Takes place in the middle of Series 7, between The Snowmen & The Bells of Saint John.
Alice's POV:
My morning started with an encrypted message on my phone.
TARDIS detected in your area. Proceed. Proceed!
I smiled. They didn't have to tell me twice.
I put my phone back in my bag as I took a deep breath, looking in the mirror. This was it. This was what I had been training for. This was the day that I would finally come face to face with the Doctor.
With a confident nod of my head, I grabbed my bag & left my flat. It was time to get to work.
"Welcome to Captain Smollett's! Can I interest you in a Treasure Combo today?" I asked, forcing some perkiness into my voce. I looked up & was surprised to find the Doctor standing right in front of me.
"Can you tell me why there's a hotbed of transdimensional radiation coming from this restaurant?"
I was so shocked to see him, that it took me a minute to register his question. "…Sorry?"
"Transdimensional radiation." At my blank look, he explained. "Its radiation left behind when somebody travels through space & time."
"I…really have no idea what you're talking about." I said. I switched back to my Customer Service Voice. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Just then, a long, terrified scream came from the back. It sounded like somebody was horribly in pain…
The Doctor leapt over the counter with surprising ease, given how he dressed like some raggedy professor with a stupid bow tie, & started to run to the back.
"Hey! Nobody's allowed back here except staff!" I said, following him.
The screams seemed to be coming from the alleyway behind the restaurant. I made sure the few others who were curious about the screaming got back to work before following the Doctor into the alleyway. He was standing over Mr. Johnson, my supervisor.
Make that the body of Mr. Johnson. He was unnaturally still, & the screaming had stopped.
"…What the hell is going on?" I asked when I could find my voice. It definitely was not my Customer Service Voice.
"He seems to have suffered a massive electrical shock." said the Doctor, who had pulled out a small torch & was examining the body. "But nothing on Earth could've done this." He stood, clicked off his light & turned towards me. "Oh, that's not good." He was staring at the wall. I took a few hesitant steps towards him so I could see what he was looking at.
"It's just some weird graffiti." I said. It looked like a rectangle with three circles in it, with some wavy lines coming out of the top.
"No." the Doctor said. "It's the Mark of the Hunt."
"The Mark of the Hunt?" I repeated. "What's that?"
"It was used by the Cronzins, a long time ago. They would scout out their prey, leave this Mark, & send their trained Xolis eels to hunt." He shook his head. "But they were just a simple race of hunters & gatherers. They never had the capability of space travel, much less time travel. Even so, their home world was captured by the Daleks. There wouldn't be any of them left…"
"Don't eels have to live in water?" I asked.
"No, a Xolis eel is used to a sandy climate. They can easily travel over land & can even grow to be 20 feet…long…" As he trailed off, I was suddenly aware of the wind rustling through the loose garbage…unless it was something else.
"Get back inside. Quickly!"
We both managed to get back inside & shut the door before something bashed into the side of it…Something big…
I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, & that's when I knew.
My adventure was just beginning…
If you want to know what Alice looks like, go to my Tumblr (same username, no spaces). I plan on posting her picture in the next few days, but if you don't see her right away, click on the OCs link along the top.
Next time, Alice & the Doctor will continue to get to know each other, & for one of them, the Mark of the Hunt will hit close to home…
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