The classroom was silent. Every pair of eyes in the room fell upon John, who stood rigid and glaring at the door. Several things ran through Alice's head. Time Lord? Doctor? Exterminating humans? Just what had this peculiar (and sexy...stop it…) boy brought to her peaceful and boring school? She knew she should be scared, but for some odd reason, she felt very calm seeing John here. Something about him, an air around him, made him seem like the guy who will get things done. The guy who would do anything to help someone in need. He raked his hands through his messy brown hair, and Alice saw his lips moving. He seemed to be muttering to himself. He untangled his hands from his hair, and rubbed one over his face.
"Right then," he said, interrupting the silence that had fell over everyone. "Right. Ok. We're in trouble."
"What the HELL was that?!" Mr. Adams spluttered, . He was trying to seem angry, but Alice could see the fear in his eyes. "What is going on here?!"
If John heard, he didn't show it. He moved swiftly to the door, and quickly opened it. He glanced back and forth down the hall a few times, before tucking his head back in and closing the door.
"Coast clear….clever, I need to be clever…." he muttered to himself. He began to pace aimlessly around the room. He occasionally would rake his left hand through his hair while his right hand tossed his sonic screwdriver up and down. He briefly paused and studied the item in his hand, and frowned before turning around a few times.
"What on Earth do you mean by in trouble?! Answer me boy!"
John's green eyes flared, and he spun on his heel to face Mr. Adams. He was suddenly in front of him in one long stride, and got right up in his face.
"Boy? You're the boy to me. I'm older than you by at least a thousand years. I have seen things you wouldn't believe. I have lived longer than your tiny mind would ever be able to comprehend. I am the Oncoming Storm, the last of the Time Lords. So. You. Shut up. I'm trying to think of something extremely clever that may just save your life."
John then turned back on his heel, and began pacing again. The entire classroom was silent while Mr. Adams backed up and slightly bumped into his desk. He lowered his hands to steady himself, and Alice was shocked to see his face was very pale and his eyes were bulging out from his skull. He opened and closed his mouth, but nothing came out. He then took his tie and used it to wipe his forehead. Alice had never seen her teacher like this, not even when that deer jumped through the classroom window. (Yeah, that really happened. Alice still has claw marks on her desk where she raked her fingernails down the desk and screamed out of fear. Ruined the new nail polish she had put on. That stupid deer…). That had given everyone quite a scare that day, except for Mr. Adams. He had been the one to calmly usher the students out of the room and made sure everything was taken care of.
Alice once more felt her stomach turn in anxiety. Whatever was going on had even the usually calm Mr. Adams panicking. Alice's hands began to nervously wring, a nervous habit that she absolutely hated. Time Lords. Daleks. John Smith. Extermination. John Smith. John Smith. Did she mention John Smith? Speaking of the devil, she turned her eyes away from her terrified looking teacher to watch the strange boy. She didn't realize how tall he was until he stood nose to nose with Mr. Adams, who was around five eleven. She also didn't realize how skinny he was, and how that ragged suit hung off of him. The suit itself was a bit strange, almost as if he was wearing another man's clothes. It was just a plain gray suit with a red tie and black undershirt with matching suit pants. Black dress shoes that may have been nice at one time were now all scratched and dull. What had John been through to make his suit so torn up? Did it have something to do with these Daleks? John abruptly stopped his pacing, and his eyes widened.
"Right! Yes, this might just work." He suddenly exclaimed. "Cell phone! I need a cell phone! And a charger!"
A girl in the front row handed over her phone and charger. John bit at the top of the charger (The girl let out a surprised yelp) and pulled at some of the wires. He shoved the charger into a wall outlet near Mr. Adam's desk and frantically began plugging wires into his sonic screwdriver.
"Right, well, primitive power source, my sonic may not like it, but it may just work. May cause some-" he stopped as every light in the school shut off for a few seconds, then flashed back on. "...power fluctuations. Hopefully our Dalek friends didn't notice that, although I bet they did."
"What did you just do to my charger?!" the girl finally managed to squeak out.
John scratched the back of his neck, and studied the newly frayed charger. "Erm, yes. I'll pay you back somehow. Sorry about that. Life or death, you know."
"What about the power?" Alice asked. "Will the Daleks do anything about it?"
