8 July 2015 Edited

Hope you like the updated version. I did change the dream because Cerys is not psychic and whatnot and I realised that it made no sense. Still, I had fun working on it.

Fire raged around me, pulsing, forcing its way towards me. I barely paid it any mind. The screams of children rung in my ears. With each step, they grew louder. At any other point, it would have been paralysing but at the moment, they meant nothing. They were just the necessary casualties. Their deaths proved sent a message; no one was safe. My enemy was before me; we'd spotted each other at the same time. Weapon primed, I fired. A searing pain shot through me but I continued my assault. It needed to die. It had to. There was nothing worse in the universe. Another pang of pain from behind. My vision went black. The last thing I heard was that word, that dreaded word: Exterminate!

I awoke in a cold sweat feeling as if I had just witnessed my demise. The image of the creatures remained clear in my mind. I knew they didn't, couldn't exist but I was still afraid. It was just something about them that seemed so familiar, that they were something I should know. Sighing, I got out of bed and went to take a bath, knowing it would erase all thoughts of the creatures and nightmare, at least that one. I had the time; I'd woken up at least an hour early and it was something that needed to be done anyway. Once the tub was filled, I got in and allowed the warm water to rush over my body, ultimately calming my nerves. All thoughts of that nightmare faded as I relishing in the feeling that came over me. The nightmare wasn't forgotten, but merely pushed to the back of my mind. Yet, the more relaxed I grew, the more those bright red eyes remained peering at me.

Hearing the blare of my alarm clock, I got out of the bath. In my relaxed state, I'd drifted off to sleep, leaving my fingers and toes pruned. Lucky enough, the bath was small enough were my feet kept me from going under. I would hate for my mum and sister to find that I'd drowned taking a bath. It would devastate them. Shaking the thought from my mind, I wrapped a fluffy blue towel around my body, I brushed my teeth and washed my face before returning to my room to get dressed for the day. After putting on jeans, a white v neck, and my leather jacket, I pulled down my mess of curly hair in an attempt to style it. Usually it was left down, with a bit of conditioner and anti-frizz added, but something told me that today was a good day to do something with it. Unfortunately, when it wouldn't cooperate, I gave up and put it in an unruly bun, only applying a bit of anti-frizz to keep it from getting too bad throughout the day. When I had finished up, I ran out of my flat and headed to work.

On the bus, I met up with my best friend and co-worker Rose. The two of us had been mates since we were younger. Her mother had taken me in at thirteen, making us practically sisters. After finishing up school though, I moved a few streets away, to have my own bit of privacy and to stop being an extra mouth for Jackie, even though the woman constantly told me that she didn't mind. While the ride wasn't too long, we spent it going on about weekend plans until our stop came up. We both wanted to take a trip out to France, knowing there was a festival going on in the Paris.

With a quick dash across the street, we entered a large department store, Henricks. Walking inside, we clocked in and went our separate ways, her to ladies ware and me to the juniors section. The day passed by slowly and ended up being extremely boring and uneventful. I had another co-worker to speak with, who was nice and all, but I mostly spent my shift silent as I did my rounds until going for my break. Luckily Rose had coordinated her schedule with mine so we took off our hour at the same time. After grabbing something to eat, met up with her boyfriend, Mickey, in Trafalgar Square, which ended up with me being quite put off by their lovey dovey crap… or maybe it was just being around Mickey that put me off. Yeah, it was the latter.

When the day finally came to an end, Rose and I headed towards the door chatting away. We really wanted to get home since she had made plans with the boyfriend and I wanted nothing more than to sleep. I hadn't gotten much in the past few weeks and it was starting to take its toll. As we reached the door, the guard waved a clear plastic bag in front of me. I groaned, unattractively might I add, and snatched the bag from the man. I honestly hated that I usually ended up bringing the lottery money to Wilson. It was as if he personally asked for me to do it.

As I turned to tell Rose to go on without me, she grabbed onto my arm and pulled me to the lift. I rolled my eyes at her in slight irritation but let her hit the button. Honestly though, I was glad she'd decided to come with me, I hated basements, and the dark. The one at Henrick's was one of the most dimly lit ones I'd encountered. The whole area reminded me of a dank black hole waiting to capture me and never let me go. I was however, pulled from my thoughts as the lift came to a stop and Rose pulled me out and led me down the corridor.

