whipped some device out of his coat and pointed it and every direction, spinning himself in circles in the process. The device made some sort of whistling noise and had green light on the end, which glowed brightly. He suddenly started to run down the way I had come and I had no choice but to follow him.
"What are ya doin'?!" I yelled to him once I caught up. Even though he was small, he was fast.
"This is a sonic screwdriver, and it can track where that thing you saw is currently. Now, what did it look like and where exactly did you last see it?" he replied back.
I would usually find it hard to run at this pace and speak at the same time, but I was so freaked out by today's events that I didn't even notice.
"Um, it was a nasty yellow color, and was small and wrinkly. When I got on the bus, it looked like a human. It looked like the bus driver." I paused and stop running. "How could it have looked like the bus driver?"
The man stopped and put his hand on my shoulder. "You wouldn't understand, but, I'm sure I will figure this out."
The man pointed his device back out in front of him and continued walking.
"Wait…who are you?"
He stopped, just stood there without turning around, and said over his shoulder.
"I'm the Doctor."
Chapter Two:
Pole
"And who might you be?" he asked.
"Elizabeth Pole"
"Pond?" He seemed quite alarmed by the wrong name he heard.
"No, Pole. Elizabeth Pole." I let the sentence hang in the air.
"So, what kind of name is 'the Doctor'? Doctor Who?"
"Just the Doctor. Good luck trying to get anything more out of me about that subject." He replied jokingly.
He started to walk again. I followed and asked "What is that thingy you keep waving everywhere? It looks like a fancy glow stick." I told him.
"Well, I can assure you it's not. Like I said before, it's called a sonic screwdriver. You wouldn't understand it's all wibbly-wobbly. But this 'thingy'" he held it up like a sword "Will help us track down that ol' sucker."
"Where are ya from?" I was determined to find out who "the Doctor" was.
"So. Many. Questions." He said. "Aren't you good for anything else? Here, hold the sonic screwdriver." He shoved it into my hands and scanned the area with his eyes.
"So close. But where?" he mumbled.
"Wait, you said you saw it on a bus, correct?" he quickly asked.
"Aye, but it could be anywhere now." I said worryingly.
"Well, how come it's over there?" he pointed to across the street where the bus I had just run from was sitting.
I whirled around and he had already taken the screwdriver from me and darted across the street. "Doctor! Be careful!" I shouted.
I stood there for a few moments rocking back and forth on my feet, but then I also ran toward the double decker bus. I met him at the door, and while I was trying to catch my breath, he was holding up the sonic screwdriver to the door. The door clicked open. Almost immediately he rushed inside. I watched him from the outside through a window. A look of despair washed over his face and he came stumbling out.
"Nothing!" he shouted, "Not even a clue left behind!"
"So it wasn't in there?" I was really scared now, it could be anywhere. He wasn't paying attention so I stepped on his foot, hard.
"OW!" his foot shot up and he cradled it with his hands. "God, what was that for?!"
"Doctor" I said slowly, "Where is it?"
"Well, that's what I'm trying to figure out. So, it's not in the bus, and you ran away like a little girl, well, you are a little girl, before you could really see it. So, basically we know nothing!"
"Hey! I was just trying to not get my face eaten off by some unearthly creature! And I am NOT a little girl!" I shot back. I ripped the sonic screwdriver out of his hands. "Take it back, what ya said!"
He sighed and looked down. "Fine, you're not a little girl." I handed back the sonic screwdriver. I had already had a horrible day; I was determined it wasn't going to get any worse.
Chapter Three
From the Doctor's Point of View
So there I was, in the TARDIS, minding my own business. Suddenly, an alarm goes off! I bolted to the monitor and deciphered the message.
"An alien? In York? What would it be doing there?" I said to myself in surprise.
The TARDIS groaned and jerked to the left. I put both my arms on two different levers, but I needed more limbs. I threw my foot up on the six sided console to hold another button, and finally, bashed my head into the last button.
The machine started to lean to the right and boxes I had messily kept on the floor started falling toward the swimming pool. "GERONIMO!" I shouted. I really didn't know what else to do; the TARDIS was slowly crashing to the ground. All I could do was attempt to steer and hold on for dear life to the console.
It made a sudden crash to the ground. I let go of all the buttons and levers and let myself sink to the floor. I only remained on the floor a second until I remembered how I was on a mission. I awkwardly toddled out of the TARDIS, still a little woozy from the ride. Even after nine hundred years of time travel, I still get a little "TARDIS sick" after the rough rides.
I whipped out my sonic screwdriver and checked for signs. I got a reading and dashed off in the direction it was leading me to. I guess I wasn't really looking where I was going, because before I knew it I ran into some girl and we both crashed to the ground. She hadn't been looking where she was running either, so it wasn't entirely my fault. I asked her if she was okay, and she said she was. I placed her accent as a York accent, so I was pretty sure she was a local.
She had reddish-brown hair and was very tall. She also was very quick to respond and a little smart-alecky. She reminded me of someone I used to know…
I snapped back to reality and questioned her, but she was more questioning me. She was doing what all the humans did. The whole "What's your name, where ya from, got kids?" thing. It sometimes gets on my nerves. I know that here, that is considered polite, but as you know, I'm not from "here".
She told me she had seen the exact organism I was looking for. She said she had seen it on a bus, though. I'm not really sure how it could have driven a bus, but anything goes when you're a time traveler!
When I searched the bus, it was gone, so was any evidence it had been there. I knew that I had a huge job in my hands. It wasn't like the humans were going to do anything about it. They would just send every reporter to talk about it, but no one to solve it. One of the issues of the Homosapien race.
So, this was something I would have to solve. The girl, Elizabeth, she seemed very strong and curious, just the kind of person I need to help me. I thought about how I might take her with me on the TARDIS, but I still need more "examination" before I could give her that responsibility.
Chapter Four
Bigger On The Inside
"I have an idea!" the Doctor exclaimed. I stared at him. "What is it, then?" I replied.
"Follow me!" he said happily, and skipped down the road.
I was a little freaked out by his sudden happy expression, but I decided to follow him anyways. I mean, how much weirder could today get? I followed him until we reached the small little park that my mum used to take me to when I was little. Sitting right in the middle of the park was a blue telephone booth that I didn't recall being there before, but I claimed it not important.
The Doctor walked toward the phone booth and got out some keys, the box opened immediately. He turned around and shouted "You coming, then?"
"In there? Oi Mate! I swear if you're going to feel me up or somethin' I'll have your head on a stake!" I shouted at him, without remembering that there were small children running around this park.
"Feel you up? You gotta be mad." He continued inside.