"Good question." he turned his sharp green eyes on her, and she felt a chill go down her spine. "They more than likely noticed it, seeing as it was quite obvious. But doing anything about it? I don't believe they will. Right now, they're more concerned with dragging out me. A mere power fluctuation could just be seen as faulty human power sources failing. I'd like it to stay that way, so I can save all of your lives, thank you very much."
"And what did you just do to your sonic screwdriver?" Alice questioned further.
John once more looked at her, but this time she felt as though he was studying her, staring right into her every molecule. Then, he gave a lopsided grin that made her heart skip a beat. (It should be illegal for him to look like that….)
"I like you." He finally said after what felt like years of just him looking at her. "You ask all the right questions, and you don't seem very scared…."
Alice felt her mouth go dry as he put down his sonic and walked over to her desk. He knelt down so they were eye to eye and looked deep into her eyes. What she saw in his eyes took her breath away (as if she wasn't already having a hard enough time breathing. She's decided that this John Smith should be killed for being so….him). The green in his eyes seem to swirl and churn, never the same green. She saw wisdom, she saw courage, and she saw sadness. So much sadness. It hurt her to see this much sadness in a boy that seemed to be her age. She just wanted to hug him and tell him it was all going to be okay. But she couldn't hug a stranger, not without a good reason. Maybe she should find a good reason….
"What's your name?" he finally asked her.
"What's your real name?" she countered.
His grin only grew. "Ooh, dangerous question. But I asked first."
"Alice. Alice Carvel. Now, your real name?"
"John Smith." he replied offhandedly, standing up and brushing off his suit.
Alice grabbed his hand, and his eyes met hers again. This time, she didn't shiver. "No, your real name."
"Tom Baker."
"No."
"Christopher Eccelston?"
"No."
"David Tennant?"
"No."
"Paul McGann?"
"Real name!"
He gave a chuckle, and once more knelt down so they were eye to eye.
"Hullo," he offered her his right hand. "I'm The Doctor. Nice to meet you Alice Carvel!"
"The Doctor? That's not a real name!"
"Its my name." Was all John said. He didn't let go of Alice's hand, but drug her out of her desk and over to Mr. Adams's desk. He only let go of her hand to pick up his sonic screwdriver. He fiddled with a few of the wires while Alice shuffled awkwardly. She didn't like being in the front of the classroom, in front of everyone; too many eyes. Not even standing next to John made her feel any braver. She watched as John fiddled with his sonic, then waved it through the air. It gave a weak whirring noise, and John's face split into a childish grin. He aimed it at the charger, and the weak whirring picked up. The charger sparked, the lights flickered, and then the sonic gave the strongest noise yet. The red jewel at the top light up so bright Alice had to cover her eyes. It slowly dimmed, but John's grin didn't. He quickly spun around and picked up the phone the girl in the front row gave him.
"Here." He handed it to Alice, who looked up at him in surprise.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" She didn't reach for it; she wanted an answer first.
"Give a friend of mine a call." He unlocked the phone and typed in a number. John pushed it up to Alice's ear, and she reached up for the phone. She placed her hand on top of his, and he slowly let go. He glanced at her, gave her a private smile as if they were sharing an inside joke, and looked down at his sonic screwdriver. He unplugged the wires, and placed it up against the phone near Alice's fingers.
"Sorry about the phone bill in advance. I don't think your carrier can call through time and space. I'll….pay you back for this too." He shot the girl who owned the phone an apologetic smile, and turned his attention back to Alice. "Ready?"
She gave an uncertain nod. John's sonic screwdriver whirred to life and was very loud against her ear. Suddenly, the phone came to life; all that came through was some very loud groaning and wheezing noises, like a machine trying to work.
"What….what is this?"
"Ah! You reached her! Good! Tell her to follow the signal!" John grabbed her hand that wasn't holding the phone, and dragged her towards the door.
"Uh…yes, hi? John….The Doctor….he says follow the signal?" Alice realized where they were going, and tried to dig her heels into the ground to stop him from taking her to the door. "John?! No, we can't go outside! The Daleks will see us!"
John looked over his shoulder at her and laughed. "Part of the plan!"
"What?!"
