Running Through the Meadows (Alice, Richard Lancaster)

Present Day New York City.

With a large coat to cover her whole body, Alice had been touring through the Big Apple all day. She'd been asking the Doctor to see 'the colonies' as they'd always been called in her time but didn't expected him to take her to the future version of them. In any case she'd wanted some time out of the TARDIS in order to explore more while the Doctor was so keen with his experiments and other little adventures that tended to overwhelm her at times. While she was allowed to go off on her own the Doctor insisted she wear a coat over her usual dress due to how out of place she would seem.

It was colder than she'd expected but that wad due to it being fall at this point, which had put her off a little since she'd just been somewhere in the spring at least a day ago. But that didn't matter to Alice. She was too busy being astounded by everything she was seeing.

Towering buildings, cars flooding the streets, all manner of new age technology. And she'd begun to think the TARDIS was impressive to look at. Each place she passed she browsed through the windows and wondered what each thing was for and how her friends and family back home would react to her having one.

Even the dresses and clothing of this time seemed a bit much for her, being that the skirts were always to high up and exposing so much leg. Still the 19th century displaced girl had found it all so breathtaking. Little did she know of the cities darker underbelly.

"Shush, shush...stop struggling...Seriously, it's getting boring..."

CRACK.

"Now, that's better."

The body went limp and Richard grinned, as he allowed the body to slip out of his arms with little regard for the police, he had done this enough times. The police simply couldn't keep up with some random killings and well, it made him very proud indeed. But he allowed himself to sit there for a while, sipping at the lukewarm tea, which stood to one side. It made him gag from the lack of what proper tea should taste like, it was simply some substance that was nice to drink from time to time.

He still had plans to take down HEAT and their associates, Ritchie was sure that someone was following him but it didn't worry him to the extent that there would be two bodies--Great, some other pedestrian walked into the alleyway and well, the same fate was delivered to him at the expense of a spilled tea.

At least the police wouldn't know.

It hadn't been until Alice was window shopping another store for modern day clothing that she heard something crack in a nearby alleyway. Sometimes her curious nature tended to get the better of her and, well, this had been yet another occasion where that was likely. Not only that but she smelled tea brewing. Had someone set up for a party in an alleyway of all places?

She looked down, peering around the corner, but couldn't exactly make anything out. She had no choice but to walk further down until she could see better in the light. However the moment she realized what the cracking noise was and who'd done it she stopped right in her tracks.

She realized she was far too out in the open and would easily be seen, making her simply say "Oh my...." before turning and making a run for it.

Ritchie glanced up as soon as he heard a gasp, and then footsteps turning in the opposite direction. He raced after her, a young girl with a coat flapping in the wind. A normal person would be turned off by chasing after a girl but he knew that anyone with common sense would rush off to the police station and guide them back to his killing hole. it was nice that it was a one way street but not nice if people stumbled onto it later on.

"Come back here!" He shouted after her. Pedestrians frowned and simply increased their pace to avoid being dragged into what they presumed a failed relationship of a father and his daughter. His feet pounded the floor and despite his height being 6'3", he couldn't catch up to the girl. Richard's only hope was to prevent her to go to the police. Mainly because he wanted HEAT for himself and well, didn't want to be locked up for the rest of his life, it was strange how quickly one adjusted to the outside environment, he was an experiment gone wrong, the fire, he had started but barely anyone died.

Which was a shame. But the girl was a new concern and he tried to push his way through the busy streets of New York to get to her. "Get back here!"

Despite his calling for her Alice continued to run. She pushed past people while calling "Constable!" Obviously she wasn't aware how the law authority and the like had changed over the centuries so those who heard her calling thought it was odd while still avoiding getting involved.

Eventually she'd ran right into a nearby officer on horseback. Unfortunately she wasn't looking at the time and had run into the horse first before landing on her back. The officer needed a moment to calm his horse down before yelling at her for why she did that.

Getting to her feet she tried to say "Please, there's man after me. I saw him kill someone! And now he's after me, Constable!"

Given the way she spoke and the fact that her coat was open and the cop could now see her clothing underneath he looked at her skeptically. He wasn't sure if she was serious or possibly someone pulling a gag, or even if she was just loopy in all honesty.