I ran up to the box, and started to say "Doctor, what could you possibly do in a-"but I was cut off.
The box was bigger on the inside.
"IT'S BIGGER ON THE INSIDE!" I ran outside and circled around the box, running my hands along the old, blue machine, just to make sure no trickery was going on. I ran back inside and the Doctor was sitting nonchalantly on a small wooden chair he must have dragged in during my outburst, for it was not in there before.
"Bigger on the inside? Really? I didn't notice." He said casually.
"Oh, shut up and explain this all to me!"
"Well, this is the TARDIS. T-A-R-D-I-S. It stands for 'Time and Relative Dimension in Space'. It can travel, anywhere, any when."
"So it's like a time machine? You kiddin'? Are you filmin' my reaction and this gonna be on telly or somthin'? You know, one of those prank shows?"
"No prank, all reality. So, you ready to travel?"
Chapter Five
The First Trip
"Travel, travel where?" I barely understood what he was saying, but I pretended like I knew every word. I still couldn't grasp the concept of the TARDIS, though.
"We are going to use it to help us find the thing!"
"So, you know what the thing is, right?"
"Ummm…not exactly. But, once I can get the TARDIS to function," he explained, franticly switching a lever back and forth. It took a few painful seconds, "Then-AH HA!" The machine grunted and moaned. It quickly swung made a furious swing to the left. I realized it to be the same noise I heard while sitting on the bus bench. He and I instinctively grabbed onto the console, me being quite unsure of the whole situation.
The TARDIS made a sudden jolt and stopped moving. I got the impression we were on the ground, helping me realize that we weren't in the last couple of minutes.
He slowly came up to me and tried to reassure me, though, I don't know he was doing such a thing. "Alright, Ms. Pole…now, don't pass out. The last thing I need is to have to lock some girl in the TARDIS by herself while she's blacked out."
"Black out? What do ya mean?" In that second I thought of a million things that could be outside those doors of the mysterious flying blue box:
More monsters, men with guns and knives, and the dreaded paparazzi. I mean, we are in a flying box! We couldn't have gone completely unnoticed, could we have? I'm sure someone saw it and reported it to the news channel. An "UFO" spotted in Yorkshire, what could make a better story?
I decided to get a really good look at the interior of the TARDIS. I was sure this was a dream, and I could write this down and make millions on book sales!
It was a sort of orangey color; I couldn't quite place the shade of orange. The floor was clear, and below I could see masses of tangled wires and bent hooks. There were stairs on either side of the room, two sets leading up, and two sets leading down, which led to God knows what. Right in the center of the room was a circular pole, which was extended at the bottom, and was clear toward the top. The bottom seemed like a desk, it had what could have been hundreds of different buttons, levers, and other, mindless things on it, such as a rusty typewriter, and a rubber duck which had a big split in it.
"Elizabeth?" the Doctor called to me.
I snapped back to reality and noticed that the Doctor had walked to the TARDIS doors and creaked them open. "Come, I wanna show you something."
I walked over and saw it.
Chapter Six
Not in York Anymore
"Doctor, I don't think we're in York anymore." I managed to get out. I'm not sure how I got a joke out at a time like that.
"Elizabeth…we're not on Earth anymore. Now you have to just-"
"NOT ON EARTH? WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?" I got right up in his face. "Take me back, I wanna to go home."
"Now, Elizabeth. You have to trust me. We have to go out there and find that thing, and I need your help. Do you trust me?" He grabbed my hand and held it gently, like a parent holding their child's hand after something bad happened.
Chapter Seven
An Explanation
I opened my eyes and looked back at my grandchildren. I had been telling them every detail, and they were captivated.
"What happened next?" the little girl asked, but I didn't answer her question right away.
"Oh, sweetie, my little Alice." I stroked her long blonde hair "You're so young, and full of life. How I long to be like you again.
"Keep going!" my grandson John said anxiously.
"Aye, I do trust ya." I replied.
He led me outside; the ground sank beneath my feet. I grabbed onto his arm, I noticed he was sinking, too.
"What do we do?" I shouted. I scared me that I might die on some unfamiliar planet, and at only twenty years old. My body felt numb as the sticky ground absorbed me. My head was fuzzy and I couldn't focus on anything. The ground was affecting me, in some way nothing had before. I suddenly felt myself being pulled up. I squinted at the sunlight and found it hard to breath.
It was the Doctor, I soon found, who had saved me. He took me into is arms and stroked my head. "It's alright, I got you."
"What was that?" My face was streaked with tears, and my clothes were torn. "It was a Submerunium Pit. Very fast, very sticky, very deadly. It sucks you in and messes with your head until you can't breathe anymore."
He let go of me and examined the ground. "We are on the planet Mersa."
"How can you tell by just looking at the ground? I bet ya think you're some genius or somethin'."
"Well, I am a genius" he said jokingly, straightening his bow tie.
He changed the subject, "Aren't you supposed to be in college?"
"Nah," I explained, "I dropped out of college and I'm renting out a flat. If I was still in college I would be a second year." I stopped. "We are on some strange planet and you want to find out my back story?" I said accusingly.
"Just tryin' to be polite!" he explained.
The planet had a blue sky, just as Earth does, but the grass was a tinted orange, sparkling in the sunlight. Yes, there was a sun. Most likely not light from ours, but it was there. There were mountains in the distance, which had shimmering snow caps. The air was thick with moisture and sweat beaded on my forehead. It felt like a rainforest, just without any trees. It was hard to all take in; I had never been out of England before! But, I am a person of adventure, and I was determined to show this "doctor" guy that I can be strong.
Chapter Eight
An Unfamiliar Planet
This planet had a feeling of welcoming to it, like a little house painted yellow with little sunflowers and all that human stuff. But all that is a trick, this planet is dangerous, very dangerous. Everywhere you step is a disaster waiting to happen. I haven't seen any life forms like the one Elizabeth saw yet, but it must be here somehow if this was the signal that the ol' girl followed.
I've started to trust Elizabeth a little more, she seems brave and willing, but I'll hold onto that spare TARDIS key for a little while longer. I must say, though, she has had one of the calmest reactions to the TARDIS interior that I have seen in a while.
Anyway, even if we do find the right specimen, I'm sure the thing will run. We'll have a whole planet to search through! Sure, I could just be happy the creature left Earth and I can go back on my merry way, but I need to find out how it got to Earth in the first place, and why. If everybody just left things the way they were then life would be a boring, useless thing. Plus, it will most likely come back to Earth, and God knows what it will do this time. It sounded like it either scared the people who ride the bus away, or killed them…let's hope for the first one. It's funny; I have grown to love that little planet of people so much. I would truly do anything for them, because it is clear they would do anything to help me.