John grabbed the doorknob and flung the door open. He dragged Alice outside, and glanced up and down the hallway. Trash, papers, pencils, and books were everywhere on the ground. Lockers were flung open and emptied. Strange burn marks were everywhere, and a locker was on fire.
"Wha- what happened?" Alice whispered.
John squeezed her hand, "The Daleks were looking for me; keep talking into the phone, it'll help my friend track down the signal, and it may help you calm down."
Alice looked up and down the hall while the wheezing and groaning continued in her ears. Whoever was on the other end didn't make any other noise but the wheezing and groaning. She let John lead her down the hallway while she looked around and listened to the strange noise. She suddenly felt John stop and stiffen. She looked towards where John was facing, and saw a strange dome shaped thing roll down the hallway. The top part of it spun and a long black stock turned and looked at John and Alice. The center of it was glowing bright blue. What looked to be a whisk from a kitchen and a plunger made of metal that were attached to the front of the strange robot began to flail up and down.
"THE DOCTOR HAS BEEN SIGHTED! THE DOCTOR HAS BEEN SIGHTED!"
Alice shuffled closer to John. It was the voice from before in the hallway. This was a Dalek. It didn't look too terrifying, but then again, Alice didn't know what it was capable of.
"Yes!" John shouted, waving towards the Dalek. "Hullo! How are you? Fine, fine. That's all good. Yes, lets skip the formalities. Take me to your leader!"
"THE DOCTOR WILL FOLLOW OR HE AND HIS NEW COMPANION SHALL BE EXTERMINATED!"Another Dalek's voice came from directly behind them. Alice let out a yelp of surprise and turned around; three more Daleks had somehow moved up behind them.
"Yes, yes, very well. Lead the way." Was all John said. He glanced back at Alice, and gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand, "Come along, they won't hurt you. I'll make sure of that."
Alice felt herself nod, but it felt more like someone else was controlling her body. This was serious. These things could kill her; these Daleks. They may look ridiculous, but maybe the plunger thing sucks your face off. Or the whisk thing whisks your brains to mush. Just what do these Daleks do? She shook her head, trying to snap herself out of these thoughts and tried to pay attention to where they were being taken. Alice looked around, and realized that this was the same exact path that she took to go to lunch; they were headed to the cafeteria.
"John," she whispered, leaning in a bit so he could hear her easier. "They're taking us to the cafeteria."
"Hm, really?" he muttered, reaching into his jacket pocket and playing with something. She realized it was his sonic screwdriver, and that he had probably hidden it so the Daleks wouldn't see it. "Alright, good. We can work with this. How's my friend; she okay?"
Alice moved the phone to his ear, and he gave a triumphant smile.
"Ah, she's a good girl. Keep tracking us, alright?"
"QUIET DOCTOR AND COMPANION."
Alice almost screamed; one of the three Daleks that had been behind them had moved up much too close for her liking. John quickly took the phone and shoved it into his suit pocket.
"Yes, yes! Sorry, our bad! We'll shut up now!"
The rest of the way to the cafeteria was in silence. When they finally arrived, they were both escorted into the room by their four Dalek captors. In the middle of the cafeteria, surrounded by flipped tables and burned trash was a red Dalek which seemed to be a bit larger than the others. It turned it's stock and looked at them.
"DOCTOR, YOU SHALL BE EXTERMINATED FOR CRIMES AGAINST DALEK KIND. YOU AND YOUR COMPANION SHALL BE EXTERMINATED!"
John didn't say anything. He just gave Alice's hand a reassuring squeeze. She didn't want to die, she didn't want him to die; what was John planning?
"That's all very fine by me," John began, and Alice felt her stomach drop in fear; was he just planning on giving up? "But usually prisoners get one last phone call, right? Can you grant me just this one last wish? Then you can finally put an end to the Doctor, your age old enemy, eh?"
"WE WILL NOT FALL FOR YOUR TRICKS, TIME LORD. YOU SHALL BE EXTERMINATED NOW!"
John shrugged and gave a yawn, "Fine, fine; I already made the call anyways."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THIS? EXPLAIN!"
"EXPLAIN! EXPLAIN!" The other Daleks in the room chorused in agreement, and their shrill voices pained Alice's ears.
John merely reached into his suit pocket and pulled out the phone. He put it to his ear, gave a smirk, and then pulled it away and held it up in the air.
