"There's something the Angels are very keen you should know before the end," he said.
"Which is?"
"I died in fear."
The Doctor paused. "... Sorry?"
"You told me my fear would keep me alive, but I died afraid, in pain and alone," the Angel says. "You made me trust you, and when it mattered, you let me down."
I glared at the communicator. "What are they doing?" Amy asked.
"They're trying to make him angry," she answered.
"I'm sorry, sir," he continued. "The Angels were very keen for you to know that."
"Well then, the Angels have made their second mistake because I'm not going to let that pass," the Doctor growled. "I'm sorry you're dead, Bob, but I swear to whatever is left of you, they will be sorrier."
"But you're trapped, sir," The Angel said. "And about to die."
"Yeah. I'm trapped," he agreed. "And you know what? Speaking of traps, this trap has got a great big mistake in it. A great big, whopping mistake."
"What mistake, sir?" He asked.
He turned to Amy, "Trust me?"
"Yeah," she answered.
He turned to River, "Trust me?"
"Always."
He turned to me, "Trust me?"
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't."
He turned to Father Octavian and his soldiers, "Oi! You lot trust me?"
"We have faith, sir," he answered.
"Then give me your gun," he replied. "I'm about to do something incredibly stupid and dangerous. When I do, jump!"
"Jump where?" He questioned.
"Just jump," he said. "High as you can. Come on, leap of faith, Bishop. On my signal."
"What signal?"
"You won't miss it."
"Sorry, can I ask again?" The Angel said. "You mentioned a mistake we made...?"
"Oh, big mistake. Huge," he said into the communicator and pointed his gun at the hull of the Byzantium. "Didn't anyone every tell you there's one thing you never put in a trap? If you're smart, if you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there is one thing you never, ever put in a trap."
"And what would that be sir?"
"Me," he shoots at the Byzantium.
Well, he wasn't wrong about not missing it...
Chapter 5: chapter five:
Hazel's POV
I heard a gunshot, and I jumped, just as everyone else did. I felt my stomach twist, and I fall through the air. A few seconds later, I'm on the ground, face first. "Up. Look up," the Doctor ordered and we looked up, staring at the Angels.
"Are you okay?" River asked, as we stood up shakily.
"What happened?" Amy asked, very confused.
"We jumped," River said.
"Up, up, look up," the Doctor said.
"Where are we?" Amy asked.
"Exactly where we were," I tried to explain, as the Doctor goes to my feet, and moves me over.
He sonics the circular hatch at my feet, and it turned open. "Doctor, what am I looking at?" Amy demanded. "Explain."
"Oh, come on, Amy, think," the Doctor grinned. "The ship crashed with the power still on, yeah? So what else is still on?" Amy blinked when she realized that we were on the roof of the Byzantium. "The artificial gravity. One good jump, and up we fell. Shot out the grav globe to give us an updraft, and here we are."
I grinned, "You have vertigo, don't you?" I patted her on the back, "Welcome to my world."
"Doctor, the statues," Father Octavian said. "They look more like Angels now."
"They're feeding on the radiation from the wreckage," he explained, the hatch was almost opened. "Draining all the power from the ship, restoring themselves. Within an hour, they'll be an army."
Just as it opened, a light exploded, and I jumped. "They're taking out the lights," The Doctor said, helping everyone inside the hatch. "Look at them. Look at the Angels. Into the ship, now. Quickly, all of you."
"How?" Amy asked as I fell into the ship, my feet moving to the floor.
"This gravity manipulation thing is getting on my nerves..." I muttered, going to where everyone else is.
"Okay, men. Go, go, go!" Octavian ordered, and the men go into position. The Doctor moved to the control panel to close the door. "The Angels. Presumably they can jump up too?"
The hatch closed. "They're here, now," the Doctor said gravelly. "In the dark, we're finished."
"That's reassuring," I shot at him, turning to keep eyes on the angels. The door on the other end started to close. "Run!"
"This whole place is a death trap!" Father Octavian muttered, just as the door closed. Nobody makes it.
