A.N: I'm on a roll! Three chapters out in just over a week! Hope that your lives are all fantastic. As usual, thanks go to….EbonyBeach, pinkmarshmellow (So Glad I've got them in character!), freak and proud (Hmm… I'll consider it…), Dory Shotgun (It's sooo nice, just make sure you cook the damper right, or it upsets your stomach :P), Joshwales, and Laseri (I zip my lip, and try desperately to get page builder to work : S If anybody knows how to get files to upload so they're accessible, I would love to hear from you!)
Also, I'm dedicating this chapter to two of my closest friends, BaronVonBron and Jess the Meerkat, who help me so much everyday, and in particular earn credit for many of the names in this instalment.
Enough from me!
Thought of the Day: All Courage comes from daring to begin.
The Greatest Summer of All Time,
Chapter 6- Halfway between the Gutters and the Stars
By Starlite1" Ring a ring a rose-y,
A Pocket full of poesy.
A tissue! A Tissue,
They all fall down!"
Tam Senka watched the small figure from the top of the hill, her voice calling out hauntingly through the smoke-filled air, lost and alone. The only thing permeating the air was the harsh red glow of the fires where the forsaken were burnt, stretching along the horizon for as far as the eye could see, their unholy filth spilling into the atmosphere, only to settle and roll oilily across the River Aldonreigh. Never would they know the cool envelopment of the grave, slumbering beneath consecrated ground. Their flesh was singed into oblivion, taking with it the unhallowed curse that reft through the land.
Desperation hung over their valley, anxiously awaiting to see where the Angel of Death would next lay his hand, taking yet another life from this world. There was not a street, hamlet or manor whom had not felt his cold grasp of recent times. Quacks roamed the streets, their exercises in futility giving meagre solace to the masses whilst doing nothing whatsoever to stem the rolling tide of destruction.
Rumours had reached them through the gipsy traders of his minions, who tore across the land, leaving only smouldering husks in their wake. Around their campfires at night, there were whispers of their passing, terrified tales of creatures with the arms of an octopus, the talons of an eagle and a taste for mortal flesh.
Unable to take the sight any longer, he resumed his brisk pace down to the Manor of the town, lugging the huge load of apples. It had been close to a fortnight since the Mistress had removed herself from the house, complaining of headaches. As much as the staff may wish to deny it, there could be no passing it off merely as a mere case of melancholy. The plague had finally touched their beloved home. As he made his way down the hill, his breath wheezed in his chest, compounded by the vile stench suspended in the air.
Clambering over the fence, he stole across the yard, pushing the heavy oak door and entering into the kitchen. Relief washed through him, and he was able to momentarily forget about the curse. Looking around, he grinned at the chaotic scene in front of him. Servants ran back and forth, carrying steaming pots and pans, concocting the numerous dishes for the fast-approaching evening meal. A suckling pig was roasting on the spit, whilst Jack struggled vainly to keep it turning. Spotting the cook, he quickly ducked and dodged his way through the melee of chaos to deliver his load.
"Here Kat, as promised." He told her, dumping his satchel of apples on the bench.
She barely looked away from the peacock being prepared for roasting, "Thank you, Senka. The mistress will be happy to see these."
"Do you know if she is faring better?" He asked, skiving an apple quickly, receiving a glare from her.
"No, she is deteriorating, and the Master finds himself in a continually worsening state of worry. Now all we can do is pray for a solution. Now be off with you!"
With a quick grin, he dived once more into the melee, barely escaping burns as he made his way to the servant's corridor. Feeling the cool, musty air rolling over him was a welcome relief from the cramped spaces of the kitchen. Greasy torches dipped in pitch cast a smoky, flickering light over the sandstone corridors. At one end of the hall lay the entrance to the main hall, where the household would eat the evening meal. At the other end lay a rickety stairway, leading up into the staff's quarters and down to the washing room. To this he made his way, knowing his mamma would undoubtedly be downstairs, working away to boil the linens.
