The Doctor
I touched the mysterious bump I had on my forehead. It didn't hurt; it didn't look like a bruise. It just was there. I couldn't even remember how I got it, one moment it wasn't there and one moment it was. It was strange, stranger than anything else I've ever seen. The bump was quite big also, it where from my hair bottom to my eyebrows, and that is quite big. The first thought that had occurred to me was "brain tumour" but that was ridiculous. Those things didn't evolve that quickly, but then what was it? I gave up on it, it didn't hurt so it could possibly not be that dangerous. The clock struck four a clock. I was on the second floor in my apartment. I was alone because my mom didn't come home until six a clock. Then a heard a sound that I never had heard in my life, it was not a clock, not a drill and not a hammer. It was nothing, but still there was a sound. It sounded like "eeeEEEeeeEEEeeeEEE" but more rough. I opened my window to locate the sound. The first thing I saw, was a big blue box. Underneath my window was a "roof". It was there, mostly for keeping people from falling out of the window. And the blue box was just standing there, on the box it said "police box". How on earth did it get there? It was at least three meters down to the ground, and it looked heavy. Suddenly the doors on the box flew open and inside stood a man. He quickly stepped out of the box and closed the doors. He then realized that he was on a roof and that I was staring at him.
"Oh, hello, he said with a smile on his lips."
"Ehh... hi?, I said"
"Would you mind telling me where I am? What year it is and what planet I'm on and what country I'm in, if you have countries of course, he said."
I just stared at him. The roof cracked, it was not built for these kinds of weights. The roof was about to give in at any moment. I could not just let him fall, even though he might be mad.
"Quickly, come inside, the roof is gonna break!, I said and reached out my hand."
He took it and I pulled him in to my room. The roof broke and the blue box fell, and fell until it crashed with an unpleasant sound. I looked down and saw smoke come from it, it didn't look good. The man looked down at it with a sad expression.
"Sorry about your box, I said."
"It's dead, he said with a depressed voice."
"It's a box, it can't be dead, it can be broken, but not dead, I said."
"It's not a machine, stupid, he said"
"Stupid? Is that what I get for saving you?, I said"
He didn't say anything.
"Who are you?, I said."
"Well, I'm the doctor, he said, he seemed to have cheered up a bit."
"Doctor who?, I said."
"Just the doctor, he said."
"Okay, how the hell did you get on my roof?, I asked him."
"Yeah, where exactly is your roof? What planet?, he asked."
"Well, duh! It's the Earth!, I said."
"YES! Planet Earth, I love this place, wasn't sure where I was, he said."
"You weren't sure where you where?, I asked him."
"Well no, it's more exciting that way, he said."
"How did you get here?, I said."
"With the TARDIS, he said."
"What the hell is a TARDIS?, I asked."
"It's the dead blue box, he said."
"You came here by a box, I said."
"The TARDIS, he said."
"Whatever! How?, I asked him."
"Well, it's kind of a spaceship, he said."
"A spaceship? That little blue box, you barely fit in it, I said."
"It's bigger on the inside, he said."
"Of course, I said. So you come from another planet, right?"
"Jupp, that's right, he said."
"What, like from Mars?, I said sceptically."
"No! Why do everyone think I am from Mars!, he said."
"Well, where are you from then, doctor, I said."
"Gallifrey, it's not in this solar system. Well, actually it doesn't exist at all anymore, he said."
"God, you are mad. And not just a little mad, a lot mad, I said."
"Well, perhaps. But I am telling the truth, he said."
"Of course, I said. Why don't you just fly away again then?"
"Don't you listen? It's DEAD; he said and knocked on my head."
"Oh, I'm sorry, that's right; I said and pushed away his hand."
"What year is it? By the look of it, the pollution and everything I would say 20th century?, he said."
"It's the 21st century, don't tell me. The "TARDIS" is a time machine too?, I said."
"Well, of course it is, he said."
I sighed. I almost got a headache of his nonsense. He was obviously mad, but he didn't seem very dangerous. I looked at him more closely. He was tall and incredibly thin. He had brown kind of spiky hair. He had a very big smile and when he did he showed almost every single tooth. He could have quite starry eyes at times, which could be a little creepy. And if I didn't know better I would have said that he was a completely normal person.
"So why the hell are you here, when you can be where ever you want? If everything you've told me is true, I said."
"You don't have to swear in every sentence, he said."
"Yes I do! There is a strange man in my room who claims to be an alien, I said."
"Well, I'm the doctor. Your name is?, he asked."
"Elisabeth, I said. I don't think he got my point."
"Okay Elisabeth, what country am I in?, he said."
