Here it is, chapter 2! Many thanks to the people who reviewed, followed and favorited! If you have any questions, I would be glad to answer them. I will try to update this story every other week. As for my other story, In This Desert, In Darkness... that might take longer.

Please, enjoy!

Bright light pierced my veil of sleep when I opened my eyes and I snorted in irritation. I had probably fallen asleep with my light on. Yesterday had been so terrible… rainbow pixie dust. Who had thought of rainbow pixie dust? I rolled over so I was out of the light and opened my eyes just a bit. It was really quiet on the alien's spaceship. I sighed and turned back over.

"Well good morning! Come on, get up, we've got lot to do today!"

I shrieked and somehow propelled myself out of my bed to the opposite wall. The Doctor actually didn't notice and went around to the closet to reach inside and pull out a tie. I blinked a few times to get the blurriness from my eyes and glared at him.

"Normal people knock first! And don't you have ties in your own room?"

He grinned at me.

"Yeah, but this one was in here. Why are you on the floor?"

I rolled my eyes and stretched, hastily scrambling up when the Doctor sauntered from the room. Once I was down the stairs, he began pushing lots of buttons on the console, seemingly at random. I watched him, faint concern fluttering in my mind when he had to use his foot to push a lever while stretching over to type on a keyboard.

"Are you sure you know how to fly this?"

The Doctor shrugged.

"Not really, but I've got the basics. Never really passed my test, you know? Anyway, where do you want to go first? I know a really great place just past the Orion system."

I looked at the door uncertainly. This, right here and right now, was the decision that would change my life forever. If I chose to stay home, I would be struggling to get by and probably living in a box. But if I chose to go with the Doctor… I didn't know what would happen. I hated not knowing. He walked up behind me and gently rubbed my shoulder.

"You can still stay, you know."

I closed my eyes. Two options, a choice, a life always searching for the next meal or a life shrouded in mystery. After minutes that felt like years I opened my eyes again and leveled a stare at the mad man that drove a blue box.

"I'm coming with you."

He smiled brightly and half-skipped back over to the controls to grab a lever. Then he looked up.

"A little advice: hold on!"

He yanked the lever down and my world was flipped upside down. I shrieked and blindly reached out for something to grab to stop the spinning. Something brushed my hand and I latched on to it only to let go when it sliced into my palm. Suddenly, the spinning stopped and everything was relatively quiet. I clenched my hand to stop the bleeding and looked around for my black bag. Where was it?

The Doctor walked over and held out his hand to help me up. I sighed and grabbed it, allowing myself to be hauled to my feet. He smiled and led me to the door.

"Let's see where she brought us."

I stared for half a second at the Tardis, wondering if it could be the "she" the Doctor had mentioned, but the Doctor turned the handle and opened the door. Bright sunlight spilled onto my face, as if it were noon.

"Wait! Are you sure I won't explode or something?"

The Doctor laughed and hopped out of the Tardis.

"Perfectly fine, see?"

I swallowed nervously and peered outside. The sun was so bright! I squinted and waited until my eyes had adjusted. Outside the Tardis was… a town. For all intents and purposes, it looked like a normal, everyday town.

But it was empty. Silent. There weren't even any birds chirping. I stepped outside onto the cobblestones and looked around. There wasn't a living person in sight. The Doctor frowned and looked at the sky. I stepped back a few steps, unsure of what to do.

"Doctor? Where is everyone?"

He looked at me and then back at the silent streets.

"I don't know. Let's find out, shall we?"

I was beginning to seriously doubt the sanity of this man, if he ever had it to begin with. He began walking down the streets leisurely, as if he knew this place by heart. I tagged along, my senses on full alert. This was an alien world; anything could happen. But nothing did.

We walked for hours and found absolutely nothing. Everything looked abandoned, desolate. And it appeared to have been like that for a while. I sighed and glanced at the sun, which was slowly sinking in the sky. The normal, deep blue sky. Well, I hoped it was normal for this planet.

"Maybe everybody just left the planet." I suggested.

The doctor shook his head and knelt beside a cart.

"No, look. There's a half-eaten meal here. Old and moldy, yes, but whoever t was left it in a hurry."

The back of my neck suddenly tingled fiercely and I had to bite my lip to keep from yelping in surprise. As it was, I turned around so fast I startled the Doctor. But there was still nothing there. Nothing at all… but I somehow knew there was danger.

"What? What is it?"

I backed to the doctor's side slowly, my eyes searching the growing shadows.

"It's getting dark. We should probably either find shelter or go back to the Tardis."

There. Something moved in the shadows. I flinched back and bumped into the Doctor. He looked at me strangely.

"What's gotten into you?" He questioned.

I grabbed his hand and yanked him down just as something black leaped from the darkness. It skinned his hair and crashed into the cart, smashing it to splinters. But I couldn't see it! It was like the harder I tried to focus, the blurrier it got. The Doctor stared at the cart for a half-second before looking at me.

"Run."