"Thanks for coming down with me. I know you had plans with Mickey."

"It's fine. Not like I barely see 'im. 'Sides, I know how much you hate coming down here."

"What were you going to do?"

"The usual."

"So, watch the game at the pub?" I questioned, not caring much how it came out. Mickey and I had a tumultuous relationship in which every interaction ended with us either arguing or insulting the other. There were various reasons behind it but it was something neither he or I told Rose. To make it simple, he encountered me on an extremely bad day and things went downhill. That was before he started dating Rose and while the anger had faded, after they began dating, I couldn't help but notice certain things about the man. He was irritating. "Why do you even keep him around?"

"I like him, Cer," Rose snapped as she folded her arms. I sighed, knowing that this topic always irritated her. It was more of the fact that she had no idea as to why Mickey and I practically hated each other. She'd asked multiple times but never received an answer. That drove her mad. "We get on well. Besides, he isn't bad."

"Of course not." 'Just clingy and monotonous.'

Rose rolled her eyes at my statement and walked off. "You never even gave him a chance." I glanced at her before turning away to knock on the door. Hearing Rose huff in annoyance, from the corner of my eye, I watched as she continued down the passage calling out for Wilson. "We've got the lottery money." We both stopped in front of Wilson's door. "You there?" There was still no answer.

"Ugh, we don't have time to hang about. They're closing the shop." I pounded on the door again. "Wilson! Oh, come on. If you don't answer this door I'm taking the money home with me," I threatened as I kicked at the door. Rose pushed me aside, knowing that I would continue to hit at the door until my knuckles were bloody and legs sore. Letting her pick up where I stopped, I stood back, although I still called out the man's name.

After a while, I decided to save my breath, and upon hearing a sound that peaked my curiosity, I walked into another room and turned on the light. I was hoping he'd at least be working on some thing in there. When I saw nothing out of the ordinary, I continued down the hallway, stopping in front of a fire door to debate whether or not I should open it. Shrugging my shoulders, I gave into my inquisitiveness and went in. The room was filled with boxes of clothing and more creepy shop dummies. While I wasn't afraid of mannequins, I hated how humanlike they appeared, at least in everything but proportions.

As I walked further into the room in search for what created the noise I heard, the door slammed shut behind me. I ran back to it and tried to pull it open; a room full of mannequins was not where I wanted to be, especially alone. "You've got to be kidding me," I muttered as I hit against the door. "Rose! Rose, open the door." I banged against it until I heard her voice on the other side.

"It won't budge, Cerys. I'm going to get security alright?"

Before I could reply, I heard a noise behind me. "Is someone mucking about?" I stupidly asked before quickly turning to face whatever made the noise. As I searched for the room, thinking it was Wilson, a male dummy's head turned on its own accord. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief, unsure if my eyes were playing tricks on me, but that quickly changed when the figure began to unsteadily approach me. "Yeah… uh, very funny. You can stop now. You've got me," I humourlessly and uneasily laughed as more began to move. "All right, I get it. Hardee har har. Whoever came up with this stupid prank's going to get a mouthful when I find 'em." I continued to back away from them as more of them came towards me. A sudden sense of déjà vu overcame me as I found myself backed against a wall. As I trembled in fear, the mannequin raised its arm as if to strike me. In an instant, I seemed to revert to the scared little girl I used to be so many years ago. Forcing myself from that mentality, I watched as it began to bring its arm down. It's movements were slightly slow and as it moved, I felt a warm hand grasp mine. A smile crept to my face thinking it was Rose but instead I found it was a middle aged man with short black hair, piercing icy blue eyes, and wearing a leather jacket.

"Run," was all he said before he pulled me through the basement and into a service lift. As the doors closed, the manikin's arm pushed between them, reaching for me, us. I let out a yelp, much to my own dismay while the man grabbed it. A few tugs in, he was able to remove it from the body and the doors shut.

