Companion of Death - A Doctor Who Fanfiction (Thasmin)

Chapter 1: Echo

Reminder that this is a year after the prologue and there's a lot that has happened between then and now. So whatever you think you know about Echo... well, she's changed a bit. I say a bit. I leave it to you to determine how much you think she's changed.

I saw the statue for literally a second before everything changed. I had been walking to school, my backpack slung carelessly over one shoulder and headphones comfortably on my head, oblivious to the world. Then I saw the statue, its face twisted into something monstrous, standing right in front of me in the street.

And then I was elsewhere, someplace I didn't recognize. I slid my headphones around my neck and examined my surroundings. I appeared to be in an alleyway of sorts. I was no stranger to alleyways, but this one was filthy. The ones where I hung out were relatively clean. Sketchy, but clean.

I heard a whooshing sound and something materialized around me. It looked like nothing I had encountered, let alone something I could describe. And for me, that was saying something. I always knew how to describe things. Came part and parcel of being Echo Keaton, better known as Oswin Foreman.

I took a good look around at the people in the... room. A blonde woman stood by what looked like controls. Beside her, almost too close for friends, stood a girl with South Asian looks. A man in an odd military coat stood off to the side.

"Captain Jack Harkness," the man stated, presumably introducing himself. "And who are you?"

His tone was way too flirtatious for my liking. I stalked up to him and slapped him across the face. Perhaps I was overreacting, but today was not going my way.

(AN: Am I the only one who wants to do that?)

"I was only saying hello," he said defensively.

"About time somebody slapped some sense into you," the blonde said, smirking at him. She looked at me. "He's a terrible flirt."

"I could tell," I muttered.

"I'm the Doctor," she continued, her tone brisk and businesslike with hints of a Yorkshire accent. "This is Yaz. Who are you, and how did you get into my TARDIS?"

"You don't recognize me?" I asked, slightly surprised. Everybody had seen my mugshot in Secrets of the Globe. It was my best-selling novel and only my publisher knew how young I was.

But they all shook their heads.

"I'm known as Oswin Foreman," I said carelessly, cursing my slight Texan drawl.

The Doctor froze, her face pale.

"You okay, Doctor?" the Asian girl, Yaz, asked. She sounded concerned.

The Doctor blinked rapidly. "Yeah, fine," she replied casually, but her voice was strained. She turned to glare at me. "Your real name," she demanded.

"Echo Keaton," I said, sighing.

The Doctor squealed. "You're my favorite scifi writer!" she exclaimed. "I loved your book Way Beyond Earth! It was brilliant!"

As confusing as today had already been, that was what shocked me. That I was known as a writer, but of a book that I had never written and under my real name. Echo Keaton was a nobody. Just a stupid punk, failing school. It was only as Oswin Foreman that I mattered.

The Doctor scrutinized my face and realized her mistake. "Oh," she mumbled, deflated. "Spoilers."

"How did you get into the TARDIS?" Yaz asked, bringing us all back to the matter at hand. "Nothing can get in."

"Well how should I know?" I snapped. "It materialized around me! And don't think I even want to be here. I was on my way to school, and now I'm going to be late. Where even are we?"