A/N: Well, here it is, my first fanfic. I hope you all enjoy it. Any reviews, constructive criticism, etc. would be much appreciated.

Don't be put off by the abscence of any familiar characters in the prologue. They're all introduced in the first chapter. Also, while there isn't anything particularly graphic, explicit, etc. just yet, I'm not entirely sure how this is going to end, so I've rated it T just to be safe. It probably won't end up being rated anything higher than that anyway.

In addition, my thanks to Vella for a beta and lots of ideas.

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who; I am merely borrowing the idea for the purposes of writing this story. Which I believe is the whole point of fanfiction anyway.

Prologue-The Dream

Well? … What do you think?

The voice was soft, indeterminate. There was something about it that made it impossible to guess where it was coming from. To the girl, it seemed to reverberate gently around the back of her mind before merging with the sound of the breeze.

"I don't know…" She didn't know if she'd said that aloud or not. In this place it was difficult to be sure of anything. Her mind searched for a word to try and describe it, and for want of anything better decided upon 'city'.

The ruins had obviously been a city at one point, and quite a grand one at that. Now, however, the vast majority of the buildings lay in ruins, and the few that remained standing were simple, uninspiring constructions, houses probably. Curiously, everything seemed to be built from the same dull grey stone, giving the place a rather bland appearance. Only the sky seemed to hold any colour at all. It was a sort of watery blue-green colour, and laced with strange clouds that seemed to be every colour at once and yet completely white at the same time.

But that wasn't what held her attention at that precise moment. Her sole interest and concern at the present time was the temple.

Its most striking aspect was its size. It towered over everything else around it, its many spires seeming to pierce the multi-hued sky above. It looked to her eye to be unimaginably old, yet had quite clearly been magnificent in its time. She still thought it was quite atmospheric now; in fact, she got the distinct impression that the other buildings were almost shrinking in its presence.

The girl stumbled, and realized that she had somehow begun to walk up the uneven steps to the entrance. She stopped.

"It looks unsafe…" Again, not sure if she'd actually spoken or not. The voice seemed to hear her regardless.

But you have to go inside. There is something I need to show you.

Despite her better judgement, she felt oddly compelled to fulfil the voice's request. Besides, she thought it had sounded just slightly pleading, desperate almost.

She looked back towards the entrance and continued her ascent. The splintered remains of what must once have been an impressive wooden doorway now hung at a strange angle from huge stone hinges. A few broken splinters were still scattered on the ground. They clicked gently against the floor as she stepped over them, one occasionally snagging on the hem of her dress. Brown and withered leaves drifted gently from the dead trees flanking the steps, like rotting snowflakes.

Look through the door. What do you see?

She peered intently, but the space beyond the entrance was enveloped in darkness. Was there something there?

Look closer.

She continued to stare, and her vision tunnelled until the surroundings faded and all she could see was the doorway. The broken shards of wood hanging from the hinges swung uneasily in the breeze, emitting a low groaning sound. The trees rattled and a few dead leaves danced across the floor behind her. As her vision continued to narrow, the door seemed to yawn wider, giving the unsettling impression that it was moving towards her. The splinters looked a lot like teeth, she thought.

Keep looking.

Then she found it.

There was something inside. It was too dark to see it, but she knew it was there. And it was looking right at her.

Startled, she broke eye contact and looked back up towards the door. It had moved closer, she noticed. It was still moving closer. And then it was a snake, rushing towards her, its mouth gaping, fangs bared.

She didn't have time to scream before everything went black.