Timeless [Doctor Who/11th Doctor]

35. Zoltar Speaks

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

"Never mind all of that," Willow sprung into action, narrowing her eyes at various corners of the arcade. "What the hell is going on here?"
The storm outside rumbled apocalyptically, dark clouds dancing in the sky and casting shadows across the concrete. Electricity flickered meekly in the shadows, the neon lights of the games just as unsure of the situation as us.
"Yeah, you know, I didn't sign up for this," Xander dug at the Doctor.
"Neither did I," he replied angrily. "None of us did, but we're here now, alright? You can help, or you can stand there doing nothing - the choice is yours."
The two men stared at eachother, the Doctor's chest puffed out, refusing to back down.
"Doctor," I scolded quietly, gently touching his arm. He wavered for a moment, jaw clenched, before sighing and lowering his gaze to me.

"I say we split up," Noah piped up, disregarding the thick tension. "Check out what's going on outside, in here, whatever."
"That's a good idea," Willow agreed. They must have gotten on well in the future.
"Right," the Doctor nodded. He started to pace back and forth across the musty carpet, scratching his head for a plan until his hair became a tangled mess. "Noah, Willow, you check out the back rooms. See if there's anything going on inside. Charlotte, Xander, check outside. I'll stay here and scan the rest of this place."
"Always with the orders," Willow tutted at him. Despite this, she marched along to the staff door, inserting a gadget that she whipped from her pocket. It quickly decoded the lock, and the door clicked open.
"Woah," Noah stared at her wide-eyed.
"Oh, this old thing? It's amazing what you can find when you break into super secret government bases."
The Doctor muttered a disgruntled disapproval I couldn't help but laugh at.

"Come on, let's check outside," I grabbed Xander's arm, dragging him along with me to the exit. When we reached the doors, they slammed shut as though the wind had blown them to do so. I had the eeriest feeling this wasn't, in fact, the case.
Even knowing they wouldn't open, I still wrestled with the stubborn metal handle.
Sighing, I slumped back over to the Doctor. He was crouched by the electronics box of the zombie shooter game, cursing at the sonic screwdriver for offering him no answers.

"Bad news is we're locked in," I leaned against the console beside him.
"Good news?" he tore his gaze from his work, looking up at me hopefully.
"You're stuck with us," I grinned, gesturing over at Xander with my eyes.
He rose to my height, his brow furrowed in worry.
"What?" I folded my arms defensively.
"Nothing," he replied, almost too immediately. He soon found something else to scan with the sonic, though I was sure he had shone the little green light at the exact same thing just moments ago.
"Right," I eyed him suspiciously.

A loud scream broke through the moment, offering him escape from my scrutinous questioning.
"Xander," I realised with a gasp, running over to the doors where he was standing.
"I'm okay, I'm okay," he breathed a sigh of relief. The causation of the scream stood where one of the machines had rebooted back to life; beneath the printed words 'Zoltar', a plastic man with a goatee sat behind the glass walls of the booth, his false hands hovering over a crystal ball. "These things creep me the hell out."
I breathlessly nodded in agreement, barely daring to break my stare from the glowing red eyes of the mannequin.

"Step away from it," the Doctor's voice cautioned from behind us.
"It's not doing anything," I reassured him. He worried too much.
"Charlotte... Xander, step away..."
I turned around to him. "It's fine, Doctor, really."
Instead of looking back at me, his eyes were glued on the Fortune Teller still. It wasn't often that the Time Lord's face could be seen to be plastered with fear - this was one of those rare moments.

My attention turned again to the mannequin, the metal casing it sat in humming against the silence. Out of a slit at the bottom, a card emerged.
"Don't touch that," the Doctor warned.
Yet an aura around it was beckoning, drawing in Xander's attention as he stood frozen to my side.
He gupled, reaching a trembling hand forward to withdraw the card. The side facing upwards was decorated in a sketch of the mannequin, 'Zoltar' printed above, 'Speaks' below. When Xander fearfully flipped it over, he read aloud what was written below 'YOUR FORTUNE'.
"Light may always be found in the shadows
And darkness may always be found in the glow
Where once flew three crows
Now flies one alone."