"Good luck, Molly," Mrs. Sanders told her as the train pulled into the station and slowed to a halt beside them. The barber and his wife had insisted on accompanying Molly to the train station. It was the day after John's departure; she didn't want to waste time actually buying the ticket and getting enrolled as a nurse, so she was going to do everything by psychic paper. Risky, maybe, but time was of the essence.
It was also risky to allow Mr. and Mrs. Sanders to accompany her to the station, but they'd insisted, and she'd grown fond of them in the last two months. They'd been good to the siblings, Mrs. Sanders in particular. Molly had been glad of her friendship in the lonely months without the Doctor.
Mr. Sanders, a large, beefy man with a dark, wild beard and a wide grin, pulled her into a huge hug. "Good luck, Ms. Smith," he rumbled.
"Thanks sir," she said with a grin.
Mr. Sanders finally released her, allowing the tiny Mrs. Sanders to wrap Molly in her own hug. "Are you sure you're not coming back?" she asked anxiously. "Once the war's over and all?"
Molly shook her head firmly. "After its over, we're heading back to England. But I'll miss you."
As the pathologist pulled back, she heard a familiar, unwelcome voice behind her. "Oh, hello there Ms. Smith."
She bit back a groan as she turned to face the woman. "Mrs. Howard," she greeted stiffly.
The tall, pinched woman seemed in a huff about something. She drew herself up, glaring imperiously at the pathologist. "I almost can't believe what I've heard. Is it true then? You're running off like some sort of wild thing after your brother?"
Molly had been patient with Mrs. Howard for well over two months now, but after everything that happened yesterday, she wasn't really in the mood for the unpleasant woman. "Pardon me, ma'am," she replied testily, "but I don't think it's particularly any of your business." Mr. and Mrs. Sanders watched the encounter curiously.
Mrs. Howard flushed, her eyebrows pinching together in a deep scowl. "Do forgive the intrusion. You must understand I am only trying to help. No good comes to girls who go traipsing off where they have no business."
The pathologist finally lost her patience. She drew herself up to her full height, squaring her shoulders as she glared at the older woman. Her tone lost the usual politeness and gained its full strength as she snapped, "Mrs. Howard, I wish you could have seen the things I've seen. In time, you might come to learn how wrong you are about people and what matters. I wish you could see the future I have. And one day, you will, if you live long enough. You'll see the day men of every color are given the vote. The day women are given the vote too if you're lucky. But there's so much you'll get to miss. The World Wars, when everyone realizes war's not as grand as they make it out to be. The creation of the atomic bomb. A world where a country can destroy another with the push of a button. The legalization of same-sex marriage. Horrors to you, I'm sure. Maybe it's better you'll never live to see them. You might not be able to handle it, being shown just how wrong you are about the world and what's proper. Because I've seen the future, Mrs. Howard, and in all my travels, I've realized that those petty social niceties don't matter at all. None of it matters. Just a person's basic humanity."
Mr. and Mrs. Sanders were looking at her worriedly, but Mrs. Howard gaped at her with shock and disgust, and a little bit of fear. "What on earth are you talking about, child?"
Molly gave a quick smirk, feeling unusually mischievous. It had finally dawned on her that this two-month loneliness was over, she was going to save the Doctor, and they would be off again, the Doctor and his companion, flying in the TARDIS. Everything would be as it should be. "That's for you to guess, isn't it? Guess for the rest of your life." With that last sentiment, she turned and started to board the train.
Only for a deep whirring and a frightened scream behind her to make her pause.
Molly turned slowly away from the train to look behind her. Four new figures had appeared on the platform, quicker than should have been possible. They were all people Molly recognized, but there was something off about all of them. There was Mr. Coleman, the grocer, a futuristic gun pointed at a baffled Mr. Sanders. Beside him was Lily Rodgers, the one to first see the falling ship, arms wrapped around a terrified Mrs. Sanders with a gun pointed under her chin. There was little Cindy Coonan, the baker's ten-year-old daughter, cheerfully pointing a gun up at an outraged Mrs. Howard.
Last of them all was Jack Beckett, the teenaged newspaper intern, head cocked, eyes curiously wide, and gun pointed straight at Molly. He had a queer half-smile on his lips. "Companion of the Doctor," he greeted in an oddly flat tone. It wasn't that his voice was monotone, it was more like his words ran together, lacking in emphasis on the right syllables.
She stood stock-still, evaluating glance flitting from Jack to the other three. "I don't know who you're talking about," she said slowly. "I don't know any doctors."
Not-Jack didn't seem to need to blink. He simply stared at her wide-eyed, head still cocked slightly to the side, like an animal watching its prey. "Then why did Mother of Mine see you entering his TARDIS in the woods?" Molly continued to stare at him in defiant silence. "No? Then perhaps Sister of Mine can jog your memory?" Little Cindy, Sister of Mine she assumed, raised her gun more firmly against Mrs. Howard's chest. The woman let out an low whimper, eyes trained on the gun.
"Wait." Molly couldn't let innocents get hurt. She'd just have to play it carefully, see what they wanted and find a way around it. "Fine. I'm his companion. What do you want?"
