"Happy Halloween!"
Those were the first words she heard when she entered the TARDIS. She looked up at the source of those words and saw a man with floppy brown hair, deep dark green eyes and a plastered grin on his face. He was looking at her for a little while, admiring her beauty.
"Hello, Dr. Song." he wanted to break the silence "How's Stormcage? Not to stuffy, I hope?"
"Oh, you know... same old, same old. There was a riot a few days ago..."
"Oh, really? Were you a part of it?"
"Of course not. I'm not stupid, Swettie. You know how riots end at Stormcage."
"How?"
"Badly. And bloody."
"Oh. Poor things."
"Yeah... Anyway, enough about me. What have you been doing these couple of days? How are Amy and Rory?"
"They're fine, I suppose." he said, answering the last question first "I took them home. I visit them now and then. They said hello."
"Good." she sighed thinking about her parents "And, you know" she suddenly changed the subject "It wouldn't kill you to call me now and then. It gets awfully lonely without you." she made a sad face just like a small child
"Sorry, dear." he smiled a warm smile. River could see ' I'm sorry' written all over that smile
"Apology accepted" she smiled back "Anyway, what did you have in mind for today?" she asked him looking around the time machine. She missed her just a little less than she missed the Doctor.
"It's a surprise. For both of us. I'll set the TARDIS to take us somewhere a bit more dangerous than usual." he ran to the console and started flying the TARDIS to a random place "That's what Halloween takes, isn't it?"
River walked to the console herself. The TARDIS suddenly started shaking so that they couldn't stand on their feet – the TARDIS was in the Time Vortex. While they were trying to maintain balance, River rolled her eyes at her husband. She was annoyed by his constant childlike behaviour, but she also knew that she fell in love with him just for that reason. Soon, the shaking stopped, that could mean only one thing – they had arrived. River started to walk towards the door, but the Doctor stopped her.
"Hang on. Just a few rules before we exit the box." he looked into her eyes with a serious expression on his face
"Rules?" she made a surprised face "You got all strict. Not that I mind." she teased him
"Don't wander off, River. I don't know where we are, but, I do know that we're probably in one of the most dangerous places on Earth. We have to be very careful. Don't leave my side. OK?" he was still looking into her eyes, waiting for an answer. River sighed in approval.
"Swettie, you know that I never leave your side." she was right "And besides, there's no place dangerous enough for you." she smiled at him
"No, there isn't." he grinned, suddenly changing his mood "But still, we have to be careful." he added as a final warning "Now, come on." he grabbed her hand "You don't wanna stay in here all day."
They exited the Police Box and stared at the sight in front of them. It was a town. They decided to take a look around to see where they were. It looked pretty much like every other town. The sky was covered in clouds, there were no rays of sun, but it wasn't raining. There were a few modern cars, so that implied it was the 21st century. The buildings looked old, and most of them were made of wood - they were probably in the U.S.A. There were a lot of people on the streets, mostly young couples.
"The most dangerous place on Earth." she repeated the Doctor's sentence. The Doctor just looked at her. She was right. The TARDIS probably took them to a wrong place. Again. There was absolutely nothing dangerous about this town, but there was an unsettling atmosphere, the Doctor could feel it.
"Why don't we ask where we are? We don't want to get lost here." he asked River who was still looking around, mesmerised by the beauty of this simple town. He didn't take her to a 'simple' place in a long time.
"Sure." she agreed "Let's find someone to interrogate." she teased
They walked aroud a bit more, and then they sat on a nearby bench to rest. There was already someone sitting there next to them. It was a young man. He had brown hair and chestnut eyes. He looked a bit concerned. The Doctor decided to try to speak to him.
"Hello." the young man looked at him, puzzled
"Sorry, are you talking to me?"
The Doctor looked around to imply that there was no one else he could talk to, except River.
"Yes, I am." he said "Sorry, am I interrupting you in something?" he asked kindly the young man who was obviously in deep thoughts.
