Suddenly a strange fuzzy blue hairball of a creature jumped out on them from behind the trees. Amy screamed in surprise. It ignored her and turned to the Doctor.

"I'm so sorry old chap! This trap is always catching the wrong type of animal." it apologised.

"I'm not an animal!" the Doctor spluttered.

The blue hairball sprouted fine green wings and rose into the air. His huge fanged mouth cut through the rope and sent the Doctor hurtling to the ground in front of Rory and Amy. He sat up and rubbed his head, alarmed to find himself wheezing slightly.

"Far too weedy a specimen to be worth killing anyways." the creature muttered.

"Ow." groaned the doctor. Amy helped him up. "Wait! What's your name?" he called as the creature started to fly away.

"Ron." It replied before zooming off into the sunset.

Wait a minute – sunset? They'd come here for breakfast! Then the Doctor remembered that Ronalopius had notoriously short days, Rory too seemed to notice this.

"Doctor it's getting dark."

"We need to get back to the restaurant now."

"Why?" said Amy. "It's not the first time we've wandered around in the middle of the night."

"Because when it gets dark the monsters come out."

Rory gulped. That did not sound promising.

"Are we going to make a run for it then?" suggested Amy.

"No." the Doctor replied. " the noise we make will only attract creatures. Besides I don't want any of us to end up hanging upside-down because we overlooked something."

"It's a bit late for that isn't it?" said Amy.

"Let me get this straight, we have to speed-walk away from the monsters?" asked Rory.

"They're not monsters here, simply nature and yes." said the Doctor and with that he set off.

Rory took Amy's hand and they followed. They still had the empty plates to return.

It was eerily quiet in the blue forest. Even the alien birdsong had slowly screeched to a stop (for which the Doctor was glad. The Skree birds were not known for their tuneful melody and had been giving him a headache). They were still a good distance from the exit and the light was fading fast. He knew there was no way they'd make it before nightfall but didn't have the heart to give up that easily. The Doctor could feel that frustrating tickle in his throat threatening to alert their presence to the entire forest. He turned to his companions knowing he could no longer hold it in.

"Run."

Then he started to cough loudly. It was a horrible hacking cough that made Amy stare at him with worry. Rory started to run and pulled her with him. He hoped that the Doctor knew what he was doing for once.

THUD!

The ground shook. The pair stopped to gawp at the huge beast approaching the Doctor. It had dark blue skin to match the trees surrounding it yet the green sheen of its scales gave the creature away despite the camouflage. It had the luminous, slit, eyes of a cat along with a feline's poise yet its tail was the length of the loch ness monster and slithered past Rory and Amy. The Doctor was still coughing.

"We can't just leave him!"

"He left you!" argued Rory.

"I know! Let's not make the same mistake twice." Amy snapped.

She hitched a ride on the creature's tail that snaked through the trees nearby. Rory dithered for a few minutes then reluctantly joined his wife. By the time they arrived at the scene the Doctor had just about managed to control his coughing. Breathlessly he waved at the monster. It roared back at him. The Doctor closed his eyes and tried to think but the sound of shattering glass made him open them. Amy had just thrown at plate into the creature's eye. It shrieked in pain as Rory threw his. Its tail flicked up and sent them flying into the bushes behind. This gave the Doctor just enough time to grab his sonic screwdriver. He pressed the button on it and winced at the high pitched sound it emitted. The creature fled in terror. Then the Doctor rushed over to his brave companions who were sitting in the bushes groaning.

"Come on, let's find somewhere safe to stay until the morning." he said helping them up. "Thanks by the way."

"No problem." Amy smiled brushing the vegetation off her skirt.

They set off again, this time searching for a place to hide. It wasn't long until they found one.

"Doctor over here!" called Rory.

"Sssh! Ah that's perfect." whispered the Doctor.

They had found a hollow tree. Each of them took it in turns to crawl through the hole. It was a bit of a squish. Amy and Rory decided they might as well get some rest even if it was only breakfast time and snuggled up next to each other. Rory was soon snoring; the Doctor was very good at tiring him out. As for the Doctor himself he was doing his meditation thing. Amy watched him curiously.

"Why don't you get some sleep? You look like you need it."

"Sleeping is overrated, it just makes things worse."

"Doctor you're exhausted."

He lay down reluctantly and closed his eyes.

"Happy now?"

Amy smiled.

Fifteen minutes later the Doctor awoke yelling. His hand pressed against a nook in the wall of the trunk and he found himself rolling down through a dimly lit underground tunnel. He dug his heels into the muddy ground and used them as brakes. It hurt, but worked. Getting to his feet he stared back up the tunnel wondering if his commotion had woken up his companions.

"Doctor!" called Amy, in a half shout-half whisper for fear of what creatures her voice may attract.

He opened his mouth to yell back a reply but nothing came out except another series of coughs. Amy tried to follow the sound. The next thing she knew she was tumbling down the tunnel towards him. However she was accompanied by a sleepy Rory. The Doctor held up his hands to shield himself but was still bowled over by the pair.

"Ow!" Rory moaned.

Amy gingerly got up.

"Sorry. Doctor you'd better have a good explanation for all of this!"

The Doctor stood, swayed and leant heavily on the grimy tunnel wall. He tried to speak again but only coughs emerged. Quickly closing his mouth he decided to attempt a little body language. He pointed to his eye.

"I?" guessed Rory in confusion.

The Doctor nodded, then proceeded to shake his finger at them.

"Naughty?" suggested Amy.

The Doctor shook his head.

"Bad?" said Rory.

The Doctor shook his head again. This was going nowhere. He started to delve through his coat pockets impatiently.

"Lost?"

"Bad fashion sense?"

The Doctor paused to glare at Amy before continuing his search.

"I don't think it's that." Rory informed his wife.

Finally the Doctor found what he was looking for; his psychic paper. Amy and Rory were perplexed.

"How is psychic paper naughty?"

Amy's eyes widened in surprise as she read the message appearing on it.

I was trying to say I don't know where this tunnel leads any more than you do but clearly that could've taken several hours.