A Life For Christmas
AN: Hello readers! A great big 'Merry Christmas' to you! Here is the first part of my Christmas special. Hope you enjoy and please review.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Doctor Who.
Chapter 1—
"Ta-dah!" The Doctor's voice can be heard through the blue wooden doors of the TARDIS as he heads out, onto the surface of the new planet.
I laugh and follow him. He spins a three-sixty on his heels with arms outstretched. Several, large flakes of snow have already nested themselves within his wayward fringe. Stepping out, looking down at the crisp, virtually untouched snow that crunched beneath my boots, I stuff my hands deep into the pockets of my red body warmer. I quickly look around our surroundings; eager to see where we are. The snow is falling gently for miles around, settling on the trees, the fences and, I notice as I shut the door behind me, the TARDIS even has a light layer of icing sugar-like snow, dusting over the blue wood of the roof.
I turn back, looking over The Doctor's shoulder as he faces me. We have landed at the bottom of a steep 'y' shaped valley, a village is nestled nearby, at the bottom of one of the sheer sides, the lights from the homely lit houses illuminates the villages crisp, white surroundings.
Looking up at the sky I'd guess that it was early evening, possibly about six, half six? Although it is not overly cold, wherever we are, I pull my hood up; covering and protecting my ears from the chilled evening air.
The Doctor, I notice, is already making his way down the slight incline, and is heading towards the village. Warming my hands by shoving them in my pockets again, I trudge after him.
After a few hundred yards, I begin to tire. The snow is shin deep now and I, being the unlucky one, constantly find the snow drifts, some of which are about half a metre deep.
"Slow down!" I call after him, "We can't all have the agility of a nine hundred year old Timelord." The last bit I mumble, but he apparently hears me.
Coming over to me, he gently tugs me out of one of the several snowdrifts that I have fallen into.
"No, I suppose not." He states.
In all honesty, I'm rather surprised that he had heard me, but I suppose Timelord senses are better than ours.
Brushing my jeans down (They are now rather soggy) I thank him and tell him to consider slowing his pace. He begrudgingly agrees with me and so, we head on our way again.
)()()()()()()()()(
Multi coloured lights hang from window ledges and roofs of the small, dark stone built houses as we wander through the thin, alley-like street. I can't help but look up at the twinkling reds and greens of the bulbs above our heads and the grey, night's sky further up. There are no stars but instead, deep royal blue swirls accompany the thin layer of cloud. It all looks very fairy-tale like and, in some aspects, it's a little too perfect.
My thoughts are confirmed as a panicked boy sprints towards us. He doesn't seem to notice us as he makes to run straight past, he slips however, and lands face first in the snow. This doesn't slow him down as he jumps up in an instant, spits the snow from his mouth and runs straight into me.
Before I know it, my back hits the ground with a dull thud. A load groan escapes my lips as I see the boy land just beside me, once again, on his stomach. It is then that he seems to notice me, and I him. I take in his appearance; dark, almost coal black skin, his unruly black hair means that his ears look almost non-existent, the odd lightness of his pale blue eyes clashes with his dark features. Other than that, he looks practically human.
"Why didn't you move?"
Taken aback by his abruptness, I answer sarcastically—
"Oh, so you did actually see me then?"
"'Course I saw you. Do you think I'm blind!" He pushes himself up, muttering, "Damn humans."
I don't have any comeback for that and so; I merely roll my eyes and drag myself from the floor. The Doctor watches the scene with amused eyes. I glare at him as he moves to steady the boy.
"Why were you running?" he asks.
The boy shrugs; indignant.
"Just felt like it. That a problem?"
Man, this kid is rude.
The Doctor shakes his head; he has that knowing glint in his eye again. The one that tells me that we have, once again, wandered blindly into some massive mess of trouble.
"No, you were scared, you still are scared." He pauses, "What's happened?"
The boys panic is evident again as he speaks—
"She just fell, just like the others did!"
"What do you mean?" I'm intrigued now.
"I told you! She just collapsed; fell face first into the snow. I rolled her over an' she had changed!"
"Show us."
The boy nods, "It's just 'round the corner."
With that, he pushes past me –I'm really beginning to dislike this child- and walks hurriedly back the way he came. The Doctor and I follow.
The Timelord clicked his tongue.
"Meklanes." He mumbles.
"The rudest beings in the universe?" I guess coldly.
"They can be surprisingly good willed, actually." He defends quickly, "Don't be so quick to judge. There were times when they were known as one of the most humble of races. They're just-"
"Ignorant?" I intercept his sentence.
