Out of Time

Chapter Nine

CHAPTER NINE

 Meanwhile back at Victoria square Tabby cat had remained faithfully at her post, well a part from when she had to shelter from the snow storm…Tabby, who had been somewhat surprised by finally meeting a human who could communicate to cat kind had done what this kindly and sympathetic man called the Doctor had asked and remained on the look-out for anything unusual. But then everything became too scary for this streetwise feline, Tabby was sat on the fountain wall when the water beneath the sculpture began to rise and bubble as though it was boiling up. Tabby’s fur stood up on end and her tail bushed out defensively like the end of a broom stick as she let out a long drawn hiss leaping back onto the fountain steps and almost tripping up some passer-by’s. Though no one could sense anything was amiss except for the cat and other wildlife as some spooked pigeons fluttered up into the sky sensing imminent danger. There was a moment of stillness which was violently interrupted by one of the ancient ones suddenly emerging through the portal, it shot up into the sky, scattering the pigeons into a panicked frenzy. The dragon like creature resembled some awful prehistoric beast from a fairy tale but no human in the square could see a thing and were completely oblivious for the ancient creatures of Verdopolis could become invisible and blend into the background tricking all potential prey, they were the ideal predators, fast and deadly. For these were savage creatures that belonged to the dark days of a young Universe which was filled with twisted abominations that had mercifully gone down an evolutionary dead end. The ancient creatures of Verdopolis required unusual sustenance as they fed off the life span of their prey and were all but wiped from existence until Professor Raynor had broken the time laws of his planet and brought four surviving young ones to the present day. Though Raynor had reared these ancient abominations, he really had no idea what he had unleashed. The creature’s bulbous eyes lit up, it hungered for the human’s below, the life span’s it could absorb but the collar around its neck glowed; a psychic link to its master Raynor. It could not feed, not yet the creature must find the Doctor first. And when Raynor had finished with the Doctor then the creature and its siblings would be able to feast on the Time Lord and his numerous lives…Tabby cat could not understand the humans in the square, the monster was swooping around but no one was bothered except some of the people looked up at the sky occasionally as though they could feel a stiff breeze but because of the freak weather conditions earlier no one thought this was out of the ordinary. The monster glared at the tiny, furry creature that was rooted to the spot with fear…Unfortunately Tabby did what came naturally as she let out a whimper, completely forgetting the Doctor as she bolted across the square, not stopping until she reached home.

 “The dates I’ve been on these last three years…” Anna reminisced out loud, wondering aimlessly beside the Doctor as they made their way down New Street, straight towards the bookstore where she used to work. “And every time I wondered whether that person would be the “one.”

 Anna looked at the Doctor expectant, he opened his mouth to speak, she was certain he was keeping something from her and was about to reply but then stopped himself. Anna shrugged a little despondently to herself, there was no use in explaining; nobody could really understand the heart break she had been through for the past three years. Anna threw herself back into the situation in hand.

 “So Doctor is this a small taste of what’s to come, you know what happened with time earlier?”

 “Hmm something like that.” The Doctor had a vague and distracted air about him as he examined Anna’s mobile with his sonic screwdriver. “It must be the temporary time distortion blocking the mobile’s signal, after all my TARDIS is only a mere twenty million light years away…” The Doctor spoke in absolute bafflement.