The Time Ring

It was a cold winter in London. Any way you looked, you could see people befuddled in clothes that kept them warm from the raspy wind. Women and men were ravishing the streets and shops for one simple reason. Christmas was just a few weeks from coming. However, not everyone was so concentrated on this holiday. A young looking girl was walking slowly through the streets of London on a route she got accustomed and bored with. Her beanie was hiding her brown long hair, her muffler hid her face, letting just her bright green eyes to be seen. Those orbs were watching the snowflakes dancing around until they would fall on the ground in the same graceful way.

"It's freaking cold and I'm so late" She rubbed her small hands and pulled the muffler closer to her face.

Days like these, the girl hated. It was cold, everyone was pushing around for more space, like they were the only ones walking on the street, hands full with shopping bags; kids were playing in the snow, not really caring if the next morning they would wake up with a fever; everyone was excited except her and the millions others living under the gray sky. The girl sighed from coldness and brought her bag closer, for more warmth. Her feet were taking her back from where she left just an hour ago; the Academy. Ditching school wasn't really what she planned but being herself, it was complicated not to. Why would she stay in the not very heated class room learning something she already knew when she could stay in the warmth of a chair with a hot chocolate in hand, in a small cafe? Her legs started a faster pace. She was running late for the next and last two periods which were history. Her father was an adventurous man, being an explorer and everything, that's why she never ditched history; for his memory and her sanity.

While still being in a rush, the girl heard a faint sound. It wasn't something usual, not that the girl expected something else. Weird things always happened in London. She had already seen enough. The noise was growing louder and louder even if she tried to ignore it. She got curious and took a turn. The girl found herself between two apartment buildings. There it was…

"That wasn't here an hour ago" She walked closer to the police box. It looked antique. She walked towards the front, still amazed of its sudden appearance. "This is so weird" The girl gasped when she touched it. Her ring started to glow a reddish color.

"Hello there!" The girls jumped in surprise and turned around in a blink of an eye. Her eyes traveled from a red pair of converse to a nice but old looking suite. The stranger had a pair of big brown eyes with brown messy matching hair and a wide smile. The girl glanced at her hand from the corner of her eye and saw the ring shining brighter.

"Who are you?" She was really curious.

"I am the Doctor. Who might you be?" The girl's mind went overdrive.

"I'm M-Maya. Is this" She started and pointed to the police box. "yours?" He nodded eagerly.

"Why of course. This is my Time and Relative Dimension In Space" It was a long name.

"TARDIS" The Doctor nodded.

"That would be the short version, yes" The Doctor looked closer at her. She was short and her bright green eyes were shining with innocence. Or that was what he saw at a first glance. Maya stared right back at him. "You seem to buy everythin' I say. Usually people wouldn't believe a stranger that just came from an old police box"Maya looked blankly at the man in front.

"People?"The Doctor nodded.

"You're pretty young, aren't you? Maybe 18? And a student" She raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"And you are the stranger that just came from an old police box" The Doctor laughed.

"Indeed I am" She glanced between the police box and the stranger. She could still feel her ring shining. It was a weird feeling. He was weird.

"You're different, aren't you?" The Doctor's eyes widened in amusement.

"How am I different?" She shrugged and bit her lip.

"This police box wasn't here an hour ago. It suddenly" She made a magical sound; like spuf. His smile widened.

"That's true. I just 'spuffed' here, as you said" He was teasing her; maybe. She didn't know.

"Why did you come here anyway?" He looked deeply in her eyes and shrugged.

"I don't really know. It was the TARDIS' choice" She was speechless. How was that police box supposed to choose. It didn't make sense. She backed off slowly and walked back on the public street. She raised an eyebrow when she saw nothing. The sight she just came from disappeared suddenly. The Doctor was right behind her and wasn't too bewildered.

"Where is everyone?" The question wasn't particularly for the Doctor but he responded anyway.

"It's cold. Maybe they went inside to warm up" The girl turned to him skeptical.

"Every single person?" He shrugged. Now that he looked better, the girl was right. The Doctor went back into the TARDIS and stood there for a few minutes. Maya was in the same place watching silently the police box. The Doctor walked out of it equipped for winter.

"Now, let's see where everyone is!" He exclaimed happily. Maya watched the Doctor pass her by and walk down the road. "Are ya coming?" Maya shook her head and ran after him. While walking, the girl couldn't really contain the need to glance at the new acquaintance.

"Who are you?" The Doctor didn't expect the straight-to-business tone.

"I'm a Time Lord, of course. I travel through space and time in my TARDIS. I'm the last from my specie" He glanced down at her big green curious eyes.

