Chapter 6 – Gods Or Demons?
Flashback…
The Doctor was off like a speeding bullet before Jack and Rose even had the chance to take in what he had said. The Time Lord skipped over the various rocks and sticks until he arrived at the village gate, one man against an oncoming army. He raised a single hand to them now twenty metres away and to Jack and Rose's complete and utter surprise, the entire cluster of bandits – forty or fifty – stopped dead in their tracks.
"This village has nothing for you to raid," he stated clearly and simply. "We have been hit by a plague; we have nothing of worth."
One of the bandits stepped forward, seemingly the leader. It was a large man with an old scar scored down his left cheek stretching from eye to mouth. He was filthy and completely bald, face unshaven for a few days and a bloodstained sword gripped tightly in his right hand. The clothes he wore were rags that clung desperately to his large, fat frame.
"Is tha' so?"
Jack and Rose had arrived next to the Doctor now, a few villagers from the temple – Martin, Matthew, a mother and two children – watching from a distance at the confrontation.
"Yes."
"Then we jus' take yer blood." The bandits raised his crossbow to the Doctor's chest, and fired off a single bolt.
"Doctor!" Rose screamed desperately but Jack was already one step ahead. He moved in front of the Doctor with his hands on the Time Lord's shoulders, facing him, and they all heard the resounding crack as the bolt directly impacted the Captain's spine.
Still holding the Doctor's shoulders and staring into his eyes, Jack silently sank to the floor.
Seconds passed.
"RUN!" the Doctor yelled, grabbing Rose's hand and pulling her away from the village entrance.
"ATTACK!" the bandit leader roared and within seconds the air was filled with shouts and screams, and Olbian was under attack.
"Is it over?" Rose suddenly croaked, breaking the forty-minute silence between her and the Doctor since the raid had started. The Doctor's arms finally slackened their protective grip on her slightly as she raised her head from his chest. They were sat in an indent in a wall down a narrow alleyway, hidden from view of the bandits. They had been able to do nothing else in the raid but hide, and for that the Doctor hated himself. He felt so helpless. He had tried to get out to help in the raid but Rose had held him firmly back, forcing him to stay put.
"Stay here," he instructed, manoeuvring around Rose to slip out into the alley, moving slowly and carefully to peek around the corner.
Silent seconds passed, before the Doctor simply raised a hand and beckoned Rose without even turning his head. She moved forward and peeked around the corner.
She froze.
There were bodies scattered all over the ground – men, women and children – covered in blood, all still and silent.
The Doctor was already moving. He ran across the open, dropping down next to the lacerated body of a teenage boy probably no more than seventeen years old, resting his fingers on the young man's neck. Seconds trickled by. Finally the Doctor drew back, shaking his head as Rose stood silently next to him, tears falling down her face once more. The Doctor drew down the boy's eyelids, pausing for a moment to take this in before moving to another body laid next to the boy, this time a very young girl, barely three years gone by since she'd been brought into his world. He rested her fingers on her neck, almost dreading what he would find.
Rose watched as suddenly a smile broadened on his face.
"She's alive," he breathed, taking out the sonic and already checking her wounds for severity. "Mild head wound to the right side, minor contusions to the face, minor lacerations to the arms and a transverse fracture to the left ulna, she's gonna be fine." He slipped the sonic back into his pocket, slipping his arms beneath the girl and lifted her up, before turning to Rose. "Rose, check for anyone who's alive." She nodded. "I'll get help."
Father Jace watched as the strangers – the Doctor and Rose – worked together like a well-oiled machine. They were both somehow in each other's minds, reading the others thoughts of tasks that needed to be done and had since been completed. Within twenty minutes all of those injured in the attack were settled in the church, their wounds being tended to by Larec, the Doctor and Rose.
Jack's dead body had since been fetched, but had been left on the floor in front of the altar. The Doctor and Rose had not so much as given him a glance, and Father Jace had assumed that they simply did not want to be put off their stride by the reality of their dead friend.
An hour had passed before the Doctor finally straightened to full height, looking down at the woman he'd just been treating for a stab wound to the abdomen. He wasn't a miracle worker… at least, not with the technology offered in this day and age. Some of them would not make it through the night, and he hated himself once more for just sitting by and watching it happen.
"Doctor," came Rose's voice from behind the Time Lord, and he turned to meet her gaze. "They found another body…"
The Doctor nodded, racing past her and to the new limp body villagers were carrying in. The Doctor's heart plummeted when he saw it was a small boy, crying silently through desperate gasps for air.
He gestured for the body to be lain in a spare space to the side, kneeling down next to the sobbing child and checking his injuries. As Rose knelt next to him he turned to look at her, his face drawn and solemn.
"How can I do this?" the Doctor suddenly demanded in an undertone to her, more angry at himself than Rose. "How can I just stand by and let these people die, knowing I can save them?"
Rose remained silent, gaze dropping to the floor.
"A ten-year-old boy," the Doctor whispered, looking to the body in front of him, blooded and broken, yet still somehow conscious. "Born into this new, fascinating, beautiful Universe and only just starting to fully comprehend his surroundings. Three of his ribs are broken from a blow to the side and he's punctured a lung. He's going to die. He's going to die and I'm just standing here letting it happen."
