Author's note: This is a one-shot I thought while listening to Travelling Man by Chameleon Circuit. Like or hate it, let me know! Reviews are always cool!
I would recommend listening to Travelling Man by Chameleon Circuit while reading this but its not necessary.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of Doctor Who or Chameleon Circuit stuff in any way. Ok? Good now to the story.
Travelling man
Such secrets to be told
Alien man
Running from the days of old
Out of his world
With nothing left to lose
Travelling man
Coming down to rescue you
BOOOM!
PEW PEW PEW!
KABOOOOOMMM!
I remember clutching my mother's hand tightly, as we dodged lasers and ducked underneath wreckage. Ashes were starting to consume the air in my lungs. My young legs were growing tired of running, but I never let go of my mother's hand, for fear of losing her.
My beloved planet, Klnyro, was being invaded by the men in silver, otherwise known as Cybermen. Their guns were much stronger than ours. Our soldiers' weapons were failing miserably. All thought of resistance was depleting. The only thing left to do was run.
Everyone around us was crying and screaming or trying to fight back. Laser bullets zoomed through the air, hitting their targets directly. Some houses were exploding or on fire. As the bullets hit their moving targets, piercing screams added to the chaotic noise around me. All my friends, all my neighbors, they were all dying or already dead.
I could hear the robotic stomps behind me getting closer and closer. If we were to stop running for even a second, we would have been at the mercy of the Cybermen.
I was only ten years of age. I wanted to scream and cry at the horrors around me, but I put on a brave face, for my mother. Tears ran down her face as her eyes searched for sanctuary. She was terrified. We had ran down the street where we lived for what seemed like miles. Narrowly missing the bullets that surrounded us.
At long last, we made it to the Finance Station. The place where rich people once stashed their money was now a barren clutter spot, where finance notes and money littered the floor. Not a soul was in sight. Well, at least no living soul.
My mother dragged me over to the safe, where they would have stored some of the finance notes, and sat me down inside.
"I think you'll be safe here." She said, wiping the sweat from her face. "Right, I need to go out there and try to find your father."
"No, please don't leave me." I said grasping her arm once again.
She held my face and wiped the tears from my eyes with her thumbs. "I know, honey. I wish I didn't have to go either. But your father's still out there and he might be in danger. I'll be back in a little while. I promise."
"But, Mother, I'm scared!" I cried, as the tears started to betray me.
"I know, sweetie. I know." She soothed and wrapping her arms around me. "I am too. But you know what? The Travelling Man will save the day."
I scoffed. "Mother, that's just a story."
"No, it's not. I've met him. The Travelling Man. Just one time. He saved my life and now he will do this again for us now. The Travelling Man will save the day. And i promise he will keep you safe. Even if he has to die 507 times, he's going to come and save us all." As she spoke, she stroked my hair. I could hear the panic in her voice being masked.
Mother pushed me away and held my face, staring into my eyes. "I promise, the Travelling Man will save us. I love you. Remember that." She tore away from me, as I started to cry more. "Don't worry, Mlinkto. The Travelling Man will save the day. Keep saying that, alright?" She soothed as she back out of the safe. "And don't you dare come out until I come for you."
And with that, she closed the safe and disappeared.
I could hear the war raging on outside and my muffled cries. "The Travelling Man will save the day." I told myself, remembering my mother's words. "The Travelling Man will keep me safe."
The ground shook violently every once in a while, making my words to grow louder. The war seemed to never end outside. But I kept telling myself the words my mother told me to remember.
"The Travelling Man will save the day. The Travelling Man will keep me safe. The Travelling Man will save the day. The Travelling Man will keep me safe."
I woke up. I wasn't sure how long I had been asleep, but the outside world was dead quiet. Pressing my ear against the steel walls of the safe, I could still hear nothing.
Swallowing hard, I opened the safe door slowly and on guard. The sunlight hit my face, making me squint. After blinking a few times, I could see that it was in the middle of the day, judging the fact that all four suns were high in the sky. I looked over the rubble.
The walls of the Finance Station was gone. A few remnants of structure remained every other block, but other than that, rubble filled the streets like a waste dump.
Carefully taking a step onto the once beautiful and lively street, now was graveyard of my childhood. I could still see the housing compartments in place of the ashes that stood then. My friends were playing in the front yard while their parents talked business. I could still smell the fresh goodies that Lady Ptorink would bake everyday for us. But now, all that remained was the memories, fresh in my mind, but dead to the rest of creation.
I was not alone among that rubble. As i made my way down the street, I could see the outline of a man. By the looks of it, he did not possess a tail like a Klnyroan.
Once I was close enough, he suddenly became aware of my presence and faced me. His skin was pink, in contrast to my grayish green exterior. He possessed floppy hair that drooped in frot of his eyes. The outfit he wore was horrendous. A tweed jacket covered his upper body with a red bow tie in his collar. The pants he wore were too short for his thin legs and black worn shoes covered his feet.
But the one thing i remember the most were his eyes. They were old, old eyes, that did not match his young face. The pale blue abyss that his eyes possessed sparkled in the bright sunslight. In them, I saw pain and suffering. A broken man who has seen too much tragedies. Those eyes must have witnessed much of history and much wonders. They glistened as though he had been crying, but quickly wiped away any evidence.
At first, he looked surprised to see me, but then smiled slightly. "Hello." He greeted quietly, as though he was going to cry yet again.
I swallowed hard and looked at the strange man. "What happened?"
"It's all gone." he replied, once again surveying the rubble surrounding us.
Even at the age of 10, I knew what he meant. My mother was gone. My father. My family. Everyone and everything I knew. All gone.
"Who are you?" I asked tenatively.
He paused and looked at me again. "A travelling man."
_
I never saw the Travelling Man after that awful day. I am an old man now, but the memories remain in my head. I have told my children my story. As they will to their children. And so on and so forth. I tell of them of that lonely man. That man who has seen the stars and has so many secrets. I tell of the magic blue box he took me in and dropped me off at the planet, Tweetoo, which is now home. How that box is floating around somewhere. And in that box contains the Travelling Man.
I often worry for him. I saw so many things in his eyes, I felt like I knew him.
Everyone knows that everybody dies.
But no one knows it like him.
_
The travelling man will save the day
The travelling man will keep you safe
Even if he has to die
Five hundred and seven times
The travelling man will save the day
Thank you for reading! Reviews and stuff are much appreciated!