Prologue
Donna Noble looked on in horror, her usually flushed face as white as snow, even in the incredibly high temperature. Her eyes were fixed into position, and by following her petrified gaze, you would see a simple one-room house, with rough stone walls and furniture cobbled together from scrap. In the middle of the house was a mismatched bed, the once white sheets stained and crumpled. A single tear was released from her glazed eyes, as she witnessed death like she had never seen before.
Draped awkwardly across the dirty bed sheets was a body approaching death, and all Donna could do was watch, trying to block out the spine chilling moans. A deathly glow appeared to emanate from the child's body as he groaned in agony and fear. The young boy was shaking spasmodically as the temperature within the room steadily increased until it was almost unbearable. A blood-curdling scream escaped from Donna's lips as the flesh began to melt from the child's tiny, fragile frame, evaporating before it hit the ground. It dripped like viscous red treacle from the body; first the skin disintegrated, the boy's chest still rising and falling shakily as bone began to show. Then his flesh started to melt, pouring to the stone floor, and the boy took a final, rattling breath before his internal organs wasted away, leaving a clean white skeleton lying on the wooden bed. It was August the 12th, 1781, and on the planet of Thynum, the massacre had only just begun.