CHAPTER 1:
Anariel curls up on the scratchy train seat, her almond eyelids droop as if bearing burdenous weights and yawns into her blanket. Her vision blurs as she stares outside the window through her black-rimmed glasses into the darkness.
Her eyes flutter shut, hiding her amethyst eyes, a lock of disheveled raven hair grazes her delicate cheekbones and parted lips as her head leans against the cold window- listening to the hum of the train- everything around her goes quiet.
'Can't keep his hands off me, love.' Grace says to Karl, spotting Anariel snug asleep.
'Behave yourself!' Graham whispers, seeming embarrassed.
'Never!' Grace grins and looks back at Graham.
Moments later, the train comes to an abrupt halt, throwing Anariel, Grace and Graham, and Karl forward.
She jerks awake, her glasses wonky as she looks around in fright, spotting Grace walking past her.
Anariel fixes her glasses as she grips the seat to pull her body up, still heavy with the desire to sleep.
'I'm comin' with you.' she informs Grace in-a-matter-of-fact tone, stifling a yawn.
As Anariel stubbornly trudges after the woman, she blinks away the tears in her eyes, the eerie absence of lighting keeping her on edge. She cranes her head past the older woman's shoulder, her head poking out the train door, and sees that all the doors up along the train are open.
Anariel furrows her eyebrows as she lowers her line of sight, looking down at the track, squinting.
That's a big jump... She pulls her head back inside. Seeing as there's no platform.
Anariel watches Grace scan the other side of the train, presuming nothing was there- until she hears rushed footsteps.
'What're you doing?! Don't go on the track, it could be live!' Grace calls out.
She moves to look outside again, seeing people jumping down, about three or four people- one stops and turns to Grace.
Anariel takes a step back, she feels the adrenaline in her body do it's job, spotting the show of fright on the man's face.
'Get off of there!' he shouts, infecting Grace with his fear.
Anariel hears a clank and glances at the door handle in alarm, seeing Grace's attempt to open it.
'Graham! The doors just locked, we're shut in. I can't get them open.'
Grace rattles the lock as Anariel turns her head to see Graham and Karl run towards them.
The raven-headed adult stumbles and grabs onto another seat, keeping her upright.
'Something's wrong.' Grace utters.
Anariel's eyes dart to the door connecting the carriage. She drags her body to the closer to the
door and squints her eyes as she bends down, stretching her neck to look more carefully and opens her mouth, 'There's definitely another person on the train who wants something to do with us and—'
Anariel abruptly pauses, taking another step forward, her forehead against the glass window of the door as she peers through. She squints and opens the door for a clearer vision, only to still.
'—I can see them. They're coming down the train.'
Anariel stares into the darkness a bit longer. She jolts in fright at the sudden spark of electric-like light followed by a brighter and bigger spark, illuminating the interior of the train and her face. The light pierces her eyes as if to hypnotise her- it keeps her awake.
Anariel's back hunches as she rubs her eyes in pain.
'Right, get away from the door,' Graham pulls Ariel away, surprising her, 'Grace, get to the back of the carriage. Get to the back!'
She jumps and hurriedly shuts the door, spinning around to sluggishly run to the other end. Anariel slows down when she sees Grace pick up her phone to do something- soon knowing she was making a call.
'Ryan, love.' Grace says quickly.
It can't be that Ryan. Anariel furrows her eyebrows as she helps Graham, barging the door with her shoulder.
She hisses in pain as she rubs her shoulder, rolling it a few times.
'Grace, get back.' Graham demands in a worried tone when Grace moves away from then. Anariel sneaks after her, discreetly leaning against the side of the seats when she passes them. She lowers her head, her eyelashes tremble, and bites her bottom lip, struggling to maintain a clear head.
Anariel holds back a whimper when the creature breaks through the door with another spark, flinging the debris of the train towards them.
Realising that Grace still wanted to go forward even though they were already cornered, Anariel weakly tugged the older woman's sleeve, unknown how pale her face looked, and urged the woman behind her- she hates how she feels so frightened- Anariel's gaze landed on the creature, flinching when she saw its appearance in deeper clarity.
In front of her hovers a writhing ball of thin black tentacles, similar to a groups of snakes- like Medusa's hair in legends- all coiled together lashing out their sharp fangs and unnerving tongues. The crackling of what seemed to be electricity brought it a heightened sense of danger.
She stares at it, her eyes shaky as she hears Grace retreat, relief washing over her.
'What is it?' Graham stares at it from behind the bar, his face illuminated.
'I've no idea,' Grace replies with fear laced in her voice.
Anariel takes a small step back, tripping over nothing onto the shattered glass just after the others get into a small huddle with Graham trying to open the door.
