Hello! Welcome to the story! This is my first one posted, something I've had in mind for a while now, and I hope everyone enjoys it. Please feel free to let me know how I'm doing. I always love to see what people think!

Cover Art by: hhyeart on twitter


Chapter 1

Madison slowly let out a breath as she felt time tick away. It crept ever steadily by, going by its own pace, never marching a hair faster than what she wanted it to. She just wanted this day over with. Her skin itched for the bath back at her flat. It craved the gentle warmth of the water from her tap. Though city water was never as pleasant as that from the countryside. She missed the countryside. She wondered if she could save up enough money to move back somewhere in Ireland again. She missed that country. But there were more opportunities here in London. It was hard choosing which was the better option. A better job, or better waters. It was a hard decision.

Madison jerked out of her thoughts of her old, forgotten home as the announcement came over the intercom. The warning of there being only five minutes left before the shop closed. Thank goodness. That bath was calling her name. The smile on her face was not all lies as she faced the last few straggles of the shop, helping them through the check-out with their purchases. She waved away the last woman as the manager closed off the doors for the night. Madison started by going through the till and counting out the money for the end of the day. Then she moved on to helping others fix up the place, getting the shop ready for the next day.

"Glad the day's over, eh, Maddie?" called a familiar female voice. Madison looked over, seeing a young girl coming over next to her near the shelf she was currently fixing up. The girl, a blonde with pretty hazel-brown eyes, was smiling cheekily at Madison, with her tongue between her teeth. Madison smiled lightly in return, glad to see the girl.

"Hello, Rose," Madison greeted the young blonde. Rose Tyler. A girl who had been working at the shop for some time now. Even longer than Madison herself as she had only been working at the shop for a few months. A clothing store like this was a bit of a change from what Madison had been used to, but it was a necessary change. She had been in one place for too long after all. Moving to London was the best move for her, for the time being.

"Are you coming over tonight? Mum said she'd save you a plate," said Rose, reaching over to help Madison fold some of the mess of clothes that had been left behind by some of the rather zealous customers from earlier. "You might as well come. Mum won't stop trying to make it up to you if you don't. Knowing her, she'll get pushy."

"I've told your mum it was fine. Fixing a broken basin isn't worth the trouble," Madison replied, finishing up setting up the shelf. She turned to the girl, brushing away a strand of dark auburn hair from her face. She felt her long braid was a bit ruffled from the day's work. It must look a bit messy by now.

"Still went out of your way to help, so just take the 'thanks' will ya?" Rose replied with a slight laugh, bumping Madison lightly in the side with her elbow. "'Sides, a nice meal wouldn't kill ya."

Madison gave the girl a gentle smile. "Alright, if it means that much to you, I'll come right over after I finish here."

"Or we can ride the bus together? How 'bout it?" Rose gave the other a bright smile, looking eager to hang out with someone else close to her age. Even if Madison herself was a few years older. By appearance, at least.

"Sounds like a plan." Madison smiled in return, already planning ahead for how to graciously leave the Tyler flat later tonight. Knowing Jackie, that woman would talk her ear off all night if Madison allowed it. She was rather fond of the idea of getting some peace and quiet later if she could manage it.

After some time, with the rest of the store's employees merrily making their way out of the doors, Madison trailed behind Rose at a casual pace. She watched as the guard by the door handed over a clear holder for what she knew as the lottery money. Rose could be seen rolling her eyes, obviously exasperated to be the one to make the delivery. It must be her turn this time around. Madison knew it had been her job a few weeks prior.

"Here, I'll take it," Madison said to the girl, taking away the package. It was no trouble for her to be the one stuck at the shop a while longer. It was not as though she had anyone waiting for her at home. Rose had her mum. She . . . had her plants, if that mattered any.

"Oh, but it's my turn, isn't it?" Rose said, frowning lightly. Though Madison could clearly see some relief there as well. It was obvious the girl was not too upset about not being the one to make the delivery.

Madison smiled lightly with a shake of her head. "It's fine. Really. I'll be quick and meet you back at your flat."

"You better. Or I swear I'll hunt you down," Rose responded, smirking lightly and pointing in a teasing manner.

