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The areas turned out to be residential, and every home Leah tried had a personal computer. None, however, had any electricty coming into their (twin round pin) mains sockets, so trying to find people online was out, even if she could use a foreigncomputer with no access software.

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So instead she started collecting batteries and settled down in one of the more secure first floor flats to pull apart a hifi system and construct a useable Short Wave radio. This she tuned through miles of thick white noise while adding a transmitter.

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The morse code transmitter is easy. It's a few days and a lot of cannibalised electrical appliances before she perfects a battery powered motion device that will keep the SOS code on a loop on a fixed frequency, but she manages that.

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That channel stays open while she starts building a new radio.

[OOC: very much open, but please do not tag if your character would be able to locate and rescue Leah. I want to keep her lost for a while]

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It doesn't make a lot of sense, but it makes some. By this point Leah has hooked up her own headset to the same radio -at least temporarily.

--- audio ---

Then, "a'right, Doctor?"

Well, it's worth a try, right?

"I hear you, loud and clear," comes the Doctor's voice. A female voice, which might surprise Leah but then again, probably doesn't given that she's just assuming the name is a call-sign.

It's not the idea of a female Doctor that makes Leah laugh out loud, but the silky voice itself. This is a voice she can approve of.

"Great. Yeah, there was a bang and suddenly I was outside in the street. Going mad from the lack of information, here."

"Afraid I can't be much help. As far as I can tell, this world was hit by an unexplained number of portals, which deposited varying beings - and some of those were what we would term monsters. the world has been devastated, it's population vastly reduced and many of it's major cities reduced to rubble. there are still some gateways opening, but far fewer than before. It would be one of these that brought you here."

A pause.

"What is the difficulty with ascertaining your whereabouts?"

"I keep my GPS in my superhero outfit."

There's a healthy portion of sarcasm in there, so she can take that how she will. "I came in from my kitchen. We're not all equipped with TARDISes and the like, you know."

"No street signs, telephone books, public libraries?" Comes the question. There is no sarcasm - anyone who can ask for help in morse code must have some brain cells, so it can't be stupidity.

"Not that I can read," Leah says. "I thought about heading out, see if I could find a public building, but don't wanna risk wandering into trouble or gettin' lost in the woods, y'know? Not 'til I'd made contact with people."

"Understood," come the crisp British tones.

"I'll keep working on the problem - I don't know why I can't trace your signal. I keep thinking I have a lock, and then it shifts. There's something odd going on."

"It happens," Leah says, resignedly. "Not the best signal, really: hadda make do with the equipment I can find. Maybe something from some portal's blocking it.

"At least I found you, y'know? And I'm guessin' you're mobile so if you've got the time for triangulation... it's not like I'm gonna starve for at least a month."

"I'll do my best," she says. "Is there anything else I can tell you?"

She'll be keeping this channel open though, from now on.

Leah frowns, to herself, thinking.

"I think of anything, I'll let you know. Right now I'm just happy for the company. Girl can get lonely without any broadcasting radio stations."

"I'll keep this channel open," she says. "Call me whenever - even if it's only to hear another voice."

The Doctor knows from experience what its like to be left alone with yourself, and wouldn't wish it on anyone else, if she could help it.

"I could set up to broadcast music on another channel, if you'd like."

"Wouldn't say no to some Tchaikovsky," Leah admits. "Anything but the Nutcracker. And hey - if you have Blizzard of Oz I'd love you forever.

"Oh hey, do you have the current time on GMT plus one? I wanna set my watch."

"I can do that," the Doctor says with a chuckle. Most music she has, the rest can be acquired.

"And the time is nineteen thirty-three and six - seven - eight - nine - ten seconds."

"Brilliant," Leah says, setting her braille watch quickly. "What time'a year d'you reckon it is?"

If she can estimate sunset and rise times, she can switch to a nocturnal lifestyle. it might be safer.

"Early summer, by the weather," the Doctor says. "In Europe."

"Right," Leah says, "so assuming I am in Europe, that's another two hours til sunset. Brilliant, cheers."

She grins to herself and leans back, happy.

"So, Doc. Tell me about yourself."

"You're welcome," the Doctor says.

There's a brief pause.

"Well - you seem to know who I am," she says, dryly. "I'm the thirteenth of my selves in my own time-line, and the first woman. I have met some of my alternate selves who have been female earlier but in my case it didn't come about until I was fairly comprehensively killed. My assistant peculated that it was a way around the restriction on regenerations."

"Does the other yous have the same voice?" Leah asks, cheekily.

Hell, she's stuck in a strange world with very little hope of rescue soon. She's going to flirt.

"Cause I'm tellin' ya, I could listen to yours all day."

That earns her a musical chuckle.

"No, she's rather different - one of those dark fascinating types. I'm more your upper-class totty."

Flirting is always good.

"Call me whenever you like. Ask prettily and I might read you stories."

"Oh man, don't make that offer unless you'll commit," Leah says. "I'm gonna be missing my talking books soon enough."

"Hm."

That sound is the verbal equivalent of a shrug.

"I've retired from saving the universe," she says, "I can spare some time."

"Brilliant," Leah says. "I never got the hang of retirement, myself."

"It's only an official retirement," she says wryly. "Things keep going wrong, I keep getting drafted in to help. Nothing much has really changed."

Beat.

"Aside from having boobs."

Leah laughs.

"Oh man, boobs change everything. My dad was just teaching me archery when my puberty kicked in."