She releases a sharp gasp, feeling a piece of glass gash her hand and she desperately pushes herself up while wiping the blood onto her sweatshirt.
...Hurts. Anariel whimpers, soon questioning her hearing when she hears an incoming yell.
She looks up just in time to see a figure crash through the roof of the train. They crash onto the floor face down with a thud as material is flung everywhere.
Anariel freezes, it's as though her heart has stops beating once her eyes lands upon the figure- a she- who jumps up. Her stunning face fills her sight as she looks at her, her green eyes leave her stuck in place.
In the same moment, she feels a dormant volcano of happiness erupt inside of her, euphoria replaces her blood— it's as though she was waiting for this moment for forever.
Theta. A strange voice speaks in her head, it sounds like hers.
'What?' The Doctor asks her, confusion evident in her voice as she snaps Anariel out of her stupor.
Anariel grabs the blonde's arm, pulling her closer, noting her wonderful voice.
I've waited much too long for this. Anariel becomes utterly confused at her thoughts at the same time she turns the Doctor around to see the creature looming in front of them.
She furrows her eyebrows in confusion, I swear the ring was warm for a moment... and who's Theta?
The Doctor looks up to spot cables hanging down from the hole she created. She grabs a hold of a sparking cable, shoving it at the creature.
Anariel stares at woman, open-mouthed, as the cable shocks and fizzes it before it shoots back a few feet, squealing in pain.
Her feeling towards the Doctor leaves her stood motionless, her tiredness wiped away and replaced with countless questions.
Is she Theta?
'Should buy us a few seconds,' the Time Lord speaks to them, turning around and looks at Anariel at her injured hand, her gaze lingering on her confuzzled eyes for a moment.
Anariel meets her gaze and recalls how the shorter woman entered the train- her eyes moving up to glance at the hole in the roof, still wondering about the voice.
'Oh, yeah. Long story,' she looks around, 'Tell you later. Doors?'
'Locked shut.' Anariel answers.
'We'll see about that,' the Doctor responds, her hand reaches into a pocket, reaching deeper as she checks her other pockets with both hands, alarmed.
Anariel gazes worriedly at the Doctor, concern blatant in her eyes.
'No sonic!' The Doctor mutters.
Why do I feel so pathetic? So useless?
Anariel's lip trembles as she feels an unpleasant feeling emerge in her heart towards herself, like waves bombarding the shore.
'Empty pockets. Oh, I hate empty pockets!'
Anariel's eyes jump to the creature to find it creeping up, 'It's back up!
The Doctor spins around, seeing it writhing and fizzing.
Anariel's attention is caught by the fascination the Doctor has towards the creature, fear wracking her heart as the Doctor nears closer- the thought of losing her just after finally finding her almost frightened Anariel to death.
Finally finding her?
'What are you?'
Anariel furrows her eyebrows, her confusion and panic growing bigger.
'OK, you don't like questions, more of the private type, I get that.'
Relief washes over her as the Doctor ducks under the creature as it looms towards Karl. He retreats to the side of the train on the seats, his back against the window as he turns his head to the Doctor.
'Get it away from me!' He screams in fear, Anariel flinches, holding her unusual anger in, calming down when she hears the Doctor's voice.
'All of you, stay very... still.' She commands in a cautious manner.
'It's gonna kill us.'
'It could've done so already, you ungrateful wanker.' Anariel rebutted, stilling when she realised what she had said.
'Oi!' the lady whispers, 'She's right though, it could've killed us already.'
'Nan!'
Anariel squints to see a young man and a police officer run into the other end of carriage via the blown-out connecting door.
'Ryan! Stay away!' Grace shouts.
It is him! And that's Yaz! Anariel's eyes widen.
'Oh my god!' Yasmin exclaims at the sight of the creature.
'Yaz!' Anariel calls out, immediately returning her sight to see the creature dart from the man, crackling angrily.
Strikes of fierce white energy fly out from the centre of the creature, hitting all of them in them collarbone area before whooshing through the whole the Doctor created, like a terrifying spectre, outside, vanishing into the sky.
'You four, relax, but stay put,' the Doctor turns the man, Grace and Graham, I'll check out the rest of the train,' she strides past Yasmin and Ryan, 'fat load of use you two were.'
'Hey!' Yasmin runs after her with Ryan right behind her.
The Doctor strides purposefully down the train as Anariel stands still, missing the worried glance the Doctor had directed at her. A vision plays in her head, too fast for her to act when she finally snaps out of it.
Confusion clouds Anariel's eyes as she the urge to sleep overwhelms her curiosity, prompting her knees to buckle a few moments later- everything seems too slow but so fast.
The last thing she can make sense of before she blacks out is a rush of a pair of footsteps and the hand that pulls her up.
It was very warm.