Brenda and the Doctor peered through the rows of books as the odd machine-creatures split up to search for stragglers.
"What sort of battle-cry is that?" Brenda whispered, as they crouched on the floor, listening out for the pepper pots.
She glanced over at the motionless Doctor to find his face darkened, eyes no longer shining, but full of pain and anger. Brenda felt the emotions almost as if they were her own.
Not knowing what to do, Brenda shifted uncomfortably before finally deciding to reach out her hand and lay it gently on his arm, hoping to help.
"Doctor," she whispered tentatively "Who, or rather, what are they?"
The Doctor looked round at her and smiled, his expression transformed. It was hard to believe that only a moment ago he had seemed such a lonely and distant person.
"They're Daleks. They're called Daleks – survivors of a great war, one concerning the fate of the entire universe." he paused again, frowning slightly. Finally snapping out of his far-off memories, he looked perkily around at the library.
"Best place to prepare yourself for an invasion – a library!" The Doctor declared cheerfully, although still speaking in a hushed tone.
Brenda looked at him, confused 'One minute he's talking about a terrible war, the next he's cheerful and confident – he's so similar to me in some ways, that it's scary – but I wonder what he's hiding…' Brenda thought, as she watched the Doctor with interest.
The Doctor smiled, misinterpreting the confused expression on her face. "Books are always the best defence!" He explained cheerfully.
"So, let me get this right, we're going to defend the school against some giant, psychotic pepper pots on wheels using printed paper?" Brenda asked sarcastically, but with faint amusement.
"Yep!" The Doctor exclaimed, then he held up his index finger "But, they're not on wheels." He added, pretending to look serious, after a few seconds of trying to hold the expression, he gave up and burst into a grin.
"Doctor…" Brenda began to say, but she lowered her voice considerably as one of the patrolling Daleks glided past the library entrance. "Doctor, why are these Dalek-things here, where is everyone, and how come we're the only people left?" She asked pointedly, waving her arms slightly for emphasis.
"Well…" the Doctor started, running a hand through his messy hair in exasperation. 'Humans,' he thought, cursing the word, 'they never stop asking questions'.
Looking back at Brenda, he caught the ferocious glare written on her face – apparently she had guessed exactly what he was thinking.
"Yes, as I was saying," the Doctor continued, pretending to be unfazed, "I would hazard a guess that the Daleks have some sort of plan – something to do with everyone they teleported, and whatever that plan is – you can bet it won't be good – " he said gloomily, frowning once again.
"-Teleport? Is that and official term – or is it like off Star Trek?" Brenda pondered aloud.
The Doctor just looked at her, partly amused by what she said.
"Erm, no Brenda, no, not like Star Trek," he corrected, his frown disappearing to be replaced by a smile, "Anyway, I found odd readings on my erm… thing… so I came to the school to see what was happening. There was a window open in here, so I thought I'd climb through and take a quick look, next thing I know '-Bam!' over 500 teleports activated, sending the entire school up to the Dalek ship." The Doctor explained, whilst reaching in his pocket and producing a pair of glasses, along with an odd sort of torch.
"Odd readings? On what? They have a ship?…Hold on – does that mean they're aliens?" Brenda asked all at once, her mind working overtime. She glanced at the Doctor, who just raised an eyebrow in response.
Brenda closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again, expecting to see everything back to usual – just like with her normal daydreams, but instead she saw the Doctor fiddling with the torch from his pocket. Tucking her long hair behind her ears, she leant forward to see what he was doing.
Still bending down, the Doctor pointed the torch towards the library's exit. As he pressed a button on it, the torch lit up, producing a potent blue light and an odd buzzing sound.
"Keep on meaning to get a silence setting on this…" the Doctor grumbled to himself.
"If you don't mind me asking," Brenda began politely "what is that?" she indicated the torch.
"Sonic screwdriver… now, if I can just reverse the polarity…then – YES!" he shouted excitedly, jumping up.
"Doctor!" Brenda hissed nervously, "You're going to get us caught." she pointed out, rising to her feet as well.
"No, but this is brilliant! After all this time, they still make the same mistake…" he trailed off in mid-explanation, his eyes narrowing as they fixed on the entrance behind Brenda.
Brenda slowly turned around, dreading the sight that greeted her.
The Dalek moved towards them, gliding swiftly across the floor.
"YOU WILL SUR-REN-DER" it demanded "YOU ARE AN EN-E-MY OF THE DA-LEKS! YOU MUST BE EX-TER-MI-NA-TED!" The Dalek announced, as it moved threateningly towards Brenda.
Slowly, the Doctor emerged from behind Brenda, and stood beside her, facing the Dalek.