Madison watched as Rose followed the rest of the workers out the doors. She herself turned around and headed back to the lift. She knew it would not take long to complete her task. Wilson should be in his usual spot, and then she could be on her way. On her way back to her small, empty flat. A small sigh left her as the lift descended down into the basement level of the store. Truthfully, she was rather glad to be able to ride the bus back home on her own. She just . . . did not have the energy to talk and put up with appearances with others. If she were to be honest with herself, she knew that her mood had not been the best as of late. She mostly only just moved with the flow of the city, with her daily routines, and found hardly any enjoyment anymore. Was this all she was to be? Eat, sleep, work, and then . . . what? She was not certain anymore. She had ideas of herself in the past. Dreams to achieve. But what were those dreams anymore, and where had they gone to? It felt like a lifetime ago now, looking back. So much she had to reflect on. She felt like a different person so long ago. But now . . . she was in need of money, that was for certain. Money to escape. Money to find herself . . . something. What that something was . . . she just didn't know.

She glanced up towards the reflection in the metal of the lift. Her reflection. It was barely visible, but she could just make out her green eyes and the paleness of her skin. She reached around and fiddled with her long braid. She had let her natural hair colour come back after the last move she had made. Perhaps she could keep it at this colour for a while until the next few moves. Though the idea of having to move again . . . just made her mood ever more dreary. How many times has she moved around now? She had lost count of them all. Perhaps, after getting that money acquired, she should make herself a hermit in the north. Canada sounded nice. It was cold there. Hardly any people. She could live in one spot for a long time with fewer people around to notice her presence. Though the idea of being alone . . . she found it not the best option, either. Even though her mood at the moment wanted her alone from others and secluded, it did not mean she wanted that always. She enjoyed the company of people. At least, people whom she could trust. Perhaps it was time for her to venture out there and acquire some more friends. Rose might be a good start. The girl was awfully kind.

The lift opened, causing Madison to blink out of her stupor. She left the lift quickly, realising that she needed to get out of this funk she found herself in and needed to be much brighter. She was not normally like this. She was much more cheery than this. It was possible that she really did need a friend or two to help herself get back to feeling normal. Maybe Jackie's excessive talking was not all that bad . . . maybe.

"Wilson?" she called as she came over to the electrician's door, knocking on it. "I've got the lottery money here. Are you there?" She tried opening the door but found it strangely locked. Shouldn't Wilson be down here? Had she gotten it wrong and he already left? "Wilson?" she tried again, knocking harder this time. No response. Frowning, she began to wonder what she should do next when a noise, a clatter, sounded off. She turned, frowning even more as she saw no one down the hallway from where the noise came from. She waited, standing patiently by the door to see if it was Wilson coming around from whatever work he normally did down in the basement. But nothing moved. Nothing more made a sound. In fact, if she did not know better, she would say the place felt . . . off. Eerie would be the term she would use.

"Strange," she mumbled to herself, walking down the hall carefully as she slowly felt tense. She knew this feeling of dread creeping down her spine. She knew to listen to her instincts to be on guard and prepared. Her gut feelings rarely led her wrong in the past. She knew she needed to keep going though, besides of what her gut feeling was telling her to. What if Wilson was hurt somewhere and she needed to help him? She would never forgive herself if she did not stick around and try to see if he was okay.

Madison edged herself carefully into one of the storage rooms of the shop. It was pitch black in the room until she turned on the lights. They slowly came on, humming quietly as they lit up the area. It was where a variety of clothing goods were stored. Much of it still in boxes, wrapped, or on mannequins to be displayed later. Still, she saw no sign of Wilson or anyone being down there. She kept herself tense, ready to run at a moment's notice.

