The floor underneath Baines exploded.
Baines fell and Mr Clarke rushed forwards to grab him. Instantly, the room was filled with screams of panic and confusion. Martha, luckily, used the distraction as an opportunity to grab the blaster from Jenny and she turned the weapon on her.
A few people had started to run from the building already but Hally stepped into view. "Everyone out!" She cried. Martha echoed her command, ushering Joan and Mr Smith behind her, towards the exit.
"You!" Baines screamed. Hally smiled slyly noticing the deep gash now running along the side of his face.
Martha grabbed hold of Hally's hand and slowly backed them out of the room, running to catch up with Mr Smith and Joan.
For some reason, they were both just standing outside the village hall, when it was plain to see that the danger was definitely going to follow them.
Martha pushed Mr Smith, forcing him to move. "Don't just stand there, move! God, you're rubbish as a human. Come on!"
They ran to the only place they could, back to the school.
"What was that back there?" Mr Smith cried out as he ran.
"What?!" Martha seemed to have lost all patience with The Doctor's human form.
"Where did it come from? Was it a bomb?!" John looked at Martha fearfully.
Hally laughed and Martha sent him a knowing look. "No… that was your daughter."
They slowed as they turned the corner into the courtyard. "But that's barbaric!" He turned to look at Hally, his face a picture of concern and confusion.
She shrugged, trying to also cast off the heavy feeling that had curled around her chest at his words. "We needed a distraction. You're welcome."
Martha pushed open the front door to the school and the four of them hurried inside. As soon as he'd checked the door was locked, Mr Smith grabbed the school bell and started ringing it as hard as he could.
"What are you doing?" Martha asked him a panicked look on her face. She was probably worried that he'd lost his mind.
"Maybe one man can't fight them, but this school teaches us to stand together. Take arms! Take arms!" Mr Smith shouted. The school was certainly awake now, there were stomping footsteps as boys started to flood down into the foyer.
Hally looked at Martha in utter bemusement. "So, I break a floor and it's 'barbaric', but he can send these 11-year-old boys off to fight aliens that we just witnessed murder grown men and it's fine?"
Martha let out a scream, turning back to Mr Smith. "You can't do this, Doctor. Mister Smith!"
Hally watched Mr Smith for a moment. She considered if they might perhaps get through this ordeal faster if he was unconscious. But no, that would definitely make him easier to catch. Hally rolled her eyes and grabbed Martha's hand.
"This is wasting time. I'm going to find the watch."
Martha nodded. "Go! I'll be right behind you!" With that the young human continued to try and reason with Mr Smith, Hally shook her head abandoning them to their fight.
Hally squeezed herself out of the room and headed back upstairs. There was no point checking Mr Smith's office, between herself and Martha she was sure they'd searched every inch. Perhaps he'd taken it to his classroom, or it'd somehow ended up in laundry or reception? Hally broke into a jog, crashing into Mr Smith's classroom.
She started at his desk, pulling out the drawers and feeling around for anything that might feel like the fob watch. Nothing.
She exhaled her frustrations, leaving the desk in a mess.
"Think, think, think…"
Outside the window, the battering sound of gunfire that had accompanied her frantic searching paused. Hally's breath felt heavy in her chest, panic squeezing at her insides. Everything depended on them finding the watch.
"What would The Doctor do?" Her voice was quiet, she ran her hands through her hair. "He'd probably try and bluff his way out of it. Give them a speech about giving them 'one chance to leave'."
Hally frantically started going through the bookcase in Mr Smith's classroom, although deep down she knew it was pointless. The fob watch wasn't here.
She leant back against Mr Smith's desk, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. Her hearts were beating wildly. She gently let her consciousness trickle out of her and through the classroom, tiptoeing outwards. She could feel the humans and the icy droplets of their fear out in the courtyard, the insatiable vacuum of hunger of the creatures they were fighting against. Her mind hummed with effort as she felt her way through the outside world until finally, there was a glimmer of something familiar. Her eyes blew open as she inhaled sharply.