Chapter Nine
An Adventure
My hair was a mess, my face, arms, and legs were coated in mud, and let's not even talk about what my clothes looked like, but the adrenaline was keeping me going.
We trekked for, a least I think it was, a couple miles. "Only a little longer, Elizabeth." the Doctor would continually say, but it never was "only a little longer". It seemed like an awkward silence for a while, but then we got in some interesting conversations about various subjects. I started thinking that actually he was kinda fit, but it's not like anything serious.
Toward the end, I kept having this feeling as though something was following me, watching me with precision. I was so aware of this that I started searching with my eyes for what could be watching us, but came out with nothing. It wasn't only me who noticed that strange sensation, the Doctor, too, seemed tense. It might have only been because he saw me searching and being nervous, but I like to think of it the other way.
Suddenly, I heard a metal grind noise and I whipped my head around. I looked at the Doctor and he looked brave, but behind his eyes I could see he was afraid. The sound of large footsteps came closer and closer, then, blackness.
Chapter Ten
Child at Heart
"Is she alright?" I heard an electronic voice say. I opened my eyes and right there in front of me were two people. At least, they looked like people. That concept ended when my vision stopped being blurry and I noticed that in fact they were not people, but robots that looked like people. They left the room and I noticed that I was strapped to a metal bed. So was the Doctor, but he was still passed out right next to me. "Doctor!" I yelled into his ear. He jerked up, noticed we were tied down, and said "I'm already on it."
He was somehow able to reach his sonic screwdriver. He quickly untied us and jumped up. Waving his screwdriver around he mentioned that he "Picked up some strange signals"; whatever that means.
"Where are we, now? Are we still on Medusa or whatever?"
"Mersa, and yes, we are still on it. We've moved, obviously. I'm trying to calculate our exact location from where we were before to see if it is a walk able distance to the TARDIS."
"Walk able distance?! We just walked 500 miles to get as far as we did before we got kidnapped by robots! Lord knows where we are now! I don't know about you, but I'm kinda fed up with walkin'."
"500 miles? That would be quite improbable. It was more like 4 or five miles. And those aren't robots, they're androids." He got up in my face "And if you want to make it out of here with every limb still attached, which I'm sure you do, I recommend you listen to everything I say, got it?"
I was quite thrown off by his sudden aggressiveness. This was the man who was, just five minutes ago, running around waving a glowing screwdriver around. I do trust him. I don't know why, this is either the best decision I've ever made or the worst decision I ever made, but I trust him. You know when you're little, and your mom tells you "Don't go with strangers! You can't trust them, they'll hurt you." But then you wonder if such a thing would really happen if you went with a stranger. It's like that; I'm scared, but curious at the same time. I'm scared that this man will hurt me, but I'm curious to see how things will end up. So, I guess all those times people said I was still a child at heart, they were really true.
Chapter Eleven
Something to Believe In
After the Doctor opened the door with his trusty screwdriver, we started down the long hallway that went on at both sides. There were no windows in this building we were in. It was just metal-walled corridor after corridor. The strange thing was the tunnel went on straight for miles without a single turn. You could see down the tunnel, and it looked like it had no end. The lights were very dim, and it was cold enough to see your breath.
Since I wasn't wearing the best choice of attire: a white blouse, a knee-length pencil skirt, ballet flats, and a light elbow-length cardigan, I was freezing. The Doctor seemed to be wearing about four layers of clothing, so he didn't have a problem.
Until a long while down the hallway, I hadn't paid much attention to the doors that were on the side of the hallway. They most likely didn't have anything in them, but the curious child in me kept urging me to run into one like there's no tomorrow.
"What if there is somebody watchin' us?" I said, hoping he would suggest looking for signs of life.
"I doubt it." He alleged, obviously focused on something else.
"But what are the doors?" I pointed to one while we passed by it "Where are we goin' anyway? What if we just keep walkin' and this hallway never ends? We have to find a way out."
"I'm trying to find a way out!" He stopped and looked at me. I stopped and looked right back at him.
"Elizabeth, right now my main goal is to get you home safe and sound. And that is exactly what I plan to do. Please listen to me." He grabbed my hands and held them up "I will get you home. But first you need to find something to hold onto. Find something to believe in."
I thought for a moment then nodded.
"Good, remember that thing." He continued walking up the never ending hallway.
I found my thing to believe in, and he's standing right in front of me.
Chapter Twelve
You Can't Hide
I couldn't stand it anymore. I hung far behind the Doctor so he couldn't see me, then I frantically jiggled the cold doorknob on the first door I came across. It somehow wasn't locked and it slid open. It was pitch black in the room and even colder than the hallway. Goosebumps rose on my arm as I walked deeper into the calling blackness. Then, I heard it.
A deep, whispering, but, frightening voice arose from the darkness. I could hear it, I could hear it clearly. It recited some sort of poem.
"You can run but you can't hide. You shall always stay inside. No matter how much you comply, all darkness will coincide."
I felt a large hand grasp my shoulder. My body was paralyzed. Without even knowing it, I let out a blood-curling scream.
"Elizabeth, it's me, you're alright."
My body immediately relaxed at the sound of the Doctor's voice.
"Why did you go in here? I told you to stay by me!" He said sharply.
"Did ya hear that voice? Just then? It said some poem…it said we are never goin' to get outta here." He led us out of the evil room. In the dim lights, I could see the worry in his face.
I'm not sure why he worries so much about me, I'm not important to him. We just met a few hours ago, and I don't think I made some big impact on his life. But, he seems so sad. He seems so alone. He's lost somebody important to him, I know that. He looks the same as my mum did when my father lost his battle with cancer. She just sat there next to the hospital bed motionless and empty. I never knew what to say, I was only thirteen. Five years later, she committed suicide. Luckily, I was legally old enough to take care of myself so I didn't half to go to a foster home, but, I still suffer. I still miss both of them, and it's hard.
"Really? Who said that?" the Doctor asked. I guess he noticed I zoned out. "It was just a voice, I don't know where it came from, maybe I was hallucinating, but it sounded so real."
"I do think it was real. But I wonder why you can only hear it in there. What is so special about that room right there?" He thought for a moment "I wonder…" He held the sonic screwdriver up and scanned the door. "AH HA!" I was slightly scared by his sudden enthusiasm, "Oh, I'm so stupid! Of course!"
"What? What is it? What have you found?" I asked quickly. I had to ask quickly so I knew what he was doing before he ran off.
