A horror story within the trenches of World War I. Expect appearances from the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors if this is well received! :)

Chapter One
The Fall of Night

"I wonder what it's like up there."
"Where?"
"Up in the stars."
"Probably a damn sight quieter than down here."

Private Lee Alson scribbled frantically on to his notepad with little but a small plank of wood to comfort his backside. Part of him felt as though he had to agree with Private Benjamin's analysis of the night sky, but the other (slightly more hopeful) section of his mind kept a light view on the proceedings.

That wasn't to say that Lee didn't have his dark days. Just two days ago, three members of his platoon were killed by German machine gun fire having been ordered to scout the enemy trenches. One of the soldiers, Tom, had been a very close friend. Lee ensured that he remembered Tom's final words every morning: "We might be stuck here - and it might be because of some big bosses who don't know how to speak nicely to each other - but as long as we've got each other, this is home. See you soon."

Tom's body didn't make it back to the trenches. A British sniper said he could see his head in No Man's Land and that to even attempt to retrieve the remains would be a suicide mission in itself. Lee thought up no more hopeful scenarios on the matter, but had instead taken to scribbling in his journal every day.

"It's quiet tonight, to be fair" he eventually replied to Ben.
"Hur," Ben's reply was little more than an emphatic laugh. "For how long I wonder?"

Lee had nothing more to say to that. He knew Ben was right - the Germans never left them alone for long and now that it was summer, the nights were shorter and the days were longer meaning a much more risky lifestyle for anyone attempting to avoid an enemy sniper. Still, he wasn't going to let Ben know that. If one person gave into fear, what was to stop anyone else?

It was 2:12am, and the pencil was slowly but surely running out of lead. Lee stowed the pad away in his trouser pocket and sighed, placing the pencil behind his ear and staring upwards at the moon once more.

"Full moon," he sighed, blinking at its light. Ben didn't reply, but Lee wasn't particularly expecting him to. There always came a point where the conversation became too stale to continue. Instead, Lee's gaze fell over the stars and sighed.

"Wouldn't mind a trip up there. I bet they manage it one day. Space travel, can you imagine?"

Silence.

"Ben?"
Lee became tense, bringing his attention back to Earth with a huge crash.

Ben wasn't there.

"Ben? Where'd you go?" Lee stood up, whispering so as not to wake any of his fellow soldiers. "Ben? We're not supposed to just abandon our posts."

Still no reply. Lee's pulse was beginning to quicken and, with short steps, he made his way to the furthest corner of the trench. Ben's belongings were exactly where he left them, complete with the picture of his wife, Elaine, and their three year old daughter Jennifer - only his watch was missing, the watch which was actually given to him by Tom.

It was when Lee bent down to pick up the photograph that he heard it - a heart-stopping scream, loud enough to disturb both the Allied and enemy armies across No Man's Land. Lee's hands flapped in the air and he had to stifle a scream himself. "Ben?" he called. Placing the photograph in his pocket, he quickened his pace to a jog through the trenches. "Ben, where are you? What's happening?"

With both fear and distress coursing through his body as he ran, Lee didn't notice the most obvious of signals which might have given him a clue as to what had happened to his friend. As it was, the young soldier hundreds of miles from home kept running, searching and calling for Ben to no avail.

Minutes passed and as panic overtook Lee's senses, he fell. The moonlight shone down on him as though sending a message itself and, slowly, he raised his head.

The soldiers.

They were all dead. Every single one, their innards ripped from their bodies or placed upon barbed wire as though they were trophies of their killer.

Tears fell from Lee and crashed upon the soggy Earth, but not before he realised the truth. Turning on his side and staring up at the sky, waiting, he understood and, as all men eventually do, he feared death.

With a great howling cry and a fiercely devastating blow, the beast struck. Lee screamed as night fell around his senses.

Please rate and review because I'll be continuing this story with the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors if I get a good response :) Thank you for reading!