"You are in Sweden, I said."
"Oooooh, Sweden, I've never been in Sweden before, he said happily. Is it nice here?"
"It's okay, I guess, I said. Why are you even here?"
"I don't know, he said. The TARDIS took me here, I guess it had it's reasons."
"Why do you go to places?, I said."
"Because it's fun. Often the TARDIS takes me to places, peoples who need help, he said."
"Who need help here then?, I asked."
"No idea, he said."
"Maybe the TARDIS is broken?, I asked."
"Well, it is now, he said."
"No, not, I mean before, so it made a mistake, I said."
"No, the TARDIS doesn't make mistakes. It was perfectly alright until some moments ago, he said."
"So there is danger nearby, I said."
"Should be, he said."
I ran my fingers through my hair and exposing my bump. He noticed it directly.
"What is that?, he said."
"Just a bump, I said."
"How did you get it?, he asked."
"I don't know, I said."
He took away the hair and looked at the bump with big eyes. He touched it.
"What are you doing?, I asked him."
"Does it hurt?, he asked."
"No, not at all, I said."
He took out a little metallic stick from his inside pocket. It had a button and on the top it was a green lamp. He pushed the button and the lamp lightened and made a strange noise. He wrinkled his forehead.
"What is that?, I asked him."
"It's a sonic screwdriver, he said and moved it over my bump numerous times."
"What does it do?, I asked."
"Everything, he said."
"Then what are you doing?, I asked him."
"Scanning it, he said."
I gave up and let him do whatever he wanted to.
"No!No!... No!No!NO! That's not good, not good, he said almost hysterical."
"What is it? Stop it! You are scaring me!, I said."
"No!No!No!, he said and stopped scanning. He continued to say "no, no, no."
I slapped him, right on the face. He stopped talking and just stared at me.
"You slapped me!, he said."
"Yeah, I did, I said."
"What did you do that for?, he almost screamed."
"Because you scared me with your "no, no, no, Not good" thing, I said."
"That's no reason to slap someone!, he said."
"Yes it is. It stopped you from scaring me, so calm down and tell me what is wrong, I said."
"Well, I could, but you wouldn't believe me. Not in a million years, he said."
"Probably not, I will probably think that you are even crazier than before, but just tell me, I said."
"You have a Mangorian slug in your brain, and it's feasting on every single knowledge you have, he said."
"Okay, I was right. I don't believe you, I said."
"I don't blame you, I really don't but now it's crucial that you believe me, he said."
"Why?, I asked him."
"Because if I don't get that thing out of your head soon, it will devour every knowledge in your brain and only leave your body behind. It survives by going from body to body by touch, so pretty much the next person you touch is in great danger. If the person has more and better knowledge it's in even more danger, he said."
"Can't I just have it surgically removed, I said, I feared that he actually was telling the truth."
"You can't, the slug is attached to your brain and by every knowledge it consumes it grows 1 cm, and your people aren't even close to do such a dangerous surgery, he said."
"But... But, if I'm empty on knowledge, can't I just relearn everything?, I saked."
"No, the slug destroys every brain cell and prevents new ones from creating. You are dead if you don't trust me, he said."
"So if I touch you, the slug will automatically come to you?, I said."
"Yes, and I would prefer that you don't touché me. I have far more knowledge than you have, he said."
"But you touched me?, I said. Both when your TARDIS fell down and when you saw my bump, I asked. Maybe he was making it up after all."
"Well, that is strange, he said confused. He scanned himself and let out a cry of joy. Ha-ha! I'm immune, thanks to my two hearts and my different brain I'm immune. "
"Oh, happy day, I said. You have two hearts?"
"Yes, but that's not important. It will be a thousand times easier to help you now, he said."
"Help me? God, how do I know that you aren't just a madman trying to trick me?, I said."
"How can I prove that I'm telling the truth, when my sonic screwdriver apparently isn't enough?, he said."
"Why do you even care?, I asked him."
"No one deserves to die for nothing, especially if I can prevent it, which I CAN!, he said."
"Okay, I will believe you. If you show me your TARDIS, the inside, I said."
"But she's dead, he said."
"Well, then it will still be a dead spaceship, and I want to see it, I said."
"Is that the only thing that will convince you, sure, but we don't have much time, he said."
"Show me, I said."
He ran down my stairs and out of my house, I was right behind him all the time. We ran to the TARDIS and the doctor stopped in front of it. The TARDIS had fallen so it laid on its "back" and the doors pointed up to the sky. He opened the doors but did not jump into it. He just stood there.
"Aren't we going to go inside of it?, I asked."
