The creature was now fully awake, concentrating on the noise and vibrations from above. He was grateful that the meat was coming to him. There was no way out of his home so he couldn't get to the creatures outside. The doors were barred and he could no longer squeeze in and out, as before. Sometimes, the creatures came down into the tunnels but not nearly enough of them.
The noise and the scents were getting stronger. He stood and began to move, avoiding the bones he'd left scattered for fear of making a noise, doing his best to move as quietly as possible. But this was not easy given how much he had grown.
The room where the TARDIS landed had three neighbours, spread along a corridor. Amy and the Doctor tried the first. It was unlocked but empty and the second was locked. From the glow of the sonic Amy saw that the walls of the corridor were smothered with great black patches.
"Damp?"
"Shouldn't think so," the Doctor said. "There's no smell." He licked a finger, ran it down one of the dark blots and sucked the tip.
"God, no matter how many times I see that it doesn't get any less minging."
"Yes, but pretty useful," he said, removing his finger and coughing. He held it up. "As I thought. Smoke damage."
"So we're in a burned out building."
"Hmm," he said and licked his fingertip again. "Fire's recent, too. Less than a week, I'd say."
This situation was starting to unnerve Amy. Why should the TARDIS bring them here – insist upon it, in fact – to a burned out shell? What was it all for?
"Doctor, what happened the last time the TARDIS went all 'hand bags' ?"
"She took me to the planet Malcassairo."
"And what happened?"
"Well, appropriately enough, given the Malcassairo's at the end of the universe it really is the last place you want to be," the Doctor said, turning the handle of the final door. "Locked. Oh well."
They walked on. "Yeah, rubbish planet," he continued. "No cool shops or beaches. A lot of rocks, that's what it's got. And feral humans. And a big rockety thing. And, what with one thing and another, my trip there got rather... Messy. Frankly, I've had better d – "
"Oh my God – "
The Doctor was falling. And so was Amy.
