Chapter 31: Monsters in the Dark

A/N- Hello everyone, I'm back! No one hate me. I am truly sorry for taking so long to update. I've been incredibly busy with school and haven't had the time to really do anything. I'm finished though and I'll have a lot of time to write and update in the next two months. So, sit back and enjoy this chapter. Again, I'm sorry this took me so long to update!

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, it belongs to BBC

Devil like me- Rainbow Kitten Surprise

Is the devil so bad if he cries in his sleep, while the earth turns

And his kids learned to say, fuck you they don't, love you

Does the devil get scared if she dies in her dreams, where the earth burns?

She cries cause she's nothing like you, is she like you?

"This is a bad idea."

"Shh!"

"I'm just saying, we should be seeking shelter."

"The girl seems perfectly fine with being here while the bombs go off. Therefore, we should be."

"Oh goody! We'll all get to die in a fiery explosion," Kit whispered harshly.

"Kit, shh!"

The Doctor and Kit were hiding inside the house the family came out of. They had followed the girl inside and hid away as they watched her. She wasn't doing anything suspicious, just stealing some food while the family was hiding from the bombs. It was actually pretty smart, Kit had to admit.

With nothing interesting happening Kit really thought they should go back to their originally plan of finding shelter from the bombs but of course the Doctor had different plans.

The sound of bombs was getting closer and Kit was become more anxious. "We really should go."

"Kit—"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah I know, shh!"

"Just so we're clear."

The girl then left the kitchen. The Doctor and Kit moved further inside the house and tried to find where the girl went. They couldn't find her until they heard two sharp whistles. The Doctor pulled Kit behind a wall so that they were out of sight again. They watched as the girl came back into the house with two young boy coming up right behind her.

They watched as the boys came to a stop in the dinning room. The looked in awe at the food that was spread across the table. It was a whole feast and Kit wondered how the family afforded it.

"Many kids out there?" The girl asked, carving the turkey.

"Yes, miss," one of the boys said licking his lips. The two boys sat down quickly and started eating.

"Ah! Still carving. Sit and wait. We've got the whole air raid."

The boys put down their food. "Look at that. Bet it's off the black market."

"That's enough," she told them sternly and went back to carving the turkey.

More children started pouring in and sitting around the table. Kit wondered if this is what the girl did all the time. If the girl always tried to feed these kids.

"Sit down at the table," the Doctor whispered to her suddenly.

"What?"

"We need to figure out what she knows. You'll blend in easier. You're very short," the Doctor explained.

Kit glared. "Okay first, I'm not that short and seconds I don't exactly look the part."

"First, yes you are. Second, it doesn't matter. She'll recognize you when she sees you anyways. I just need you to get to the table without being noticed, sit down and then start asking questions."

"Why can't you do all this if it doesn't matter if she recognizes you?"

"I don't want to startle her or the kids. They'll be more comfortable around you."

Kit sighed. "Fine but you owe me one." She shrugged off her leather jacket and took off her cowboy boots. "Here, take these so I don't stand out too much."

She took a deep breath and then made her way quickly into the dinning room. She kept her head down and took a seat beside the boy from earlier. Nobody seemed to question her and the girl was too busy talking with another child to notice her.

"Are you new?" Asked the boy beside her.

Kit gulped. "Um, yeah."

"You picked a good day to come. Usually Nancy gets us pretty good stuff but today she really out did herself," the boy explained and Kit realized he was talking about the girl.

"Good to hear."

Kit tried to end the conversation but the boy was looking her up and down. "Where're you from? You dress funny." He quickly shook his head and scratched the back of his head. "I mean, you're a dish but your clothes are wacky."

Kit raised her eyebrow. "Wait, I'm a what?"

He blushed. "Good lookin, you know."

"Oh… thanks I guess."

The boy became even more red. "I didn't mean to insult you! You're a catch, I swear! It's just you're clothes…"

Kit was blushing too now. "Don't look like anything you've seen?" He nodded. "I'm from, er, A—America."

His nose scrunched up. "Why is an American here? With all the bombs too?"

"I, er, came here a couple of month ago with family but they, er, died and now I'm stuck here," Kit lied.

The boy seemed guilty. "Oh, sorry to hear that. I'm Ernie by the way."

"Kittredge."

The boys face brightened and he gave her a charming smile. "Nice to meet you, Kittredge."

"You too Ernie."

