Chapter Four: A Calling

“You need to get out of here, right now!” ~The Doctor (10) in “The Lazarus Experiment”

                Rebecca woke up the next morning feeling refreshed, something that surprised her, especially considering the late hour that she finally managed to fall asleep the night before. Blinking away the sleep that remained, she turned over and looked at her clock. It read, in almost blindingly cheerful red letters, 4:27 A.M. She groaned and closed her eyes, as if denying the time would make it go away. Normally, she took every opportunity she could to sleep in. Yet today, for some reason she couldn’t fall back asleep. Something remained some half remembered dream that stayed with her, even upon waking. Something about music….

                Then it crushed down upon her, a symphony of sound and colour filling her senses. Harmonious music reverberated in her skull, music that would put angels to shame. This was what woke her up"music so beautiful that once heard, forgetting it was impossible. It was a song of simple rejoicing, welcoming the new day full of wonders and delight. Yet, amongst the orchestra of fluid music, one question haunted her.

                If she had dreamt the music, why could she still hear it?

                Even though this question was persistent, she still let the song carry her away. How did she live before the music, the wonderful, glorious melody that now inhabited her? She began to concentrate on the melody, listening for words, instruments, or even notes. But no matter how hard she listened, all she could pick out was music so breathtaking that she couldn’t help but shed a few tears. Not that it was a bad thing.

                She could have listened to that song all morning, yet the music changed so suddenly that she almost fell off of her bed. It swelled up in a burst of energy, changing from the quiet, fluid notes that it originally had to a louder tune. In fact, the change was so sudden that Rebecca almost covered her ears, as If that would stop the song. Now the music had a more distinct feel; before it was more of a drowsy song, but now it was filled with energy. Not angry, but just excited. The type of song that made people want to get up and do something. Why was she just sitting around? There was so much to do today!
                As if they were moving by their own accord, her arms propped herself up and her lets brought her downstairs. Every part of her body was tensed up, ready to move at the slightest command. Rebecca had to force herself to think rationally, slowly getting herself dressed and eating breakfast. At last, she could not bear it any longer with the music pounding in her head. So she wrote her dad a quick note, grabbed the car keys and rushed out the door, leaving a half-eaten bowl of cereal on the table behind her.

                As soon as she was in the car, she sped away. Now that she was moving, the song changed yet again. Now it became even more insistent, yet it also seemed like it was leading her somewhere. The feeling was completely irrational and irresistible at the same time. Not once did she question the fact there was music in her head, music that didn’t seem to be coming from anywhere. She only followed the call of the song, going where her instincts led her and not looking back.

*  *  *

                It wasn’t long before the melody died down, as all things must. With the music gone, the irrational urges stopped as well and she finally looked around to see where she was. The song had led her to a secluded alleyway in the middle of Cardiff. Rebecca knew for certain that she had never been there before in her life, yet the place felt familiar. It felt like… home. As she realized this, the music faded away into nothingness, leaving Rebecca in the car with only silence to keep her company.

                Now that she didn’t have the song guiding her actions, she started to see things more rationally. Rebecca felt incredibly stupid and childish for following a song, a song that came from her mind no less, to a random alleyway where she had never been before. She chastised herself for leaving her dad so early in the morning, leaving only a vague not to assure him she was alright. I should head home right now before he wakes up and starts worrying about me, She thought. I don’t want to give him a scare.

                So she put the key back in the ignition and turned it, starting the car once more. After a sputter and a sigh, it started back up again, almost hesitantly. She was about to speed away back to her house, wherever it was, when curiosity drew her eyes forward to the end of the alleyway.

                And her heart soared.

                For at the end of that alleyway, some little alleyway in the middle of Cardiff was a wooden blue box, about two heads taller than she was with the words ‘Police Box’ written on the top. Such a simple sight to see, yet it made her smile like a fool. Her thoughts ran wildly, racing faster than a swallow escaping capture. So this was why the music brought her here, because this was where the TARDIS was, and the Doctor, where she would be able to see so many new things, and"

                It took her a few moments to realize that if the police box, the TARDIS, was here in this alleyway, then it could not possibly be back in the clearing, where he promised he would be.

                Her smile soon faded.

                Rebecca then went through every moment between her and the Doctor, looking for something that was said that could account for this. Maybe she heard him wrong, or he had to do something important, or he just didn’t like her enough to stay, or something, anything that could make sense to this mess. These thoughts were highly unreasonable, born out of habit rather than actual doubt.

                Even to Rebecca the evidence was too clear to account for everything else. The Doctor had left her. Maybe not with malicious intent, but he still left her. Or tried to leave him, for through some miracle she was able to find him once again without being fully aware of it. Silently she thanked the music for leading her back to the TARDIS, though quickly scolded herself for thanking something that only existed in her head.

                Turning the ignition once more, the car’s engine stopped without complaint. Slamming the door behind her, she stalked out to the TARDIS. Quietly the music started up again, fitting her mood perfectly. She knew her anger was unfounded and more than a little unreasonable, expecting a complete stranger to keep his word. In fact, if anyone was to blame it was her having such high expectations and she was fully aware of this fact. But something about that man, who called himself the Doctor, made Rebecca trust him. Besides, she was really angry with herself for leaving her father so early in the morning on some childish instinct. Like most people, she found it much easier to take out her anger on someone else rather than herself.

