WRAITHS OF THE RIPPER
Chapter Eight The moment they landed, the Tenth Doctor felt the voice increase in strength and volume. "Kill them, Doctor, kill them all," he heard inside his mind. "Shut up," the Doctor said, holding his hands to his head and gritting his teeth. "It's back?" Rose said, worried. "It never really left but now it's stronger and louder. TARDIS, is there something you can do to dampen this bloody voice?" he said through clenched teeth to his ship. There was a flash and a silver necklace with a silver cube pendant dangled in front of his face. He took it in his hand and stared at it for a moment before putting it around his neck. He breathed a sigh of relief when the voice was muted back to the same level it was when they were over the void. "That cube thing must be some sort of damper, the voice is softer again, just the annoying buzz like it was in Pete's World. Thanks, old girl, give one to my other self as well. I'm sure he'll appreciate it." They walked up to the console room to check on the Eleventh Doctor. "This necklace appeared in front of my face and suddenly the git was dampened," he said to Ten. "Was that your doing?" "Partly, I asked the TARDIS for help and she gave this to me," he said, showing it his pendant. "Good old girl," Eleven said, patting the rim of the console. "Blimey, I'll miss her when I'm not me." "No, you won't because you won't remember her when you're not you," Ten said to him. "But if I'm not me, how can I remember I'm me if I'm not me because I won't be me," Eleven said. "Well, if you're not you then you won't remember you are you so there's no need to worry about whether you're you or not you," Ten said. "Are you finished now?" River said while John snickered. "Sorry, dear, just trying to sort out what will happen to me when I'm not me," Eleven said to her. "Cause I won't be me because me will be someone else…so I won't be me." "I'll be you," John said, "sorta." "Ah, he'll be us so that's sorted now," Eleven said to Ten. Ten came up to his clone and placed his hands on John's shoulders. "John, my friend, and I sincerely hope we are friends," he said solemnly. "I entrust you with the unenviable task of being us because we won't be us so someone has to be us because we can't be us so you have to be us, you see?" "Jesus, he's as bad as you are," River said to her husband. "Jesus, is that who I am? I thought I was me but I'm not me, I'm Jesus," Eleven said. River swatted his head when everyone laughed at that. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO Eleven opened the door of his TARDIS and stepped outside. He had landed the TARDIS near Sarah Jane's house so he could check on her. He immediately sensed something was wrong when he saw the deserted, trashy streets. The others came out and looked around. "Where is everyone?" Rose said. "I don't know but I don't like this," Eleven said. "Come on, everyone, let's find Sarah and see if she's alright." They were several houses down from hers but both Doctors could sense that something was horribly wrong. A lot of the houses looked rundown with boards over some of the windows and neglect everywhere. No one was in sight and there was no sign of lights or tellys running or anything electrical. Both Doctors shared a glance before all of them hurried towards Sarah Jane's house. When they reached her house, they noticed it also suffered from neglect and all the windows on the ground floor were boarded up. "What the hell is this? It looks like a war zone," Amy said as they ran up to the front door. "God, I hope not," John said as Ten pounded on the door and called for Sarah Jane. Ten left off on the pounding and waited. At first no one answered and Ten thought Sarah Jane was gone. Then the door slowly opened and he could see her eye looking through the narrow slit between the door and the doorway. "Sarah, it's me, it's us, the Doctors and Rose and a few others, can we come in?" Ten said to her. "You're alive," Sarah Jane said, opening the door a bit more. "Yes, I am. Can we come in?" Ten said. "I haven't seen you since Deffrey Vale," Sarah Jane said. "And Rose…but who is this?" she said, looking at Eleven. Eleven frowned. "You don't remember? I met you when you and Jo were taken by the Shansheeth." "Shansheeth? No, I don't know what this is and I don't know who Jo is," Sarah Jane said, shaking his head. "I know him and I know Rose because I helped them stop the Krillitane." "What about my third and fourth selves, did you know them?" Ten said. "Um…no, I've only met you once, at Deffrey Vale." Eleven cursed under his breath. "May we come in, Sarah?" Ten said. "Yes. Wait, there's another you?" Sarah Jane said when she spied John. "Do you have twin brother then?" "In a manner of speaking," Ten said. "Come inside then before someone sees you," Sarah Jane said, opening the door all the way. Everyone came inside. Ten noticed that Sarah Jane was rushing them inside while peering out the door in a tense and scared manner. "Sarah, what's going on? Why are the houses all dilapidated now, where are all the people at?" Ten said to her. "You don't know?" Sarah Jane said, shutting the door and locking it. "No, I've been…time traveling," Ten said. "And time has been altered. So please tell us what's been going on here." "Follow me," Sarah Jane said. "Just keep quiet as much as you can. You don't want the Jacksprites hearing you." "Jacksprites?" Eleven muttered to Ten while they followed Sarah Jane. They noticed that