The New Humans

7-Run

I didn't have the time to keep disguising my identity to Isobel. I jumped, as high as I could, and landed on the low nearby rooftop. As I did, my hood fell back. And I was surrounded again.

People wearing white suits and holding tranquilizer guns were on the roofs all around me, cutting off my escape. Oh, well. If I couldn't run, I'd fight.

I went for the first one, the one right in front of me. A well-placed kick to the temple and he was down, falling from the rooftop and landing with a faint but audible crunch on the pavement. As I turned back, I saw one of the other soldiers start moving away. At once, the others turned on him and fired.

I watched in mute fury and horror as the man crumpled, the tranquilizer bullets taking effect. I grabbed the opportunity and ran, across the roofs of the city, bullets flying all around me. I leaped and swerved, barely dodging each one out of what was probably just pure luck. I jumped down to land on my feet behind the houses, and ran along a narrow back alley, hoping desperately that they wouldn't find me.

But where could I go?

Back to Santder, I thought. No one's ever found that place. It's impossible to get in unless you know just where to go. I'll be safe there.

But how would I get there? It took around a half hour of running from where I was in the city. And I absolutely couldn't afford to be seen.

So what could I do?

***

In my TARDIS, I sat on my couch, head in my hands. It hadn't been more than a day since I had seen that little girl on the floor, but I couldn't get the image out of my mind. What had she gone through since I had run away? What could I have done to help her?

My brain knew that answer to that. You could have taken her away, I told myself. You could have protected her, you know that. You could have saved her from all that pain that she went through. But no, you had to run away. You had to run and let her suffer, like all the other people you broke. Humans aren't disposable, Doctor. Not even Progenitor-created humans. You've forgotten that.

No, I thought back to myself. I did the right thing. The humans need to sort things out for themselves sometimes, otherwise they'll never become smart enough to leave their own solar system. They can solve this.

But knowing humans, their solution would be to shoot and dissect and clone and kill, I argued back. I stood up restlessly and paced, pressing my fingers to my temples in unease. Don't do anything. Yet. Wait, Doctor. Wait until later. You can't face what you've done now. Not now.

***

I stopped in a dirty alleyway and looked around. After a few minutes of running, I was pretty sure that I had lost them, at least a little. And if not, this was just the right place to stay until they were completely gone.

This part of town didn't look anything like the others I had seen. It was dirty, it stunk, and people of the worst kind were everywhere.

Perfect. I would blend right in.

I swung my hood back up over my face and stepped out into the main street. Almost right away, a panhandler sitting on a cracked bench held out a filthy hand to me, baring his teeth in a hideous grin. I stepped back and shook my hand, and he stood. He was emaciated, dirty, and worst of all, about my age. He moved a little forwards, and I moved a little back, and this went on until I was backed up against a red-brick wall. A handful of other beggars clustered behind this one's back, all leering at me in a way that wasn't all that innocent.

All right, jerks, I thought. If you're not being polite, I'm not, either.

I swung my right fist, catching the first kid on the cheek. He staggered back, and I swung again, this time hitting his nose with such force that I heard a faint crack. He fell over, howling in an ugly tone, and the others closed in, fists held out.

I grinned savagely as I kicked the next one in the temple. He went down and I was onto the next person, swinging and kicking and punching.

In a blur, one kid after another dropped, until I was the only conscious person around again. I gave myself the small pleasure of slapping the first kid across the face and moved on.

The dark smog became thinker as I walked deeper into the strange place. People were cowering in dark corners, faces smeared with mud. Stores and houses were crumbling. Children, sick children, ran after anyone they could see, begging. I felt bile rise in my throat and I swallowed it back down again with revulsion. How could humans let other humans live like this, while they spent all their time and money on looking good?

I found a store that looked like a reasonable hiding spot and went in.

The door creaked horribly from disuse and puffs of dust fell from the rusted joints. Inside, one flickering naked lightbulb hanging from a chain, illuminating a handful of old wooden tables and chairs. An empty vending machine leaned crookedly up against the far wall. A tired-looking forty-year-old man stood behind desk along one side of the room, grinning through a thick beard. "Here to buy?"

"Here to hide," I replied. "Do you have a basement?"

He smirked. "I do if you have enough money."

I rolled my eyes and dropped a twenty-dollar bill on the desk. His smile broadened and he pointed underneath the desk he was standing at. I walked around to his side of the counter and slipped into a small door he indicated. He winked and the door closed.

Was I too rushed? Could he be trusted? It was impossible to know. But I had to start taking chances. Otherwise, I wasn't going to be able to last very long.