Doctor Who: Storm Warning Ch.4

Storm Warning
Chapter 4
Devastation

And just like that, it was all over. The wind faded away, and the earth ceased its trembling. For a few moments, none of them moved.

The Doctor raised his head and looked around the black room. He leaped up off Rory and Amy and grabbed his screwdriver again for light. "Marshall!" He yelled.

The younger man's coughs broke through the silence. "Over here." He said, shifting a pile of wood off of himself.

Amy clicked her flashlight on and shined it in the man's face."

"Are you hurt?" Rory asked, finally felling like he could really be helpful.

"A few scratches. I'll be fine." Marshall said, hauling himself to his feet. He raced up the stairs to the door.

He tried to open the it, but found it completely stuck. He threw his weight against it, slamming himself repeatedly against the wood.

The Doctor watched the rather pathetic scene for a moment, then turned and surveyed the room. He smiled as an idea crossed his mind.

"We're trapped." Marshall reported from the top of the flight of stairs.

"No we're not!" Came the Doctor's voice in a happy, almost sing-song tone. "Rory, help me lift this shelf thing."

"What's he doing?" Amy asked Marshall.

The Doctor explained before Marshall could open his mouth. "We have two options. Try to build steps to the hole in the ceiling using these shelves, or if that doesn't work, use the shelf as a battering ram and try to get that door at the top of the staircase open."

"Why don't we try the battering ram first." Marshall suggested.

"There's probably something holding the door shut on the other side." Amy said.

The Doctor and Rory pulled the shelf upright. The Doctor then got behind the wooden desk and pushed it toward the hole in the ceiling. It was in the far corner on the right from the staircase. He looked up through the hole and saw the sky. It was clear now that the aliens causing the storm had moved on, taking their weather creating technology with them. Pale moonlight pushed past two beams lying across each other on top of the opening, leaving faint splashes of light and dark on the floor. Rainwater dripped over the edges and formed a pool on the floor. The Doctor saw his reflection in it, and noticed a small trickle of blood running from somewhere beyond his hairline. He snapped back to attention. "Okay. Rory, Marshall, lift this shelf onto the table. Amy, find as many screws as you can."

Marshall and Rory picked up the shelf and hoisted it onto the table. The top shelf was even with the hole.

Amy roamed around the room, shinning her flashlight on the floor, and picking up every small glittering object she could find. With a handful, she returned to the Doctor. "He's what I found." She said, letting the screws of all different sizes roll out of her hand and into his.

"Perfect." The Doctor said with a smile.

He turned and almost jumped on the desk. "I'm going to secure this thing to the wall using these." He got to work with his screwdriver.

"I'm impressed." Amy commented.

The Doctor turned his head as far toward her as he could. "With what?"

"You're actually using that as a screwdriver!"

"Oh, yes." The Doctor laughed. He turned back to the shelf.

"Wait, so that's a screwdriver?" Marshall asked.

"Sonic technology." The Doctor explained without stopping. He crouched down and screwed some screws into the bottom of the shelving unit. "Alright. That should do it. Can't promise anything, thought. Some of those screws were smaller than I would have liked."

"I'll go first." Marshall offered.

"No, no. I'll go. Don't know what we'll find when we get up there." He jumped off the table, grabbed his shoes and socks and quickly pulled them on. Then, he tied his bow tie, slipped on his jacket, stuffed his sonic screwdriver into his pocket, and smiled at Rory. "Can't face aliens without the proper attire, right?"'

Rory rolled his eyes, but smiled. Typical Doctor.

The Doctor climbed back up on the desk, then place a foot tentatively on the first shelf. He grabbed a hold of the metal beams on the edges and began pulling himself up.

"Be careful." Amy said.

The Doctor smiled, but didn't answer. He took another step up; then another, then another. Finally, he found himself even with the edge of the hole in the house's foundation. "Oh no..." He whispered. He scrambled to pull himself on top of the last shelf. Finally, after a few moments he was able to get to his feet.

What he saw was complete devastation. Marshall's house lay in ruins, as did most of the other houses in the neighborhood. "I think you better get up here." The Doctor called down while still surveying the damage. "This is very not good." A long chasm much wider and deeper than the one at the shopping center marred the landscape like a terrible wound. Play sets, swings, cars, fences, and house debris had been thrown haphazardly into the opening. He heard emergency sirens in the distance, steadily growing louder.

Others were beginning to emerge from the wreckage. Across the street, a mother carried her baby out of a storm shelter. Someone else was calling another person's name. A faint reply was coming from a small pile of boards.

Marshall joined the Doctor, a look of pure horror on his face. "This is terrible! No one had any warning!"

As soon as the other neighbors noticed him, they flocked to Marshall. He walked forward to talk to them while the Doctor held back.

