13 Novella 1

Left

You stumble and trip, a chain of explosions are occurring underfoot right where the factory floor is.

You gulp and turn, mind ready to fly down those stairs and get Abi out of here. You meet The Doctor's horrified expression and watch as she scans the screens and floor with the yellow bleeping device.

"No no no they can't!" She says in a panicked voice. "Stupid Doctor they detected you, they're all useless now- should've seen this coming..." she mutters in a low voice, deep frown lines appearing between her eyes.

It is then that you turn to take off and leave The Doctor to sort whatever this is out, but as you whip round you feel a strong arm seize your wrist and you yelp in surprise. You spin and see The Doctor gripping you strongly with a pained expression.

"Let me go Abi's down there! She'll be terrified- let go!" You scream at the blonde woman.

Her face is riddled with sorrow.

"I'm sorry (Y/n) we need to get out of here"

As she says it she starts to drag you to the door and away from the stairs leading to the factory floor, the very ground shaking, dust rising and clouding your vision,

"No please Abi! ABI!" You shriek, trying to fight off the impossibly strong woman but she adjusts her grip and breaks into a run, you unable to turn.

"Please (Y/n) we have to go now, I'll save her, I promise, just come with me"

An explosion from the right wall almost sends you to the ground, but The Doctor pulls you upright with hurried reassurances and you commence, tears flowing freely down your face at the thought of your sister floors beneath you, terrified and in pain.

You burst through a set of double doors onto a metal balcony, and The Doctor begins to scale her way down a ladder, strong and sure.

You follow, landing roughly at the bottom. All your strength seems to have left your body and as The Doctor drags you further from the building you can feel the entire structure shaking. You begin to hyperventilate; breathing fresh air but unable to take any in.

Abi is in there. Your sister, the only family you had left that you truly loved, whom you always swore to protect at  all costs, from anyone and anything that tried to hurt her. You couldn't lose her now, not after losing-

A final deafening boom sends you and The Doctor sprawling to the floor as rolls of heat emanate toward you, but you keep the building in your eye-line. Or what's left, for you can now see the entire structure folding in on itself, condemning  everyone, including your sister, to a dark and burning grave.

You stare helplessly at the burning mound of metal and concrete, debris still flying in your direction as aftermath, but you don't react. You are freezing and they are burning. You check the vague memory of when you were in there.

Over 700 people.

You aren't really aware of The Doctor, breathing heavily and still gripping your arm but the pressure feels nice. You feel that if she were to let go, you may float up and never come back.

You shift from kneeling to standing, unsteady on your feet, taking a tentative step towards the building.

The Doctor still holds your arm and seems to sense you can no longer bear your own weight as you lean backwards into her.

"We-" your throat is closed up and raw from the smoke "we have to go back in there, Abi is still there" you look round at the blonde who doesn't even shake her head. Her expression says it all.

"She hates the dark" you whisper before collapsing backwards into The Doctor who lowers you gently to the ground and holds you in her strong arms. Yaz appears from behind you both and you feel The Doctor relax slightly.

"Call Jack and have him sort it out, he knows what to do, he must destroy all conversion chambers and shut down their communication lines..." she continues to Yaz who is speaking into a cheap flip phone, but never loosens her hold on you.

The smoking remnants cloud your vision, and you watch the shapes as they form in the smoke and flame.

Soon you hear sirens wailing in the distance, and The Doctor pulls you gently to your feet where you sway unsteadily.

"(Y/n) I'm sorry but we can't be here, we have to go" you stare blankly, not processing the words properly.

"I can't leave her" you say, staring at The Doctor as though she were mad.

"(Y/n) I'm so sorry we couldn't save her. I... I couldn't save her" she whispers, hands on your shoulders. You shake your head, flinching at the restraining touch. She lets go and her arms fall to the side, staring hopelessly at the floor.

"It's ok Doctor, really you tried to save them all" Yaz says from somewhere on your left. "But you're right, we need to go, now. We can't just leave her" she adds on to The Doctor who looks at you helplessly.

You look up and see actual tanks rolling in, as well as the police, fire brigade and cars with blacked out windows.

"Doctor!?" Someone calls, and The Doctor snaps her head up in alarm. She turns, Seizing your arm and pulling you at a run away from the building, which is probably a good thing for if you had to stare at it for one more second you may just lose it completely and go in after Abi yourself.

She drags you round the back of the building, halting outside what you register as a blue box with yellow windows and a sign above saying "police public call box". The Doctor frantically unlocks the door, which swings inwards with a creak, Yaz following suit.

"Hey!" Someone calls at you from behind, and with that, you jump into the impossibly small box largely against your better judgement.