Council War Room – Gallifrey – Final Day of the Time War (Aborted Timeline)
The council table was occupied by three people. At the top sat the Visionary a woman with wispy grey hair which covered the unique markings on her face. Her robes were old and worn in comparison to those of the men sitting at the head of the table. Sprawled across the table in front of her were a collection scrolls and scribbles of parchment which she studied attentively. Her very body language gave off an air of insanity. Her hand were twisted and arthritic distorted beyond recognition. If she bore insanity, it could be said that the men at the opposite end of the table did the same but only for authority. Quite rightly so, because these were the two most powerful men on Gallifrey, their authority was absolute.
On the left was Rassilon, Lord President of the Time Lords and ruler of Gallifrey. An average height man with short grey hair. He was largely unremarkable save for his robes embroidered with gold, a symbol of his importance. His left hand is dressed with an iron glove. It is often said that absolute power corrupts absolutely. If ever there was a personification of that sentiment, it was Rassilon.
On the right was the General, he was in charge of the Gallifreyan army and in command of the planet’s second city; Arcadia. As such he wore the armour of a Chancellery Guard, except a much more extravagant version laced with gold and plastered with Gallifreyan symbols. He was sitting with his arms crossed, closed to Rassilon’s ideas. This snapshot was very apt to summarise the turbulent relationship between the two.
“Report” Rassilon broke the uncomfortable silence. “Why have you come all the way to the Citadel to talk to me?”
“My Lord President,” The usual, socially accepted greeting was laced with malice, “As you are aware, we are losing this war. I’ve received news from the Evangelist. The Sky Trenches are barely functional. It’s only a matter of time before the Daleks are on top of us. Gallifrey will fall today”
“And? “ His impassive response did little to alleviate the tension between the two men. “You are in charge of that. I expected better. Are you sure that you can’t provide the support necessary.”
“No,” he sighed as if a large weight were crushing his chest. “I simply don’t have enough men, we’ve suffered casualties, far too many.”
“So it seems we need to find a way of getting more soldiers.” He paused for a moment deep in thought. After what seemed like a life time he continued. “I have an idea.” Turning to the guard at the door of the council room he commanded, “Bring me the child! Now!”
****
Dalek Ship – Above the Sky Trenches (Six Months Earlier)
How do you surprise a Dalek? It’s a tricky question. Surprise is another word for shock, shock is a feeling, and everyone knows that Daleks don’t have feelings. When it comes to Daleks there is no such thing as the element of surprise, because you cannot surprise a Dalek. This was something the team realised when they landed on the Dalek ship. Their advantage was the few seconds until the Daleks realised what was happening. Unfortunately it took the team the same time to adjust to their new surroundings. The alarm had already been sounded, and Daleks were advancing in all directions. The team barely had time to raise their weapons before the onslaught began.
“Find cover.” The Evangelist ordered, “Shoot to kill, try not to damage to the ship”
Trader who had quickly rolled into cover re-emerged with his weapons raised firing blindly in the general direction of the Daleks. Through either sheer luck or extreme skill, the majority of his shots hit their targets destroying four Daleks. “Four!” He exclaimed as he moved out of site.
Sureshot had adopted a different approach, he skirted around the perimeter of the ship adopting a conservative approach of only shooting when he had a clear chance to hit a target. If he wasn’t certain of the shot, he didn’t take it for fear of giving away his position and wasting his ammo.
Ninja being a swordsman had to get close to the Daleks in order to cause any damage. Fortunately he was extremely agile, and able to avoid the oncoming barrage of Dalek fire. When he could not twist and turn in time, he used the edge of the blade to direct the Dalek fire away. When reached his targets he swiftly cut their eyestalks rendering them essentially harmless before finishing them off with one clean stroke through their casing.