"You just pulled his freaking arm off!" I stared at him in slight disbelief.

"Yep." He tossed the arm at me and I instantly caught it. I glanced at it warily for a moment before looking back at him to see his arms crossed. It seemed as if he were examining me, a notion that made me slightly uneasy. "Plastic." He stared up at the floor indicator as the elevator rose.

"Clever. Who were they, students? Is this something students are doing now?"

His eyes met mine. There was such intensity in them, so much sadness and anger that I quickly looked away. I was generally good at seeing past the masks people wore, having worn one for majority of my life, but for some reason, I didn't want to see past his. I did, a moment later, however, bring my gaze back to meet his again. With that, I found his expression to be somewhat curious although it seemed more indifferent than anything, or at least that was what he was attempting to put out. "Why would they be students?"

"Don't know. That's why I'm asking you."

"You said it," he replied. "So, why students?"

I puffed out a breath in annoyance. It was like going in circles with him. He wasn't going to answer my questions but ask his own instead. He seemed to want me to answer my own question, something I would have appreciated at any other time. However, at the moment, it annoyed me to no end and I was growing more and more impatient. Pushing the irritation aside, I decided to play along and answer his question in hopes of having mine answered in return. "To get all those people to get dressed up, they'd have to be students. It's something that students would do if given the opportunity and it's close to Halloween."

He grinned, seeming to like my answer. "That makes sense. Well done."

"Uh, thanks... I guess."

"They're not students."

"Whatever. Look, when Wilson finds them he's gonna call the police."

This time the man looked at me, confused as ever. It was like he didn't know anything, or anyone for that matter. "Who's Wilson?"

"The chief electrician."

"Wilson's dead," he said without a bat of an eye.

I nodded without actually thinking about what he said. I was quite used to death and having been surrounded by it majority of my life, the passing of another person no longer affected me much. While Wilson was one of the nicest people I'd ever met, he wasn't very important to me, not by a long shot. But, there was someone who was. "Wait, what about Rose?"

"Rose? Never met a Rose."

I suddenly began to panic. Although she had said she was going to get security, I hadn't heard anything from her since. Anything could have happened to her and I was terrified the worst had. Whatever those things were, they could have gotten to her. "She could still be in there with those things. I have to go back for her!"

"You can't. Now hold on." The man pulled something out of his jacket pocket and held it to the lift controls. "Mind your eyes."

"Who are you and what about that lot?" I asked, ignoring the strange whirring sound that came from what he was holding. There was the reflection of a blue light and then the controls sparked. The lift came to a stop and he pushed me out once the doors opened, pulling me through the corridor until he forced me out Hendrik's back door. In that time, I questioned him twice. When he didn't answer, I repeated myself. "What the hell were they?"

"They're made of plastic. Living plastic creatures. They're being controlled by a relay device on the roof, which would be a great big problem if I didn't have this," he replied matter-of-factly, pulling out a small device. "So, I'm going to go up there and blow them up, and I might die in the process, but don't worry about me. No, you go home. Go on. Go and have your lovely beans on toast." I stared at him in disgust. "Don't tell anyone about this because if you do, you'll get them killed." He then shut the door behind him, leaving me outside and dumbstruck before reopening it. "I'm the Doctor by the way. What's your name?"

"Cerys. Oh, and for the record, I don't care for beans on toast."

He smiled. "Nice to meet you, Cerys. Run for your life."

Following an order for once in my life, I ran towards the main road, a bit nervous of the shop window dummies. When before I wasn't scared of the manikins, at the moment, I was petrified of them. I was almost killed by one or two and I would do everything I could to keep away from the plastic human doppelgangers. As I watched them, I ended up bumping into someone standing in the middle of the walkway .

"Cerys!" Rose cried as she threw her arms around me. "I'm so glad you're okay. I was so worried you were stuck in there. Security made me leave. Are you all right?"

I nodded, taking her hand and pulling her along. "I'm fine. I'm fine. I promise. Mind if I stay at your place tonight?"

"Course. Don't know why you're asking. You lived there with us for years." I shrugged and threw an arm around her in aside hug. "What's that in your hand?"