"We're makin a bet with us labs," Ernie kept talking. "You want in?"

"What's the bet?"

"The bets that this here food's from the black market. Me and Jim say it is but Alf says we're all full of it and we're wrong. Whatcha say, Kittredge?"

Kit looked over at the food. "Black market, definitely."

"Ha! I knew it!" He gloated. "You hear that Alf! Another person says black market!"

Alf turned irritated. "Oh come off it, Ernie! It ain't the black market!"

"I say it is! Kittredge here thinks so!"

Alf waved him off. "She's new. What does she know?"

This got Nancy's attention and she turned to Kit. Kit gulped as the girl studied her. She expected Nancy to tell her to leave but Nancy simply nodded at her. Kit became very confused by this girl.

"Doesn't matter! It's got to be black market. You couldn't get all this on coupons!"

"That's enough all of you!" Nancy snapped. "Ernie, how many times? Stop filling the rest of them with your crazy ideas. We are guests in this house. We will not make comments of that kind. Washing up."

The children all laughed and Ernie looked down in embarrassment. "Oh, Nancy."

Nancy shook her head and then looked over at one of the boys beside Ernie. "Haven't seen you at one of these before."

The boy looked down nervously. "He told me about it," he said pointing to Ernie.

Nancy nodded. "Sleeping rough?"

The boy nodded solemnly. "Yes, miss."

"Kittredge here is new too," Ernie pointed out. "Parents died not too long ago."

Kit really wanted to kill Ernie right about now although she couldn't blame him. He didn't know. Not to mention, Nancy already knew she was here.

"I can tell," Nancy said, her face never changing.

"You can?"

"Everyone here all have the same look in their eyes. That's a look you only get when you've lost someone important to you," she explained. "Now, everyone takes one slice each, and I want to see everyone chewing properly."

The plate with meat was passed along but Kit just sat there flabbergasted. The girl was just some weird mystery. She had expected the girl to throw her out but she didn't. Then she expected her to tell everyone that Kit did have parents but again she didn't. It was like Nancy thought she belonged at the table. This gave Kit a very unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Kit looked over at the Doctor. He had a calculating face on and was watching the girl. When Kit caught the Doctors eye, she shrugged in a helpless way. The Doctor mouthed the words: Ask questions. She sighed in annoyance.

As the potatoes were being passed out, Kit looked over to Ernie. "Can I ask you a question?"

He shoved a piece of chicken in his mouth and shrugged. "Sure."

Kit looked around the table. "If it's the peak of the war, why are so many of you still here? I mean, shouldn't everyone be evacuated?

"I was evacuated," Alf answered instead. "Sent to a farm."

"But you came back?"

"Guessin you've never got sent, huh?" Jim cut in.

Kit shook her head. "Never sent."

Jim scoffed. "Lucky, ya are."

She gave them a confused look. "Why?"

"There's a man at the farm," Alf muttered. "There's always these men."

"Yeah, Ernie had one. Two homes ago," Jim told her.

"Shut up!" Ernie snapped and then tried to relax. "It's better on the streets anyway. It's better food." The solemn atmosphere lifted slightly.

Jim smiled brightly. "Yeah. Nancy always gets the best food for us."

Kit watched Nancy and Nancy watched her. "Guessing you do this often? Go around houses during the air raid and finding food still warm. Pretty smart, brilliant really."

Nancy scolded. "You didn't have to follow me to find that out."

"That wasn't why I followed you."

"We, you mean."

"What?"

"You're friends somewhere here, isn't he?"

Kit bit the inside of her cheek. She noticed that all the children were silent and watching the exchange in front of them.

"Okay, yeah, he's here but we need to know Nancy!" Kit stressed.

"I did you a favour. I told you not to answer it, that's all I'm telling you." She slammed her knife and fork down.

"I need more than that! Our friend might be in trouble because of whatever that thing that phoned us was," Kit tried to explain.

"Not my problem," Nancy bit out, clearly becoming annoyed.

"Doesn't matter. You'll still help us, I know it."

"And how do you know that?" She questioned.

"Look around you, Nancy. That's just the kind of thing you'd do."

It looked like Kit was getting through to her but then Nancy shook her head. "No! You'll have to figure this out for yourself."

"But—"

"No more question from you!"

"So then, can I ask a question?" The Doctor came out of his hiding spot. All the children sat us.

"Everyone sit back down," Nancy ordered. "He ain't a copper or anything." Everyone slowly sat back down.

