The Legend of Gallifrey ~ [Doctor Who]

Part 6 | Shadows of Time

The TARDIS didn't want to materialize. The Doctor had to practically fight it, but it eventually caved in to his will and materialized, and allowed him to step out.

He was immediately out of place. This place was very dark and crowded, and the Doctor was standing there in his multicolored coat and blonde hair. People immediately looked at him.

The hallway was indeed very dark, filled with people from various races dressed in black rags and dark colored skins tied around their ankles with twine, to form makeshift shoes. This was what was usually referred to as a ghetto. The station, called Gamma Five, had once been a prosperous place of commerce and sanctuary, but the world which it once orbited had been attacked and the Daleks and wiped out completely. Now the station orbited a sun inside a field of asteroids, and it had been abandoned by the officials. It had since been populated by fugitives and dust dealers.

The Doctor walked down the hallway, attracting strange looks from the locals. He had come here with a goal in mind, he likely wouldn't have come here for any other reason. An old friend of his, an Akhatite, one of the guys with the three lines on their cheeks. He'd told the Doctor that a valuable artifact belonging to his people had been stolen by the gang that apparently ran this station. The Doctor had promised to return it.

A scream echoed from down the corridor and all the people stood up, grabbed as much stuff as they could carry, then rushed away from where the scream came from. Within seconds, the hallway was completely empty, and the Doctor stood alone.

Down the hallway, a light flickered and went out. Then the next light. Slowly, the darkness began making its way towards the Doctor, who turned and ran. He ran past the TARDIS, then realized he would be safe in there. He stopped for a moment and turned around, but the light right above it flickered. He didn't have enough time to get back in, so he turned around again and ran.

The light above the TARDIS flickered out, and the Doctor could hear the Hostile Action Displacement System kick into effect, causing the TARDIS to dematerialize. The darkness was getting closer to him, it was almost on the end of his coat, which trailed behind him as he ran.

He saw a door at the end of the corridor. The people who'd abandoned the hallway were on the other side. They were closing the door, but luckily they saw the Doctor and decided to help him through. He practically dove through the door and the locals slammed it quickly. Through the door's window, they could see the light in front of the door flicker and go out.

The Doctor lay on the floor with the locals staring down at him, panting. He grabbed the end of his coat and held it up, noticing the ragged edges, as if something had chewed it furiously.

"What," he panted, "was that?"

The locals looked at him funny for a moment, but instead of answering him they all went about spreading blankets and arranging their few possessions they'd saved from the murderous shadows.

"Hey, answer me!" the Doctor yelled, but it was pointless. None of the locals even acknowledged his brightly colored coat now, although with the ragged tails it did blend in a little more.

The Doctor refused to take no for an answer. He focused on the nearest local, a female human with long, wavy brown hair and a black tattered dress, and grabbed her shoulder. She tried to ignore him, but her eyes kept darting over to him and back to her arranging.

"Miss," said the Doctor, impatiently. "What was that that just attacked me and sent my TARDIS flying off to who knows where?"

Her eyes darted quickly over to a shadow in the corner. It seemed unusually dark, even for this station. The Doctor grabbed his sonic screwdriver and scanned the area.