The Doctor blinked and sat up.
"Peri?" His young American companion was the first thing that came to his mind. Then came his own safety, he looked around, he was in a street, in the middle of a road to be more accurate. So he quickly jumped up and out of the way. Although there was nothing coming, no cars, bikes, horses. Nothing.
"Peri?" The time lord called again pulling a hat from one of his pockets and placing it neatly on his blond hair. He sighed, pushed his hands into his trouser pockets and began to walk, glancing at shop windows and street names eventually realising that he was in New York. But New York was in ruins, there was hardly any buildings that were safe to enter and even fewer that were still standing. Everything of value had been taken from every possible place, it was a ghost of a city.
"Is anyone here?" He called again getting no reply, he had half expected it though. Why stick around if there is nothing here?
The Doctor was half way through his leisurely walk around the ruins of New York when he heard the first voices.
"…I call upon you…Ruins of New York…FIGHT!"
The Doctor sighed, he could only catch odd words from his position and so made himself known.
"Hello." He said cheerily, "I'm the Doctor."
The girl span around, she had been bending over a large pot over an open fire. Sudden vines whipped around her from behind and pinned the Doctor to the ground, several of the vines had sharp spines along them although they just waved themselves in front of his face almost as if waiting for orders.
"Why are you here?" The girl asked nervously standing up straighter, she was taller than she looked with long, wavy blue hair reaching to her waist, it was laced with various flowers and leaves that she had braided into her hair. She was wearing a long, flowing white dress that again, had many flowers sewn into it.
"Why are you here?" She repeated pointing one slender finger at the Doctor's face.
"I am looking for my friend Perpugilliam Brown although she prefers to be known as Peri, have you seen her?" He smiled, his happy attitude had disappointed the girl and he could see that.
"…No." She said softly looking at the floor watching as the vines that held the Doctor withered and died so that he would be set free.
"You are not of the darkness are you?" She asked offering a hand to help him up, a hand that he ignored but smiled his thanks.
"No." The Doctor frowned unsure what the girl was talking about but deciding to pretend he did.
"I am Estumi. Estumi Marga." The girl span around then span back.
"You don't know what I am talking about do you?"
The Doctor shook his head. "Sadly, I do not."
Estumi began to walk.
"Follow me and I will explain." She smiled.
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
"Who sent you?"
Peri cowered in a corner as a large, shadowy figure asked her the same question over and over only to recive the same answer.
"I came with the Doctor, no one sent me."
"Why do you keep lying to me? Either tell me who sent you or tell me who this Doctor is." The figure glided closer to Peri, so close that she could smell the rotting flesh of its face.
"He's...The Doctor." Peri shrugged pressing back against the wall although she could move no further.
"You wouldn't believe a word of it." She sighed, sliding to the floor as the figure span around and marched back and forth across the room.
Peri had no idea who it was as the only light coming into the room was from a tiny slit high up in one of the brick walls and the figure made sure to keep well away from the light there.
The cloaked figure span round again and stopped, facing Peri but still hidden in the shadows of its black clothing.
"I need a new body. This one was never built to last." It rasped suddenly coughing and faling to its knees.
Despite the fear holding her Peri crawled over to it and put one of her hands on its back.
"You continue to lie to me even though i hurt you when you do. Yet you still care." The figure shook its cloaked head in confusion and sat up, pale sunlight falling onto its face for the first time.
From the face Peri guessed that the figure was male, his skin was almost white and drawn tightly over his face giving him a skeletal look. His eyes were small and sunken. Light blue in colour. Before he turned away Peri was sure that he was not who he wanted to be, she thought that she had seen someone trapped inside those sunken, nightmarish eyes.
"You are truly not of the darkness..." He rasped getting up and gliding over to the door that seemed to appear as he drew near.
"When i return i expect you to tell me who the Doctor is and why he left you to die with me." Then the door slammed shut and Peri was once again left alone in the small, dark prison.