"It's a signal traveling through the air! That voice you heard, whatever it came from, it wasn't in that room. Its radio waves! Beautiful, lovely, radio waves!"
Since it was dark, I'm not quite sure, but, I think at that moment he kissed his sonic screwdriver. "What's so 'beautiful and lovely' about radio waves?" I said while mimicking his voice.
"But wait, there's something else. I didn't even notice it was there, since I've seen so many, but there's a perception filter around this door." He turned and eyed me.
"So? What's a 'perception filter'?" I felt puzzled by his sudden distrust in me.
"You shouldn't be able to see it. A perception filter, well, sort of blocks the image. The object it's around is there, nothing has changed, but you don't notice that the object is there. It makes you forget about it. Since it took no effect on you, you are either HIGHLY intelligent or have been exposed to the filters before."
"What do ya mean? Like, there might be some object in my house that I don't even know is there? And when I move, I won't take it with me because I don't even notice it?" I held my hand up to my forehead and sighed. Just when I though this day couldn't get any crazier….
"Yes, I guess it is sort of like that. So, the question is, how can you see it?"
"I'm 'highly intelligent'! And before, you were sayin' somethin' about radio waves, continue about those."
"Ah, yes. Fluda Waves! A special kind of radio waves that don't need all that special wire junk. It comes right from the transmitter to your head! Neat, right?"
"But 'Fluda' means wave in Latin…they're called 'Wave Waves? I mean really, now. Are you makin' all this stuff up? Are we even on Mersa? Which matter of fact is also using a Latin term?"
"Oi! Don't question the planet! The people who once lived here were very into human culture."
"Once lived here? So they don't live here anymore?"
"I looked her up on the screwdriver. It gave me the whole history of the planet, from the creation to the destruction."
"Destruction?"
"It was destroyed in The Last Great Time War. I had forgotten about this planet. It's still here, but the people are gone. Unlike my planet which both the people and the planet were destroyed in it."
"What do ya mean 'your planet'? You seem to know everything about everything. Even about things I never heard of; things I thought could never exist, and you've proved me wrong. You have a time machine, and a glow-stick screwdriver that can do anything! And God knows else what...a-are you an alien?" Once I had listed everything he had all together at once, I realized how not human it all was.
"Yea, I am an alien. Is that alright?"
The "Is that alright" part threw me off. Since I had never even been out of the UK, I had never met an "alien". Sure, when I thought aliens, I thought of Americans or Australians. I was never one of those people who thought there was life outside of our beautiful Earth.
"Since you're learning all this, might as well tell you it all. Ready?" He stood up straighter and cleared his throat. He then started talking extremely fast.
"I'm an alien from the planet Gallifrey. I'm over one thousand years old. I'm from a race called the Time Lords. I'm the only Time Lord left. I have two hearts and extensive knowledge of practically everything!"
"Woooahhh."
He straightened his bowtie and continued down the hall. I stayed in the same spot and I felt the sudden need for a flirty comment to defeat his triumph-full moment.
"Oi! Alien boy! Nice arse!"
He turned his head around, slightly surprised by this statement, but he kept walking. "Watch it, Pole!"
Chapter Thirteen
I Promise
A metal grinding noise, that same metal grinding noise came from above us. It sounded like it was in the ceiling, which was strange. Up until now I had no doubt that this tunnel had no air vents above us. We were still walking, like we thought if we kept walking this tunnel would eventually end. Walking, walking, and more walking. Taking deep strides across the metal floor that showed no mercy. It seemed like all I had done today was walk.
The metal sound got louder. Then it started to get closer. My heartbeat quickened and I was shaking. I was already sort of shaking from the temperature, which showed no sign of rising. Closer and closer the noise came. The Doctor started to look up when-
"DOCTOR!"
A bolt of blue electricity shot out of some unknown force. It directly hit the Doctor. His body shook, but it was over in a second. He dropped to the floor face first, his clothes and hair singed. He wasn't moving and it scared me to think the impossible. I kneeled down next to him and shook his motionless body.
"Come on Doctor!" Tears welled up in my eyes, "Ya can't die one me now! We gotta get home! Remember? Ya promised!"
I turned him over and checked for a pulse and a heartbeat. They were both there, so I didn't understand why he wasn't up and walking. I thought back to everything he had told me.
"I remember!" I whispered to myself, "He said he had two hearts."
I had taken a CPR course last summer, so I knew exactly what to do…sort of…I didn't exactly finish the course…
I put my hands together and banged on his chest as hard as I could. In a heartbeat (yes that was a pun) he opened his eyes and started to gasp.
"Good to have ya back, Doctor."
"Um, well, that hurt, but thanks."
"You were dying."
He sat up and sat crisscross like a little kid. "One thing you need to know is that we're all dying in a way. Every time the Earth spins we're getting older. We truly are all born to die. But while you're dying, you need to make something that won't die. You need to make an impression on this universe that will last forever. Promise me this Elizabeth that you'll make an impression that will last forever."
"I promise"
Chapter Fourteen
Never Stop Running
"The question is where did that electricity come from?" I was surprised at how quickly he had gotten back on his feet after he had been electrocuted to almost death.
"I know you're an alien and all, but ya never answered my question. Ya know the one where I asked 'how do you know EVERYTHING.'"
"I don't know everything, trust me. But Time Lords know a lot of stuff. I mean, Time Lord, plural. I've traveled nearly my whole life. I've seen the beginning of the universe to the end. But there's always more to see."
At this moment he for some reason spun in a circle twice then acted like nothing happened.
"You're so ancient. You're so wise. I feel- I feel like so small compared to ya. I'm such an ant compared to you, so is everyone else. I've seen nothing! I've never even been out of the stupid UK and you're talkin' about going to the end of time. I wish I could do that. I wish I was like you…"
"But being like me comes with a price. There is so much about me that you don't know, Elizabeth. There is so much about me that nobody knows. Nobody will ever know. I have to keep the darkest secrets. I have to live with the darkest memories. Everyday I'm running from my past AND I CAN'T STOP."
At this moment I truly saw who the Doctor was. He wasn't the man who dressed like a weirdo from the 1800's and acted as mature as a five year old boy. (Well, he was that, but also-) he was the man who could never stop running. Or the worst would happen. If he ever stopped running the universe would die. It would shrivel up and burn. He was the Doctor, the man who could never stop running.
Chapter Fifteen
Which Is Worse?
Every door was sealed and dark. Except one.
We both decided that we should go in there. If we were going to die in here, might as well know the place that I have my untimely demise.