Sure enough, after traversing the precarious stairs, he found her, kneeling over a basin of scathing water, her hands pounding the cloth relentlessly. The sound was as soothing as a mug of warm cider, and he paused for a second in the door, simply listening to the steady sloshing.
"I do know you're there, Senka." She said quietly, not deterring from her work.
He smiled, coming out to sit next to her, "Bongiorno, Mamma."
At that she paused, "You do not know how much it pleases me to hear the language of my native land falling from your lips." She told him, fondly wrapping an arm around him.
"Can you tell me a story of your homeland, Mamma?" he asked her excitedly, his violet eyes crinkling at the corners in anticipation.
Her hands returned to her work, her lips pursed in thought, "Did I ever tell you about the city of glowing light?"
Senka shrugged, "Not really. You have mentioned it, yet never spoken of it properly."
"Very well," she said with a sigh, "You are old enough now to hear of it…Many people lived in the city-"
"More than in our village?" Senka asked curiously.
She smiled gently, "Millions more. People everywhere, laughing and shouting. Huge metal boxes on wheels flying every which way, and buildings made of glass and metal which rose so high they could touch the sky. But it was after dusk that the city was at its most beautiful. Behind the glass were millions of lights, out shining the brightest stars in the sky. There, anything was possible."
"Even apple pie every day?" He asked, eyes wide.
She laughed, her voice ringing like a bird, "Oh yes, but if you had it every day, you would soon be sick of it. Regardless, there were many more things, some far nicer than even apple pie. There were so many scents and flavours on the air that you almost drowned beneath them. For a time I lived there, with my friend Kashmayana. She would have loved you. At night, the lights spread out below us akin to a magic carpet. Some nights, we would even fall asleep watching the lights." A wistful expression for a second, "There are nights when I miss hearing the sounds of the traffic…"
"Then why did you leave?" He asked.
"I didn't choose to leave." She told him bitterly, "The one who sired you stole me from there, and left me here. Only good thing he ever gave me was you."
Impulsively, he hugged her, "And you'll always have me."
"And for that I am grateful." She replied.
Suddenly a thought struck him, "Could the people from the city of light help us?"
A melancholic look came over her, "They are far, far away."
"Further away than Jossen?"
"Much, much further away. Far too far to even know about us, let alone help. Now, come and help me with these sheets. They need washing, lest the mistress fall into an even worse state."
That night, Senka's sleep was filled with queer metal birds, boxes that raced faster than the Master's chariot, and glimpses of a strange girl racing through narrow streets, her dusky blonde hair always just out of reach…
That was until a blood-curdling scream reft through the still of night.
IOIOIOIOIOI
The Doctor bolted upright, breathing heavily.
Beside him, Rose blearily opened her eyes, "What'smatter?" She mumbled.
He turned to look at her, "Those aliens. Did they happen to have fangs, red, glowing eyes, and eight limbs?"
"Armed to the teeth? That's them. Can I go back to sleep?" she moaned, "Some of us do need our beauty rest, y'know."
"That's it! They're Z'keth!" he exclaimed triumphantly.
She sat up, "Who're they?"
"A warrior race who never really got too far-Until now…"He said, trailing off in thought.
Rose sighed, "Well, we can't do anything until morning. Now, if you wouldn't mind, I would love to try to obtain a few more hours sleep before we go careening off into tribulation. "
Suddenly a mischievous gleam entered his eye, "I can think of something more exciting to do…" He told her before deftly claiming her lips.
IOIOIOIGrasping for purchase in the waking world, Adrian's sleep addled mind dragged him into consciousness. Deep hazel eyes blinked, adjusting to the ambient light in the room whilst trying to remove the final vestiges of sleep from his eyes. After a moment of utter confusion at not seeing the familiar Vintage Green Day American Idiot posters beside his head, he realised he was on board the Tardis. Memories from yesterday flooded him, and for a self-indulgent moment relished in the warmth of the heavy duvet. Glancing at his watch, which was remarkably still working, he decided to rise, regardless that it was nearly half an hour before he usually got up. On his way to the bathroom, he randomly selected a shirt, jeans and a belt from the curiously filled draws.