"Wilson? Was that you?" she called out into the room. She walked deeper into the long room, looking for any sign of there being someone there. "Are you okay? Did you fall or something?" There was no answer to her questions. She began to worry then. What if Wilson had indeed fallen and he knocked himself out? She hoped to get him to safety quickly if that were the case. Walking further in, she jumped, startled, when the sudden loud slam came from behind her. She turned swiftly, eyes going wide as she saw the door she had entered through had closed. Going over to the door, she tried pulling but found it useless. A long sigh left her as she kicked at the door in aggravation. Great. Looks like she locked herself in. Given that there were no signs of Wilson anywhere, she very much doubted that she would be getting out of the room any time soon. She glanced over to a pile of clothing and boxes in the corner of the place. Perhaps she should resign to her fate and make herself a makeshift bed for the night. Shaking her head, she decided to at least keep trying to find a way out of the storage room. Perhaps there was another door or something. Maybe a tool was lying around to help her pry the doors open.

She heard another noise, making her tense again. She narrowed her eyes, knowing she was not going crazy. At least, not that she was aware of. Maybe she already was? No, she was pretty certain she was somewhat sane. So, the noise was obviously there. Which meant that someone was around. Given that this someone had not answered her from before, they must be trying to avoid detection. She wondered if they had come in another way and had been trying to sneak into the shop to steal. Now that she had locked them in the storage room, the only way back out would be the way that this sneaky person had come in. Which is, unfortunately, where she would have to go. Great. Just excellent. She began looking for anything she could use to defend herself, just in case. But there were only some hangers laying around. She doubted anyone would be intimidated by a hanger. So, she crept forward instead, keeping a slow but steady pace as she went down the hall. She kept herself as quiet as possible, hoping to catch this lurking person by surprise and that she could reason with them against trying to steal anything. Maybe if she promised to not tell anyone . . .

Movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned, seeing a mannequin beginning to move. What the hell? She blinked, backing up from the strange inanimate object that was now following her. She saw, with wide eyes, that more mannequins were seemingly coming to life, giving a slow chase after her.

. . . Okay.

"Right, this isn't funny," she said sternly to the mannequins, whom she hoped were merely people dressed up, "you can stop it now." No response and they were still very steadily walking towards her. "I mean it. I'm getting properly scared and I will pop you in the mouth if any of you get any closer." She saw more and more mannequins coming to life, walking towards her from all angles now. She backed up quickly, beginning to realise this was no prank. This was something else entirely. Well, it was not the strangest occurrence she had ever run into. Mannequins coming to life . . . that would be another thing she could cross off her list of things she did not ever think she lived to see.

She backed herself up into a corner by mistake. She looked to get out of it, but found herself surrounded now. She looked wildly around, hoping for an escape. She began wondering if she could fight them off when suddenly one of the mannequins to her left was pushed over. Her eyes widened as she saw a man standing there over the mannequin. He had on a black leather coat, a deep coloured jumper, denim trousers, and black boots. His bright blue eyes were the first thing she noticed about his features as his large smile beamed at her. He grabbed her hand, yanking her away from the corner just as one of the mannequins brought a swift hand down towards her.

"Run!" exclaimed the man as he continued to pull her along down the long room. He did not need to tell her twice as she quickly picked up her pace and matched his, both of them running down another adjacent hallway that she had not seen earlier.

The two of them ran down the long corridor at a fast pace. She heard a loud sound of footsteps rushing after them just behind, making her scarily aware that they were indeed being chased. She saw more and more mannequins that lined the hall they rushed down were coming to life as well. How many more were there? Could they even make it out of this place before the mannequins caught up with them? Relief flooded through her as she saw a lift just around a corner of another hallway. The man swiftly pushed the button on the lift and, as luck would have it, it opened immediately for them. Both rushed inside and the man hurriedly began pushing the button to get them up and out of the basement level. A large mass of mannequins swarmed the lift, pushing up against the closing doors. One of them managed to get its arm into the doors, blocking their escape. The man grabbed the arm, yanking hard on it repeatedly until it popped off the mannequin's body completely. The mannequins were heard banging against the closing doors while the man stepped back with plastic arm in hand.

"Heh. Glad that worked," said the man as he threw back the plastic arm into her arms. Madison blinked, looking down at the arm and inspecting it. Yep, completely plastic through and through. Mannequins coming to life. Definitely something to cross off her list.

"Thank you," she said, looking back at the man in front of her. He turned, giving her a glance of interest.

