Before You Die

“All right,” I sighed. “You want the Doctor and I want the Tardis. Now, it’s a win – win situation as soon as you tell me where it is.”

“What makes you think that it’s in our possession?”

“Look, you’re horrible at sneaking. I watched you take it. You just happen to do a very good disappearing act. Unlike you Helia,” I added as I saw him beginning to step backwards, away from me. “You’re helping me remember?”

“Yes,” he said grudgingly, slumping in defeat.

“So,” I continued turning back to the Gangores. “You lot can’t get into it. So if we find it, Helia will tell us where his friends are and I’ll get my friend back and you can have the Doctor. Fair deal?”

“What?” Helia said. “How am I supposed to get in contact with my family?”

“I’ve seen you communicating with that device on your wrist so don’t act like you don’t know where the Doctor is. So dear Gangores,” I said. “Tardis?”

“Follow us,” one of them said wearily, probably sick of all my talking. I admit, I was kind of sick of talking. But the day I actually shut up would be the day I died.

Helia reluctantly followed as we traipsed through the grass, the Gangores’ lights the only source of light in the impenetrable darkness. The cool night breeze cut through the alley as we walked between buildings and he seemed to be shivering uncontrollably.

“Dude, it’s not even that cold.”

“I come from a warm planet,” he responded through chattering teeth.

“Don’t give me any of that crap. I know that temperatures get to below 100 degrees at times.”

“Yeah,” he scoffed. “During ice ages.”

As we came to the end of the alley, I realised that this was where the Doctor and I had traced the Tardis to before.

“Is there a reason why we’re-Oh.”

One of the Gangores pressed his hand to the brick and the wall vanished, creating a clear passageway to the other sides of the buildings blocked only by the Tardis.

“Okay then,” I said, pulling my replicate Mistilec from my coat and pressing a few buttons extremely fast. Pulling the trigger on both of them, a flash of white light ensued and they fell to the floor.

“Whoa,” Helia commented. “Did you just kill them?”

“Hell no,” I responded in horror. “Why would I kill them? Wait, don’t answer that. I forgot who I was talking to.”

I stepped towards the blue box and already knowing that I wouldn’t be able to open the door uselessly tried anyway. When it didn’t budge, I sighed and turned to lean against the door, facing Helia with my arms folded across my chest as I pondered what to do next.

“Call up your people,” I said, finally to Helia. “Tell ’em we’ve got the Tardis.”

“Aren’t you going in...”

“I don’t have a key,” I admitted reluctantly.

“So...you LIED to me?”

“I never said you’d see the inside of it. But you’ve kidnapped my...friends so I think we’re even.”

“That’s a matter of perspective,” he muttered, drawing his wrist up to his mouth and saying, “Alexo, come in.”

“Put it on loudspeaker,” I ordered, hoping that it had one.

With a sigh he pressed a blue button and I heard a clear response hissing, “What is it this time Helia? Uncle’s in the middle of his speech.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have moved without telling me where you were,” he retorted. “Dad’s speech sucks anyway.”

“What did you call me for?”

“I’m standing across from the Human Timelord who guards the entrance to the Tardis. Now I would love to know where you lot are right now so I can bring them, but it results on you actually giving me the right place to go.”

“We’re underneath the Ferris wheel. I’ll teleport you all here.”

Well that explained why it was closed for repairs. Damned Deknera couldn’t have chosen someplace else? The whole thing was so suss and I really wanted to know what was truly going on around here. And where the hell had those Gangores come from?

I was so absorbed in my thinking that I didn’t realise we’d been teleported until I felt a tap on my shoulder and realised that Benjamin Brown was standing next to me.

“Erica?!” he exclaimed in shock.

I held up my hand to silence him, pulling out my Mistilec at the same time and pointing it towards Helia.

“All right Helia,” I started. “You’ve helped me so far, don’t stop now. I want you to go outside and tell Alexo that we’ve escaped. Please understand that you will never hear or see me again. Thank you for your cooperation. Good bye.”

He opened his mouth to protest but walked up to the small prison’s door and muttered, “It’s Helia,” to the person outside the door who I’m assuming was Alexo – his cousin.

The door opened and he stepped outside but rather than doing what I said, he hi-fived Alexo and shut the door with a smug smile. It was then that I realised Ben was standing next to me, but the Doctor most certainly wasn’t.

“Oh crap,” I muttered, looking around the Tardis and seeing the empty dungeon. Well, I guess it was time for Plan B.