Rose's face saddened at the sight of her usually strong Time Lord beginning to break. She was still getting used to this version of him - her old Doctor, although sympathetic with people's situations, never got quite so attached to those involved.
"If this was your era, the 21st century, he would easily be able to survive," the Doctor continued. "A child living in this era has just as much right to live as one in the 21st, it's just they don't have enough knowledge yet..." his voice was getting faster, becoming high-pitched as he became more and more frantic. "I could save him, Rose, I could save him, I CAN save him, I WANT to save him…" He trailed off, determination spreading onto his face as his hand suddenly delved inside his jacket pocket and he brought out the sonic screwdriver. Watchers from around them suddenly gasped in alarm as the Doctor pressed the button, a bright blue light emitting from the end with a high-pitched buzzing noise to accompany.
"It is a stick of magic!" one declared as the others began to step back from them, fear mounting in their eyes. The Doctor seemed to ignore them, adjusting the setting before pressing the sonic to the boy's chest. He then handed the sonic screwdriver to Rose, placing his fingers to the boy's temples and closing his eyes. Seconds later the boy's eyes slipped closed, the crying fading away to nothing as he fell deeply asleep. The Doctor began to work, drawing items out of his coat – needles, scalpels, wipes, tubes – as his hands sailed over the child's body, two hands completely at ease with field surgery.
Rose could feel gathering crowds around them, watching as the Doctor worked his strange, unknown magic with his blue fire stick. Even to Rose his hands were a blur of speed, making an incision in the side of the boy's chest before inserting the tube inside the cut. He ran the sonic over the boy again, giving a small smile as he drew it away again. All the time the crowd were watching him with unease, some crying in fear yet no one made a move to confront him. Within minutes he was bandaging the boy up, making sure he was warm and comfortable before standing up, putting the sonic screwdriver back inside his jacket pocket. He finally looked up at the crowd, beaming.
Silent seconds passed.
Suddenly there was a huge gasping sound from the altar – Jack had finally woken up, and he couldn't have timed it worse. He sat up straight, eyes wide as if in shock, one hand clutching onto the altar whilst the other was placed over his heart Rose ran towards him, guiding him to sit up against the altar.
"They are sorcerers!" one suddenly yelled, pointing directly at the Doctor. The Doctor recognised him. That was Matthew Malum, the old man who had first confronted them in the church. "They have cursed our village with their dark magicks! For Mondrith, they must be executed!"
And within seconds, the entire group was heading towards the Doctor.
"Stop!" another voice yelled – it was Father Jace. He strolled towards them, fury in his eyes. "This is not our way! We do not execute here!"
"They have brought the plague on us!" Matthew hissed. "They have brought this raid upon us! Our daughters, sons, wives and husbands… they have slain them all!"
"There is no proof of that, Matthew!" Father Jace bellowed, but everyone was against him.
"We have all the proof we need!" Matthew shouted back. "In the name of Mondrith!"
Rose and Jack could only watch as the Doctor was overwhelming in a mass of punches and kicks.
"DOCTOR!" Rose screamed, jumping back up onto her feet and running down the steps, frantically trying to reach him with Jack hot on her tail. She felt a hand on her shoulder, Father Jace's, and it stopped her dead in her tracks, Jack too. She looked up to him as he threw back his head, letting out a bellow.
"STOP!"
All movement instantly ceased, but the Doctor was still hidden by the crowd.
"I pray you! This is sacred ground, and I will NOT let this act of wickedness continue! This is a place of healing wounds, not inducing them, and I believe this is what the Doctor was simply trying to do – heal wounds!"
"But you saw his magicks! He is a sorcerer!" Matthew was yelling back.
"I beseech you, this man rose from the dead like the teachings of the churches in the outside lands!" he gestured to Jack. "They are not sorcerers – they are Gods!"
The crowd panicked for a moment, utterly relying on Father Jace for what action to take. They all sprang away after a few moments of hesitation, eyes wide, leaving only Matthew. Rage was etched on his face, angry that the chance had been passed up. The Doctor was holding his stomach in pain, a trickle of blood dripping from his nose but that was as far as they'd managed to get.
Rose tried to move again, but Father Jace tightened his hold ever so slightly on her shoulder.
"You sympathetic old fool…" Matthew grated. "It will be the death of you!"
And with that he exited the church, the rhythmic clicking of the walking stick hitting the floor ringing out before he disappeared from view. Only then did Father Jace let go of Rose and she ran to the Doctor, hands around him to give support he didn't really need.
"Welcome back, Jack," the Doctor finally said, looking at the Captain as he advanced. "You took your time."
Jack grinned. "You should get cleaned up," he said, nodding towards his bleeding nose. The Doctor shook his head.
"I'm not done." He looked around pointedly, tentatively dabbing at his nose with a cloth offered to him by Rose. "There are plenty here who can survive."
Jack nodded. "First one to save a hundred people gets a prize?" he offered, and the Doctor grinned heartily back before moving over to tend to a patient.
A/N: Forewarning of possibility of a bit of TenRose in this... Haven't decided yet...