Walk The Earth: Doctor Who/Studio C [Book 2]

Archangel

Archangel

(The Sound of Drums: Part 3)

"This is his first, honest-to-God appearance. And at the exact same time, they launched the Archangel Network." -Vivien Rook

"...Matt?"

Adam's voice reached him through the fog of numbness as he tucked his phone back in his pocket. He knew, with sickening certainty, that he was not going to hear Mallory's voice again until this was all over.

"What now?"

A long moment passed. "It's got to do with the Toclafane. It has to be," Matt finally said. The silver spheres, silent but quietly menacing in his dream, now with a voice. And why did the name sound familiar?

"Do you know what they are?" Jason asked.

Matt shook his head. "Never seen them. Come on, we need to move. We shouldn't be out in the open like this."

They started moving, a heavy silence finally broken by Adam. "You live your life like this?"

After a moment, Matt shook his head again. Normally this was under some alien sky—they didn't stray back to Earth all that often. There had been the Racnoss, but that had been too surreal for this kind of panic to set in. Then there had been Richard Lazarus, but he was just one man.

The Master might be just one man, but he was a Time Lord, he was Prime Minister, and he had the Toclafane up his sleeve.

"No. I don't. Normally I've got Mal at my side and the Doctor's leading the way but they're not here, so we just have to hang tight and hope he's got a plan."

~~~

"Tomorrow morning, Britain will be welcoming an extraterrestrial species..."

"The President is said to be furious that Great Britain has taken unilateral action..."

The Master flipped through new channels with quiet glee, ignoring the Toclafane that had appeared in the air beside him.

"Is the machine ready?" it finally asked in a female voice.

"Tomorrow morning," he said with a long suffering sigh. "It reaches critical at 8:02 precisely."

"We have to escape," it said. "Because it's coming, sir. The darkness, the never-ending darkness. The terrible, terrible cold. We have to run and run and run!"

"Eight o'clock tomorrow morning," he repeated. "Tell your people. The world is waiting."

The Toclafane faded away again.

~~~

In the outskirts of London, the sun had long disappeared and the moon was high in the sky. Hours had passed since the Doctor's call with the Master—it was now ticking on toward ten o'clock—and the band of three had traveled for a few miles before holing up in an abandoned warehouse.

Mallory shot a tentative glance over her shoulder as she opened the door before stepping inside. She adjusted the bags on her arm, lifting the baseball cap off her head and sighing as the hair tucked underneath fell free.

She was on the run from an insane Time Lord on planet Earth in her own time. She never would have thought that when she woke up this morning.

"How was it?" came Jack's voice as she neared. A few chairs and crates had been pulled over and the two were sitting rather casually, a kerosene lamp casting the scene in an oily light.