AN: For clarification, John Smith at the moment is a kinda toned-down version of the 10th Doctor who for my purposes is the sort of 'dominate' alter. He'll get a bit wacky-er and more 10th Doctor-ish later in the story when he's less convinced he is bonkers:) Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter Eight
A conglomeration of people shoved their way through the hallways and John had to push forward forcefully. Only snippets of conversation hit his ears amid the buzz.
"Was that an explosion?!"
"Is the basement safe?"
"What are those things!"
Pulling the colors of fear swirling around him into the back of his mind, John grabbed Rory's wrist so he wouldn't lose him in the crowd.
"John?" Rory asked worriedly, stumbled close at his heels. "I really, really think this is a bad-"
Suddenly a flash of red burst from the crowd and her eyes latched on the two boys. "Rory?" she spoke as her eyes bounced back and forth between John and her friend. Amy was her name, if John remembered correctly. "John? What are you two doing? We're supposed to get into the basement. Something's happened."
Nodding rapidly John continued pulled Rory forward, much to the smaller boy's disgruntlement. "We're going to see what it is," John explained flippantly.
"Is it an attack?" Rory questioned Amy, wide eyed. "Can that happen?"
Amy shrugged. "I dunno," She turned her attention to John. "You're gonna find out what happened? Why?"
Honestly? He needed a serious distraction after that near episode with 11. However, John didn't say that. Instead he bit his lip and gestured vaguely ahead. "Why not?"
It wouldn't have surprised him if Amy had raised an eyebrow and took off toward the basement, towing Rory behind her. Instead she contemplated his words and after a moment she grinned. "Alright. I'm coming with."
Surprised, John assessed her quickly. Huh. Perhaps she was more hardy than he'd originally perceived…
Sighing, Rory let John tug him forward. "Seriously, Amy. I was hoping you would convince him to stop."
Amy let out a laugh, flipped her hair back and flashed him a grin. "Aw, don't be boring, Rory. Let's go see what's happening, and hey, maybe we can help."
They sped through the halls, getting closer and closer to the source of the explosion. Soon the halls grew quiet and empty and the evening sun outside cast long shadows across the carpet.
"What do you think it is?" Rory whispered after a while.
The trio felt the need to keep their voices low. "No idea," John answered. He jogged to the hall ahead of them and skidded to a stop. Instantly he felt 11's curiosity well up inside him. "Woah... Guys?"
"What?" Amy came up behind him and finally Rory followed. All together, they stared in amazement.
The hall was lined from floor to ceiling with glass windows, or rather, what had been glass windows. Now all that was left were the shattered remains scattered across the floor, jagged and massive. Frigid wind pushed through the skeleton of the wall and John shivered.
Slowly he stepped into the hall, careful not to step on the glass. "What sort of thing could do this?" he murmured. An explosion, surely. However, as he took a closer look he saw then it wasn't just the windows that were broken. Chandeliers on the ceiling had shattered and every mirror was cracked. Strangely everything that wasn't made of glass was left undisturbed.
"Weird," Rory said, stepping in after John. "Maybe it was one of the students?"
John was about to nod his agreement, but at that moment the sound of stomping feet filled their ears.
"ACQUIRE THE TARGET!"
Crap.
Panic filling him, John pushed Amy and Rory back. "Hide!" he whisper-shouted. Frantically the trio searched, but it was too late. Strange, metal-clad men rounded the corner. They had odd, tear-drop shaped eyes and handles on either side of their metal helmets.
"META'S DETECTED!" the nearest one shouted mechanically
"RUN!" John cried, taking off in the opposite direction. His coat flying like a flag behind him, he raced through the halls, only glancing back to make sure Rory and Amy were still keeping up. They were.
"I told you this was a bad idea!" Rory cried, his voice cracking.
"Think positively!" John called over his shoulder. "Now we know what caused the explosion!"
"They're gonna kill us!"
"Positivity!"
John was terrified. The lifeless way the men held themselves, the evil gleam in their back eyes, it made him shiver. He had no doubt that the men, if men they were, would kill them without a second thought.
So why was he grinning? Why was he thrilled by the pumping of his heart, the adrenaline searing his veins. Weirdly enough, running as fast as possible from terrifying monsters felt like something natural; like he'd just found the missing piece of a puzzle.
