Chapter Three
Leading a Merry Chase
"What are we doing here?" I asked, keeping my hands in my pockets as I surveyed the room, which was a blood lab.
"I'm going to see if I can find something in some of these blood samples," he responded, having put glasses on with thick rims.
"Near-sighted?" I asked, looking at the glasses.
"No," he stated simply.
"If you were far-sighted, you'd need them to see where you were going. Astigmatism?"
"My sight's perfect, thanks."
"So costume glasses," I stated before asking, "so why did you drop the whole 'this is too dangerous' thing? I doubt that it was entirely that rant."
"It wasn't entirely your rant. More along the lines that I realized that the more I'd try to push you away, the more you'd fight it."
"The more you pushed, the more I felt that it could be interesting and exciting," I stated, giving a glance around at the lab, "are you sure there's nothing I could do?"
"Giving you directions would only distract me, which you're already doing by talking."
"I've always been a bit of a motormouth. It's not because I like hearing myself talk. I actually hate my voice. It's because I like having myself being heard."
"I'm definitely hearing you," he stated as I wandered around the lab.
"Ya know, I just realized something definitely strange."
"What's that?"
"This is a medical lab."
"Yes. Yes it is."
"It's typically staffed around the clock."
"That may be the case, but it's typically empty or almost so at around lunch time. Most of the tests are being done late at night with the tests leaving in the morning and most of the tests coming in when all the clinics in the area start closing," he stated.
"So we don't have much time before we need to leave," I surmised.
"Which is why you shouldn't be distracting me."
I was about to walk around the room again when I heard the door open. I glanced at the Doctor with raised eyebrows as he stood up, clearly getting a plan. I realized that while he could be able to bluff his way out of this alone, he'd have to work much more to cover me.
"Who are you two and what are you doing here?" the burly man who had entered the room asked.
"We're from the Department of Health and Human Services, sent to investigate the abnormal deaths," the Doctor stated.
"We're in the middle of processing a sample taken from one of the victims," I added, getting the idea that perhaps we could bluff them by acting like we belonged there, after all, everyone on some level are trained - if not raised - to recognize and react to those who at least seem to have some sense of leadership.
I saw him give me a quick glance. Was it a glance of telling me to back off? That I was reading his mind? Or was it a glance to tell me to shut up. Looking back, I'm pretty sure that it was all three.
"Another inspector?" the man asked with an irritated sigh before saying, "let me see your identification."
"Here," the Doctor said, handing over the same paper I had seen through earlier as the burly man turned to look at me.
"And you, Miss..."
"Johnson. Mary Johnson. I'm a new intern so I've yet to get an ID badge yet. Mr. Smith here is training me," I stated with a polite smile, trying to bluff my own way.
"Even interns get their IDs before they are given assignments," the burly man stated, handing the Doctor his wallet-like item back, giving both of us a look that said that he didn't buy it.
"Run," the Doctor said, grabbing my wrist and pulled me along behind him as I tried to keep up.
We ran to the stairwell and down the stairs, knowing that we might be able to lose them if we were clever enough and fast enough. I heard their footsteps behind us as the Doctor pulled me onto another floor as someone else was leaving that floor and down corridors. The footsteps behind us were a good distance away as I noticed that we were passing the restrooms.
"Restrooms!" I exclaimed, knowing that we weren't in sight of our pursuers yet.
"Now's not a good-" he started before pausing and saying, "good idea."
I felt my wrist being let go and I bolted into the womens' restroom, glad that there was no one there as I entered the furthest stall and locked it. I wondered how long I had to wait until the coast was clear as I caught my breath. My legs were burning from all the running, which was probably more than I've ever done in one sprint. Of course, I had never run while on adrenaline. I watched as my hands shook before they became steady and I felt that the adrenaline was out of my system.
It was then that I heard doors open and I decided to act like I was just a normal girl using the restroom. It was only two girls talking.
"You've gotta feel sorry for the guy," one stated.
"Yeah." the other replied, "he looks quite impatient waiting for his younger sister."
Was it a trap or was it the Doctor waiting for me? Or maybe it was a trap set by the Doctor waiting for me? That was the extent of my thoughts as I left the stall, washing my hands and leaving the restroom as the two women were working on their makeup.
"Waiting on me long?" I asked, seeing the Doctor waiting up for me outside the womens' restroom.
"Felt like ages," he stated with a smirk before we walked away from the restrooms.
"Had to go tell those two that you were waiting on a younger sister, did you?"
"Better than the truth," he stated with a shrug.
"Fair enough. So what's the plan?" I asked as we arrived at the elevator.
"I didn't get to find a clue there in time," he stated as he pressed the button to go up.
"So what kinda clue were you looking for anyways?" I asked as we got into the elevator and he pressed the button for the floor I was on in the first place.
"There's gotta be some other connection between the deaths besides the location," he stated quickly, "because even that seems random. They don't even have a floor in common and each of them seemingly have nothing in common other than the fact that they suddenly died from a mysterious cause that doesn't match any contagion I know of." he stated as the elevator stopped.
"So we lack a common link besides the hospital. Do we even know if the same is happening at any other hospitals?" I asked the Doctor as we walked down the corridors.
"I don't think so. If it's happening at other hospitals, then they're really keeping it real quiet. Rumors would've already spread like they have about this hospital." he stated as we entered the room, "which makes me wonder why you and your dad are here and not at another hospital."