He gives me a stern look.
"I was going to say misunderstood actually."
()()()()()()()
"There." The young boy pointed forward to where a young girl lay in the snow.
Slowly, cautiously, I follow The Doctor to where he kneels in the snow beside the unmoving child.
"What's her name?" He asks.
"Astoria." He answers simply, "Look, there isn't anything you can do. They all just stay like that!" He insists.
It is now that I really study her. Her bright white skin is almost the colour of the snow that she is laying on, her eyes are white as well but the most striking thing about is the blue lips, the colour seems to spread out, seeping into the surrounding skin of her face.
"I take it that she isn't supposed to look like that." I say.
"'Course she isn't! Are you stupid?"
I turn to the boy.
"I'm only human, I don't have a clue what's going on. You need to calm down." I say, trying to keep composed myself.
This whole deal is very unsettling already and we have only been here for about thirty minutes.
The boy scoffs before The Doctor asks—
"What's your name?"
"Patwin, sir."
He seems to be a whole lot pleasanter to the Timelord beside me. I don't know what his problem with me is.
"Patwin, where does she live?"
"At the home, with me. It's just down the road."
"A children's home?" I ask.
I instantly feel like the idiot as both the people with me give me a look that clearly says 'wasn't-that-obvious?' I sigh before turning to The Doctor—
"Carry on."
The Doctor nods as he continues—
"You can show us?"
"Of course!"
Quickly, The Doctor scoops the girl up from the ground and orders the boy to show us the way to the children's home. He agrees and begins to lead the way. I walk beside The Doctor through the small streets.
()()()()()()()
"Another one?"
A voice fills the air as Patwin pushes a large wooden front door open. We enter into the building behind the young boy. He nods.
"It got her!"
Patwin runs forward to a woman who, if human, would probably be about thirty five.
"Where?"
Patwin is clearly panicked as he answers her.
"Near the forge! She just fell!"
A new voice enters the conversation as an older man with darker, rugged hair wanders into the entrance hall.
"Just like the others." He states solemnly before gently taking the girl from The Doctor's hold.
"Others?" He questions.
The man nods, "She is the third to have fallen ill under our care. It has happened around the town."
He kneels; inspecting the girl for a moment. The woman that held Patwin walks forward.
"Hadvar? She is the same as the others?" Her voice is soft, almost cautious.
Hadvar nods, "down to the marks on the lips." He states quietly, "We should take her to her room. Patwin?"
The boy looks up, his eyes are damp with tears.
"Yes?"
"Did anyone see you?" His voice is dangerously low as he hauls Astoria from the ground.
Patwin stutters for a few seconds.
"Boy! It is important that no one saw you! Tell me, did anyone notice the two of you? Did anyone see?" Hadvar's voice is now laced with utter desperation.
"No!" Patwin answers quickly, "Apart from these two," he gestures to The Doctor and I before continuing a little quieter, "No one saw us, I swear."
Hadvar turns to us, "You are new to the town."
I nod, still a little speechless.
"She's human!" Patwin suddenly speaks, pointing an accusing finger at me.
I share a confused glance with The Doctor, he merely shakes his head. I suppose I'll ask later, then.
"Human?" The woman asks, she seems almost confused; Like it is a word that she has not spoken for a long time.
Hadvar looks just as taken aback by my presence but soon recovers. He nods.
"Welcome to Mirideth."
He walks forward, past the four of us and up the wooden stairs. The four of us stay silent and the only sound that can be heard comes from another room to the right of us. A few seconds later, and a taller girl with ash black skin wanders through the doorway with a shorter, younger girl. She notices us and freezes, laying an arm on the child's shoulder beside her.
"What's happened?" Her chin is held high, "It's got another one, hasn't it?" she pauses, "Who?"
She glances at each of our faces; searching for an answer.
"Miram?" She turns to the woman in her desperation.
"Astoria." Her voice was hushed and she swallowed.
The girl quickly ushered the child back the way that the two of them had come before –without speaking a word- running up the stairs, taking two at a time and following Hadvar.
The four of us stare after her for a couple of minutes and, once again, we are plunged into an awkward silence.
"I'm sorry," Miram's voice interrupts the quiet, "who exactly are you?"
"Ah!"
I almost jump at The Doctor's suddenly enthusiastic voice. I turn as he pulls out the physic paper.
"I'm Doctor… Smith."
Why does he always use that name?
