Second Chances (A Doctor Who Fanfiction)

Chapter 5

*Quinn's POV*

The thing in the doorway looked exactly like what that woman had described had attacked her. It was all metal, and when it walked there was a loud metallic stomping sound, as if it were marching. It blocked the door we'd come in, the exit unreachable.

"Doctor? What do we do?" At the moment the thing was just standing there, blocking us. The Doctor looked around for another exit without answering, but all the windows were boarded up, and there was no nearby back door. "Do we run? I don't see an exit." The Doctor seemed to be completely unaware of my presence at the moment.

Another robot-creature-thing showed up behind us and blocked us in. We were trapped in this room. "What are they." I said, more determined than my previous attempts for answers. The Doctor turned to face me, "They're Cybermen. They're one of the most dangerous warrior races in the universe." That was the extent of what he was going to tell me. For something with a name like Cybermen, these things looked pretty terrifying.

The Doctor walked right up to the first one looking almost confident all of a sudden. "So, what now? You 'delete' us?" He put a certain emphasis on the word "delete" that made it sound like he was mocking them. The first Cyberman spoke up, "Our plan requires you alive." It's voice was completely monotone. It turned to face me instead of the Doctor, "Both of you. You will be transported to a temporary base facility and imprisoned there until further use of you is required.” I had no idea what that was supposed to mean.

They started leading us out the door. When we made it outside, there were half-a-dozen more Cybermen surrounding the building. I had so many questions, but at a time like this it probably wasn’t the best idea. The Cybermen closed in and everything went sort of hazy, then we weren’t outside anymore.

It looked like the exact opposite of the TARDIS interior, which was bright and welcoming. It looked like the inside of the evil spaceships in the movies. Dark, cold, and depressing. The Cybermen marched us down corridor after corridor, no one speaking a word. Their footsteps echoed incredibly loudly. We arrived in a small room with only two cells.

Instead of bars, the cells had some kind of force field. I was immediately shoved into one but they stopped before they locked up the Doctor. One of the Cybermen held out its hand  palm-up. “Your weapon.” it said. The Doctor almost smiled as he pulled something out of his jacket pocket and handed it to the Cyberman. “It’s a sonic screwdriver.” he said, “It’s not a weapon.”

The Cybermen locked each cell and marched off. Their footsteps still echoed off the walls well after they’d left. I slid down the back wall and sat down on the floor. I sighed, burying my face in my hands. I could never imagine this happening, even after meeting the Doctor.

“Quinn? Are you alright?” That was it. Of all the things to ask- I was laughing now, it was such a ridiculous question. “Alright!? Doctor, what exactly do you think ‘alright’ means? Because I’m pretty sure this situation does not fit the definition.” He sighed. “Quinn, I’m sorry I got you into this mess. Honestly, this happens quite often. Almost all the time, actually. It’s amazing the amount of trouble I seem to cause.” That couldn’t be right. “Doctor, how could this possibly be your fault?” He didn’t answer so I continued,

“I may have lied to you earlier. About my name.” I waited for a response. Still silence. “My last name is Wells, not Smith. Quinn Wells.” I waited for him to be angry or disappointed. He actually chuckled, “Quinn, what was the problem with me knowing your last name?” He was supposed to be taking this seriously, why wasn’t he taking this seriously? “I just met you! You were a stranger! I panicked and made up a name!”

He was laughing harder now. “What is so funny?” I demanded. He stopped laughing for a moment, “It’s just… it seems like such an insignificant little detail right now. Not just in this situation but, in general. Names… Why did you choose Smith?” he asked, suddenly changing the subject. He was being serious now. “I don’t know. I just said the first thing off the top of my head. Smith is such a common name.” He wasn’t laughing when he replied, “I sometimes go by that name. Not often, just, sometimes…”

The conversation kind of trailed off. We just sat quietly for a little while. “There are only two cells,” I said, “as if they don’t take many prisoners.” I’m sure the Doctor knew what I was implying. “They don’t” he said, “ever. The Cybermen, they were humans once as I may or may not have mentioned. They were people with their brains preserved and put into a metal shell. Their emotions, their own consciousness have been removed. They convert living creatures into more soldiers so they can take over the universe. Those who aren’t converted, are killed.”

That didn’t make any sense, why were we still here then? “So, we’re going to become like them?” I whispered, almost preferring not to hear the answer. “Well, that’s where I’m confused,” he replied, “you, they could convert anytime. I’m not sure why you’re imprisoned instead. I shouldn’t be here either. They should’ve killed me by now. Something isn’t right.”

“Wait, Doctor, you mean they can’t convert you? You’re as human as I am! Does it have something to do with being from the future?” This was very confusing. “Um…” he didn’t really seem like he knew how to answer, “I suppose with our deaths imminent, there won’t be any harm in telling you. Remember earlier when I told you aliens were very real? Well, I just happen to be one.” I don’t know what I expected. “Why am I not surprised?”

Just then, I could hear the sound of a Cyberman’s footsteps as it came around the corner. I couldn’t tell how long we’d been locked up. I stood up trying not to believe that we were probably about to die. The Cyberman walked up to the barrier without saying anything right away. I wasn’t sure, but it didn’t make sense that this Cyberman, a very powerful killing machine, would have a pocket watch dangling from its hand.