The wood was hard underneath her fingers as she gripped the edge of the desk, grounding herself as her mind adjusted to being back inside her body. Then, she pushed forwards and broke into a run. The door slammed loudly against the brickwork as she barrelled through it and headed out into the night. Cold air pricked at her skin but Hally kept running, dodging between the trees and into the thick darkness of the forest. The sharp cracks of twigs breaking underfoot fell in tandem with her heavy breathing. Streaks of silvery light illuminated the forest floor, but not enough to be able to see by. Hally was guided only by the faint signal from the watch. It would flicker in and out of existence, always moving forward. Moving away from her. But she was moving faster. She could feel it, slowly, she was catching up to whoever had the watch. An elaborate anonymous game of chase, in the dark.
Never again would she not appreciate how much The Doctor had a handle on all the impossible situations they landed themselves in. Despite it never having been obvious before, the last month without him had been an experience she never wanted to have again. Even now, with the watch within her grasp, Hally couldn't shake the panic that was permanently caught in her throat. The feeling that something was going to go wrong. She wouldn't find the watch, or the creatures would get to The Doctor first, or maybe John Smith would refuse to change back. She wasn't sure how the Chameleon Arch worked, would she and Martha be able to force it open for him?
Her foot caught underneath an unearthed root and she stumbled forward, managing to catch herself against a tree. The bark cut into the palms of her hands, but as she straightened up and rubbed her hands together, she felt the small cuts disappear.
"It's you…" A small but certain voice called over to her.
She smiled as she laid her eyes on the young blonde boy in front of her. It made sense now. The watch had chosen him. He'd been keeping it safe.
"Tim." She let out a heavy breath. He was watching her with a new curiosity, not the usual shy smile he greeted her with when taking a book from the library. His bright blue eyes were wide with wonder but not without suspicion.
He held out his hand, it was barely visible in the thick darkness that surrounded them. "This is what you're after isn't it?"
Hally nodded. A gentle breeze flustered the leaves above them, moonlight falling over the two of them and the watch. "Yes…" She smiled hopefully.
"It's shown me so much. You, Martha and The Doctor." Tim was watching for her reaction as if he wasn't quite sure that she was real.
Hally took a slow step forward. "He needs it back. The Doctor. There are creatures, they're using the body of those people from the village. They're after him and I need to place him back into his body. To save everyone." Hally tried her best to explain for the human.
Tim nodded. "I know. It told me to trust you and to take you to him when the time was right."
Hally considered him, realising that the boy had a semblance of a plan. The panic lessened. She wasn't completely alone.
Tim sent her a small smile, before motioning her towards him. "This way."
Hally was sure that she would be freezing by now if not for their brisk pace as she followed the schoolboy through the forest. They walked mainly in silence, only a few moments of hushed back and forth as Tim asked her questions about things he'd seen from the watch.
Not that she could answer all of his questions, there was seemingly so much of The Doctor's life that she wasn't aware of.
"I'm sorry you lost Rose." Tim whispered, the trees were thinning now indicating that they were reaching an edge to the forest.
Hally looked down at him, surprise on her face.
"I can feel his grief sometimes. For many things, but also for Rose and for… for your loss of Rose." Tim seemed to struggle to put into words the feelings he'd absorbed from the watch.
"Oh…" Hally nodded. She wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but it evidently meant something to the young boy because he was looking at her with such a heartbroken expression. "We both miss her…" She tried, unsure how to respond.
He looked away and turned his attention up ahead. "We're here."
They'd finally arrived, a lonely cottage standing eerily on the edge of the trees. There was a flicker of light from inside. Tim knocked assuredly on the front door.
A wide grin pulled at Hally's face as Martha answered the door.
Tim stepped forward and presented the watch to her. "I brought you this."
Upon stepping into the cottage, it became clear to Hally that getting the watch back had been the easier part of the plan. John Smith was distraught, he refused to even touch the watch even as Martha begged him.
But the man in front of them was nothing like The Doctor. He wasn't blindly fearless or courageous to the point of stupidity. He didn't have the luxury of probably always being the smartest person in the room. He was just a human. A human who was facing losing everything he thought he knew for a stranger.
Hally was torn, her hearts were hurting for him. But, on the other hand. This man, this human was nothing in comparison to The Doctor. His fleeting life was a bump of inconvenience on the vast map of her father. These humans. They were so small.
"Dad." She stepped forward and the humans fell quiet.
John Smith looked at her, his eyes were wide with fear.
She took his hands in hers, she could feel him resist her slightly. It felt wrong, to take his life away, it really did but what other choice did they have?
"I need you to come back. I need my Dad." She stared into his eyes. He let out a disgruntled whimper.
