Chapter 8:
When I awoke, I felt like I had been asleep for a week. My body felt heavy under the warm, white duvet. I closed my eyes, forgetting where I was. I almost felt like I was in my own bed, the one I had slept in for twenty-one years. I use to wake up to the smell of Mum's cooking. I missed Mum already. It was almost like I could smell the food sizzling. I could feel my stomach tighten just thinking about it. I hadn't eaten since I left.
"Oh, good. You're awake. I thought you'd never sleep that off."
My adrenaline kicked in. I forgot I was in a stranger's home, in his clothes, and in his bed. What would my mother think? He walked out of the bathroom, his hair wet.
"Get dressed. We're gonna make you blend in," he said in between toothbrush strokes. I immediately turned my head.
"Could you put some clothes on?" I asked, trying hard not to stare at his exposed chest, a towel sitting low on his hips. His chest was firm and lean like he had been raised in a farming field. Did they have those here?
"So modest, Red," he chuckled. I adverted my eyes, my peripherals catching him go to his wardrobe. I heard the clink of metal hangers, drawers opening and shutting. Peeking slightly, I saw the light blue shirt slide up his arms, his strong back disappearing behind the material. Without turning to face me, he said, "You should shower up. We'll grab some breakfast after. You have to be getting hungry."
His face found mine, his fingers busy working at the square button of his vest. His crystal eyes held my green ones and we stayed like that until it became uncomfortable. What was I going to save him from? How did he see it?
"It's your lucky day, Red. I have a free day." He turned his responder towards me. "No where to be. How do you feel about shopping?"
I don't know why I was actually doing this. I pulled on the petticoat. I should be looking for my father and he wasn't going to be here. Maybe he wasn't going to be anywhere. Benny had said he was considered dead. I needed to get back to the TARDIS and talk to Mum.
"Okay," I said. "How about this one?" I opened the changing room curtain and stared at him. He tried to contain his laughter but it wasn't concealing itself.
"Maybe," he started, a chuckle escaping his lips. He cleared his throat. "Maybe, you weren't made for a full skirt."
"Maybe?" I scoffed. "Why is it so important I wear any of this? My clothes were just fine. It wasn't like anybody noticed me anyways."
His face caught a little. His mouth went firm. "You gotta stay safe, Red. You think nobody noticed you yesterday, but they did. Everyone here ignores distress because they don't want to break down themselves. Everyone lives on edge here. No one is safe. One minute late and you're dead. If you stray from the normal, you will be watched. Maybe not by the crowds, but the higher-ups. You heard the announcements. Those aren't cybermen. They're human, just like you and me. They can kill you just because they can.
That's why it's important to look the part. And not just here. Anywhere you go." He leaned into me, his voice a whisper. "You Time Lord, you."
How did he know so much? Shutting the curtain, I felt my hearts race, not from fear but from...excitement. Mum told me that I would have to trust people with my secret. Choosing the right one might be hard, she said, but I'd know it when the time came. But this guy, he already knew. How he knew was beyond me, but he knew. And he didn't care.
"Here, try this. I imagine you as the more tomboy girl anyways." His hand appeared behind the curtain holding another hanger. Taking it, I knew it was the one.
"Would you look at that," he said, a smile hanging on his thin lips. "You look...wow."
Glancing down at the outfit, I felt good. The corset covered all my midriff and breasts, which pleased me. The black leather shorts weren't too long or too short, and the belt with the back half of an over-skirt attached gave me the little touch of femininity. The lace up boots were comfortable but I missed my trainers.
Benny picked up what looked like a hat. He brought it over and arranged it in my mess of red hair in such a way that it hid the top right half of my face. "There, now you can't see the scrapes."
He held my shoulders at arms length, giving me a once over. The smile never left his face. I felt a blush creeping up to my own. Guys never really looked at me like this, except for Deecan. Deecan. I closed my eyes. I forgot to phone.
"Can we go back to," I said, leaning in closer, "my TARDIS?"
"I thought you'd never ask."
"So, what is this place?" I asked. The distance between Division 8 and my TARDIS was a lot further than I remembered. We had the left the store with my outfit and a few more accessories including my new responder. Benny said it was a faux one, nothing connected to the system, but it'd fool whoever watched me.
"Sector 67. It's a manufactured planet. Think of it like a spacestation. We live on the inside, that's why it's never daytime. The black you see is the outside of the planet. It regulates temperatures, weather, the works." His voice was steady and strong.
