Ran Away With a Madman (Doctor Who)

Chapter Three

     Traci was now fourteen years old, still living in Virginia. She hadn't seen the man since that day in March when she was seven. She still had the flaming red hair and the inquisitive, sassy spirit. For a while now, Traci's felt...wrong. She's been thinking the shadows have been moving in her house; that one ate her cat, Watson. Sher must have been going mad... Until September 23rd of that year. Sher was walking back to her house from her woods. She opened the back door, going into her living room. Her mother and father were usualy watching television around this time. Both of their chairs were turned towards the screen, away from her.

     "Hey, Mom, what's for dinner?" ,Traci inquired. No answer.

     "Mom?" Now she was afraid. That overactive intuition again. Something was very very wrong... The television screen suddenly shut off. Darkness clouded the chairs. Literally, clouded them. That couldn't have happened. What was going on?

     Traci tried to flick on the lights, to no avail. The darkness was too persistant. She grabbed a flashlight from a cupboard to her left. She clicked it on instead and shot the beam of light in the direction of her parents... or at least where they should be.

     Both her mother and father were skeletons in their chairs. Traci gasped, then slowly began backing away. She knew she needed to get out. Now.

     She spun around to flee, but was stopped short by surprise.

     The strange man with the blue box was there. He grabbed her hand, looked her dead in the eyes, and with an air of finality surrounding them, whispered one word. "Run."

     She didn't respond, still shocked.

     "RUN!" he repeated with a harsher tone and dragged her outside.

     They ran a good while, until they were back to the clearing they first met in.

     "Traci, you have to come with me, okay? Get in." He said.

     "In what? The box? Isn't it a bit small? Will we even fit?" , Traci demanded. He just smiled, slid his key into the key slot, and opened the box inward.

    " Unless you want to end up with the same unfortunate fate as your parents, you really need to come with me, now." , he said. the wave of security fell over Traci once again. She stepped into the box. It was enormous on the inside. She was stunned. Beautiful architecture of a moving gold essence was constant. In the center was a console of some sort. Everything seemed alive and endless. Infinite. 

     "It's....but it's.... ", Traci started.

     " Go ahead. Say it. Everyone does." ,the strange man chuckled.

     "It's bigger on the inside!" ,Traci beamed. She loved this odd, infinite place.

     "I suppose you'd like to kow what happened to your family now, yes?" , he asked.

      "...yes. I'd almost for-.....yes, what happened to my mom and dad? They were completely fine when I left."

     " Your house was... infected. There were creatures living in the shadows." So she wasn't imagining things! "These creatures are called the Vashta Nerada. Carnevours of the dark. They completely devour all meat it can find. They ate your parents. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." His eyes looked impossibly old just then.

     Traci thought back to every emory of her parents... She loved them very much. A tear slipped from her eye. She hadn't even been aware she'd started to cry. The strange man wiped the tear away with his thumb.

     "I'll take care of you." , he said to her. This made another tear fall. The only other person to have every told her that was her mother, when she was young. She had stopped saying it... Traci had always wanted to her to say it again after she got a little older, but she never did.... and now she never could.... She started to cry harder, her body racking with sobs. The man took her hand and looked at her with a kindness and understanding that of which Traci had never witnessed. With his other hand, he cradled her face. The man tilt his head up and kissed Traci on the forehead, like any father or close friend would. With that, Traci stopped crying and looked up at him. He smiled.

     She thought of how nice is was to have a friend... she never had many growing up. She had none right now, save maybe this strange man. Well, none that she had close at hand. She did have one other, however. The only other person she had left in the world was her best friend who lived in Indiana. Elizabeth Evans. Lizzy. Her Lizzy. She had met Lizzy in the comment section of something on Instagram. They became friends and then, gradually, best friends. Which made her think, who even was this strange man?

     "What's your name?" , Traci asked.

     "You can call me The Doctor."