"The Mistaken M. Jones"

27. All Together

Earth, in the year 4529

It was all becoming so normal to her, and even then, there was always that one moment, right after the jump, that moment when her head started to clear and she knew she had made it through, and she wasn't entirely solid on her feet yet, but more than ever she knew she'd need to fix that and soon. Even as she'd been pulled away from the TARDIS that last time, there had been one single thought in her head, her entire driving force: Run.

She hadn't even bothered to take in her surroundings, to gauge what the last five years had done to this place. The moment she knew her feet could carry her, she was gone, slipping in between buildings, same as she'd done the last couple of times. Only once she'd taken cover did she allow herself to stop and think about anything else.

For all she knew, she'd be waiting out by herself for a very long time. She'd told the Doctor not to come for her, to worry about the asteroid the people inside it first, and she had no way of knowing whether he would listen or if he'd come anyway. At this point, she saw it as being a fifty-fifty chance.

It had been almost too easy to tell him to leave her behind when she'd been up there. It was the right thing to do, and in the heat of the moment, she had run with it. But now it was done, and she was by herself, and the more she allowed it to sink in, the more she feared what that might mean. Could she really survive through this on her own? The way the Doctor had gone on about it, she might have had another full day ahead of herself of being prisoner to the whims of her cuff.

Could she chance going up to the house which had first been Merit's and then became Annabel's? Maybe one of them had gone back there in the last five years, or both of them, or… Or maybe it was some whole other person, and she didn't know if she could trust them. She knew she'd been lucky before, but what if she wasn't lucky this time and she revealed herself to someone who would end up turning her in? No matter what she chose, at some point she would need to find food, and she didn't want to steal anything. She had money on her, but they'd take one look at the year on there, if they even used the same kind of money now, and they'd know something was up.

Then something came back to her, a thought… She didn't even remember who'd told her about this, was it Merit, or the Doctor, or… No matter who had said it, the point was someone had said how the children were scared to go and board the ship when it was their turn. And if they were scared, then Mercedes could bet their parents were the same, too. By this time, if the timetable had not changed in all those years, all the sixteens would already be gathered and about to board the ship, while their families were forced to stay back. If she could find parents and appeal to them, being that she was seventeen and technically should have been sent to the asteroid… She didn't want to abuse people's kindness, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and she would find a way to pay them back when this was done.

She wasn't exactly familiar with her surroundings. The extent of her getting around went from the point where she always landed, to the place where they'd given her the uniform, to the holding room where they'd waited to be brought to the ship. Other than the ship itself, she'd seen back streets, then Merit-then-Annabel's house… Where was she going to find a family?

She crept along the back streets, the better to get away from where she'd landed, and she was about to move up the same path she'd used since she met Merit, when she saw – and was seen by – a pair of guard-looking men. How long had it been since she'd landed and her cover was already blown? She could run, but could she really outrun those guys? She doubted it… tried anyway.

The whole time, they shouted, which only managed to tell her if they were gaining on her or not, which naturally they were. And then a hand closed around her arm and yanked her aside. Darkness fell around her, and there was a hand clasped to her mouth, keeping her quiet. She struggled, and her captor shushed her. It took a moment before she realized they were no longer outdoors, and just as she did, she heard the running footsteps pass them, outside wherever it was they were. Once the noise had completely disappeared, the other had let her go, and she'd scrambled aside. A light came on, and after blinking to see clearly again, Mercedes saw she was sitting in a cramped sort of storage area with a man who'd seen cleaner days. Even then, he looked familiar.

"Who…"

"You… I know you, but it's impossible, you look…" he was stunned… so was she. She recognized him.

"Gravis," she spoke, and when he reacted, she knew she'd pegged him right. This was a far cry from the polished young guard she'd met, by his standard, twenty years ago. "Did you follow me?"

"I didn't… I thought I heard… people running. I opened the door, saw you… hid you." She looked around the small space.

"You live here?" He nodded. "Why?"

"It's better than being locked up," he shrugged.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Don't you know?" he blinked, confused. "Ever since the asteroid disappeared…"

"It did what?" she blurted out, surprised, and he shushed her. "Sorry," she lowered her voice. So he told her the story, about the year the ship didn't come, and what had happened when they'd sent their own ship. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. "But if the asteroid's gone, then what… What happened to the Doctor and those guys?"

"Doctor who?" Gravis wasn't following her. She didn't know whether or not she should tell him. He had saved her after all, but how did she know he wouldn't turn on her?

And then there was a knock on the storage space's door. They both froze. Gravis reached for a long metal rod he seemed to have adopted for a weapon. She didn't know what he intended to do with it, and she wasn't sure she wanted to find out. But then…

"Sorry, I'm looking for this girl, you…" She knew that voice, and she frowned, pushing the door open. There were two of them there, a lanky man in a bowler hat and a young woman in a canary bun. They both dipped sideways to see into the space. "Mercedes, yes, hello," the Doctor nodded. "Hope we didn't keep you waiting."

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)