Who: Simon Tam What: Desperately Seeking Sister Where: The 4th Doctor's TARDIS, to the streets When: A few hours following this thread Status: Narrative ; COMPLETE
Oh, not again.
He'd been looking for River for an hour before deciding that she wasn't hiding inside the TARDIS. The blue box was far bigger on the inside than the outside, but even so, she had always given some indication of where she was, when he was searching for her. Sometimes she played games, hiding from him, but even then, a word or a whisper of movement would let him know it was a game.
This was no game, and she wasn't in the ship. Simon sighed, checking back in his room to get his shoes when he saw the papers around his medical kit. Tucked in here and there, like petals of a flower. His frown turned into a smile, knowing who had done that, and he began to shift through the papers carefully.
The frown returned when he recognized some of the bits of paper as pages from a Bible. Revelation was the chapter - why would River have a Bible? The last time she'd picked one up was the day she'd decided to correct Shepherd Book's book. He looked at the pages, seeing the marks she'd made on them. Riders, horses... some words were underlined, particularly crown, sword, and scales. One word was scrawled out into the margin: Ironhorse.
The papers were shaking. Or was it his hand? One page had his name on it, scrawled in River's sharp calligraphy. The next held a few words, written in careful Mandarin. If I don't come back. The next page was harder to read, with how it was trembling. Hyperion. The last page made less sense. Exploding man.
No, Simon's mind raged. NO! "River?" he called again, his voice breaking on the contained emotion. "River!" With that shout, he was racing out the doors of the TARDIS, searching like a madman, screaming her name until his throat was dry. Simon didn't know how far he'd gone or how long he'd been calling to her when his search brought him to an alley. There was oil covering the floor, and one wall was covered in graffiti. But the body of the girl that was laying upon the ground brought a scream of rage and pain that Simon would never have guessed could come from him, had he heard it.
"RIVER!" No, no, NO! He was supposed to protect her, he was supposed to take care of her! Simon collapsed beside her, beside his beautiful sister. His hands shook as he brushed the hair from her face, wiped the trickle of blood away from her mouth. Her eyes were wide and unseeing. The tips of his fingers brushed at the lids, but before he could shut them, Simon collapsed, falling across her. Sobs and screams shook his body, and he continued to scream long after his vocal chords has fallen silent from strain.