Set Me Free (Doctor Who fanfiction): Chapter 1

This was inspired by a tumblr post:

which then became a prompt for a fanfiction contest at The Star Cult.

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

I walked down the street, listening to the mundane noises of everyday life. I was sick of this boring stuff. I pulled out my iPod and hit "shuffle". The first song was "The Christmas Song". It was June. I skipped the song, and my iPod started playing "Set Me Free". Much better. 

I looked up. I saw a man wearing a trench coat and converse. He was looking straight at me. His eyes looked old, sad, lonely- and also kind. He walked over and gently grabbed my arm, turning me so that I was walking alongside him. I took my earbuds out, too shocked to do anything else. 

"Hello," he said. "Just keep walking; don't look alarmed. I'm the Doctor, and I need your help." I followed his instructions and kept walking, somewhat uneasily. 

"What do you want? I don't have any medical experience." I thought for a moment. "I hope it's not... well you're a strange man, and I'm a young woman..."

"No, no, no, no, nothing like that. I just..." he paused. All of a sudden, he got a faraway look in his eyes, as if remembering. He looked like the saddest and loneliest man in the universe, and in that moment, I couldn't help but pity him. 

"What do you need me to do?"

"It's not safe to talk here. We need to go to the TARDIS." I shifted uncomfortably. 

"You're a strange man, you grabbed my arm and said you needed my help, and now you're asking me to come with you to this 'TARDIS', which for all I know could be your..." I tried to think of a polite word- "snog box. Should I be worried?" I sighed. "I'm sorry, it's just..." He nodded as if he understood my unspoken sentence. 

"We can keep walking through the crowds, but don't talk too loudly. I can tell you what's going on, and then you can decide if you trust me. Does that sound fair to you?" I nodded. We kept walking. 

"I need you to help my friend."

"What's her name? And why can't you help her yourself?"

"Donna Noble. And... It's complicated." I stared him straight in the eyes, waiting for an answer. "Very complicated." I kept staring at him. "Well..." I glared at him. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." I raised an eyebrow. He sighed. "Fine, you asked for it."

"I didn't say anything!" He rolled his eyes. 

"She was my friend, though we didn't exactly meet under the best of circumstances."

"How so?"

"Well, she accidentally ended up in my TARDIS. On her wedding day."

"I knew I shouldn't trust you!"

"Please don't shout. Someone could hear us."

"EXTERMINATE!" Apparently, someone had.