I looked down at the plastic arm and shrugged. I'd completely forgotten about the thing after exiting the lift. The whole situation was weird and the fact that it didn't bother me as much as it probably should have scared me. I was taking it in stride as if it were somewhat normal and I couldn't help that it seemed the Doctor was someone who had the answers; well, he did seem to know what was going on even though he was basically clueless to everything else. Then again, I was just glad that I'd gotten out and that Rose was perfectly safe. I didn't know what I could do if she died.

As we walked away from Henrik's, a loud boom enveloped the London night. Looking up at the source, I couldn't help that my thoughts immediately went back to the Doctor. Although I knew nothing of the man, he had saved me and I hoped that he had at least made it out of the shop alive. Rose dragged me across the road, pulling me from my thoughts of the man and just nearly getting us hit by a passing cab. As she dragged me along, I noticed an old blue police box in an alley. While it was only a quick glance due to Rose breaking out into a run, I couldn't help but find it odd that it was just sitting there when police boxes were no longer in use. Shaking my head, I dashed the thoughts away and let Rose lead me home.

By the time we reached Rose's flat, we were both utterly exhausted and our breathing was laboured. We hadn't caught the bus or a cab in the end and ultimately ran home. Although I could have just went to my place, I had said I was going to stay with her and I kind of missed Jackie. She was basically my mother, having been the one I called when I was caught shoplifting when I was thirteen. She came running and treated me just the same as she did Rose. I hated the fact that I had put her through so much in my time with her and to make up for it, I usually grabbed a film, a bottle of her favourite wine, and popcorn on late nights so we could have a girls evening, whether Rose joined us or not.

Entering the house, we found the television tuned to the news and Jackie on the phone, as usual. Sighing, Rose and I went and plopped onto the settee, taking in large gulps of air. I tossed the plastic arm on the chair in the corner, wanting it to nowhere in my sight. I didn't even understand why I hadn't chucked it in the bin as we reached the estates. In suppose I was so into getting as far away from the blast that I had forgotten about the thing entirely. Again.

As Jackie walked into the room with a tray, Rose slumped deeper into the sofa. "I know. It's on the telly. It's everywhere. They're lucky to be alive. Honestly, it's aged them. Skin like an old bible." Setting it down, she handed us the steaming mugs of tea. I was glad for it and took a sip, not caring if it burnt my tongue. With a content sigh, I sat back. Jackie'd made my favourite, ginger pear white tea. For months, I used to drink just that and had even had a six month supply in my cupboard at the moment. Rose on the other hand had placed hers on the coffee table. "Walking in now you'd think I was Rose's daughter. Oh, and here's himself." She said as Mickey burst through the front door. I chuckled as she rolled her eyes at the man and went back to the kitchen. Mickey however, quickly made his way to the living room.

"I've been phoning your mobile. You could have been dead. It's on the news and everything. I can't believe that your shop went up!" He glanced at me, probably noticing my presence for the first time. "Glad you're good too, Cerys."

"Sure you are," I muttered.

"I'm all right, honestly," Rose stated as Mickey began to fuss over her. He didn't seem to realise that she wasn't someone who liked to be fawned over and it was already a few years into their relationship. It was either that or he didn't really care. "I'm fine! Don't make a fuss."

"Well, what happened?"

"I don't know!"

"What was it though? What caused it?" he pressed. I rolled my eyes at him. If there was one thing I disliked about him, it was that he never knew when to quit.

"I wasn't in the shop. I was outside. I didn't see anything. Cerys might have." Mickey looked at me expectedly for a moment before he seemed to realise that I wouldn't tell him anything even if I did know. I couldn't understand why he'd even think I'd tell him anything when we didn't get along and Rose's life wasn't in danger, at least not after she left the shop.

Before I could answer though, Jackie returned to the living area, turning her attention to Rose and me, mainly. The phone was in her hand still although she had covered the receiver with her other to mute whatever she was going to say to us. "It's Debbie on the end. She knows a man on the Mirror. Five hundred quid for an interview."