"For what?" he asked, the northern accent heard clearly now that she was not running for dear life.

"For saving my life," she clarified. "I doubt any of those things would have let me go unharmed down there."

The man looked her up and down now, a small thoughtful expression given to her. "What makes you think those weren't people playing dress-up?"

She raised a sharp brow, giving him a sceptical gaze. "Were they?"

"No. But why do you think they weren't?"

She waved the arm at him. "Clearly this is plastic. I saw it moving quite well while you were yanking on it. If that was someone dressed up, it would have been much messier if that had been a human."

The man gave her a smile, seeming pleased by something. "You're right. It would have been."

Madison nodded, walking away from the back of the lift and standing closer to the strange man. "So . . . what were those things exactly? Do you know, or were you like me, stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

"Nah, I was there on purpose." He turned to the doors, still smiling but seeming to not want to talk anymore, either.

"And those things?"

"They're made of plastic. Living plastic creatures."

"What's controlling them? They weren't alive a moment ago, so obviously something brought them to life."

The man smiled brightly at her, seeming very pleased now. "They're being controlled by a relay device on the roof."

She moved then, standing so that she was next to him and facing him. "Is Wilson okay? He's an elderly man, about in his sixties, working on maintenance. Did you see him?"

The man glanced at her, his expression changed to that of grievous. "Wilson's dead." The lift opened then and the man stepped outside.

Madison swiftly followed him, watching as the man pulled out a tool of some sort from his inner coat pocket. It had a blue tip at the end and glowed as he activated it. She heard it buzzing a strange noise as he aimed it at the lift's outer button. "Are you certain? Did you see him? Is there any possible way you could be mistaken?" Seeing the sombre look the man gave her, she felt herself grow sedated, at a loss of what to do next. Poor Wilson. He had been such a nice fellow, too.

"Are those things going to try and hurt anyone else?" she asked the man quickly, following after him as he hurriedly walked down the hallway. She kept up in pace the best she could though it was a bit difficult given the fast strides he made. He had long legs on him, even longer than hers.

"They will if I don't stop them," replied the man. "Lucky me, I have this." He pulled out a large device from his inner pocket, this time it being a square, blocky device with a keypad and a countdown of sorts displayed on it.

"Will that shut off the relay?" she asked curiously.

"That, and a few other things," he said. They reached the end of the hallway and the man opened a set of doors. She saw they led outside, into an alleyway. She frowned, wondering why they were heading outside when he said the relay was on the roof. She blinked as he placed a hand onto her lower back and pushed her right into the alleyway. She frowned at him, bewildered now.

"Aren't we going to shut off the relay?" she questioned.

"No, I am. You're going to run," he told her, waving for her to get going.

"But don't you need help?"

"Nope. I've got it all taken care of." He smiled, waving the device at her. "So just run off, go on, go have your lovely beans on toast." He then grew a serious expression. "Don't tell anyone about this, 'cause if you do, you'll get them killed." He shut the door then, leaving her alone outside. She frowned heavily, not liking this one bit. She moved to go back inside when the door suddenly swung open again. There he was, smiling brightly once more. "I'm the Doctor, by the way. What's your name?"

"Madison," she answered him, puzzled now as his mood seemed to switch so frequently. She watched once more as he grew that serious expression.

"Nice to meet you, Madison. Run for your life!" he said before shutting the door with a snap once more.

Shaking her head, she swiftly grabbed the door and yanked it open, surprising the man as he blinked. "Oi, don't think you're getting away that easily. What if those things come after you?"

The man, this 'Doctor', frowned at her. "I've got it covered."

"All by yourself? I don't think so." She made to step into the building, but he pushed her back. She shot him a look of annoyance. "I can cover you as backup. I can keep them off while you destroy the relay."

"Yeah, I don't think so. Besides, I need open space to run after I plant this." He waved his device again. "It's going to blow up the building, and you'll just slow down my escape." He closed the door on her again.

Once more, she opened it, stopping him. "Look, someone already died tonight and I'm not having anyone else die on me. So just let me help you."

"I don't need help. I don't need anyone's help. I need you to leave, run off, back into your little life, while I try to fix this mess. Now go already, will you?!"

