Chapter Four
Every once in a while, you lose your mind.
It could be over the biggest catastrophe since World War II, or it could be because an ant decided to make a home in your bread box. Whatever the reason, I promise that none of the compares when you go mad from waiting.
For some reason, time completely stops when you're waiting for something. It could be something terrible, for an example see above, or it could be for something amazing. The thing I went mad waiting for was certainly not amazing.
"Doctor, where is it?" I hissed, trying to stay quiet.
"It's just outside." He replied, sounding a bit on the distant side. I mentally paled.
"H-how do you know?" The Doctor shrugged.
"I can hear it breathing." He replied rather passively and I shook my head in bewilderment.
"You can what? How?" The Doctor shrugged again.
"I'm the Doctor, I'm special." He replied and I rolled my eyes. I wondered just who this man was. The way he moved was so very strange, as if he was in a state of constant surprise with his surroundings. I spared a glance at him. He did not look at me, his eyes were fixed on the door.
"Doctor what?" I asked quietly. He threw me a dirty look.
"Now you're just being mean." He said in an annoyed voice. I was unsure if I liked his tone. Oh my gosh, I realized that I was turning into my grandmother.
"When will it come in?" I asked and he cocked his head to the side.
"Ten seconds, give or take." He replied quickly. My eyes widened.
"What?" I almost yelled, gesturing to the lab benches.
"Won't those hold?" I asked, almost desperately.
"No." It was a very simple reply, but it confused me.
"Then why put them there in the first place?!" I was utterly finished with being quiet.
"To make it seem like we had no plan, which was a true a minute ago. Now we're ready, and this has only a seventy five percent chance of going completely wrong." My eyes widened to the size of supper plates.
"Seventy five percent?" I asked. The Doctor looked at me with a smile.
"I know. I usually average about... sixty percent." I looked down to the ground in disbelief.
"Sixty percent..." I whispered. "Oh dear, what am I doing?" I asked myself, hitting my forehead with the palm of my hand. "I'm in a biology lab with a mad man hiding from a monster!" I attempted to stay low in volume, but it did not work out that way.
"Alien." The Doctor said and I looked to him.
"What?" I asked and the Doctor made a noise of annoyance.
"The thing behind the door is not a monster, it's an alien. One of the Yara-ma-yha-who." He clarified and my mouth fell open.
"That's an Australian legend!" I hissed under my breath and he nodded.
"That's where it came from. They drink their victims blood and then possess their bodies. Even the weakest can last more than three years." I gagged a little bit.
"Poor Professor Bedrager." I whispered.
"No, he never existed." The Doctor reminded me and I nodded. It was all a front. A trick.
"Right. So I guess this one needs a new body then?" I asked and the Doctor smiled at me again. I liked it when he did that.
"Now you're catching on. You always were very smart." I didn't catch the last bit of what he said. Perhaps it was for the best. "Yes, it does need a new body, but this one's sick." He turned to me. "Did you see those green sores on its face?" I nodded, feeling another wave of nausea infect my system.
"How could I miss them?" I replied with a question.
"Well, those sores were some sort of infection. Not a lot can bring down a Yara-mah-yah-who and I would like to study it, but it could be contagious." I closed my eyes and ordered myself to breath. I had no time for this, I needed to survive.
I heard a banging and I opened my eyes once more, fearing dancing across my vision.
"It's trying to get in!" I whispered urgently as another banging noise was heard.
"Keep your finger on that button." The Doctor said and I nodded, blinking away the fear and slight amount of anger.
"What's the plan then? Walk me through it." I almost ordered. I had yet to realize that one does not simple order the Doctor about.
"No. We need the element of surprise of our hands and in order to do that, you need to be surprised." He sounded so logical and certain of what he was saying, and yet I had to acknowledge that it made no sense. I also highly doubted that microwaving the can would work. Maybe in the movies, perhaps, but in real life, it would take just a little bit more.
"Wait." I said, stepping away from the microwave and throwing open a drawer. I squished up a handful of tinfoil, popping open the microwave and shoving it in. "Adds a bit of kick." I explained to the Doctor, who lifted an eyebrow.
"Can't be too careful." He replied and I nodded.
"When do I press the button?" I asked, wincing as another banging noise was heard as the alien bashed up against the door. I could see that it was giving way; we didn't have much time left.
"You'll know." The Doctor replied. I didn't have the time to ask him when because two seconds after he (almost) told me what to do, the benches finally gave way and the door swung open, still intact. I screamed as the Doctor ripped open the blood packages and tossed it on the ground. The creature ran at him, but the Doctor dodged as the alien attacked the blood packets tearing the plastic and making a spattered mess.
I knew that now was the time. I pressed the button on the microwave while the creature was distracted.
"Run!" I shouted as I grabbed the Doctors hand, pulling him from the room and slamming the door behind me. I had never been a very fast runner, but that did not stop me from bolting faster than ever before. The Doctor was right beside me as I veered left, heading for the exit. My pace never faltered as the big, red sign that jutted out above the double doors grew closer and closer. My heart pounded so hard in my chest that I thought my ribcage would break. It did not and I pushed the door open with all my might, running as far away as possible.