Why didn't this happen more often?!
Instantly John banished the thought from his mind. It just wasn't the sort of thing one said! They rounded a corner, but instead of a pleasantly empty hallway, they were met with another metal-man. The man raised his arm, which had a firearm of some sort attached to it. "TARGET ACQUIRED! DETAIN!"
Backpedaling rapidly, John fell into Rory and they stumbled away. However, Amy was frozen, staring at the barrel of the guns pointed at her and it only took a moment for John to realized what had happened. Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap!
Instantly he whirled around, back toward Amy.
"DELETE!" Their guns fired but John threw himself on top of her, knocking the slim girl to the ground. Distantly, John felt heat sear his right arm but fear demanded he ignore it. Pulling Amy to her feet, John grabbed her hand and they ran. It didn't take long to catch up with Rory, who gave them a relieved look before his feet pounded across the floor again.
They rounded a corner and quickly John jerked open a door at random. Fumbling, they tumbled inside and shoved the door shut. And just in time too. Immediately after they were tucked away, the sound of running feet and voices jumbled past them. Amid the mechanical noise, a clear note sung out.
"Hey metal-butts! Over here!" There was a flash and a thump as one of the metal men apparently met the carpeted floor. "Ha! Idiots."
Did he hear that right? John wasn't sure. "Was that… Rose?" he whispered.
"She's with the Elite," Rory murmured in answer.
Amy nodded. "The Elite are metas chosen to defend us if there's an attack." There was a pause and then timidly, she placed a hand on John's arm. "Thanks,"
"No problem."
John didn't expand on his words because at that moment he became very aware of hot liquid dripping down his arm. Amy's hand left his, never realizing. He nodded slowly and his adrenaline dripped away. Pain seared him and John stifled a groan. Maybe if he didn't acknowledge it the numbers wouldn't realize he was hurt. However, his heart still thumped just as fast as it was when he ran. He could feel his alters churning around restlessly. It was too late; he knew it was, not so soon after his encounter with 11. He couldn't think about the pain, he couldn't! Eyes wide, John backed away from the door and soon met a wall. They appeared to be in a dark storage room of some sort…
"You've never liked dark rooms, John."
John slapped his hand over his mouth. 11. Of course it was him to come to the 'rescue' "Crap," he muttered, "Go away. Not now."
"Who're you talking to?" Amy asked, confused. She squinted at him in the low light.
"Himself," Rory replied. He, on the other hand, sounded worried. "You alright, John?"
"He most definitely is not!" "I'm fine." "Shut up, you idiot!"
"Right." Rory frowned. "Could you specify?"
Shivering, John back as far away from his friends as he could. The heat from the wound on his shoulder had spread to his chest and tingled his fingers. "I might have been shot at," he ground out.
"Yeah... We all were."
"No," John shook his head. His friends' voices murmured in and out of focus. "I mean, they didn't miss."
The effect was instant. Amy gasped and jumped forward. Rory jumped toward him as well. "Why didn't you say something?" Amy whisper-shouted, "You're hurt? Where? Show me!"
Instead of complying, John forced them back with a hand and screwed his eyes shut. "You don't understand. You've got to get away from me. Now." Another wave of heat burned his senses and he gasped in pain. Unfortunately his friends thought it was for a different reason. He was injured and the alters would take advantage of that. They always did.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Amy argued, "let me see!"
"Rory!" John protested, desperate. They couldn't be so close when it happened. Sara Jane was this close once.
She said she spent a week in hospital.
He didn't know how it worked, he didn't know what happened, he didn't know anything! "You have to get back!" John forced his eyes open and found he could see in the darkness. Rory's blue eye were wide with fear and only widened further when he met John's gaze. "Please," John croaked.
His resolve hardening, Rory nodded sharped and tugged Amy away from John. They sunk down behind a shelf so that they were curled up on the ground opposite John.
Satisfied that they would be alright, John screwed his eyes shut and gulped fearfully.
This was it. He let go of his last reserve. The world exploded and went black.
John Smith knew no more.
AN: PLEASE REVIEW if you enjoyed this chapter:) Another cliff hanger, I know. Sorry about that, I just cant resist. Luck for you lot I have most of the next chapter written so you should see it pretty quick:) Anyway, thanks for reading. PLEASE REVIEW!