"Oh, brilliant! Give it here," Rose sighed as she snatched the phone from her mother and ended the call. While I would have gone about it a bit differently, the end result would have ultimately been the same thing. We both loved Jackie to death but this was one of those times where neither of us could but be annoyed with her. The two of us wanted nothing more than to relax and she wasn't really giving us the opportunity to do so.

"Well you girls have got to find some way of making money. Your jobs are kaput and I'm not bailing either of you out," she managed to get out before answering the ringing telephone, causing both Rose and I to groan in agitation. "Bev! They're alive. I've told them, sue for compensation. They were within seconds of death."

Rose and I groaned as the woman left the room, lips still flapping. Mickey glanced down at the table, seeing a steaming cuppa. "What're you drinking? Tea? Nah, nah, that's no good. You're in shock. You need something stronger." Mickey continued to go on as he tried to pull her off the sofa. Unfortunate for him, she was having none of that.

"I'm all right."

"Now, come on, you deserve a proper drink. We're going down to the pub, you and me. " He quickly glanced in my direction before looking back at his girlfriend. "And her if she wants. My treat, not for you Cerys. How about it?" I rolled my eyes at him. I wouldn't want the man to pay for my drinks even if I were desperate.

"Is there a match on?"

"No, I'm just thinking about you, babe."

"There's a match on, ain't there?" Rose smirked glancing at me, knowing I'd tell her if there were. I nodded, confirming what we both knew. A while back I had dated a bloke who knew the schedules for every match and through him, I'd actually grown fond of football and tonight, it was one of my favourite teams playing. While I hadn't watched any in a while, having been trying to catch as much sleep as possible, I did keep up with the scores and matches.

"That's not the point." Mickey glared at me for telling Rose about the match. She and I did that often, with her questioning her boyfriend about matches and me answering her. Most of the time I would give more of an answer than a head nod, but I was knackered and wanted nothing more than to take my medication and pass out in Rose's bed, something I was planning on doing eventually. "But… we could catch the last five minutes."

"Go on, then. I'm fine really. Cerys and I just want to stay in." Giving up, Micky sighed. "Go on, and get rid of that," she grinned, pointing to the plastic arm. Mickey gave her a quick kiss and picked it up.

"Bye, bye."

"Bye." He pretended to be strangled by the arm and then left.

"Wish it had strangled him."

"Oh, come off it Cerys. I don't know why you guys don't get along."

"I'd honestly prefer not to go into that. You're my best friend and he is unfortunately your boyfriend. I won't bad mouth him. At least not without him in the room," I replied, standing up and stretching.

"Where are you going?"

"Your room. I'm exhausted."

"Be exhausted on the sofa."

"Sorry Rose but I am not sleeping on that thing again," I chuckled before I ran into her room and jumped onto the bed. Rose followed and jumped on top of me. We ended up wrestling until Rose had decided to share her bed.

I jumped up at the sound of Rose's alarm going off noticing that I had slept on the carpet again. Getting up from the floor, I searched her closet for the bag of clothes I had left over the years. Finding something I liked, I went to take a bath.

"There's no point in getting up, girls. You've got no job to go to," Jackie yelled from her room. I smiled and closed the bathroom door. After ten minutes, I exited the tub and dried myself off. My soaked hair made it all the more difficult but I finally was able to get it enough water out to leave my top damp. After I had brushed my teeth, I went to join Jackie in the kitchen.

"Morning Jackie."

"Cerys. How'd you sleep?"

I shrugged. It wasn't the best sleep I'd gotten or worse. At least I didn't remember too much of my nightmares this time around. "It would have been alright if not for Rose kicking me off the bed."

She chortled. "Are you going to start looking for a job? I know Rose won't listen to me but you could sue for compensation."

"I don't really care much for a new job or compensation. I suppose I'm worse than Rose." That much was true. Over the years I'd saved up all my money and the flat I lived in was paid off for the next year. The most I had to spend was on food and I always ate at the Tylers'. Besides, if there was any job that I wanted, it was to work for an airline. While lacking in people skills, I'd love to be a stewardess, just to travel.

"You are! I can't get through to you girls. Maybe I should kick Rose out?"

"Then she would move in with Mickey. Would you prefer that?"