"Not when it is on its back, it's about five to six meters to the wall. That's quite a fall and I personally don't want to break my legs just today, he said. But you can look inside of it."
"Five to six meters?, I said."
"I told you it was bigger on the inside, he said. But come on, we don't have all day."
I sighed and looked inside of the box. Nothing could have prepared me for the site I saw, it was enormous, it was bigger than my whole room and something told me that there was more than just this room. The room was metallic and with bars for holding up the roof, in the middle there was some sort of mechanism, probably the engine. It was like nothing I've ever seen before, and I just knew that if it not had been dead, this would have been a real time machine/spaceship. So he was telling the truth, I had a Morolologola... slug in my brain and I could die...
"Okay, okay, I believe you, I said."
"What is 6 times 6?, he asked and looked at me seriously."
"What? Why?, I said."
"Just answer the question, he said."
"Well, that's simple, it's... it's... I searched every corner of my brain for the answer but I did just not know the answer. I felt panic come crawling the longer I had to think."
"You don't know?, he asked."
"No, I don't know. HOW CAN I NOT KNOW THAT! I LEARNED THAT IN LIKE THE THIRD GRADE!, I screamed."
"Calm down! The slug eats all the simple knowledge first, like math, science, history... Then it will attack your memory, your limbs will stop working because there will not be enough brain cells left to control them, he said."
"Thanks, that really helps me to calm down, I said."
"Well, you are not screaming anymore, he said."
"I am in my head, I said."
"Okay, let's start from the beginning, he said. When did you get the bump?"
"I don't know, I said."
"Well, THINK!, he said."
"If I have to guess, on math class today, I said."
"You are sure? Because this is vital!, he said."
"Yes, I remember that I felt in on math class and not on lunch, I said."
"Did, you touch anything? Anything unusual? Anything with your head or hands, he said."
"Of course I did! I can't remember everything I touch even without that slug in my head!, I said."
"Then what did you touch in math class, he said."
"My math book, my pen, the floor and of course the bench, I said."
"Okay, if we take away your book, your pen we have the floor and the bench left, he said. Did you wear socks or shoes in class?"
"Yeah, everyone does, I said."
"Then it's not the floor, you have to touch it with your skin, he said."
"Well, I hit my head on the bench, because I was so bored, but that can't be it, van it? I said. No it can't!"
"Why not, he said."
"Because my friend sat at the table too!, I said."
"But that doesn't make sense! It had to be in the classroom, but if there is only one slug she can't have got it..., he said."
"Why can't it be more than one? I said."
"Because the slugs live alone, actually if they meet other slugs they try to kill each other, he said."
"What a nice creature, I said."
"Exactly where did your friend sit?, he said."
"Emh... she sat... on my right... no... I said."
"It's spreading faster than I thought, we don't have much time, try to remember, he said."
"She... she... I DON'T KNOW!, I said."
"YES; YOU DO! COME ON! He said."
"Okay, you shut up! You don't have a slug in your brain so stop rushing me!, I said."
"But it's important!, he said."
"She sat... on the table! She always does! She never touches the table, only with her clothes, I said."
"Then that's the source, he said."
"But how the hell did a Mouralaian slug get into my table, I said."
"It's called a Mangorian slug, there have to be a crack between universes, it got through and saw the table, got into the table and when it discovered it didn't contain any knowledge it transferred to whatever creature touched it next, you, he said."
"So there is a crack between universes in my math classroom, I said."
"You never thought math would be so exiting, did you, he said."
"And I suppose we have to send it back the same way as we got it from, I said."
"Yes, that is the easiest way, he said."
"Then we just have to wait until morning, I said."
"What? Why is that?, he said."
"School doesn't open until eight a clock, dear god what am I suppose to do with you? My mother comes home any minute now, I said."
"We can't wait until tomorrow, by then you won't even remember your own name, he said."
"But what can we do?, I said."
"The question is more, what we can't do, he said, smiled and held the sonic screwdriver in front of me."
"We are going to break into school? We are actually going to school after hours?, I said."
"You never thought you'd be saying that AND be glad to go there, he said."
"No, actually, never, I said."
"Show me the way to the school, he said."
"Wait, I can't just go now, my mother will wonder where I am. What am I suppose to say to her?, I asked."
"I don't know, and really I don't care what you say. Just write something quick and let's be off!, he said."
"Okay, okay, I said and took up my cell phone from my pocket. I thought for a second or two, but then I got a glance off the doctors nervous and impatience eyes and just wrote. "Hi mom. I'm going out tonight, to the cinema. All by myself, will not be home until late. Love Elisabeth."
"Are you done, can we finally go now, he said."
"Sure, it's this way, I said and put down the phone in my pocket."