Doc was in charge of inserting the virus into the ship to allow Einstein to hack and control it. As such it fell to the Evangelist and the Kid to buy him time. They were the only three remaining in the open area of the ship and were being pressed heavily by the Daleks. A blizzard of fire was exchanged in both directions with the majority missing their target. Eventually the Daleks were overpowered as the Evangelist and the Kid became more clinical with their fire. The Evangelist ordered the Kid to cover him while he advanced to draw out the remaining Daleks. Their plan was mostly successful as the Daleks fell for it allowing the Kid to easily pick them off. Her heart raced as she spotted a Dalek approaching the Evangelist from behind. She shouted a warning to him as she raised her weapon and fired at the Dalek.
“Exterminate” A supreme Dalek emerged from the shadows at the back of the ship. Before anyone could react, it had fired its weapon producing a beam of pure blue energy. The team looked on helpless as the beam connected squarely with the Kid’s chest. With a look of shock on her face she felt extreme pain in every muscle in her body. After a few seconds her legs gave way, too weak to hold her weight. She slumped onto the floor. Trader was quick to fire his own weapon, disintegrating the supreme Dalek.
“Doc we need a medic.” The Evangelist tried to appear in control. His heart was thumping and his vision was blurring at the edges. “The Kid is hurt.”
“I didn’t see that one.” The Kid spluttered, she was unable to talk properly.
Doc slid across the surface of the ship on his knees opening the med kit he carried on his back. “It’s alright, I’ll get you sorted.” He fumbled through the kit for anything that could help, Dalek fire was usually fatal, and he knew that. “I can get you through this, but it might cost you a regeneration”
“He can’t.” A crestfallen Evangelist closed the medical kit. “He’s not Time Lord, so he can’t. Don’t waste the supplies.” He knelt down beside the Kid. “I’m sorry, I really am.”
****
Council War Room – Gallifrey – Final Day of the Time War (Aborted Timeline)
“A child is not a weapon; I won’t stand for this.” The General’s shouting silenced the council. “You know my stance on how you tortured this poor child. But now to use it in the war, I didn’t think you could stoop so low.” He pointed a finger at Rassilon
“If you had seen the child you would not be so keen to defend it.” Turning to a guard he snapped Bring it in here now.” He put extreme emphasis on the ‘it’. “It is no more a child than I am a Dalek.”
As instructed one of Rassilon’s aides stepped out of the room and returned with a small grotesque child. It was no taller than a foot and was so thin that the bones of its humanoid form protruded through its skin which resembled the flesh of a Dalek. Its hands were miniature and squished, instead of fingers it had the tentacles associated with the Dalek creatures. Its face consisted of one central eye which was yellow and bloodshot and a large mouth which was currently being held closed by a large muzzle. Its breathing was loud and raspy and it was barely clothed. It looked as if nature itself had turned away in disgust and abandoned it to survive for itself.
“What in the name of sanity is that?” The General exclaimed
“Behold the Dalek Emperors Nightmare Child.” Rassilon proudly introduced his creation. “A genetic testing mistake, the genome of the Dalek Emperor himself mixed that that of a simple Time Lord boy. The effects are stunning; the creature prevents death within its proximity.”
“Let’s say just for one second I were to support this.” The General pondered, “How do you plan on using it to win the war?”
“I’ve designed a ship. It’s called ‘the Jaws’, specially designed to amplify the child’s powers and provide it with the energy it requires to survive whilst at the same time containing its powers” Turning to his aide he commanded, “Take it away I can’t bear to look at it for a second longer.”
“Let it be put on record that I oppose this course of action.” The General was resolute in his convictions. “A child is never a weapon no matter how mutated it is.”
“Let it be put on record that I don’t care.” He smiled a wicked grin, “Let it be put on record that I actually have the balls to do something to win this war” He raised his gloved hand. “In fact I think I already have.” He fired a bolt of energy from his glove and the General was no more.
The Visionary sitting at the opposite end of the table spoke for the first time, “Aborting. The Time Line is aborting, the future is changing.”
