Doctor Who by Nicholas Briggs

see a big, green and black skimmer landing. It bumped down onto the hard, wet surface of the area outside. Then, the doors opened and some people got out. There were two policemen, a man in a black suit and …
    Sabel’s heart felt like it was bumping up and down for a moment. And that confused her. Why was she feeling like this? She tried to speak, but she couldn’t. It was as if the words had got clogged up in her throat, and she felt that if she forced them out, she would cry and cry just like her sister. And she was afraid that she might never stop.
    Ollus jumped out of bed and ran to her side. He looked out of the window and said what Sabel could not.
    ‘It’s the funny Doctor man!’
    He was coming back. This strange man who had given them the worst news they had ever heard … He was coming back to rescue them.
    In that instant, it became clear to Sabel how much she had given up on any hope. She had felt empty, filled with a hurt that ran deeper than she had ever imagined hurt could go. But now, this man who she had not even liked, was coming back. And even though she hadhated him for the bad news he had given them, for some reason she could not really work out, Sabel felt sure that this strange, funny man in his funny clothes, with his big, smiley face and his glowing, buzzing screwdriver that made lights explode … She felt that he was the answer to everything.
    The Doctor walked across the wet courtyard towards what Hellic had told him was the Carthedia State Orphanage. Even though, like the rest of the city, it was made from a collection of intricately welded together containers and pods, the Doctor could not shake the feeling that there was something distinctly Victorian and imposing about it. Against the thundery sky and lashing rain, it looked like it had emerged straight from a ghost story. A ghost story where young orphans were kidnapped and locked up in a scary mansion.
    The police officers were keeping a wary but weary eye on the Doctor. It was probably long past time for them to clock off. Hellic indicated a large, metal doorway. It was caked in rust. As he tapped in an entrance code, it creaked unpleasantly open.
    As they entered the building, walking down a long, echoing corridor towards a distant reception desk on a raised plinth at the end, Hellic moved closer to the Doctor.
    ‘You’ll only have about ten minutes with them,’ he said, blankly.
    ‘Today?’ asked the Doctor.
    ‘No, that’ll be it,’ said Hellic. ‘Once sentence has been passed, all your guardian rights will be revoked andyou’ll be incarcerated.’
    ‘Oh, you’re all heart on this planet, aren’t you?’ said the Doctor. ‘And when will sentence be passed?’
    ‘It’s probably happening right now, back in the courtroom.’
    ‘Great,’ said the Doctor, not meaning it at all. ‘So you bringing me here is just sort of scoring professional points, isn’t it? Building up your CV for a more senior post?’
    Hellic ignored this and turned his attention to the reception desk they were now rapidly approaching. He pulled out another of his pieces of waxy paper from his inside jacket pocket and handed it to the rather squat, bald, bespectacled receptionist.
    ‘Court order 5/679-4 relating to the Blakely children,’ said Hellic.
    ‘Oh yes,’ mumbled the receptionist, typing something onto a flat screen on his desk. ‘I remember them. One of them cried all night. Most annoying. Will they be staying long?’
    ‘Probably until they come of age,’ said Hellic.
    ‘Hang on,’ said the Doctor. ‘Surely Terrin and Alyst left some provision for them in their will.’
    Hellic turned to the Doctor, with a rather pitying look on his face. Pitying, but distinctly unsympathetic.
    ‘You heard the Dalek Litigator. Maximum punitive damages. Total seizure of assets,’ he said.
    ‘I haven’t got any assets,’ said the Doctor. ‘Well, apart from the TARDIS – oh, I see, you’ve seized that, have you? Of course you have. The