The Orphan and Her Family

Chapter Eighteen

They're both laughing as they reach the warehouse. Jamie grabs Sophie under her arms, and picks her up and out of the trolley. She wrests the door open, and Jamie wheels the trolley in as well.

The Doctor smiles as they enter, clapping, "Ah, Jamie, Sophie, glad you made it back. Did you get everything I asked for?" Jamie shoves the trolley at him, and the Time Lord catches it with his foot. He surveys their acquisitions, and nods. Grabbing the food stuffs, he slides them to the huddled mass, and they start to sort through the foods.

"So, Doc," Sophie says, crossing her arms, "What exactly are we facing? From the way Jamie described it, the creature sounds like bigfoot. So, what is it?"

The Doctor shuffles a bit awkwardly, and then sighs, "Well, I think it may be a werewolf."

Sophie simply raises her eyebrows, "So, we need silver?" she asks, almost as a joke.

"Oh, it's not a conventional werewolf, like your folklore might suggest," he starts, "But an alien race."

"Okay, got it," she shrugs, not the least bit perturbed, "How do we stop it then? You wanted all of this stuff for a reason, how can Jamie and I help?"

The Doctor smiles, and clasps his hands together, "Well, you can start by handing me that piping."

***

The group works well into the evening on the device, until finally, the Doctor flips a switch, and it produces a bright light. Jamie shields his eyes, and marvels at the machine, "Is this going to stop the beastie?"

"And are we going to find out how the creature managed to get this time stone thing?"

The Doctor nods, while surveying the machine again, making sure everything is as he wants it.

"Well, now what?" Jamie asks.

The Doctor raises his eyebrows, and glances up at Jamie, "Hmm? Oh, it's time we set a trap for our visitor."

Sophie smiles, "So, which one of us is the bait?" she asks, pointing a thumb between herself and the Scotsman.

Jamie's eyebrows raise, "Hang on, if one of us is gonna be the bait, it'll be me. This is a man's job."

Sophie glances over at the Time Lord, to find him trying to hold in his laughter. She turns back to Jamie, and crosses her arms, "Hang on, a man's job? What sort of misogynistic ideals are those? I am just as capable as luring a werewolf here as you are. And anyway, which one of us was thrown through the time vortex?"

Jamie glances down, seeming a bit chagrined. He then glances back up, "Now just hang on. It wasn't my fault that I was thrown to your time. Anyway, I've met the beastie before, he'll be more likely to follow me."

"As you said, he's seen you before, I think this creature would be more interested in fresh blood."

The Doctor clears his throat, and both of his companions turn to look at him, "Jamie, Sophie, there's no need to argue. You can both be bait."

Sophie and Jamie turn and look at each other, "Now, hang on a minute," Jamie starts, "Who says I want to be bait?"

"Yeah," Sophie agrees, "How come we're always the bait? Maybe you should be the bait."

Jamie nods in agreement, crossing his arms. "Oh, Jamie, Sophie," the Doctor starts, "If I were to be the bait, then who could work this machine, hm?"

Both of his companions sigh, and glance at each other again, "Fine," Sophie mutters, "What's the plan?"

***

The Doctor lays out the bare bones of a plan that he has, and Sophie and Jamie head back out onto the streets of the city. "I hate him sometimes," she says, as they stroll through the streets, looking for the beast.

"Aye, he can be a handful," Jamie easily agrees.

"But it's fun."

"Aye."

They turn down another street at random, and suddenly the entire alley darkens. Both the Scotsman and the Englishwoman glance at each other, and Jamie reaches for her hand, and gives it a comforting squeeze.

She smirks over at him, "What, are you scared, kiltboy?"

He rolls his eyes, "Maybe a bit concerned for you. I'm ready for anything."

"Well, c'mon then," she smiles, and starts off down the dark and dank alley.

The duo reach the end of the street, and turn down the next alley, to find a beast, a huge furry creature, digging through the dumpster.

"Get ready to run," Sophie whispers to the Scotsman, under her breath.

He nods, and grips her hand tighter. "Hey, ye beastie!" Jamie shouts.

The creature freezes, and lifts its massive head. The creature is massive, nearly seven feet tall. Its fur is a deep brown, and its eyes a bright yellow. Its body is more so shaped like a lizard than a wolf, and yet, it moves as though human.It turns, it's right eye meeting both of Jamies.

Sophie spins on her heel, once she's certain the creature will follow them, and they both take off sprinting. The duo skid around corners, and zig zag through alleys, leading the creature on a long chase. They race past the hardware store, and Jamie takes the lead. The duo slip under a hole in the fencing, Jamie helping Sophie to her feet once they slip through.

The creature skids to a halt at the other side of the chain link fence, sniffing furiously. It doesn't take long for the alien to use its claws to pull through the fence, and Sophie once again takes off running, Jamie right beside her.

"We're almost there," she says, twisting down another street.

"Aye, let's just hope the Doctor's machine works."

Sophie chuckles, "Let's just hope he times it right."

They make a final turn, and Jamie grabs Sophie's arm, ducking under the door. He slips behind the Doctor and the machine, crouching.

The beast bursts through behind the duo, hissing in anger. The Time Lord turns a dial on the machine, an energy beam shooting from the device, surrounding the creature. It tries to prise its way out of the case, but ends up shocking itself.

Jamie stands back to his feet, pulling Sophie up beside him. "Is that it then, Doc?" Sophie asks.

"Well, yes, mostly," he agrees, and continues to fiddle with the machine, "If I could just use this to teleport it home." He smacks a button hard, and immediately places his hand into his mouth, as the force shield shimmers, and the alien vanishes.

Jamie smiles, and slaps the Doctor on the shoulder, "You did it, Doctor."

The Doctor smiles back at the Scotsman, and pats his shoulder, "Yes, Jamie. Was that ever in question?"

The duo shrug, "I mean, yeah, kinda," Sophie says.

The Doctor rolls his eyes, "Come along. Let's head back to the TARDIS."

He places a hand on both of their shoulders, and starts to lead them toward the blue box.