“I know, I know.” Rassilon was pacing. “This timeline will cease to exist, the new one will replace it and everyone will be back where they should be.” The Visionary tapped the table to confirm. “It felt good to kill him. Pity I need him in the real timeline.”
****
Dalek Ship – Above the Sky Trenches (Six Months Earlier)
The Kid began to lose touch of her surroundings; the voices of the team calling out to her began to fade into incoherent ramblings. Suddenly everything was shades of white and the pain she was feeling, the crushing agony subsided in an instant. She felt light and free, like nothing was holding her down, like she could do anything. Suddenly she was at home; she recognised the sweet scent of the flowers mixed with the glorious aroma of her mother’s cooking. She instinctively found herself drifting towards the smell.
Suddenly without knowing how, she was sitting in the seat. She could hear her mother’s voice. She looked around for it but could not find her anywhere. Again the voice was present but no louder than an inaudible whisper. It gradually got louder until it became a shout, the entire room was spinning as the voice no longer resembling that of his mother consumed everything, “You’ve got to fight it don’t let it overcome you. You can’t die. Not here...”
When the room stopped spinning she was back in the barracks on the Sky Trenches. The Evangelist was sitting at the table across from him tapping a tune which the Kid remembered from her childhood. “Sorry Kid, I should have protected you better. You’re dead.” She was overwhelmed with emotions, the joy of home, the fear of the Sky Trenches, the finality of death.
Suddenly everything went black as her brain began to shut down, the images were gone leaving only the cold darkness. Her oxygen starved brain was no longer able to form images to comfort her. She was scared but didn’t want to fight it, she was accepting of her fate.
Suddenly she was aware that she was not alone, there was something in the corner of his eye but she had no way to see it. After a few seconds, it darted into her line of sight, but it was still too dark for her to see. Suddenly the light returned revealing a creature with scaly skin no taller than a foot standing in front of her. It opened it mouth wide and let out an ungodly screech which caused every muscle in her body to spasm at once. She screamed out consumed by utter terror.
****
Dalek Ship – Above the Sky Trenches
“What in the name of sanity?” Trader exclaimed as the Kid who had been dead not minutes before began to scream and seize on the floor of the ship.
“Kid what the hell just happened.” The Evangelist held her down, initially for her own safely. But once she had stopped seizing it would not have been a stretch to suggest he was doing it for the safety of his team. “What are you? Who sent you?”
“I have no idea.” A confused Kid replied, “I was shot and in agony, then the pain was gone. I was at home, no wait I was at the barracks. No that isn’t right either.” She felt cold and started to shiver. “There was just blackness, and I was all alone apart from that abomination of a child.” She was in floods of tears now. “Oh god I was dead, I was dead.”
“Calm down.” The Evangelist eased his grip on her allowing her to sit up. “We’ll figure it out.”
“Sir, we have a major problem.” Einstein’s voice came through the comms channel. “Another ship has appeared on the scanner, and it’s huge, I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
“Is it Dalek?” Sureshot grabbed the comms device to allow the Evangelist to tend to the Kid and help her to her feet.
“I can’t be sure from here.” Einstein sounded distant, as if awestruck by something outside the boundaries of his comprehension. “I think it is best I get you back here as soon as I can. I’ve hacked the autopilot, I’m bringing you back.”
An awkward silence ensued for the entire journey back as everyone was contemplating what they had seen. When they had arrived the Evangelist was the only one to speak, “Debrief in an hour. I need to speak with the Prophet.” So as only the Kid could hear, he added, “If I find out that you’re lying to me, I’ll kill you myself. Are we clear?”
“Yes Sir.” She felt nauseous at the thought of the secret she was keeping from him. Was it worth dying over?
