When I woke up no one was there. This disappointed me, as people in books always have crowds of well-wishers around their sickbeds. The room was white, with circles of glass in the walls. I was on a plain bed. There were two wristbands on either hand, with flashing red and green lights.
Christmas lights, I thought dully. A plastic mask covered my mouth and nose. It was feeding out some sweet smelling air. I must be a prisoner, and they must still be gassing me. Trying to take the mask off caused a lot of pain. Everything was so stiff. Even moving my eyes hurt. There were two rough pieces of material on my neck, and one on my head. Bandages, I guessed, and ripped off the mask properly. The effort made me dizzy. A woman's voice spoke from nowhere.
Must be an intercom.
"Bernard, are you awake?"
"I don't know. Am I?"
"Yes." the voice said, matter-of-factly.
"Um, where am I?"
"Hang on. I'll explain everything in a moment."
A few seconds later a door sized portion of the room slid inwards and she came in. Her age could've been twenty, but you know how people look a lot older behind the eyes? It's a feature we elves have. This woman had it too. Her eyes were a darker shade of electric blue, and her hair was golden blonde, and curly. She was wearing human clothes.
"Put the mask back on!" she said at once. "It counteracts the gas."
"Who are you?"
The question seemed to tire her. "Gosh, how do I explain this? I'm Sarah. I've regenerated. Do you know what that means?"
"Yes." Before the Gallifreyan race had been destroyed, we(the elves) had kept in contact with them. Regeneration was a Time Lord's ability to change his or her body completely to save themselves from death. But I still wasn't convinced this was Sarah. She seemed to see that.
"Let me see. First time I met you I had a pencil, and you claimed to be from a midnight delivery service."
Nothing was said, but when she put the mask back on I didn't stop her.
She took a glass ball, with a circlet of gold, encrusted with red and white diamonds, around its middle. "Got your message. Such a quaint little messenger, this. Half of its power from elemental atoms, and half from psychic energy. When it was plugged into the TARDIS (that's the ship you're in, by the way) it led me right to you. In a few more seconds you'd've been dead." She said that last sentence casually. "The antidote had to be injected directly into your lungs first. Then the mask did the rest."
"How did you get a TARDIS?"
"Oh, I have my ways. So, Bernard, who do you think has the motive and means to kill you?" It was said so bluntly it stung.
"I-I have no idea. There's been no one new in Elfsburg."
"How about someone you know?"
"Elves don't kill." I said firmly.
She raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yes, really. We have our faults, but we've never committed murder."
"But maybe-"
"Can you take me home?"
She blinked. "Uh, sure. Of course, the others will be worried about their precious Head Elf." She left. I pondered her new personality. The Sarah I used to know was playful, childish, and full of life. This one sounded more cynical, and weary. Something had happened to harden her.
An engine revved, but no engine that I had heard the like of before. Then she was back."This has helped you as much as it's going to." The mask came off. "Come on, you need to stretch so your muscles don't forget how to work. It won't hurt a bit." She helped me sit up, and I grunted in pain.
"Well," she smiled. "maybe a little."
"It seems your arrival heralds my paralysis." I complained.
She scoffed, mocking offense. "I like to think my arrival heralds your cure of paralysis."
That assured me that the Sarah I knew wasn't completely gone.
"Um, I can't move my legs."
"At all?"
"At all."
Sarah sighed. "I was afraid of that."
"Why? What's wrong with me?"
"I barely showed up in enough time to save you. The gas may have done some permanent harm. Lets see how bad it is." She bent my leg. Intense pain flared, and for the third time that day, I blacked out.