"One, two, THREE!" we both shouted at the same time
The second we were in there, I felt myself hit something tall and hard. I couldn't see what it was since my eyes hadn't seen light in the longest time.
"BLOODYHELLDOCTORTHEREISSOMETHINGINHERE!"
My eyes adjusted right after I yelled that. Standing in front of me was the fittest bloke I had ever seen. He had beautiful blonde hair and ice blue eyes that made my knees weak. He had to be six feet tall and his beard was perfect. He seemed to know he was so incredibly sexy, because he had his shirt off and he had an amazing six pack that would make any girl faint and any bloke green-with -envy.
And of course, my hair was mangy, my clothes were covered and mud and ripped, and I was dripping with sweat. Oh yeah, I sure I smelled like flowers and sunshine, too. Just my luck. See a sexy guy, gotta make them think I'm a hobo.
"Alright, I'm Elizabeth Pole" I somehow got out.
He flashed an amazing bright-white smile. He didn't even seem notice my homeless vibe. "Nice to meet you, Elizabeth. I'm Dalton Knight. You stuck here, also?" Great, even his name was perfect. He held out his hand for me to shake it. Oh hey, did I mention that was perfect, too?
"Um, actually we're just passing through, thanks" the Doctor butt in. I was so worked up about Dalton I had forgotten all about him.
I looked over and saw a young woman standing at the other side of the room with her hands folded over her chest. She had reddish-brown hair like mine and ice blue eyes like Dalton. She seemed afraid of the Doctor and I, as though we we're going to hurt her.
Dalton looked over and motion for the woman to come over.
I guess all she needed was his approval because she came over and immediately introduced herself. "I'm Scarlett-Rose Knight."
Damn it…
"You two married or somethin'?" They looked at each other and laughed. "No, she's just my sister." Dalton replied. "YES! I mean-that's great…I mean…ummm…" Why can't I just sink into the floor right now? Why does this floor need to be made of Goddamn metal and not some strange alien flexible material? This is the reason I don't have a boyfriend. Every single time a guy comes near me I scare them away with my weirdness and bad timing.
"Have you guys seen the electricity that comes out of the ceilin'?" Dalton questioned us. "Aye." I said "We discovered the wonders of that when Mr. Genius here got electrocuted. We're tryin' to figure out where they came from."
I saw him look down and he seemed to remember something. "Have you by any chance seen a little girl anywhere? She looks a lot like me." His mood had suddenly changed from happiness to worry and sadness in an instant.
"You missin' someone?" I felt very close to Dalton already, so I didn't have to fake being worried.
"Aye. My sister Juliet has gone missin'. I dropped a tenner and she went to go lookin' for it and now we can't find her. I'm really worried that something has happened to her. She's so small, and she can't handle herself on her own."
"How long have ya been in here?" I asked them.
"About three days I think, but it's hard to keep track in here."
He examined both of us, but seemed especially cautious of the Doctor. "You two together?"
The Doctor and I slowly turned out heads and looked at each other. Then we burst out laughing. "No, no! I'm just sorta his, helper for a while." I turned and looked at him with hoping eyes. I hope I could stay with him longer than awhile.
"And who are you Mr.-?"
"You can call me the Doctor."
Dalton seemed quite confused "the Doctor…is that like a special spy code name or somethin'?"
"Ha! I thought that, too!" I joked with Dalton.
The Doctor cut off the conversation.
"So we need a way out of here. I'm guessing you do as well. But you also need to find your little sister. Not meaning to intrude, but how did you get on this planet?"
"I think I could ask you the same question. Well, we were just flyin' through space when this huge star suddenly burst and started to form a black hole. We were sucked inside. We all thought we were dead, but before we knew it all of us were on this planet. We got captured…by something, not really sure what. We were walking down this hallway when I thought it was time to just pick a room and stay there. I was able to hack into the system and turn on the lights, but still no luck with the heatin' system. As you've noticed, it's still cold enough to freeze in here." Dalton explained, then said, "I'm overjoyed to know the people who are helping me are also French speakers, I was so worried that they would be some sort of alien who spoke strange tongue."
"What? We don't speak-"the Doctor elbowed me in the side. I turned around and elbowed him again. "GAH! You are into that violence aren't ya?" He turned toward a confused Dalton, "One second, if you could excuse us."
The Doctor pulled me to the side, "Okay, one thing I forgot to explain. The TARDIS translates all languages. So right now, he is speaking English, not really, actually French and you are speaking French, not really, actually English."
"I'm speaking French?" I laughed "I failed French in Secondary School; I guess my teacher Mr. Stanton should see me now! Speakin' perfect French!"
The room suddenly turned piping hot. The walls started to release thick steam that came from nowhere, since I didn't see any water. The lights flickered, then flickered, then off. I had one hand on a wall before; I now ripped it away and saw the ghastly red blisters and scars that had been imprinted in my hand. Even wearing nice shoes I could feel the horrid heat on my timid feet as if I was barefoot. Sweat seemed to form all over my body. I took off my cardigan and held it in my scarred hand. The last thing I needed was extra heat. We all turned toward each other and without saying anything, nodded in agreement. Scarlett-Rose grabbed a small, orange backpack that had been sitting on the ground and I reached for the door. In desperation of getting out, I had forgotten how hot the metal walls were. I used my other hand to try to turn the door handle and shot it back. It had become just as horrid looking as the first. I took the cardigan in my hand, and as quickly as I could, opened the door with it. I motioned for everyone to come out. This whole time you could have heard a pin drop. No noise was made except for the whistle of steam coming out of the walls. I took my cardigan and shredded it, taking two large strips and tying it around the palms of my hands. I never liked that cardigan anyway.
Where to go now? The Doctor interrupted this long period of awkward silence, to only repeat my question. "Where do we go now?" everyone's heads hung low as we all knew there was nothing we could do now. If we went back in there, we would burn to death. It seemed every room was as hot as the one we escaped from. I quickly ran a finger on a few doors, all of them made me jerk back. But still, the hallway was freeze-to-death cold. Freeze to death or burn to death…which is worse?
Chapter Sixteen
Drop
It's freezing. I'm freezing. Everyone is freezing.
This was truly all I could think about. My bare arms shook in both cold and fear. Maybe I shouldn't have ripped up my sweater. Oh yeah, my hands still hurt like Hell, and they look like Hell, too. I probably shouldn't be complaining; Dalton is walking around in about 20 degree weather without a shirt on. It's not like that bothers me, but I just can't understand how he's doing that.