****
The Prophet’s Room – Sky Trenches
The Evangelist opened the door and stepped into the Prophet’s room. It was dark as all natural light had been blocked. The air felt thicker like he was breathing honey. It unsettled him to the point where he only came here when it was absolutely necessary, when he needed information about something. This was one such time; today’s events with the Kid had shaken him to the core. He needed answers. As he approached the Prophet a deep voice that seemed to come from each and every corner of the room spoke out. “Stop! Don’t come any closer. I assume you are here about the Nightmare Child.”
The words sent a shiver down his spine. “If that is the creature the Kid described, then yes that is why I am here”
“Indeed.” The voice boomed again. “What about it interests you?”
“Is it a threat?” He could feel a lump forming in the back of his throat. “I’m not in love with the idea of the Daleks having any sort of advantage on us.”
“It is not Dalek.” The monotonous voice boomed. “It is ours”
“What?” The Evangelist searched for more words, but none came.
“It was created in the final days of the Time War.” The voice continued, still coming in every direction from no real source. “Then it was sent back to the beginning to give us an advantage.”
“Time Lord, Dalek it doesn’t really matter.” His nervousness about the situation was preventing him from concentrating fully on what he was saying. “What I need to know is how it will affect my team. Is it a threat to us?”
“It is not” the Evangelist could have convinced himself that there was a slither of reassurance in the Prophet’s tone. “The child resurrects those who are about to die from the point of death allowing them to continue to fight in the war. That is all I can see.”
“Thank you,” muttered a slightly relieved Evangelist. “I’ll will go and inform my team.”
As he turned to leave the room, the Prophet’s booming voice spoke again. “Evangelist, I’ve seen something else.” The Evangelist froze on the spot. “Beware of your team. I have seen your betrayal. Betrayal and fire and death, be careful.” The Evangelist cleared the lump that had formed in his throat and left the room.
****
Barracks – Sky Trenches
The majority of the team were gathered in the barracks for a debriefing. They had been given approximately an hour to prepare themselves, wash and eat. The Evangelist’s usual preference was for his debriefs to occur immediately, but in this instance he had given longer so as Einstein would have had time to work with the recovered Dalek ship. This was ideal for him too, as it allowed him to access the database and look up the history of each of the members of his team. He felt like he was betraying their trust by doing so, but the Prophet’s warning had him questioning everything. For a man who valued trust, the thought of betrayal scared him more than anything Dalek could. The outcome was the same as his meeting with the Prophet: a feeling of frustration and a lack of real answers.
Einstein was the only one still not to take up his position at the table. Given his role in this particular debrief, they could not start without him. Trader was growing impatient and was starting to agitate Ninja. When Einstein finally arrived he uttered a few words of apology before sitting in his allocated position and immediately started pressing buttons on the keyboard in front of him. He cursed under his breath as he had evident made an error whilst trying to be fast. When he had what he was looking for on the screen, he nodded to the Evangelist to begin.
“As you are aware today has seen some pretty extraordinary events.” He tried to use his voice to reassure his team. “I would call it a miracle, but it isn’t a miracle.” He paused to allow them to process the information; he could tell that his team were confused. “I have been speaking with the Prophet.”
“Is that bad?” The Kid showed her inexperience
“Very bad. End of the world stuff.” teased Ninja
“It means someone has been playing with time.” Sureshot succinctly informed her and put an end to the smirks which had developed around the table.
Trader added, “Us or the Daleks, either way it is not a good thing. Time is not meant to be meddled with”
“If you’d stop guessing for a moment I’d be able to tell you what I know” The Evangelist’s attempts to hide his frustration were pitiful. “First things first, according to the Prophet it is from our side” He gave them a moment to process the information. “Unfortunately that’s all he could really tell me, it was a waste of my time going to see him.”
“You okay boss?” Trader offered a rare smile, “You seem on edge. It’s really not like you.”
“Yeah, I’m just confused about this whole situation.” He pulled up video footage of their mission from earlier and zoomed in on the Kid. “We all seen it with our own eyes. He was dead, then he wasn’t.” An eerie silence filled the room. “It’s not a weapon. I don’t know what it is, but it seems to me that it stops death.”
