Explore The Stars (Doctor Who Fanfic)

Chapter 10

They ran into the town hall and shut the doors behind them. Anna looked around as she caught her breath. There were about 15 people like Saleem gathered in the centre if the room with gas lamps in a circle around them. Anna spotted Saleem near the centre of the huddle and was about to go talk to him when the Doctor came over to her. He'd just been securing the door.

"Anna, what else is in that bag?"

She had almost forgotten about the bag on her back. She quickly slung it off her shoulder and showed him. He made a grab for the chicken in the lunchbox and then addressed the Jurkians in the room.

"Right then!" He spoke loudly and with confidence while putting on his dark rimmed glasses. It reminded Anna of when he first bounded into her Physics classroom. That seemed a long time ago now. "Let me show you what we're really up against." He took one of the chicken drumsticks and through it under a table where there was a deep shadow. Anna gasped as she saw the meat disappear from the bone.

"This is why you must stay out of the shadows...." The Doctor tailed off as he looked towards Anna. "Oh no.."

"What?" She asked. Something was up. The Doctor slowly walked towards her, looking at her with a sad, but almost angry expression.

"Anna, I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. But you've got two shadows."

"A-and what does that mean?" She could only guess that it wasn't something good.

"Watch this." He took another chicken drumstick from the lunchbox and threw it behind her into her shadow. Anna once again gasped as the meat seemingly melted off the bone.

"You didn't answer my question. What does that mean?" she repeated.

He suddenly seemed to be almost happy again, but there was something about him that still kind of scared her. "It means, Anna, that I'm going to have to save you. Now I've met the Vashta Nerada before, in fact I think I've even met this swarm before!" He took out a small, pen-like device that lit up blue on the end and made a weird sound. He pointed it at one of her shadows and continued. "Yep! Definitely the same swarm. Now I warned these guys before, I met them on a planet not far from here in the 51st century, not to feast on entire races again, but do they listen? No." His face suddenly became very stern. "And that makes me angry."

Anna was frightened yet again of her physics supply teacher.

"W-what are you gonna do?" It was Saleem. Anna had forgotten about the group of people in the middle of the room who had been watching the whole scene in front of them.

"I'm going to stop them, oh yes!" Anna could never grasp how he felt. One minute he seemed to be enjoying himself, the next, he was dead serious. He surely was a strange man. "Anna!" The Doctor turned to her once more. "There was a particle defabricator-

"A what?"

"A-a-a metal thing in your bag and I want you to slowly, slowly get it out and slide it across the floor towards me.

"Why do I have to go slowly?"

"Because otherwise you'll die"

The abruptness of the statement made Anna freeze. Die? Surely this was just a bit of 'not very serious' danger. Hell it was almost fun with all the running. She felt her hair fall over her face. It seemed to happen whenever she was frightened or getting told off at school.

"Anna?" The Doctor was walking slowly over to her, careful not to let their shadows cross. "Are you alright?"

Anna took a wavering breath before answering.

"Doctor, you said I would die."

"No, I didn't. I said I was going to save you. Now, slowly, pass me the particle defabricator."

Anna reached into the bag and pulled the particle whatsit out. She carefully crouched down and slid it across the floor towards the Doctor. She slowly stood back up and let out a breath. She didn't even realise that she had been holding it.

The Doctor stared at her a while longer then snapped back into action. He took out the pen thing again and pointed it at the device in his hand.

"If I can get this on the right frequency, I'll be able to talk to them! They must have a reason for this. Saleem! How long did you say the disappearances had been going on?"

"A year."

"A whole year? What took them so long to build up their appetite?"

He seemed to be talking to himself more than anything else, a Anna thought. She was just terrified at what might happen to her. She would never see her mum again, or Joe, her only friend.

"Aha!" He pointed the device at her shadow and pressed one of the numerous buttons on it that lit up. Her shadow suddenly seemed to buzz wildy like a swarm of bees!

"Shut it!" The Doctor shouted. The buzzing seemed to subside a little but it wa still definitely buzzing. "Now, you lot! What are you doing here hm? I thought I told you to get lost?"

Anna's shadow buzzed in reply.

"Oh don't start saying your swarm's starving, there's plenty of things you can eat without eating people!"

Anna couldn't understand how he was talking to the, swarm? Was that what he called it? All it did was buzz.

"I warned you before. This is your last chance. Leave Anna alone, leave this entire planet alone. Or I'll have to stop you. For good this time."

Anna was yet again frightened of the alien in front of her.

One final buzz from her shadow showed that they didn't plan on doing what the Doctor had asked. Anna suddenly felt something nipping at her ankles. She cried out in pain.

"What? What's happening?" The Doctor asked frantically.

"They're eating my ankles!" She tried swatting away what she couldn't see in her shadow but ended up getting small cuts on her hands.

"Argh hang on!" The Doctor cried out. He was fiddling with the particle thing again. Anna could feel the cuts deepening on her ankles.

"There!" He shouted as he pointed the particle thing at her shadow and pressed one of the buttons. A purple ray was emitted out of the top and fried whatever was in her shadow. There was one final buzz which could have been a scream from the Vashta Nerada.

The biting at her ankles stopped but Anna collapsed onto the floor crying. That was too scary.

The Doctor rushed to her and held her close. She resisted at first, not sure whether or not to accept the hug from yhe man who had got her into this mess in the first place, but then she fell into his arms sobbing into his jacket.