Chapter 1
My heart leapt as the TARDIS was thrown into the emergency red lighting. "DOCTOR!" I shouted, hoping for some response. "Doctor," I said again. No response came to meet me. I squinted in the almost-darkness, trying to find his body on the floor. I searched around the main section for what seemed like an eternity, looking, but without any luck. I heard a groan from the TARDIS, almost as if it shared in my disparity.
Unable to find him, I began to search for anything that could help me. Strangely, I could make out that his usual chalkboards were gone; they had disappeared into thin air! Frantic, I started running down the stairs and heard a "thunk, thunk, thunk," as something fell down the stairs. I hurried my paces and upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, I started searching. Getting down on hands and knees, I stretched my hand into a darkened crevice and pulled out… a torch! I clicked the button on the top and a beam of light shot out.
Holding the light in one hand, I went back up the stairs onto the main floor. I shined it around and to a most horrifying sight! The heart of the TARDIS was a faint grey, barely putting off any light of its own. All of the controls were dark and the monitors showed nothing. What am I going to do!
The more I looked, the more bleak the prospects. The hallways were sealed by a thick metal barrier. Everything was silent, not a soul to be heard. My head began to spin and my heart pounded in my ears. Shaking, I sat down to calm myself.
All of the sudden, a hand grabbed my shoulder from behind. I was paralyzed, not wanting to look. A chilly breath rustled my hair and then it began to speak,
"Ever watching, we fade into the night
Turning hearts to stone, but never in plain sight
We were once everyone, but nobody now
He is in submission; we will make him bow"
A chill ran through my body and goose bumps spread up my arms, making my hairs stand on end. Where the hand was on my shoulder, there was an electric sensation. I gathered my confidence and turned to look at the being. Slowly I inched my eyes to my right side and cautiously turned my head. But, there was no one there.
I slowly stood up and shined the torch around, but still, there was nobody to be seen. I started running away from where I had been, hoping I had been hallucinating. I didn't quite know where I going, but it was better than being there. After running for quite a while, I began to grow weary. I broke from my run into a quick walk. I shined the torch around, exploring some unknown area of the TARDIS.
I was walking down a large hallway when I felt a breeze from my left hand side and quickly turned to the source. "Aaha!" I yelled. Directly to my side, there was a tunnel! It looked rather narrow and quite dark, but at least it led away from here. Panic stirred within me as the torch began to flicker. "No, no, no!" I commanded as I pounded it against my hand, trying to get it to stop. But, my efforts were in vain, and the torch died on me.
I tucked the torch in my pocket and entered the stout hallway. It was completely dark, so I reached out my hands to the walls, so I could guide myself. "Eewww," I shrieked, trying to contain most of the noise. The wall was covered in a slimy substance and it had engulfed my hand! I attempted to remain calm, and forcefully pulled my hand from viscous liquid. As I shook it from my fingers, I couldn't help to wonder at what is was. Not really knowing how to analyze it, I gathered some on my finger and took a whiff of it. It reeked, like road kill that ferments in the hot summer sun.
Disregarding my last thought, I crouched down and guided myself along the floor. It was frustrating to make so little headway. Gladly, I didn't have to struggle for long. When I finally turned a corner, the hexagonal hallway was lit with faint heather light. However, I couldn't seem to find the source of it, it was almost if the wall itself was creating light somehow.
As intrigued as I was, I had not a second to lose! I quickly traversed the passage and found a large room at the end of the hallway. It, too, was covered in soft blue light. A platform with a strange-looking control unit dominated the room. There was a large, somewhat obtuse monitor that displayed a message:
WARNING! PRIMARY FUNCTIONS DISABLED.
Dread encased my being like a thick icing. My eyes grew wide and I froze in place. Why hadn't the cloister bell sounded? Is the TARDIS under attack?
I quickly turned back to face the central platform and screamed as I saw a man hovering over the controls.
