LONG TIME, NO SEE FELLOW FANFICTION FOLLOWERS! Don't worry, I have a perfectly good explanation for my absence... I've been feeling pretty... lazy these past couple of weeks. That and I've had a bit of writer's block. But mostly I think I've been feeling lazy. Anyway I'm really really sorry for keeping all of my followers waiting. And I was going to write three new chapters back-to-back as a special gift... but, honestly, I just don't have the strength nor the creativity to pull off something like that, so I'm just gonna do this new chapter. Hope it makes up for everything! Enjoy!
"Wait, so is that a right or a left we take right here?"
Clara just rolled her eyes as she watched the Doctor stand in the middle of a two-way street, looking both left and right.
They were lost. She knew that ten minutes ago. Even though the trip was only supposed to take a "hop, skip, and a jump!" (according to Tammi).
"I told you!" Tammi yelled from above Clara's head, obviously frustrated and tired. Clara could just picture her now, leaning over her desk, head in hand, eyes popping out of her head….
"You walk straight down that road! Wait until you get to the boutique at the end!"
The voice snapped both the Doctor and Clara out of their thoughts. "Ok! Ok!" the Doctor surrendered, throwing his hands up and walking over to the post Clara was leaning on. "So, which one is the boutique?! You know, all of these stores sort of look the same!"
Clara had to agree with him on that one. In the last few minutes, she had counted four stores that had the same color, same window sizes, same doorframe, everything. She also couldn't help but notice that close to all of the stores didn't have signs. Well, this IS a GAME, she figured. They all must be for show.
"It's pink," Tammi began describing, "with long, tall windows and a long, tall doorway."
"Great," Clara uttered, arms still folded across her chest. "Pink store. Tall windows. Tall doorway. There aren't a million of those in this game."
"Doesn't it have mannequins in the windows?" Dylan's voice chimed in.
"Yeah! It does!" Terrance declared.
"Ok! So that narrows it down then!" the Doctor exclaimed, turning around (which made his tweed jacket twirl in the wind) and walking down along the street. "Pink store full of mannequins. There most definitely aren't a million of those in this game."
Clara followed quickly behind him, looking left, right, and occasionally at the Doctor. "You sure about this? Going on and meeting these people?"
"I already gave them my word, Clara," he said without looking directly at her. "Besides, what have I said before? We don't walk away. Especially now, since we're already so involved."
Clara thought about this for a moment. "Right," she said without realizing it escaped her mouth.
He was right.
THIS was right.
Helping people. Saving them. Saving the world. Even though this wasn't a real world.
Nevertheless, there was trouble around the corner.
And it's up to her and the Doctor to find it.
"Ah!" the Doctor cried, jumping up in surprise and rushing over to one of the pink stores to his left. "Here we are!" Clara hastily settled in next to him and fixed her gaze on the sight before them both.
There, sitting at the edge of the corner of the street, was the boutique. And it was exactly as Tammi and Dylan described it. Bright pink bricks made up the exterior. A big sign hung above that practically screamed out "BOUTIQUE!". The tall, vaguely-pinked windows showed mannequins that were dressed in rather tacky attire. The doorframe held a simple door with a little bell attached up top and a "OPEN" sign in the middle.
"Very realistic, if I do say so myself," the Doctor boasted, sarcastically, Clara soon caught on.
"So, where do we go from here?" she asked, looking around for the Administrative Building.
"Uh…." the Doctor stuttered, holding his hand up towards his brain as if to extract the information directly. But, after a few seconds, "I don't know. Tammi didn't say. All she told us to do was find the boutique."
"And now…!" Tammi's voice rung out, making the madman and his companion jump up in shock and look frantically around for the whereabouts of the voice. Clara quickly spotted another camera sitting atop a post on the sidewalk on the other side. "There!" she cried, pointing towards it.
The Doctor whipped his head and smiled a bright smile. "Yes!" he exclaimed, running up closer towards the post. "Good work, Clara! You found Waldo. So, Tammi, what now?"
"Take a left here and keep walking," Tammi instructed. "A big building should show up with a plaque in the middle of the grass that says 'MyAdministrativeBuilding'."
"And you're sure this building will surely stand out amongst the others?" Clara couldn't help but ask.