"Am I not your father too? These memories I have, are they nothing? I remember raising you. I remember tucking you into bed at night, teaching you to ride a bike. How am I any less your father?" His voice broke with emotion as he squeezed her hands tightly. Begging her.
Hally shook her head slowly, her chest aching with longing. "Those memories sound wonderful. But I'm sorry. None of that ever happened." She gave him a small sad smile. "As much as I would have loved to have been your daughter, I'm not. But I need my father back, without him I'm probably not going to get out of here…"
His face broke as he sobbed painfully. Joan rushed forward and pulled him into her arms.
The sky outside lit up and the cottage shook and rattled. Martha peeked out of the window. "What the hell?!"
Outside the window, fire was falling from the sky. Setting the nearby village ablaze.
"They're destroying the village." Joan spoke sadly.
John Smith straightened up, swallowing his fear. "The watch." He looked up at Martha and Hally.
Joan tried to pull him back to her. "John, don't."
"Can you hear it?" Tim stepped forward.
"I think he's asleep. Waiting to awaken." John frowned, looking down at the pocket watch.
"Why did he speak to me?"
John took the watch, cradling it in his hands. "Oh, low-level telepathic field. You were born with it. Just an extra synaptic engram causing… Is that how he talks?" John Smith looked around the room fearfully.
"That's him. All you have to do is open it and he's back." Martha's eyebrows pulled together.
"You knew this… all along and yet you watched while Nurse Redfern and I…" He broke off, looking between his daughter and his human companion.
"I'm sorry." Hally winced.
"We didn't know how to stop you. He gave me a list of things to watch out, for but that wasn't included." Martha tried to explain.
"Falling in love? That didn't even occur to him?" John pushed back.
"No." Martha looked at the floor.
Hally stayed quiet. The truth was more complicated than the human could absorb in the short time they had.
"Then what sort of man is that? And now you expect me to die?" His voice wavered.
Martha was losing patience quickly, desperation lacing her words. "It was always going to end, though! The Doctor said the Family's got a limited lifespan, and that's why they need to consume a Time Lord. Otherwise, three months and they die. Like mayflies, he said."
"So your job was to execute me." He countered, looking at them both with disgust.
Martha opened her mouth, trying to reason with him. "People are dying out there. They need him and I need him. Because I lo-…"
"Yes." Hally cut her off. John's eyes swivelled over to her, wide with shock. Martha had turned too, looking at Hally in confusion.
"Cut the flowery waffle, Martha. He deserves to see this as what it really is." She looked at the human, tilting her chin up slightly. "You have to die. So everyone else can live."
The cottage shook again, more violently than before. "It's getting closer." Tim peaked out of the window, his pale face illuminated by the chaos outside.
John stared down at the watch, his thoughts written all over his face. "I should have thought of it before. I can give them this. Just the watch. Then they can leave and I can stay as I am." He nodded, trying to reassure himself of his plan.
Martha let out a strangled cry of anguish. "You can't do that!"
"You won't do that." Hally shook her head slowly.
His eyes filled with tears, looking at his daughter with such desperation. Pleading with her. "If they get what they want, then… then…"
Joan stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Then it all ends in destruction. I never read to the end, but those creatures would live forever to breed and conquer, for war across the stars for every child." She sighed and took a moment to steady herself before turning to the other three in the room. "Would you leave us alone, please?"
Hally swallowed, looking between the humans. She nodded and that seemed to put Martha at ease as both she and Tim turned to leave the cottage.
Hally reached the door and paused, turning back to look at them both. She considered them, the nurse with the strong moral compass and the daydreaming school teacher, two simple humans who had done nothing more than fall in love.
"I'm sorry." It was the least she could do, looking them both in the eye as she spoke. Then she turned and closed the door behind her.
Hally sat herself down next to Martha and Tim, Martha had wrapped an arm around the younger boy. Comforting him as they listened to the advancing bombardment of the Family. Hally pulled her knees into her chest, resting her head against her legs. She hadn't considered this part of The Doctor's plan and she was starting to think that perhaps The Doctor hadn't either. It left her feeling heavy and uneasy in her own skin, something not quite right.
But John Smith wasn't real.
She reasoned with herself that although he thought he was real, although he had his own implanted memories he was just an echo of a person, made from the TARDIS.