I whipped around in time to see the blast completely cave in the windows. Smoke circled in the air as I collapsed onto the grass, my breathing uneven.
"That was not smart." I said quietly. The Doctor looked to me. "They're going to catch me. I'm going to be kicked out of school." I felt like my stomach was shrinking at an alarming rate. I wondered what in the world just happened as I pulled my knees up to my chest.
"Look! There she is!" I turned my head to see the what could have possibly been the oddest sight of my life. The most uptight, strict human being I had ever met who went by the name of Vice Principal Baxter was walking towards me with paramedics, firemen and three police officers trailing behind her.
Her usually tight hair bun was now hanging loose around her shoulders and her high heels were missing. She had shed her blue blazer and her glasses were askew. She looked like such a mess that it almost made me laugh. Somehow I managed to control myself long enough for her to get in a close enough proximity to throw her arms around my neck and drag me into a bone-crushing hug.
"What?" I asked as she pulled back.
"Thank God. One of the students said you were chased into the biology lab by the murder and then with the explosion..." She trailed off and her voice cracked. "We thought for sure you were... " She trailed off once again. "Can you tell us what happened?" I looked to the ruined windows of my school and then back to her.
"The murder had a bomb." I replied and she gasped. "I wouldn't have made it out if it wasn't for Doctor..." I paused, looking to him.
"John Smith." He said, holding his hand out to me. I shook it.
"Margret Walters." I turned back to the Vice Principal. Doctor John Smith saved my life." The Vice Principal gave me a look of bewilderment.
"You're very lucky to be alive. Now, lets have the paramedics take a look at you." She took my arm and tried to pull me away, but I shook her off.
"I'd rather not, today's been trying." I replied and her gaze hardened.
"Which is exactly why we need to speak with you now." I really didn't want to. Coming up with the bomb lie was hard enough, I couldn't bluff my way through a police investigation! And as for the paramedics, I was completely unharmed anyway, except for a few little cuts on my hand from the glass box containing the axe. I looked down at the ground and realized that I must have dropped it in the hallway. Pity, it would have been nice to have had it in the lab.
"I'd rather not!" My voice rose in pitch as she grabbed my arm again. This woman was obviously quite upset, but I did not like people touching me. My eyes widened as John Smith took a small step in front of me.
"Maggie has been through a rather tough day, I'll see that she gets to a hospital. He took my hand and I found I was not as angry at him as I was with Vice Principal Baxter.
"You are not authorized." The Doctor silenced her by holding up an ID card. Wow, he really was a doctor.
"I'm a Doctor and I'll keep you informed." He promised as he led me away. "Now, where is your car?" He asked me as we entered the almost empty parking lot. I supposed that all the other people had gone home. Good.
"Right there." I said, pointing to my rather dated, rather faded pickup truck. It was a dark green in color, peeling in some places, and was in desperate need of a new coat of paint. I pulled out my keys from the pocket of my faded jeans and unlocked her. I opened the door and got into the drivers seat.
The Doctor got into the passengers side, but did not look too happy about it.
"Where to then?" He asked, buckling his seat belt. I felt a little bit dizzy, but I knew that I was an excellent driver, so I didn't worry about that too much.
"Home. Grandmother and granddad will be worried sick." I replied. "And hospitals make me nervous. I need sleep." He nodded as I pushed on the gas, propelling my car forward. "Are there other aliens up there?" I asked carefully, raising one hand to point towards the sky.
"Millions and millions. Even I don't know them all." He replied and my heart froze.
"Will they be back?" I sounded like I was being strangled.
"They can't see to keep to themselves to be honest." He replied and my body went rigid. "Are you scared?" He asked me and I nodded quickly.
"Terrified." I told him.
"Don't be. I won't let anything hurt you." His answer puzzled me.
"How did you know my name?" I asked, thinking back to the garage.
"You told me." He replied and I rolled my eyes.
"No, before that, in the garage. You called me Maggie. Only Heather calls me Maggie. And then you did it again, just now. How?" The Doctor smiled in an almost suspicious way.
"I'm the Doctor." He replied simply and I groaned a little bit.
"What does that even mean?" I more yelled than asked as I swerved around some one trying to cut me off. "How can you be the Doctor?"
"I make people better. Much more so than other doctors." I decided not to argue with him. Perhaps that is what made him a bit less on edge.
"Well, you saved my life today. Thank you, Doctor." I said, sounding more serious than I had sounded in years, he seemed to notice.
"You're very welcome, Maggie Walters." I pulled up into the driveway of my grandparents old house.
"You may have saved my life," I began, "But you're out of your mind and grandmother will kill me if I bring a guy home. Get out of the car." The Doctor looked a bit upset, but complied.
"I'll see you again, Maggie." He said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.
"How do you know?" I asked, unable to keep myself from sounding like a spoiled child.
"I always know." And with that, he turned on his heel and walked off down the street with me staring after him in wonder.