"So, can I ask?" The Doctor pushed.

"Fine," she replied begrudgingly.

The Doctor smiled. "There's something we're looking for. 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."

There was something that flashed in Nancy eyes. It was a mix between fear and sadness. Still, she kept a stern face.

Before anyone could speak, there was a knock on the door. All the kids jumped in fear.

Kit couldn't figure out why they were all scared until she heard, "Mummy? Are you my Mummy?"

Everyone went still except for the Doctor who went to the window. He opened the curtains to reveal a child in a gas mask. Kit shivered for some reason.

"Who was the last one in?" Nancy asked in panic.

"Her," Ernie pointed a Kit.

"Did you come in through the front or back?"

"Back," Kit answered.

"Who came in the front?"

"Me," Alf confessed in fear and shame.

"Did you close the door?" She questioned

"Er," he hesitated.

"Did you close the door?" Nancy asked again with great urgency.

The child at the window suddenly left and made his way to the front door. Nancy rushed out of the room and went straight for the door. The Doctor and Kit rushed after her just in time to see her lock the door and quickly move away from it.

"What's this, then?" The Doctor inquired. "It's never easy being the only child left out in the cold, you know."

"I suppose you'd know," Nancy snapped.

"I do actually, yes."

Nancy was silent for a moment. "It's not exactly a child."

"Mummy?" The child-that-not-a-child asked.

Kit looked at the door and then a Nancy. "What is it then?"

"I—I don't know," She muttered.

Nancy rushed pasted them and back into the dinning room. She started to instruct the kids to leave. They watched the kids ran out of the house through the back.

"Should we follow?" Kit asked.

The Doctor shook his head. "Not until we figure out why everyone so scared of a small child."

"Mummy?" It said once more.

The Doctor and Kit snapped their heads to the door where the child was sticking out it's hand through the letter box. Kit noticed some weird markings on the child's hand. She wasn't sure if that was important or not.

"Are you all right?" The Doctor asked as he moved closer to the door.

"Please let me in," the child pleaded.

Suddenly a vase hit the door and shattered. The hand withdrew. They turned to see Nancy in a panicked state.

"You mustn't let him touch you!" She stressed.

"What happens if he touches me?" The Doctor questioned.

"He'll make you like him."

"Which is…?" Kit asked. She was trying to act as brave as she could but the whole thing was starting to freak her out.

Nancy just shook her head. "I've got to go."

"Nancy, what's he like?" The Doctor pushed, stopping her in her tracks.

"He's empty." All of a sudden the phone started ringing. "It's him. He can make phones ring. He can. Just like with that police box you saw," she said with fear clearly written on her face.

The Doctor looked between the child outside and the phone. He chose to ignore Nancy's warning once again and picked up the phone.

"Are you my Mummy?" Kit could hear the child ask. Nancy grabbed the phone out of the Doctors hand and put it back on the hook.

If Kit thought this whole day couldn't get any weirder, she was very much mistaken because suddenly the radio in the dining room turned on. The child's voice came through and they rushed over to it. The Doctor turned knobs on the radio but nothing changed. To put the nail in the coffin of weird, a toy monkey started up.

"Okay," Kit gulped. "We have officially entered horror movie territory."

Nancy shook her head. "You stay if you want to," she told them and then ran out the back door as fast as she could.

Kit really wanted to follow her but she knew she had to swallow her fears and help figure out what was happening. Although she still jumped when the child put its hand through the letter box again.

The Doctor crouched and watched the child. "Your mummy isn't here."

"Are you my mummy?" It just said again.

"I don't think it can communicate," Kit observed. "It's just saying the same words over and over again."

"I'm scared," the child said instead. "Please let me in, mummy. I'm scared of the bombs."

"Those words are new," the Doctor muttered.

Kit bit her lip. "Maybe it's just to lure us. You know, sound all sweet and innocent."

The Doctor nodded. "But what happens when it catches you."

"Turns you into him; empty," Kit quoted Nancy.

"We should find out," the Doctor suddenly said.

Kit's eyes widened. "No we should not!"

"It may be the only way to find out what this kid is," the Doctor argued.

"Pretty sure there are a lot better—no sorry—smarter ways in finding out," Kit tried to reason.

Unfortunately for Kit, the Doctor had stopped listening to her and was heading for the door. Kit started moving backwards as the Doctor got closer. He unlocked all the locks and put his hand on the knob.