Amy and Rory shared the same shocked look as they finally climbed out of Marshall's basement. Rory didn't think twice before joining Marshall. The Doctor and Amy could hear his concerned voice addressing the other residents. "I'm a nurse. Is anyone hurt?"

Amy smiled and felt proud of her fiance.

The Doctor made his way to the edge of the new rift and looked down into the chaos. The emergency vehicles had finally arrived, but he ignored them. Buried halfway in the ground, a metal object glimmered in the flashing red, white, and blue lights. "Nooooo..." He whispered in disbelief. He flashed around. "Amy, I think we're dealing with more than just the Jexians here."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rory, and Marshall helped the EMTs get last of the seriously injured into ambulances. As the cars drove away, the Doctor approached Marshall. "I need to speak with someone who has access to long distance radio. Do you know anyone?" He asked matter-of-factly.

"A radio?" Marshall said in confusion. "Why?"

"I found something in that hole, and it could be the reason all of this is going on. I need to speak with the Jexians. I'm hoping this is one big coincidence, but I'm afraid that it very well isn't."

"I have a friend who works for the National weather service." Marshall said. "We could talk to her."

"Fantastic!" The Doctor exclaimed. "How soon can you speak to her?"

"Uh, Doctor, it's four in the morning. She won't like being woken up so early." Marshall protested, his face flushed, and he was glad for the cover of darkness.

The Doctor wasn't fooled. "Ah, a lady friend?" He said with a knowing look. "Tell you what, I'll take the blame. No need in getting her cross with you!"

Amy smiled. She noticed a tiny light circling her leg. "A glow fly!" She thought. But this insect didn't blink. It was a constant light, followed by a long, blue tail. Suddenly, there were two, then Ten, they just kept multiplying! It was then that she realized these weren't bugs...

"Doctor!" Amy yelped. "What is this?"

The Doctor whirled around from his conversation with Rory and Marshall. "Amy!" He yelled. "Amy, you have to move. Do something. Anything. Take a step."

"I can't." Amy whispered. "I can hardly even speak,"

The lights swirled around her, faster and faster.

"Amyyyyy!" The Doctor and Rory shouted in unison.

She began to fade away. "Do something!" She commanded. But it was too late. The lights faded away, leaving the area dark, and eerily quiet.

"Amy!" The Doctor yelled again.

Rory looked completely dumbfounded. "Amy..."

The Doctor knew Rory would be distraught. "Rory. We'll get her back, I promise. I haven't let you down yet, have I?"

Rory said nothing. It was clear he was still shocked that Amy had just vanished. "What happened to her?" He finally managed to croak.

"That was some sort of teleporter. I don't know why she couldn't move, though." He side-stepped Rory and stood in front of Marshall. "We need your lady friend's help. Now. Amy's safety depends on it."

Marshall nodded. He pulled out a small black flip phone and dialed a number. "Jessie? I'm so sorry to wake you..."

The Doctor frowned at the sky. "Where are you...?" He whispered. The sky stayed clear and silent, and the Doctor sighed.

Marshall closed the phone. "Okay, she's on her way over."

The Doctor nodded.

Five minutes later, Jessie Harper stepped out of a black pick up that was outfitted with a tall antenna and lights on the top. She was a formable woman. She had the look of a tough plains girl. Her dark hair was pulled back in a hasty low ponytail. She was definitely pretty, and had an air of intelligence around her. "Oh my God, Marshall! Glad you're okay!"

She looked in disbelief at the large rift. "Marshall...is this...?"

"Yes." Marshall said. "The tornadoes I've been studying did this."

"Wow, I thought you were just making it up...but..." Her voice trailed off.

Marshall blushed, and looked away for a second. Then, he regained his composure. "This is the Doctor and his friend Rory." He explained. "Aliens are causing these tornadoes, and the Doctor needs to use the equipment at the office to contact them."

Jessie laughed. "I think you may have been hit in the head really hard or something." Jessie said.

The Doctor spoke up. "No, he hasn't. It's all true. I need to speak with these aliens. They have our friend, and there's more going on here than I thought. Please, trust me when I say that it is absolutely imperative that we speak to the Jexian."

Jessie didn't know what to say. But, the proof that something very strange was going on was all over the neighborhood. She couldn't ignore it. "Alright, everyone in the truck." She said.

The Doctor let Marshall have the front this time, on account of his obvious feelings for the woman. Rory felt a sense of relief when he realized that the man liked this woman much more than Amy.

"So, they just call you the Doctor?" She asked, a hint of an Alabama twang in her voice.

"Yes, just the Doctor." He replied.

"Well, Doctor. I sure hope you aren't crazy. And I hope I can help in any way that I can if this is all true."

Rory glanced out the window. He could hardly keep himself calm. "Please be okay, Amy." He thought. "The Doctor will bring you back. Just hang on."