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

The First Dream

The First Dream

"You can take the path you don't want to." -Cyndi Shirk

Matt had no way of knowing that Mallory had arrived in Paris just hours before.

Nor could he have realized the choice bearing down on him with every passing moment.

For the moment he stared at a blank wall, eyes open but not fully awake. Sleeping in shifts wasn't exactly pleasant, but in this world it was a necessary evil. They were somewhere in the Rockies, but there weren't any landmarks nearby to inform them what state they were actually in. They had actually managed to run into a few groups of people up in the mountains, and caught some word of what was going on in the world. They had dared not stay with anyone for more than a few hours, though, for fear someone might turn them in to the UCF.

With a sigh, he shook his head and clicked off the flashlight in his hand, before tucking it and the atlas in his hand into his backpack. No sense wasting batteries when words swam in his vision and images blurred together.

He should wake Jason up before he completely dropped off himself. If he was lucky, he might be able to get a few hours of sleep before they had to move again.

Light glinted through the window and he glanced up at it. Just headlights, he realized after a moment, before his thoughts caught up with him.

Headlights.

Only the UCF drove with headlights these days.

And worse, they had stopped.

"Jason," he hissed,shaking his friend's shoulder. "Jason, we've got to move, there's UCF."

Jason came awake with a grumble, then silenced abruptly as Matt repeated himself. He hissed, the last vestiges of sleep melting from his face as he snatched up his pack and leapt to his feet.

Sounds of boots hitting dirt and weapons being readied echoed through the house. The UCF barged through the front door just as Matt and Jason threw themselves out the back.

The dark night was broken by a myriad of lights—headlights, searchlights, and flashlights alike lit up the yard before they were swallowed up by the nearby treeline.

They agreed, quickly and without words, that the woods were once again their only chance.

They were two thirds of the way there when the light hit them. Careful, quiet, deliberate steps were abandoned in favor of speed.

Matt saw the barbed wire just in time, glinting silver in the dark. He cursed whoever had put it up as he ducked through and one of the barbs caught him square across the cheek, but he didn't have time to dwell on the fact because the UCF had open fired.

Bullets whizzed past their heads, embedding themselves in the trees beside them.

They dared not slow.

~~~

"Good morning, Doctor! Beautiful day, isn't it?"

The Doctor, as usual, did not deign to answer the other Time Lord.

"Oh, come on, Gramps, crack a smile! We're bombing Philadelphia today, isn't that exciting?" After a moment, the Master sighed, put his hands on the armrests of the Doctor's wheelchair, and leaned down. "You are just set to ruin my day, aren't you?"

The Master pushed away, leaving the chair to roll back a few inches.

"Firstly I have to employ a bunch of incompetent humans that simply cannot succeed at tracking down one, solitary man that I'd like in my custody." He smirked as realization came over the Doctor's face. "Really, Doctor, I am surprised. How long has it been that you've traveled with anyone other than a pretty face? Normally your female pets don't come with such extra baggage as a built-in lover."