"No, no you're not. I was just... thinking." he said and sighed. He had a wierd expression on his face.
"OK... Anyway, I'm the Doctor, this is River" he said pointing to himself then to his wife "Could you tell us where we are? You could say that we're not from around here." He smiled at the man.
"Mystic Falls, Virginia." He looked at the Doctor for a bit. "Do I know you?"
"No, I just have one of those faces... Literally." There was an awkward pause.
"Thank you" River decided to continue the conversation herself "That was all the information we needed." She and the Doctor got up. She smiled at the man who got up at the same time they did and shook the Doctor's hand "Well, I should be going. My brother's probably expecting me." He rolled his eyes, thinking about his brother. "I hope I'll see you again" He smiled friendly at them. Then he started walking away. Suddenly, he dissappeared. Unluckily, neither the Doctor or River saw that. They were looking at the sky.
"Clouds" he said cryptically after a short pause "Hmmm, something's wrong. I missed something."
The Doctor ran back to the bench they were sitting a minute ago. The young man was gone and there was no sign of him. There was just a newspaper lying on the bench. He picked it up and looked at the date.
"14th of July 2010" he looked at River who approached him and looked at the newspaper herself "It's July, and it's as cold as in November." He handed the newspaper to River and looked around him. There was something wrong, he missed something, something important... River interrupted his train of thoughts.
"Doctor" she called for him with a shaky voice "Look at this." she pointed something in the newspaper she was holding.
He walked to her and looked at what she was pointing. His face went white.
MASS MURDER: more animal attacks
'This is the first time in a decade that we found so many bodies' said Sherrif Forbes. 'We are trying to find who or what is responsible for this, but one thing is certain: There will be no more killings in Mystic Falls. I will make sure of that myself.'
There wasn't anything else written about it. They looked at eachother realizing why the TARDIS brought them here. Finnally, the Doctor broke the silence.
"I think we should have a talk with the Sherrif."
They soon found the Sherrif's office. A security guard tried to stop them entering, but the Doctor showed him his psyhic paper. The guard just moved away, apologising. The Sherrif was talking to someone on the phone.
"... OK. I'll take care of it. Thank you Damon." She hanged up and looked at them. She couldn't help smiling when she saw the Doctor's funny appearance: tweed jacked and a red bow-tie. For a second, she thought that these two were dangerous but the feeling had gone away when he started talking.
"Hello, I'm the Doctor, this is River. We're here about an article we read in the newspaper about... animal attacks." he stopped. Sherrif's face went white for a second.
"You're not from these parts, are you?" she asked them after she slowly inspected their faces.
"No, we're not. How did you figure that one out?" he asked her, but the answer was obvious.
"Well, except you accent, everyone in Mystic Falls knows about this. What would you actually like to know?" she asked, carefully looking at River
"We would like to know what you are hiding." River smiled at her. She knew that the Sherrif wasn't completely honest with people who live here.
"I'm sorry?" she looked surprised "I'm not hiding anything."
"Of course you are." the Doctor continued "If it really was an animal, you'd easilly get rid of it. That can only mean two things:
One: You don't actually know what caused this, so you just guessed and said that it was an animal because you thought 'What else could it be?'
And Two: You already know who or what's behind this, but... the thuth is so terrifying that you had to lie.
"So, what will it be Sherrif Forbes?" He looked straight in her blue eyes.
"Who are you?"
"I'm the Doctor."
"I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." She got up from her chair. "It's late."
"So... number two, then."
"Please, go while you still have time. Spend the night in the hotel, if you want to, just... don't walk around at night."
"Why?"
"Because, the creature comes out only at night."
"Goodbye, then"
They exited the office. River was slightly angry with the Sherrif. She practically told them everything they already knew.
"Well, that was a lost cause." she said when they walked away where no one could hear them "She didn't tell us anything useful."