"Can you see that light over there?" the Doctor has been the first to talk in what seems like ages. I looked ahead and saw a small, delicate light in a square formation flat on the floor. It was a hypnotizing light. It seemed to sway, without losing its shape. I became a zombie, taking slow small steps and reaching my hand out. I had to touch it, and nobody was stopping me. Everything became blurred except the light and I heard nothing except a little voice in my head saying, "Go, and go touch it."
I felt hands try to pull me back but I pushed them away. I saw a blurred body step in front of me and madly wave its hands, but nothing could get in the way.
Before I knew it, I was falling. I was falling down a deep, eerily dark hole. My vision wasn't blurred anymore and I could hear once more. It's not like that matters when you're falling for what seems like eternity. I felt my body make a huge, gross-sounding thump onto a hard surface. I'm pretty sure I had reached the bottom of this hole. I opened my eyes and there was light. Not just pathetic, dim-light like up there, but actual light. It was bright and hurt my head. Oh, but don't get excited, it was still twenty below zero in here, too. I thought I was alone, until I saw a face.
Chapter Seventeen
Juliet
"Don't scream." The face whispered. After my eyes had fully adjusted, I saw it was only a small, blonde girl. She looked very frightened and timid, but still strong. She was standing up and I saw that her slim hair went down to her slimmer waist. "I'm Juliet." Oh, that makes sense. This is the girl Dalton and Scarlett-Rose was looking for. They would be so happy if I could get her up there to them. Now, how do I do that?
"I'm Elizabeth. I met Dalton and Scarlett-Rose up there. They were lookin' for ya, and I hopefully have someone who cares enough to look for me. How about we help each other get out?" She did a small nod and helped me get up from the ground. I tried to remember that this was a French girl, and that I shouldn't make any British references, but it was still hard to wrap my brain around that.
"So, ya been down here long?" I asked. I was just trying to get some sort of conversation out of her.
"Oui."
I think this is the first time I've ever been glad I took French.
"Now, I think we should keep walkin'. There's gotta be someway outta this prison." Juliet got closer to me and grabbed my hand. I was a little startled at first and I could still feel the burns on my hand as if I had just gotten them, but then I saw the worry in her green eyes, and I held on tight.
We kept plodding along. The halls down here looked the exact same as up there, and every door was burning hot. But wait; was that door back there cold? I walked backwards a few steps and took the risk of running two fingers across the door frame. It really was cold, no joke. Without any cue, Juliet took a bobby pin out from her hair and began to pick the lock. In seconds, the lock clicked and the door silently swung open. I decided that being the older one in this situation, I would go first. I put one foot into room.
Nothing happened.
Another small step.
Nothing happened.
Third time's a charm, 'ey?
Not this time…
Bright lights flashed on. The sound of metal grinding, the sound that hasn't left me since I first heard it, came from all sides. I was blinded from the light, and all I could see was Juliet's figure standing there motionless. Was this how I was going to die?
Chapter Eighteen
Gang
"All right gang!" I clapped my hands together. "Oooo, I like the sound of that! Gang….gang…my gang!" I let the word roll on my tongue each time. "Gang…gangster ga-"
"DOCTOR!" Dalton rudely interrupted.
"Ah, yes. So, we have now lost a 'gang' member, and no offense to you, but she is the most important thing to me right now, okay? I am not leaving without her, so, I guess we can just hope that Juliet and she found each other all safe and sound…because as soon as I find her I'm leaving."
"How are you so sure you're gonna find her? There are probably millions of tunnels that lead to just more tunnels." Scarlett-Rose said coolly. She was probably pissed at my attitude.
"Because…I don't care if I spend the rest of eternity here. I will find her and I will bring her home."
"Why are you so protective of her? She doesn't seem to have that much of an attachment to you. It seems you two have just met." Dalton asked me.
"Because I've lost a person….well, persons. Just a little while ago. It made me realize that I'm dangerous. If I hadn't j-just butt into their lives they would still be back home, with their daughter, and with each other."
Tears streamed down my face. I barely ever cry, I just accept what has happened and move on. But, when it comes to my friends, I never feel more pain when they are gone. They are me, and they are what make me. Without them, what would by my point of being alive?
"I won't bring anyone with me again, so she's my last. And I will not lose my last friend." I stormed away. Where could she be? 'I will not lose my last friend. I will not lose my last friend.' Those words echoed in my head and were the driving force for me to find Elizabeth.
The noises started to get softer and softer. I had my eyes closed; I was too scared to open them and witness the hideous thing that would bring me and Juliet's doom. The room suddenly went totally silent.
"Do you need a favor?" a large electronic voice said.
What? That couldn't be right. I was supposed to be dying, right?
"I repeat do you need a favor?"
I opened my eyes slowly and carefully. Right there were two of the same androids that had tied me and the Doctor up. I grabbed Juliet's hand and decided to speak to it.
"Uh, um, yeah." My voice came out small and shaky.
"What do you need?"
"I uh, need to find my way back to my friend. His name's 'the Doctor."
A bright light shown from one android's eyes. "Scanning for 'the Doctor'".
Without warning the androids began walking out of the room and continued out into the hall. I quickly ran after them, still grasping tightly onto Juliet's hand.
We twisted and turned through a maze of tunnels...but wait, the tunnels were all straight before and now suddenly they were a hot mess of sharp turns. We soon came up to a wall. Now, all the other walls were silver, but this one was pink. Not just pink, bright neon pink that hurts your eyes if you look at it for more than five seconds.
"Continue forward Elizabeth Forte Pole and Juliet Sauveur Knight."
Both Juliet and I looked at each other in surprise. These things knew our names, and who knows what else?
"I repeat, continue forward."
We both inched a little closer to the pink wall. I stuck out my hand, and with my pointer finger I poked the wall. It sent a little ripple throughout the wall. The wall just wasn't solid, and there was no way I was going through that! Suddenly one of the androids shouted, "LOOK OVER THERE!"
My head spun around and before I knew it one of the other androids pushed me and Juliet through the wall head first. Who knew androids were tricksters?
My body felt frozen. Juliet had her eyes shut and it looked as though she might have been praying. We were only floating through this nothingness for maybe a second, but it seemed hours, days, weeks, before we made it to the other side.
Chapter Nineteen
The Other Side
I felt cool, wet dirt beneath my hands. My face was straight in the mud. I took in gulp after gulp of fresh air that wasn't metal tasting like the stale air inside.
Dirt, water, fresh air. This means we weren't inside anymore. And that means I was even one step farther from getting home where I could sit in my powder blue chair and pretend this was all dream. And you know this still could be all a dream...