"No, it's a time bomb," the Doctor corrected, although it really wasn't needed. "Well, it's a death trap and a time bomb. And now it's a dead end. Nobody panic. Oh, just me then. What's through here?"
"Secondary flight deck," River answered.
"Okay. so we've basically run up the inside of a chimney, yeah? So what if the gravity fails?" Amy asked.
"We'd probably all plunge to our deaths," I admitted.
"The security protocols are still live," the Doctor said. "There's no way to override them. It's impossible."
"How impossible?" River asked.
"Two minutes," he answered.
"The hull is breached and the power's failing," Octavian noted. An arm shoots out in the darkness, making me jump back.
"Sir, incoming!" One of the soldiers say.
"Doctor, lights!" Amy asked, as he fiddled with the control panel. The Angels enter the room, the lights are flickering. From what I could see, there are four.
"Clerics, keep watching them," Octavian ordered.
"And don't look at their eyes," he Doctor warned. "Anywhere else. Not the eyes. I've isolated the lighting grid. They can't drain the power now."
"Good work, Doctor," Octavian prasied.
"Yes. Good, good, good," he nodded. "Good in many ways. Good you like it so far."
"So far?" Amy and I echoed, noticing the 'if' in the sentence.
"Well, there's only one way to open this door," the Doctor explained. "I guess I'll need to route all the power in this section through the door control."
"Good. Fine. Do it," Octavian nodded absentmindedly.
"No, wait," I paused. "Does this mean you need to take out the lights too?"
"Yes. Including the lights," he nodded, and I frowned. "All of them. I'll need to turn out the lights."
"How long for?"
"Fraction of a second. Maybe longer," he admitted. "Maybe quite a bit longer."
"Maybe?"
"I'm guessing. We're being attacked by statues in a crashed ship," he sighed stressfully. "There isn't a manual for this."
"Doctor, we lost the torches. We'll be in total darkness," Amy stated.
"No other way, Bishop."
"Doctor Song," River looked up. "I've lost good Clerics today. You trust this man?"
"I absolutely trust him," she says firmly.
"He's not some kind of madman, then?"
"I absolutely trust him," she said again. You didn't answer the question... I thought.
"Excuse me?" The Doctor says in a sassy tone.
"I'm taking your word," Father Octavian glared -- I realize that his eyes are usually always set into a glare, and its hard to tell when it is or isn't. "Because you're the only one who can manage this guy. But that only works so long as he doesn't know who you are. You cost me any more men, and I might just tell him. Understood?"
Tell him what? That she might be related to Amy? "Understood," River nodded.
"Okay, Doctor. We've got your back," he nodded.
"Bless you, Bishop," the Doctor said jokingly.
"Combat distance, ten feet," he commanded his soldiers. "As soon as the lights go down, continuous fire. Full spread over the hostiles. Do not stop firing while the lights are out. Shot gun protocol. We don't have bullets to waste."
"Hazel, Amy, when the lights go down, the wheel should release. Spin it clockwise four turns," the
Doctor ordered.
"Ten."
"No, four. Four turns," the Doctor corrected.
"Yeah, I said four," I said, going to the wheel.
"Ready!" He plunged his sonic in the control panel, I tightened my grip on the iron wheel.
"On my count, then. God be with us all," Father Octavian said. "Three, two, one, fire!"
The lights go out and the soldiers begin to shoot at the angels. I turn the wheel as hard as I could. "Turn! Turn!" The Doctor shouted.
"I am!!" I yelled back. Soon, the door begins to open. "It's open!"
"Fall back!" The Doctor shouted, and we all run through the cracked door. I pull the Doctor in, and close the door.
The Doctor goes to the large controls, Amy and River following him."Doctor! What are you doing?" Amy asked.
I watched as Father Octavian placed a device on the door, and it stopped turning for a second. "Magnetized the door. Nothing could turn that wheel now."
"Yeah?" The Doctor asked, with a arched eyebrow.
The door begins to turn again, Father Octavian gasped, "Dear God!"
"Ah, now you're getting it," he told him. "You've bought us time though. That's good. I am good with time."