He shoved her hard out the door this time. The door slammed shut and she heard a buzzing sound from the other side. She walked over, yanking on the handle and finding the entire thing had been locked. Huffing she shook her head. Such a stubborn man. Was this some sort of masculine thing, not accepting her help because she was a woman? Such a stubborn, idiotic, man. She backed away from the building, looking up towards the roof. A worried frown made its way across her face as her concern grew. Looking around, she decided to concede to his wish and run away. So, she took off down the alleyway, out into the sidewalk and down a block from the shop. She paused, looking back towards the department store. A part of her wanted to go back to the store, just to make certain he was okay. But she knew this would be a mistake if he indeed had a bomb of some kind on him.

She blinked, jumping greatly when quite suddenly the upper floor blew up in a fiery explosion. She stumbled back, staring in awe at the fire that was blazing through the top floor. He did it. He actually did it. He blew up the shop. Well . . . so much for her new job. Shaking her head, she looked around, seeing other people who had been walking around central London were all panicking, running away from the fiery blaze. Buses and taxis were halting in shock, their drivers froze in disbelief at the sight. She watched as one man ran right past her, practically pushing her out of the way in a panicked escape. She just remained where she was, wondering if she should wait and see if that strange man made it out of the shop all right. What if . . . what if he didn't make it out in time? She hoped with everything that he did. No one deserved to be blown up, never to be seen again.

Madison waited there, by the corner of the sidewalk nearest to the shop, as long as she could. But when she heard police sirens begin to sound off, she briskly made herself scarce. The last thing she needed was to be questioned by the police. What if her identity was brought into question? She knew her fake id was good, but it might not be that good. It was much harder to remain hidden in this day in age, after all. Things like fake identification had been much simpler just a decade ago. Darn the computer. Such a troublesome thing to try and trick.

She walked through the city of London, going all the way back to Powell Estate on foot. By the time she walked up the stairs to her flat, her feet were killing her. Her skin was entirely too itchy and in need of a bath. She wanted that bath so badly she could taste the cool waters. It didn't even matter that it was city water at this rate. All she cared about was getting under that water and refreshing herself. She pulled her keys from her blue purse, adjusting her maroon coat to get ready to take it off the moment she entered her flat when someone came rushing down the way towards her.

"Madison! Oh, thank god you're alright," came a female voice. Madison turned, seeing Rose walking hurriedly over to her. The girl hugged her tightly for a moment before stepping back. The worriment on the girl's face was clear as could be. "Are you alright? What happened? Oh, I was so worried. I thought that . . . well, I thought that you died in my place or something."

"What?" Madison blinked, a bit confused.

"It's all over the tv. They said the shop blew up," Rose clarified, already grabbing the other girl's hand and dragging her away. Rose guided Madison towards the blonde's own flat, seeming to want to be with the other. Madison felt her spirit sink somewhat. Oh, she just wanted that bath.

Reluctantly she allowed herself to be dragged off into the Tyler flat. Inside she could hear the telly going and the sounds of Jackie talking to someone. Rose pulled her into the living area, allowing Madison to see Jackie sitting on the sofa and talking on the cordless phone.

"Mum, she's okay," Rose said to her mother. Jackie, a kind woman in her early forties, smiled the moment she saw Madison being dragged into the living room.

"Of course she is. I said she would be, didn't I?" replied the mother. "Hello, Maddie, good to see you. Were you close to the shop when it happened?"

"No . . . I had just left," Madison lied, feeling a bit anxious now in discussing what had happened. Her mind went back to that strange man from before. The Doctor, he called himself. She still found herself worried about him. Would he be fine, in the end?

"Blimey, you must have just missed it. You're lucky to be alive you are," said Jackie, turning back to the phone.

"I'm just glad you're alright. Don't think I could live with myself knowing it should have been me instead," said Rose, shaking her head as she gazed at Madison in disbelief. The girl then frowned curiously. "What's with the plastic arm?"

Madison blinked, looking down at her hand. She had not realised she still had the arm in the first place. "Oh . . . well, it's always good to have an extra helping hand I suppose," she joked lightly. She smiled as Rose rolled her eyes at the lame joke before walking off into the kitchen.

