Hello everyone! So after a long break and an attack from the plot bunnies, I'm back in business. I'm really sorry for my absence, but University drains you like nothing else will. This is a re-vamped version of my old story 'Young War', and I promise it will be completed this time. Nothing much has changed in this chapter, but when I read through my other chapters I wasn't happy and it gave me the boost to begin writing again, and even re-design the cover.
So without further ado, here's the first chapter - please read, review, but most of all, enjoy!
The Doctor was running.
No, not just running. He was sprinting.
Another barrel of gunfire erupted somewhere from the Time Lord's left as he dodged another crashed and mangled vehicle, trying to manoeuvre away from any screaming or shouting that he heard. His long brown coat flapped behind him as he jumped over a large crack in what used to be a road, his hearts trying to pump the adrenaline through his veins to keep him focused and alert.
Within the course of an hour, the Doctor had witnessed the planet Oplixion fall into the depths of civil war. A fixed point in time, the Doctor knew he could do nothing to prevent it, but hadn't known when he had first landed. And now, he was running for his life. The two sides couldn't be reasoned with and everyone in this city was destined to die. Innocent women and children. Families. Everyone. No matter who they were or what they stood for.
Even with his superior Time Lord abilities and stamina, the Doctor had his limitations and he began to feel a stitch rising in the right side of his chest, not realising he had been running for what was now around half an hour. He spotted a pile of debris approaching him and he flung himself down behind it, not caring about the stones or broken pieces of glass digging into his knees and hands as he sat, panting to catch his breath. The stitch continued to aggravate him and he winced in pain slightly, holding a hand to his right heart which he could feel wasn't beating as fast as his left.
"Oh, I'm getting old," He grunted, banging his fist on his chest to entice his heart to catch up with the other. "Come on, don't fail me now."
As he was catching his breath, he took the time to glance around the city. Once tall standing buildings or alien works of art now lay broken and mangled on the streets. Smoke clouded the area like mist and explosions could be heard from every direction, whilst the smell was like a chemical plant mixed with the stench of burning oil and debris. Guilt overwhelmed the Doctor when he spotted what were obviously corpses lying on the road ahead and he turned his head away, knowing there was nothing he could possibly do for them now.
An ear-splitting and threatening roar of battle cries emitted from behind the Doctor's hiding place and he instantly got to his feet despite the stitch still throbbing in his chest. He glanced behind him but could see no platoon of Oplixions moving towards him and instead could only see the black smoke swirling in the air. He set of running again, hoping he was going to be lucky and miss the invading forces like he had done for the past mile or so. He could sense his beloved time-machine was bearing closer so he kept moving down the city streets.
Coming to a particularly sharp corner, the Time Lord slowed his pace and placed his long frame against the wall, peeking his head and his dust covered spiky hair around the wall to check the street was clear. With no sign, the Doctor stepped out from his cover and jogged down the street, passing more abandoned vehicles and homes as he did so.
Suddenly, a powerful crash and an intense blast of hot air from his side sent the Doctor flying to the ground and he landed on the hard surface with a cry of pain he couldn't contain. Dazed, he flipped himself onto his back to the see the building he had been running past was now a mangled pile of debris and the dust and smoke made the Time Lords eyes sting as he rushed to get to his feet. He spotted a couple of Oplixion warriors appearing from within the smoke, tall, reptile looking creatures with metal guns the size of small tree branches. The Doctor's hearts bashed furiously against his chest as he forced his weariness to one side, turning to flee from the approaching warriors whilst hoping they hadn't spotted him.
However, as he set of his long limbs to run, the Doctor unexpectedly found himself falling when his left leg didn't touch any ground. His body connected painfully with the stones and dirt and then the Doctor began to tumble down a steep slope, unable to stop himself as he toppled further and further down. He bumped into stones and yelled out in agony when his leg was caught by a piece of glass sticking out from behind a brick. Finally rolling to a halt, the Time Lord groaned, teeth gritted and his eyes squeezed shut as he felt a trickle of blood escape from the fresh cut in between his knee and foot. It took him a moment to realise he had fallen into a giant crater embedded into the road.
