My Mad Doctor

Chapter 26

We decided to leave at nightfall. The last thing we needed was the disadvantage of broad daylight. This mission relied on stealth and speed.

My team, lead by Callum, consisted of The Doctor, Jeremy, myself, and five or so others I didn’t know. The only semblance of a plan we had was to invade the palace and get out as many survivors as we could without being seen.

“So, our mighty savior, ready to rescue all of our asses?” Callum asked with a grin. His tone was playful but his eyes were not. I could see it behind the façade he put on, how much he needed this to work. He looked at me as if I was a ship and he’d been stranded for years. I suppose, in a way, it was similar to that. He’d been struggling for so long, helpless to save the people he loved, and now he had hope again. He was mad enough to trust me, so I had to be brave enough to save him.

I nodded meekly, not trusting my voice enough to speak. Over the past few hours, I’d been thinking about how I would pull this miracle off. It occurred to me, eventually, that I couldn’t. It was impossible. I wasn’t meant to survive, not this time. Demeter wasn’t a second chance for me to live. It was fate. I wasn’t meant to die on some distant planet far, far away. I was destined to die here, where it all started. Home.

I looked over at The Doctor, trying to keep the hopeless look from my eyes. Moments like this, though, when he couldn’t see me, I let some of it show through. I couldn’t let him see, though, because one look during a moment like this, when I’m vulnerable, and he’d know. I couldn’t let him know.

What would he do without me? The answer was simple, really. He would grieve, of course. He would cry and scream and be crushed with guilt, but he would move on, like he always did. That’s what The Doctor does, he moves on, even when moving seems impossible with all the loss weighing him down.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. Turning around, I saw Callum through the veil of tears in my eyes. I could tell that he knew what I was thinking, what I was planning on doing.

“Violet,” he started off nervously. I prepared myself for the lecture he would surely give me on self-sacrifice. Instead, he simply sighed and whispered, “be careful, okay?”

I nodded, but we both knew how much of a lie that was. I couldn’t be careful, not with what I was planning to do.

With one last dejected glance, Callum went across the room to join the others.

As I was preparing to leave, inspiration hit me like a wall. I nearly stumbled with the idea, my eyes wide. I tore a scrap piece a paper, a flyer of some sort, from the wall. A small stub of a pencil sad beside the paper, hardly any lead left inside it. I picked it up as quickly as possible and scribbled a quick note on the flyer.

 “Violet, you coming?” Callum called from the door.

“Be right there!” I shouted, crumpling the paper and shoving it into my pocket before running off to catch up with the others.

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The streets were empty as we made our way towards the palace. Silence hung in the air like fog, choking whatever scraps of happiness I had left from my throat.

We brought guns, against The Doctor’s wishes. He told us it was useless. The cyber men couldn’t be beaten with guns. I agreed, from experience, but Callum objected. I suppose that after three months of living through this hell, he had the say in what we did. That didn’t stop The Doctor from refusing a gun, though.

I held one in my hand, a large black thing that I had no idea how to use, despite the hasty lesson Jeremy had given me. Even simply holding the weapon felt wrong. Still, it was a bit comforting to have some semblance of defense.

Despite how hard I tried to pretend otherwise, I was terrified. The threat seemed too big for me to handle, but I couldn’t let the others down. To keep me from breaking down completely, I pretended that I was a character in a story. I told myself that I was brave, strong, fierce and indestructible. It almost worked.

“Violet Grace,” The Doctor whispered to me, breaking the death-like silence. I spun around to face him, putting my finger to my lips.

“Oh come on, the cyber men can’t hear us, we’re miles away.” His smile faded a bit. “We need to talk.”

I knew the serious tone in his voice and I didn’t like it. If The Doctor was anything, it wasn’t serious. At least, he wasn’t usually. The fact that he was now meant that what he wanted to talk about was crucial. I didn’t like crucial.

“No, we really don’t.” I replied coldly, walking ahead.

I felt his hand on my arm, holding me back. Reluctantly, I faced him once more, letting the others get ahead.

“Please.” He breathed, leaning closer to me. I squeezed my eyes shut and nodded, still not meeting his stare.

“What are you planning on doing, Violet?”

My head snapped up to his, eyes wide. “What are you talking about?” I asked, trying not to let anything show. How had he found out? I’d been careful. I didn’t let my emotion show. Only Callum knew.

He smiled, but it was a heartbreaking smile. There was no semblance of happiness hidden in it.

“Violet, you may think me daft, but I am not stupid. I can see the way you’ve been acting since we left Demeter.” I desperately built up the wall around me again. I couldn’t let him see. I couldn’t.

"Well I had just died, or very nearly done so. Excuse me for being a bit distant.” I replied stiffly, crossing my arms over my chest.

“That’s not what I’m talking about, Violet, and you know it. You’re planning something. I know it. Please, tell me.” His voice was soft. Welcoming. I almost told him. I almost broke down and explained everything just to be relieved of the weight crushing my chest every time I lied to him. I held back, though, because I knew the truth would hurt him more than the lie.        

“The only plan I have is to save these people,” I said through clenched teeth. “Now, it you want to stop me from doing that, I suggest you tell Callum, who’s trying to find his family. Better yet, explain it to Jeremy, who lost his brother.”

“I don’t care about them!” He shouted, his words nearly stopping my heart. I stared up at him with wide eyes. His voice softened.

“I care about you.”

I put my head in my hands, wiping the tears before he could see. Without a word, I spun around and sprinted the other way, the wind drying the last of my tears.

A/N Hello, so sorry it's a few hours late, I just saw The Amazing Spider Man 2 (I CAN'T DEAL OH MY GOD) so I've been crying for am hour or two before I wrote this. 

The story is almost done, *tear*, but I'm so grateful for all of you readers who support me. Thank you so much. :)