“That means that we are the weapons then.” Sureshot’s claim attracted the stares of all gathered at the table
“That’s not a bad call actually.” The Evangelist considered it for a moment. “If we can’t die, we can keep fighting. An infinite army of soldiers. The perfect final line.” He gulped as he finished.
“Can someone please explain?” Trader thumped his fists against the table sending cups into the air.
“To put it simply, the Kid died today.” As the Evangelist spoke the Kid could feel all eyes on him, an uncomfortable shiver went down his spine. The Evangelist astutely picked up on this and asked him, “Are you okay, do you need a moment?” When the Kid shook her head, the Evangelist continued. “What it appears to do is resurrect its target right from the point of death. From what the Kid has told me, it’s not exactly a pleasant experience either.”
“You still haven’t answered my question,” and agitated Trader piped up. “What is it? I don’t like not knowing things.”
“We all know that’s not true. Look at your IQ.” Ninja’s whispered slight luckily went unnoticed.
“It’s called the Nightmare Child, and that’s really all I know.” The Evangelist sighed, ”You’re not the only one that hates not knowing Trader.”
“So what are we going to do about it?” Sureshot asked in his usual assured tone.
“For now it gives us a potential upper hand on the Daleks.” The Evangelist had already weighed up the pros and cons. “So we keep it until we find out what it is, how to stop it and what effect that would have on those it has resurrected. Is that clear? Einstein I want you working on it with top priority.” Closing the file he had on the desk in front of him he concluded, “That’s all for now.”
“Excuse me sir,” Einstein interrupted meekly. “Do you want me to brief the team on what I have done with the Dalek ship?”
“Only if you have got it working.” Realising that he may have shaken Einstein’s already low self-esteem he added with a smile “You deserve your moment of glory.”
“Yes, it’s fully functional.” Einstein proudly reported, “I can show you if you like?”
“As much as I’d love to see. I think we have enough to process at the moment. I need the team’s full attention for it” The Evangelist shut him off gently, but the result was still Einstein crossing his arms and slouching in his chair in a sulky manner.
“What now then boss?” asked Trader’s mouth watered at the prospect of what tradition dictated was coming next.
“We’ve had a long and hard day. So there’s only one thing we deserve” The Evangelist confirmed his desire in three letters, “Pub!”
“Pub!” Trader grinned.
“Pub? If you insist.” Ninja was fooling no one with his lack of enthuasism
“Pub it is then.” Sureshot added.
“Pub?” asked the Kid. She was genuinely confused as she wasn’t even aware that the Sky Trenches had a pub. She reflected on why there would even be a pub on the front line of a war zone and laughed; men.
“I have patients who need me.” Doc did not seem disappointed that he would be missing out, “So if you don’t mind I will be seeing to them instead.”
“Before we leave, I need to talk to the Evangelist about something.” Einstein’s tone was coy alerting the suspicions of the rest of the team.
“Ok, but I need to report to Rassilon first.” Speaking to the rest of the group he added. “The rest of you go on, we will catch up with you later.
******
Pub – Sky Trenches
The Kid found herself sitting at a table with Sureshot; neither of them had taken a drink yet. Sureshot had first ordered only water, so the Kid not wanting to appear rude had done the same. She’d only ever been in a pub once before, and she didn’t remember much of that, so she was keen to have another try. Sureshot was attentively watching Ninja and Trader who had each had a few pints already and there were starting to get a little tipsy.
“You’re my favourite friend.” A drunken Trader proclaimed whilst trying to give Ninja a huge hug.
“You are like the brother I lost when I was younger.” Ninja wiped a tear from his eye as he accepted Traders hug. “I’d be honoured if you were my brother.”
Sureshot was laughing at the table across from them, “This happens every single time Kid.”
“At least it’s better than them fighting” Kid remarked.
