Rebirth - Chapter 5

Madison was awoken from the realms of sleep in what could be called a very unpleasant manner. What she would have called it would have been a “horrible and sodding annoying way to be woken up.” She would have also probably gone on to kick someone hard in the shins just to vent her frustration.

For a small moment, she wondered what had woken her. Then her ears caught on to the fact that she was awake, and started working. A horrible and sickening rumble of a sound hit her.

Flinging herself out of bed and rushing to the window, Madison stared out at the large ball of fire and smoke that billowed up from where the town hall used to be – that is, until it had been blown up.
Madison groaned to herself.

War...
It was something that the city went on and on and on about, yet never actually did anything. There was probably over a hundred meetings held over the course of the year which were specifically dedicated to long and pointless discussions on all the plans, and war tactics that would be used, yet nothing was ever decided.

War...
There was even a small and completely useless army which did drilling, and practiced marching up and down the main street every Thursday afternoon. Occasionally, if the over enthusiastic General was granted permission by the alarmingly lethargic, sloth of a Captain, they would venture out of the city walls and spend a pleasant afternoon crawling through bogs, cess pits, mud, rivers, more mud, the cities sewer flow, and even piles of bear-dung if they could find it, just so that they could say they had had some 'real life' experience.

War…
The one thing that her city claimed it knew the most about, had studied the art of, run video simulations of, knew all the outcomes, all the scenarios, compiled a list off all the possible enemies, and how they would attack, and what weapons they would use, and how they could be beaten… even though there were no other known cities on the entire planet…

War…
Another booming explosion shook the city, and a pluming mushroom of smoke sprouted from between some distant houses. Madison leaned back from the window as the glass panes rattled violently and swore venomously.

On cue, the city of Tendra sprang into action. From a nearby building came the assembled masses of the army followed promptly by the General, whose eyes were almost popping out from over-enthusiastic excitement, and less promptly by the waddling Captain, who was mopping his giant, red face with a handkerchief. Finally, all those meetings and preparation had paid off – it was time to show what this city could do!

A third explosion blasted apart the nearby buildings. Madison flung herself onto the floor of her flat as her window shattered inwards. She gasped as the fragments of tinkling glass bounced on the floor around her, and then pulled herself upwards to peer cautiously from between the cracked window frame.

The soldiers below were all lying flat on the floor, most were groaning and attempting to pull themselves upwards… for some, it was clear that they would not get up again. As the sounds of the explosion rumbled away, a much more disturbing noise rose from the burning city.

Crying, screaming, and other inaudible noises of confused fear drifted over the remaining buildings as the people of the city began facing the unavoidable consequences of war.

The remaining soldiers, who were still milling around, unsure of what to do, looked up as the echoing screams reached their ears. Then, just as a finial show of Tendra’s advanced fighting capabilities, they began sprinting as fast as they could down the street… in the wrong direction.

Madison stared out of the window and shook her head. So much for the sanctuary within the city walls…
Below her, the street was already filling with people, all shouting, all running, all with fear in their eyes and suffering snapping at their heels.

From the vantage point of her second level flat, Madison watched the scene beneath with a slow developing horror. The things that were happening, other than being immensely pathetic and embarrassing to her civic pride where the soldiers were concerned, were completely and utterly terrifying.

As much as she tried, she found that she could not tear her gaze away.

---

'Fyffe...'
The voice came from behind her quietly, almost timidly. She turned to look at the Doctor, waiting for a response.
'You do know where you're going...right?' he said.

Fyffe smiled at him and pointed in the direction that they had been heading in for the last seven hours.
'That way,' she said simply.
The Doctor stared past her hand which, since she wasn't looking at, Fyffe has aimed at a nearby tree.
'Lovely,' he said, 'just checking.'

The young girl's eyes bored into his face in a disconcerting manner and she seemed to be considering something. Finally, she said: 'What are you?'
This got an immediate response from the Doctor as his face adopted a look of complete shock, then contorted into a more mild mannered confusion. Of all the things he expected her to say, it hadn't been that, although... he could understand why she would ask it... he had unexpectedly arrived in a screaming and wildly smoking blue box...

Seeing the Time Lord frown as he considered what to say next, Fyffe shook her head and spoke again.
'Wait...I have an idea...'
She picked up a twig and looked at it thoughtfully.
There was silence.
And a long pause.
Then, there was an even longer pause.
Which was elaborately filled up with some lavishly thick silence.

'...Yes?' said the Doctor finally.
He was starting to become increasingly confused at the girl. There was nothing in particular that should confuse him, she seemed pretty straight forward - humanoid, female, young - but it was her general, overall... Fyffeness which made absolutely no sense what so ever.

Fyffe looked up from the twig, her face passive and blank.
'Hhhmm?' she said.
'You said you had an idea, and then you started staring at a twig...'
'Yes,' said Fyffe.
'Right,' said the Doctor.
'This twig here,' said Fyffe.
'Yes,' said the Doctor.
'It's from that tree there.'
He glanced upwards. There was certainly a tree, a large and completely uninteresting tree, the same tree that Fyffe had pointed to… The Doctor considered it. Yes… it was definitely a tree.
'Do you want it?'
'What?'
Fyffe smiled warmly as she held up the twig for his inspection.
'Uh, no,' he said.
'That's alright, I'll keep it.'
The Doctor blinked. 'Fantastic.'
She nodded. 'Yep.'
Another pause.
Finally, the Doctor said: 'Fyffe, why were you staring at a twig?'
She shrugged. 'I don't know.'

---

As the dying noises of the explosion wafted dreamily over the city, Madison hopped around her room, one leg stuffed down a backwards pair of trousers, one foot with an unwashed sock still clinging determinedly to it. Overbalancing and finally tripping on a casually discarded piece of toast, Madison fell over with a loud shriek. From outside, the screams rose in pitch and frequency. The city was burning to the ground...

When she finally convinced her various pieces of clothing to sort themselves out and actually fit onto her, most of the city had been engulfed in a layer of dust and dirt that had been thrown up. She rushed to the door of her pokey little flat, stumbled outside and tried to take in what she could see...