"She'll move in with you before she did with that one." I let out a laugh as I made my way to the fridge. That much was true, but her daughter would eventually move in with the man.

"Hey Jackie, would you mind making me an omelette?"

"What do I look like, your mother?"

"Well, not exactly like her but…"

"Shut it. If I'm not cooking for Rose, I'm not cooking for you. Make yourself an omelette."

"Really Ms. Tyler?"

"Don't you dare, you," she said pointing her finger at me threatening me with that look only a mother gives. I giggled and kissed her cheek before going to the door. "Oi, where are you going?"

"Home for a bit. I'll be back in a bit, probably before Rose gets up."

"Doubt it. You live on the other end."

"Jackie, I live four streets away. I'll be back in an hour." I quickly ran out the door before she could say another word. Once inside my apartment, I went for my medication. Quickly taking it, I walked around the small place trying to clear my head of the night before. I'd had another nightmare, this one different than the rest-the death of an entire planet, at least that's what I was able to grasp. Sighing, I sat on the settee and stared blankly at the wall. When it had reached a quarter after the hour, I left and returned to the Tyler flat.

"Oh, great. The butchers." I heard Rose grumbled as I walked in.

"Talking about Finches? Yeah, they're always hiring," I said, announcing myself.

"Well, it might do you good. That shop was giving you airs and graces. And' I'm not joking about compensation. You girls have had genuine shock and trauma. Arianna got two thousand quid off the council just because the old man behind the desk said she looked Greek!"

"But isn't she?" I quietly asked as I stood behind a chair in the dining room.

"I KNOW she's Greek, but that's not the point. It was a valid claim." Rose and I rolled our eyes at the woman.

"Hey, was that the cat flap?" I asked when I heard it open and close.

"Mum, you're such a liar. I told you to nail that cat flap down. We're going to get strays," Rose exclaimed getting up from the table and going to the front door.

"I did it weeks back."

"No, you thought about it."

I followed Rose to the door. "She did. The nails are on the floor," I verbalized content that Jackie had actually nailed the cat flap down. Rose and I jumped when the flap moved again, glancing at each other before I placed my hand on the doorknob. Pulling the door open, I jumped back, confused for a moment before realising that the person at the door was the Doctor.

The man stared at me, seeming to be utterly befuddled. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting."

"Well, what do you do that for?"

"Because I am. I'm only here because someone blew up my job," I growled lowly, pushing Rose behind me as she tried to inch closer. The man noticed and took a slight step back, as if to give me some indication that he meant us no harm. Unfortunate for him, I didn't buy the act. The man blew up my job for goodness sake.

"I must have got the wrong signal. You're not plastic, are you?" he went on, tapping me on my forehead. "No, bone head. Bye, then."

I grabbed his arm. "You. Inside. Right. Now." I pulled him into the flat, throwing Rose an apologetic look.

"Who is it?" Jackie asked from her room.

"It's about last night. He's part of the inquiry. Give us ten minutes," Rose told her mother; rescuing me. She looked at me, grabbing my arm and dragged me with her, wanting to know what was going on. I quickly and quietly told her about what had happened the night before. Angrily she slapped my arm. "You should have told me. Why didn't you?"

"He said it could get you killed. Look, you're my best friend. I'd rather you not die."

"Thanks but I can handle myself."

I sighed. "Never said you couldn't."

"Tell me next time."

"I don't plan on making this a habit," I laughed, hugging her. I knew she had forgave me, she always did.

"They deserve compensation," Jackie said, not noticing that he was standing in her doorway. Rose and I turned from each other and looked to where the Doctor was.

"Oh, we're talking millions."

"I'm in my dressing gown." I guess she finally realised he was leaning against the doorframe.

"Yes, you are."

"There's a strange man in my bedroom." Rose grimaced at her mother's words. Jackie was a huge flirt and for the most part, she got what she wanted. It was one thing Rose had inherited. While hearing her suggestive tone was enough to get both Rose and me ill, I was extremely curious to hear the Doctor's response.

"Yes, there is."

"Well, anything could happen."

