"Aislinn!"
I turned to see my boyfriend running up to me at full speed.
"I've been looking for you all morning," he panted. "Did you survive?"
I shrugged. "Still here, aren't I?"
"That's always good," he smiled, pecking me quickly on the cheek. "Did a man talk to you at any time recently?"
"A man?" I asked, feeling color draining from my face. I wasn't sure why, it made sense that he would ask more than one person, but I couldn't help it. "Yeah, a John Smith. Why, did he talk to you too?"
Evan nodded. "Yeah. Bit creepy, isn't he?"
I shrugged. "I don't know creepy is the word. He's just sort of-"
"Aislinn?"
I looked away from Evan to see a man...in a pinstriped suit...with a coat..
"Mr. Smith?"
Mr. Smith walked towards me, that same insane grin on his face. "Hallo! Fancy running into you here. Well, I guess it's not that unusual, wander the corridors for long enough for long enough and you'll find anyone...and you!" he turned to Evan. "I saw you two days ago. Seen anything odd, either of you?"
"No, haven't. Just like I told you," Evan replied. I shook my head.
"Can't say I have."
Mr. Smith just kept on grinning. "Well, tell me if you do."
Mr. Smith turned and walked away, his coat blowing out behind him.
"I swear that guy's nuts...bet he's not even from the government," Evan said.
I nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah, sure."
I didn't really care if he was nuts. What I cared about was who the hell he was.
"So really, Sharon, I would say that you should just ignore him and get on with your-"
"Aislinn? What is it?"
"Did that statue just move?" I asked her, my eyes transfixed on the angel statue behind her.
"What? Of course it didn't move. Statues don't move. Are you on something?"
"That statue was up against the building. Now it's about a meter in front of it," I observed, walking towards the stone angel.
"You must've seen it wrong. Perception or something. The angle made you think it was right up against the building," Sharon shrugged.
"I don't think so..." I murmured. "I haven't moved."
Sharon laughed. "Then what do you think happened? The statue magically moved from one place to another? Did you even see it move?"
I shook my head.
"You've been reading too many fairytales," she sighed. She picked up her bag and walked away.
"Right," I mumbled, barely paying attention.
"Aislinn?"
I almost didn't recognize the voice. It wasn't cheery, or friendly, not how it usually was. Instead it was slow, and steady. Cautious.
"Yes, Mr. Smith? I asked, turning around.
"You saw something didn't you?" he asked me, his tone making me not want to lie. I felt like a child.
"Don't you see it?" I asked him. "That statue...isn't there anymore, how can it not be there anymore?"
Where the angel had been previously was now an open space.
"I promise you, it was right there!" I pleaded. Mr. Smith nodded solemnly.
"I believe you. Aislinn, from now on, don't turn your back on anything, don't look away, never be away from crowded areas, and whatever you do...don't blink."
I was too afraid to even bother asking how I could not blink for so long.
"What's happening?" I whispered. Everything about him, his posture, his tone, his expression...it told I should be terrified.
"There's something here that shouldn't be here. And they're dangerous," he told me.
"But what are they?" I pressed further. I could handle anything. I wasn't afraid of anything. Excitement and danger go hand in hand. But unless I knew what it was...then it was scary.
Mr. Smith hesitated. "They're bad. That's all you need to know for now."
And with that, he was gone.
A/N: Aislinn will be a companion soon enough, but first they'll be a couple of chapters of how they met, so please just be patient if you're getting bored and want some TARDIS involvement
