CHAPTER 5
Rose watched as another Angel was reduced to ash. That one had suddenly appeared behind a crate with its arms extended as if it were trying to strangle them. The Doctor reacted in time by pulling Rose back and at the same time, throwing one of the two small flames at it and burning it to cinders. Rose thought she had imagined it, but did something hit the ground…?
"Well, that was close." The Doctor muttered. "Didn't see that coming."
"Me neither," Rose managed to say. "One flame left."
The Doctor nodded, glancing at the small flame. "Hopefully only one Angel left to go with it."
Rose managed to give him a small half-smile before turning the flashlight beam around the room again. Only crates. Crates…and the feeling that they were being watched…
"All right. It seems like the danger is gone." The Doctor said. "Let's continue."
They slowly entered another room of the warehouse, flashlights and flames at the ready. Nothing jumped out at them or anything as equally surprising. The Doctor trained the beam of light at the far wall, where something lay.
"What's that?" Rose asked.
The Doctor didn't respond. Instead, he began walking toward whatever it was, his flashlight not leaving it. As Rose drew nearer, she could make out what it was.
It was a Xian…only he was encased in stone. He was curled up against the wall like he was trying to escape something, and his arm was held out in front of his face shielding his eyes from the light. He had fangs and blank, stone eyes… like the Angels. But Rose noticed how his chest looked like it had gone through a blender.
"That's Yelsh." The Doctor muttered. "Or…who he used to be."
Rose took a couple of steps backwards. "Is he an Angel?"
"Most likely." The Doctor whispered, drawing the last flame out o the jar. But instead of being attracted to Yelsh's stone skin, the flame drifted towards the middle of the room…
…Where three more Angels were standing.
"Don't blink!" The Doctor's voice was louder than intended in the empty wareroom. He began glancing back at Yelsh. "We need to get out of here…now! We need to get out of here and find more fire! Get ready to go to the other side!"
Rose glanced at the ground and found it clear to teleport. When she looked up again, the Angels had drawn nearer, their arms extended and fangs barred. The last flame had attached itself to the closest Angel, burning her arms.
"Doctor, I'm ready to go!" She said worriedly.
"Then go!" The Doctor shouted.
Rose took a step and found herself sinking through to the other side, where no stone Angels were. A second later, the Doctor followed. He grabbed her arm and began pulling her through the warehouse, down flights of stairs, down hallways…
Rose screamed as they ran into something.
"Doctor! What are you doing here?" Damian's confused tone shocked her.
"I should be asking you the same thing!" The Doctor yelled. "There's more Angels than we thought…and less fire! We need to head to either Earth or Nemasis right now!"
"Right, well, I'm coming with you." Damian decided.
"Just get out of the warehouse!" The Doctor pleaded. "They could be coming through the floors any second!"
They reached the warehouse doors and Rose began beating furiously on them. "Open up! It's me, Rose! The Doctor and Damian are right behind me! We're out of fire!"
"Open the door!" Damian added to the yelling and banging. "They're coming!"
Rose risked a glance back to see an Angel frozen in the Doctor's flashlight beam. She intensified her banging.
"Rose, give me your flashlight! Damian, you too! That Angel is trying to put mine out!" The Doctor shouted. Rose handed her flashlight over not a moment too soon. The Doctor's beam went out for about three seconds before he could get the other light on the Angel.
She was five feet away. Her eyes were more deadly than Rose could have ever imagined, but she tore her gaze away and attacked the door, trying to get someone's attention.
"LET US OUT! AN ANGEL! RIGHT BEHIND US!" Damian screamed.
The door gave way and all three of them fell backwards onto the concrete. The Doctor kicked the door shut and they scrambled up.
"That is why you don't go alone and weaponless." Murray's face was purple. "Damian, you could have gotten yourself killed! Or worse…killed our only hope!"
"Sorry, chief." Damian mumbled. "But you saved our lives. Without you, we probably would have died."
"Thank me later. You're out of fire?" Murray caught sight of the empty jar the Doctor was carrying.
"Sadly, yes." He admitted. "But that can be fixed. We just need to hop on over to Earth or Nemasis."
"No one's been in contact with Nemasis for years." Murray reminded him. "Be on your guard if you're heading over there."
"I don't think anything could be worse than what we just ran into in there." Rose gasped. "I think Nemasis will be a piece of cake."
"So how many Angels did you kill?" Murray turned back to the Doctor.
"Four. There's at least four more, possibly five."
Murray grunted. "Didn't think it was this bad." He muttered. "Well, good job in there so far, soldier."
"Don't congratulate us yet." The Doctor said hurriedly. "Thank us after we retrieve more fire and destroy the remaining Angels."
"You're leaving right now?" Murray's surprise was unmistakable.
"No time to waste," The Time Lord pointed down the street. "The TARDIS is down there, Damian. Follow Rose. I'll be right there."
Rose and Damian began running down the street. The Doctor watched them go and then turned back to Murray.
"What exacally happened on Nemasis?" He asked.
"We don't know. One second, they're maintaining contact with Xios…and then nothing. It's too far away to visit to see if anything's gone wrong. Besides, no one will go." Murray stared up at the warehouse. "It's like they all died…"
The Doctor pursed his lips. "That may indeed be the case."
"What do you mean, Doctor?" the chief asked.
"I mean there's a very good chance that indeed happened."
They were both silent for a few seconds. The Doctor waited for that information to sink in and then turned and began walking towards the TARDIS. "I'll do what I can for them, although I doubt it would matter."
Murray stared at the back of the Doctor's head and nodded, even though he knew that he couldn't see him.
The Doctor eventually reached the police box, where both Rose and Damian were sitting nearby it, looking anxious.
"What took so long?" Rose demanded. "You said yourself that we had no time to lose!"
"Xios doesn't. Nemasis has all the time in the world." The Doctor unlocked the TARDIS and motioned for his companions to enter.
Damian's face was a mask of wonder as he stepped inside.
"Didn't expect that coming, did you?" Rose asked. "Don't worry. I though the exact same thing."
The Doctor meanwhile turned a few levers, twisted a few dials and pressed a few buttons. The TARDIS began to moan and lights began flickering in the chameleon circuit. "Here we go, off to Nemasis." The Doctor said gleefully. "Prepare yourselves, guys. This may be a rough landing."
Damian clutched onto a rail like gravity has suddenly been lifted. Rose smiled gently and said, "Don't worry. Nothing bad's ever happened before."
"But there's always a first," Damian muttered.
"I've never thought of it that way…" Rose's face went from nearly expressionless to slightly worried.
Sparks danced across a control board. The Doctor hit it and it stopped sparking and made a strange moaning noise. "Oh, sure. Now you start acting up! We're going to die!"
Damian went completely pale. The Doctor kept up the act until he burst out laughing and said, "Oh, I'm joking. This always happens. Sit back and enjoy the ride. Our next stop is Nemasis; thank you for choosing the TARDIS way of travel and have a nice day."
Next chapter to be called Nemasis.
Anyway, lately I've had writers block! AAAH I HATE THAT!
Don't worry, I have a strategy to solve it! Next Saturday is when another chapter will be in FanFiction! But sense it's Christmas Vacation…there might be four chapters within the upcoming two weeks. If I can finish my Spanish project thing, at any rate…Mi Familia. Mi familia es muy estupido. Es burros. Yo soy muy antipactico. iTù es stupendo!
Oh, well. Hasta la Vista, Readers. ~GhostKing