Travelling With the Doctor

2:7 Run!

Part Two: Where are the Children?

Chapter Seven: Run!

There was chatter and crying from the fifty or so children in the common room. My dad was flitting around, scanning things and trying to find where the message had come from. The voice had stopped about five minutes ago. I stood with Cauden, Cali, Kourtland, and Ronnie in a huddle, keeping quiet. Cauden kept his arms around me as much as he could. I held Cali's hand, she held Kourtland's hand, and Ronnie stood on my other side next to Kourtland, completing the circle.

"What do you think is going on?" Cali whispered, signalling the others to stay quiet so we didn't scare the kids that were scattered around in huddles.

I shook my head and squeezed her hand. "I don't know. Maybe the aliens that stole the kids from Earth are here, on this planet, in this building." I sank into Cauden as much as I could, trying to hide from everything that was going on. I was beyond scared. The first thing I noticed when we stepped into the common room was that the TARDIS was gone. That was never a good thing.

"Ah, right. We're going to find the TARDIS and save the children." My dad appeared between Ronnie and me, startling all of us. He looked around at all of us, rubbing his hands together and looking much too excited.

"Dad! Wha- they'll kill us!" My hearts were pounding hard against my ribs. I might have been scared, but I loved this. The adrenaline rush was one of a kind.

"Yes well. They'll kill everyone that they don't need, I'd wager." Dad's eyes sparkled, and he set a hand on Ronnie's shoulder and one on Cauden's. "Ready? Well slip out the door here, and start from there!" He grinned and spun around.

Glancing around, my friends followed after him without a word. Cauden felt a hold of me as we slipped out the door and started down the hallway. All the ceilings were high here, and the windows stretched from floor to ceiling. Each one held the same picture: the storm raging outside. I was studying the sky closely, almost catching something strange, when we heard footsteps behind us.

"Stop! All residents must report to the common room or die!" I spun around, spotting a group of men at the end of the corridor on the right. They almost looked Time Lord. They stood tall, wore a uniform and carried weapons. Their faces were different, however. Covered in fur, with features similar to that of an Earth monkey. And they had tails twitching behind them. I took all this in in the split second before I turned and ran, pushing everyone ahead of me.

"Run!" I yelled, almost grinning. "Dad, what are they, do you know?" I had a little trouble keeping up, but I managed just barely with my short legs.

"I managed to do a little research," he lead us around a corner, "and I'd wager they are Daicions! From Kardian! They've been recently trying to harvest energy from living creatures!"

I gulped as we ran, keeping my eyes open for any opportunities for escaping. "There!" I yelled and pointed, and my dad glanced back at me, then at where I was pointing.

"Right! Come along then, humans!" He almost skipped through the door that was partially hidden in an alcove. It was another corridor, this one a little smaller than the main halls. This one led to the dormitories for special kids. Like, children who were bullied often or needed extra attention or extra protection. My friends all panted farther up the hallway as my dad paced back and forth for a minute.

I leaned out the doorway and cursed. "Run! They're coming!" We had been resting for half a minute, but they were headed straight for us!

I was running, yet again. Or rather, I was being dragged. Cauden had a tight grip on my hand, pulling me along. Just behind us were the Daicions, their monkey like faces twisted in anger.

"Keep up, Shortstuff!" Ronnie called back. He, Kourtland, and Calico ran ahead of us, with the Doctor leading the way.

"I'm... trying..." I pushed my legs harder, finally pulling up to run next to Cauden. Until I tripped and fell, loosing my grip on his hand.

"Adrian! No!" Cauden stopped and spun, just as the Daicions closed in on me.

"Cauden! Get out of here!" I practically screamed. He ran alright, but not in the direction I'd hoped. He ran right to me, punching out the nearest Daicions and pulling me up. "No! You need to get out of here! I can't run anymore, I turned my ankle!" I tried to push him away, but he just held on tighter.

"I'm not leaving you, Adrian! I told you, I'm here to protect you now!" He shook his head and pushed me down, punching another Daicion.

"Yes well, it'll be really hard for you to do that if you die, Cauden!" Tears pricked, and I let them fall.

He took a moment to look at me, eyes full of determination and something else I refused to acknowledge. "I won't die, Love."

I chewed on my lip, tears still falling. "Promise?"

He smiled softly and kissed me, quick but gentle. "Promise. I'm never leaving you again."

I smiled and took a deep breath. "Okay. But we need to figure out a way to the others." I looked around, trying to distinguish where we were. I recognized the area right away, and I deduced that my old bedroom was farther down the hall. I told Cauden so, and we started down the corridor.

We moved as fast as we could, which wasn't really that fast. Cauden was half carrying me, while I hopped along on one foot. "Stop! All residents must report in the common room or die!"

"Damn it!" Cauden glanced back and started moving faster. "There's a bunch of them!"

We managed to get a little farther before they were upon us, and we were being cuffed and dragged away.