Chapter Text
I
A Student on the Edge
Vera was on top of the world but she was at her lowest point. When she was still in middle school her parents had taken her on vacation to see this very city. She would spend hours on the window sill of the small hotel, staring out at the city. Eyes enamoured with the liveliness. The sun illuminated the whole city with a vibrant hue. The park off to the side caught Veras attentions the most. It was where she would see families taking their dogs to play. So many people, each with their own lives, opinions, beliefs, struggles and joy. It is beautiful to think how many people just like us there are, she had thought. The window was left open a jar. Enough for the hum of cars and muffled voices to carry through. A gentle breeze would also flow through. Each breeze bringing a wave of comfort to wash away her worries. She was alive and she was not alone. Vera had wondered how wonderful the view would be at the top of the building. Today she could finally see it.
And it disgusted her.
After her first visit to the city Vera had always longed to return. When she was accepted at the local university, she was thrilled. At last, a new life, away from her parents and on her own. When she arrived, the city appeared nothing how she had remembered it. Buildings had grown much taller and the dog park was now replaced with a new office building. Vera could never tell if it was fog or smoke or both but something was always blanketing the city and so the sun never really shone quite as bright as it once had. And the noise. It was overstimulating. A child crying somewhere below wailing above the crowd, cars honking furiously as they rush to their next appointment and police sirens growing louder with each second as they approach the latest crime scene. She was surrounded by more people than she ever her had and yet felt all the lonelier. Even before Vera had stepped out onto the roof, she could hear all this noise. It was always present.
The metal bars along the railing felt cold to her hands as she leaned over the edge. Below was an alleyway. It was dingey and small, not many people would walk through if they knew what was good for them. The sight of hard brick tiling on the ground caused her head to spin. If she leaned too far than that would be it, her tiny life would meet its end. It made her sick and yet it was exactly what she wanted to do. What she needed to do. It was the only escape. Stay here ans suffer or find out what's on the other side. Vera leaned back and steadied her self. She swung one leg over the fence, and than another until she sat on the edge barley holding on with her hands. That was when she heard it.
An alien wheezing sound behind her. It faded in and out before it all came to an abrupt stop at a satisfying knock. There a was a brief second of silence where Vera had just enough time to think ‘What the hell?’ Then she heard the creak of an old door and she froze. Vera had been sure she would be alone. She did not want anyone to witness her passing.
“Hey, hey you alright?” The voice was gentle and deep enough to probably be a mans. English with maybe a little Scottish, as though he spent a a year in Scotland and picked up a small part of the accent but never hung around long enough to keep it. Vera inhaled sharply. She had been through this so many times. Friends, help-phones, family members and everything. Each time they would help just enough that she would stay alive to see the whole process start over. Now Vera had finally gotten her plans in place to escape. She had no interest in repeating another cycle, not when she was so close to freedom.
“What do you think, genius?” She answered with as much bite as she could muster. Vera continued to stare out at the city. A part of her hoped that if she looked out long enough that she would realize he was not actually there. She had simply lost so much of her mind that it was conjuring up a voice. A final cheap trick of her biology to keep her alive. The trick would not work though. It was time.
“You don’t want to do this.” The voice urged. There were two steps closer to her.
“Oh really? Then why am I here? To get a nice view?” On the last word there followed a bitter laugh. There wasn't a local in her city that still thought of nay part of it as 'nice to look at.'
“I mean look-, I’m sorry, I am so sorry for whatever you are going through but you don’t really want to do this.” One more step followed before a pause and the sound of fabric ruffling.
“I really think I do.”
“No you don’t want to die you just want it to stop, you want-“Several more steps were approaching now at a faster pace than before. Panic shot through Vera’s veins.
“Don’t come near me!” Vera stood on the edge and rapidly jerked her head towards him. One hand had left the metal railing. Now she could see him. A brunette with a long brown coat. One hand was planted firmly in a fitted blue suit while the other was messing with his hair. She might have thought him a buissness men if it weren't for the saturated red sand shoes. It was his face that caused her to turn back to the city. His eyebrows furrowed in worry and eyes wide. Vera took a deep breath to steady herself before her next words. “Look I don’t know who you are but I’m not important okay. Nobody’s going to miss me. None is going to care if I die so you can just piss right off and drop the hero act. Don’t pretend like you care about me just let me die. It is what I want so, you do not need to feel any guilt over me or some bull.” The words cascaded out of her with such force that she had to bit her lip before saying more.
“I already know I’m not.” He said.
“What?” Vera asked. She couldn’t help but half turn her head to steal another glance at him. He faced away from her now, his expression unreadable. Both his hands rested in his pockets and moved to fiddle with something she couldn’t see. She wondered if it was because he was nervous or simply restless.