But Joan was real. Her loss was going to be real.
Hally let out a soft sigh. She knew that if it came down to it the feelings the humans had for each other wouldn't matter. The Doctor would return whether she had to force him to or not. But the niggling guilt had infected her thoughts. The feeling that they had done something wrong. Something cruel.
The door to the cottage creaked as it opened and Hally practically jumped to her feet. She could tell by the way his face mirrored the feelings of guilt and self-loathing that still throbbed in her chest, that he'd opened the watch.
Before anyone uttered a word, Hally flung herself at him and wrapped him up in a tight hug. She felt his breath against her shoulder as he let out a heavy sigh. He pulled back from her gently and addressed the humans behind her. "Martha, Hally, take Timothy back to the school. I'm going to end this. Then I'll meet you back at the TARDIS."
His voice was quiet, practically stoic. Martha's bright smile faded slightly and she nodded in silent understanding. Tim was staring at The Doctor, perhaps her thought he would look different or perhaps he could see the small differences that made it so obvious that John Smith was gone.
Hally took a step back and steered Tim by the shoulder back towards the school, Martha following close behind. She wasn't sure what it was about the way he'd asked that had caused Hally to do as he wanted. But she knew that this was something that he needed to do alone, and she trusted him to be able to do it. Her father was a lot more dangerous than she'd previously given him credit for.
Martha and Hally stayed with Tim at the school while The Doctor 'dealt' with the Family, heading back to the TARDIS to wait for him as he went to say goodbye to Joan. Martha had rushed out of the console room upon seeing the figure of The Doctor trudging up the hill towards where the TARDIS was now parked. Hally chuckled to herself and followed her out, leaning against the doorway of the ship. Rain was already seeping into the human's clothes as she waited for The Doctor to reach the top of the hill. Martha turned to Hally, a sheepish expression on her face. "Would you mind… can I speak with him? Alone…"
Hally raised her eyebrows and gave Martha coy smile. She silently retreated back into the console room, closing the door behind her to give them some privacy. Sitting herself down on the squidgy yellow chair, she crossed her legs underneath her and leaned back. Her hand went absentmindedly to her neck, pulling at the chain that was hidden underneath her jumper. They'd managed to quickly change back into 21st Century clothing while The Doctor had gone back to the cottage to speak with Joan. She pulled the ring out and twirled it gently around the chain, the familiar grooves of the silvery vines comforting against the tips of her fingers.
She had been wondering since she and Martha had left Tim at the school, if the TARDIS had chosen this place at random, or if things would have gone differently if they'd implanted themselves somewhere else. A different time or place. Was there any scenario where they'd successfully outrun the Family without causing the death of others? Was the tragedy of this village their fault?
The squirming discomfort in her abdomen answered her question for her.
The TARDIS door opened and Hally dropped the ring back inside her jumper, shooting the incoming pair a smile. The Doctor was talking as he shut the door behind him. "…Yep, upon reflection 1913 England was less than ideal."
"Less than ideal?" Hally quipped. "You almost left Martha homeless and tried to marry me off to a 17-year-old." She raised an eyebrow at him, smirking.
The Doctor spluttered an apology and Martha grinned at his discomfort.
"I'd say you owe us both, big time." Hally grinned, tapping the TARDIS console to make her point.
Martha came to stand next to Hally, crossing her arms over her chest in playful contemplation. "Definitely, somewhere nice and relaxing."
Hally nodded swiftly in agreement.
The Doctor looked between the two women sheepishly. "Yes. I know just the place. You'll be waited on hand and foot, I promise." He shuffled over to the console and started tapping away at the monitor.
Martha chuckled softly. "About time."
Hally grinned at her, going over to where The Doctor was typing in the coordinates. Martha watched them, a sly smile on her face.
"What about Time Lords then?" Hally and The Doctor looked over at her, the latter looking confused. Martha continued. "Would Hally have been married off to some unknown suitor if you were still there?"
Hally laughed, shooting The Doctor a knowing look. "Probably. Time Lords are terrible for 'tradition'."
The Doctor's face reluctantly pulled into a smile. "Don't worry. I won't be marrying you off anytime soon."
Hally chuckled at him, her wedding ring burning against her chest.
Definitely March 2008.
Hally was lying on her back staring at the ceiling of her room. A circular shadow marked the white, cast from the bedside table lamp that was providing the only light in the room.
