Harley's heart seamed to falter for a moment before it began pounding furiously. They turned ever so slowly, hoping that the shadow the staircase cast would hide their movements. The footsteps had stopped by the time Harley had turned and for a moment Harley dared to hope that it was just a random passer-by, who was confused by the strange blonde person who was hiding behind a set of stairs. I'd be confused, Harley thought, facing the dark figure that was now only two metres away from them.
Through the heavy rainfall, Harley could just make out the outline of some one. They stood, an umbrella held above their head, about three metres away. They wore a long Victorian style dress and some kind of veil on their head, making it hard for Harley to tell whether they were facing them or not. Harley could also just make out an odd thin rectangular shape that poked out from behind one of their shoulders.
"Please relax child, I have a message for you." A familiar voice called.
Harley relaxed and stood, trying not to show just how relieved they were. Madame Vastra, thank god. They thought, allowing their racing heart to slow.
"I'm not a child." They said, frowning at Madame Vastra, knowing that they had to at least pretend they didn't know who she was. "Who are you?"
She seemed to hesitate for a moment, probably gaging whether Harley was likely to flee or worse if they moved suddenly, then she moved forward until she was close enough that Harley only need take a step forward to be under the umbrella. Trying to keep some kind of nervous energy surrounding them, Harley forced their body to tense, knowing that any less of a reaction would be suspicious.
"I'm a friend." She said calmly. "Come." And with that she turned and began walking back the way she came. Harley stared after her for a moment, completely stunned by how confident she was that they would follow.
They walked quickly, catching up with her very quickly, but stay slightly behind her so they did not need to put so much effort into acting cautious. Instead they allowed themself to think about who would send them a message, particularly since they just arrived here. They had only met the Doctor since turning up in this strange world and he had not been out of their sight, except for those ten minutes they had spent waiting for whoever was following them to pass by. Harley stopped, cursing themselves for being so stupid. The Doctor. They had completely forgotten about how they had agreed to meet up with him after ten minutes.
"Is there a problem?" Madame Vastra asked.
"I told my friend I'd meet him in ten minutes." Harley said, rubbing the back of their head.
"Well we better hurry then." She responded, moving forward once again.
The two had been walking for quite a while, turning down street after street, before they reached a small horse drawn coach. Harley was completely lost, there was no way they could find their way back to the Doctor now. When they reached the coach, a short figure, obviously Strax, opened the door for Madame Vastra and Harley to climb in.
"So where were we?" Harley hummed when the carriage started to roll forwards. "Ah yes. You're a friend. Whose friend would that be?" Harley lounged very casually on the seat across from Madame Vastra, preparing themself for whatever direction this conversation was going to go.
"Your friend."
"Not to burst your bubble or anything, but I've only met one person in this century and you don't sound a thing like him." Harley said calmly, a crooked smile playing on their lips.
"Perhaps a better phrase is, I will be a friend." Madame Vastra amended.
"Well I can't really argue with you there…" Harley said. "Although, I feel like an enemy would say something like that too."
Harley took a chance during the brief silence to observe Madame Vastra closely. They took note of how she sat upright with perfect posture. Her hands were gently folded in her lap, and the sword that Harley had hardly been able to make out in the rain was leaning gently against her left thigh. Harley allowed their gaze to rest on the sword, admiring what little they could see of it in the poorly lit carriage.
"That's not for you, there has been dangerous creatures lurking in the streets as of late." Madame Vastra said, misinterpreting Harley's interest in the blade.
"What sort of dangerous creatures?" Harley asked, hoping that maybe they could get some information while they were there.
"Solid shadows." Madame Vastra answered.
"Yeah my friend and I are checking those out. We had a bit of a run in with one, you wouldn't know anything about them would you?" Harley asked, resting their right ankle on their left knee.
"Well why do you think I've brought you here?" She said. Her tone suggesting that Harley was being a bit slow.
"You did say you had a message for me." Harley pointed out.
"Yes…" Madame Vastra said, reaching into a pocket in her dress and pulling out a small, white envelope. Harley took a moment to curse the dress makers of their time for the lack of pockets in any dress they had and then leaned forward to take the envelope.
"Who's it from?" Harley asked.
"You."
Harley looked back at Madame Vastra, a small frown creasing their forehead. Surely there is some kind of rule against that sort of thing? Harley thought, chastising their future self for breaking whatever law of time they had. They couldn't tell what Madame Vastra was thinking, as her face was covered by her veil, but she seemed to be watching Harley's reaction
"Thanks." Harley said. Deciding not to read the letter there, they gently folded the envelope into a small square and tucked it into their jean pocket. "I'm sorry, I never asked your name."
