"Father Octavian, when the Doctor's in the room, your one and only mission is to keep him alive long enough to get everyone else home," River growled at the man, her face red with anger. "And trust me, it's not easy. Now, if he's dead back there, I'll never forgive myself. And if he's alive, I'll never forgive him. And, Doctor, you're standing right behind me, aren't you?"
"Oh, yeah," he grinned leaning against the tree.
"I hate you," she muttered, as the Doctor moved forward.
"You don't," he grinned. "Bishop, the Angels are in the forest."
"We need visual contact on every line of approach," Father Octavian informed.
"How did you get past them?" River asked.
"I found a crack in the wall and told them it was the end of the universe," he explained.
"What was it?" Amy asked.
"The end of the universe," he admitted, and turned to me. "Let's have a look, then."
"What's wrong with me?" I asked, my face as hard as stone.
"Nothing, you're fine," River said.
I glared at her, "You're lying. Give me a straight answer."
"Everything's wrong," he said. "You're dying."
"Good," I nodded. I quickly checked my wrist.
"What are you looking for?" Amy asked.
"Expiration date," I explained. "Shows up when I'm supposed to die. River, check my neck." River stepped over, and checked the nape and base of my neck.
"Oh my..." She gasped. "I heard that you had a expiration date, but I never believed..."
"Yeah, I know, fantastic," I said. "Date. What's the date?"
She took a deep breath, "March 23, 10394."
"What's today?"
"March 23."
I cursed. "Something's in her eye," the Doctor said. "What does that mean? Does it mean anything?"
"Doctor," Amy spoke up.
"Busy," he replied.
"Is she going to be okay?"
"Don't know yet. I need to think. Shut up."
Amy frowned, "It's okay, let him think," River soothed her.
"What happened? She stared at the Angel," he thought out loud. "She looked into the eyes of an Angel for too long--"
"Sir! Angel incoming!" One of the soldiers cried.
"And here!" Another said.
"Keep visual contact. Do not let it move," Father Octavian ordered.
"Come on, come on, come on," he rambled. "Wakey, wakey. She watched an Angel climb out of the screen. She stared at the Angel and, and--"
"The image of an angel, is an angel," I murmured.
He shot up and stared at me, "A living mental image in a living human mind. But we stare at them to stop them getting closer. We don't even blink, and that is exactly what they want. Because as long as our eyes are open, they can climb inside. There's an Angel in her mind!" He pointed his sonic in my eyes and I winced.
"Three. Doctor, it's coming," I said in a steady voice. "I'm going to die." The headache from earlier is intensified. I can hear their heartbeats again and its pounding in my mind. I groan in pain and hold my head.
"Please just shut up. I'm thinking," he rambled, and begins to pace. "Now, counting. What's that about?" He went to the communicator, "Bob, why are they making her count?"
"To make her afraid, sir," he answered.
"Okay, but why? What for?!"
"For fun, sir," the Doctor threw the communicator away in annoyance.
"What's going to happen to me?" I asked, firmly.
"Inside your head, in the vision centers of your brain, there's an Angel," he explained stress-fully. "It's like there's a screen, a virtual screen inside your mind and the Angel is climbing out of it, and it's coming to shut you off."
"Two. Okay, then we need to stop it first, right?"
"Yes, but my brain hasn't quite gotten there yet."
"Doctor, she's got seconds," River said, and I gritted my teeth.
"The angel uses vision to see, so all we need to do is stop it," I said, the wheels in my brain churning. "With the screen, I threw the knife at it on the blip. All I need to do is starve it. Cut off the vision centers. Close my eyes." I take a deep breath, and close my eyes.
"You're normalizing! You did it. You did it!" River said with a breath of relief.
"How'd you figure that one out?" The Doctor asked.
"River, check my neck. Is it still there?" I asked.
River goes over, and pulled on the back of my shirt. "It's fading."
"Great," I exhale. "Fantastic."
"Sir? Two more incoming," a soldier says from the trees.
"Three more over here," Someone else says.
"She's still weak," River said. "It's too dangerous to move her."
