MISSING: - The Empty Child Part Two
The Doctor dragged Jazmine down the alley to the wall outside one of the houses on the street. She could faintly hear a woman talking about planes, and shouting to someone to 'move it'. The Doctor, ever the curious one, jumped up on top of a dustbin, peering over the wall into the back garden. He spotted an air raid shelter, and a middle-aged woman who was shepherding a young boy into it.
"Come on, hurry up, get in there. Come on. Arthur! Arthur, Will you hurry up? Didn't you hear the siren?" Jazmine caught some of her speech, her eyebrows rising in confusion. The Doctor watched as 'Arthur' waddled out of the house, walking with rapid steps towards his wife.
"Middle of dinner, every night. Blooming Germans. Don't you eat?" Jazmine scowled. The man was more concerned with eating than the amount of people that are dying as a result of the bombs. The Doctor noticed, and gently squeezed her shoulder with a small, sad smile.
Once the man and woman had stopped arguing, and they were all safely inside the shelter, the Doctor peered over the wall again. He spotted Nancy, and perked up even more to see what she was doing. He watched her enter the garden, glancing at the shelter carefully, before rushing into the house. He noticed that, once in the kitchen, she started to throw tinned goods into a bag from the cupboards.
The Doctor jumped down from the dustbin, grinning at Jazmine.
"This is fantastic." He exclaimed, grabbing her hand and pulling her inside the house after Nancy.
"What is she doing?" Jazmine whispered, watching as she headed towards the front door. She paused in the doorway, looking into another room and smiling, but didn't enter. She instead went out the door, into the street, where she whistled twice and went back inside. The Doctor pulled Jazmine flush against him, hiding them behind a door. Jazmine blushed at the extra contact, but didn't complain.
They watched, as well as they could, through the glass in the door as a pair of children run in the room Nancy had smiled at earlier. Jazmine looked up at the Doctor, her blush deepening as she noticed how close they were.
"Do you think she's feeding those kids?" She asked quietly. The Doctor beamed widely at her.
"I think she is." He leaned down, brushing a kiss to his lips, before rushing in behind the many children that rushed into the room. They blended in as well as they could, sitting at the very back.
"It's got to be black market. You couldn't get all this on coupons." One of the little boys exclaimed, looking at all the food on the table in complete awe. Jazmine smiled sadly, she hated seeing children without a proper family, it broke her heart.
"Ernie, how many times? We are guests in this house. We will not make comments of that kind. Washing up." Nancy told him sternly, but had to fight the smile from her face as the children laughed.
"Oh, Nancy." The little boy, Ernie, whined. Nancy simply ignored him, instead looking at one of the other boys.
"Haven't seen you at one of these before." She commented as she placed some meat on a plate.
"He told me about it." The boy pointed to another, looking rather scared.
"Sleeping rough?" She asked, looking up at him this time. The boy nodded.
"Yes, miss." He nodded. Nancy smiled.
"All right, then." She handed the plate with sliced of meat on to Ernie. "One slice each, and I want to see everyone chewing properly." She told them sternly, before smiling brightly.
"Thank you, miss." They all exclaimed as they took a slice of meat. It got to the Doctor, who took two slices, intending to give one to Jazmine.
"Thanks, miss!" He exclaimed with a grin. The children gasped, beginning to panic as they spotted the two adults in the room.
"It's all right. Everybody stay where you are!" Nancy stated, raising her voice slightly to get the point across. The children froze, but didn't sit.
"Good here, innit? Who's got the salt?" Jazmine smiled, shaking her head at the Doctor.
"Back in your seats. He shouldn't be here either." Nancy informed them, nodding to the seats. The children did as told, sitting down slowly in their seats.
"So, you lot, what's the story?" He asked, chewing on a slice of the meat. Jazmine rolled her eyes at him, picking up a roast potato and nibbling on the side.
"What do you mean?" Ernie asked, looking at the Doctor curiously.
"You're homeless, right? Living rough?" He asked. Jazmine smiled lightly, looking at all the children. She just couldn't believe that families would let these children run around with no where permanent to stay. Even if it was war time, even if they had been evacuated and run away, surely someone would have taken them in.
"Why do you want to know that? Are you a copper?" Jim asked, looking at the Doctor warily. The Doctor scoffed.
"Of course I'm not a copper. What's a copper going to do with you lot anyway? Arrest you for starving?" That got a laugh out of the kids, and made Jazmine smile to see him interacting with children. "I make it 1941. You lot shouldn't even be in London. You should've been evacuated to the country by now." Jazmine nodded.
"I was evacuated. Sent me to a farm." Alf informed him. The Doctor and Jazmine looked at him in curiosity.