"Okay, new idea," I said, pulling up a chair. I took my hand and moved it slowly across the edge if the door, sealing the metal together. Once I get all around the door, I grin, "There. You can't open a door when there isn't one."
"You think?" He said, and the door cracks.
"Shit!" I cursed, mending it back, only to have the same result. "Okay. New plan," I said, jumping off the chair. "Octavian's soldiers, magnetize all the door, and I'll seal them once you're done." I pointed to one of the dark-skinned soldiers, "How many doors are there?"
"Three, miss."
I shook my head, "Nine."
The soldier gave me a weird look, "No, there's three."
"That's what I said," I nodded, and going to the door that was turning. "The most we can do right now is make sure these doors don't open. We're buying the Doctor as much time as we possibly can."
"Listen girl--" Father Octavian growled, taking me by the shoulder.
"No, you listen," I glared heavily, slapping his hand away. "I told you not to split everyone up, and you didn't listen, so now there's three people dead. I'm not going to let anyone else die. So it's either you follow my orders and help get this doors sealed, or you sit on your ass waiting for someone else to do it!"
Everyone stared at me, while I glared at the bishop, who was glaring as heavily back at me. "Seal the doors," he growled.
I smirked, "Good boy." I turned on heel, and walked towards the door, dragging the chair with me. I stood on the chair, sealing the ends, while the soldier magnetized it.
Once we finished, I went to the Doctor, who was staring at a immense forest with Amy and River, "Eight."
"What?" He asked, turning to me.
"I said the doors are sealed."
He nodded, "Is there another exit?" He asked River, "Scan the architecture, we don't have time to get lost in there."
"I can scout ahead, if you want," I suggested.
"No, don't need you getting lost."
"Giant bird kid in the sky? Hard to miss."
"But trees, on a space ship?" Amy asked.
"Oh, more than trees," he grinned cheerfully. "Way better than trees. You're going to love this. Treeborgs," he went to one of the trees, and pulled on the bark, revealing the wired interior.
"Trees plus technology," he continued, fascinatedly. "Branches become cables become sensors on the hull. A forest sucking in starlight, breathing out air. It even rains. There's a whole mini-climate. This vault is an ecopod running right through the heart of the ship. A forest in a bottle on a space ship in a maze. Have I impressed you yet, Amy Pond? Hazel?"
"Seven," I piped up.
"Seven?" He frowned.
"What? What's seven?" Amy asked.
"I don't know, what's seven?" I frowned.
"You. You said seven," the Doctor said.
"No, I didn't. I said 'interesting'."
"Yes, you did," River said.
"Doctor, there's an exit," Father Octavian informed. "Far end of the ship, into the Primary Flight Deck."
"Oh, good," he nodded. "That's where we need to go."
"Plotting a safe path now."
"Quick as you like," the Doctor commented.
"Doctor? Excuse me?" The Angel's voice said through the communicator. "Hello, Doctor? Angel Bob here, sir."
"Ah. There you are, Angel Bob," the Doctor grinned, taking the communicator. "How's life?" I snorted. "Sorry, bad subject."
"You've killed one of us," his voice said darkly through the communicator.
"Sorry about that," I said, then frowned. "Well, not really. Wasn't that hard either, but my foot hella sore right now, so..."
There was some kind of inhuman growl from the other end. "The Angels are wondering what you hope to achieve," he said.
"Achieve? We're not achieving anything," the Doctor admitted. "We're just hanging. It's nice in here. Consoles, comfy chairs, a forest. How's things with you?"
"The Angels are feasting, sir," he bragged. "Soon we will be able to absorb enough power to consume this vessel, this world. and all the stars and worlds beyond."
"Well, we've got comfy chairs. Did I mention?"
"We have no need of comfy chairs," Angel Bob -- since that name seemed to fit him in his... Situation.
"I made him say comfy chairs," the Doctor grinned childishly.
I chuckled, "Six." His smile melted.
"Okay, Bob, enough chat," he said. Here's what I want to know. What have you done to Hazel?"
"There is something in her eye."
"What's in her eye?"
"We are."