"No," the Doctor replied flatly. Rose and I quietly giggled like little girls at the stoic answer. We both knew Jackie was probably throwing a small fit at the rejection. The woman usually got what she wanted. We quickly sobered up as the Doctor entered the living room.

"Don't mind the mess." Rose organized the coffee table in an attempt to straighten up. "Do you want coffee?"

"Might as well, thanks. Just milk." Rose nodded and walked off to the kitchen, leaving me alone with him. It was an amazing aspect of our friendship, knowing when to get out of the other's way.

"We should go to the police. Seriously. Both of us."

He seemed to ignore me, his attention on the most recent copy of Heat that was on the coffee table. "That won't last. He's gay and she's an alien." He tossed it back on the table and picked up a paperback.

"Look, I'm not blaming you or anything, even if it was a joke that went bad. It could help."

"Hmm. Sad ending," he said, still not paying attention to me. Grounding my teeth, I picked my mind for something that would catch his attention.

"They said they found a body on the news."

He picked up some mail and read the name. "Rose Tyler." He then looked at his reflection in the mirror. It was as if he was seeing himself for the first time. I watched him, partly intrigued as irritated. "Ah, it could have been worse. Look at the ears." The Doctor flicked them, his face showing a bit of disdain.

"Look, it doesn't matter. He was a nice guy."

His attention was drawn to a deck of cards. "Luck be a lady."

"Anyways, if we're going to the police, I should at least know what I should say." I watched the cards go flying in the air, wondering if he would pick them up. "I want you to explain everything."

"Maybe not." He turned towards the door when there was a noise. It sounded like the cat flap. "What's that, then? Do you have a cat?"

"Nope, no cat here," I said going into the kitchen to see what was taking Rose so long. "They used to, but now it's only strays. They come in off the estate." Rose and I returned to the living room and saw the Doctor with the plastic arm at his neck. I rolled my eyes, thinking he was playing around and Rose didn't even notice. "Ugh, I thought you told Mickey to toss that thing. You're all the same."

"Give a man a plastic hand. Anyways, we don't even know your name. Doctor, what was it?" Rose finished. Finishing each other's sentences was something that came with years of friendship. Mostly, it happened when Mickey was around, since he found it creepy. But there were times when it happened unintentionally.

I watched as he threw the plastic arm off of him. The sudden realisation that he wasn't joking around came when it stopped mid-air and latched onto my face with a vice grip, slamming me into the wall. I felt a pull on the plastic and knew that either the Doctor or Rose, or both even, were trying to keep the thing from suffocating me. A second later, I found myself falling through Jackie's coffee table, stuffed between two bodies. When it was finally removed from my face, the Doctor used a tube shaped thing and jabbed it into its palm. Rose and I watched as the fingers stop flexing, me taking in deep gulps of air.

"It's alright, I've stopped it. There you go, you see?" He threw the plastic arm at me and I caught it. "Armless," he smiled.

"Do you think?" Rose and I said together. I hit him with it, not bothering to care about how much force was put into my swing.

"Ow!"

"Good. You deserve much worse." Rolling his eyes, the Doctor got up and left the flat. Rose and I followed after him. We were both curious and quite frankly, I wanted answers. "Hold on a minute. You can't just go swanning off."

"Yes I can. Here I am. This is me, swanning off. See you."

"But that arm was moving. It tried to kill her," Rose exclaimed.

"Ten out of ten for observation."

"You can't just walk away. That's not fair. You've got to tell us what's going on."

"No, I don't."

Rose glared at him. "He doesn't." I stated. The Doctor looked at me, his face stoic but his eyes showed disbelief. I shrugged. It was true, while we both wanted answers, the man just saved me. He didn't really owe us an explanation, no matter how much we wanted him to give one.

We were a few blocks outside of the flats and Rose would not give up. "Alright then. I'll go to the police. Cerys told me everything and I'll tell everyone. You said that if she did that, people would die. So, your choice. Tell us or I'll start talking."

I groaned. "Is that supposed to sound tough?" I whispered.

"Sort of."

The Doctor humourlessly chuckled. "Doesn't work."

