A/N - I'm being a good updater and catching up by starting Part Two a little early! This chapter mainly deals with getting Callum, Keith and Laura back into the TARDIS - with the beginning of the actual adventure starting about halfway through, but yeah, I hope you enjoy - and please remember to read and review, and if you haven't already, please go find "Fallen Triangle: Part One" to see how it all began.
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The10thDoctorRocks - Yup, Keith and Laura are back for the remainder of Part Two! I'm gonna do my best to make Callum seem a little different now - he's definitely grown up though!
It was coming up for the end of January, 2013, and snow was falling over Glasgow. The school bell was ringing, announcing the end of the day and the beginning of the weekend, and Callum Hendrick, Keith Whyte and Laura McKinroy made their way out of the school courtyard amongst the crowd of other students. The snow was quite thick, and it crunched underfoot as the crowds made their way home.
"I always get a little paranoid with the snow now," Keith said, eyeing the sky suspiciously as they trudged through the snow. "After that whole Brimstone Snow scenario."
"What's that?" asked their other friend, Sean, popping up behind him. "Brimstone Snow?"
"Hm, oh, nothing," Keith replied, "just something I saw in a magazine or something. Anyway, what are you doing here? Don't you have a guitar lesson?"
"Aw, nah, it got cancelled because there's a weather warning for later on and Ms Duffy lives pretty far out, so she's not risking driving down just to get stuck. What are you three doing tonight?"
"Oh, not much," Callum said, as they turned the corner and walked up towards the Main Street. "Probably just sitting in."
"Keith's coming over to mine's and I'm making dinner," Laura told Sean. "I'm trying a new recipe."
"Yeah, really looking forward to it," Keith said, and only Callum noticed the look of fear in his eyes. Laura had a reputation for making some really weird-tasting food. Stifling a laugh, Callum looked round to Sean.
"You got any plans for tonight then?" he asked, knowing full well that Sean would have someone's party to go to.
"Nah, there was that party that Kristen was gonna have, but the snow kind of messed up that plan," Sean replied, surprising Callum. Then he remembered that Kristen Granger lived two towns away in Renfield, and the trains would probably be cancelled because of the snow.
"Ah, yeah, hm, anyway, that's our bus there! See you later, Sean," Callum said, as the number 43 pulled up to the bus stop across the street, its lights piercing through the falling snow.
"Catch you later," Sean smiled, giving a small wave as Callum, Keith and Laura made their way over to the bus.
"Bye," Keith and Laura called in unison.
The bus journey home was fairly uneventful, and only lasted about ten minutes – which was a few minutes longer than normal because of the snow covering the roads. Finally, the bus pulled up at the stop around the corner from the neighbourhood that Callum and Laura lived in. Keith lived over on the rich side of town, but he didn't have the same snobbish attitudes as his parents occasionally did.
"So, this time they've jetted off to Tenerife for the week, and Jake's being an idiot and having people over, so I'm doing my best to spend as little time as possible at home," Keith was saying, as they made their way up the stairs that lead to the next street up.
"I thought Jake had moved out?" Callum said. "Tell him to piss off!"
"Nah, you know what he's like," Keith sighed. "Bloody idiot got fired on his second day for shouting at a customer. Then apparently, because of that, he couldn't pay his rent, and mum and dad refuse to pay it for him, so he's back at home, paying digs money."
"That's sucky," Laura said. "But at least it means I have you all to myself!"
"That's true," Keith said, wiggling his eyebrows, before planting a kiss on her nose, that was starting to go red from the cold.
"You sure you don't want to come over for a bit, Callum?" Laura asked as she took hold of Keith's gloved hand.
"Nah, I'm alright for now," Callum replied. "I might pop round later, but I just fancy having a bath and chilling for a bit."
"Well, okay, but make sure you call before you come round," Laura said. "Just so I know whether or not to make enough tomato, wasabi and soy sauce cheesecakes."
