"Mmmm, sleep." Said a woman dreamily as she stretched out on a mocha colored couch. Today had been a very, very stressful day for one Kayla Johnson. Then again having a funeral for one of her family friends would do that. Especially since all the preparations had fallen on Kayla to do. Not to mention the fight that had broken out between Mr. Finnegan's sons, the dead guy, about the inheritance. Which no one but Kayla, the lawyer, and Mrs. Finnegan knew that Kayla inherited almost everything.
'That old man really loved stirring up his family's emotions. Just wait until Sean and Travis find out they get pretty much nothing. That is gonna be a shitty week.'
So yes a funeral, a fight, a will reading, and having to truly come to the realization that her father figure was gone for good. Tiring day and all Kayla wanted to do was to lay down on her oh so comfy couch and sleep like she'd never slept before.
If not for the loud explosion and screaming coming from outside her house she would have gotten that sleep. But there was an explosion so no sleep.
Wait. An explosion. Oh God!
She ran out of her house and saw one of the empty homes down the road engulfed in flames. Her neighbors were crowded around it and already at least ten people calling 911. Kayla hung back not wanting to get to get caught up in the panicking group. So she saw the two shadowy figures pulling something down the street while the crowd wasn't looking. She debated going forward to the house to see if anyone had been hurt. But damn her curiosity, there were people who were trying to get away from the house, the burning house. That warranted a looking into.
Her decision made Kayla went after the two men as the dragged, what became apparent as she got closer, a third man down the street. They turned the corner and Kayla was cut off from the sounds of people and the bright light. She crept down the side of the building and looked for the men she had been chasing. But it was empty, she didn't see anyone.
"Where did they go?" She wondered aloud. Her answer came in the form of a something with a bright light on the tip shoved in front of her face and a tall man pulling something from around his neck.
"Why were you chasing us?" He asked in a serious voice. And serious he looked. Long brown overcoat, bright blue suit, red converse. Okay so maybe he didn't look serious but his expression did. Slitted brown eyes, nostrils flared, and mouth set in a firm line. Oh yeah he was serious.
"How did you-?" She began to ask.
"Disappear well its quite simple; you see this key can act a cloaking device. Not in the traditional sense that it makes me invisible, but in the sense that it makes you look elsewhere. You can't focus when-"
"Doctor we don't have time for your ramblings." A voice cut him off.
"Oh yes right, so why were you following us?" The man's (Doctor?) stance had dropped when he was explaining about the, key? Really a key allowed him to disappear.
"Wait who was that? Is there more of you hiding?" Kayla asked in an incredulous voice. Which really she knew there were three of them but this man was holding what could quite possibly be a weapon to her face. Keeping him talking was her best bet on getting away.
"Well of course there are." The Doctor said with a grand sweep of his arms. "We're everywhere. Okay well not everywhere, but we can be everywhere. Oh wait, no that's not a complete truth. Some places I can't go. Like Garafor 6, nice little planet, but I ruined a civil war reenactment and boy were they upset. And there tons of places the Master's not allowed, bit of an evil git really. Well not so much evil more sociopathic. And I'm sure Jack isn't welcome a lot of places, bit of a hit and run fellow."
"How could you of ruined civil war reenactment?" Kayla asked genuinely confused.
"Seriously?" Another man appeared from behind the Doctor. He too was wearing a suit. Only his was black and he wore a pair of black shoes to go with it. "An alien holding a weapon to your face, has a way of making himself invisible, and has just told you of an alien planet, and the only part your confused about is how he ruined a reenactment. You humans are pathetic." He exclaimed with a sneer.
"Aliens? Really?" Kayla asked while raising an eyebrow.
"Well we are, but not Jack. He's human, mostly, at least." The Doctor said with a bright smile.
"Jack? Is he that guy you two were dragging?" She asked.
"Why yes I am." Another man popped out of nowhere. He was wearing a large blue overcoat and what looked like a blue suit under it.
"Is that all of you?" Kayla asked breathless.
"Yes. Now that we have established the fact that you ask stupid questions, you can answer our question. Why were you following us?" The Master demanded before the Doctor could open his mouth.
"I do not ask stupid questions. Excuse me for being a little slow after a very stressful day Mr. Master. Seriously what kind of name is that? On that note what kind of name is the Doctor? And I was following you because unlike everyone else you three were headed away from the big burning building! Also unlike everyone else you were dragging an unconscious person-"
"Dead!" The Doctor interjected.
"Right sorry, dragging a dead person with you. Wait dead?"
"Yes dead." Jack answered with a bright smile.
"How can you be dead, if you're standing there and talking?" Kayla asked nearly hysterical.
"Oh that's very complicated, you see Jack was-"
"I don't care." Kayla held up her hand to stop the Doctor. "I'm going home. Then I am going to crawl into bed and try and repress as many details of this sucky day as possible."
She turned and began walking back to her house. Three pairs of step could be heard behind her. Kayla whirled around more of her hair falling from her bun.
"What?" She all but hissed at the three men.
