Towards the Dark – Doctor Who fanfiction
Chapter One:
June 23, 2015 – 5:15 AM: Toronto, Ontario
"Andrew, wake up."
Andrew Evans opened his eyes slowly only to meet the face of his mother impatiently waiting by the doorway. A smile was stretched out on her face and she was grasping the phone.
"Are you excited, honey?" She smiled brightly at him as he slowly and tiredly dragged himself over to his closet to grab clothes.
"Mom, it's just a small trip with some friends, it's nothing special." He grumbled, a little gloomy due to not getting a lot of sleep. Truth be told, he was nervous. He was going to travel to Paris with his friends.
His mom tutted, placing her hands on her hips. "Nothing special? This is special! My little boy is finally going on a trip with his friends off the continent!" She squealed at the last part, before he heard his father yell at the other side of the house. His mother sighed before giving him a small smile. "You better get ready soon. Your father's getting a bit impatient. Lord knows why he has to wait in the car before you even wake up."
Andrew chuckled a bit as he threw on jeans and a shirt, before padding over to his kitchen to grab a granola bar. Then suddenly, his mother materialised in the doorway, scowling.
"That isn't enough food, young man. A growing boy like you needs a lot of nutrients!"
"Mom, I'm 21." He sighed, chucking the wrapper in the trash as he strode back over to his room to grab his bag. He made sure to grab a sweater as well; it was strangely cold outside. He also quickly combed his hair, making sure to note how he looked that morning. Long brown hair, dark circles under his eyes... And yet still no beard. His mother once told him when he was a teenager that he looked like a hippie. He believed that now.
"I'll have to just get a french haircut!" He decided, smiling as he headed down to his father's car.
His mom was leaning on the side, her blonde hair blowing in the wind. He groaned inwardly as she smiled at him.
"Mom, do you really have to come with me and Dad to the airport?"
She looked offended. "Why wouldn't I want to see my son off on to the plane? I do care about you, you know."
Andrew rolled his eyes, breathing in the crisp Ontario air. It was June. Wasn't it supposed to be warm? Even in the mornings? This was unnatural, even for Canada.
He barely closed the door to the car before his father slammed on the gas pedal and said, "Let's go."
-6:01 AM: Pearson International Airport-
"Ohmigosh I haven't seen you in forever!" His girlfriend, Shelly, squealed as he was crushed to death by her hug. He could hear his mother chuckle nearby, and he blushed.
"Shell-y!" Andrew whined as his girlfriend laughed and hugged his mom aswell. His father stood by and smiled toothily at him, his eyes crinkling up. "I remember when I was your age, Andrew. Me and your mother, the first time we went on a trip off the continent, we were high on the plane..."
"Donald!" His mother scolded him, though it was in good nature. His girlfriend giggled next to him, and he felt a little more confident.
It was still dark outside, but the lights inside the airport were bright and did a lot to cheer him up. He always liked when it was dark outside. It made him feel reflective as he gazed out into the pitch black, almost as if he could see forever.
His train of thought was broken as his best friend, Joel, frightened him from behind. He yelped, and Shelly cackled nearby.
"Bro, you have got to lighten up a bit." Joel chuckled as Andrew grumbled about how true friends didn't do that sort of thing.
"Well, we've got our little party of three, we've passed through security, and now all we have to do is... wait." Shelly moaned nearby, prompting laughs from his mother.
"Oh, I was even more impatient than you at my age. If I remember right, me and your father slipped off to the washroom some time before the plane took off..."
"Beatrice!" His father shouted, mortified. His mother cackled some more, before a nearby magazine stand caught her eye and she strode off.
"I think that was her idea of revenge for the thing you said before..." Andrew tried to tell his father, who was moaning.
"Well, if me and Andrew ever get married-" Shelly gave him a look "-I'll be sure to banter with him just like that!"
"Lord help me," Andrew moaned softly, earning a swat from Shelly.