"Oh, yeah, sure," Callum smiled, as Keith silently retched without letting Laura see.
About an hour later, Callum was sitting at his desk on his laptop. He'd had a quick look through Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, played twelve games of Tetris, and cleared out his e-mails and now he was just bored. He'd already bathed and changed out of his school uniform and now he wasn't sure what to do. It was Friday night and he had no plans.
"I guess I could go to Laura's," he said to himself. "Hm, nah, her and Keith should just have some time together."
He considered phoning Sean or one of his other friends, but he couldn't be bothered and he found himself lying on his bed – gazing up at the ceiling. He'd put glow-in-the-dark stars all over it once he'd returned from his time with the Doctor and Amy, and he found them comforting to look at.
He felt himself begin to drift off, and decided that he would go for a nap and then decide what to do with the rest of his night after he woke up. He let his eyes close and began to fell aslee-
"Callum!"
His bedroom door flew open and the Doctor bounded into the room. Callum bolted up from the bed in shock.
"Doctor! You're back!"
"Yes, yes, yes, I know, now come on, no time to explain!"
"But you're back!" Callum cried again as he quickly leaned down and laced up his red Converse.
"Yes, hello! Sorry I'm so late, but the traffic was hellish!" the Doctor said, rolling his eyes. "Time vortex just seems to get busier and busier these days. Although I did see a cloud formation that resembled my face not long a-"
"I'm ready!" Callum cried, jumping up. "Right, we need to go get Keith and Laura!"
"Oh, yes, the more the merrier!" the Doctor said. "But we have to be quick – I don't know how long that signal's going to hold for."
"What signal?" Callum asked, as he put on his zipper and they made their way downstairs.
"Distress signal of some sort. Coming from somewhere in Earth's history. Not sure if it's past or future – can't be certain."
"It was a distress call that got us in trouble last time," Callum remembered. "Did you forget to switch off the automatic setting again?"
"Oh, no, I did that straight after the S.S. Bermuda incident," the Doctor said, as they made their way out the front door.
The TARDIS was sitting right outside Callum's front door, already covered in snow. The light of the console room shone out of the windows and illuminated their faces. Callum patted the door lightly in greeting. The Doctor smiled and pushed the doors open and they stepped in – the snow blowing in behind them.
Callum grinned at the sight of the familiar console room. The lights around the room were all off, making the time rotor the only real source of light, which seemed to give a cosy feel to the large room.
"Where's Amy?" he asked, realising that a particular redhead wasn't in the room.
"Oh, Amy's home now," the Doctor said, a little sadly, as he stepped up to the console.
"How come?" Callum replied, a little shocked – he'd figured Amy would always be with the Doctor.
"I told you about Rory once, didn't I?" the Doctor said, as he began working away at the console. Callum nodded. "Yeah, well, we found him again, and the three of us travelled for a while, and then I dropped them off home."
"Oh, that's good, I suppose, that they're together and they're happy! How long have you been travelling by yourself for?" Callum asked.
"Not too long," the Doctor said, smiling. "Don't worry. Anyway, where's Laura's address?"
"Here, I'll help," Callum said. "Haven't done this in a long time!"
"Oh, Callum Hendrick, all grown up," the Doctor cooed, as Callum quickly memorized the controls on the console. "How old are you now?"
"16," Callum replied, turning the spiral tracker and pressing the "ketchup" and "mustard" buttons. "17 this year."
"Oh, definitely all grown up – that was almost two years ago – blimey!" the Doctor remembered, fondly.
"Yeah," Callum smiled. "Oh, and speaking of: what took you so long?"
The Doctor suddenly became flustered. "Now, Callum, you know what the helmic regulator is like sometimes."
"Hm, I suppose I do," Callum laughed, reaching round and adjusting the regulator in question.
The time rotor came to life, and the sounds of the familiar throbbing of the TARDIS engines filled the room.
Keith gently prodded the food that Laura had placed in front of him. It wobbled violently like jelly, and some sort of green sauce leaked out the side.