"Sector 67. That means there was sixty-six before this one?"
"Technically, there still is. Making a stable environment for humans to live in is difficult. Instead of making a new planet each time, they just improved the same one."
Looking at the tall, colorful buildings and cars dodging them with skill, I couldn't imagine the original structure. Everything considered space was covered in buildings or people. I saw a few cybermen hiding in the alleys. "Did the cyberman build this world?"
"Sadly, no. It was originally man-made. But one day the cybermen showed up and we were too weak to fight them off. They promised a better, upgraded world. It didn't sound so bad at the time to have a better world and have nobody else die at the hands of war," he explained. His voice deepened with sympathy. "My parents died in the War."
"I'm sorry," I said.
He smirked at me. "I've came to terms a long time ago. It's okay, Red."
"Here it is."
The TARDIS hid along the street in between buildings. In amidst of all the colors, it still stood out, like it called to me. Pushing it open, I glanced over my shoulder to Benny. "Would you like to see it?"
"Absolutely."
I watched Benny place one foot inside. He took his time, slowly placing the other foot inside. It was as if he was testing the waters, as if one fast movement, it would all shatter and disappear. I smiled. I knew that feeling. I had it the first time I stepped inside too.
He didn't say a word as he took everything in. His eyes moved so fast, not taking it in fast enough. "So?"
"Oh, Red, I gotta say. When I saw it in my dreams, I didn't think it would be this big. Oh, my."
"Excuse me? Dreams?"
Benny's face snapped to mine as if he had said too much. His expression contorted to a funny shape, then that smile came back. "I'll fill you in later. You outta know, anyway, huh?"
Heading over to the keyboard, I typed the codes Jack showed me. I heard a buzzing noise then static. A huge screen blinked to life on the left of us.
"Lilian! We were worried! Where are you?" Mum asked, her face washed out and plain. She wasn't keeping her looks up. She was worried.
"A place called Sector 67. I'm not sure where that is but-"
"Hold on just a tick," she said, her fingers typing away. "I found you. I put GPS on your TARDIS before you left. Sorry."
"Mum, really?"
"What? I wanted to make sure you were okay."
"You're turning into Granny."
"Take that back right now!" she squeaked. "Anyways. We got word at Torchwood that you're out of this universe. They were tracking your movements while we were at the Bay. Said it only took you ten seconds to get through the cracks. That's pretty impressive."
"Thanks, I guess." I couldn't let her know I didn't have anything to do with it and the TARDIS did most of the work.
"Wait," she said. "Who's that?"
"Hello," Benny waved, moving closer to me. "Don't really have a name but you can call me Benny."
"Lil, you found a companion quite fast."
"He's not my comp-what? No, he's not-"
"You don't have to explain it to us, dear," David said, sitting down beside my mother. "It gets lonely in that TARDIS. Company makes you feel not so distant."
I smiled at the sight of my step father. He may had my father's...everything but David was my father. He raised and looked after me. Yet, it never felt right to call him 'Dad'. I felt my heart do a flip-flop.
"Is that Lilian?"
Then the other heart followed suit.
Deecan's face appeared behind my parents, smiling. "Hey, Lil! Did your mum mentioned we were worried?"
"Yeah," I replied, his smile contagious.
"Is that your boyfriend, Red?" Benny asked, bumping his elbow with mine.
"No," we both said at the same time.
"We're just friends," I said a little too hastily.
"But you like him, no?" Benny asked too loudly.
"Where's Jack?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from me.
"Said he was going back to that universe to find you and Ood Sigma. I'm sure he'll turn up somewhere unexpected. He always does," David said.
Attention.
"Uh, Mum we have to go. Something's happening."
"Be careful!" she shouted.
"Don't forget your sonic!" David yelled next her. Before the screen and audio cut off I could have sworn I heard Deecan ask about Benny.
Attention.
We both ran outside, everyone gazing up to the black sky, all the cars and balloons frozen.
We are now in lock down mode. This is not a drill. Repeat, not a drill.
I didn't know what lock down mode was but from Benny's face, I knew it wasn't something I wanted to know.
A/N: Hey guys! So what do you guys think of Benny and Sector 67? It's about to get a little wild there. Tell me what you guys think. Party on, you awesome people. Party on.
-MugiwaraNami
