The first sense that was activated for Rose was her sense of smell. The putrid stench of rotten fruit and old food wafted up her nose, making her freshly opened eyes sting and water.
Then it was her sight, everything seemed so much more vibrant. The sky was so much bluer, mixing with the uncomfortable brightness of the sun. Cars that drove past seemed neon, though from her distance she could see the faintest of scratches grazed upon its surface.
From what Rose could see, she was sitting against a dumpster which explained why she could smell such a foul odour. The dumpster was sat next to a row of others filled with equally disgusting trash. She looked around where she sat, wincing at the pain and nausea it brought to the back of her head. Rose was leaning against the side of a block of apartments, as cars whizzed past the narrow alleyway she was in.
She could feel her hands underneath her fingers, callused and bloody. Her nails felt cracked and dry. She could feel various rips and creases upon the jacket she was wearing.
She could taste blood in her mouth, and she gave into the gag that came later. No bile would rise, as her stomach was an empty pit, growling in a cry for food. She was stuck on her knees, leaning against the dumpster as she dry heaved, tears pooling in her eyes. She was confused, where was she?
Her hearing kicked in not too long of a moment later, bringing even more pain to her skull. Everything sounded so loud, echoing around in her head and sinking into her mind like water on a sponge. People were yelling from above her to each other, from one apartment to another, motors were snarling and roaring like feral dogs. She put her head down onto the ground, covering her neck with her hands as more tears dripped down her cheeks. She sobbed, finally remembering everything.
She had gone back to the Doctor, she could remember that she never wanted to leave him, and in that moment the thought that she would never see her mother did not come to her. Their plan was mostly successful, until her lever slipped and she had to pull it back to online.
She remembered looking into her Doctor's eyes, and the faint shake of his head as she let go of her magnetic clamp.
She was able to push it back to online, she thought it would be okay because it was locked and it couldn't slip again.
But she did. She slipped, and she cried as she tried to take in all of the Doctor at that moment. He screamed in utter agony, staring her right in the eyes and begging for her to stay with him.
That was all she remembered from that moment, nothing in between, just how she fell into the Void and then she could no longer feel anything. So how could she possibly be in this state?
She stood back up on shaky knees, gripping onto the side of the dumpster. She had to find the Doctor, she needed him. He had to be okay, right? She pleaded with the universe for her to find him, and let the tears fall again.
She took her first step, and like a foal, she fell back down onto the asphalt, scraping her strangely delicate knees. She wouldn't let this stop her, she got straight back up again, rubbing the tears from her eyes.
She had to find out where she was, hopefully somewhere near her old home. Suddenly, she realised her only home was with the Doctor, as her family and friends were all gone. He was the only thing she had left to hang onto. She loved him dearly, enough so that the thought of him caused a strange feeling to rise up in her.
She began to walk, squinting into the distance. Was that a park over there? She saw someone rushing across in front of her, looking at their phone and muttering about 'stupid idiots'. Soon enough, a large crowd of people and their horribly loud voices stampeded past, some of them children.
Rose always had a soft spot for children, she liked to think of herself as innocent as they were, without a care in the world. Their happiness had always transferred over to Rose, so she would happily agree to babysit her mother's friend's children anytime they needed. Having a child would be nice.
Shaking the absurd thoughts from her mind, she stumbled through the alley she was in, joyful to be rid of the disgusting stench inside the dumpsters. Did someone dump a body in there or something?
She smelt chips, the one thing she wished not to smell at that moment. Her mouth watered, as various food smells trailed up to her. She clutched her stomach as she fought back the urge to gag again. She knew she was weak, she could even feel her hands trembling with the lack of nutrition.
She stepped out onto a pavement, blocking the excruciatingly bright sun with her arm. It seemed to be early morning, people were rushing to work and shops were beginning to open. She contemplated the idea of going to a police station, to get help, but they would only think she was weird and run various tests before she could get anything done. Alone was the way to go. She continued on her way to the park, waiting at the crossing with other pedestrians and ignoring their stares and whispers at the state of her.
She sat down at a bench once she got in, running her fingers along the rough bark of a tree and softly smiling as the grass tickled her bare feet. She looked around, a few trees here and there, a football field with no one on it at the moment, a water fountain shot water from the beautiful statues stationed upon it, and water crashed into a pond underneath it. She quickly scurried up to it, and she saw a few coins sitting at the bottom, just waiting to be taken. She felt horrible taking them, but what was she supposed to do? She couldn't keep going like this.
She gathered them up in her hands, whilst also washing the dirt and grime from beneath her fingernails. She walked ten minutes back to the fish and chips shop to buy a box of chips to satisfy her grumbling stomach.
Apart from the foreign man working there staring at her strangely, she thought it went pretty well. She walked and munched on the hot chips, finishing the entire box before she reached the bench she sat on before.
She watched as an oddly dressed man knocked on the door of one of the houses, holding a paper bag that looked to be weighed down by something at the bottom. As she had nothing better to do, she watched their exchange.
A larger but friendly looking man opened the door, and she couldn't help the giggle that escaped her when she heard the exclamation of love towards the stranger. From what she gathered, perhaps there was a girl he was expecting? The pink fluffy keys only added to that prediction.
She watched as he handed the young man a large amount of money from inside his paper bag, and she sat wide eyed at his strangeness. He reminded her too much of the Doctor, and all she wanted to do in that moment was curl up in a ball and cry until she had run out of tears.
And cry she did.
She fell asleep that afternoon on the park bench, falling into her first sleep since becoming conscious. She had no dream, only thoughts of her dearest Doctor ran through her head. She missed him so much that her heart ached for him, she needed to see him and listen to his beautiful voice rambling about things she didn't understand.
She woke up the next day to the most stunning and gorgeous sound she had ever been so cheerful so hear. The whirring and groaning of the TARDIS. It was only for a brief moment, and it sounded as though it was right next to her head.
She excitedly looked behind the tree that she sat in front, and her smile faded slowly when she saw a motorbike rushing around delivering mail to the residents. She missed the TARDIS so much that she was hearing the same sounds that she would hear daily during her travels with the Doctor.
A football match seemed to be about to take place at the park, so she quickly put her jacket on as she was using it as a blanket, and rushed to another bench to watch. She saw the same men from the other day walking towards the match, with an unfamiliar girl trailing beside them.
She wasn't all that interested in their conversation, though the words that slipped out of the strange man's mouth made her freeze, every bone in her body was stunned and her breath got caught in her throat. Tears prickled at the edge of her eyes and her cheeks somehow tingled.
"Doctor…" Her voice came out in a croak, words coming out raspy as if she hadn't spoken a word for years. She clutched her jacket where her chest was, whimpering as tears cascaded down her cheeks. Was it her beloved Doctor? He didn't look the same, how many times had he regenerated since she last saw his precious face?
She tried calling out his name, she tried getting up off the bench to run towards him but she couldn't. She wanted to be with him so badly, but she was so weak she simply couldn't move anymore. Her physical pain combined with the mental anguish she was forced to suffer caused her to be rooted down on the seat, only to stare at who she believed to be her beloved with sad eyes.
She watched the football match and couldn't stop the wide grin to spread across her face at him showing off his skills. Some things never changed. He would always be her precious show-off.
She was still stuck on the seat when the match ended, and she wished with all her being that he would just turn his head the slightest bit to look at her, but he was too focused on the other people talking to him. She fell down along the length of the bench when she became too frail to support herself anymore, collapsing and hitting her head against the metal arm rest.
She hoped her Doctor would come save her soon, he had to.