Ritchie was now battling with other pedestrians going the complete opposite way, he groaned in frustration as they finally parted in time for him to sprint, stopping just short of a policeman on horseback and the girl, who had fallen over. She seemed to be calling the officer "Constable" which was an old word for the officer, apparently. It was in one of the history books that he read up in the library. He had to stop her somehow from having to talk the officer into following her back to the scene of the crime.

With a deep exhale of breath, he walked up to the officer and put a hand on Alice's shoulder. "Sorry 'bout her, officer. She's off her medication, aren't you?" The police officer frowned but nodded in understanding went on his way. Ritchie looked down at the girl, it was an odd fashion statement but he wasn't really picky about those on death row, so to speak.

"Where were you running off to?"

A chill ran down Alice's spine when she felt his hand on her shoulder. She reluctantly looked back to him when he told the officer she was 'off her medication'.

At answer to that she tried to say "What medication? I'm not sick! You're the one who snapped a man's neck and then made yourself a pot of tea while you were at it."

She hadn't realized how much she'd only made herself look worse until the officer was already walking away. She cursed herself in her mind for being so foolish before being forced to look this man, whoever he was, in the eyes as he asked where she was going.

"As far away from you and as close to someone who'll believe me as possible." she said with a blunt and stern tone in her voice.

"Oh shut up...! I was trying to make the nice officer disappear." Ritchie said, chuckling at the girl's attempt to question his motive. "Now, don't run off to the police like that again, they don't like when you do that."

He looked at her, the dress and garments she was wearing and simply dismissed her as some random lunatic that may or may not have escaped from some mental institution dressed like some Alice in wonderland sort of costume. Besides, it was just him and her now. Richard smirked, now pedestrians thought that it was some bonding time between daughter and father after their run through town.

When she told him where she was running off to, a mock disappointed look flashed across his features. "Aww, you scared of the big bad wolf? Or is it that you're so delusional that you actually believe someone's going to listen to your story?"

Alice gave him an angered look when he'd given his condescending question of 'being afraid of the big bad wolf'. She hated when people talked down to her like that, no matter what the situation may be. But then she felt a slight twinge in herself when he made the comment of anyone actually believing her story.

It brought back the memories of when she'd tried telling people of the alien world she traveled to when she was only 10 years old. Of course no one believed her when she claimed to have traveled through a mirror and encountered a number of odd creatures and a man with a magic sonic wand. She worried if she would go through the same ordeals here.

Looking down she tried to say "Some.....somebody might..." not sounding to assured.

Ritche simply couldn't care for the girl's attempt at looking angrily at him, he knew it meant that one was displeased with someone on a grand scale but because he was used to seeing the HEAT scientists give little emotion and teach him that an upturned lip mean that one was happy and the other way around meant sad but aside from that, facial features were not very important to him.

"Aww, someone might? That's nice, maybe your little imaginary friend, who you would have a tea party with?" He grinned, the girl didn't seem so sure of herself. That was when he brought back out his little pocketknife. "You see, I have a friend too. I'm sure you'll get acquainted with it shortly, maybe not, depends how much you struggle."

Who exactly was this girl? Rich was not going to introduce himself, because if she did go running off to the police as she did earlier, he was going to get found out quicker than a snail and that didn't sound so appealing.

"So, now, you're going to tell me your name and we're going to go for a little walk back to the alleyway."

Alice looked a little squeamish when he mentioned 'his little friend'. Even in this time the talk among the drags and thugs of a city hadn't changed much. She was all too familiar with this kind of talk coming from this sort of man, one who didn't mind giving a child a good beating just for looking at him the wrong way.

She needed to get away from him at the most. She needed to find where the Doctor was and hope he could help in some way. But given her chances was there much choice?

With a deep sigh Alice said "Very well. My name is..." she stopped and looked behind him, saying "What the devil is that officer doing?"

She waited until the man looked back before, in a quick moment, she lifted her leg high and far enough into his privates to deliver a hard enough kick to stun him for a moment. After that she turned and started running as fast as she could, all the while trying to apologize to herself for doing something "unlady like".

