Burning Stars {A Doctor Who Fan Fiction} [REWRITE IN PROGRESS!]

Chapter 8

 

I take the key gently, rolling and flipping it around in my palm. I smile and place it into my pocket.

 

I pull open the doors, examining our surroundings. The TARDIS had landed herself in between two buildings, far enough back in the alley that nobody would be able to point out the police box in the darkness. Am almost-full moon hung in the sky, lightly illuminating the soaked ground.

 

“Hm, I didn’t expect rain,” the Doctor muttered as we stepped outside. He shrugged, holding out an arm for me to take. With the other hand, he pulled out the blank piece of paper, inspecting it.

 

“What’re you looking for?” I asked, looking at the paper myself.

 

“An address,” he replied. “But I think it’s just right next door.”

 

“How can you get an address off of blank paper?”

 

The Doctor stopped, moving so he was standing in front of me. He held out the paper, suspending it by the leather encasement with his thumb and forefinger. "What's it say now?"

 

"Nothing..." I replied, making him frown.

 

"It's supposed to tell you that I'm an architect from Maine here on business...physic paper, tells you what I want you to see, or what someone wants me to see...it's probably nothing," he brushed it off, putting the physic paper back into his pocket. "Now, come on, we've got a party to get to."

 

Dragging me along, he pulled me towards the building that was to the left of the TARDIS and up the steps in front. Lights blared from inside, as well as muffled music. Without hesitation, he pushed the door open, letting a few notes of music drift into the street, pulling both him and myself inside before I could recognize an actual melody.

 

Immediately, a man with slicked-back brown hair and a thin mustache of the same color approached us, his shoes catching the light as they tapped across the hardwood floors. He adjusted the tie that was tucked into his waistcoat before shaking hands with the Doctor.

 

“John Smith, took you long enough,” the man joked, speaking through a thick accent.

 

“Oh, come on, Lawrence, I bet you’ve only just sent the message a few minutes ago! Cut me a break from saving all the time, I’ve been busy!” the Doctor replied in a teasing tone. He caught Lawrence's eye, looking past himself and at me. "Oh, this's Annabelle, my daughter."

 

Lawrence's eyes widened slightly, a sly smirk quickly overtaking his features. "Just how busy have you been, Doc?" He laughed loudly, the sound echoing off the walls of the small corridor as the Doctor's cheeks reddened. "If it’s all the same, Ms. Smith,” Lawrence added, turning to me and shaking my hand. “My please to meet you.”

 

Lawrence turned around quickly, facing the length of the corridor. “Now, come this way, I believe they’ll grow suspicious if I’m gone for so long.”

 

“John Smith?” I muttered to the Doctor as we followed Lawrence.

 

“A human alias I made up,” he replied. “I had to hide out once, a long time ago. As a human. Actually, not that far off from here--1913.”

 

“Can’t get more human than John Smith,” I said. The comment went unnoticed, as we had entered into a larger room. Multiple record players sat around the perimeter of the room, each one blaring a different tune. Lights cast shadows of the couples that danced or just stood talking together around the room. A few children ran around, hiding under tables and behind their mothers and fathers, trying to avoid behind caught by their friends.

 

“So, what seems to be the trouble, Lawrence? I’m almost positive you didn’t just call me here for a few rounds of dancing… although I wouldn’t mind that…” the Doctor said, leading Lawrence towards a semi-secluded corner of the room.

 

Lawrence looked around, as if checking that no one was listening in on the conversation. “Alright, I’m just gonna get right to the point here. So, lately we’ve been doing some construction on the undergrounds, making ‘em larger and longer and all that. But, all my men keep on goin’ missing! And ‘m not just talking leaving town after picking a few bones, but just vanishing, right outta thin air!” By the end of the explanation, Lawrence’s eyes have widened again.

 

“Just… vanishing? Like, poof, you’re gone?” I ask, already itching to get to the bottom of the situation.

 

“Hm. I’ve got a few ideas…” the Doctor muttered. “We’ve got to go and check it out. Now.”

 

“Now? But it’s the middle of the night! Can’t it wait ‘til morning?” Lawrence protested.

 

“And risk more men going missing? That’s not how things work with me, Lawrence; waiting isn’t an option. Now, and that’s final. Get a few men together for a search party. I’ll meet you back here in twenty minutes while I go get what… equipment… I’ll need. Come along, Pond,” the Doctor said, grabbing my hand and pulling me behind him.

 

“So I’m just ‘Pond’ now?” I scoffed at his back, hurrying to match his pace as we returned outside and back to the TARDIS.

 

“No, of course not, Annabelle. It’s just a saying. Now, help me find the torches…” he replied, unlocking the TARDIS door and entering it. Inside, he ran around the console, bent over so he could look under it as he circled it.

 

The TARDIS let out a ding! that went unnoticed by the Doctor; I stepped up to the console myself, grinning at the set of electric torches that had suddenly appeared on top of the console, near the disabled crow.

 

I picked two out of the pile. “Do you mean these torches, Dad?” Instantly, the Doctor’s head popped up from the other end of the console, mirroring the grin on my face.

 

“Good, good… what else, what else? Oh, we need batteries, matches, and a first aid kit,” he said, already beginning to search around the console. “Batteries incase the torches are drained, matches incase the batteries are drained, and medical supplies incase we find someone.”

 

“What makes you so sure that they’d be hurt?” I asked, collecting the rest of the torches.

“Because… just because. You shouldn’t have to know about what we might find just yet…”