“Give it until the end of the night.” Sureshot grinned for perhaps the first time since the Kid had met him. “Maybe even before that.”
“Yeah,” the Kid decided to take a chance and ask Sureshot a question. “So a pub on the front lines of the Time War, how does that happen?”
“Good question, it just sort of does.” Sureshot smiled, his face showing that he was reminiscing a fond memory. “When we take in refugee ships, they tend to be carrying what goes on sale in this pub. As per the General’s rules it is confiscated to be held and destroyed. Of course the soldiers would never let that happen, so we have here. A nice little place to relax that officially doesn’t exist.”
“I see. Is that why you’re not drinking then?” The Kid teased him. “Too scared to break the rules?”
“Not at all, my motives are much simpler than that.” Gesturing towards Trader and Ninja he added, “Don’t want to miss the entertainment, and I need something to give them stick about to keep them in line.”
“So you’ll take a drink later then?” the Kid asked
“Of course, I’m waiting until the Evangelist arrives though.” He glanced towards Trader who caught his eye and started to head towards their table. “Oh shit, they’re coming this way.”
Trader made his way towards the table with extreme difficulty, he was having trouble walking in a straight line and as such bumped into several table on his way. When he arrived he placed a glass in front of both the Kid and Sureshot. Half of their contents had already been spilled on the floor on their journey here, but what remained gave off a sweet and tempting odour. “Drink up.” Trader demanded.
Ninja who was close behind him and quick to show his distain at the fact his colleagues were not as drunk as they were. “You guys are the worst. When you get a free drink you take it. Didn’t your momma ever tell you that?”
As the two men pulled up chairs, Sureshot gave the Kid a look which screamed kill me now. “It’s a show best observed from afar Kid.”
There was a somewhat awkward silence which ensued. It was broken by Trader calling for another round of drinks and handing one to the Kid who sat it on the table without taking a sip. “You know for a dead guy you really know how to kill the mood.”
This caught the attention of Ninja who piped up. “What was it like, what did you see? Was it scary?” He had so many questions which he asked all at once in a drunken flurry.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” The Kid tried to cut him off before he got too deep into what was uncomfortable territory.
“Come on man don’t be like that.” Trader seemed genuinely hurt by the lack of answer. “Can’t you see I’m interested here?
“Leave him alone.” Sureshot declared with authority.
Another awkward silence followed. The Kid desperate to change the subject asked a question which had been bugging her from earlier. “On the Dalek ship, both of you were counting. What was that for?”
“You’re going to regret asking that.” Sureshot interjected, “They compete to see who can kill the most Daleks.”
“We forgot to check who won.” Trader giggled as he spoke.
“I got seventeen.” Stated Ninja proudly, “I bet that you can’t beat that.”
“Ha!” Trader gloated, “I killed eighteen of the wee buggers.”
“I knew you do that.” Ninja smugly replied “You always add one to whatever I say I killed.”
“No!” Trader rejected the accusation. “I definitely killed eighteen.”
“Excellent.” Ninja smiled. “I lied, I killed twenty. I win.”
Trader was in shock for a moment until he realised he had been fooled. He had no reply other than, “You bastard.”
“What did you call me?” Ninja asked with his fists raised in anticipation.
“For gods sake, here we go again.” Sureshot moaned.
****
Barracks – Sky Trenches
When the Evangelist returned from his chambers, Einstein was still sitting at the table waiting for him. He was tapping his heels together, something the Evangelist had learnt to recognise as a nervous tick of his. Aware of how long he had kept him waiting, the Evangelist apologised before asking. “You wanted to talk to me?”
“Do you remember I spoke to you about Project – C?” Einstein handed him the files he had prepared to refresh his memory.
Without opening the files the Evangelist confirmed that he recalled its nature. “Have you actually made progress?”
