Author's Note: I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas filled with lots of nerdy stuff. xD

Chapter 7

"Where's Rey?" The Doctor whirled, whipping out his sonic screwdriver. "Where is she? What happened?"

"I don't know!" The other Doctor stared at him, two sonic screwdrivers pointing at each other. "She's just—gone!" The two of them turned at once, staring at the man who stood a bit behind them. His face was dark, a mask pierced only by his eyes, which swirled with—something. With memory.

"You know something." The Doctor was on him in a moment, staring him down. "Tell me. Tell me now."

For a moment the man just stood there, staring darkly at the place where Rey had stood, his gaze like fire, hot enough to drill a hole in the little droid that sat there, looking confused and a little sad. Then something cracked.

"It's this place—Falling Star Lane. I think it's cursed." His voice wavered. "I found them all there. One by one. Unconscious. Dead. I thought. But they weren't. Just... gone." He clenched his fists at his sides. "Not here. Not the people I knew."

The Doctor's face softened, and he stepped back a bit. "Tell me," he said. "Tell me everything. Where you found them, how, when. What the place was like. What you saw. And we can restore them. I'm certain we can restore them."

Edward looked away, his fists still clenched—hard. "I found them all in different houses. Different places. Scattered around the whole cursed area. One in a storage unit, looking as if she'd collapsed. Keys still in her hand. One on the edge of the street. And when I found the last one, I…." Again his voice wavered, lanced with barely-suppressed emotion. "It was as if I was drawn forward. I don't know why. I kept walking. Down the street. Towards the end. And I reached a house, I—I knew I had found the end." He stared hard at BB8, not really seeing the little droid, his face hooded. "I can't explain it, Doctor. I had to go inside. I knew I was trespassing, but it was as if something pulled me through the door. I stepped inside, and—I saw something." He shuddered. "Something bright blue. But twisted. Horribly twisted." He looked up at the Doctor. "I have never been one to claim strange things, superstitions. But it was in agony. I don't know what it was. But it was crying out. Screaming. And I felt something reaching for me. It was hungry. I could feel its hunger." His eyes narrowed, as if he was forcing the feeling from his voice and face. "It's crazy. But I ran. And I've never been back since."

"Time!" The voice burst out behind them and the Doctor and Edward both whirled to see the other Doctor staring triumphantly at his sonic screwdriver. "Time itself! Something's sucking time itself! And it's getting worse the closer we get. Whatever's going on here, this is the epicenter. This neighborhood."

"Ooh, nicely done, Leather Jacket!" The Doctor grinned and clapped his past self on the arm. "Ooh, I was good. So if something's sucking time itself from the area, that means Rey—wait." He turned suddenly to Edward. "Did you say bright blue?"

The man nodded. "The girl," he said, and his voice was taut. "She could have—"

"Bright blue!" The Doctor took off down the road, towards the sign that read Falling Star Lane, letters scrawled in white paint. "Time energy! Bright blue! Doctor-past-me! Edward! I've got it! I've got—"

"Wait!" A girl's voice echoed down the street and the three of them stopped and turned as one. Laila approached, another woman at her side. "Doctor—wait!"

"How dare you." The woman stepped forward, a sharp glare fixed on Edward. "Your own wife. I don't know what you were doing in that attic, but—"

"Wait." The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Wife?"

"His wife is up there in that attic!" Her voice was hot. "Like some kind of prisoner!"

"Ally—please." Edward grabbed her by the arm and she jerked away, refusing to meet his gaze. "Please—it's not what you think. She was the first one. The first one I lost." He turned to the others, the mask completely gone now, his shoulders slumped. "It was her idea. She wanted to do it. She wanted to explore. That's what I loved—what I loved about her." His voice wavered. "Her fire for life. Her adventurous spirit. And I was nothing but a dull businessman. But she…" His voice trailed off. "Well, she got a wild whim to explore one evening, and well….something happened." He closed his eyes for a moment. "I don't know what. But one moment she was laughing about how she felt like such an adventurer, and the next she was gone. Just—gone. Like the girl, Rey." He began to pace, clenching his fists again. "I searched. I searched the whole evening. And came back the next. And the next. And I found the people. The ones you saw up in the attic. I took them back. I thought they might be a clue. And then I found her. And she was—the same as them." His voice broke completely now, and a sheen of mist hovered in his eyes. "Gone."

Alison stared at him. "You mean—"

"Where's Rey?" Laila cut in, staring at the group. "Where'd she go?"

"Disappeared." The Doctor looked at Edward. "Just like—"

Laila stared at him, then at Allison. "We've got to find her," she blurted out. "Now."