Not-Jack's smile grew. "Excellent. I'd hoped you'd see reason. Now, where is the Doctor?"
That, at least, was one she could answer safely. "He ran off to fight in the Civil War," she told them slightly smugly. Now she was slightly glad the Doctor was gone. At least now, he was somewhat safe from the Family of Blood.
Lily Rodgers, apparently Mother of Mine, took in a sharp breath through the nose, eyes widening. "The Time Lord risks himself in a human war? He's more foolish than I thought."
"Unless the human girl lies," Mr. Coleman growled. Going by the name themes, she was guessing this one was called Father of mine, and the two children were Son of Mine and Daughter of Mine. Father of Mine was staring at Molly with wide, malicious eyes, something like a low growl rumbling from his chest. Molly forced herself to stare at him unflinchingly, remembering the time she'd bargained with a Dalek.
Son of Mine gave a minute shake of his head. "No, she speaks the truth. So, the Time Lord leaves to fight a humans' war. Where?"
Molly shrugged coolly. "I don't know."
Mother of Mine shook her head with a sharp flick. "She lies!"
Son of Mine's eyes narrowed threateningly, still managing to remain eerily wide. "I see." He took a few stiff steps forward, gun focused steadily on her chest. "If you don't know where the Doctor is, then why are you boarding a train?" The words had gained speed, his voice rising in angry intensity. "Tell us where the Doctor is!"
The pathologist noticed uneasily that Mother of Mine had tightened her grip on Mrs. Smith, who gave a terrified whimper in response, wide eyes looking pleadingly at Molly. "Alright, alright," she said quickly. "I really don't know where he is." They glared at her disbelievingly, so she insisted, "I don't! But I do know his infantry number, so I was going to search around and try to figure out where he was. He mentioned an old friend who fought in the war. I think he'll know where the Doctor is."
The Family all looked at her with varying levels of suspicion. Finally, Son of Mine gave a small, jerky nod. "Very well. We will find this friend and find the Doctor. The humans are of no more use."
"Wait!" Molly protested quickly. "His friend won't talk to you. He doesn't know you. But we've met before. He'll only talk if I'm there. Alive." Her gaze flicked quickly to three human hostages as she added, "And I'm only coming quietly if you let them go."
Father of Mine let out a sharp noise like a hiss, but Son of Mine just blinked thoughtfully at her. After a few moments, he gave a jerky little nod. "Alright. The humans will be released, and you will lead us to the Time Lord." Reluctantly, the rest of the Family released their holds on the humans. Mr. Sanders pulled his wife quickly into an embrace, the large man shielding his tiny wife from the aliens, but Mrs. Howard just blinked in confusion, eyes still wide with fear. She seemed frozen in fear.
Molly turned to Mr. and Mrs. Sanders, who were looking at her with a mix of concern and fear. "Take Mrs. Howard and go," she ordered briskly. At Mrs. Sanders' hesitation, she added more softly, "I'll be fine, just go. I can take care of myself."
With a last, worried look, the couple began herding Mrs. Howard away. The older woman finally woke from her stupor long enough to throw Molly a fearful glance. "Who are you?" she breathed.
Molly gave her a quick, reassuring smile. "Just a traveler," she said simply. Mrs. Howard stared at her wide-eyed for a few moments, then allowed Mr. and Mrs. Sanders to shepherd her off the platform. Molly's gaze followed them until they were out of sight, then she let out the breath she'd been holding. They, at least, were safe. Now she could focus on herself and the Doctor.
She turned back to the Family, forcing her voice to remain even as she said, "Alright. Let's get going."
SCENEBREAK
They boarded the train and settled quietly into their seats. The train was supposed to make several stops along the way; Molly was planning on getting off on one of them, losing the Family somehow, then finding another ride to Richmond. But how she was to get rid of the Family, she had no idea.
Her strange entourage all still had their guns, and there were four of them versus one of her. Molly had gotten stronger and quicker in her months of travel with the Doctor. Unless the Family had some sort of inhuman strength, she was certain she could overpower Daughter of Mine, and maybe Son of Mine or Mother of Mine if it came down to it, but Father of Mine was probably too strong, and there was no way she'd be able to take down all four of them at once.
When questioned about where the friend of the Doctor was, she picked a city at random – Petersburg, VA. She remembered when researching the Civil War after arriving, she'd read about a battle of Ford Stedman on March 25. That might be as good a place as any to try and ditch the Family. Maybe they'd try to search for the Doctor among the soldiers there. The more honest part of her mind knew she was hoping they'd get picked off in the battle. She hated herself for that plan, but she didn't know what else to do, and the original plan had been to wait them out until they died anyway. They were nearly at the ends of their lives as it was.
The trip was going to be several hours long, so Molly decided to use the time to sit back and observe her captors. From the little show-down earlier, she guessed that Son of Mine was the ringleader. He seemed to be in charge of taking Molly prisoner, and he seemed to be the most intelligent. He was probably the one to look out for the most.