"Oh, that's deep…" The Doctor muttered to himself, referring to the cut on his leg as he stumbled to his feet, joints clicking back into place earning another pained moan from the Time Lord. Knowing he had no time to discard or lick his wounds, the Doctor staggered to the beginning of the slope, feeling another drop of blood slip down to his socks. "I liked these socks too…"
He began to climb the mountain of stone, finding it slightly difficult with his now bruised and battered body. His converse-clad feet slipped a couple of times before he finally reached the top, grabbing the edge of the road and haling himself back up into the war torn city.
That's when he heard it. His sensitive hearing picking up on a sound he recognised almost instantaneously. It was the sound of crying.
Pushing the rest of his thin body up onto the road, the Doctor momentarily stood for a few seconds in the middle of the destruction, focusing upon the distant sound of sobbing. His instinct was telling him to continue on to find the TARDIS, shouting at him, reminding him that everyone was meant to be dead, but something was making his hearts tell him otherwise. Pin-pointing the muffled crying to a half-collapsed building on his right, the Doctor made his decision and limped towards the entrance. Maybe there was someone he could save…
The wrecked building creaked and groaned as the Doctor entered through the smashed doors, holes and bricks scattered everywhere on the floor. As he continued on, his ears perked up to listen out for the sobbing. He quickly realised the crying was coming from the upper floor and as his long frame turned for the stairs, he caught the horrific sight of blood which was smeared up each step until it stopped at the half-way point. The Doctor's throat tightened and he swallowed thickly as he began to make his way up the stairs, careful not to step in the blood. When he reached the half-way point, his eyes were diverted to a human figure lying next to the wall. He sadly glanced at the clear glistened look within the man's eyes, studying a couple of blue markings around the temples, before turning to climb the second half of the stairs. He had to keep telling himself there was nothing he could do.
Reaching the top, the Doctor heard the crying coming from the room directly in front of him and he carefully limped towards the door – he'd experienced a fair few traps in his life, and there was always room for him being lured somewhere by the sound of crying to be put on the cards. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the sonic screwdriver when he was met with darkness, his eyes darting around the room to check for any signs of life. Once he had taken a few steps in, he raised the screwdriver and activated its blue light, using it as a torch for navigation around the cold and dark room. The sound of gun fire and loud explosions could be heard clearly outside.
The room looked like it had been an office, with tables and cabinets leaning against the walls, but none of them were upright. Some were torn in half, others had simply smashed and were covered in black soot from the smoky atmosphere. "Good job I'm not here for an appointment," the Doctor muttered to himself.
Suddenly, the Time Lord's ears caught the sound of the timid crying and sniffing emit from the far corner of the room and he quickly turned his sonic screwdriver in the direction it was coming from, squinting his eyes as he looked on. He instantly noticed the outline of a tiny figure and he raised a curious eyebrow. He couldn't make out any features or details from where he was and so he began to approach as slowly as he could.
When he finally got close enough to see, the Doctor realised the tiny figure was a small, frail young girl who was curled up tightly in the foetal position. Her face was buried into her scraggy clothed arms with long, brunette and curly hair draped over her small shoulders. She was wearing no shoes and the Time Lord could see her once pretty dress was now torn and mangled with dirt and tears, staining the red and deep gold fabric. The corner she was huddled into was damp, and the child was yet to notice the Doctor's presence. He lowered the blue light emitting from the sonic screwdriver so it didn't startle the young girl as he advanced gradually towards her.
"Hello," He whispered quietly, putting on a calm and gentle voice. Another loud explosion rocketed outside, making the building shudder and shake but the young girl seemed to ignore the obliteration that was happening around her. If the Doctor was going to do something, he needed to do that something very soon – the whole building could be swarming in warriors in seconds. "Listen, I'm the Doctor, I'm here to help."