no electricity was being used; only burning candles. The house was barely furnished. No TV or electronics, just a few chairs and a sofa and a few tables, the very basics. Sarah Jane told them to sit in the lounge and they sat wherever they could since there were only two chairs and the sofa. Sarah Jane sat down in front of them and apologized for not offering them tea or food. "Rolling blackouts," she said, pointing to the candles. "Rolling blackouts?" John said. "Why?" "Because the UK is bankrupt and under siege at the moment," Sarah Jane said. "Most people are afraid to use electricity when there aren't blackouts because it attracts attention. How much do you know, Doctor?" she said to Ten. "Um…apparently not very much now," Ten said. "So why don't you start at the beginning. Who are the Jacksprites?" "Disciples of Jack the Ripper," Sarah Jane said. "Young people who strap scalpel blades to their fingers and go around ripping people apart in imitation of Jack. That's where Luke went," she said, lowering her eyes. "There was nothing for him here so he and his friends joined the Jacksprites." "Wait? Luke and Clyde and Rani?" Eleven said. "They're out ripping people apart?" Sarah Jane nodded. "I tried to talk him out of it but most teens join the Jacksprites sooner or later. The alternative is living in squalor, especially since the schools are no longer open." She nodded at the shocked looks on everyone's faces. "Most people are afraid to go out now, let alone go to school," she said. "England has been devastated beyond repair. Still, there is a glimmer of hope now." "And that glimmer of hope is…" John said. "Well, since we've become the fifty first state, President Obama has agreed to help get the UK back on its feet again." "Wait, you mean the US owns all of the UK now?" Amy said. "The US has been propping us up for years now so they took the next step and just made the UK a part of America." "No way," Amy said. "I'm an American citizen now?" "But why has the UK fallen so low?" Eleven said to Sarah Jane. "Because ever since Jack the Ripper started terrorizing the country, England has been in a state of fear and panic. And then came the Jacksprites and the wraiths and the economy faltered and never recovered." "Wraiths?" Ten said. "That's what everyone calls them. They're formless beings that do what the Jacksprites do. Actually, they predate the Jacksprites. They appear and disappear at will and kill randomly. No one knows when they're going to strike next. The Jacksprites are like that as well. They kill in imitation of the wraiths and they take what they want when they want because most people have abandoned the shops and businesses and stay boarded up inside their homes. You risk your life just going to get your daily rations from the government centers. I stopped being a journalist because most people don't have the money to buy newspapers or magazines, not when they're just trying to survive and buy the basics to keep going. And hardly anyone switches on the telly because they're afraid the noise draws the Jacksprites and there are the blackouts to conserve energy. It's a mess, Doctor. The whole country is one big mess now." "I'll say," River said. "And you have no idea where Luke, Clyde and Rani are at the moment?" Eleven said. "No," Sarah Jane said, shaking her head. "There are heaps of abandoned buildings that the Jacksprites have taken over. Not to mention the tube tunnels are havens for them as well as the homeless. The military boarded up the entrances to the tube to prevent people from going down there but I suppose the people who live there have ways of getting down there." "Doctor, should we check on Donna?" Rose said to them. Eleven and Ten shared a glance. "Should we risk Donna remembering us?" Ten asked. "I'll go, she doesn't know this face," Eleven said. "Where does she live?" Sarah Jane said. "Chiswick," Ten said. "As far as I know, Chiswick hasn't been as hard hit as we have but they probably still have blackouts and problems with the Jacksprites," Sarah Jane said. "Sarah, do you want to come with us?" Ten said. "My TARDIS is impregnable and perhaps you can help us get time back on track." Sarah Jane mulled that over for a moment. "I suppose there's no other alternative," she said. "I don't know where Luke is and it's probably a matter of time before the Jacksprites get me." "Come with us then," John said. "You helped at Deffrey Vale and we could use all the help we can get right now." Sarah Jane nodded. "Okay, I'll go," she said, rising to her feet. "What about K9?" Eleven said. "You mean that robot dog of yours? He was blown to bits when the school exploded," Sarah Jane said with a shrug. "So…you never traveled with him," Eleven said, pointing to the Doctor. "You just helped him once." "That's right. I was investigating this school and he and Rose turn up with K9. I helped them save the children and they left afterwards. I haven't seen either of them until tonight." "I'm guessing it's because you and me are the only Doctors left," Ten said to Eleven. "If our third body was corrupted before she met him, she wouldn't have traveled with him and been there when he regenerated." "Yes, I'm guessing that's the reason as well," Eleven said while Sarah Jane stared at them in a befuddled silence. "No matter, she's here now. So follow us, Sarah. We'll get inside the TARDIS and then go to Chiswick to check on Donna and her family."
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