"Oh, but she did." the Doctor said with a misterious smile on his face. He looked at the sun – it was setting on the horizon. "While we still have time... River, the only way to see what was actually going on is to wait. Can't you see? Think back." he looked at her hoping that she'll pick up the hint. She thought for a few seconds, remembering what the Sherrif said.
"She said that the creature comes out at night."
"She said 'While we still have time'." he looked at River who was slowly figuring out what he was going to say
"Oh... but, that means..."
"That means that our time's up." He looked at the sky. There were no clouds, he could just see stars shining brightly. It was night. "Geronimo."
They didn't know what to expect. They were standing in place, carefully looking for anything odd. There were no people outside – they were alone, just the two of them. They could hear their hearts thumping in their chest. They weren't sure if this was a good idea, but they just had to know. They had to find out.
There was no movement for the first few minutes. Suddenly, they felt something run past them. They could't see what it was because it was moving too fast, but one thing was certain – it definately wasn't an animal. A few more creatures ran past them, it seemed that they weren't very interested in them. Unexpectedly, one of the creatures stopped right in front of them. It was a young girl. She had long, black hair and was about sixteen years old. She looked at them strangely. Then they heard someone calling for her.
"Come, Annabelle." a woman suddenly appeared in front of them. She looked older, but was still very beautiful. Her hair was black, too. She looked strangely at them as well.
"Congratulations, my dear." the woman smiled at Annabelle "You found dinner."
A few seconds later, more creatures came. Now there were about twenty of them, and they were all looking at the Doctor and River who had no idea what was coming...
"Dinner?" the Doctor obviously didn't understand what was going on "Where?"
"I think she means us." River could just take the Doctor's hand. She was scared, and he could feel it.
"Oh." he finally realized. Now he was scared too. There was no way out. They were surrounded. They were breathing hard and holding eachother's hand. They were frightened – both of them. They knew what was coming...
"Just a quick question before we die." he was talking to the woman who looked like their leader. "Were you behind those 'animal attacks'."
"Yes we were." there was pride in her voice "The Sherrif knew, of course. She had been fighting my kind till her childhood."
"And what exactly is your kind?" the Doctor wanted to know.
"You'll find that out very soon." As she said that, all of them started walking closer and closer to them. Then long fangs started growing from their teeth.
"This is the time when you usually come up with a plan." River started panicking while a girl approached her. The Doctor was panicking as well, but thinking.
"Well, if I'm right, and I hope I am..."
"Swettie, hurry." River could feel hot breath on her neck
"They don't move around at day..."
"DOCTOR!" she could feel fangs piercing her skin. She started screaming.
"That means..." Suddenly, the Doctor whipped out a glowing stick out of his jacket. The vampires started screaming in agony as their skin started burning. "UV light. Portable sunlight. Come on now." he waved it in front of their faces.
"That man carries sunlight in a stick." It was Annabelle's voice "We have to go, mother. NOW."
But the leader didn't quit. Most of the vampires ran away, leaving only five of them. But, it was still enough to finish them off. The stick that the Doctor was carrying started to turn off. The light started fading.
"No, no, not now." Now he started to panic. Their only hope of surviving was shutting down. "Come on..."
The light had fade completely, and now they were in a complete dark. He could see the burns on the vampires faces and arms heal. In a few seconds, they healed like they were never there. They started approaching them again, very slowly. Like a pack of wolves who found two lambs. Now there was no hope. River clinged to him. She was holding her hand on her neck. She was terrified. That was the first time that there was no way out.
The Doctor knew that she wasn't going to die there, but time can be re-written. He wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm sorry." he said "I never should have brought you here."
"It's OK." she looked at him "I love you."
"I love you too." He placed a tender kiss on her forehead. He could feel hot breaths on his skin...
Then, the vampire that was the closest to them froze. Its skin started drying. Then it fell on the ground. There was a wooden stake in its back, and behind him was a young man. He was holding a few more wooden sticks in his hand. He looked at the remaining few vampires. There was threat in his eyes.