She hadn't seen Saxon or Lucy for a grand total of 10 days.
For 10 days she had wandered around her cushy new prison, followed around by Armitage like some kind of heavy-footed ghost. By the third day, she'd officially explored every unlocked room in the house. Heavily supervised of course. And she hadn't seen anyone but Armitage and two members of staff for the entire time. The staff were seemingly charged with bringing her meals three times a day, wherever she was. At 8am, 1pm and 7pm on the dot. Every day.
On day five, Hally had tried to play a game of hide and seek with the unwilling staff. Timing how long she could hide before they found her to give her her preordained plate of food.
So far her best time was 4 minutes past the hour. They most likely had cameras tracking her every move. Plus Armitage was hard to miss.
She was bored.
So incredibly bored.
Plus her head was still pounding, which had really put her in a bad mood. She wasn't sleeping all that well either. Most likely due to the headache that never let up. In slightly better news, her stab wound seemed to be healing fairly nicely. All the lying around and moping was evidently doing her injury wonders. She'd removed her dressings the day before. Staring at the stitched-up gash in her side for a good while before moving on. Seeing her skin, now marred by a dark red scar was a strange experience. It didn't look like her body anymore. The body she was used to. The one she used to know. It was different now. She wasn't sure how she felt about it.
Hally looked over to the alarmed window, darkness had already descended outside. She could try to escape? Why hadn't she tried to escape?
Her head throbbed and she groaned.
The front door was definitely locked. She had tried that on day two. But she could try and smash the window, even if she didn't escape it would at least give her something to do.
She let out a weak chuckle at her own ridiculous musings.
Her doorknob rattled as the door was opened, she propped herself up on her elbows to see Saxon enter her room. He was wearing a white shirt and black suit trousers, the top button of the shirt undone, like he'd just come back from the office and made himself more comfortable.
He held his hands together, shooting her a patronising smile. "How are we this evening?"
Hally glared back at him, prickling with irritation. "Fine. What do you want?"
He smirked, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "Someone's in a bad mood."
She rolled her eyes. She was hardly going to admit to him that the main reason for her sour mood was his prolonged absence.
He stepped further into her room and sat calmly on the end of her bed. Instantly making himself comfortable. "Don't you want to talk about it?" He asked, cocking his head to one side a smirk on his lips.
"Oooh, are we pretending to be my psychiatrist again?" She sent him a sarcastic smile.
His smirk fell from his face. "Who said I was pretending?"
Hally frowned, not understanding his sudden U-turn. She sighed, already exhausted by his strange mind games. "I'm just bored and my head fucking hurts and someone bitch stabbed me." Hally snapped bluntly.
He looked pleasantly surprised by her outburst but his face swiftly turned back into one of smug satisfaction. He tutted playfully. "Now, now. That's hardly language for a Lady." He tilted his head forward, eyes darkening.
He chuckled when she didn't respond, turning and motioning towards the door. Armitage entered and handed Saxon a metal black box, about the size of a briefcase.
"Speaking of being stabbed…" Saxon opened the box, shifted up the bed and placed it on her bedside table. "I need to take your stitches out." His eyes twinkled.
For a moment, Hally considered picking a fight. But she found that she just couldn't be bothered. Instead, she flopped back down on the bed, lying flat. "Fine. Whatever."
She stared at the ceiling as she heard him chuckle and felt the bed dip as he moved to sit right next to her hip, twisting to face her. There was a moment of silence and Hally felt his eyes burning into her skin. She frowned and looked at him.
"What?" She hissed.
He raised an eyebrow, looking down at her abdomen. "I need to be able to get to the wound."
She almost laughed. "Oh, we're 'asking' now." Grumbling, Hally gently lifted up the T-shirt she was wearing, resting it just underneath her bra. The cold air bristled against her skin.
He still didn't move.
She frowned, looking at him again, not bothering to hide the attitude in her voice. "Seriously, what?"
He was just staring at her abdomen, more specifically at her scar, immobile. A strange look passed over his face as he brushed her off. "Nothing."
Hally snorted, shaking her head. "I mean, I was definitely naked when I got stabbed, so you can stop pretending to be startled by the existence of my body. If you're worried your wife will mind or something you can always get Mr Moody over there to do it." She motioned her hand over towards the bedroom door, where Armitage's back was still visible.