"We're on state-funded medical coverage. We can only go to the closest hospital if an ambulance is called or we'd have to take the city bus. He just likes to hold off on seeing a doctor until it is an emergency," I stated with a frown.
"Was he this tired before he arrived?" the Doctor asked, his voice low and quiet, obviously wanting to be sensitive about the situation.
"He started sleeping more and more about the third day here," I stated with a frown, knowing the implications that he didn't need to say as I added, "which means I need to get to the bottom of this soon or he could be the next victim."
"Mind if I collect a sample of your dad's blood so I can run my own analysis on it?" he asked.
"Mind giving me a list of victims so far?" I asked, "I have my own research I want to do. I get the feeling that we're missing a key clue here and I want to see if I can figure out what exactly it is."
"Here," he said, showing me the paper that was in the wallet-like holder, which now showed a list of names.
I looked at him, about to ask him about the paper before he said, "it's called Psychic Paper. It shows what I want it to show."
"I need to get a sheet of that," I stated as I accepted the sheet of paper and took out my laptop and started to type up the list of names as the Doctor took what looked like a syringe from his coat, opening the wrapper.
"Good luck. It's from the future," he stated.
"Which means that you're from the future," I stated with a smirk before adding, "sweet. So what's the culture of future Earth like? Well, assuming that humanity doesn't implode on itself..."
"Amazing, actually," he stated, "but to be fair, I'm more from the far past. My race died out long ago. I'm the last."
"Talk about survivor's guilt," I stated with a frown, "that's gotta be hard."
"You seem to believe me easily," he stated lightly.
"The paper's enough of proof. Doesn't help that I grew up on science fiction. Star Trek and Star Wars mostly. I read more science fiction than I watch it. The real question is why you're so interested in helping us humans, even if it's just a small town comparatively speaking?"
"I've always been fascinated with humanity, even before my race fell. So many things your race have accomplished and so many accomplishments to make."
"And so much suffering inflicted upon itself," I stated with a frown.
"In any given race and culture, there are always unfavorable elements," he stated seriously as he finished taking the sample.
"Sometimes it looks like it's the majority," I said, finishing entering the names.
"Only if you let it color your judgment," he replied.
"Which is easier to do if it's all you experience when dealing with said race or culture," I stated, handing him the paper, seeing him look at me with an expression that told me that he could somehow relate.
"I'll meet you here in the morning and we can discuss what we've discovered," he stated, sounding like he was all business.
"Sounds like a plan," I agreed, packing up my stuff.
"Where are you going?" he asked, seeing me pack up.
"Well, I can't exactly connect to the internet here. Sides, I could use a shower, some rest, and maybe some food that isn't hospital food that's trying to pass itself off as real food," I stated, "I'm not gonna follow you, if that's what you're asking even if you're prolly gonna head off to the future to do your analysis."
"Won't need to. I should be able to do it in my time machine," he stated.
"And judging by how you've verbally avoided the topic of races outside of humanity, it wouldn't surprise me if it's some sort of space ship too," I stated, muttering.
"Clever," he stated with a smirk.
"Some would say too clever," I admitted with a smirk as I put on my hoodie.
"Aren't you going to wear an actual coat?" he asked, almost sounding incredulous.
"I've walked half a mile wearing this in the dead of winter over in Montana. Five blocks is hardly that far," I replied with a shrug as I shouldered on my backpack.
"I feel responsible for you enough to take you home myself so you don't get sick," he stated as I grabbed my laptop case by the handle.
"I can see that arguing against a free ride home is not just pointless but kinda idiotic at this point considering the circumstances," I stated as he led me out of the room and down a corridor.
"And you'll get to see my mode of transportation. I think you'll like her," he stated quickly, almost excitedly.
"I probably will," I replied lightly as we entered the elevator and he pressed the button for the basement.
"She's called a TARDIS. Stands for Time and Relative Dimension In Space. Everyone spends a minute to grasp the whole situation," he stated with a smile, "but that's the fun part."
"Watching mere humans grasp what a time machine is?" I asked as the elevator doors open and following him down a quiet corridor.
"You'll see," he simply said with a grin.
"There's clearly something you're not telling me," I stated with a frown as we stopped at what looked to be a phone booth made almost completely out of wood and painted blue.
"Here she is," he stated with a wide grin.
"She looks like a weird phone booth. Barely big enough to fit maybe two people but only if they're really close friends," I stated with a frown as I saw him unlock the wooden box and fling the double doors open wide enough to show me the huge room inside it.
The room cast light on the two of us as he turned to watch my reaction. He was grinning at me, almost like I was his current source of amusement as I walked up to the doorway and walked in with my hands in front of me, just in case I walked into a wall.
"So it's clearly not a picture," I stated once I reached the end of the ramp and dropping my hands as he closed the doors behind us.
"It's completely real," he stated.
"So it's one of two things," I surmised, "Either this room is a pocket dimension."
"Or?" he asked.
"Or this is a hallucination or dream."
"I think this is the fastest anyone's come to terms with this so far," he stated as he bounded to the console in the center of the room as I set my bags down.
"I know one thing for certain," I stated.
"Which is?"
"She's wonderful," I replied with a grin.
"So tell me where you live and we'll be there in a few seconds," he stated with a smile.
What do you think I did in that moment when the last of some highly advanced culture who apparently perfected not just travel in three dimensions but time as well? I gave him my address.