The Doctor

I didn't mean to press the button. Okay maybe I did. But the last thing you should do is put a big (and I mean HUGE!) shiny red button in front of me. It reminded me of a clown. The first time I saw one's nose I sonicked him all over checking for signs of alien intelligence or growth inside him. Anyways, back to the button. I couldn't help myself!

Next thing I know I'm in a weird…place. It's hard to describe in terms you'd understand. All you need to know is that it is grey. Pitch grey. I mean utterly absolutely grey. No sign of Amy or Rory rather unsurprisingly. They aren't quite as inquisitive, or as stupid as I am at times. I can see glimmers of white occasionally but never for long. It reminds me of The Void I trapped those Cybermen and Daleks in but that's another story. The place is completely empty. That is until I spot the inscription embedded in the grey nothingness.

The Forbidden Experiment is not peckish.

Peckish? Not terribly menacing, not hungry now that would be more appropriate, it's like this thing is just a kid - after that I understand. It has the wrong person. I talk, communicate, I do everything and more. So of course it wasn't peckish.

Yet.

Amy

"Don't just stand there you muppet!" I yell.

"Well what should I do then?" asks Rory indignantly.

"This!" I announce tossing my flame red hair out of my way as I stride towards the button.

Before my husband – god that sounds weird – can do anything my hand is on the button and I am gone.

I never thought much of my childhood years. I spent them waiting, playing with stories no one would believe, parent-less too. I coped, but as I step into the grey oblivion around me now I feel the forgotten depression of those days poking at me like thistles. I remember it had got to the point that any time I mentioned the "Raggedy Doctor" Auntie would refuse to respond. It had been so terrible when she did that…so awful not to be spoken to…I can feel the grey around me trying to swallow me up. It's sucking at my strength, turning my legs to jelly. Picking apart my vision…

…I guess it must've succeeded because the next instant I'm on the floor opening my eyes.

"Doctor?" I question frantically.

He's bent over me with a concerned frown on his face. That's never a good sign. I sit up awkwardly and open my mouth.

"Ssh." he says putting a finger to my lips. "The Forbidden Experiment IS NOT peckish. Don't make it change its mind."

I push away his hand and stare at my surroundings. I don't know why I blacked out, there's nothing here to scare me except the distinctly un-threatening space. Is that even a word? Hah, must be the Doctor's influence.

"Doctor what's going on? Where are we?" I ask my voice breaking mid sentence.

For a moment I pause feeling surprised then attempt to continue the interrogation.

"Amy have you ever heard of the Forbidden Experiment?" he whispers.

I open my mouth to reply then shut it noticing his expression. He doesn't want me to talk. Why doesn't he want me to talk? I shake my head in response. He slaps his knee in annoyance, his face then twisting into a scowl as he realises that wasn't the cleverest thing to do.

"You humans! You create brilliant sites like Wikipedia and you NEVER USE THEM! The Experiment was carried out on young children. It was meant to find out how the child would react to no communication. The theory was that without it – " he stops.

"Without it what?" I hiss at him.

" – that doesn't matter right now."

He looks away and I can tell just from a glimpse at his eyes whatever it is it's important. So naturally he hides it from me. Well if that's how he wants to behave –

"As for this place? It shouldn't exist. It's only a collection of ideas. You get these things forming all over the universe but you're never meant to physically encounter them. Something's wrong here…once again I think something or someone might be fiddling around with our reality…"

"Where's Rory?" I say.

Then I stop speaking abruptly alarmed at the decreasing quality of my voice. It's all croaky.

"Don't talk. This thing feeds off our communication. For the moment we're in luck, it can't help it, it's a reflex but when it decides to feast is when we're in trouble. I'm better off than you. I know so many different forms of speech and I never stop talking. I do that for a reason you know."

"No you don't." I smile grimacing slightly at the horrible scratchy drone my voice is becoming.

"Maybe, maybe not, but that's beside the point, what I'm trying to say is that it won't know where to start with me. You're a bit closer to home; it understands your biology at least."

"You keep on saying "it" what do you mean?"

"Not the time or place Amy. Now shut up!"

"Bu – " I protest desperately trying to take in all this new information.

"Trust me."

He's staring into my eyes. He's doing the cheeky smile again. I can never resist a good cheeky smile. Grr. I'll get him for this one day.

"Okay." I sigh, my voice down to a whisper.

Then I stop with a sharp intake of breath. What has happened to my accent? My lovely Scottish accent! It's gone! Normally this would have bothered me more but I have a certain someone on the brain. I hope he's okay.

"STOP talking Pond! Our communication is this thing's life force."

"Where's Rory?" I ask one last time.

"He's safe for the moment. Now stop it. The more you say the weaker you get and the stronger it becomes."

I nod. So long as he's safe – I'm with the doctor, what could possibly go wrong?

Rory

Rory was at his wits end. The button had stopped gleaming. Its tantalising glow had gone out and was refusing to come back on. He groaned. Just typical of the Doctor to desert him and Amy had followed as always. Well at least she'd be safe. Rory had even tried wacking the button once or twice but to no avail. Unless having a sore hand counted as success. He winced again as the pain coursed through it. He shouldn't have done that. Amy would've laughed at him for doing that and he had a feeling the Doctor would have done as well. Buttons weren't meant to be that solid though surely?

He rubbed his arms attempting to keep warm but it had no effect. Things tended to do that when you were stuck in a blizzard. Oh – he'd almost forgotten - and in the dark. The last thing Rory ever wanted to do was forget. Not even a tiny detail. Never again he'd sworn to himself, after the incident where he'd died and had been absorbed by a crack in time which briefly ended his existence. Amy hadn't even remembered him when he returned from the dead. Well, not at first. That had been painful, he was convinced to never do it again.

Rory had managed to keep himself occupied for the last few minutes by simply being observant until it became too dark to do so anymore. He was pretty sure he'd be able to find his way out of the cavern though; he'd memorised the icicles, the look of them the slender feel of them. After all, at the moment that was the only company he'd have.

Then he felt it. The cold. Not like before but this time like a sharp stab in the back. Maybe it was a sharp stab in the back. He reached behind him and felt something he'd memorised the shape of 5 minutes ago. An icicle. In his back.

"Why am I always the one who dies?" he gasps before collapsing backwards effectively shoving the point further into him.

As the shadows crept out from the darkness they smiled.

"The human is easy to illude." said a voice.

It sounded musical, but dangerous like a siren song.

"Indeed." said another voice that sounded less welcoming and bitterer; like the hardened crystals that she had to eat. "Let one take him, he'll make a good bargaining chip especially when he's dead."

Their laughter drifted off into the atmosphere and together the two voices sounded disturbing. One was sweet like a chime whilst the other was grating away with a grim determination like fingernails on a chalkboard.

"Take him to the ice house!"