"So why'd you come back?" He asked, sitting back slightly.
"There was a man there.." Alf trailed off, and Jazmine closed her eyes with a nod. She could grasp what he was saying.
"Yeah, same with Ernie. Two homes ago." Jim stated, and Ernie glared at the boy.
"Shut up. It's better on the streets anyway. It's better food." Jazmine smiled lightly.
"Yeah. Nancy always gets the best food for us." Jim stated, grinning at the girl.
"You took it upon yourself to look after all the homeless kids in London?" Jazmine asked Nancy lightly. Nancy looked at her in caution.
"What's it to you?" Jazmine smiled.
"You go out of your way to make sure all the children in London who have no where else to go, who have no food to live off, get some shelter for a while, get some food. It's-" Jazmine smiled. "It's amazing."
"Something wrong with that?" Nancy asked, not noting the tone of awe in Jazmine's voice.
"Wrong with it? It's brilliant. I'm not sure if it's Marxism in action or a West End musical." Jazmine giggled under her breath, smiling at the children.
"Why'd you follow me? What do you want?" The Doctor leaned forwards, his serious face on.
"I want to know how a phone that isn't a phone gets a phone call. You seem to be the one to ask." He explained.
"I did you a favour. I told you not to answer it, that's all I'm telling you." Nancy seemed very, very reluctant to tell them anything, and it made Jazmine curious as to why.
"Great, thanks." The Doctor sounded a tad sarcastic. "And I want to find a blonde in a Union Jack. I mean a specific one. I didn't just wake up this morning with a craving. Anybody seen a girl like that?" Jazmined rolled her eyes, watching as Nancy took the Doctor's plate away. The Doctor frowned. "What have I done wrong?"
"You took two slices. No blondes, no flags. Anything else before you leave?" Nancy told him sternly.
"Yeah, there is actually. Thanks for asking. Something I've been looking for." He rooted around in his pockets, pulling out a piece of paper and a pencil. "Would've fallen from the sky about a month ago, but not a bomb. Not the usual kind, anyway. Wouldn't have exploded. Probably would have just buried itself in the ground somewhere, and it would have looked something like this." He sketched as he talked, holding up a rough sketch of the craft the TARDIS had been following. But, it was a rather bad sketch, and it looked like a tube. A sudden knock on the door made everyone jump.
"Mummy? Are you in there, mummy?" The Doctor looked out of the window, seeing a little boy with a gas mask on. "Mummy?"
"Who was the last one in?" Nancy asked urgently. Ernie pointed to the Doctor and Jazmine.
"Them." Nancy shook her head.
"No, they came round the back. Who came in the front?" Her voice sounded much more urgent.
"Me." Alf slowly raised his hand, wincing slightly.
"Did you close the door?" She asked, her voice raising slightly, but not enough to scare the boy.
"Er-"
"Did you close the door?" She asked again.
"Mummy? Mummy? Mummy?"
Hearing the voice, Nancy rushed into the hallway, bolting the front door shut from the little boy standing outside. The Doctor and Jazmine watched her do this, completely appalled that she was leaving the poor boy outside, all alone with no food and no company. The poor child was most likely starving, and freezing.
"What's this, then? It's never easy being the only child left out in the cold, you know." The Doctor sounded rather cold towards Nancy now, and for once Jazmine didn't blame him. She did, however, pick up that Nancy seemed more panicked than Jazmine would have thought necessary. Did she know the child?
"I suppose you'd know." Nancy spat back, stepping away from the door. The Doctor narrowed his eyes on Nancy's.
"I do actually, yes." He answered coldly again, crossing his arms. Nancy hesitated.
"It's- It's not exactly a child." She told them, before rushing back into the dining room with Jazmine following as the child from outside could be heard again, calling for his mummy.
"Mummy?"
"Right, everybody out. Across the back garden and under the fence. Now! Go! Move!" She rushes them out, standing in the door wayto glare slightly at the Doctor. The children grasped their coats, tugging them on haphazardly as they quickly fled from the dining room. Jazmine noticed a small girl, who had frozen by the side of the table, wasn't moving. She walked slowly towards the little girl, picking up the coat that was folded over the back of a chair.
"Hello," Jazmine spoke gently, kneeling next to the child. "I'm Jazmine, what's your name?" The small girl shook as she answered.
"Rachel." She said quietly. Jazmine smiled.
"That's a really pretty name, Rachel. But," She glanced to the door, "Nancy says you have to go. You trust Nancy, don't you?" The small girl nodded, and Jazmine smiled. "Good, you'll be safe with her. Come here," She motioned softly, and the small girl followed, almost spellbound by her kindness. Jazmine held up her coat, helping her into it. "Now, you've got to go." The small girl shook her head, causing Jazmine to think. "You like playing games?"
