Title: Paying It Forward 1/1; Martha, [spoiler]; G

[scarfman]

Paying It Forward 1/1
Author: scarfman
Characters: Martha, [spoiler]
Rating: MPAA-G
Setting/Spoilers: generic Season 2007
Disclaimer: This work is derivative of property of the BBC. No profit shall be made and no market of the owner is infringed upon.
Summary: These things work out, somehow

---

"Phil!" Martha called down the empty corridor.

She was a doctor, not a messenger. Stoker has just picked her at random from a bunch of his charges as they'd been leaving for the day, to run this report down to the chief morgue attendant. Except she knocked on Phil's office door and he wasn't there.

"Phil!" she called again, moving off. "It's Martha Jones! Phil?"

She pushed through the doors into the morgue itself. "I'm for it if I don't put this into your hands myself," she called into dimness; the only light was sifting through the tinted windows high on the basement wall. But there was no one in here, just several gurneys with fatalities on them. Mostly or all from the blimp crash this morning, no doubt.

There was the sound of a small object falling in the darkness. "Phil?" Martha called again, moving into the room.

As she passed one of the corpses, it sat up.

Martha yelped, and jumped sideways, bumping into one of the other gurneys. She leaned on it with her free hand to steady herself. A cold hand closed over hers. Martha jerked away and spun around, backing farther into the room while the figures on the gurneys she'd already passed stirred.

"All right, that's enough!" Martha shouted. "Joyce? Carla, Henry, you put Stoker up to this, didn't you? Nice work keeping it from me, but you can stop!"

The first one was on its feet now, moving toward her slowly but with natural walking motions in exactly that way that movie zombies don't. In the poor lighting she couldn't see any detail, only that with the sheet cover fallen away it was unclothed, and that it wasn't anyone she knew. Several in her field of vision nearer and farther than this one would be on their feet soon.

A cold hand brushed against her back and she quickly flinched away, in the same motion spinning around to run toward the far door. There was no handle on this side.

She spun back to face the room. About half a dozen were on their feet now and approaching her slowly. "Stop it!" Martha shouted. "It's gone too far now! Whoever you are, you're only making trouble for yourselves!"

The nearest one started to reach for her.

A vertical slice of light widened across its face, and the room. A hand, a warm hand, grabbed Martha's from behind. She looked at the opening door behind her, into a heart-shaped young face with too much mascara and dark-rooted blonde hair.

"Run!" the face said.

Together, they ran.

Comments

[akire-yta.livejournal.com]

what an idea! awesome!! *applauds*

[empyress.livejournal.com]

This is great. Just enough to get a visceral reaction. Well done!

[icebluenothing.livejournal.com]

... This is so awesome.

[pescivendolo.livejournal.com]

Very nice!

[honorh.livejournal.com]

Why do I love the idea of this taking place in Pete's World post-"Doomsday"? Is that what you meant? Because, as I implied above, I love it.

[scarfman]

The evocation of blimps was meant to make it explicit.

[janusfiles.livejournal.com]

I think I've seen this (or something very similar) on CSI.

[live-brave.livejournal.com]

Great story - as someone else said, I can totally see this in Rose's new reality. She's not really the sort to rest on her laurels after all that she's seen with the Doctor! :D Thanks for sharing this.

[kb91.livejournal.com]

Yay! I've had exactly this scenario in mind and you've put it together so wonderfully. I've got a big smile on my face now. :D