Disclaimer - The Doctor and the TARDIS belong to the BBC, not to me.
If you haven't read my other story, The Second Chapter, you may want to go there before you read this. This story will make much more sense if you do. And thank you all for your support!
Prologue
Elizabeth stumbled down the street, wrapping her coat tighter around her. The howling wind drove the snow into her face, making it sting. She squinted into the wind, but she could barely see the light of the nearby street lamp struggling to break through the darkness.
"When is this infernal winter ever going to end?" she groaned.
It was August of 2024 and New England was suffering from the worst winter in their recorded history. The world had watched in amazement as the winter had dragged on through June, July, and now August. Farmer were starving, people had died, and the entire region was in chaos. Meteorologists were at their wits end trying to come up with theories as to how such a phenomenon could occur. And the people suffered on.
Elizabeth sighed. "Almost home," she told herself. "Just a couple more blocks."
She turned into a small alleyway between two tall buildings. She gratefully welcomed the short shelter from the wind and stopped for a moment. She threw her hood off and tossed her brown hair back, then turned and walked as slowly as she could toward the other end of the alley. She glanced around nervously. Why did she feel like someone was watching her? She shivered again, and quickened her pace.
She had almost made it to the end of the alley when she stopped. Something had changed...shifted somehow. And then her heart froze. I didn't stop, but it felt as if it had been surrounded by a huge block of ice. She fell to her knees, gasping. She lifted her head to see a bright white light at the end of the alley. She squinted her eyes, and thought she could make out the shape of a figure. It drifted toward her. The pain in her chest doubled, and she screamed. But the scream didn't stop when she did. It went on inside her head, louder and louder, and soon it wasn't just one scream, but thousands of them, all crying out her name.
And then, suddenly, as if her head had been ripped open, all of her memories and thoughts cam spilling out. Every happy and joyful one disappeared instantly, leaving behind only bitterness, hate, and sadness. Elizabeth was lying on her back now, and she opened her eyes to see the white figure standing over her. She screamed again, but not in pain this time. This time she screamed in horror.
The figure had no face.