"Yes!" The girl grinned, nodding. Jazmine smiled back.
"Good. The others want to play tag, you know how to play right?" The girl nodded vigorously. "Go on, then." Jazmine reached into her pocket, pulling out half a bar of chocolate. "Take this, I'm sure you'll catch them." The small girl smiled widely at the chocolate, taking it before rushing off to catch the others.
Jazmine stood up, walking into the hallway catching the end of the Doctor's conversation.
"-he like?" Nancy shuddered visibly, but not one of disgust. To Jazmine, who was stood behind her, it looked like one of despair.
"He's empty." Her tone validated Jazmine's thoughts. Just as Jazmine went to speak, the telephone rang continuously and loudly. "It's him. He can make phones ring. He can. Just like with that police box you saw." The Doctor, looking a bit sceptical, took a step forwards to pick up the phone.
"Are you my mummy?"
Jazmine looked spooked as Nancy snatched the receiver out of the Doctor's hand and placed it on the hook quickly. The radio that was placed in the dining room started up, the child's voice flowing through it. The trio turning back into the dining room.
"Mummy? Please let me in, mummy."
Suddenly, a clockwork monkey started up, making Jazmine jump in freight as it started to chant;
"Mummy, mummy, mummy."
Over and over. Nancy looked at it in disdain, before looking back up at the pair infront of her.
"You stay if you want to." She made it quite clear she wasn't, before leaving out the back door quickly. The duo followed her, staying put in the hallway. Jazmine sighed, before turning back to the door. She almost jumped again as she saw a small hand pushing through the letterbox. She noticed a horrid scar on the back of it, and frowned. Had someone harmed this child?
"Mummy? Let me in please, mummy. Please let me in."
"Your mummy isn't here." The Doctor said sincerely to the child, trying to soothe it. The poor boy sounded distressed.
"Are you my mummy?"
"No mummies here. Nobody here but us chickens. Well, this chicken." He tried at humour, but the boy didn't pick up on it.
"I'm scared."
"Why are those other children frightened of you?" Jazmine placed her hand over her mouth. The Doctor noticed her distress, and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him.
"Please let me in, mummy. I'm scared of the bombs."
"Okay." The Doctor answered cautiously, not liking the thought of a scared child out in an air raid. "I'm opening the door now." The boy pulled his hand back, and the Doctor slowly made his way to the door to unbolt it. When he threw it open, the street was deserted and there was no sign that the boy had been there in the first place. A bit put out, he shut the door and turned to Jazmine with a slightly forced grin.
"Let's find Nancy, shall we?"
I would sincerely like to apologise for how late this is, but I think my reasoning is a little bit valid.
Basically, last week I had my English Language GCSE results back (if you live outside of the UK, GCSE's are the exams we do in high school [or, as my school calls it 'Comprehensive School'; don't know why] that we need to take before going off to collage [again, most schools have sixth forms which you would go to instead of collage if you wanted, my school doesn't]). Basically, the exam board we took the exam with fucked it all up and most people failed. Ta-dah.
It's so frustrating because we need English Language to get into collage, and without a C or above we won't be able to get into collage, so the Welsh exam board (WJEC, incase anyone was wondering) may have fucked up half the people in Wales' chances of getting in. Obviously, I can resit but that not the point.
Anyway, I was a bit put of writing because the welsh government have basically told me I'm shit at it, so you know. I haven't touched my laptop for writing purposes all week. Sorry, it's not you lot, it's the government. Le sigh. But, my school have been talking to them 'calmly' - unlike other schools - and we've been told there may be a chance of a complete remark of the papers, so yay I suppose.
I decided to write today because, you know what? Fuck the welsh government. They can't tell me I'm shit when you lot read this and don't comment on my shittyness. So, pat yourselves on the back, it's you lot who helped me.:-)
And, I thought my article was rather witty. Obviously not. 17/30 my arse. That was deffo worth 30. Maybe. Spelling would be a bit of an issue. Thank the Lord for Spell Checker on here.
So, I am really sorry guys, been a bit stressed but I've got my mojo back. :D
(I just googled 'mojo' and it doesn't mean what I thought it did. Oh well, I'm still using it)
And I'm sorry if this chapter is shitty, I tried. I really did.
Love you guys,
- Seren 12
P.S. Not sure whether 'tad' is a word and whether I've used it before or not. I means a bit basically. Google it, I'm sure it's a word. It means 'father' in Welsh, but that's not the point here. Oh well:-).