"So... Can she open her eyes now?" Amy asked.
"No," the Doctor answered. "Hazel, if you open up your eyes for more than a second, you'll die. The Angel is still inside you. We haven't stopped it, we've just sort of paused it. You've used up your countdown. You cannot open your eyes."
"Got it," I nodded. "No moving and no seeing."
"Doctor, we're too exposed here," Octavian announced. "We have to move on."
"We're in a forest, anywhere would be too exposed," I scoffed.
"She's right. Plus, Hazel can't move " The Doctor said, getting up. "And anyway, that's not the plan."
"There's a plan?" River asked disbelievingly.
"I don't know yet. I haven't finished talking. Right! Father, you and your Clerics, you're going to stay here, look after Hazel. If anything happens to her, I'll hold every single one of you personally responsible, twice. River, you, me, and Amy, we're going to find the Primary Flight Deck which is," he paused. "A quarter of a mile straight ahead, and from there we're going to stabilize the wreckage, stop the Angels, and cure Hazel."
"How?"
"I'll do a thing."
"What thing?"
"I don't know. It's a thing in progress. Respect the thing. Moving out!"
"Doctor, I'm coming with you," Octavian said. "My Clerics'll look after the girl. These are my best men. They'd lay down their lives in her protection."
"I don't need you," he said.
"I don't care. Where Doctor Song goes, I go."
"What? You two engaged or something?"
"Yes, in a manner of speaking," he scoffed. "Marco, you're in charge till I get back."
"Sir?" A soldier called.
"Doctor, can I come with you?" I asked him.
"You'd slow us down, Miss Hazel," Octavian said.
I rolled my eyes, "No. Not really. I could stay overhead and look out," I suggested.
"And just how are you going to do that?" He scoffed. "What, are you going to spout wings and fly?"
I laughed, "I love it when people say that."
"Either way," River cut in. "Although the Angel has been stopped, it's still in your mind. It's still too dangerous for you to move."
"Besides, you'll be safer here," the Doctor added. "We can't protect you on the move. I'll be back for you soon as I can, I promise."
"If I had a nickel for everytime someone said that..." I muttered.
"I always come back," he assured. "Good luck, everyone. Behave. Do not let that girl open her eyes. And keep watching the forest. Stop those Angels advancing. Hazel, later. River, going to need your computer!" I heard him run off, and I sighed, sitting quietly on the tree stump.
•--/•-/•-••/•-••
Amy's POV
She was standing along the side, watching out for the Angels when she felt someone touch her shoulder. "Amy, you need to start trusting me. It's never been more important," it was he Doctor.
"But you don't always tell me the truth," she frowned, not even bothering to look at him.
"If I always told you the truth, I wouldn't need you to trust me."
"Doctor, the crack in my wall. How can it be here?"
"I don't know yet," he admitted. "But I'm working it out. Now, listen. Remember what I told you when you were seven?"
"Wha
t did you tell me?"
"No. No, that's not the point. You have to remember." He paused, "And please, remind me to remember Hazel."
"Remember what?" She asked turning around to look at him. "What's happened with Hazel? Doctor? Doctor?" He was gone.
•••/-/---/-•/•
Hazel's POV
I sat numbly on the stool, hearing the Doctor, Amy, River, and Octavian announce their leave. After they were out of hearing range, which was several meters, the forest was left somewhat silent. I could still hear the heartbeats, but it had been dulled ever since we stopped the Angel. I sighed, if I was going to sit on this stump and do nothing, I might as well make myself useful.
I moved to pull off my shoes, "Miss Hazel, what are you doing?" One of the soldiers asked, who was positioned beside me.
"Oh, nothing really," I shrugged as I slipped off my sock and threw my shoe ahead of me.
"... Why are you taking off your shoes, Miss?"
"I'm bored," I shrugged, going to the other one.
I could feel the weird look he game me and then he sighed, "Okay...?"
I chuckled and placed my feet on the bare floor, moving past all the fake dirt and leaves until I got down the the real metal flooring. "There's an Angel. Twenty feet. Ten o' clock," I told the soldier, who gave me an odd look.