                When she finally reached the TARDIS, she paused, observing the surface. She was making sure that it was the real thing and not some replica. Even thought Rebecca was mad, she knew that slamming doors wouldn’t get her anywhere. Taking a deep breath, she pushed on the door and sent a quick prayer to whatever gods that there were. With a faint click, the door opened and revealed the interior of the TARDIS, with the Doctor with his back to her, banging on the controls with a sledgehammer. Rebecca thought that she would be noticed in an instant, but the alien seemed too focused on beating the TARDS until it would work. Finally, growing bored with watching the Doctor abuse the poor TARDIS, Rebecca decided to say something. “Doctor?”

                “Oh, hullo there,” The Doctor replied and went back to hitting the controls until he realized what was going on. He turned around and took a step toward her, his voice taking on an intense quality. “How did you get in here?”

                Rebecca looked unfazed at the man in front of her, but in fact was terrified at the strength of the alien. Although he looked human, and a particularly strong one at that, he could have unknown powers that she could only guess at. Suddenly she wished she had stayed home that morning. Taking yet another deep breath, she forced herself to remain strong. “I pushed open the door. How else did you think I got in here?” Her voice didn’t sound as assured as she hoped it would. She strained her ears, listening for any trace of the song that gave her courage earlier. But all that her ears found was silence, and the urge to run away grew even stronger now that she didn’t have any support.

                “But that door was locked,” He said, taking another step towards her. “The strongest aliens in the universe have tried to get through those doors, yet a little girl opens them without a thought.”

                She was about to object to the Doctor calling her a little girl, but instead finding something else more useful to say. “Why did you leave me?” When he didn’t reply, she continued. “You said you would meet me back at the clearing yesterday. Yet you’re obviously not there right now.”

                “How did you find me?” The Doctor countered, taking yet another step towards her. Now there were only a few feet between the man and the human, and the latter was growing more anxious.

                Rebecca wouldn’t be distracted from her mission so easily. “No, no. That’s not how it works. You answer my question, and then I answer yours. Why didn’t you keep your promise?”

                It took a moment for him to answer, but at least he stopped moving towards her. When he finally did answer, his voice seemed more pained that she thought was possible. “I don’t want you to get hurt.” It was meant to be a simple statement, a simple answer to get Rebecca off of his back. Yet the way he said it made Rebecca realize that there was something truly special about this man, yet it comes with a price. A horrible, horrible price.

                “What do you mean? The time I’ve spent with you so far seemed relatively safe.” She asked, ignoring the feeling for foreboding that she had had just overcame her.

                Now it seemed like it was the Doctor taking the deep breaths, collecting his thoughts before he answered. “Many people have compared me to fire. The closer people get to me, the more they get burned. Sometimes they even"” At this point his voice broke a little bit, revealing only the surface of the pain that he was going through. “I don’t want any more people getting hurt.” He finished quickly, either forgetting about or purposely avoiding concluding his previous sentence.

                The deep emotion in his voice surprised Rebecca, almost preventing her from asking her next question. “What type of danger is there?”

                “No, no. You already got your question, two if we’re going to be exact.” With another step he was right in front of her. “Now I get my two questions. How did find me? And more importantly, how did you get in here?”

                “Lucky guess,” She said after a moment, shrugging her shoulders. “I was going for a car ride and I found you.” Even though it was a lie, for some reason she didn’t want to reveal the secret of the music to him. “And I’ve already answered the other question; the door was practically open. All I did was walk inside.”

                The Doctor searched her eyes, looking for something unknown to Rebecca and took another step forward. “This isn’t an order, but a request. Please, please,” He paused here for dramatic effect, hoping that this would help get the point across. “Leave me. Just go back home and try your best to forget about me. You’re too young to get caught up in all of this.” He motioned around him to the time machine and then faced her again. “You’ll thank me for it.”

                Almost before he was done speaking Rebecca was shaking her head. “No. I’m staying with you, and I’m not leaving until I get more answers. You’re the only one who has even begun to make sense of my life, Doctor. I’m not giving up on that.”

                “I’m sorry to hear that, Rebecca. I really am. And I’m sorry about this,” He said while leaning forward until their faces were almost touching. She was more than a little confused at what was happening, and the Doctor used that confusion to help him. Before she knew what was happening, she was out of the door and the door was shutting in her face. A second later the click of the lock was heard, shutting her away from the Doctor’s world.

Author's Note

I only have one question for you, my lovely doves.

1. How was my description of the music in her head? Is there anything I can do to improve it?

Review please?

Reviews

[compositionc]

1. GALLIFREYAN MUSIC LIKE GOH SAID

Very idiosyncratic.

[~goh~]

Dude, I bet that was Gallifreyan music!
I feel so smart :3

[obvious pseudonym]

the music was really good and i'm interested to know where it came from. YOU NEED TO WRITE MORE BEFORE I EAT YOU!!!!

[DontBlink158]

Im not a music person, although i can tell you that i thought it was good and i understood it. (mabey its cause im a bit off) but i thought it was good and i understood the piont you were trying to get acrost. I loved the chapter and cant wait to read more, please RR me. Keep righting!