I walked behind Rose and the Doctor, thinking to myself. "Who are you?" It was barely audible but he heard me. He faced me, his eyes focused solely on me and it was enough to make me nervous. It felt as if he were looking through my soul, seeing everything I'd tried so hard to keep hidden. In discomfort, I reached for the sleeve of my hoodie and pulled it down until it covered my hand.

"Told you. The Doctor."

"Yeah, but Doctor what?" Rose asked, a lot more confident than me. His eyes didn't leave me though. The longer his eyes lingered, the more I wanted to curl into myself and disappear.

"Just the Doctor."

"The Doctor?"

"Hello!" He waved at us. Rose smirked and I continued to look ahead.

"Is that supposed to sound impressive?" Rose scoffed.

"Sort of."

"Come on then. You can tell us. We've seen enough." Rose put a hand on his back. "Are you the police?"

"No, I was just passing through. I'm a long way from home."

"But what have we done wrong? How come those plastic things keep coming after us, after Cerys?"

"Oh, suddenly the entire world revolves around her. Cerys was just an accident. She got in the way, that's all." I looked down at my feet, remaining quiet. Reflecting back on my life, those words have never been truer.

"It tried to kill her."

"It was after me, not her and not you. Last night, in the shop, I was there, she blundered in, almost ruining the whole thing. This morning I was tracking it down, it was tracking me down. The only reason it fixed on her is 'cos she met me."

"So what you're saying is, the entire world revolves around you?" I asked heatedly, snapping out of my trance. As uneasy as I was, the man was an utter narcissi. His statement was enough to cause me to break out of my quiet revere, even if it was momentary.

"Sort of, yeah."

"Ugh, you're so freaking full of it!"

"Sort of, yeah." Again, Rose smirked. It was nice she found she liked something about the man. I was anything but happy. I was annoyed.

"So, all this plastic stuff. Who else knows about it?" Rose asked, trying to divert the conversation from the squabble.

"No one."

"What, you're on your own?"

"Well, who else is there? I mean, you lot, all you do is eat chips, go to bed, and watch the telly, while all the time, underneath you, there's a war going on."

"Okay, start from the beginning." Rose grabbed the arm from him. "I mean, if we're going to go with the living plastic, and I don't believe that, but if we do, how do you kill it?" Rose had taken over the questioning, knowing that I probably would have gone off on him if he'd said anything else to me.

"The thing controlling it projects life into the arm. I cut off the signal, dead."

"So that's radio control?"

"Thought control." He turned to me. "You alright?"

I blinked before muttering a low "Yeah." The Doctor seemed not to believe me and began to speak. Seeing that, I quickly cut him off. "So, who's controlling it, then? There's got to be some evil mastermind behind it."

"Long story."

"But what's it all for? I mean, shop window dummies, what's that about? Is someone trying to take over Britain's shops?" Rose joked. He laughed along with her.

"No."

"No."

"It's not a price war. They want to overthrow the human race and destroy you." The Doctor turned to us. "Do you believe me?"

"No."

"But you're still listening." Rose and I stopped while the Doctor continued to walk into the street.

"Really though, Doctor. Tell us, who are you?" I said. He stopped and came back to us.

"Do you know like we were saying about the Earth revolving?" He began to walk back to us. "It's like when you were a kid. The first time they tell you the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it." The Doctor grabbed my hand and then Rose's. "The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling round the sun at sixty seven thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you, her, and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go." He dropped our hands. "That's who I am. Now, forget me, Rose Tyler and Cerys." The Doctor took the hand from Rose and waved it. "Go home." He walked across the street, leaving Rose and I in shock. I noticed the blue police box again and found it strange but said nothing. I grabbed Rose's hand and she began to pull me towards the block of flats. As we walked, there was a rush of air and a strange noise. We looked at each other before running back. The blue box was nowhere to be seen.

When we got back to Rose's I decided that I wanted to go home. Today had been stressful and I just wanted to sleep. Rose tried to convince me to go with her to Mickey's but after a while, she gave in and said she'd call me. Reaching my flat, I got my mail and tossed it on the table. Kicking off my trainers, I put my hair in a ponytail and went to my room. Throwing myself onto my bed, I fell into a dreamless sleep.