To Be Human

Chapter 22 - The Sound of the Drums

The Sound of the Drums, part 2 -

They found an empty warehouse to hide in. The Oracle went out to get take out so they would have something and returned with a plastic bag filled with food.

"How was it?", Jack asked her when she handed him the bag.

"I don't think anyone saw me. Anything new?", she asked.

"I've got this tuned to government wavelengths so we can follow what Saxon's doing", he gestured to his bracelet.

"It still says the Jones family taken in for questioning. Tell you what, though. No mention of Leo", the Doctor added.

"He's not as daft as he looks. I'm talking about my brother on the run. How did this happen?", Martha said next to him.

"Nice chips", Jack commented when he and the Oracle sat down, too, and started eating.

"Actually, they're not bad", the Doctor agreed.

"So, who is he?", Jack asked, "How come the ancient society of Time Lords created a psychopath?"

"And what is he to you? Like a colleague or...?", Martha added.

"A friend, at first", the Doctor answered.

"I thought you were going to say he was your secret brother or something", Martha said.

"You've been watching too much TV", the Doctor pointed at her.

"But all the legends of Gallifrey made it sound so perfect", Jack whispered, looking at the Oracle.

She smiled, "It was beautiful, certainly."

The Doctor smiled at her and she scooted closer to him to intertwine their hands as he kept talking.

"They used to call it the Shining World of the Seven Systems. And on the Continent of Wild Endeavour, in the Mountains of Solace and Solitude, there stood the Citadel of the Time Lords, the oldest and most mighty race in the universe, looking down on the galaxies below. Sworn never to interfere, only to watch", he paused before the next part, pulling the Oracle unnoticeably closer.

"Children of Gallifrey, taken from their families age of eight to enter the Academy. And some say that's when it all began. When he was a child. That's when the Master saw eternity. As a novice, he was taken for initiation. He stood in front of the Untempered Schism. It's a gap in the fabric of reality through which could be seen the whole of the vortex. You stand there, eight years old, staring at the raw power of time and space, just a child. Some would be inspired, some would run away, and some would go mad. Brr. I don't know."

"But you said earlier that you all did it", Jack said.

"We did. But as he said. Some are inspired, some run away. I was inspired. Trained for centuries to become the Oracle."

"What about you?", Martha asked the Doctor.

"Oh, the ones that ran away, I never stopped. Only saw our wedding day, then I ran."

The Oracle smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head and stayed there until Jack's bracelet beeped. They all looked up at him.

"Encrypted channel with files attached. Don't recognise it", he reported.

"Patch it through to the laptop", the Doctor told him and leaned forward, the women following to see it as well.

"Since we're telling stories, there's something I haven't told you."

The Torchwood logo appeared on the laptop and the Doctor turned to Jack angrily.