He then gestures to me—
"My assistant, Adelaide Quinn."
"You're a Doctor?" Patwin speaks up.
The Timelord nods.
"Can you help them?" his voice is almost pleading.
The Doctors voice is soft as he answers—
"I can do my best."
"There's Lucian, he's upsta-"
"Hush." Miram interrupts suddenly.
"But he's different. They should see!"
The woman makes to speak again but this time, I interrupt—
"What about Lucian upstairs?"
"Nothing." She answers quickly, "The boy has an overactive imagination; thinks he saw Lucian walking the halls last night."
"But I did see him!" Patwin stresses, "I swear!" He pauses, looking desperately between his guardian, The Doctor and I, "Please, Miram! Just let them look!"
It takes a few seconds but eventually, the woman backs down. She pulls back a layer of fabric from her long skirt and pulls an old-looking key from a chain belt. She hastily hands it to me, mumbling something about not wanting to go up there herself and that she needs to take care of the children. I keep a firm hold on the brass object as Patwin leads the way up the stairs.
)()()()()()()()()(
I bite my lip as Patwin slowly unlocks the wooden door. The Doctor stands beside. He is bouncing on the balls of his feet slightly; clearly eager to see as to what is behind the door.
"Be careful. He doesn't like strangers." Patwin states before slowly opening the door into the room.
"Lucian?"
A quiet grunt echoes from the room as Patwin enters; beckoning us to follow. The Doctor moves first and, clearly sensing that I am a little nervous, gives me a small smile of which I return hesitantly.
The sight that awaits us in the medium sized bedroom is certainly a disturbing one.
At first, the boy was hidden; I was unable to see him in the darkness of the room. It was only when he shifted his position that I was able to identify him. He was hunched in the corner of the room, his knees pulled tightly to his chest. As he stood, a low grunt escaped his lips, as though it was physically difficult for him to stand.
Patwin didn't move, neither did i. The Doctor, however, moved freely and swiftly to the other side of the room.
"Lucian? Are you still there?"
His answer was a deep, hissed breath as the boy – who looked about thirteen- moved a step forward, towards The Doctor.
"I'll take that as a no, then?"
Lucian's head tilted quickly to one side, a painful sounding crack emanated from his collar bone and I wince.
"Lucian?" I say, still rooted to the spot.
The boy snaps his head in my direction.
"I will live."
I take a step back in slight shock. Patwin does the same and steps on my foot in his panic. The Doctor has backed up a few small steps as well.
"I will live." Lucian speaks again in an eerie, slow voice. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that it is not, in fact, his own voice, "I want to live."
"What's inside you, Lucian?" The Doctor asks, seemingly un-phased by the creepiness of the whole situation.
"You can help?" Once again, his head quirks violently to the side; intrigued.
The Doctor doesn't answer directly
"I can try to understand, Lucian. Help me to understand."
"You're lying." Lucian accuses.
Patwin slowly directs his face to me without taking his eyes off of the boy on the other side of the room.
"He's never talked before." He whispers.
I don't answer; far too fascinated in what is happening a few metres away.
The boy suddenly screams; a sound that is definatly not his own. It's unbelievably loud and I quickly stumble in shock and surprise at the sudden change of pitch of the conversation.
"We need to leave!"
The Doctor pushes both Patwin and I back through the door and out into the hallway where many people have gathered, presumably after hearing the painful sounding scream.
I quickly peek back into the room as the child is still screaming. Lucian writhes around on the floor; he is evidently in a great deal of pain. It has been a while since I have seen anything this disturbing. I am captivated by the sight, it is so wrong to stare at the poor boy, who is clearly in complete and utter agony, but I am unable to help it.
The door suddenly shus and this draws me out of my mesmerisation. I look up quickly to see The Doctor hastily locking the door.
"No one goes in there." He states.
Silence fills the hallway.
"Everyone understand?"
After a few seconds murmurs can be heard from behind me as people agree. After this The Doctor is flooded with questions—
"What happened in there?"
"-Why is he screaming?"
"-What did you do?"
The Doctor doesn't answer these questions, however, he merely grasps my shoulders firmly; trying to connect me with the real world again—
"Addie?"
I say nothing; still a little perplexed.
"Addie, c'mon. We'll sort this."
Slowly but surely, I blink myself back to reality.
Just as there is a knock from downstairs.
So, first chapter done! Chapter two will be up around the same time tomorrow.
Hope you enjoyed and, as always, tell me what you think so far.