"This!" he shouted, "Is what I mean!"
Suddenly, Alice heard the wheezing and groaning from the phone earlier, faintly, as if it was far away. Far away to her left. She glanced over, but there was nothing but the wall. It grew louder and louder.
"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! THE DOCTOR HAS-" The giant red Dalek began, before a humongous crash tore through the wall to the left. John flung himself on top of Alice and forced her to the ground. Alice heard screaming, and she wasn't sure if it was her, or something else. Something was crashing to the ground everywhere around John and Alice, and Alice finally realized what the screaming was; the Daleks. There was a few loud zapping noises that Alice had heard in the hallway earlier today, and more screams. Then, it was quiet. Alice wasn't sure what hurt her ears more, the screaming and zapping, or the silence.
John's voice suddenly tore through the silence, and Alice jumped. "You alright, Alice? Nothing broken?"
She opened her eyes (When had she closed them? She couldn't remember) and looked up. John had moved off of her and was now crouching next to her. He looked at her with worry, his eyes moving all over her, scanning her, looking for any signs of injury. She couldn't find words, so she just shook her head.
John gave a sigh of relief. "Good. Thats good. Very good. Fantastic."
Alice looked around the room. Parts of the Daleks were strewn everywhere, and what looked to be little tentacles. It smelt awful, making Alice gag. Worse, she decided, than when the boy's bathroom was flooded.
"Inside all that armor is an actual living creature." John's voice was behind her, and she realized he was rubbing soothing circles on her back. "Well, use living loosely. They're horribly mutated by radiation, and usually are quite mad. They love destruction, and seek total domination of the universe. Sometimes, the only thing standing between them and that is me. They call me the Oncoming Storm, you know. They fear me. Kinda funny when you think about it, huh? They fear what seems to be a teenage boy."
Alice glanced over the wreckage and destruction left behind by the Daleks, and finally settled on something new in the room. A giant blue box with the words "Police Box" written on top. It was covered in Dalek grime and parts, but stood tall and proud in the middle of the room.
"Alice," John began, standing up and offering her his hand. She took it, and he gently helped her to her feet. He lead her over to the mysterious blue box, and rested his hand on one of the doors. "This is my friend you called, my TARDIS. That' S. Stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. It can take you anywhere you want to go, and anytime. Quite a brilliant machine. My granddaughter named it. Good 'ol Susan. Good 'ol TARDIS. Thats how it all began you know, my granddaughter and I stealing this TARDIS and setting out on an adventure…."
Alice glanced at John. He couldn't be serious. He was referring to this thing as if it were alive. He looked serious; he couldn't be serious. What did he take her for, an idiot? He couldn't have a granddaughter- he looked her age! Fifteen! But what had he said back in the classroom? Something about being over a thousand years old? Her head began to throb. What was going on, exactly? John finally looked away from his "TARDIS" and met her gaze.
"Alice," he said. "Would you like to come away with me? In my TARDIS? Travel time and space? We'll have a laugh, I can guarantee that. I could take you anywhere you want to go. Just say the word. I can give you all the answers you could ever dream of."
Alice wanted to say yes, but this was ridiculous. Her? Go with this (sexy) mysterious new boy? (Stop that, she chided herself. All that sexy business. It was quite distracting. Like his eyes, very se-NO! Stop right there! Bad!) In his small box? Maybe she should think this through. What about school? Her parents? Her friends? Her-
"Yes." She was surprised and a little bit alarmed to hear her voice suddenly answer. But the feeling that was winning over all of the alarm bells in her head was curiosity. This new boy, this John Smith, this Doctor, was fascinating. He was offering her what no other person in existence could; and she was damned if she wasn't going to accept this offer.
She was overjoyed (and her heart skipped a few beats) when his face split into a truly happy smile. For the first time since she saw him, his eyes that were once alien to his face now looked like they actually belonged with that smile.
"Brilliant. Yes. Excellent. All of time and space, where do you want to start?"
She felt herself smile. "Somewhere fascinating."
He gave a loud chuckle, snapped his fingers, and the doors of his TARDIS flew open. "Did I forget to mention that it's bigger on the inside?"
She felt her smile grow even wider. Oh yes, this was going to be one hell of a trip.
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