She stopped for a moment before spotting the entrance to a park, Central park. Hoping it would make for a decent place to hide she made a break for it with all haste.

((Sorry it took longer than I was anticipating !))

She was giving her name and a slow smirk crossed his features, this was like stealing ice cream from a baby, not like he had done that but...he frowned upon the mention of an officer, at least she was using correct terminology. As he went to turn his head, a searing pain shot up his body, originating from his privates. Ritchie fell to one knee, gasping for air and holding back the urge to yell. This was uncalled for, all he could see was her disappearing figure.

Richard regained enough movement to sheath his knife, got up and began to limp through the crowd, his eyes trying to find the girl. She was ahead of him by a good few, turning into central park. He frowned, wondering why she would be heading into a park out of all safe places. The pain was still there, meaning he had to pause in his step to wait till the pain had subsided.

"Where did she go?" if they were going to play hide and seek, he was no stranger to the game. Amongst many of his victims, this would be a last resort to entertain him.

Running as hard as she could, eventually Alice stopped when she found a spot to hide among the bushes and a tree. She peered out both sides to make sure the man hadn't seen her before, finally, taking deep breaths to regain herself.

She felt like she was going to collapse but knew she had to stay focused and figure a way out of this predicament, and the best course of action was to find the Doctor. That was easier said than done as she had no idea where he would be by now. The last place she'd seen him was at the docks of this city, but that was a way of ways from here.

Telling herself it was the best course of action she finally regained herself and tried to find out which way to go from where she was. Taking another look around she made sure the man wasn't near before trying to ask someone for directions. However everyone tended to pass by her, ignoring her.

With a little hmph she said "So much for manner's in this age!"

Richard was still looking, pretty fed up with the game of go hide and I'll find you...eventually. He strolled the park, hands tucked into his pockets and a false smile on his face as he scanned the park, was there really that many places one could hide? The dress that she was in seemed an inconvenience if she were to climb a tree, so that was ruled out quickly.

Finally, he spotted her. Ritchie was growing ever frustrated that his victim wanted to run so much. Next time, he was picking on those that simply couldn't run or those that stood out more than a young girl who had plenty of energy to spare. He was an old man, well, that was what many classified him as. He continued walking towards the girl, staying out of her line of sight and in a person's blind spots often allowed him to get the target quicker and the surprise factor. She seemed to give up looking for directions and Ritchie coughed, imitating some other accent.

"Ya do know that tis rude to walk off from a man who was talkin' to ya?" Ritchie said, a plain smirk emerging as he waited for the girl's reaction.

Alice froze when she heard him speak, realizing she was setting herself out in the open too long. She didn't even bother to look back before she started running away from him. If he'd managed to grab her she slipped out of her coat in a hurry before running off again. Now her attire was in full view, obviously everyone taking second glances.

Sadly for Alice many people assumed it was just that she was a cosplayer or the like and too not further notice. She didn't bother shouting for help as she now felt that these people would likely tell her to slow down and let the man catch her if it meant keeping her quiet. This also made her think how wretched this time period was.

Further into the park she ran until finding herself at the large fountain where a large crowd of people were. Quickly she rushed in and ducked herself down while skimming through in order to get away faster.

That wasn't what Ritchie was hoping for, she was too quick for him as she darted away, yet again within moments of his grasp too. He snarled, running after her again. His legs were tiring and he slowed to a quick walk, his eyes darting around to see a glimpse of the woman running.

He stopped, trying to locate, out of the many people by the fountain, her, his legs shook out of adrenaline and tiredness, it was the first time in a long time that he had to play cat and mouse with his victims, why was it not easy for him to simply end the secret that she would probably, if he wasn't tailing her, go to the police and spill everything to them and Ritchie would have to spend years, if not the rest of his miserable life in prison.

Something he wasn't willing to risk. "C'mon, it'll be easier if you stop running! The game's over now!" If he could convince the other people that she was simply involved in a game, then, it would be alright. That was how Ritchie saw things, and it wasn't going to change just because he had an audience on his back. His eyes locked onto her and began running after her again.

Alice glanced back as he called to her, knowing this was all part of his ruse to keep everyone else convinced he knew her. As far as she was concerned, if she did truly know him she'd still be running for her life.

