"The Mistaken M. Jones"
29. The End of the Day
Earth, in the year 4529
The city should have been in full activity by now. The year's batch of sixteens should have been queuing up, on their way to the ship which would take them to the asteroid. But there was no one there, not that morning, not that one or the one the year before, and the year before that, and before… Five years. And for the first time in generations, boys and girls got to stay with their families, through those long five years they would have once been forced to spend on an asteroid, digging.
Some people in the city might have worried themselves over where the asteroid had gone, what it would mean for all of them, but that was not all of them; that was not most of them.
They may not have known what was really happening on that asteroid, but they knew that their children weren't coming back anymore, not the way they used to. So when the day came that the ship did not come for them, they didn't gather and question it. They stayed in their homes and hugged their children, and they prayed that the ship would never come again. Their prayers were answered, when the ship didn't come, and when they learned that asteroid had disappeared. Those of them who still waited for a return chose to believe that, whatever had happened to their children, they were better off; it was the only thing they could do, because the alternative was that much worse.
But on this morning, the former boarding day, something did happen, and it did bring the people out of their homes: the word was out that something had been sighted, way up in the skies. And some people were claiming it was the asteroid, right there over their planet. They had been quiet before, but they wouldn't be this time. They were going to use this to start sending the children out again, they knew it, and they weren't going to let it happen, not anymore. They'd rather go themselves if they had to.
The city's governors had been forced to come forward and face the growing crowd, and they were still doing their best to make themselves heard over the din when all of a sudden a man came dashing up to stand at their side, followed by a few others, including a blue haired woman, another in a canary bun, and a man who managed to do what they'd been trying to do without saying a single word: he got their attention.
"It's Merit Reeslin!" someone called out. The Doctor used this sudden focus among them to address the crowd.
"Yes, hello, my rainbow haired friends! I'm the Doctor, how are you doing? In case you haven't heard, there is now an asteroid in orbit overhead. Not just any asteroid either. Now here's the thing you might not know, the people up there, your people, what they haven't told you," he pointed to the governors. "What they haven't told you is that they're ill, and that's why they haven't been returned to you. If they had, well, you would have gotten as sick as they are." The people began to shout again, but the Doctor silenced them. "Now if there's anything you need to discuss, any questions you have, please," he clapped the shoulder of the nearest man at his side. "Don't hesitate to ask them, down to the last detail, please, take your time, don't be shy. And while you're doing that, we are going to see to your people. If they can be treated and sent back to you, they will, but prepare yourselves for the possibility that they might not. Thank you," he nodded to them before turning to his group. "Go on now, back to the TARDIS."
They'd walked all the way back, but even as they stopped in front of the door, the Doctor blocked their path. He looked at all their faces, Clara, and Mercedes, Merit and Annabel, and Gravis… He knew what they intended to do, and it was their choice, but he couldn't help but feel like he had to give them a way out.
"You need to understand, anything could happen once we go up there."
"Isn't that what those shots were for?" Mercedes frowned, touching her arm, which was still sore.
"Yes, of course, but…"
"You're going up there, why shouldn't we?" Clara gave him a pointed look. Because I can regenerate. You can't.
"Fine," he looked aside, "Then let's get going." He opened the door and they filed in. "Suits on, all of you. Make sure they're tight."
Most of them were getting ready with plenty on their minds, so the Doctor's reminder might not have been overstating things at all. Gravis had been reduced to living on the run, making his home out of a crawl space, and Mercedes had been pulled into something she never should have been a part of. But she was there now, and she wanted to help. Then there was Annabel, preparing to go and help all these people while she knew very well that there was a chance her little sister, her dear Savelyn, might be beyond helping. And Merit, well… Merit might get one chance to see Lenton again, and he didn't know if he'd get to talk to him, to tell him what he'd been wanting to tell him for years, but there was a chance that he might finally do it, and that was enough to send him onward.
"When this is done, you and I have an appointment with a salon," Clara informed the Doctor.
"Why, what's wrong with my hair?" he blinked, reaching to touch his head before he remembered the helmet. Clara smirked. "You knew I was going to do that, didn't you?"
"Crossed my mind, yeah. But I wasn't kidding about the salon, not for you," she raised her hand before he could speak, "I have a feeling I'm going to need it when I get this wig off," she pulled her helmet on, over the wig and all.
"No argument there." Before she could argue, he moved to the controls. "Right, everyone! We are headed into the asteroid, provided no one stops us this time," he seemed to address the ship. "We treat, and we evacuate, is that clear?" They nodded. "Good. And we're off!"
TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)