Out of Time

Chapter Ten

CHAPTER TEN

 There was no way out of this; the monster was surely going in for the kill as Anna felt the Doctor shielding her, protecting her from the terrifying vision… Then suddenly the assault was all over and it was nothing to do with the Doctor. The distinctive sound of laser fire ripped across the sky, eliciting screeches of pain from the creature as it swooped higher into the sky to escape its attacker. Anna and the Doctor quickly scrambled to their feet and made their way back towards the fire exit, the Doctor glanced fleetingly over his shoulder to confirm the identity of their saviour who was no other than Ivana on the roof top opposite, the assassin was also running for cover but with a defiant swagger which the Doctor had to admire. The pair rushed back through the emergency exit, slamming it shut, the Doctor frantically sealing it behind them.

 “Hello Gavin.” Anna waved with false cheeriness at an old colleague who had been eating his tuna sandwich in the staff canteen and was now sitting with his mouth wide open, completely stunned.

 The Doctor raised his thumbs and smiled awkwardly.

 “Just doing a spot of pest control…Pests of the winged variety but it’s all under control.” He offered as an explanation before Anna dragged him away to the far end of the room where there was a dripping sink and mouldy books piled up on the floor in the corner.

 Anna ran her arm under the tap and found a plaster in a first aid box; she turned round to face the Doctor, that old fear clawing in the pit of her stomach, how could she have forgotten that fundamental law of the Universe, wherever in time and space the Doctor is, the monsters are surely never far behind… Anna swallowed and cleared her dry throat, a part of her didn’t want to know but after all it was her job to ask.

 “Doctor what was that?”

 “An ancient being of Verdopolitan origin that by rights shouldn’t exist…The kind of creature that eats Time Lord’s for breakfast. It must have tracked me through the portal.”

 “I mean just for once…Why can’t the monsters be pink and fluffy Doctor?”  Anna collapsed on a chair, stretching out her legs that were burning with a build-up of lactic acid.

 “Don’t even say that Bailey!” The Doctor raised a finger in an action of over dramatic chastisement, a look of horror scrawled across his face as he uttered completely aghast. “Those are the very worst kinds of monsters.” The Doctor slumped against the wall; he suddenly looked very old, he produced a hankie and patted his brow. “It’s Raynor amidst his other acts of insanity he’s brought an ancient one back…The stupid…stupid ‘politan.”

 “All those people out there…” Anna was in the grip of panic, the nightmares from all those sleepless nights coming true.

 Instantly responding to her fears the Doctor moved over to Anna and rested his hands upon her shoulders; his wise and kindly eyes striving to reassure her. The Doctor had seen the inhibitor around the creature’s neck, its psychic link to Raynor and knew it would be under strict instructions to find the Doctor and would not be distracted by anything else.

 “It’s okay Anna, it’s me the creature is after, it’s been sent to find me…We need to get out of here, out of this time stream.”

 Bang on cue there was a loud crashing outside as the fire exit door received a sound battering. The Doctor grabbed Anna’s hand and they ran back through the bookstore, this time Anna waved and glared back defiantly at her old colleague’s. Anna’s mobile was pressed to the Doctor’s head and his sonic screwdriver held aloft so he could keep track of the vicious predator that was now chasing them. They were outside again, running through the streets and though the Doctor was pretty certain the humans were safe he wanted to draw the creature away from the busy city centre.

 “I mean where do you run to when you’re being chased by an invisible fang infested winged creature from the ancient times of the Universe?…Could we shake it off if we get on a bus…Catch a train?”  Anna was thinking out loud, she had faced worse with the Doctor but she was a bit out of practice. Anna turned her head sharply to the Doctor, ready to reprimand him because he wasn’t listening to her again.

 “Where have I been?!” The Doctor bellowed out with exasperation. “Where have you been?! You got lost…Well what did you expect when you just aimlessly wonder off down her corridors hmm?…”

 Anna breathed a sigh of relief; the Doctor had finally made contact with the mysterious friend on board the TARDIS. Though the TARDIS wasn’t here yet, they were still vulnerable and very much out in the open, then Anna was struck with sudden inspiration as she saw St Martin’s church, they would be able to wait for the TARDIS to materialize within the sanctuary of the building like in days of old. After all it was rather fitting seeing as though they were being chased by such a gothic looking monstrosity. Anna pointed and the Doctor nodded, exclaiming with giddy excitement as the pair of them leapt down the steps in perfect unison together.

 “On the same page Bailey, the old team are up and running again aha!”    

 Adam Tallis clutched the receiver to his face; the palm of his hand sweating, Anna was with the Doctor, she was so close but at the same time twenty million light years away…And she was talking about catching a train…Adam hadn’t a clue what was going on but the rising anxiety in the Doctor’s voice meant he needed to concentrate, the Doctor and Anna needed him.

 “Emergency programme one, yes it’s already pre-set to this time stream and city…” The Doctor continued issuing his orders; it was a moment of deja vu for Anna. “I’m sending a signal for the TARDIS to home in on…” The Doctor pressed his sonic screwdriver into the mobile. “No those noises are perfectly normal, the old girl’s just having a little moan, that’s all…”

 Anna squinted up at the sky, so far no sign of the creature as they dodged in and out of shoppers.

 “ Zigzag plotter!” The Doctor suddenly shouted down the phone making Anna jump but then she realised she’d been too busy watching the sky and hadn’t been looking at the ground under their feet. The Doctor who was holding her hand tightly and leading the way had certainly not been paying attention….

 “Doctor dodgy paving slab watch out!”

 But it was too late, in a moment of tragic irony, the very same loose paving slab which had tripped Anna up the first time she met the Doctor had done it again as pair of them went flying. Anna had tried to stop but was carried along by the Doctor’s momentum; they crashed heavily on the ground for the second time that day. Who could say whether the Doctor and Anna would have made it to the sanctuary of St Martin’s if it hadn’t been for that fall?… Anna flinched as the snarling beast became visible again and was now plummeting head first towards them, the bruised duo leapt to their feet; they were yards away from the church door.

 “Why can’t anyone else see it?!” Anna gasped with disbelief as she pushed past the crowds who carried on with their daily business, some glancing over a little nervously at the bizarre behaviour of the batty young professor and his feisty sidekick but really they didn’t want to get involved.

 “Because our senses have adapted to this creature’s camouflage defences…Oh ain’t we the lucky ones, an exclusive club.” The Doctor spoke through clenched teeth, somewhat stressed though with sonic screwdriver at the ready to open the church door, only for another creature, to step out of the shadows of the arched doorway like a stone carving come to life, blocking their escape route. “Oh that’s just simply not fair!”

 The Doctor yelled, pulling Anna back from the clutches of another snarling beast. Though things were about to get considerably worse as another two ancient ones glided down from the church roof to join their siblings. Now there were four growling creatures crowding in on the Doctor and Anna…Things had decidedly taken a turn for a worse.