I started running and he ran after me. It's is not a long way to school, it only took about five minutes walking and now we were running.
"You look very calm for someone who's slowly starting to forget everything, he said."
Well, you are gonna help me, right?, I said."
"So now you really trust me?, he said and smiled."
"I don't have much of a choice, do I? I said and smiled back."
I stopped in front of my tiny little school. It was one of the smallest schools in Sweden, it was only one building and there were only about a hundred persons in the school.
"Here we are, I said."
"What date is it?, he asked and looked at me."
"I don't know... I said after thinking a while."
"Okay, where is the math classroom?, he asked."
I walked inside the school, I felt how my head became emptier and emptier and it was an uncomfortable feeling. I stayed outside a classroom and pointed.
"This is it, I said."
"Are you sure?, he said."
I rolled my eyes and looked inside the room, it was terrifying. This was not my classroom, and if it where I did not recognize it.
"I don't know... I stammered. I thought I was sure that this was right, but now. I don't know."
"I've never seen anything like this!, he said. Usually it takes four or five days before you become like this, but you, for you it have only been some hours, he said. Don't you got a schedule?"
"I think there is one on the door, I said carefully."
He looked and found one, he then looked at me.
"This is your classroom, he said."
"What let me look, I said. I looked and he was absolutely right."
"How did you know that it was my class?, I said."
"When I scanned you I got some small information, he said."
"So this is my classroom, I said."
"You don't remember it at all?, he said."
"No, it's like a whole new room, and the worst part, it feels like I won't remember it when I leave it, I said."
"You probably won't, he said. If we don't get that thing out of your brain. Show me exactly where you sat."
"I don't know, I don't even remember being in this room, I said."
"Okay, then we have to do this the hard way, he said and pulled up his screwdriver. Stand at the door and DON'T move!"
"Okay, I said."
He ran around in the classroom, scanning every inch off the room. I just stood there unable to do anything. It was creepy to be drained, so empty, it was so empty.
"I found it!, he said. I found the crack; he said and looked at me with joy."
"Doctor... I said."
"What?, he said."
"It's so empty, so empty, I said."
"It's okay now Elisabeth, it's soon over, he said."
"Goo... I said."
My legs collapsed and I hit the floor, my eyes where open and I could see. But I couldn't respond to anything. I blinked and when I opened my eyes a strange man stood in front of me and looked at me with worry.
"Elisabeth, are you alright?, he said."
"What? Who are you?, I said, I couldn't move my legs and I could barely talk."
"I'm the doctor and I'm here to help you, he said. It seemed it hurt him to introduce himself."
Then everything went black, everything. I don't know what happened but it felt like I couldn't control my body anymore. I opened my eyes, but they weren't really mine, it felt like I was on the other side of a glass wall, I could see everything but could do nothing. The strange man stood in front of me and held a stick of metal in his right hand. It made a green light and a buzzing sound. He pointed it at me. He started to talk.
"Slug, go back to your own universe, he said."
I felt my own mouth move and it came sounds from it, but it was not my own voice. It was a strangers voice, a harsh and disgusted voice.
"No, there is too much of a feast here, all these humans and all the knowledge, "I" said."
"You cannot kill all of these people, you will go back or I will make you, he said."
"With what, that stick you have, "I" said and laughed."
"Yes, I say it one more time, leave the girl and go back to your own universe or I will make you and it will not be pleasant, he said."
"You underestimate me, I am more powerful now, "I" said."
"No, you underestimate me and my sonic screwdriver, he said."
"Me" the slug or whatever "I" was laughed. The man pressed a button on the metal stick and "I" started to scream, or whatever was inside me. I felt no pain, but obviously IT did.
"NO! NO! This is impossible! You can't do this to me!, "I" screamed."
"There are a lot of things I can't do, but this isn't one of them, he said."
I felt something dragged out of me and then nothing. There was no scream or anything. I could still not move anything; it was still like I was behind a glass wall. The man ran to me and looked me in the eyes.
"Elisabeth? Elisabeth, answer me!, he said."
I felt like I was going to faint, I could not respond him in any way. Who was he, he had said something before... The doctor... He got the metal stick and the green light went on, he moved it over my body. He looked sad and sat down on the floor beside me. He ran his fingers through his hair. He looked away, he didn't want to meet my eyes, and finally he did it.
"I'm so sorry, Elisabeth, so sorry, he said."
I wanted to scream, cry and shout as laud as possible but instead I laid with an empty face expression. Because even though I had barely anything in my head, I knew what he meant by his words. Everything went blurry and the last thing I saw was the doctors' sad face looking at me.
