TTV Series Episode 5: Fugitive

Finley pulled Crystal towards the nearest building, and into a shuttle car. With a noise like a saw, the shuttle began to fire up, and shot into the sky.

“What are you doing?” Crystal screamed, ramming a seat belt on.
“Getting us away from the Earth!” Finley shouted back. “Hold on tight!”

The Doctor clutched the TARDIS console in shock. Ryfo watched him nervously, unsure of what to say.

“The sun’s about to be destroyed,” the Doctor said quietly. “Crystal’s dead, and it’s my fault.”
“Maybe human girl survived?” Ryfo suggested.

The Doctor shook his head, and pointed to the scanner.

“She’d appear on here, she’s not alive anymore,” he sighed.
“Or, she not on Earth,” Ryfo pointed.

The Doctor frowned, and slipped on his brainy specs, gazing at the scanner. Suddenly, he gave a cry of happiness, and pointed a little way above the Earth, where two dots were moving upwards. Then he frowned once more, and shifted the zoom away from Earth. Just as he had suspected, Platform One, complete with Lady Cassandra, the Face of Boe, and the Moxx of Balhoon, was floating above the Earth, and Crystal and Finley were headed straight for it.

“We’ve docked, at some kind of space station,” Finley announced. “The computer’s calling it Platform One. Apparently, above us are several rich aliens gathered to watch the Earth burn.”
“Lovely,” Crystal said. “Shall we go and meet them?”

As they stepped through a door, several Judoon appeared behind them. They began to fire their lasers, but the door had already closed. Finley grabbed Crystal and pulled her along a corridor, and through another door. They ran down another corridor, then into a large suite. Crystal leant against the back of a large tank, catching her breath.

“We should be safe for now,” she said. “There’s nobody here.”

Suddenly, the tank began to move, and with a cry, Crystal fell to the floor. As the tank began to turn around, Finley gasped, as the Face of Boe turned to face them.

“Who are you?” the Face of Boe asked telepathically.
“Please, ignore us, we’re just dead beings,” Finley replied, bowing slightly.
“Everything has its time,” the Face of Boe said. “I know that better than most. Rise.”

Crystal and Finley climbed to their feet, wondering what would happen know. They heard footsteps down the corridor; a rhythmic marching from the Judoon.

“What do we do?” Crystal hissed at Finley.
“Hide yourselves behind me,” the Face of Boe said.
“Thank you,” Finley whispered.

The pair ducked behind the Face of Boe and waited with bated breath. The door to the suite opened, and a Judoon walked it. It began to spout orders, but hesitated when it saw Boe.

“Have you seen two humans?” it asked.
“I have not,” Boe replied.

The Judoon nodded, and left. Crystal and Finley came out from behind Boe, and smiled. He gave a slight nod, and the pair left the room. Just as they were walking down the corridor, an announcement informed them that ‘Earth Death is in 5 minutes’. Soon, the Earth would be destroyed, and, elsewhere on the ship, Lady Cassandra, the paper-thin last Human, was setting a plan in motion, and being very dramatic about it:

“The planet's end. Come gather! Come gather! Bid farewell to the cradle of civilization. Let us mourn her with a traditional ballad.”

As Crystal ran along a corridor, she heard music, specifically, Toxic by Britney Spears. Despite the seriousness of the situation, she began to laugh. Finley rolled his eyes and headed over to a terminal.

“There’s a sunfilter, programmed to descend,” he said. “Someone’s sabotaging the ship. The Judoon are gonna think we’re behind it, we need to get out of here.”
“But where are we gonna go?” Crystal asked. “I saw a sign earlier – all teleports are banned.”

Ryfo coughed impatiently. The Doctor briefly looked up, before returning his attention to the console. When Ryfo coughed once more, the Doctor sighed, and looked up again.

“Yes?”
“Are we not going to Platform One?” Ryfo asked.
“We can’t,” the Doctor sighed. “There’s already a version of me there, and, if we go the Reapers could appear, and, on top of Lady Cassandra muddling with the security systems, we’ll all be eaten.”
“That is not good,” Ryfo summarised.
“Not good, no,” the Doctor said.
“Maybe Doctor could return me?” Ryfo asked hopefully.
“Oh, alright then,” the Doctor sighed. “But let Finley Bradford go – he’s already dead, there isn’t much you can do to punish him.”