She finally came out the other side of the crowd and ran out of the entrance to the park. She was panting to where she needed to stop at one spot to catch her breath. She kept looking back, waiting until he showed, before needing to pick up the pace again.

She crossed a street, avoiding cars as they beeped at her, before eventually reaching the other side. She ducked and maneuvered around people and two food carts before coming to a street that was cut off due to construction. Not realizing it she turned, thinking she would make for another street, but instead came to a dead end alleyway.

She cured under her breath before turning to see Richard, making her back up to the very end among piles pf garbage and the like.

((Sorry this took so long!))

Finally. She was backed into a dead end, literally and metaphorically. The grin returned, as he attempted to get his heart rate to a normal speed but he was getting too excited. "Woulda been better if you kept in one place, you hear me?" He had jumped over cars to get to her, avoided several police officers on the way and finally, he was about to get the kill that he was so anxiously waiting for.

"Now, tell me…why the funny dress? You fall from another era?" Ritchie chuckled, advancing upon her.

But there was a whizz in the air, an immense pain and Ritchie fell to one knee, his arm raised to his shoulder, his subconscious knowing that he had been shot. What they hadn't known was this was the rougher part, the gun-toting area and well, Ritchie had fallen victim to it. He stumbled, losing balance and slammed himself against the wall opposite. He looked at Alice, malice in his eyes, even it not being her fault.

She backed to the nearest wall before answering his question with "That's....that's none of your concern. Now you leave me alone or I'll..." she stopped and watched as he suddenly collapsed before saying "Well...it appears someone beat me to it."

She cautiously walked over and examined him from a safe distance, seeing the wound he had. She ducked her head a little, thinking the person might be near by, but still looked at her chaser. After seeing how bad it was she only gave a coy look as she crossed her arms.

"It appears as though fate is kinder to some rather than others, isn't it?" she said.

Richard simply cringed, his body rocking back and forth to attempt to ease the pain but he wasn't going to go as far as asking the girl to help him to hospital, although it would get him closer to her. But would she trust him? Probably not. "Going to leave me, like the bags over there?" He jerked his head in the direction of where the bags were.

Pushing most of his weight against the wall, he used that to enable him to get to his feet and look at the girl. Now he was intrigued, the dress, the way she had addressed a police officer...he cocked his head. "One thing. You're not going to tell them, are you?" He didn't want his little dirty secret getting out and loose into the world, he was an experiment gone askew with generally nowhere to go.

At his first response Alice said "If I were not the woman I am, I would leave you in far worse condition. But I'm not. And you should count yourself grateful for that." She huffed at him and turned to walk off before he asked if she would tell.

Looking back she took a step towards him and asked "Tell them what? Not as if they would believe me. The people of this age seem to ignorant to me. So I'll wash my hands of it." She looked ready to go again but stopped and said "One more thing."

She gave him a kick to the chest before saying "That's for treating me like some mental child. You cur."

"You really think you can do such a thing? I won't be grateful until you're in my position." It wasn't a fatal wound, thank goodness. Ritchie was just a little on the angry side on the fact someone had the better luck, in this case, Alice. But she only seemed to prove his theory of her coming from some 'other' time. "People of this age? Hah. You speak as if you come from some other world or time period, is it because you have?"

His brow furrowed as she paused in her step, the second time she was about to leave him but it was only answered by a sharp pain in the chest. He coughed, slumping back down against the wall, racked with the pain of the new injury and the bullet wound. Ritchie wasn't really having a good day. His breathing was heavy and gaze cold but he couldn't do much but recover. "What stops me from coming after you again?"

At his comment about he coming from a different time period Alice replied "I think you would be very surprised." She then turned her nose up at him as she began to walk away, realizing she still had a away to go before finding the Doctor and the TARDIS.

When he asked what would stop him from coming after her she stopped and turned before answering "I feel there's little chance we shall see each other again, foul man that you are. But if we do, do not think I will not be ready for you. And perhaps I won't be as charitable as I was today."

{I'd see this as a good opportunity to end it here If you'd like to carry on, simply PM me }

(Nope. I suppose it's good enough.)