Don't Blink

[1] Stay Out Of Our Business

"Firstly, a brief introduction," the man with blue eyes said. "I'm Captain Jack Harkness. For you though, I'm just Jack." He winked at Sebastian, making him stumble back in surprise.

"Stop it!" The other man glared at Jack, who just smirked back. "Well, ignore him. I'm the Doctor, just the Doctor, thank you. " The 'Doctor' grinned at Sebastian. The latter just frowned.

"Is that like a title? Like the Fuhrer?"

"Yeah, but I'm not like him."

"No, no, that was just the first example that came to me. Now, Doctor, tell me what I need to know." He slightly adjusted his posture, effectively reminding the other men of the gun, still cocked in Sebastian's hands. Jack decided to start.

"Alright, listen. You were at work, you had reached earlier than needed, just like usual, to gather more information, right? All of a sudden, you start to feel suffocated. You get out, visit the park nearby. Now here's the thing you didn't know. That place wasn't safe. The second you reach the middle of the park, you hear a click. You stepped on a landmine. Nothing you can do. You try to diffuse it but it's too late. It has a timer. I tried to help, but the second I was about to diffuse it, it blew up. It wasn't a very strong mine, but it was effective," Jack said. Sebastian couldn't help but be puzzled.

"If the... if the bomb wasn't strong, how can you say it was effective?" Sebastian could see it now. The man was a soldier, no doubt about it.

"It wasn't meant to kill you! Oh no, it's meant to be a warning. You have no idea what you're dealing with. The bomb wasn't meant to kill, it was meant to say one thing. Loud and clear."

"What?"

"Stay out of our business." Jack's tone was grave.

"How do you know all this? You can't possibly know who's behind this madness, can you?" Sebastian asked. The men eyed him, then exchanged a glance. It was as if they still didn't know if they should tell Sebastian the truth.

"Oh, we do, and we're here to help you kill them," Jack finally said.

"Kill? No no, I'm going to get them persecuted, not killed-"

"The thing you're dealing with isn't human! It's not gonna stop at this level, they've already picked up ten of thousands, only six of which you actually know about. they're going to get to London, then Britain, then all of Europe. Give them enough time and they will take the whole world. We don't have much time right now, they're happy with the Londoners.
There are more than seven million people here. If they can take thousands in just a day, how long do you think it'll take them to be bored with this city?"

"No way so many people missing were not noticed," Sebastian argued. As much as he hated it, his gut feeling told him it was true. Still, he's a detective, he would never take action without proof. If he was being honest to himself, he didn't want to believe it.

"Oh but they weren't," The Doctor said this time. "They're smart you see, they don't take youngsters who are well connected with the world, oh no no no. They take those who wouldn't be noticed. The homeless, the ones in old age homes, the ones who, supposedly, don't matter. Tell me, have you seen any homeless people recently?"

Sebastian thought about it hard. He was right, all of them seemed to have disappeared completely. He slowly shook his head.

"What do you think happened to them? The government helped them? Someone made them a shelter? What?"

"Someone took them," Sebastian realised.

"Not someone, something. You have to believe me, we're all in serious danger," The Doctor said. Before Sebastian could respond, Jack let out a gasp.

"Hey Doc, uh, don't panic, but..."

He pointed at the bedroom door. A huge statue of an angel stood there, with its hands covering its eyes.

"Wait, isn't that a Oh, what's it called-" Jack stuttered.

"A Weeping Angel. Sebastian, back away from them, slowly- that's it. Good. Now, keep your eyes on them, will you Jack? I need to blink," the Doctor said. Sebastian followed every instruction. He was still doubtful, but a statue randomly appearing in your bedroom doorway tends to make you follow instructions really well. Jack trained his eyes on what must obviously not be a statue while the Doctor blinked a couple of times.

"Right. Now, since I'm... Well, me," Doctor started, "I can stay without blinking for 'bout five minutes. Still, I have to be careful."

"What's a Weeping Angel? Not a statue, I presume?" Sebastian queried.

"Technically-"

"No, it's not. It is a species. The Weeping Angels are assassins," The brown-coated man said cautiously.

"Assasins? What's up with the not blinking part then?" Sebastian raised his gun at the Angel statues as he spoke.

"The gun won't work, Sebastian," Jack said. "They're stone right now. You can't kill stone."

"What? What do you mean? If they're assassins, and it sounds like they're living beings, shouldn't at least some harm come to them from a bullet?"

"It doesn't work like that. They don't exist when they're being observed. The moment they are seen by any other living creature, they literally turn to stone. No choice, it's a fact of their biology. And you can't kill a stone. 'Course, a stone can't kill you either, but then you look away..." The Doctor shifted in his position, squinting his eyes. He let Jack continue his explanation

"They are so fast that they can move from right there, to next to you, in a literal blink of an eye. They can also heal themselves that fast, but only small wounds. A bullet would only chip their stone-skin, it would be like a paper cut to them. That short period when no one is watching, they can get you, in that instant.
And they won't directly kill you. They would send you back in time. The time you were to spend here is released in the form of time energy. That time energy is their food."

"So this world is like an all-you-can-eat buffet for them?" Sebastian asked.

"Yeah, basically," Jack chuckled. He turned towards Sebastian, a big mistake.

"Whoa!" The Angel was staring Sebastian right in the face now. He gulped. He turned his head but kept the Angel in his view.

"But you said..... You said they're assassins. How come they send you back in time?" he said, scared after what he said. Wouldn't anyone?

"They send you back in time, back enough that you die in your past. You would die by the time you reach back to this instant. Maximum, you're too old by the time you reach back to your 'present' ." Sebastian shuddered at the cold words that came out of Jack's mouth.

[27-02-2022]