The Lost Room

II

Donna wandered aimlessly around the TARDIS corridors. She had gotten quite lost. Not that she really cared, she was still in shock. After The Ood had played their song, after she had heard it, she realised what this travelling really had in store. She couldn't understand how The Doctor could stand it. Could stand hearing that song, screaming inside his head. It was horrible. She kept walking, her thoughts drifting in and out of memory. Then, she heard something. It was like a howling wind, screeching against the TARDIS walls. Donna followed the sound, soon coming to a door. It was made of the same metal as the TARDIS console, and the wind was definitely coming from inside. Donna pondered the door for a second. From the outside, it seemed the TARDIS only had one exit. Obviously not. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door.

White. Blinding white, everywhere. It took Donna a few moments for her eyes to adjust, holding her hand up in front of her, she looked around. She was somewhere else, a different building. There was an office at the top, with glass walls, but one was smashed, no doubt by the wind. The wind. It roared past her ears, almost deafening her. She looked round. People. Two people. She couldn't see their faces, the light coming from the end of the room was too bright, but they were there. Donna called out to them, but her voice was drowned out by the howl of the wind. Suddenly, Donna noticed how the people were holding on tightly to small black handles at the side of the walls. One was girl and the other a man, but that was all Donna could make out. The light from the bottom of the room seemed to be sucking in everything into it. Donna quickly ran over to the side of the wall. Lying her back against it, she looked over at the girl that was just about two metres away.

She was wearing a blue jacket and her legs were failing in the wind. Her hair looked blonde, but the light was so bright it might as well had been brown. The man was wearing a brown suit, his legs in the air, but his face was lit up to brightly. Donna watched, terrfied as robotic things flew in from the window, smashing through the glass walls of the office. They resembled small bins, but they were flying too fats for Donna to take in any other qualities. Suddenly, there was a flash and a crack. Donna whirled round quickly to see the girl reaching out a lever. The man reached out to her, but Donna couldn't hear him.

"What are you doing? Leave it!" Donna screamed. The girl ignored her. She mustn't have heard me! Donna yelled out again, but the girl kept stretching out. Then, she slipped. Donna screamed as the girl clung onto the lever, trying to push it up or something of that sort. Donna started to climb her way through to the other side of the room, back to the door she had come out of. The man on that side seemed to be hysterical, screaming for the girl to do something, but his words were drowned to muffled cries.

Donna reached the door and clambered to her feet. Running, she retraced her steps as best she could, memorising the way back to the room. She had to find The-

"Doctor!" Donna ran into him, clutching onto his shoulders. The Doctor looked at her puzzlingly. But before he could say anything, Donna grabbed his hand and dragged him down the hallways back to the door. "Doctor, we've got to save them!"

"Who?!"

"A girl, and a man! They're trapped in some, tornado thing! The girl's going to fall in! We have to stop it!"

When Donna reached the door, she pushed it open as far as it would go. Nothing. It was empty, with bronze walls and a small blueish hue coming from the ceiling. "What..?" The Doctor followed her in slowly.

"I should really get the TARDIS to move this room, people keep finding it," he said sadly. Donna walked around the room.

"I don't, this is the right room! But, I swear Doctor, this door led outside, we must have landed in a building or-" The Doctor walked over to the left side of the door. He pressed the small silver button on the side of the wall. There was a flash of light and the scene was just as Donna had left it. "This, but how?" But The Doctor wasn't listening, he was looking down at the people, clinging onto the walls and lever. He pressed a few more buttons and the sound of the wind quietened, letting Donna hear the people. He walked up to her and pulled her back a small bit towards the wall.

"I gotta get it up straight!" the girl cried, pushing the lever with all her might. The man clutched onto the black handle tightly, watching the girl. Suddenly, there was a mechanical voice that said; "Online". Donna watched in horror as the wind sped up.

"ROSE! HOLD ON!" the man screamed. The girl's legs were suddenly risen into the air. She held onto the lever as tight as she could and Donna wanted to run out and grab her, but The Doctor was holding onto her shoulder too hard. "HOLD ON!!" The man reached out to the girl, but almost fell off the handle and had to retreat.

Then, the girl let go. Donna screamed along with the man and fought against The Doctor, but he just pulled her back. The man reached out so far that he almost let go.

"ROSE!!" he cried, the name dragging out as the girl fell and screamed. Donna kicked and punched against The Doctor's chest, but he just pulled her back against the wall even further. The man screamed, his voice etched into Donna's head. Donna watched as the girl screamed and fell into the white light at the end of the room. The Doctor quickly flicked a switch and the whole room fell into darkness as the scene before Donna collapsed.

"Doctor! What happened? What did you do?!" Donna yelled, finally pulling away from The Doctor. His head just fell as he looked at the floor. "Was that real? Oh! I don't care if it was or not! You shouldn't stood there and done nothing!" The Doctor suddenly flicked the switch again and the whole scene lit up once more. Only this time it was paused, like the freeze-frame of a movie. And it was set about two or three minutes before the girl had fallen in. She was still holding onto the black handle, smiling across at the man. The Doctor walked up to her. Donna watched, feeling the tears brimming in her eyes.

"Your right Donna, I shouldn't have done nothing," he sighed sadly. He reached out the girls face. "But it's too late now. I should have let go, even if we would have been trapped forever, I would have had her..." His voice cracked beneath the words. Donna watched him, hanging onto every word. "But I didn't. I held on." He raised his hand to the girl's face, but it just went right through. "They're holograms Donna. They're not real. If they were, I would save her. But I can't."

Donna walked over to the man that was at the other side. As she suspected, it was The Doctor. He was frozen with a crazed smile on him as he looked over at the girl. She smiled softly at the look of him. But it fell almost instantly as she realised what this hologram was. "This is the day you lost her, isn't it?" The Doctor didn't answer at first.

"Yes Donna. This is the Memory Projection Room. I can use my Time Lord psychicenergy and this machine to project my memories. But they're not real..." he finsihed sadly. Donna walked up to him and took his hand.

"Doctor, I promise you, you ain't gonna lose me!" she said. The Doctor looked at her, his eyes shadowed with regret and loss.

"Donna, you can't promise that. Rose promised forever, but you saw what happened," he said solemnly, still holding her hand. "I can't promise you you'll always be safe-"

"I know the dangers."

"And I can't say everything will have a happy ending-"

"I saw Pompeii!"

"And I can't promise forever-"

"I don't want forever, I want as much as I can give." The Doctor smiled at Donna sadly and together they left the room. But Donna couldn't help one last glance, and she couldn't stop thinking that maybe, one day, that might be her...

Okay, that's all for the MPR for now! Review please!