Saxon laughed then. A real, genuine laugh. It seemed to snap him out of whatever deep thought he'd previously been in.
"Oh, trust me. My wife is going to be absolutely furious with me…" His voice was low, dangerous and Hally felt her insides flip, a deep blush creeping up her neck to her face.
She kept her eyes on his face, frowning. "Get on with it then." She mumbled, slightly concerned at how breathless she was.
He gave her a small smile, leaning over and grabbing a small pair of scissors and tweezers from the box. She felt him rest his arm across her stomach to leverage himself as he began to slowly cut and pull the stitches from her body.
He worked silently for a few minutes, the only sound in the room being Hally's breathing as she watched him.
He tugged on a stitch and Hally let out a soft whine. His eyes flicked up to hers.
She blushed. "Hurts…" She whispered, feeling rather small and pathetic under his intense gaze. He looked back at her marred skin and tugged again at the stubborn stitch.
Hally hissed and grabbed his arm, halting him. He looked back up at her again silently reprimanding her.
She squirmed slightly, but her grip on his arm relaxed allowing him to continue. He started again and they went back to silence for a few minutes. Hally's hand remained on his arm as he worked. He either didn't notice or didn't mind because he never made to move her hand away.
"There's something I need to tell you." His voice was quiet, his focus still on her abdomen.
Hally hummed, signalling for him to continue.
"We're going to be moving the day after tomorrow. I'm getting a promotion." He smiled to himself.
Hally raised her eyebrows. "Oh? Congratulations, I guess? Where are we moving?"
"10 Downing Street." He pulled at a stitch and Hally hissed in pain, squeezing his arm hard.
He shot her a small knowing smile.
"Ow…" She frowned at him.
"Almost there." He said softly as if talking to a child.
She just grunted in response. Relaxing the hand on his arm again.
He continued, a little more gently.
"I think… I've been there before…?" Hally was trying to think back. It sounded familiar.
"Hmm?" He hummed at her.
"Downing Street…"
"Oh?" He pushed playfully.
"Did you say 10?" Hally was sure she'd been on Downing Street when the Slitheen had attacked, but she couldn't remember exactly what number it had been.
"I did." He mumbled.
Hally frowned at herself, wishing she had paid more attention.
He looked up at her face and one side of his mouth twitched. "10 Downing Street is where the British Prime Minister lives…" He explained slowly.
Hally's face scrunched into a look of disbelief. "Is this you telling me that your promotion… is you becoming Prime Minister?"
He laughed lowly in response.
"Right." She stared at the ceiling, thoughts whirling around in her mind.
He gently rubbed something cool and wet over her wound. He sat up, Hally's hand falling away from his arm. "All done."
"So… you're somehow an alien specialist, running for Government and babysitting me all at once?" Hally was still looking at the ceiling.
She felt his weight shift and her T-shirt was gently placed back, covering her stomach. She sat herself up, looking at him. Their shoulders were almost touching now, as he continued to sit next to her on the edge of her bed.
He smiled, his voice quiet. "Indeed." His eyes didn't leave hers.
Her breath caught in her throat and she suddenly had an overwhelming urge to cry. She swallowed the feeling down. "Well… that obviously makes no sense at all." She muttered. "But the thing that probably should be worrying me most is my complete lack of concern about any of it." She sent him a weak smile.
He nodded slowly, his eyes burned with things unsaid. "Of course."
"I…" Hally narrowed her eyes. It was as if her body wanted to say something but her mind was standing in the way. She brought up her hands to her face, letting out a cry of frustration. "I can't…" Hally choked on the unshed tears that were forcing their way to the surface.
Saxon shifted towards her, taking her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "I know. Stop trying so hard to fight it. You'll only make it worse."
Hally blinked, a tear falling down her cheek. "I'm so lost."
He leant forward and pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. "You're not lost. You're exactly where you're supposed to be."
Hally let out a sob. "Make it stop… can't you make it go away?"
He pulled back, opening his eyes. "Not yet." He dropped his hands from her face. Hally missed the contact instantly. She wiped her face and did as he'd suggested. Letting her feelings of confusion and worry drift off into the fog inside her mind. The pain in her head lessened slightly.
Saxon smiled, watching her face relax.
"Soon. I promise. Everything ends."
He shut the black box and retreated from the room, locking the door after himself.