The small child continued to sob but her face began to slowly rise from her crossed arms, finally taking note that she wasn't alone in the war-torn room. The Doctor halted in his progress towards the young girl when he saw her moving. "It's okay - don't scream, I'm not here to hurt you," he assured her, holding his hands up in reassurance. He caught a glance at her face for the first time and both his hearts dropped at the sight. Her small, fragile face was dotted in scratches and dirt, her eyes bloodshot from her vigorous crying. She possessed the same blue markings as the male that lay dead on the stairs and the Doctor took a wild shot in the dark and guessed that it was most likely her father or an older brother, definitely a relative. She stared intently at the tall, thin man in front of her for a few moments, tears still running down her cheeks.
"That's it, it's alright, ey?" The Doctor said comfortingly. He gradually lowered himself into a crouching position so he was just at the child's height, watching her as she finally began to make movement, all the while trying not to show he was in pain. It was slow, but the young girl uncurled her legs and began to raise herself from the pitted ground, her shaky breaths being the only thing the Doctor could hear for a few seconds. "What's your name?" The Doctor asked to try and entice her more, but got no reply. Instead, the girl tried to take a step towards the Time Lord whilst looking into his old brown eyes with sorrow and intense fear - and collapsed.
The Doctor just managed to reach his arms out in time to catch the small girl before she hit the dirty floor, holding her carefully. His brown orbs scanned the child for any obvious injuries, but there appeared to be none other than a few scratches and bruises. He quickly lowered his right ear to her mouth and he sighed with relief when he heard shaky but clear breaths.
The girl suddenly coughed, startling the Doctor, and he quickly became even more concerned when the coughs turned into violent fits rapidly and the girl convulsed in obvious discomfort in the Doctor's arms. He held her head up with his long fingers, realising there was something wrong - something very wrong indeed.
"Come on, don't do this - you're gonna be fine." He stated to the girl even though he knew the possibilities of her hearing him were slim. A single drop of blood escaped from the child's lips, just as another explosion rocked the building. The Doctor would have to move fast…how could he leave her here? He couldn't run away, leaving her here to simply be killed by the soldiers or crushed if the building was to come down. If that was her father on the stairs, then it was more than likely any other relative wouldn't be around.
Not everyone…not everyone. Not everyone dies.
With his mind firmly made up, the Doctor got to his feet with the girl securely held in his arms and quickly exited the cold and damp room. He made sure she hadn't woken up when he carried her past the body before he limped out onto the street, looking left and right with the sonic still clasped in his hand that was holding the young child's legs. Smoke still loomed in the atmosphere and the Time Lord looked down to face the child, noticing another drop of blood running down from her mouth onto his brown coat. He needed to get her back to the TARDIS. Fast. He had saved her from the building, and now he had to save her from whatever was slowly killing the young child.
Walking close to the buildings so he wasn't exposed in the middle of the street, the Doctor frantically tried to reach out for his ship, feeling for her presence. A large amount of shouting and gunfire caught the Doctor's attention and he shot a glance behind him. His hearts leapt with fear when he caught sight of what looked like two army vehicles appearing out of the smoke, alien weapons concealing the metal on the sides, making them look like lethal beetles ready to strike.
With no other option, the Time Lord turned and began to jog as best he could down the battered street, his bruised and injured body proving speed to be a difficulty. But even with his injuries, he still ran at an impressive speed and eventually sprung into an alley way to avoid being seen by the approaching vehicles.
It was then he recognised a broken and battered sign lying by his feet, something he had spotted as soon as he had landed on the doomed planet. It was merely a sign for a street, but when he turned around to peer deeper into the dark alley, he grinned with glee.
"There's my girl," the Doctor murmured, and began to limp towards the familiar blue box which was conceived in the darkness directly at the bottom of the alley.