Stuck on the Slow Path (5)
"The Tower of London? Isn't that dangerous? That's a pretty important building."
The Doctor didn't respond, merely starting forward without seeming to hear his companion. Dawn set off after him, stepping twice as often as he just to keep pace. His eyes were locked ahead, his boots barely making contact with the ground as he glided down a path of his own design, weaving in and out of alleyways. Dawn guessed he knew where he was going and was blazing the fastest trail. Honestly, though, the fiery light dancing in the Doctor's eyes made her too afraid to ask.
When they finally rounded one last corner and the teen's eyes landed on the historic building, her jaw dropped. The guards meant to be blocking the entrance lay on the ground, bonelessly. Dawn caught the tail end of a blue figure dashing behind them, making their way swiftly into the building.
The Doctor dashed across the street without sparing a glance at the road. Dawn shook her head and thanked the universe a car hadn't been storming down the road.
"Dawn-call Bryant and Fitz. These two need medical assistance, and it has to be someone from UNIT. No one can know there's an alien here. Not yet."
The girl whipped out her phone instantly, sending a quick text to both of her friends without hesitance. When she had secured the device in the pocket of her jeans again, she looked up to find the Doctor had sprinted off, making his way behind the disappearing blue shape in the distance. Again, Dawn tisked and rolled her eyes, but followed at top speed despite herself.
She found herself lost and on her own soon after the Doctor had rounded a corner, her phone vibrating madly in her pocket. It was all she could do to keep her mind set on one thing at a time. But when a familiar voice called her name and Kate Stewart appeared in front of her, armed with two UNIT soldiers, Dawn was forced to forget both of her tasks.
"Kate! Thank God."
The older woman had her hands behind her back and a curious, arched eyebrow above bright eyes and a calm smile. "Dawn. I have to say, I really wasn't expecting to see you. What happened?"
"There's a blue alien on the loose. The Doctor and I were tracking it and it came in here."
Kate's smile faded into a set frown, the one reserved for attacks on her home planet. "Where is it now?"
Dawn turned up to the building beside her, which loomed great and dizzying above. "I don't know. They turned a corner and I lost them. I think they're in that building there, but I'm really not sure."
Kate turned sharply to the soldiers beside her. "You two-split up and locate the blue alien. I don't want any gunfire unless it attacks first, got that?"
They both nodded and went to move towards the door, but Kate leaned closer and held the closest one's arm. "Keep it silent. We don't need to incite a panic yet."
Dawn brought her focus back to the woman beside her, whose face still held a surprising calm about it. The teen hardly suppressed a smile as Kate approached her, full of confidence and assurance she'd never known. "Dawn-is there anything else you know?"
The teen racked her brain, closing her eyes for a second. "Ugh, just that there are two guards knocked out next to the entrance. But I called Bryant and Fitz; they're on their way. Bryant said he'd help them. The Doctor didn't want any regular hospitals knowing about the alien yet."
"Good. Now…where do you think he could be?"
Dawn and Kate looked back up at the building, their eyes darting back and forth over the stones. After a deathly silence took over, jaded only by their quiet breaths, a piercing scream rang out from inside the walls, followed by a crash. The two women turned to each other instantly. Almost simultaneously, they commented, "There he is," and "That would be the place."
For a second, they shared a knowing smile, and then burst into the building at full speed. Dawn chased Kate up the stairs two at a time, feeling her heart beat wildly against her ribs yet again. If she didn't get healthy from all of this running, she told herself, she was going to scream.
Kate ran up to the closest door on the next level and hurtled through it, allowing it to crash against the wall with a bang. When Dawn finally caught up, she skidded to a halt beside her.
The room was in utter chaos. Paper lay scattered all over the place, neat piles strewn haphazardly on the desks and the floor. Computer screens tilted diagonally on their desktops, a few of their screens shattered, most of them at least scratched. Scientists and soldiers alike sat huddled under their tables and leaned against pillars, holding their arms above their heads. Some of them cautiously peaked up to look at the newcomers with wide eyes.
Kate stepped further into the room and helped a nearby scientist to his feet. His glasses sat askew on his nose. Dawn noticed his coat was dirtied with something red. Then she saw the woman lying next to him, holding her arm with a grimace. Kate seemed to see this too, as she quickly turned towards another row of desks and called out, "Medic over here!"
Dawn shifted to let the woman through, and then felt a pang of dread flood through her chest. Inaudibly, she whispered, "Doctor."
The teen's wide eyes searched the darkened room, lit only by half of the ceiling's fluorescent lights. She breathed a sigh of relief as a lanky figure with wild hair stood from a crouched position over a man Dawn realized with a nauseous stomach was dead. The Doctor's icy blue eyes met his companion's painfully. She could practically see the defeat and the horror that lay within them. His head shook back and forth slightly as he approached. "It was worse than I thought. It was...impossible. It doesn't make sense."
Dawn took one of the Doctor's shaking hands into her own, squeezing his fingers in a fleeting hope to comfort him. He smiled gratefully, but dropped his gaze to the floor. "I don't know if we can win this one."
The words settled in Dawn's heart, where she felt the dread of earlier develop into something much more. She had seen the Doctor beat Ice Warriors and Werewolves without a hint of fear or anxiety. What on earth could be scaring him so much? What could had destroyed an entire floor of the UNIT base so quickly?
Dawn looked over her friend's dishevelled state. His hair was out of control, and not in his usual rockstar sort of way. It was dusty and unkempt and almost seemed whiter than usual. The lines beneath his eyes cut deeply into his face, making it look like he hadn't slept in years. His clothes were wrinkled and his shoulders sagged, as if his ripped jacket were weighing him down.
From somewhere in the beautiful London landmark, the unmistakable sound of screams and militia entered the room. Dawn held tighter onto the Doctor's hand, steeling herself for the fight that was surely ahead.
