The night the earth stood still. Literally. It was because of the Doctor, of course. There was no way around it. We would be dead if it weren't for him. But that's typically the case with the Doctor anyway.
My name is Amelia Williams, and I had the privilege to know the alien man called the Doctor since I was only a little girl. He left me, though. Then he came back, and I've been travelling around the universe, seeing things I could never fathom, ever since, with The Doctor, my best friend.
The night the earth stood still; the night no one remembers.
No one wants to be alone in an eerily dark room. Some people don't want to be alone at all. Well, there are monsters who want us to be. Ever wonder who that voice in your head is when you talk to yourself? There's a monster called the Vaxic. It feeds off the loneliness of humans. It makes us think negative thoughts. It's the reason for unknown suicide reasons and the reason for children wanting their parents in their rooms until they're asleep. And I've met it. I've survived the Vaxic.
"Where should we go this time?" asked the Doctor, ready and waiting to pull levers and push buttons on the TARDIS console.
"Can we go back in time? On earth?" I asked. History had always intrigued me for some reason. Especially my own.
"To when?" asked Rory. My perfect husband, Mr. Pond. I couldn't have asked for better.
"Oh, I don't know. Somewhere in the 1900s though. I used to like watching old shows on the telly and wondering how life was really like back then."
"Alright then, back in time to the 1900s. Random year!" the Doctor announced, running around the TARDIS console pushing buttons and pulling levers.
"Geronimo," he whispered,looking at me, "Step outside those doors now and you'll be in a century of progress. Of technology and television and air conditioning! The century the human race accelerated."
I ran to the door, took a deep breath, and pulled it open.
We landed in London. I didn't know what the year was yet, but it was beautiful.
The cars were so old-looking. All the women were wearing dresses, it looked like something straight out of a film.
"Wow," I said, barely audible, "I might need to get a dress. I stand out! But then again, I'm with a bow tie wearing alien."
"It's cool," the Doctor retorted. I rolled my eyes.
"What are we gonna do here?" asked my husband.
"Anything we desire. But let's find out the year, first," said the Time Lord.
I looked around my surroundings and spotted a newspaper stand straight away.
"Here!" I said, walking over to it. I didn't have any money to buy one, so I looked through the glass at the date.
"31 August 1939," I read.
"We should leave. We should really leave," the Doctor nervously said.
"1939...isn't that the year World War Two began?" added Rory.
"Well it doesn't look like there's a war on," I protested.
The Doctor started walking through the streets, Rory and I trailing behind.
"That's because the war hasn't started yet, Rory!" said the Doctor, gritting his teeth, walking nervously through the streets.
"Then what's the big deal?" I asked.
"The war starts tomorrow," he said solemnly.
Rory and I both stopped dead in our tracks.
"Okay... Well, we could...," I began.
"We could just have a look around today and leave later this afternoon," added Rory.
At that moment, I noticed a girl, maybe six or seven years of age, sitting alone on a bench outside a bakery, her head bowed. She looked like she hadn't bathed in days.
"Doctor," I said, "Look at that little girl, shouldn't we help her?"
"I knew there was a reason I liked you," the Time Lord replied, smiling. The three of us went over to the young girl.
"Hello, I'm the Doctor, and this is Amy and Rory. What's your name?"
"Amethyst," she whispered, lifting her head a millimetre.
"That's a lovely name, Amethyst. Where are your parents?" I asked, sitting down on the bench beside her.
"I don't have any parents," she admitted. My heart sank. This poor child. I looked at my husband, and then at my best friend. We had to help this girl.
"You're an orphan?" asked Rory.
"No, my parents are dead but I'm definitely not an orphan," Amethyst retorted. Hm, interesting. I knew I liked her.
"Does it make you sad?" the Doctor interjected, his facial expression the same.
"I'm alone in the world. I don't have anyone to look after me, to make sure I've got clean clothes and good food and a warm place to sleep. Yes, it makes me sad."
"How old are you?" I asked her.
"Twelve," was the reply. This poor child was twelve years old, yet she looked no more than nine or ten.
"Where do you live?" I asked Amethyst.
"The house my parents died in. I live there by myself. I haven't got any family," she answered. I was about to cry.
"Can we go there with you?" the Doctor asked her.
Amethyst looked up at us, finally. Her eyes held sadness and loss, but there was a glimmer of hope.
"No! I hate that place. I have nightmares and it always seems like someone's watching me. It's scary, and even more scary because I'm alone," a single tear rolled down her cheek.
I knew the Doctor couldn't resist helping the poor child. He never can resist children crying.
"I thought there were orphanages you could live in," Rory stated blankly.
"Rory! Why would she want to live in an orphanage? Those are rubbish!" I told my husband.
Amethyst nodded in agreement.
"Please, Amethyst. Take us to your home. I think you'll find we can definitely help you with your nightmare problem. Will you let us help?" the Doctor asked calmly.
"Please," came the soft response, "Help me, Doctor."
My alien friend took Amethyst's hand, and the four of us began to make our way to Amethyst's run-down home she'd been staying in. I couldn't imagine what'd it be like to live by myself. No family, no money, no Rory... It would be my own personal hell.
"How far is it?" Rory panted.
"Not much farther!" replied Amethyst. After making our way past shops, pedestrians, and homes, not to mention the odd looks we received from people on the streets, we came to a small cottage at the end of a street with red brick and black shutters. The grass in the yard was completely brown, there were no flowers or bushes; no greenery at all. Nothing to spike a bit of interest in the eye. The four of us walked up the narrow sidewalk and Amethyst opened the door for us.
The interior was bleak, the furniture looked like it hadn't been used in months. Cobwebs had taken over parts of the house. The corners of the baby blue wallpaper was falling off. There were no signs of life and I felt the urge to leave. No wonder she didn't like it here.
"Well, this is it. The only place I could call home," Amethyst announced.
"So when do you feel like someone's watching you? All the time or just at night?" asked the Doctor, analysing everything in sight.
"At night, mostly, when I'm feeling alone in the world and crying myself to sleep," she answered.
The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver, pressed the button and waved it in front of everything in sight.
"Doctor?" I asked, "What if it's some alien that wants scared little kids?" He turned and looked at me, "That's not possible, is it? It probably is, isn't it."
"Amelia Pond you might be on to something!"
The Doctor turned to Amethyst and took her aside.
"What does it say to you? What does it sound like?"
"Just... A voice. The same one every night. Then I hear a scream, and it's morning. That's my relief. Morning," she explained.