"Damon." That was the lead-vampire, Annabelle's mother. "What are you doing here?"
"Hi, Pearl." Damon smiled at her "Oh, you know... Repaying an old debt." He looked weak, he could barely stand on his feet.
Pearl gave a sign to other vampires and they fled. She and her daughter were the last to stay. She looked deeply into Damon's eyes.
"Oh, come on, Pearl. You owe me that much." He was looking at her eyes as well. It looked like they were having a staring contest.
"Fine. Come on Annabelle." Then she fled leaving Annabelle. That girl looked the least evil of all of them. There was something kind in her, the Doctor could feel it.
"Sorry about that." Annabelle was looking at River's bitemark. Then she ran following her mother.
The Doctor was still holding tightly the UV stick. Then he looked at River.
"Are you OK?" She nodded, still holding her hand on her neck.
Then the Doctor turned to Damon, who was still standing there, like nothing happened. He was breathing hard. Soon, he fell on the ground, weak. He was groaning in pain – there was a long stake in his back. The Doctor didn't see it before.
"I can't reach it..." he was obviously talking about the stake, which was out of his reach. He looked at the Doctor "Could you give me a hand?"
The Doctor never saw anything like this, so he was a bit traumatized, but he reacted quickly. "Of course." He approached Damon and quickly pulled the stake out of his back.
"Aaahh, thanks." He got up and streched his back. "That's a lot better."
"You're one of them, aren't you?" it was obvious
"Yep." He looked at River's neck. "That's gotta hurt. Sorry about this."
"Oh no." The Doctor tried to stop him, but it was too late. Damon super-speeded to River, and a second later he was drinking River's blood. The Doctor had to look away...
Then, Damon moved away from River who collapsed on her knees. She looked very weak. Damon walked to the Doctor who was looking at him. Damon looked much better now.
"Relax, she just saved my life." he looked back at River who was still on the ground "Now we're even. I saved your neck, or not, and you saved mine. Besides, I never thanked you for what happed 135 years ago. Thank you for that." he picked up the dead vampire's body. "And thank your girlfriend when she wakes up. Bye." He smiled at the Doctor and dissappeared.
The Doctor got up and ran to check on his wife. She looked up at him, breathing heavily.
"Can you get up?" he asked her. She tried to get up, but she fell again. "Whoa, take it easy. Here, I'll help you." He picked her up from the ground and carried her into the TARDIS. He was weak too – he got a few bites himself.
He slowly put her down onto the sofa next to the console. Then pe pullled out his sonic and scanned the wound on her neck.
"You'll be fine." He said after he looked at the readings. He smiled at her gently caressing her face with his thumb. Then he carefully cleaned her neck and carried her to the bedroom.
He slowly put her down onto the bed. Her eyes were closed, but she was awake. She was exhausted. She smiled faintly at him. She pulled him down on the bed with her and cuddled into his chest. He hugged her. She soon fell asleep, safe in his arms. Now, the Doctor could check his wounds. Without waking River, he looked at this wrists, there were small bites there.
He felt exhausted. That was a new feeling for him – he never felt exhausted before. He thought about the young man who was sitting on the bench. He didn't know why he thought about him. He was very familliar... Then he thought about Damon. What happened 135 years ago? He was sure that he saw those cheeky, blue eyes somewhere before. And finally, he thought about Mystic Falls. He heard that name somewhere before, but when...?
He sighed and he soon felt how his eyes started to close. He was dreaming about something that happened a long time ago...
-Hello, I'm the Doctor. What's your name?
-Stefan
-Hello, Stefan. How old are you?
-Six.
...
-Where are your parents, Stefan?
-I don't know. I'm lost. Can you help me?
...
-Is that your mum?
-Yes.
-And who's that.
-That's Damon.
...
-Where were you, Stefan? I was looking for you.
...
-You found my brother.
-No problem. You can thank me later.
And he did...