"It's the only Administrative Building in the game," Terrance pointed out. "It has to stand out."
"Yeah!" Dylan added. "Otherwise, how else would people like you know where to go to with their problems?"
"Point taken," Clara admitted.
"So left here. Look out for a plaque in the grass," the Doctor repeated, clapping his hands together. "Got it! Let's be off!"
And with that, the Doctor spun around towards the boutique and ran as fast as he could past it and any other store that stood to his left. Clara quickly followed behind him, suddenly getting a slight pain in her left foot. Probably should've chosen more comfortable shoes, she said to herself before yelling out, "Doctor? Doctor! Slow down! My feet are already killing-".
All of a sudden, she found herself bumping up into the Doctor's back. She fumbled backwards a few steps before catching herself and moving more slowly towards the Doctor's side. She really hadn't paid much attention to her surroundings while running, which is why she couldn't help but look up at the Doctor's face first to try and find some sort of reason for stopping.
"Doctor?" she asked, confused.
"There it is," he whispered, his eyes and facial expression totally blank. She followed his gaze and became expressionless herself.
There, right in front of them, stood the Administrative Building. Tall, at most, maybe, twenty stories high. Built entirely from gray bricks. Two levels of stairs led them to the two enormous glass doors that separated them from the inside. All of the windows were four-paned with black frames. The grass was short and cut to perfection. In the middle, just where Tammi said it was, stood a six/seven foot tall, black-marbled plaque with the words "MyAdministrativeBuilding" across the top in gold.
"Wow," Clara said, suddenly getting goose bumps at the mere word. "Much…much different than what I expected."
"What'd you expect?" Terrance's voice shot out through whatever silence was left. "Another pink shop with mannequins in the windows?"
"Hey, man!" Dylan pleaded. "That's my job around here!"
The Doctor and Clara couldn't help but smile widely as they ran hurriedly up the stairs and towards yet another black camera that hung slightly above the double doors.
"Why hello again!" the Doctor said, waving into the camera with a bright gleam in his eyes. "So…" The Doctor looked both left and right before adding, "Where's the party?! Where are you guys?"
Clara couldn't help but quickly look around for the computer trio. They were nowhere in sight. Odd, she thought. "Yeah," she found herself saying out loud. "I thought we all agreed to meet here."
"Well,…. I thought you two were just gonna…" Tammi came on, "you know, come on up."
"Yes, I guess we could've," the Doctor agreed. "But couldn't you all just….you know, come down here yourselves?"
Clara made a face about how silly this was. But, the more she thought about it, the more it made sense in a way. Why didn't Tammi, Terrance, and Dylan just come down to meet them at the door? Not that it was a big deal, of course. All Clara wanted to do was get down to business. But, still….something about it just seemed a little…off.
Then, just then, a horrible thought crossed Clara's mind.
Was it a trap?
Was that it?
Were they both going to go inside only to be plunged downward into some underground dungeon? Was there an alien lurking inside the building waiting until they got close enough fro him to strike? Were there secretly robots inside wanting to lure them in a convert the Doctor and Clara into robots?
After everything she and the Doctor have been through, Clara was preparing for the impossible to happen.
What brought on even more suspicion was the eerie and tense silence that followed the Doctor's observation.
As if by habit, Clara slowly inched herself towards to Doctor and grabbed his hand. She gave him a small squeeze and he returned the favor, a reassurance that everything was fine. For now.
They could faintly hear the three teens going, "Uh….." simultaneously. Right now, they were probably looking at each other and shrugging their shoulders like complete idiots.
"Tammi," the Doctor said slowly, keeping his eyes focused on the lens. Clara could tell he was trying not to sound too suspicious but failing miserably. "Terrance. Dylan. Why don't you all come down here?"
A sigh was heard over the intercom, then Tammi's reply. "We can't."
"Why not?" Clara piped up, curiously.
"Because…. Because we don't know how."
WHAT?! All questions will be answered in Chapter 11! Well, not all, but maybe some gosh-darn important ones! :-) Keep reviewing and following. Seriously, guys, I hate to disappoint people. I am SOOO sorry if I've disappointed any of you. You all have made me so happy with all of your views and comments. I'll try to keep you updated much much sooner than I have been. You can count on ME! Good night!