“Look inside the file.” Einstein waited until his boss had taken a quick flick through his work before continuing. “As you can see from my charts and graphs the idea is not only feasible but could actually be controlled by a strong enough mind.”
“I still think it presents too big a risk to not only the user, but to everyone living on the Sky Trenches.” Placing the closed file on the table in front of Einstein he added. “If it were to go wrong, imagine the consequences.”
“Sir I assure you it will not go wrong.” By nature Einstein was always sure of his work, his self-confidence often appeared as arrogance to others, but those who knew him genuinely knew he was that good. “I designed it myself sir.”
“I do not doubt your work.” The Evangelist gave him a reassuring smile. “You did a remarkable job with the Dalek ship. However Project-C is too risky. Shelve it; perhaps someday it will be useful.”
“If you insist,” Einstein attempted to mask his hurt. “I’ll have information on the Nightmare Child as soon as I get it.
“Thanks, shall we join the rest of the team in the pub?” The Evangelist suggested.
“You go on; I’d rather get back to work.” A dejected Einstein replied.
“Are you sure?” The Evangelist tried to persuade him.
“Yeah.” Einstein’s reply was muffled.
The Evangelist watched him shuffle his way across the barracks, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He let him get to the door before calling after him. “You’re more valuable to us than any of the things you’ve done for us. You know that, don’t you?”
Einstein looked back at the Evangelist with a smile on his face and his cheeks a bright red. He went to say something but stopped, dropped his head and left the barracks.
*****
Across the Bridge – Sky Trenches
Doc had been sure that no one had seen him slip out of the medical ward. What he was about to do could land him in serious trouble, but he didn’t care. It was worth it. With a bag of supplies tucked under his arm, and his hood raised, he made his way across the Sky Trenches trying his upmost to stick to the shadows and remain unnoticed. After what seemed like an age of ducking and weaving between crowds and buildings he finally arrived at his destination, a large wooden door.
He completed the agreed signal of four solid knocks against the door. From behind it, he could hear the rustling of chains and sliding of bolts. His hearts fluttered in anticipation, he couldn’t wait a second longer. The door creaked on its old hinges as it slowly opened revealing a small frail ginger boy no older than ten standing behind it. When he seen Doc his eyes lit up with the intensity of a thousand stars. He run towards him his arms wide ready to embrace, a tear of happiness rolled down his cheek. “Daddy!” was all he could manage. He grinned from ear to ear as Doc hoisted him up onto his shoulders.
“Hey little man, it’s so good to see you again.” Words could not describe the pure ecstasy he felt at being reunited with his son. “Where’s Mummy? I need to speak to her.” He stepped inside and re-locked the door before walking into the kitchen to meet his wife. She was a beautiful woman with long ginger hair down to her waist.
When she seen him standing in the doorway with their son on his shoulders she could scarcely believe her eyes. She had consigned herself to losing him forever when he had signed up to the Sky Trenches. It’s funny how every cloud has a silver lining, their home town had been levelled by the high council to increase the crop production to feed the citadel. She thought she had lost everything, she would have if it had not been for the kindness of old friend. He had sneaked her onto a supply ship with her son, and she had ended up here. She was surprised at how easy it had been to get a message to Doc, and now here he was standing in front of her in the flesh. “It’s so good to see you.”
“Shut up.” He teased as he pulled her close so as he could feel the heat radiate from her. “I’ve missed you.” Pulling her ever closer, he kissed her passionately.
They kissed for a moment, but she pushed him away. “What’s up?” He shot her a confused look. “Something’s on your mind. I can tell.”
He pulled the seat from the table and sat in it. “Oh it’s nothing, just that the Evangelist said his only rule was that we didn’t contact our families.
She placed her hands on his shoulders and moved her head close to his so she could whisper in his ear. “That sounds like a silly rule to me.”
“Yeah,” He sighed, “I guess it is.”
“Good, then I should have your full attention.” She winked at him, “Besides, it’s not like us being here is going to hurt anyone.”