SIGNAL ~ Doctor Who fanfiction

Chapter 3

Author's Note

On Season 3 and I've gotta say, Martha Jones seems like an amazing character. Also, the Doctor getting slapped on the face seems like an ongoing theme on Doctor Who 😂

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Chapter 3 - The Ticking of Time

It was psychics class and Miss Gallagher stood in front, a thick psychics textbook in her hand. She adjusted her sunglasses as she placed a pile of worksheets files, and papers on the top of her desk, smiling. "Good morning, class. Now, open your textbook to page 103..."

Olivia turned her psychic textbook  to the said page and then put the Redford book hidden behind the textbook. She had already read the entire textbook already — so she wouldn't really miss anything. She continued to read the thick book, flipping through the history of her middle school.

Something at the corner of the page caught Olivia's eye. The book stated that originally there were 35 classrooms, but now there were only 33. It may be significant and unimportant, but every detail counts, especially when you're on the edge of turning cuckoo.

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A few decades ago, there was a fire that burnt up two classes, and the school didn't have enough money then to fix the classrooms. Now, despite having the funding and resources, they didn't bother to repair the classes and leave them there to rot, discarded.

So now that the bell for lunch break rung, she decided to go check it out.

The silence of the library was replaced with a newfound noisiness through the hallways. She walked up flights of stairs towards the end of the hall, and there it was. The classrooms were empty and discarded, just like the scenario from her dream.

She pulled out a hand, twisting the rusty metal door knob as the door opened, making an eerie creaking sound. She glanced faraway into a distance, but no peculiar woman was in sight. She took a few steps forward and took a deep breath.

Her fingers brushed over the scratches over the wooden door, and then she looked towards the shattered windows, the pieces of glass scattered over the floor. The thick layer of dust that covered the frames of the windows, and the burnt remains of the desks and chairs.

Suddenly, she heard of a slight movement and a cracking sound. She tried to keep her calm down. "Hello...? Is anyone here?"

"Olivia Watson," a voice called from the dark corners of the classroom.

"W-What? Who are you?" Olivia's body trembled slightly, her hands shaking and her voice quivering. "Show yourself!" She yelled across the room. She hoped it was a bunch of middle schoolers trying to pull a prank on her.

Silence. Utter silence. Was she hallucinating the voice? Is this a dream? She pinched her cheek to confirm she wasn't dreaming all of this up. So, she was definitely hallucinating, then.

She walked slowly to the end of the classroom, every footstep seeming heavy and tiring. She turned to the left, and in the corner of her eye she swore she saw movement. "H-Hello?" She gulped as she called once more, her voice this time almost as soft as a whisper.

She took another few brave steps forward, and she saw a shadow lurking in the corner. "Don't come near me," the voice echoed. Olivia couldn't tell if it it was a man or a woman's voice. And that triggered her curiosity even more.

Instead of backing away, she was more tempted to figure out who the person was. If she was in a horror movie, she'd be dead by now. "Why?" She asked. "Who are you?" She walked closer.

The person scrambled further into the corner, gulping. "Don't look at me. Please — for your own sake." And despite of his or her warning, Olivia proceeded to squat down, trying to get a better vision of the mysterious person.

Crystal blue eyes stared into her eyes. The eyes seemed to have a distant and faraway look, as if there was an entire galaxy hidden away inside them... And it was astonishingly beautiful. So many mysteries, so many possibilities, so much life, so much out there in the great unknown.

Olivia could practically see the stars twinkling through the night sky through her eyes, the sun rising above the sky, the planets twirling around in circles.... every second, every minute, every hour, every day, every year, the cycle repeating over and over again, never stopping...

The ticking of time, the cycle of the universe, what used to be, what should be, what would be, what could be...

... And she tumbled towards the ground, the pressure and weight of just thinking about it draining most of her energy. Olivia couldn't speak, all she could do was stay away from the person, looking away from his or her gaze. She shook her head, trying to get it out of her head.

"I'm sorry," the person said, horrified. "I'm so, so sorry... I warned you."

But the ticking of time was still stuck in her head, and it hurt, it bloody hurt. She pressed fingers on her head, trying to stabilise her stance and prevent herself from falling unconscious. And just to top that, memories of Roxy resurfaced. Flashes of her past came to her like a roller coaster.

Roxy. Scream. Bike. Blood.

She couldn't muffle her screaming as the memories imprinted in her mind almost as if it happened just yesterday. The mysterious person took the chance and ran past her, out of the classroom and into the school hallways.

Footsteps could be heard approaching."Olivia? Olivia, you okay there?" A boy's voice called. She turned to find her classmate Arthur, standing in front of the door. His eyes widen when he saw Olivia clutching her head and laying limply on the ground.

He immediately rushed towards her side. He checked for any sign of bruises or injuries. "Why are you here?" Olivia asked groggily, her energy slowly draining out.

"I was walking to the bathroom and I heard screaming. What happened?" Arthur asked, as he rested her head on his lap. They weren't close nor were they friends, but somehow a warm feeling crept into her heart as he stroked fingers through her long blonde hair.

And she felt safe.

That was all she remembered before the classroom around her started spinning into a blur, letting go of her consciousness in his arms and everything turning into a shade of black.