The Dalek quickly registered the Doctor, and moved its eyestalk towards him. Then, to Brenda's surprise, it moved back a few inches.
"YOU ARE THE DOC-TOR," it stated, with what Brenda could have sworn was fear. "YOU WILL BE TA-KEN TO OUR SHIP AND HELD CAP-TIVE, HOW-E-VER, THE FE-MALE MUST DIE."
Brenda's heart pounded as the Dalek drew closer 'How's it going to kill me?' she thought frantically, 'Hopefully it won't be painful.'
Bracing herself for impact, Brenda sub-consciously took a step backwards as she desperately tried to remain composed.
The Doctor quickly stepped in front of the trembling, but calm, Brenda, "You will not harm her – she is with me!" he exclaimed, spreading his arms protectively.
"THIS IS NOT AC-CEP-TA-BLE, SHE MUST BE EX-TER-MI-NA-TED!" The Dalek repeated persistently.
Failing the compromise, the Doctor reacted quickly as the Dalek prepared to shoot at Brenda. "Get down!" he shouted as he twiddled the controls of the sonic screwdriver, and aimed it at the Dalek.
"EX-TER-MI-NATE!" cried the Dalek as it fired a laser at Brenda, who dodged it narrowly. It prepared to attack again, but before it had the opportunity, Brenda heard the comfortingly familiar buzzing of the sonic screwdriver – making the Dalek disappear in a flash of blinding blue light.
"Teleport!" Brenda panted, relieved, as she pulled herself up off the floor. "Thanks for that! You were amazing!" She complimented him gratefully, as she flashed one of her genuine smiles at him, letting down her barriers for the first time in months.
The Doctor grinned back mischievously "Oh yes!" he exclaimed with a wink, "After all this time, they never learn – I'm an expert with teleports! And right now, there's one extra Dalek up there." He commented, pointing skywards. The Doctor stopped his rant as he saw Brenda was no longer listening, instead she had stuck her head in one of her bags, and was rummaging around in it.
Brenda soon emerged with a bar of chocolate, triumphantly waving it in the air. The Doctor just raised his eyebrows and rolled his eyes.
"What?" Brenda exclaimed seeing his expression "I read somewhere that chocolate is good for shock!"
"Wouldn't happen to have been Harry Potter would it?" The Doctor asked, smirking slightly.
"Hmm, might've been!" Brenda said before breaking the bar in half, and handing a piece to the Doctor.
As Brenda swallowed the last square of her chunk of chocolate, she mulled things over.
"So Doctor, what's this all about?" She finally asked, frowning "Daleks, spaceships, sonic screwdrivers and teleports… it's mental! I mean, it's brilliant – but bonkers! And who are you in all of this? I saw that Dalek, Doctor, and it recognised you - it was scared of you – why?" Brenda then stood up, laying her hands on her hips for emphasis. 'He's not getting away without an explanation this time!' She thought resolutely.
"I'm no one really, just a wanderer, a traveller-"
"-The Oncoming Storm." Brenda finished dreamily. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I sometimes do that, I can't help myself – sometimes, when people talk I just know things, but I shouldn't - I can't know them…" she trailed off, embarrassed. Then diverted her gaze to the floor, feeling foolish.
"Basic psychic empathy." the Doctor said suddenly, making Brenda jump. She blushed as she noticed he was staring at her when she looked up. "It's well, quite rare – well, I say quite rare, but I mean very rare – especially among humans." He explained, watching her curiously.
"You speak of humans as if you weren't one, and honestly, after what I've seen today, it wouldn't surprise me if you were an alien." Brenda retorted, raising her eyes to meet his, realising with one glance that she was right.
The Doctor nodded, impressed, "My people are long gone, but basic psychic empathy was common-place in those days – we only had to think our words, and the others would be able to hear. Since they died, it's become rarer and rarer throughout the systems…" He drifted off into distant thoughts.
"But how come I-" Brenda began, confused. But the Doctor interrupted before she completed her question.
"You're possibly just a unique case – an outward thinker who has pushed at the limits to basic psychic empathy. But one thing that's for certain – is that you are brilliant! Just brilliant!" The Doctor complimented her, his eyes shining.
Although, as Brenda looked deep into his eyes, she noticed doubt flicker across his face briefly before fading into a smile. Pretending not to have seen anything, Brenda laughed light-heatedly.
"We both are!" she exclaimed, smiling happily. Without thinking she reached for his hand and squeezed it gently, but then released it, self-conscious and embarrassed that he would shun her action.
Tucking the sonic screwdriver away in a pocket of his jacket, the Doctor grinned down at Brenda, appreciative of her gesture, before grabbing her hand back, his eyes sparkling with barely containable excitement.
"Now!" he exclaimed, pausing for effect "We've got to do some running – questions later!"
