Title: And All Was Lost.
Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one, I'm just borrowing River for a while (and not giving her back.)
Timeline: I've left that sort of open to your own interpretation, but probably post TATM
Spoilers: Other than general stuff about running from the Silence, none I think.
Summery: River was alone in the dark, with no way out.
Warnings: Character death and feelings of being trapped.
Author Notes: I thought my fic muses had run away and left me for good. Then my River muse decided she wanted some angst. And this is what happened. Italics are River's thoughts/memories. (previously posted at my tumblr.)
It was dark. And it was cold. Those were the first things her senses registered. In fact that was all that her normally quick senses registered. Frantic eyes searched and searched but found nothing. Just darkness, deep and cloying, it pressed in on her. For a moment she actually wondered if her eyes were even open. Green eyes blinked. Definitely open then, she thought. If her eyes could give her no clues to her whereabouts maybe her hands would have better luck. Tentative fingers stretched out, at first finding only the cold floor she was sitting on. A little further exploration and they found something. What was it? Colder than the floor, that was certain. Metal? Of a sort at least. A chain maybe? Yes that was it. A chain, and a large one at that. Nimble fingers continued their search, finally encountering the end of the chain. It was attached to a shackle of some sort which was in turn attached to her own ankle. Wonderful. She wrapped her fingers around the chain and weighed it in her hand. Heavy enough to give her more than a little trouble in trying to break it. But also heavy enough to be an effective weapon, in the event that she succeeded in breaking it.
Turning her attention back to the mystery of her surroundings, she shifted onto her hands and knees, crawling as far as her chain would let her. She sat back on her heels, reaching her hands as far out in front of her as she could, her natural expectation to touch a wall of whatever type. Nothing. Her hands connected with nothing but air on all sides. Well this just will not do. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips as she skimmed the floor with her hands again. She couldn't even tell what this place, this prison was made from. Hands groped in the dark until landing upon the chain once again. With a strength granted to her not just by her pseudo Time Lord DNA but also her sheer human stubbornness, she gripped the metal chain in both hands and pulled. Nothing. It didn't give in any way that she could tell. With a rather animal like growl of exasperation she threw the offending restraint down. It landed with a dull thud by her knees. Think, River., just think. Frustration and temper tantrums were not going to help her situation. After a deep, steadying breath she reached down in front of her and picked the chain up again. This time her object was not its destruction, but rather to find it's source.
Crawling once again on her knees she followed the chain. It was shorter than she had hoped, it was attached to one single loop jutting up out of the floor. River skimmed her fingers over and over the seamless metal loop, noting only that it was considerably thicker than the links of her chain. A spark of determination flickered to life somewhere in the pit of her stomach. Tentatively River rose to her feet, letting the chain drop from her hands. She reached a hand up into the air. Predictably the ceiling of her little cell was an unreachable height above her head. Squaring her shoulders she walked resolutely forward, the chain making an odd scraping sound as it followed her along the floor. Eventually it grew taut as she reached the end of the line again. Holding her breath she reached out once more. Nothing. Always nothing. River could do little to stop the scream that had begun rising from her chest until it finally burst it's way from her lips. It was a deafening sound, full of rage and frustration. And dare she think it, but even fear. River generally believed her emotions were something to be guarded and protected. She didn't often let them show so freely, only in exceptional circumstances. She supposed this could be regarded as such. When the echo of her own voice had faded away to nothing River sank back down onto the floor and waited for her breathing to return to normal. Slowly she considered her options.
Option one: break the chain and try to find a way out. Option two: Hope that whoever was responsible for her being in this ridiculous position would come to check on their prisoner, in which case she'd knock them unconscious with the chain and get out of there faster than someone trapped in a room with a Raxacoricofallapatorian. That would require taking care of option one first, and as her earlier attempt had proven that would be easier said than done. Well, River Song never had been known for doing things the easy way. So it was with chain in hand that she got to her feet again, thanking whatever lucky stars she might have that she'd decided to where boots instead of heels that day. Or was it another day now? Who knows how long she'd been there for in her unconscious state. Not that it mattered at the given moment. River planted her feet as firmly on the floor as she could, wrapping her hands around her metal restraint. She pulled and pulled, then pulled so more. She pulled until she couldn't breathe, until she could hear a faint ringing in her ears. Stopping only to feed her air deprived lungs. She pulled until she was sure she might dislocate her own shoulder blades. And nothing. It didn't budge one inch, or one millimetre. Not even the width of a cats whisker.
Panting for breath and feeling thoroughly defeated, River sank back down onto the floor. She thought of screaming again. But what good would it do? Instead she stared into the dark, thinking back over how she'd gotten here, wherever here was. None of her memories seemed to be coherent. They were flashes of images that didn't make sense. She was with the Doctor, she was laughing while he tried his hardest not to. Then she was alone and there was a horrendous noise and a sense of heartbreak so strong that it made River want to curl up and cry. And that noise. That unbearable noise. Oh. The noise. It was her. She remembered that much now, screaming – no howling would be a more accurate description. So much pain. But she knew as she sat there in her unknown prison that she wasn't injured, nothing hurt. Shaking her head as if she could shake loose the memory of the pain her thoughts shifted again. Back to the Doctor. They were sitting under a tree on a planet she couldn't recall the name of. And oh but it was a beautiful night. His head was cradled in her lap while he tried not to laugh at whatever it was that she'd said. Her fingers brushed through his hair. It was the first time she'd been able to do that without him becoming awkward and shy, like the boy that his outward appearance suggested. "You have the face of a twelve year old" She'd told him and laughed at his attempt to deny it. "I don't remember you saying that last night, dearest wife." He'd replied with that wicked grin he wielded so readily. It had been her turn to blush like a girl this time. And then it was all gone.
Back to the screaming and the pain. And a voice, she'd heard it somewhere before, all full of malice and hatred. Oh no. She didn't want to remember any more. Not this. "They've found us..." She'd never heard so much fear in his voice before. Madame Kovarian's smirking face drifted into River's memories to join her voice. "Dear little Melody. And her brave Doctor. Such a shame it's come to this..." River's eyes had widened in horror as two strange yet familiar looking creatures – The Silence, she was sure of it – had grabbed the Doctor by the shoulders. Two more of the towering creatures had appeared at River's side. They'd grabbed her by her arms and physically lifted her into the air while their compatriots began to draw energy from the air around them, it reminded River of lighting. "DOCTOR!" Their eyes had locked on each other. There was no fear in his eyes, no worry. And no guard up to hide it any more. All River saw was love. Bright, warm golden light enveloped him, regeneration energy wrapping around his form. An electrical flash hit him. And he fell. And she screamed.
The pain had been as excruciating then as it was now. River lay on the floor, her knees pulled to her chest. Her body shook as the pain overwhelmed her. A voice she didn't recognise as her own begged for her unseen captors to do to her as they'd done to him. No. Time can be rewritten. Time can be rewritten. Maybe if she repeated it enough it would be true. Maybe she'd wake up and he'd be there with his ridiculous bowtie and his too young face. Maybe she'd see that love, that life in his eyes again.
A door swung slowly open, the noise echoing around her. A light cast shadows across her body. A silhouetted form took a step forward, high heels clicking on the floor. "Dear little Melody..."