Etched in History
A Touch Too Much
Rynne couldn't help the vast waves of emotion that she was feeling. Her world finally had begun to fall around her, those cursed walls of Babylon finally going, as she had expected them to go back when the Doctor and Martha had originally left her room. Why was this happening? And then Jane... oh, Jane... Sombre thoughts of the older woman made Rynne clench her jaws in a vain attempt to stop any tears from falling. Her old mentor had never been like this before, but now Rynne couldn't simply blame her behaviour on senile dementia. Jane had clearly understood several concepts from her book, which was, quite frankly, impossible. Everything was going wrong on such a colossal scale.
Partway home, Rynne spotted a bench along the road, and uncharacteristically sat down, needing to sit and think. In the past, she would have made sure that she was home before contemplating anything, but today's events had tossed everything upside down anyway, and Rynne was still physically and mentally getting used to the changes. Slumping on the wooden slats, hand touching the cool, black metal that kept the structure up, a semblance of reality and normalcy was exactly what the student needed. Eyeing the black painted surface, she then fished into her pocket to pull out the mysterious object that Jane had given her.
What was it? It wasn't even as if Rynne could safely guess whether the material was metal or rock, it was as if it was completely alien. Rynne shuddered at the word. Ever since the word 'alien' started popping up, nothing had ever been the same again. Now, she wished that she had never started that damned book of hers, but images of the Doctor and the Time Lords were getting stronger now, so strong that her only outlet was through her writing. If she had a choice, she would stop writing, just in case that would return how her life used to be. Writing was her passion, but she would give it up if it meant that she could just be like everyone else, just for a little while, at least. Not that she had a choice about the book now. There were times that Rynne just felt compelled to write, hands flying across pages as if she were in a dream, the girl not knowing what she had written until after a section was completed.
Sighing, Rynne knew that she wasn't getting anywhere. With a final look at the unknowable object, she put it safely back in her pocket, finishing the leg home. Maybe Dina would have her stupid television programme on... it was a ridiculous comfort, that Rynne wanted to escape in the boredom of her usual evening, but it was the most that she could hope for. She doubted that any of her other problems were just going to disappear.
Reaching her home, Rynne brought out her key to fit in the door, but, once more, it was already open. However, there was an eerie silence to it, a void in what was usually a happier home, despite clashes between the two flatmates. Rynne's heart rose to her throat, swallowing nervously. Nothing could have happened here, could it? Dina never just left the door unlocked; in fact, she was the one that always preached to other people, knowing that the television itself could be stolen, and how else then would she be able to see her favourite shows?
"Hello? Dina?" Rynne slowly clicked the door shut, the rushing of blood around her body like screams she was afraid someone else would hear. Taking each step with the careful deliberation of someone knowing that they were about to enter a minefield, Rynne was desperate to quieten her panicked breaths, poking her head around the door of the living room. The television was still on, remote carelessly dropped on the floor, but she noticed that the sound had been lowered, barely leaving the presenter on the screen to give anything more than a background hum. "Dina? Are you here?" Despite the fact that Rynne wanted to seem stronger and braver, her voice cracked with fear. Usually, if something like this had happened, she wouldn't have acted like this, but considering everything that had happened, Rynne believed that she had more than enough reason to be afraid.
A figure moved from out of the kitchen, a room on the other side of the living room. A scream, and then the unknown dropped a plate - a plate? "Rynne! Bloody hell, what are you doing skulking about? Oh, that was a good plate, that was..." Dina knelt down, picking up the bigger remnants of the china. "Go and get the dustpan and brush, will you?" There was more than a hint of annoyance from Rynne's flatmate, but the student herself just let out a relieved laugh. Oh, she was getting quickly paranoid, that was becoming increasingly obvious, but at least Dina was okay: that was all that mattered.
"I'm sorry, I just thought... oh, it doesn't matter." Rynne shook her head in defeat, going into the kitchen, and finding the required items in the cupboard under the sink. Back in the living area, she got down on her knees with Dina, and started sweeping up the mess. At least the plate hadn't disintegrated into a sharp powder, or else they would have to get the vacuum cleaner out for it. Once they were done with their cleanup operation, Dina slouched back in the chair, hands just in reach of that wayward remote. How stupid had Rynne been? Just because a few words escaped an old friend's mouth, it didn't mean that Rynne was in danger, or that any of her friends were in danger either.
The pair spent about an hour together, Dina surprised at Rynne's apparent interest in her shows, until the latter student felt comfortable enough to be on her own again, and retired to her room. "Dina!"
"What?" Dina called back from the other room, still too busy watching the screen to really wonder what was going on.
"Where are the papers on my walls? They're gone! They're all gone!" The high-pitched panic was unbelievable, Rynne scrambling around the room to see whether some had just fallen down, despite how ridiculous that particular theory sounded. Storming back into the living room, Rynne was absolutely livid. "I swear to whatever the hell is up there, you better tell me where they are, Dina! You've been the only one here, so don't you dare tell me you don't know!"
Dina's expression betrayed her. At first, she wanted to just try and shrug it off, but the colour drained from her face. Oh, Dina didn't know how important the manuscript was, but she knew of its value to Rynne, which was more than enough to make her feel terribly guilty at her carelessness. That Martha must have done it... why didn't she follow her, and check what she was doing in there? "Oh, Rynne, I'm so sorry..."
"Sorry? Why? What the hell happened?"
"That girl, Martha, she told me she left something in your room, and-"
"And you didn't bother keeping an eye on her? Or was that bloody stupid TV set more important?" Anger spat out from Rynne's lips, furious beyond any emotion she had ever felt before. "How could you, Dina? How could you?" Stalking out into the street, Rynne made sure that she had that scrap of paper from the Doctor with her. Glancing at that back alley address, she started running down the street, barely even aware of the black object still with her, the thing beginning to hum was an unknown energy powering it.
Down the darkening streets she ran, the student desperate to catch the Doctor wherever he may be, not willing to give up on the thing that had been her world since she was eighteen years old. That was when the visions came, when she had felt that she had to start writing, so it was a huge part of her life. More side streets, and nothing could come in between Rynne and her destination. The only constant now was the crack, crack, crack of Rynne's shows against concrete, and the thud, thud, thud of her heart, ready almost to explode with everything that she had been through.
Stopping abruptly, Rynne found the address, hands rising to her mouth in shock when she saw what was standing there. A bright blue police telephone box stood out from the greyer surroundings like a beacon, Rynne not being able to believe what she saw. This was one of the visions in her book, exactly as she had imagined it, down to the last chip of paintwork on the outside. She approached it, unsure as to whether this was real, or if she really had lost it. Reaching out towards it, as if touch would be able to solve all of her problems, a swimming sensation in her head began to take over, the girl closing her eyes for a moment to balance herself. Ready, her eyes fluttered back open, right hand poised over a wall of the box.
Finally allowing her fingers to brush the supposed figment of her imagination, Rynne felt the coolness of wood beneath her fingers. It was the TARDIS. Retracting her hand completely, the same pain from earlier shot across her whole existence, causing her to cry out, dropping to her knees on the ground. It felt as if someone was taking their hand and squeezing her internal organs, teasing her body onto the brink of annihilation. "Doctor..." she murmured, holding her hand out to the TARDIS again, but her consciousness left her collapsed. With Rynne now unconscious beside the TARDIS, however, something else started to gain more energy, ready to spring into action the moment it was commanded to. That innocuous black object started giving out heat, the surface glowing a dark light… but who would notice it, the thing tucked away safely in a pocket?