"With all due respect, how do you know? You can't--"
"Another Angel spotted!" A soldier shouted, making the man raise an eyebrow as a soldier went over there.
"Vibrations in the metal," I explained to the confused male. "Life-sized creepy stone Angels don't exactly tip-toe."
"It's twenty feet away," he scoffed. "Vibrations don't travel that far. Nobody could sense that."
"You don't exactly know me, do you?" I grinned to myself. "Just, forget abou-- AH!" I cried in pain, jumping a little. "Stupid Angels! Stupid electricity!" I grumbled, rubbing my feet.
"What happened?" Hw asked concernedly.
"Angels rerouted the power through the metal shock my feet, make my senses go haywire for a while, dammit," I mumbled, feeling my scorned feet.
"That explains why the trees are going out..." He murmured.
"Sorry, they're what?!"
"They're taking out the lights. They're ripping apart the Treeborgs, Miss," he explained in a clam voice but I could sense his anxiety.
"Okay, so that means no light?" I said, the bride of my nose.
Before he could answer, someone shouted, "Angels advancing, sir."
"Over here again."
"Weapons primed," he ordered the soldiers. "Combat distance five feet. Wait for it."
"Angels are coming," I murmured, and the heartbeats gradually increasing. "Remember, don't look them in the eyes!"
"Keep position," he ordered. "And keep your eyes closed, Miss!" He paused, "Wait."
Then, the heartbeats stopped. Not just the angels, but everything in this area, except for the soldiers, of course. It just... Stopped. "The ship's not on fire, is it?" Someone asked, (I've really gotta learn their names).
"No," I frowned. "Couldn't be. I'd smell it."
"And, the compressors would have taken care of it," he added. "Marco, the Angels have gone. Where'd they go?"
"The Angel's?" I frowned, the heartbeats did... Stop. Where did they disappear to...?
"This side's clear too, sir," Someone else said.
"Where did they go off to?" I asked, slightly panicking now. "They couldn't have just disappeared in thin air...?"
"There's still movement out there," The soldier beside me said. "But away from us now. It's like they're running."
This interested me, "Running from what?"
"Phillip, Crispin, need to get a closer look at that," he said to the soldiers. Immediately, I heard their footsteps crunch in the fake grass as they left.
"What are you guys looking at? Where'd the Angels go?"
"It's like... I don't know," he admitted. "A curtain of energy, sort of shifting. Makes you feel weird. Sick."
"And you think it scared the Angels?" I asked.
He scoffed lightly, "What could scare those things?"
"Let me see it," I ordered.
"What? No, you're not to open up your eyes."
"The Doctor said that I can't open them for more than a second. It'll be quick, I promise."
"Miss, you can't," he pleaded.
"I don't got time for this," I groaned. "I'll just look for a second. Now, please, point me to it."
He paused, "Fine." He took my shoulders and pointed me to the direction of the supposed light.
I snapped my eyes open to see the brightly burning crack on the forest wall, the same exact crack that was shaped as the cages at the school. "What... The hell? How is that here?!"
"Miss, close your eyes!"
"It-it can't be here!" I exclaimed, feeling lightheaded, but shoved it away. Did the School do this?! How--
My thoughts were cut off by my body swaying dangerously and I closed my eyes again, panting heavily. "Are you okay?" The soldier asked.
"Yeah..." I breathed, "Yeah... I'm okay now... But, how is it here...?"
"Marco, you want me to get a closer look at that?" A soldier asked. Oh, so his name was Marco...
"Go for it, but don't get too close," he warned.
"Wait," I called. "What about the other two?"
"What other two?" He-- Marco frowned.
"You know, the other two. What were their names... Philip and Crispy? No... Crispin. What about them?"
"Who?"
I frowned, "You know, those two. You just sent them there just a minute ago."
"Hazel, there never was a Crispin or a Phillip on this mission," he assured. "I promise you."
"You have got to be kidding me," I muttered. "I know that there was a Philip and a Crispin! You sent them just before you sent the one you just sent now!"
"Miss, what are you talking about, I haven't sent anyone. It was just us."