"Well it's not like we can let you go and tell the police you've seen us." Stated the Master as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Why would I tell the police that I'd seen you?"
"An empty house down your street blew up and you saw three men running from the place. Who knows we could have blown it up? Actually we probably did. No wait, I'm quite sure we did." The Doctor said in a cheery voice. Kayla shook her head and sighed.
"That building was set for demo in the morning. It would have been blown up any how the place was badly built, a death trap if you will. The City was getting rid of it. Heck they'd probably thank you for saving them the money on the explosives. Besides the police have seen me once today, I don't think they want to see me again. Now go back to your spaceship or whatever you guys travel in and leave me alone." Kayla said. She once again turned and began walking around the corner. Immediately she was assaulted by the image of a huge crowd that had now gathered around the emergency vehicles.
Ignoring every instinct that screamed, "What are you doing? Aliens! Hello? Anyone there? You just turned your back on aliens. Real live aliens. Of course they don't look like aliens. Pretty hot to be quite honest."
She also ignored the part of her mind that cried back, "I don't know they were aliens. They could have been working for the government. They could have just been wack jobs and I'm doing the right thing by turning away. Besides they weren't that cute, and how are we supposed to know what aliens look like. That's racist. I think."
'Oh dear God, SHUT UP! Wait I'm talking to myself and yelling at myself. Again. I need some Tylenol.' Kayla rubbed her head and went into her house. She headed to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom and grabbed a bottle with some blue and red pills inside. She dry swallowed two and looked at herself in the mirror.
A pair of stormy grey-blue eyes stared back at her. Blood shot, she had obviously been crying. Or her allergies were acting up; then again it was the middle of fall. So yes crying. Pale skin, like albino pale (Kayla never could win at man hunt at night she shone like a fucking beacon), and red cheeks showed her distress. Were those worry lines ever going to go away? Maybe if she wasn't frowning.
Oh I'm frowning.
Kayla straightened her mouth. Average mouth, no pouty seductive lips, no cute little dimples, just average pink lips. They only eye catching feature she had was her outrageous hair color. Kayla was a ginger and dealt with all the stereotypes that went with it. Yes she had a soul and yes it was very functional, thank you very much.
Feeling better Kayla went back to the living room and leaned against the back of the couch. She stayed there for what was perhaps seconds before her stomach reminded her that it had gotten no food that day. Making a huge effort she lifted herself from the couch and entered the kitchen. The house was old, her grandmother's, and had a gas stove and no dishwasher.
Of course only one person in the house didn't leave very many dishes to sit in the sink. No need for a dishwasher. Kayla grabbed a small pot from above the stove and filled it with water to make a packet of ramen. She turned on the burner to begin boiling the water.
Except that would be kinda hard. You know with the giant pillar of fire that sprang from her stove top and began moving towards her. Kayla did what any person in her position would do. She hauled ass to the fire extinguisher on the other side of the kitchen. Next to the washer and dryer. Her new washer and dryer that she had been saving money for a year to buy.
Oh hell no was that thing burning down her childhood home and her new washer and dryer. Of course as soon as she got the pin undone and the hose in position half the kitchen was flaming and someone, someones rather, had burst into her kitchen.
"Oh not you again!" She shouted as the Doctor shoved her aside.
"Yes me again! Now move so I can stop this Fueg." He retorted and pointed his, weapon?, at the Fueg? It emitted a sharp sound a bit like static on the TV, but clearer. The Fueg shrank back from it, then it sprang forward cutting Kayla and the Doctor off from the Master and Jack.
"Doctor, why didn't it work?" Jack shouted.
"It should have worked. It worked on the other Fueg. Let me try." The Master pulled a similar device to the one the Doctor was looking as in his hand out of his suit pocket. He turned something on it and pointed it at the flame monster who was looking larger and was putting off a lot of smoke. It too emitted a high pitched noise and the Fueg once again shrank back. Then it once more raged forward and it was most defiantly larger and angrier. And moving toward Kayla's washer and dryer. OH. HELL. NO.
"Oh Hells NO! DIE YOU EVIL FLAMING THING!" Kayla screamed and turned the fire extinguisher on the monster. Foam came out and the monster hissed. It sounded like a campfire being put out by a bucket of water. Smoke went up and everyone's vision was blurred. When it cleared Kayla could be seen standing over a gaseous looking outline, her shoulders heaving and breathing heavily. "No one fucks with my washer and dryer." Kayla stated with a murderous glint in her eye.
"Um?" The Doctor made a questioning sound.
"What?" She all but snarled at him.
"I take it back, I like you." The Master said with a smirk.
"Oh joy." Kayla replied in a monotone. Looking around her kitchen tears sprang to her eyes. Her wonderful kitchen now black and burnt. Most everything had been the same as when her grandparent had bought the house. Now it was destroyed. She slid down to the floor and cried for the fifth time that day.
Tears coursed down her cheeks and the three men looked on awkwardly. Jack walked to her and sat down next to Kayla. Blue eyes glistening with sorrow stared up at him so unlike his own pair and he held her. Kayla stiffened at first then literally collapsed against him and sobbed.