The Doctor looked at me. "What-- Doctor, I'm five," my eyes widened. "I'm five-- fine! I'm fine!"
"You're counting," River said.
"I'm not counting," I denied.
"You're counting down from ten," the Doctor said. "You have been for a couple of minutes."
"No I haven't," I frowned.
"Yeah, you have," Amy said.
I looked away, "Okay, if I was counting, then to what?"
"We shall take her," Angel Bob warned. "We shall take all of you. We shall have dominion over all time and space."
"Get a life, Bob," the Doctor laughed. "Oops, sorry again. There's power on this ship, but nowhere near that much."
"With respect, sir, there's more power on this ship than you yet understand," he said.
Suddenly, a loud screeching noise filled the air. I cried out in pain, and held my ears tightly, my face contorted in pain. I saw the Doctor say something in his communicator, and River when to my side. After the screeching stopped, my ears were ringing, and lightly dripping with blood.
"... The crack from my bedroom wall..." I heard Amy say as she pointed to the ceiling. My eyes slowly widened. It's-it's the crack!
-•/---
I shivered in my dog crate, my arms around my knees, and my head resting on my knees. My wings were clamped together tightly, since the Whitecoats wanted to make sure I didn't have the chance of escaping. At all.
Then, I heard screaming. Of, course, living in at the School and being ruthlessly experimented on, on a daily basis, I'd obviously be used to someone screaming.
But this was different.
This sounded like a desperate, heart-clenching screams. It didn't sound like a woman's, man's, girl's, nor boy's. It was like it was all... Combined together. And they all sounded like a desperate scream in terror.
I hated it.
It made my hair stand on ends, it made my back go rigid, it made me squeeze my knees tighter.
And it didn't stop.
At first, for a few minutes, I just endured the screaming. Just sitting there, in silence, biting my lip till it bled, and clenching my small hands into fist.
Then, it did something else, "No more," It said. It's tone was hushed, al
most in a whisper, and sounded like a weary old man.
I would always wonder, no more of what? And who was this person screaming?
I wasn't able to identify who, or what it was, and apparently, I was also the only one who would hear it, as well. None of the Whitecoats came to check it out and all of the other experiments thought I was insane than I already was.
Until, one day, the day I escaped, I found it.
At first, I was mad at myself for being such an idiot, and so, so oblivious to something that was staring me in the face. Was it because of the drugs they shot into my system that made me unable to understand? Was it because I just didn't care enough to find out who, or what, was screaming so horrifically? I don't know.
When I had finally escape the hellhole, aka the School, I looked at the cages and noticed that they weren't in a straight line, no, they were shaped in a irregular shape. Almost like a crack. And on top if the cages was a piercing white light, that seemed to show the inside to another world.
And that world was burning.
I didn't know what to do, I just stared at the scene. It was a complete slaughter, there were men, woman, children dying left and right. Robots shot at them, killing them instantly. Children were crying, the bloodshed was unspeakable.
I urged myself to leave, seeing that the Erasers who were coming were right behind me, but I couldn't move. I couldn't talk. I just flew in place, staring.
I saw two words engraved on a stone wall.
"No more."
--/---/•-•/•
"Hazel! Hazel come on, we're leaving," River said, grabbing my hand tightly. Before I knew it, I was being dragged out of the room, into the forest, leaving the Doctor behind.
After a few minutes of constant running, I slowed down, leaning against a tree, my ears had, luckily, stopped ringing. What was wrong with me? I've had to run miles in end and felt perfectly fine, so what's so different now?
"Hazel, are you okay?" Amy asked, approaching me.
I coughed, "Four," I muttered. My knees suddenly felt very weak, and I fell forward. Luckily, River caught my shoulders and directed me to a tree stump.
"Med scanner, now," she commanded.
"Doctor Song, we can't stay here," Father Octavian objected. "We've got to keep moving."
"We wait for the Doctor," River said firmly.
"Our mission is to make this wreckage safe and neutralize the Angels," Father Octavian argued. "Until that is achieved--"
Misfortune: A Time Travel Romance (Ball and Chain Book 1) Page 7