In his point of view she was an ordinary student who wanted more adventure in her life. The Doctor was entirely wrong. When Maya opened her mouth to say something else, they heard a big explosion coming from behind, where the Academy was. The Doctor turned around and sprinted towards it. It was rather hard for Maya to keep up with him, but she succeeded nonetheless.

When they arrived in front of the gate, the Doctor noticed something suspicious move towards the main building. Maya noticed it too. She grabbed the gate quickly and opening it.

"Wait" Maya stopped and glanced at her companion. "We don't know what's there and how dangerous it is. Stay behind me" The girl sprinted towards the entrance leaving the Doctor behind. "Hey!" He started running after her. Seeing themselves at the entrance, the Doctor glared at Maya. "What part of 'dangerous and stay behind me' didn't you understand?" Maya rolled her eyes again and opened the door slowly.

There was no one. They entered slowly, careful not to make loud noises. Seeing as the hall was soulless, they walked around with more confidence.

"Let's look around" Maya opened the doors from the class rooms on the right and the Doctor, the ones from the left. There was nothing unusual, except the fact that it was empty. An hour ago, the Academy was over populated with students.

While the Doctor was searching on his own, Maya decided to do the same with her side. She opened more than half of the class rooms and nothing. She went upstairs to looking through the halls. The Doctor entered a class room from the second level and walked towards the window. The sight outside was saddening. The white streets were empty and the shops were lifeless. There wasn't even a homeless dog barking aimlessly. He got interrupted when he heard Maya screaming.

"Um" The girl was shocked to meet a robot. It was looking down at her with blank eyes.

"Humans aren't allowed to roam. You need to be upgraded" Maya cringed at the high pitched sound. She glared at it.

"And what if I resist?" That was probably a rhetorical question. It usually had only one answer.

"Then you are not allowed to live. You get deleted" Her eyes widened in surprise. "Delete" She took a few steps back and gulped. She couldn't do anything to help herself or destroy it.

"Doctor!" She yelled, yet there was no one. "Doctor!" She yelled again. She was running upstairs when she collided with something. She looked up to see the man she had been screaming after. "Doctor! There's a robot roaming around saying something about upgrading humans and deleting the ones who resist!" The Doctor's expression made Maya realize he knew what she was talking about. He met it before.

"Cyber men" He mumbled. Maya's eyes widened. He took something out of his pocket and started to point it around.

"Is that a laser thingy?" He glanced at her. She was staring curiously at his screwdriver.

"It's my sonic screwdriver. It goes ding when it finds stuff" Maya stared at him blankly.

"So it's an alien laser thingy?" He stared right back at her, slightly amused.

"Yes, it is" She nodded and let him point the screwdriver around the hall. "We have to find the cyber man before he takes more humans" Maya sighed.

"The Academy was packed an hour ago. I think they've been upgraded already" The Doctor looked pitifully at Maya. She didn't like that look at all. "Maybe we can follow the cyber man. He should take us somewhere, right?" That wasn't a bad idea at all. He smiled. She was much smarter than she looked.

It wasn't hard to find the cyber man. It was really easy to follow him. The cyber man led the two through some small streets and alleys.

"Where do you think he's going?" The Doctor thought for a few seconds.

"Somewhere big" Maya's eyebrow twitched. It wasn't the smart answer she was waiting for.

"We're in London. Where would he take so many people?" He hummed and thought again. Maya was right. There were many big places but still, there were too many people.

"Maybe he didn't" Maya raised an eyebrow curiously. "Maybe he didn't take anyone. Maybe they went somewhere. Is there something happening today?" She thought about the possibilities for a moment when she remembered.

"I know where they are!" The Doctor raised an eyebrow and watched as he got dragged by the girl through more small streets.

Maya dragged the Doctor to the Christmas Tree. It was in the center of the city. Half of the city, or more, was there.

"So that's where everyone came. And they're actually having fun" The Doctor deducted. Maya stared at the tree in astonishment.

"They have no idea what's going on" She was right. But it was better like that. "Humans are such an easy prey, aren't we?"" She thought out loud. There was no response. She glanced around herself and realized there was no Doctor. She sighed again and went searching for the missing companion.

After almost two hours Maya still didn't find the Doctor. She was getting annoyed and tired. She couldn't go and tell people about the cyber men. She had no authority whatsoever. She sighed and took a break. When she finally took a seat at a random table, her ring started to glow. She inspected her surroundings for something out of ordinary. She noticed something in the distance. It was getting closer with each passing minute.

"Cyber men" She mumbled.