They sat for another twenty minutes, by which time Andrew was sure they were never going to get on the plane. Bored, he wandered over to the window and gazed up at the large plane. It stood forebodingly in front of the window, it's white front dented and scratched from years of travelling.
"'S pretty massive thing, ain't it?" A man came up to next him, and he jumped. The man was old, yet strangely curious. His white beard was majestically long, and flowed down to his waist. His gray eyes flitted introspectively between Andrew and the large aircraft.
Andrew cleared his throat, before speaking. "Er... yes. You know, I've never actually seen a beard like that in real life. It makes you look like a wizard!" He blurted out the last part, and he covered his mouth. Thankfully, the man laughed. "That's okay, I get that all the time. My grandkid's call me Dumbledore everytime I visit them." He winked at Andrew, and he blushed.
"It's just, I'm sorry. I've always had the problem of just speaking what's on my mind." Andrew rubbed the back of his neck.
"It is better to let your voice be heard, than to let it fade away into the background. Remember that, young man." The man said wisely, before wandering away back to his seat. Andrew stood there thoughtfully for a moment, looking back up at the plane, before shrugging and walking off back to his seat.
-6:41 AM: Boarding Time-
"Ladies and gentlemen, may we have your attention please. May Air Canada Flight 190 please start boarding now." An announcement came on overhead. Shelly yawned nearby, before getting up and cracking her back.
"I think that the airline managers are getting lazier and lazier as time goes on. Back in my day, we would've already been up in the air." His father grumbled nearby.
"May I remind you, you didn't actually have to stay?" Andrew raised an eyebrow at his father.
"...And miss saying goodbye to my lovely, little boy?!" His mother squealed and cut in, hugging him tightly. "I love you, honey. Don't ever forget that." She whispered into his ear, smiling as she let him go. Andrew managed to give her an awkward smile, before shaking his fathers hand.
"Have fun, Andrew. Paris is amazing, and remember-" he suddenly pulled Andrew closer to him "-you've got your whole life ahead of you. One day your going to be paying taxes just like me, so be sure to enjoy this trip. Freedom doesn't last forever."
Andrew managed to give him a curt "Yes, sir!" before grasping his girlfriends hand. Shelly beamed up at him, and he smiled a bit more. Joel groaned nearby, and Andrew turned to stare at him.
"You guys better not get all lovey-dovey on the plane, you hear? Anyways, I packed some bottles of Pop in my bag. Andrew, I know you love Cream Soda, so I packed that for you. Oh, I also packed Grape Soda. Me and Andrew, you know, we don't understand how you don't like it, Shelly..." Joel rambled, before being cut off by Andrew.
"Joel, rambling, again." He chuckled as Joel sighed audibly.
They slowly walked towards the airplane, hand in hand, tickets grasped in their hands.
"We love you!" His mother yelled from the back, and he turned to wave goodbye at her as they boarded. He didn't miss her flinch, and the disappointment etched over her face. They already knew he loved them, anyways.
-6:55 AM: Take-Off Time-
"These seats must be made of steel. My ass hurts!" Shelly moaned next to him, and he chuckled before glancing out the window at the approaching sunlight. "Why did you get the window seat, anyways? I thought we bet on it!" She glared at him.
"No, we drew straws. That's like, a totally different thing." He gave her a sly little smile, enjoying her gasp.
"You still drew the short straw, you know!" She punched him in the shoulder.
He shrugged, feeling oddly elated. Joel only shook his head, gesturing to his seat.
"Atleast you didn't get the aisle seat. Now I have to be stared at by every passing person- though, the flight attendants are fine." Joel winked at Shelly, who scoffed and swatted him.
Andrew felt amazing; nothing could ruin the moment. He was enjoying his adult life, with his friends, on a plane. He was finally enjoying his life. He realized that, for the first time, he felt like he actually belonged. He smiled at Shelly as she imitated the people sitting nearby, and laughed with Joel as he worried about his marijuana stash getting caught.
"Here, stuff it in your underwear!" Joel chucked it at Andrew, who quickly did that as a flight attendant passed by. She gave them a glance of disapproval before continuing on her way. A moment passed before all three of them burst out into laughter, Shelly snorting.