Ryfo thought about this, and reluctantly nodded. The Doctor let out a small smile, and aimed the Sonic Screwdriver at Ryfo, who disappeared in a blue flash.

“Earth Death in 2 minutes,” the computer announced.

Crystal and Finley watched the Judoon, from a hiding place, teleport away from Platform One. Suddenly, Crystal’s phone rang, and she answered it.

“Hello? Doctor? What, seriously? Okay. Two minutes, yeah, we’ll hurry. See you in a minute!”

Finley looked at, and she grinned. Taking his hand, she began to run down the corridor.

“The Doctor persuaded the Judoon to let you go,” she grinned. “We need to get to the confiscation office, it’ll have a teleport.”
“And it all sounds so easy,” Finley said. “What’s the catch?”

Before Crystal could reply, the glass wall along the corridor began to crack in several places. Rays of light shot through the cracks, and burned the wall opposite. Crystal dropped to the floor, pulling Finley down with her.

“Planet explodes in 3… 2… 1…” the computer announced.

Crystal closed her eyes, as planet Earth was destroyed. Finley looked above her head, and noticed the rays of light were no longer fizzing through the glass, which seemed to be repairing itself. He gave a laugh of relief.

“Exoglass repair, exoglass repair,” the computer exclaimed.

***

“Do you want me to take you back to the Inner Circle?” the Doctor asked.

He stood in the TARDIS, facing Finley, who shook his head. He smiled at Crystal, who was sat in a chair, and made a decision.

“I’d like you to take me to Earth,” he said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been there and… seeing it be destroyed like that…”
“A wise choice,” the Doctor smiled. “Maybe you should wait for everything to calm down before you go back to the Inner Circle.”
“So you’re gonna go back to them?” Crystal asked, standing up as the Doctor set the TARDIS in motion.
“I’ve got to,” Finley replied. “They’re my family; they understand what its like to be dead, as do you.”

Crystal nodded thoughtfully as the TARDIS faded away. When it materialised on Earth, the Doctor hung back, nodding at Crystal to say goodbye. She smiled gratefully, and followed Finley out of the TARDIS and into a hotel room.

“I’ll be staying here for a while,” he said. “The Doctor paid for it, tell him thanks.”
“I will,” Crystal grinned. “What – what is that?”

As they were talking, a pair of golden gates rippled into existence, almost growing up the wall. Crystal headed towards it, believing it to be heaven, but Finley grabbed her arm.

“It’s not what you think,” he explained. “When a person the Death Collectors have targeted die, a pair of golden gates appear, and, obviously, the dead person thinks it’s heaven. They step through the gates, only to discover they’re in a world of pain – where the Death Collectors work them to death all over again. Get out of here – run!”

Crystal faltered, unsure. She looked once more at Finley, and screamed. His eyes were pure white – he was clearly possessed. She ran to the door, but it was locked. She was lifted off her feet by Finley, and dragged towards the gates.

“LET ME GO!” she screamed, clinging on to the bed.

Finley tugged harder, and her hand slipped. She screamed once more as she dropped to the floor. Her nails dug into the wooden floorboards as Finley continued to drag her to the gate. As they got closer, Crystal kicking and screaming all the way, the gates opened. Instead of wall where the gates were open, she saw a bright white light.

“Please, Finley, oh God, please!” she yelled. “I don’t want to die.”

As she began to cry, Finley let go of her. Her legs dropped to the floor, and she crawled away from him. His eyes were their normal colour, and he had overcome his possession.

“Get out of here,” he said quietly, dangerously. “GO!”

Crystal clambered to her feet, and ran to the door. When she realised what Finley was going to do, she screamed. There was nothing she could do – she was forced to watch as Finley headed towards the gate, the white light, the death, and the sleek golden doors closed behind him. There was a flash of white light, and the gates disappeared.

“Sorry.”

Crystal opened the hotel room door, which unlocked itself with a click, and headed back to the TARDIS. Finley Bradford was dead – he had sacrificed himself, and would now be living in a world of pain to save her life. Crystal Harris, the dead girl with red hair and tears running down her cheeks, was alive because of Finley Bradford. And yet, with his passing, she had never felt so dead.

The End