"I'm Madame Vastra." She said. "Now, back to this trouble we have been having with the shadows." Harley lent forward, resting their forearms on their legs, and listened intently. "To begin with, they were only active between the hours of eleven and one at night, but that time they spend active has gradually increased." Vastra paused, taking in a breath.
"We also know where they are coming from and where they return too." She said, her voice tightening ever so slightly, as though she was made uncomfortable by the information she was about to share. "They come from the graveyards."
Harley leaned back against the wall of the carriage, letting that sink in. If the shadows came from the graveyards and then returned to the graveyards then there was probably something there the solid shadows needed to exist and there was only one thing that was plentiful at a graveyard.
"They're the shadows of the dead." Harley said out loud. Letting Madame Vastra know that she had figured it out.
The carriage jerked to a stop, causing Harley to fall forwards on top of Madame Vastra. They apologised profusely and pushed themself back into their seat, but she seemed to be more concerned with their lack of movement.
"Strax what is it?" She called already moving to the door.
"Our way has been blocked." Strax called back.
"By what?" Madame Vastra demanded, though she had swung open the door before the Sultaran had a chance to respond.
Harley was quick to follow her out of the cart and when she saw what was not only ahead of them but had gathered behind them as well, their heart began to race once again. This can't be good for me, Harley thought, watching as the shadows seemed to become more solid with every step they took. The creatures had boxed them in and they were advancing slowly but surely.
Harley glanced at Madame Vastra. She had taken her veil off and had unsheathed her sword, clearly prepared to fight for her life. Her face was grim though, as though she did not expect to survive. Harley had to agree.
"You don't know anything else about them do you?" They asked, watching as the shadows continued their slow march. They're playing with us, they can move a lot quicker than that. Harley thought, slightly irritated.
Madame Vastra shook her head, Strax had joined them on the ground and was preparing himself for battle. The horse had begun to snort and stamp its feet impatiently. The carriage had been stopped just next to a brightly burning street light, bathing the area around it in a surprisingly bright light. In fact, Harley thought the light was a little too bright in comparison to all the other street lights they had passed on their walk with the Doctor.
It was then that Harley had an idea. An idea that was simultaneously brilliant and also very, very dangerous. They turned to Madame Vastra, preparing themselves for a possible argument that they really didn't have the time for and shouted.
"Turn all the lights off."
"What?" Madame Vastra asked, though it was clear by the look on her face that she had heard exactly what Harley had told her to do.
"Turn all of the lights off." Harley said, bounding over to the nearby street light, pulling their long, thick coat off and dumping it on the ground. "You can't have shadows if there isn't any light."
"They aren't really shadows, that's just what we call them."
Harley shook their head and began shimmying up the thin metal pole. "The doctor specifically said they were human shadows, he wouldn't call them shadows if they weren't shadows." They grit their teeth as the palms of their hands began to ache. "Look at them! As they get closer to the light they seem to look more solid…"
"Just like a normal shadow." Madame Vastra finished for them as she turned to the carriage and doused the lantern that hung slightly in front of the horse.
Harley had finally reached the top of the street light and, clinging as tightly as they could with one hand, they pulled the glass casing off of the flickering light source. The rain quickly dealt with the small flame leaving only a small cylindrical glowing tube, which had been attached to the top of the casing. The tube had been the source of the extra light. Harley reached their spare hand forward, touching the light with the tips of their fingers and jerked backwards, sliding a couple of inches back towards the ground. The globe was very hot.
A few moments later Harley had recovered their lost height and had moved on to trying to figure out how to turn the light off. They couldn't see any switches, nor did they have anything but their bare hands to work with. They turned and looked at the approaching hoard of shadows, they weren't very far from the carriage now and they seemed to have quickened their pace very slightly.
Harley took a deep breath and quickly wrapped their hand around the cylindrical light, wrenching with all their might. It detached from the casing with a slight pop and Harley dropped it, hissing in agony. The globe hit the footpath below with a dull thud, much to Harley's chagrin, and rolled onto the street. Sliding down the pole ignoring the pain in both of their hands, Harley landed on the ground and grabbed their abandoned coat. Then, very carefully, Harley wrapped the light source up in the coat, leaving the street in darkness.
There was a strange clattering sound, followed by silence. The only light that could be seen now was the distant glow of a street lamp up ahead, but the light didn't touch the carriage, or anything within twenty metres of it. Harley held their breath and waited, hoping that they were right but knowing that they might not have been. If they were wrong, the only way they'd know was when they felt the silent walking shadows against their skin.
Alright, I'm really starting to get into the swing of things. This is the longest chapter so far, I hope you all enjoy :)