“I already know I’m not a hero. But…I still want to help.” Something about the way he spoke now seemed so genuine. When he turned his eyes back to her he wore the same concerned expression he had a moment before. The sincerity was enough to steal words from her mouth before they could form. She sighed, her breath leaving a puff of mist in the frigid air. This would have been so much easier if none had showed up.
“Why? You have no idea who I am.”
“Well,“ He tilted his head. “I don’t need to, to care. You are human, you live, breath, laugh, cry and that’s all worth something.”
“That’s stupid.” Vera huffed but her words still didn’t have the same bite as before and she didn’t look away.
“Well,” His posture straightened and a small grin formed. “Then maybe I don’t mind being stupid. I’m always the smartest one in the room it’s exhausting. I need someone else to be the clever one for a change.”
Vera stared at him, waiting for him to take back what he had said. He did not. Was this the best sign the world could offer her. Some arrogant bloke in a suit and sandshoes? Vera let her eyes fall back to the ground beneath her. The hard brick below would certainly kill her. Even if it hadn’t been brick Vera recalled that if one falls from a high enough height even water could kill them.
“You know something,” The man spoke again, interrupting her thoughts. “I’ve never met anyone that wasn’t important and I have met more people than anyone has in their lifetime. Every single one of them was important. Even if many didn’t think they were….”
“Congratulations today is your day.”
“No I- I don’t age I have seen so, so many people.”
“Oh that settles it then. “She laughed. “You were just a looney. Well then have a nice life Mr.Immortality.” She could do it. All she needed to do was let go. Except-
“No no no no no no, Wait!” Vera grimaced; she really couldn’t just die in front of someone. She heard him take a breath behind her. “Just look…okay. Fine if your so dead set on dying how about this. Come with me first. One last adventure before you die. Then you can come back here and if you still want to die…”
“I don’t know you and I’m not going anywhere with you. “She answered flatly.
“Well, if you are going to die does it really matter? hm?" He paused to give her a chance to intervene. She did not. "Why not go out with some fun. Besides If you die here right now there’s still quite a few people awake, you gotta wait until a later time at night because you don’t want to accidentally traumatize a kid or something. You gotta wait until there’s no chance of their being any children around.”
“Where would you even take me?” She shook her head. She turned to sit so she was facing him completely now. Her feet flat on the roof now felt stabilizing after dangling over the edge.
“Anywhere you want to go in time and space, we can sight see on another planet full of dense jungles that stretch as far beneath the earth as they do above it, witness the birth of a star, and witness the great dance of the whale-like species on Osena. Anywhere you like.”
“You really are completely mad. This is what it has come to? A man gone completely mad is all I get?”
“Well, maybe a little bit mad yes but in this instance, no. And there is only one way to find out. Look at you." He gestured towards her with one hand. "You've got a university hoodie on you must be a student. You've gotta be a curious one right? Why not find out?” Vera had to admit he had a point. If she was going to die anyways, what did it matter? Besides if he tried anything she had pepper spray tucked away neatly in her hoodie. She swung back around to fence and for the first time since he’d arrived stood to face him straight on.
“Alright, lunatic you’re on.” Vera approached him.
“Brilliant!” His face brightened and he clapped his hands together. “This next part is always-“ He stopped himself abruptly and glanced at Vera. “lunatic…? Hey now that’s not very-“
“You still haven’t told me where we are going.” She interrupted. "Or what your name is." He seemingly forgot all about the name calling and skipped over to a police box situated near the entrance to the roof. The man spread his arms dramatically towards it.
“I am not going in that little blue box with you.”
“Trust me, it’s a bit bigger on the inside you’ll see.” He brought his two fingers together to emphasis the word bit.
“Sure, and I have three heads.”
“Just…come have a little peak.” He flung the door open and jumped inside. Before Vera could approach the box he popped his head out causing her to jump back a little. "Oh, I'm the Doctor by the way just the Doctor."
"Vera and what exactly are you the doctor of...?" Her eyebrows furrowed. Not a word he had spoken to her had made sense.
"Pleasure to meet you Vera!" He ducked back into the box and shut the door in her face.
Vera stared at the box for several seconds. She half expected him to jump out and tell her this was all some kind of prank. Instead, she was left alone with the sound distance sirens and frigid air. A thousand unanswered questions swirled in her head. Who was the Doctor? What was he a Doctor of? Why did he lead her to a box? Why was he even on this roof in the first place? She swore she hadn't noticed the antique sitting on the roof when she came up. He was right about one thing, she was curious. Vera held onto her pepper spray. It is her last night, nothing matters anymore. She grabbed onto the police box door and swung it open.