I slowly got up, feeling dizzier and woozier than I ever had before. My head was scrambled and my stomach felt like it had dropped to the bottom of me. Right then and there, I lost my breakfast. I was surprised I still had any food in me. After taking a second to try and clear my head I found Juliet face first in a bush.
"I'm alright, Mademoiselle." she said reassuringly once I pulled her out of the bush and she stood up with wobbly legs. "Alright. Now we've got to get back in."
So I grabbed her hand and ran. We ran, and ran and ran around the building, which never seemed to end. And then my phone rang. I struggled to pull my mobile out of my skirt pocket. "HOW IS IT DOING THAT?!" I yelled as I answered it.
"Calm down it's just me."
"Who's me?! How is my mobile ringing in outer space?!"
"I'll explain later. It's the Doctor. I'm using Dalton's communicator which he only suddenly remembered he had!" I could hear a guy in the background yell, "I'm sorry! Sheesh, I'm sorry!"
"Anyway," he continued "Where are you? According to the communicator you are not in the building. And it says you are with someone..."
I looked back and saw Juliet smile. "I'm here with Juliet. We got pushed through some wall by androids and now we are outside."
...he hung up on me.
Chapter 20
"I have an idea!" I exclaimed. "Maybe, I can track down the Doctor's location from his last call. I have an app for that." I look down at my phone and mumbled, "Because there's a bloody app for everything."
But it was dead. My phone was completely dead. "I believe your device is out of charge." Juliet pointed out. "No shit, Sherlock." I quipped without even thinking.
She only gave me a puzzled look, and then shrugged. "Well, out of energy, out of options. What do we do now?" I fumed. "Well, if I could. My mum always told me that sometimes when all hope is lost, you just need to sit and wait it out. A solution will come soon."
I shoved the crumbs from the bag of crisps I found in my pocket into my mouth. I continued talking even with my mouth full. "So that's why I snogged Owen instead. The girl, Gwen or whatever said he was a really good kisser and she was right." I began starting another story, "Then, later that year I met a bloke named Rory but he totally rejected me because he said he was 'seeing someone else' or somethin' like that." I looked over at Juliet and noted that she was staring off into space. "I literally just spilled my life out to ya and you didn't hear any of it?" I said exasperated. She shook herself out of the daze and turned towards me. "Elizabeth, I wasn't listening to what you said because I actually don't care."
For a second, I was in shock. I then chuckled, "Spending too much time with me and becoming a real Brit. That's what's happenin'!" I continued laughing but she turned away with a strange look on her face. "Oh wait, she doesn't know I'm British." I thought to myself. I turned to the opposite way of her and walked back to lean against the building.
As I leaned back my entire body slammed through the wall and into the tunnel. I screamed for a second as I flew through the air, then I hit the cold metal floor. I swear I could see stars. Everything was blurry, but I could see three figures standing over top of me. In a few seconds my eyesight was back to normal, though my brain was still fuzzy. I could see the faces of the three standing over top of me.
"Doctor, what the Hell are you wearing on your head?"
The voice I'd been waiting to hear spoke again, "It a fez. Fezzes are cool. I found it just sitting there! Imagine that! Leaving such an amazing object to just sit and rot!"
Scarlett-Rose, Dalton, and I all glared at him and put his laughs to an awkward silence. Everyone just stood around and avoided eye contact.
"Doctor." I whispered.
"Yep?"
"I believe this is the bit where you help me up, hug me, and spin me around joyously."
"Joyously?" he mouthed. I nodded and he helped me up, gave me an awkward hug, and turned away blushing furiously. Juliet soon burst through the wall I had fallen through, giving us all a heart attack. She gasped at the sight of her siblings and ran up to them. They showered her with hugs and kisses. Dalton picked Juliet up and spun her around.
I leaned towards the Doctor. "That's how you should have greeted me." I whispered to him. He half-turned to me then looked away as if I hadn't said anything at all. The Doctor clapped and interrupted the reunion. "Sorry to barge into the fiesta but I have to say we do sort of have to get things going. " We all stood in our places, savoring the moment. That was until down the hall there was a loud bang and one by one, we went through the wall that led outside. The Doctor raised his sonic screwdriver and locked the portal closed. "Nothing ever getting in, nothing ever getting out." he told us.
Two androids suddenly ripped through the wall. We all jumped back in fear with wide eyes. "Elizabeth Forte Pole may not leave." the robots boomed. "W-What'd ya want me for? I mean, I not anythin' special. Why are you two so forceful about me staying lost in there? Huh?"
"Let me handle this." the Doctor whispered. He walked up to the androids and suddenly stripped of his coat and shirt. The other three looked away and I was left looking him up and down with my "Eh, ain't half bad" face. The Doctor held up the garments. "You don't want her. You want her clothes, don't you? You can't grow cotton on this planet because of the high amounts of mold, and out of all of us she's wearing the most cotton, isn't she? You trap people in your tunnel...for their clothes. You chase them, and make it a little game by sending voices to their heads and letting them fall through the floor and walls, all for your own entertainment. Then, you corner them, strip them, and send them on their way. Or you might even kill them."
He turned back towards me. "I'll give you my shirt and jacket. Just take off your clothes and they'll leave us alone."
"How about NO! I am NOT walkin' around naked on some Godforsaken planet! "I shot back.
"It's programed into them. Their not going to leave you alone. Didn't you realize that alien on the bus killed all those people for their clothes? They beamed 'em back here and killed them for their cotton. That's what was in those perception filter rooms. Bodies."
My mouth dropped open. I couldn't believe that if the Doctor hadn't been there, I would be dead. My body lying in a cold metal room forever.
"Oh, I can't believe I'm doing this!" I grabbed the Doctor's clothes, turned around and stripped down to my undergarments. I threw my clothes over my shoulder. I put on the Doctor's shirt, which barely covered my bottom, and turned around.
I could tell Dalton was thinking of a line. "Don't you dare say anything, mate!" I said while blushing.
I had turned around just in time to see the Doctor take my clothes and begin to push them into a slot on the android. "WAIT!" I screamed. He froze in action as I was just barely able to pull my mobile out of my skirt pocket. "Four texts in outer space? Now that's what I call phone service!" I joked as I scrolled through my phone.
The androids suddenly turned around heading back where they came from. We were all in shock from the events and the cold weather, since none of us were properly dressed except for Juliet and Scarlett-Rose, whose veins were obviously still frozen solid from the inside temperatures.
But the enemy wasn't done just yet. The strange grotesque squid that killed the bus came darting through the wall and into some tree that turned out to be a portal. Before he made it all the way through the Doctor raised his sonic screwdriver in the air. "We've got it!" he yelled. "It's stuck in the portal. We just got to follow it." He turned toward the Knight family. "You mates coming?"
