Cold.
The first thing she felt as she opened her eyes was the biting cold. Her breath came out in sharp, visible huffs as she struggled to focus. Why is it so cold? Where am I?
The blurriness of her vision quickly dissolved as a fresh wave of panic set in. It was so dark, but what she could make out were towering ice sculptures, erected so close together that they formed walls that weaved together like a giant rat maze. Rose gaped at the labyrinth and tried to comprehend its existence. Was this an alien planet? The Doctor would know. On instinct, she whirled around to ask where they had landed this time, but found only nothingness beside her.
Her heart thudded painfully in her chest. Doctor…my Doctor…
She began shivering desperately—even winters in London never got this cold. Frost had actually begun to accumulate on her hair and clothes. What do I do now? Come on, Rose—think!
A low rumbling in the distance caught her attention. Where was it coming from? Rose turned completely around and still saw no sign of movement, just snowflakes falling and occasionally freezing in mid-air. Her equilibrium was affected, she realized presently as she became quite suddenly dizzy. She yawned to pop her clogged ears and felt the difference immediately.
The main one being the low rumbling in the distance steadily becoming more and more thunderous, the ground rocking beneath her feet.
Then, a noise like an explosion erupted from somewhere behind her and she turned her head just in time to see a slab of ice twice the size of her body shoot directly over her head. Had she been born but two inches taller, she would have been decapitated.
Louder, louder…it was as if someone had cranked up the volume in her head. It was only a second later that she saw where it was coming from.
From behind the wall of ice came towering creatures the size of buildings. Their skin was blue and scaly, their eyes glowing a terrifying crimson.
Rose had traveled enough with the Doctor to trust her gut instinct—aliens.
They were armed with what appeared to be long swords made of ice that protruded from their bodies where their arms should be. Rose stumbled backwards, wondering if she could possibly hide in time. But a moment later, it became clear that not only did they not take notice of her, but their attention was directed elsewhere.
A small band of people emerged from the darkness, looking miniscule in comparison, but armed with various forms of weaponry. They fought against the giant aliens with all the power and strength of an army, though they were but a few.
Though muffled, Rose could hear shouts from the warriors amidst the battle. "Thor, we must go!" There was another ground-shaking explosion as a giant was thrown off its feet and catapulted into an ice wall, which shook and cracked at the impact. Rose lost her balance completely and fell, landing awkwardly in a corner between two slabs of ice.
Everything sounded distant and echo-y again, but she was sure there was more shouting. It was too cold—she could feel her eyelids icing over and her vision blurring once more, but not before she caught sight of a figure several feet away, staring down at her.
She nearly threw a protective arm over her face in case it was a giant, but she was able to just make out the figure of one of the warriors. He was tall and slender—paler than the moonlight but with midnight black hair that stood in stark contrast against the ice and snow.
He opened his mouth to speak, but another voice from somewhere close by thundered, "Brother, hurry!"
Rose couldn't even register surprise or outrage at the pair of arms that suddenly scooped her up as if she weighed nothing—she could only feel the sting of the wind as she was swept away. Other voices were close…where is he taking me…?
There was a bright, multicolored flash of light, and Rose gave in to sleep.