"Ready?" The Doctor asked Kit.

She gulped. "No."

"Me either."

The Doctor then flung opened the door. Kit had been prepared to run for it but what she wasn't prepared for was there to be no one outside. The child was gone and Kit was left confused.

"Where did it go?" She asked.

The Doctor walked outside and looked around then turned back to her. "No idea."

"Great, not only is the kid gone but so is Nancy," Kit grumbled as she walked outside with him. "We're back to square one."

"Maybe not." The Doctor nodded towards Ernie, Alf and Jim who were standing near the house looking around.

Kit sighed. "Fine but first I need my boots and jacket back. I'm freezing!"

…...

After Kit found her clothes back in the house, she went back outside. The boys were now hiding behind a car. The looked to be unsure of what to do.

"I'll wait here," the Doctor told her. "You go and see if they know where Nancy is."

"Sir, yes sir," Kit rolled her eyes. She started to make her way over to the boys. When she was in shouting distance she said, "Hey guys!"

"Shh!" Alf hushed her and pulled her behind the car. "The empty child might find us."

"The empty child?" Kit questioned.

"Yeah, that's what us labs call the boy with the gasmask," Jim explained.

"Why are you guys so scared of a small kid?" Kit asked.

Alf snorted and crossed his arms. "I knew this older boy, Tony. Bronze no brains kind of guy, ya know. Told me one day that if he'd ever see the empty child, he'd beat'em up."

"Sounds like a bloody idiot," Jim scolded.

"Ah, he was. Well, I was hangin with Nancy and me mates, and Tony was there. The empty child came along, shoutin mummy like it does. Tony yells, 'I'll get ya! I'll beat ya up if you don't leave us alone!'"

"Did it leave?" Kit asked.

"Cos not! Kept walking towards us, right? So, Tony, the big idiot, throws a rock at it." Alf shook his head. "So, the thing started leavein. I actually patted Tony on the back, sayin 'good on you Ton. You got rid of the thing!' But Tony's too stupid to just stop and he says 'I'm gonna make sure it's gone for good.' So he runs after it. You want to know what happens next?"

"Yeah."

"Don't know!"

"What?"

"Tony ran off. Never saw him again! Dumb big bloody idiot, I tell you. Ever since then, we run when we see it."

"What do you think happened to Tony?" Kit asked.

"Died, I say. Bottom of the sea rotten away."

"Oh, come off it, Alf!" Jim scoffed.

"It's the truth. I swear it. Davis said he saw it happen!"

"Davis is a bloody liar and everyone knows it," Ernie argued. "Nancy says it don't do that!"

Alf waved him off. "What does Nancy know?"

"More than you and way more than Davis!"

"Just telling ya what I know," Alf shrugged.

"You know shit!"

"Whatever, Ernie." Alf turned back to Kit. "So, ya, the empty child's bad news."

Kit started to think. "And you think Nancy knows what she's talking about?" She asked Ernie.

"That's what it seems. She always seems more scared than even us," he replied.

"Where can I find her?"

"Why ya want to know?" Alf narrowed his eyes on her. "I just told ya all ya need to know. Ya not plannin on being like Tony?"

Kit smiled proudly. "Don't worry, I'm a brains kind of girl. Besides, me and my friend need to know more."

"Your friend?" Jim questioned. "You mean that man that came when we were eaten? Who is he?"

"Like I said, a friend. We travel together."

"Doesn't matter," Alf waved her off. "We don't know where Nancy went."

Ernie shifted uncomfortably. "I may know where she went."

"Where?"

"She might be on the outskirts of town. You can't miss her if you follow the train track."

Kit smiled and hugged Ernie in excitement. "Thank you!"

Ernie pulled back, his face red. "N—no problem."

Alf rolled his eyes. "Bloody bleeding heart ya have there Ernie."

"Shut up Alf!"

Kit shook her head at the two. "I better get going but thank you, all of you."

Kit started leaving when Ernie caught her arm. "Kittredge, before you go I just wanted to say, I'm glad you're okay. We thought you were done for when we didn't see you run out with us."

She shrugged. "I'm a survivor. Don't worry about me."

"Oh he did," Alf laughed and Jim joined him.

"Shut it, mate!" Ernie snapped, shoving Alf.

Kit looked between them in confusion. "What?"

"Forget about it," Ernie muttered. "Just be safe."

Kit grinned. "I'll try."