Within minutes he was ready to face the day, his unruly brown hair tamed into something resembling neat, face scrubbed clean, teeth brushed and generally looking mildly acceptable. On his way through, he randomly selected a book from the shelves, surprised to find it to be the Green Day cookbook of Culinary Catastrophe, flicking through the pages as he headed out into the corridor, not glancing up as he shut the door, and turned around to head to the kitchen.
Consequently, he crashed headlong into Anita. Both went tumbling to the ground in a failing mass of limbs.
"Oi! Watch it, bony!" Anita grumbled, desperately trying to extract herself from their precarious situation with no success whatsoever.
"Who are you calling bony, bony!" He demanded, wincing as an elbow connected with his side.
Enraged, she screamed, "You!"
It was at that precise moment that Josie chose to enter the room, her dusky hair still ruffled and shirt rumpled, "What the heck is going on!" She shouted, drowning out her brother's retort.
Momentarily stunned by the interruption, the pair found themselves in an extremely awkward situation. At the sight of the two, Josie was unable to contain a slight snigger, earning her glares from both parties.
Sighing, and resisting the urge to break down into full blown gales of laughter, she extended a hand to Anita, who gratefully took it, extricating herself from her best friend's brother, jabbing him in the process. Together the girls managed to right Adrian, who shot a glare at Anita.
"Thanks for the elbow." He muttered.
"Pleasure's all mine." Anita bit back.
"What happened?" Josie asked in exasperation.
Adrian answered sharply, "We collided."
"Only coz Mr. Genius here wasn't looking where he was going." Anita rebutted.
Adrian could only glare at her.
Burying her head in her hands, Josie muttered, "Who cares? I can smell breakfast, and, quite frankly, I'm hungry. So might I suggest you leave your brawling until later?" With that, she stalked off, grumbling until she was out of sight.
"What's wrong with her?" Adrian asked, stunned for the second time in just as many minutes.
Anita shrugged, "Beats me…"
IOIOIOIOI
Thunderclouds were rolling around her head, as she stared moodily into her Weet-bix. Her ominous mood reverberated around the room, making the Doctor wince as he entered the kitchen. Looking to his wife, she merely glanced up from her own breakfast and shrugged. Going over to the pot, he poured himself a cuppa, returning with it in hand to the table, placing a tender kiss on Rose's lips as he went past.
"Morning handsome." She said.
"Morning, beautiful." He replied, sitting in his seat and grabbing a banana from the fruit basket.
Just then, Jack walked in, a huge grin on his face. The second he was over the threshold, his cheerful demeanour disappeared as though he had run face first in to a brick wall.
What's with her? His look asked the Doctor. He merely shrugged in reply.
Turning to Rose for an answer, all he got was a mysterious glance that said, Leave it, secret women's business.
Out loud he simply asked, "What are we doing today?"
"Finding out what the Z'keth want with us, then forming a plan of action." The doctor said, casually peeling his banana.
Recognition flashed on Jack's face, "The Z'keth? I had a run-in with them when I was a rookie, late thirtieth century. Not the nicest of races, and definitely not the brightest. Rather enjoyed dividing and conquering actually, but not much else. Also, they all had really bad breath!"
The last statement caused Rose to snort into her cereal. The Doctor raised an eyebrow, "Right…Have no clue why we needed to know about their pandemic of halitosis, but the other information is good." He took a bite of his banana, munching thoughtfully as he contemplated the situation.
"I'm guessing they're not supposed to be there." Jack surmised.
"Damned right. Question is why they are there." He sighed, "I suggest we see what's in the library. Maybe there might be something there. I'm not too sure about the Tardis's database."
"Let me grab some food, and then I'm all yours." Jack said with a waggle of his eyebrows.
The Doctor merely rolled his eyes.
IOIOIOIOIOI
A.N: So… Did you like? Did you hate? Reviews will get me through exams, which are coming up soon. Constructive criticism is welcomed, and flames shall be used for doing some metal inlaying on the wooden box I'm currently carving!