Dalton shook his head. "We've got our own ride home. But thank you, Doctor, for everything." They began walking down the slightly worn trail.
The Doctor looked at me and grinned.
"Alright Gang. Let's get you home."
Chapter 21
Axes and Ice Cream
I was expecting us to have to take another long journey back to the TARDIS, but the Doctor summoned the box with his screwdriver. We ran into it, the Doctor leading the way with his sonic still in his hand. He plugged the screwdriver into the console. "I can track the location of where it's stuck!" he shouted over the noise of engines starting. "Oh you sexy thing! Lead the way!"
The Doctor ran over to a box and handed me clothes and grabbed some for himself. We quickly put them on as the TARDIS began to rock.
I grabbed onto the edge of the console as the entire room jolted back and forth. Even some sparks flew, but I could see from his face that sparks apparently wasn't a bad thing.
*CRASH*
The room stopped moving. We had landed.
We spotted the alien, followed the alien, and now it's time to catch the alien.
The transmat wall it went through was to the year 2003 in London. I've figured out the aliens don't pick where they land when they step through that wall, they just have to hope for the best when they step through. I could tell it had no clue where it was going when it was being transmated, or dare I say "transwalled."
I quickly ran out of the TARDIS with Elizabeth close behind. My one last move, I pushed the creature back to where it came from. It went right back to it's planet, and that's where it should stay.
"Lizzie! Go bring me something sharp!"
"You're not gonna kill it, right?"
"No, I wouldn't think of it!" She jogged back to the console room and brought out an axe, which was almost bigger than her small frame.
I carefully took it from from her hands. I took a deep breath and - SHATTER. I broke the connection, which broke every connection from Earth to Mersa.
I'd done it! Elizabeth and I both starting jumping up and down in excitement, which I guess was "inappropriate" because people were staring at the two people in the sidewalk jumping up and down in front of a huge box. "Alright we can walk around, it's London 2003, but first let's hide the TARDIS"
After finding a better place to keep the TARDIS, which was a small forrest in the middle of town, we began walking back to civilization. On the way back I explained to Elizabeth everything that had happened today. Her sincere enthusiasm and interest made me smile. "You know what? There's a little ice cream shop down the street. I used to go there with-" I stopped. "Anyway, we'll go there my tre-" I hadn't been looking where I was going, and I had run into yet another person. But this time it wasn't a stranger.
It can't be...
Chapter 22
Yellow Girl
The Doctor and the blonde girl both toppled to the ground, just like me and him had met. I thought our party of two had turned into a party of three, but he looked at her different. His mouth was gaped open and I could see in his eyes he knew her. And in her eyes I could see that she didn't know him, but somehow she had to. The blonde girl stood up, blushing, and offered her hand to the Doctor. "I-I'm sorry I was joggin'. I wasn't looking where I was going." she then said, "I'm Rose, but most people just call me 'Oi! You yellow girl!"' She and him both laughed at her bad joke.
He looked up.
And the only thing he said was, "I know."
"Have we met before?'
"No. But we will."
She looked very confused, but the Doctor only nudged me and walked away. We made it back to the TARDIS without speaking, and without any ice cream. Once we made it back, he sighed deeply as if that was the most stressful thing ever.
"You knew her, but she didn't know you." I choked out
"Yeah," he replied.
"Is she someone who used to travel with you?
"Yes."
We stood in silence for a few minutes. The Doctor looked at me with sad eyes. Even without him saying a word, I knew what he was thinking.
"...You want me to go?"
"You need to understand that this is an act of kindness. Bad things happen to people who travel with me, and I will not lose anymore more."
A few tears ran down my cheek, but I quickly wiped them away. "What happened to her? The blonde girl, Rose."
"She was a traveler, or will be. She was the saver of worlds. We saved so many planets and people together, and afterwards to celebrate we get chips and have a few laughs. But one day she slipped. Literally, she did. She's still alive, but in another universe. I never get to see her future, so I have to settle with her past."
I understood him now. I knew why I had to leave. I started walking out the door when I remembered one last thing.
"I think I know why I could see through the perception filters. It's because I've seen them before. I went to a friend from summer camp's house for a sleepover when I was really little, to a little girl with the last name Pond and her friend, Mels. I remember seeing a room out of the corner of my eye. It wasn't there when I really looked."
"That must be it then," the Doctor said in agreement. "What was the Pond girl's first name?"
"Well, summer camp was only a week when I little, but I think it was Amelia."
The Doctor had a warm smile on his face. "I think so, too." He grabbed my hand, put a key into it, and folded it closed. I opened my hand back up and smiled. He hugged me, but this time it was a lot less awkward, as if he was hugging a long-lost friend.
As I walked out of the TARDIS I thought about everything that had happened. Right before I closed the door I called behind me, "Please visit me one day, Doctor. Before my time is up."
Chapter 23
Thank you
"So Nana, what happened after you left?" My grandchildren waited eagerly waited for a reply.
"I quit the whole office thing and went back to college and then got a job at the UK Space Agency. I met your grandfather there, and we had your mum. Then your mum married your dad and had you lot," I happily recalled.
"Did the Doctor ever come back?
I sighed deeply. "No, I'm afraid not. But he as got worlds to save. He doesn't have time for an old lady like me."
My daughter called the grandchildren out so they could stretch their legs. I laid there in my hospital bed with tears forming in my eyes. But then I heard it. The wooshing and creaking of the old blue box which appeared right at the foot of my bed.
And he stepped out. The man with a bowtie and two caring hearts.
"You haven't aged a day! Oh, and look at me, I can hardly move!" I joked.
He held out a small earring. "You left this. I found it on the floor near the console."
"I've been looking for that for sixty years!" I chuckled. I reached towards my neck to show his key, which I had put on a necklace. "I wore it everyday. Just in case you ever thought of coming back." We both smiled.
I could feel my body getting heavy. I knew it was time for me to go.
"Doctor." I motioned for him to come closer.
I had told every secret, every tale, and kept every promise. I only had to keep one more promise I made to myself.
"Thank you," I whisper in his ear.
That was the last thing I had left to say.
Chapter 24
The Doctor's Poem
People die and babies are born
Secrets are told, and secrets are sworn
Dreamers keep dreaming until their death
And who do I dream of? My dear Rose, Martha, Donna, Amelia, and Elizabeth
An Epilogue
I was on a mission to get rid of the snow.
A short girl with brown hair approached me.
"Did you make this snowman?" she asked, puzzled.
I tried to avoid her. "No."
She turned to me, "Well, who did?"