"Are you enjoying it?" Laura called through from the kitchen as she put the last few dishes up at the sink.
"Y-yeah," Keith squeaked. He took a tiny amount on the end of his fork and lifted it to his mouth slowly, bringing it closer and closer to him.
Just as the offending food was about to touch his lips, there was a sudden whooshing noise and a buffet of wind flew through the living room. The TV magazine on the coffee table flipped through and some loose papers flew about wildly, and as Keith watched, a familiar blue box materialised in the doorway.
"Wh-what?" Laura said, as she walked through from the kitchen. Keith was still sitting holding the fork close to his mouth, as if he'd frozen in surprise.
"Hey, guys," Callum said, poking his head out the door. "Sorry I didn't phone ahead like you asked, Laura, but the Doctor sort of caught me offguard! Now, get a shift on – we've got a distress call here!"
"Oh, thank god," Keith said under his breath, throwing his fork down and running to get his trainers. He was still in his school uniform but he always wore trainers to school anyway, so that was no problem. Laura disappeared for a moment before coming back fully prepared to go.
"All ready?" Callum asked, standing in the doorway.
"Yup," Keith said. "So, wait, this is us leaving for wild adventures in time and space?"
"You're wondering about coming back for our stuff, aren't you?" Callum predicted.
"Aye," Keith nodded.
"The Doctor'll take us home after this and we can get our stuff," Callum replied. "Now get in before we lose the signal!"
"Right, now that I've got the three of you," the Doctor called in greeting, "we're going somewhere in Earth's future. Funny sort of signal – it's barely holding out. It hooked onto me when I was trying to get to you earlier. Wouldn't let me land on Christmas Day like I was trying to."
"Oh, we were thinking about you on Christmas Day," Laura smiled. The Doctor gave her a smile in return. "So wait, Christmas Day was only like half an hour ago for you?"
"Oh, Laura, think about it – we're in a time machine! It's Christmas right now, an infinite number of times across time and space! Gotta put it in perspective!" the Doctor cried.
"I guess that makes sense," Laura nodded. "Anyway, about this signal?"
"Yes?" the Doctor said, looking up from the console.
"Is this going to be like last time with space stations and robot pirate things?"
"Oh, no, no, no," the Doctor cried, shaking his head. "That was just a fluke. From the looks of this, it's just someone in need of a little assistance."
"Yeah, cos that always goes so well for us," Callum said, rolling his eyes.
"Oi, you've been away a year and a half, remember?" the Doctor said, waggling a finger in his direction. "I've matured."
"Yeah, I'm sure you have," Callum laughed, as the Doctor pulled down a lever on the console and the time rotor roared into life.
The TARDIS warped into appearance in a rather wobbly fashion – as if it didn't want to land. But finally, with a little coaxing from the Doctor and Callum, the old thing settled and landed in a small forest clearing. By the look of things, it was early springtime and the sounds of life filled the air. In the distance, the TARDIS crew could see smoke drifting from a nearby city.
"Any idea where we are yet?" Callum asked the Doctor, who frowned and took a sniff of the air.
"Hm. The air smells funny – kind of artificial – and I've got goosebumps. Not sure what that means," he observed. "Pity the scanner's playing up – but I'm guessing our distress call must be coming from the city."
"Let's go then!" Keith cried, bouncing ahead. Laura chased after him, smiling happily.
The walk into the city didn't take long, and the Doctor's expression seemed to get more and more concerned as they approached. Finally, when they were almost in the centre of the city, he stopped.
"Pripyat," he breathed, taking in the sight of the busy street ahead of them.
"Wait a sec," Laura frowned. "Pripyat as in... Chernobyl?"
"No way!" Keith gasped.
"Oh, this is very, very bad," the Doctor said, gravely. At that moment, Callum found a newspaper lying on an empty bench. "What's the date on it?"
"26 April, 1986," Callum read, and the Doctor stepped back in shock.