Now, I was gaping. "Wha-what are you talking about?! You just sent him, I heard you!" I was so frustrated, what was going on?!
"It's only been the two of us," he tried to explain, but I wasn't buying it.
"No, there were five of us! Then, you kept sending them off and forgetting about them!"
"Listen. Listen," he tried to calm me down. "I need to get a closer look at that light, whatever it is. Don't worry, I won't get too close."
"No! Don't go!!" I cried, now knowing that he would disappear too. "Stay here, the Doctor said that you were supposed to stay here!"
"Here," he placed something in my hands. It was a rectangle and blocky. "Spare communicator. I'll stay in touch the whole time."
"Don't you dare leave!" I growled angrily. "You need to--"
"I promise I'll keep in touch," he assured and let go of my hand. "I'll only be two minutes." He let go, and I heard his footsteps crunch into the leaves.
"No!" I shouted, "Please, just listen to me! Stop!" He leaves me breathing heavily. I fumbled with the communicator, somehow managing to turn it on. "Hello? Marco?! Hello?"
"I'm here," he called back. I sigh in relief when I hear his heartbeat beating through the communicator. "I'm fine. Quite close to it now."
"That's great, now come back," I told him. "Now."
"It's weird looking at it," he said. "It feels really--" he never finished that sentence. His heartbeat on the communicator went silent.
"Marco?! Marco, what happened? Marco where are you?!" I asked frantically, my panic increasing gradually.
"Hazel? Hazel is that you?" The Doctor called from the end.
"Doctor?" I answered, relieved to hear the sound of his voice. "Doctor! Please tell me you're coming back."
"Hazel, are the Clerics with you?" His voice answered.
"No. Not anymore," I frowned. "They've left. They went towards the crack. When one left, they didn't even remember him."
"No they wouldn't..." He trailed off. I heard River's voice on the other end. "Hazel, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have
left you, I've made a mistake."
"It's okay," I said. "Tell me what to do?"
"You come to us," he said. "The Primary Flight Deck, the other end of the forest."
"I can't see," I mentioned. "And the Angels messed up my feet earlier, so I can't feel through the metal."
"Turn on the spot," he commanded, and I did so. I heard a familiar whirring sound. "When the communicator sounds like my screwdriver, that means you're facing the right way. Follow the sound. You have to start moving now. There's Time Energy spilling out of that crack, and you have to stay ahead of it."
"Okay, what about the angels?" I asked.
"I'm sorry, I really am, but the Angels can only kill you."
"And, what will the Time Energy do?"
"Just keep moving!"
"Tell. Me," I growled threateningly.
There was a small pause, "If the Time Energy catches up with you, you'll never have been born. It will erase every moment of your existence. You will never have lived at all. Now, keep your eyes shut and keep moving!"
"Okay," I nodded and began walking quickly. "Just keep moving." I walked blindly through the forest, the feeling in my feet gradually returning, so I was able to maneuver past trees and such.
"Hazel, listen to me," the Doctor's voice came through the communicator. "I'm sending a bit of software to your communicator. It's a proximity detector. it'll beep if there's something in your way. You just maneuver till the beeping stops. Because, Hazel, this is important. A forest full of Angels. You're going to have to walk like you can see."
I froze for a split second, "Walk like I can see? You mean...?"
"Just-just keep moving!"
I took a deep breath, and kept walking quickly, until suddenly, the communicator beeped sharply. "Doctor, what's going on?"
"It's a warning," he informed. "There are Angels round you now." My blood ran cold, and I nearly tripped.
"What?"
"Hazel, listen to me. This is going to be hard but I know, you can do it. The Angels are scared, and running, and right now they're not that interested in you. They'll assume you can see them and their instincts will kick in. All you've got to do is walk like you can see."
"Oh, okay, that makes much more sense." I nodded and began to move slowly around the angel, completely ducking under them. I began to walk quickly when I'm sure I'm out, when I accidently bumped my toe on a uproot, and fall on my face, the communicator flying out of my hands.
Misfortune: A Time Travel Romance (Ball and Chain Book 1) Page 8