"Say anything you want, but I need to explore the area. Time cracks are much more dangerous than flying riddles". The Doctor crossed his arms, brows forming a single line. "Do you know what can happen if you touch the not-fed time crack?"
"You stayed unharmed", Clara parried.
"Yes, because I know how to treat them. If you are touched by pure time energy, you will be wiped out of history. It's worse than death. No one will ever remember that you existed. No one, apart from those whose perception is changed".
"Time travellers".
"Yes. And not all of them... it's complicated".
"Anyway, you're not going to fly out of my flat and hover around like a led zeppelin!"
"Why?" The Doctor's expression was that of pure wonder. "Don't you remember a dinosaur in London? Or Big Ben being destroyed by a UFO? Who recalls about it now? It's safe".
"Safe?"
"I'll prove it to you".
Benna was clinging to the Doctor for dear life - it included not only her hands and arms, but legs as well, though it wasn't easy in such position. It was the "proving". The Doctor had flown out of the window at daylight, having carelessly grabbed her. And that felt even scarier, because all Benna could see was the patch of his rumpled shirt: his arms were wrapped around her shoulders and back closer to her neck, so she couldn't turn her head much. In addition, her bottom half was almost hanging down, and that made her think that she could fall onto the ground any moment.
And she really did.
But it occurred to her only when she was grabbed by her shirt in the middle of her "flight down" and then - after an unspecified amount of time again - put onto solid ground. Or solid concrete - now they both were on the roof of a skyscraper.
Benna's legs gave up immediately, and she flopped onto the surface: she was stunned by this flight. She was chewing on her bottom lip for some minutes and then laid her hand onto her chest.
"Oh, Benna! I caught you, you're alive and well, so what else do you want?"
"Hrrrrt".
"What?"
"Hrrrrrrt!" Benna snapped.
"Whatever do you mean? You're not hurt".
"H-rrrrr-t!" No matter how hard Benna tried, the blasted word wouldn't come out of her mouth correctly. She waited until her legs could carry her again, stood up and, having grabbed the Doctor's hand, pressed it to her chest. "Bmmm, bmmm, bmmm, bmmm!"
"Ah, Benna, and you call that scare? Watch out for it not to become your eternal fate!.." the Doctor snapped and unexpectedly turned around, having leaned down to look the girl into the eyes. "What did you say? I've got it about heart, but what next?"
"Bmmm, bmmm, bmmm, bmmm", Benna repeated, attempting to catch up with her heartbeat which wasn't going to slow down to its normal speed.
"Hold it, Benedict. Ticking and tocking at school, and now you repeat things four times... Four times..."
"Tick tock. Tick tock".
"I've already heard that!"
Benna flopped onto her bottom and rocked from side to side, imitating clock noise - this time she was understanding what she was doing. Then she jumped up and pointed at the direction in which she thought Coal Hill was. At least it was down there.
"Hold your horses", the Doctor asked, and Benna glanced around in confusion. "It's just an expression. It means 'wait'... Where did Clara leave you?"
Benna's hands flew up, drawing bottle shapes in the air. But it was only when she imitated a witch on a broom, the Doctor got it fully.
"Caretaker's chamber?"
Benna blinked.
"So that could mean... No, it couldn't. Need proofs... Let's get there and see".
One glance down was enough to make Benna rush to the Doctor and wrap her arms around his waist (for she couldn't reach higher).
"What? Offer another way, if you wish! I got you here, so you doubt I'll get you there?"
"Honk, honk".
"That's boring".
"Doctor!"
"Or I just need a refreshment. Climb onto my back this time, if you'll feel safer this way... and don't tug on the feathers, it hurts!"
"Here they are, humans. Either it's the end of the world or just a harmless alien like me, they hurry to film in on their cell phones", the Doctor said loudly for Benna to hear. Though this time he was flying much slower than every previous time (and was annoyed with such little speed), wind still was whistling in the ears of both. "If you pinch me once again, I'll shake you down there".
Benna wasn't pinching anybody - she was holding on his shirt, just over his shoulders, till white knuckles, and that had been another "check-up" - weakening the grasp and restoring it.
"What did I tell you?.." Now they were much closer to the ground - every person and every street detail was seen, but it was still creepy. "You little scaredy cat..."
Finally they landed on the backyard of Coal Hill School and immediately darted into the mentioned place. Benna climbed onto that very box, while the Doctor began scanning the room with his sonic.
"Hmmm... Background radiation?.. And remains of the time crack. Clocks chiming must've been the echo..."
And the Doctor began musing to himself, speaking in long words - so long and not understandable that Benna's head began nodding and eyelids went heavy. Perhaps she would've stayed alert if it were not for her feet which went cotton after travelling without using them.
"...and this means another check-up is to be done, but how am I going to... BENNA!"
It seemed to her that she had been sitting on the box a second ago when she found herself supine on the floor.
"Welcome back to the real world", the Doctor grinned lop-sidedly and gave her two strong slaps on the cheeks.
"Doctor?"
"You were ticking and tocking like a broken alarm clock, and..."
But he didn't go on because it occurred to them both that it wasn't quiet on the outside anymore. And the warning "GO AWAY HUMANS" wouldn't work here for sure.
"Suppose it was some sort of trance, as if you became a walking radio..." Another surprised blink from Benna. "Radio is a thing which can make your voice sound from distance..."
But here radio wasn't needed. It was seen from the small window that there already was a crowd out there. Chanting, like football fans. What phrase... No. No, please no. But it was true. "Show us the angel! Show us the angel!"
"What do they take me for? Deja vu much?" the Doctor muttered. "Okay. They want an angel, I'll show them an angel. Try not to throw up on me, Benna".
"Blergh!"
The last was making sure that the mentioned thing wouldn't take place.