The Family seemed to rely heavily on sense of smell, if their constant sniffing was anything to go by. She wasn't sure if the widened eyes meant they had better or worse vision than a human's, but she was hoping for worse. Molly remembered the Doctor telling her that the Family could track people anywhere through the universe by smell. If she was going to run from them, she'd have to find a way to mask her scent. Somehow.
After two hours, Molly felt her legs beginning to get stiff, and she was beginning to feel antsy. Maybe she was wrong about the date of the battle, or the location, or maybe she wouldn't be able to shake them off after all. She had to have another plan. But what?
After a few minutes of mulling over ideas, she finally settled with the usual Doctor mindset – do something stupid and cliché and just make it up from there. "Er, I have to go to the bathroom," she lied. Well, if she was going cliché, might as well go with the biggest one of them all.
The Family members blinked at her, the same eerie smiles on their faces. She stared right back, forcing herself not to flinch away. She couldn't let this charade fail.
Finally, Son of Mine gave a slight incline of his head. "Mother of Mine will accompany you." The woman stood, head cocked curiously to the side as she stared at Molly. The pathologist nodded her acceptance, then allowed herself to be led down the aisle by Mother of Mine.
They made their way through the passenger car, heading for the door to the next car. There was a gap between the cars connected by a metal coupling. It was wide enough for one person to cross at a time. This could be her chance to get away.
As they stepped outside onto a narrow ledge, out of the view of the rest of the Family, Molly finally made her move. Molly brought her shoulder up sharply, hearing a satisfying thud as it connected with the alien's chin. She swiftly brought her elbow back into Mother of Mine's gut, then bolted as the alien was knocked back against the wall.
Molly started to hurry across the coupling, slowing slightly as she stepped onto the unstable clasp. Mother of Mine was quick to recover. She lunged across the metal, grabbing at Molly's leg. The pathologist yanked her leg free, and Mother of Mine was thrown off balance. She watched with horror as the alien waved her arms wildly, trying to regain her balance, only to fall of the side. There was a horrifying thud as she fell onto the rails and was drawn under the wheels. The pathologist looked away quickly, but she could still just hear the sickening crunch as the alien was run over.
She closed her eyes, trying to come to terms with what had just happened. The pathologist had seen some horrible things in her travels, and she'd helped kill before, with the Slab, and she'd stood by while their enemies died before. But this felt different. She alone, not the Doctor, was responsible for this death. But she didn't have time to agonize over, not now at least. She had to keep moving.
Molly hurried into the next car, shuffling quickly through the aisle. She wasn't sure exactly what her plan was, but she knew she either had to get off the train now or hide somewhere on-board until the train stopped. The train was going rather fast, making the getting off option less desirable, so she'd just keep going until she found somewhere suitable to hide.
The next few cars were passenger cars, but towards the back she found a car with no door, just a ladder leading to the top. She clambered up as quickly as she could, increasingly worried about being followed by the Family. When she reached the top, she found herself overlooking a hollow car carrying a huge pile of coal.
Molly stared down at the pile, mind racing. "Oh, no way this is going to work," she breathed. But what other choice did she have?
She stepped cautiously out onto the pile. It seemed steady enough under her feet, not caving in under her, so she proceeded more confidently until she reached the far end. Then she began digging. Pushing aside coal until there was a sizable dent for her to burrow into. She hurriedly scraped some coal back over herself, hoping that the smell of coal would effectively cover up her human scent. It was hard to breath once she was completely covered, but she wasn't suffocating, so she stayed where she was.
She would stay where she was as long as she had to.
SCENEBREAK
Hours passed without the Family finding her. She allowed the train to stop two times without trying to get off, hoping the Family had gotten off already, then finally made her move on the third stop. Molly hurriedly pushed the coal off of her, gulping in the first fresh air she'd gotten in hours. She was sent into a long coughing fit as she tried to expel the coal dust from her lungs.
After she recovered enough to stand, she hurried quickly down the ladder and jumped off the ledge onto the rail beneath. They were at a station of some sort, but the coal car was far back enough that it was away from the station, facing a forest of pines. She scrambled quickly away from the rails and towards the trees, stumbling on legs that had been perfectly still for hours.
Molly hid behind the trees, watching the station, but she didn't see the Family anywhere. That didn't mean they weren't there, but she wasn't going to do anyone any good hiding in the trees. She would hide in the woods overnight, then head into town and find transport into Richmond. There were only a few days left before the battle. Days left to stop John from killing or being killed.
She just hoped she wouldn't be too late.
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I tried to make this chapter plausible and interesting, but it ended up being a lot of guesswork, cliche, and just... blah. I mean, I like parts of it, but the end with the train just feels rushed to me. You have no idea how hard it is to find information about trains during the Civil War. At least on Google. Oh well, I'll try to make up for it next chapter.
Also, you might *actually* have to wait for the upcoming chapters this time. Now that I'm back from vacation, I have a week's worth of schoolwork to catch up on, a Computer Science project to finish in five days, APs to study for, Finals to study for, and a whole bunch of Senior crap that I don't care about. But I digress. Point is, the next three weeks might be a little scarce in updates. After that, I should be home free.