Second Chances (A Doctor Who Fanfiction)

Chapter 4

*Doctor's POV*

This could be bad. Very, very bad. I expected there to be trouble, now it looks like I've found it. Be careful what you wish for. I made my way back to the TARDIS to figure out a plan. I heard Quinn behind me shouting, "Doctor! Wait up!" I'd momentarily forgotten her in light of recent news. I turned around just as she came through the doors. "Doctor, what's wrong? Why did you just leave like that?" she asked. "It's nothing! Maybe nothing. Maybe just a woman seeing things on her way to work or maybe evil creatures intent on taking over the planet, it's nothing!" I said quickly enough that she would hopefully not catch the last part.

I tried to give her a reassuring smile but she definitely looked worried.  "I'm sorry," she said slowly, "what was that last part? Evil creatures that are going to take over the planet?!" She was practically screaming. "Is that what I said?" Maybe I should have chose a better way of reassuring her. "Doctor!" she was definitely shouting now.

"Alright! Alright, I'll explain. What that woman said almost exactly describes something I've met before. Multiple times, in fact. Look! I'm sure it's nothing!" She didn't seem reassured yet. "Doctor, what are you not telling me about this?" she asked, only slightly calmer. "Nothing. Well, nothing important anyway. All we need to do now is go back out there and make sure it's nothing. Okay?"

Quinn sighed, "Does this happen a lot?  You show up somewhere, something happens and you think the world's in danger so you prove yourself wrong? Because that honestly sounds boring." I laughed. If only the universe was so näive. "I wish, it would make my job about a million times easier. Now come on!" I walked back out the door signaling Quinn to follow. The rained had eased some, but it was still a nuisance. A small crowd had gathered around the crashed car and someone must have called for help because a cop car sat nearby."Maybe we should avoid the crowd. I don't need the attention." I could practically hear Quinn smirk, "Look at you! Thinking you're some kind of celebrity, Doctor!"

"When you travel through time, you learn to avoid the authorities as much as possible." I said. We kept walking around the crowd in the general direction that woman had come from just before she crashed her car. "What exactly are we looking for? Or not looking for?" Quinn asked, "And don't you dare say 'nothing' again." I had no good answer. I couldn't tell her about the Cybermen, not unless I had to. I chose not to answer, and she didn't ask again.

"This seems to be the place. She said she saw the 'creatures' just before she crashed, so it has to be somewhere around here." I said. From here, the car wreck and mob of people were visible down the street behind us. We were far enough away though, so as not to draw attention. Each side of the road had small, one-story houses rather than apartment buildings or businesses.

Everyone who would've been home was probably down the street, investigating the car crash. "Quinn? Stay close, just in case." I expected to hear her reply but instead, turned around and found that I was talking to an empty space. "Quinn?" I thought maybe she'd, much to my disappointment, deserted, not wanting to be around for anything potentially dangerous.

When I looked at a deserted house across the street though, I just briefly saw her go inside the house and leave the door open, swinging on its hinges. I ran that way and went inside. The house was falling apart on the inside, that was for sure. Broken glass lay everywhere and the windows were boarded up. The house didn't look particularly old though. It wasn't completely faded or too unstable. There was still furniture even, dusty, but definitely not ready to move out of the house. So why was everything broken and abandoned?

"Quinn?" I started to speak up, wondering where she'd gone. She quickly came out from another room and held her finger to her lips. "Listen." she mouthed. Neither of us moved. We were both listening very intently. I could hear the quiet, almost inaudible, whirring sound of something electrical. "Do you hear that?" Quinn whispered. "Yes. I can't believe you can hear it though. There's no lights so I doubt it's the power. Maybe in the basement?" I said.

We were, about to look for a way downstairs when the worst possible thing that could happen, did. There was a familiar metallic stomping sound coming from the front doorway. Standing there was a metal man, a creature that had once been human, before its emotions and free will were ripped from it. It was an enemy I had fought numerous times before. If I hadn't known better after hundreds of years through space and time, I'd have said this was the worst thing that could happen.