"I'll make you a cuppa. I think you need one," said the blonde girl.

"You don't have to do that," said Madison with a shake of her head, not wanting the girl to go out of her way.

"Nonsense. You need a good cuppa. 'Sides, we still owe ya for the other day," Jackie interjected, smiling away at the older girl. She went back to her phone conversation. "Did I tell you, Debbie, about Maddie fixing up the sink? Lifesaver she was. Kept us from having to pay all that money to the plumber. He said five hundred pounds, and she fixed it in two minutes!"

Madison stopped listening to Jackie's ramblings as a newcomer came into the flat. She looked over to see Mickey, a young lad with melanin skin and dark hair, walking into the place in a rush. She watched as he went right past her and towards Rose.

"I've been phoning your mobile! You could have been dead!" exclaimed the young man as he hugged Rose. He pulled away, looking the blonde up and down. "It's on the news and everything!"

"I'm fine, I wasn't even there," Rose explained quickly, bringing over a cup of tea. Madison took it gratefully, smiling in thanks and taking a long drink. "Maddie was the one there. She almost got blown up."

"It wasn't exactly like that," Madison countered, shaking her head. "I was far enough away from it." She looked at Mickey, nodding to him. "Hello, Mickey. It's nice to see you again."

"Oh, um, so are you okay?" he asked her in return, smiling awkwardly. Seeing her smile and nod, he looked at her curiously. "What was it? What caused it?"

"I don't know, really. Perhaps it was an electrical thing," Madison lied, sitting her cup down on the table. Again, she thought back to the Doctor. How fast could he have run to get out of there in time? It was only on the upper floor. Maybe he was low enough that the explosion didn't cause any damage to him?

"You know what this means now," Jackie spoke up then, turning to the other three. "It means you and Rose are out of a job. I bet you both could get compensation. Maybe we can get Maddie an interview."

"Mum," Rose sighed, rolling her eyes.

"I'm not bailing you out with your job being kaput," Jackie interjected, giving her daughter a similarly exasperated look. As Rose and her mum started to argue over money and such, Madison watched as Mickey told Rose he was going to the pub. She herself felt out of place being mixed in with the group. She still did not know these people all that well. She had only lived at Powell Estate for about two years. Though them being so friendly to her already in the short time they've known her was so endearing. Again, she felt that she needed to be a bit more open to relationships with others. It was good to find friendship in small places.

. . . But perhaps for another day.

"Look, I'm gonna go," Madison told the two blondes, backing away towards the door. "I'm very tired and just need some sleep."

"Oh, I should say. You've been traumatised," said Jackie, nodding in understanding.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Rose asked, seeming concerned now as she stared carefully at Madison.

"I'm sure," Madison replied, smiling lightly. "Thank you for checking up on me though. I appreciate it." She waved to them in thanks as she opened the door and left.

She sighed heavily as she made her way back to her flat. Once she finally opened her own door and stepped inside the dark apartment, she felt the long day hit her hard. Her shoulders slumped as she stepped into the place and turned on the lights, closing the door gently behind her. She looked around the small, cramped flat, seeing how bare it really was in comparison to the apartment she had just been in. There were barely any pictures or decorations up. Only her sofa and dining table were seen in the living room. Her other room where she would have been sleeping had some boxes left unpacked. Boxes that had some of her few worldly possessions in them. Mostly old albums and pictures of her parents from so long ago. She did not even have a bed in this room. Only boxes. Not that she needed a bed. She had other sleeping arrangements, after all.

She looked down at the plastic arm that was still in her hand. She turned it around and around, staring intently at it. With a small shrug, she walked over to the bedroom and tossed it inside. She then closed the door tightly, deciding that she would throw out the arm properly tomorrow. For now, she just wanted to relax in her bath. Sighing she undid her braid, shaking out her long hair. It touched down the middle of her back, almost reaching to her waist, swaying as she shook it out. She then kicked off her shoes and hung up her coat before going into her bathroom. Getting undressed, she allowed herself to breathe out in relief as now her skin did not feel as itchy. Still a bit uncomfortable, but not as much so now. Sitting on the edge of her tub, she started up the water. She made sure it was warm as she liked. Even if the water never stayed warm long enough, at least she wouldn't be cold at first.