Time passed, Joel and Shelly fell asleep, and Andrew was left awake staring off into space. He quickly got up to go for a pee, and strode down the aisle. He caught of the old man from before, sitting peacefully in the middle row. The old man gave Andrew a nod, and Andrew smiled before continuing on his way.
When he got back to his seat, Shelly was half awake, blearily pawing around for her cell phone.
"Whatimeisit?" She mumbled, hair trapped in her mouth.
"It's been two hours. We have still six hours to go."
Shelly opened her mouth to speak, raising her hand to brush her hair away.
"You know, I was enjoying my sleep, then I realized you were gone and-"
BAM!
The entire cabin shook, and Andrew was quite rudely thrown around in his seat. He grasped at the armrest and looked down at Shelly. Her mouth was open in a gasp as the entire plane seemed to shudder, and then he heard the sound of ripping metal.
Oh God, Oh God, Oh God.
People were letting out bloodcurdling screams as the lights started to flicker and go out, and the entire cabin groaned as rivets popped out.
"OH MY GOD!" Shelly screamed as the left side of the plane sparked and blew up, sending clouds of fire their way. They watched, horrified, as Joel's head was blown off, sending waves of blood over their seats.
"I DON'T WANNA DIE!" They heard a woman scream as she was ripped from her seat and thrown into a hole in the plane.
And suddenly, the entire front of the plane just exploded, and wall of fire quickly met their faces. Andrew felt as his entire skin burned, the fire covering his entire being. He watched as his skin slowly turned black and curled, and felt the pain as his face was melted. There were more sparks, and suddenly he was falling, and falling, and falling.
Away and away into oblivion, he fell. Slowly the screams and flames faded away, and he was faced with darkness. It was calm, he noted. And slowly, tendrils of light enveloped him, and he was falling once more. He couldn't even scream as he was swept away into the light, and he was enveloped in it. And then, suddenly, he was in an alleyway. He was staring at a brick wall. The sound of traffic hit Andrew's ears, and he carefully pried his eyes away from the wall to stare at the entrance to the alley. He looked over himself slowly, feeling his hands. They weren't burned. Nothing was burned. It was like nothing had touched him. He pulled out his phone quickly, panicking slightly. Checking the camera, he could see that nothing was different. It was as if he wasn't even in a plane crash.
He was alive. In an alley. The Hell?
He quickly ran over to the entrance of the alley, and stared wide eyed at the traffic in front of him. He was in London. Not London, Ontario. No, London, England.
Maybe he blacked out, or got drunk? He thought, feeling sick as he once again went back into the alley. He checked the spot he arrived in, and thought he could feel the small tingle of energy, but that was probably just him. He just had to find his friends, they probably dumped him on the street laughing about his hangover. Maybe he could call Shelly? Andrew pulled out his phone again, disappointed when he realized there was no reception. He was still confused as to why they would be in London, though. They were supposed to be in Paris. Land of the French. Not England, Land of the British.
Maybe they decided to go around the UK? On a whim? That could certainly be possible, though it would be very-
"Hello, there." A familiar voice brought him out his thoughts. Slowly, Andrew turned his head to look right into the eyes of David Tennant.
"Oh. Hello! David Tennant, wow... I never expected to meet you in person before..." He stuttered, gazing at him suspiciously.
David's eyes narrowed before he leaned in. "My name isn't David. You must be mistaken. I am the Doctor!"
Andrew let out an exasperated laugh, causing David's eyebrow to raise. "No, the Doctor was the character you played in the show 'Doctor Who'". This was really starting to get on his nerves. He didn't care anymore whether he was talking to a famous person. "Anyways, I can't talk to you right now, I need to go... Find my friends." He began to walk away, before his arm was grabbed by David's hand. Wow, he had an iron grip!
"Hmm, actually... I can't let you do that." David hummed.
Andrew slowly turned his head around, before saying: "What the fuck?"
Little did he know, he just stepped into a nightmare...