"It's today," he whispered. "Today. We need to find out what time it is!"
"You want the time?" asked a man dressed in dirty overalls, as he passed them. "About 5 past 10."
"5 past 10. Thank you very much, sir," the Doctor said, shaking the man's hand frantically before stepping back to rejoin Callum, Keith and Laura, while the worker walked away, looking a little confused. "Alright, we have about three hours and twenty minutes to find whoever called us and get back to the TARDIS."
"Wait a sec, so we ended up back in time?" Keith asked. "What happened to being in the future?"
"Yes, well, there must have been a glitch in the system or something," the Doctor frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, before muttering to himself, "What to do, what to do..."
"Well now that we know where we are, we could go back to the TARDIS and try and get the scanner back online, and then do a check for any unusual readings?" Callum suggested.
"No use," the Doctor replied. "You saw how she reacted when we were landing – she was resisting. It must be a future echo of the radiation that's scaring her."
"The TARDIS was scared to land?" Laura asked. "But surely it's a machine?"
"The TARDIS is much more than a machine," the Doctor said, shaking his head. "TARDISes are living things, and they're not built – they're grown. And mine's is the last one in the Universe."
"He calls her Sexy," Callum explained. Keith snorted with laughter. The Doctor glowered at them both, looking like an annoyed child and Laura found herself laughing too. The Doctor went to say something, but he was interrupted by the sound of a small explosion nearby. Several people on the street turned and stared down the street in the direction of the commotion.
"Wh-what was that?" asked Keith, suddenly terror-stricken. "You didn't get the time wrong, did you?"
"No, don't worry, that wasn't the boom," the Doctor said. "But that came from nearby..."
"Shall we?" said Callum, a glint in his eye.
"Oh, most definitely," the Doctor nodded.
And with that, the four of them ran in the direction of the noise.
The source of the commotion was a nearby housing block, which was now blasting jets of smoke from one of the upper floor windows. The residents had all evacuated and were standing on the street outside, gazing up at the building.
"What's going on?" the Doctor asked, skidding to a halt by a group of residents.
"Not a clue," said a podgy woman wearing a grubby apron. "I was just leaving for work when suddenly the fire alarm goes off. Funny thing was, there was no smoke or anything til after the alarm went off."
"Hm, that's interesting," the Doctor replied. "Everyone out the building now?"
"Should think so," said another woman standing beside the podgy woman. This woman was much taller and thinner, with a mole on her nose, and her grey hair tied back in a messy bun. "I doubt anyone would be foolish enough to be in there after that blast."
Suddenly, there came a shout from inside the building and a girl came diving out wearing what appeared to be a catsuit with a large brown aviator's jacket over it.
"Everyone get down!" she shouted, diving through the air as the entire building exploded behind her, immediately raining rubble down on them all. A jet of fire blasted out of the front door, narrowly avoiding the mysterious girl. The Doctor, Callum, Keith and Laura immediately dived to the ground, and attempted to gaze through the ash and flying debris to see what was happening now.
The girl was already back on her feet, covered in scratches and bruises, and completely covered in ash and dust from the explosion. Her clothes were covered in gashes and blood was dripping through some of the cuts in her skin. She glared into the burning remains of the building with big, blue eyes for a moment, her long, black hair rippling in the breeze, and then her eyes seemed to drift over to the four TARDIS travellers.
"Oh, are you the back-up I asked for, then?" she called over, as the residents who had dived to the ground all began to get back on their feet. In the distance, a siren was ringing.
"The back-up?" the Doctor cried through a mouthful of dust, standing up and dusting himself off.
"Well, y'know, when there's a squad of Daleks on the prowl in Earth's history, a girl could do with a little assistance," the girl shouted.
"D-Daleks?" the Doctor breathed. "Here?"
"That's what I said," the girl said, stepping closer. "Now, I think we should probably get out of here before anyone starts asking questions. My name's Cassadee Evangeline, but you can call me Cassie."