She couldn't help herself. She did not even wait for the water to be halfway filled as she got right into the tub. She was impatient, to say the least. She just wanted to be in the water and feel . . . normal. Just like she always felt whenever she took a bath. It was indeed the only time she could be normal. Be herself. As land just wasn't . . . her. Though the tub was small fitting, it was doable enough for this.

Madison smiled as she lay out in the tub. She watched as the skin on her legs began to change. The pale blue scales began to appear. Her legs slowly meld together, becoming one. Her feet lengthened, growing thinner and wider before completely becoming an elegant fin. The small fins on the sides and dorsal fin on the back of her tail sprouted and folded out to lay against her scales. She ran her hands (which were now webbed) along her scales for a moment as she was happy to feel her tail again. She adjusted herself in the water, allowing her tail to sit at full length. It was hard given the tub size and how cramped the bathroom was. But she managed to allow her tail to hang sideways outside of the tub and relax. She sighed, practically melting into the water from how good it felt. She loved being able to be herself, to be a Mer. It was the only thing that felt . . . right anymore.

Madison reached over and turned off the water before it overflowed. She then sat back and relaxed once more. Now that she had time to finally unwind, she began to let her thoughts wander over the events that had unfolded tonight. Given the circumstances, she knew those living plastic creatures and the Doctor must be of extraterrestrial origin. It was not the first time she ran into aliens throughout her long life. Of the three hundred years she lived, it had been a few occasions running into an outsider from another world. There was the Arcateenian she ran into in 1789. The Loch Ness incident of 1802. Then there had been a few Yeti in Tibet, but she still was not certain if those had been extraterrestrial or from Earth originally. But that man she met tonight, he was something different. For one thing, he looked almost entirely human which was surprising. Then again, perhaps it was the opposite and it was humans who looked like his species. Another thing was that he seemed to be fighting another alien species as well. She wondered if the two species were at odds with one another. Or maybe it was just the man trying to stop an invasion of sorts because he worked for some human organisation? She knew of Torchwood and UNIT, so perhaps he worked with one of those. It was not the first time an alien was acquired in assistance, at least, to her knowledge. Though from her understanding, Torchwood was least likely to ask another alien for advice. They were particularly vicious against anything non-human. Which is why she made it her priority to avoid those types of organisations at all costs.

Madison folded her arms on the edge of the tub, laying her head down as she sighed. She realised she may never know who the Doctor truly was or where he might come from or even why he had been there that night. Strangely, she felt saddened at the idea of never being able to see him again. She was not certain why she felt this way, but . . . she did wish to see him again. At least to know that he was indeed fine and unharmed from what he had accomplished at the shop. She hoped he was okay.

She felt her eyes grow weary, ready for rest. But she fought it for a moment longer, not wishing to go to bed just yet. Soon, exhaustion wore her down. With a sigh, followed by some shifting, she pulled her tail into the cool water of the tub. She turned around as she normally did, onto her side, bending her tail upwards to submerge her entire body. She hated having to do this. It always hurt in the morning trying to unfold herself. But it was the only way she could sleep as she needed the water to cover her. How she craved to be able to layout completely. To be free of the confines of tubs and washbasins . . . she wished for that more than anything. But it was never good to be outside in bigger waters. The possibility of being discovered, found out by others, always kept her from venturing outside to sleep. She made a promise to her parents, after all. Always keep this a secret. Never let anyone know. For if anyone discovered her . . . it would surely lead to her doom.

She felt her eyes grow warm, knowing she was crying now. But there were no tears shed underwater. Her pain was left invisible as her heart twisted. Knowing she must forever be alone, never sharing her true self with anyone . . . it stabbed at her like a thousand knives. If only there was someone, just one person, whom she could trust so completely, to share what she was. If only.


I have more chapters to come from here which will be published soon. Let me know what you think. No harsh words please as I know it's not the best. I'm here to learn and grow as a writer.