We linked hands and took off. I could sense it right behind us, I could hear it panting and snarling but I couldn't see it. That scared me more than anything before. But the true terror seized me when it felt like my limbs were growing heavier and heavier. Like I was in a nightmare, the one where you simply can't run, as if you've forgotten how to move your legs, and the thing gets closer and closer and you can feel it's hot breath on your neck and its jaws are about to snap together-

"Get down!"

The Doctor leaped to the side but I could do nothing but crash into the hard stones. Something hot and burning seared my back and something else yelped in agony. I lay there motionless, trying to find where my breath had gone as the fierce tingling faded. Someone crashed to the ground beside me and I caught a flash of brown- Doctor.

"Phoenix, are you all right?"

I half-gasped, half-sobbed and rolled over on top of my back. A bright, neon-green light washed over me. I winced and closed my eyes.

"She's fine. It didn't contaminate her."

Contaminate? Wh-

"What?"

Someone chuckled and I opened my eyes again. The Doctor helped me up again and I got my first good look at my rescuers. I blinked in shock. They were human! …or at least they looked human. I coughed, quickly raising my arm to cover my mouth as I always did. My rescuers caught sight of the cut on my hand and raised their weapons. I gasped. The Doctor raised his hands and backed away.

"Wait, wait! What are you doing?"

One of the soldiers narrowed his eyes.

"She's led them to us! It was a trap!"

I began to hyperventilate, glancing at each of the group with wide eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about! Please, what's going on?"

The medic, or who I assumed to be the medic as she had the strange scanner-thingie, spoke.

"The creatures. We call them Nightterrors. They hunt by following the scent of blood from open wounds. That mark she has on her palm? It's the mark of one of their scouts. They sent both of you out to find us. The whole pack is coming now."

The rest powered up their weapons. I clenched my fists and closed my eyes.

"I didn't- I'm not a scout! I swear I don't know what's going on. Please, don't kill us, please!"

They said nothing, only taking aim. I opened my eyes and looked at the Doctor. He was gazing at the group with an expression that I couldn't quite place. It was somewhere between rage and pleading, the promise of something terrible but the question of mercy.

"Don't shoot. I can help you. Whatever those creatures are, I can help you get rid of them. Just put the guns down."

Somewhere in the distance I heard an unholy shrieking call. At the same time the medic's scanner beeped. The leader glanced at it, then to where the noise had come from. He looked at us sympathetically.

"I'm sorry. Even if you are telling the truth, it's too late."

Too late? My breath caught in my throat and I backed away. The Doctor let his hands fall to his sides as the small group- once our saviors, now our condemners- vanished through a secret tunnel to somewhere safe. I swallowed.

The Doctor grabbed my hand suddenly and tugged me away. We were running again, running from the creatures. Once again I could hear them gaining. We ran so far, so fast, but it felt like nothing. Terror fueled me and I ran almost faster than the Doctor. They were right behind us, so close behind us! Hot, rotten-smelling breath washed over me and I felt fangs snap at my heels. But I didn't dare look back. I didn't turn around, even when it sounded like they were falling back. My lungs burned and my heart throbbed agonizingly but I couldn't stop.

I saw a flash of blue and grimaced. The Tardis… it wouldn't be enough to keep the creatures out. The Nightterrors would break it and devour us. Didn't he know that? Didn't the Doctor know that? But he didn't say anything. We crashed into the Tardis and he slammed the door, locking it securely. Something heavy slammed into the side, rocking the ship, but the wood didn't give. I closed my eyes and began to sob, quietly.

The creatures kept slamming against the Tardis, but the walls held. I backed against the console and stared blankly at the rattling door. Tears streamed down my face but I couldn't feel them. All I could feel was the pounding of my heart. But eventually, when the doors stopped rattling and the choking presence of the Nightterrors faded, so did my fear. I breathed deeply and closed my eyes.

"Nightterrors," I whispered. "Do you know what they are, Doctor?"

He had been quiet through my… breakdown, but he had stayed with me.

"Nightterrors are creatures that feed on fear. They hunt by following the scent of blood. They never stop because they never need to. They follow their victims, filling them with such fear until they are ready to be devoured. I have met them before. Their mere presence can paralyze you with terror, but you seem to have a bit of immunity."

I glanced at him and smiled weakly.

"How so?"

He sighed.

"Well, anyone else would have been absolutely immobile when they first came into contact with one. You on the other hand managed to pull me down out of the way. You weren't entirely unaffected, but now that you've survived you should be more resistant to their effects."

I bit my lip and looked up at the tube-thing in the Tardis.

"How many more do you think there are? People, I mean."

The Doctor slid down beside me.

"I don't know. Not many, if the Nightterrors have been around as long as I think they have."

I glanced at him to find him staring at me with a very serious expression.

"This is what my life is like, Phoenix. You can go home if you want to. You don't have to keep running like me."

Running… All I wanted to do was run away until I felt safe. Run away from the Nightterrors and from the Doctor and from the not-humans that tried to kill me and from the Tardis that was bigger on the inside. But I couldn't. Those people were in danger. Throughout my life, I had always tried to help. All I ever wanted was to know that I had made someone's life better.

But it was scary out there. I felt like a little kid again, but I had no one to run to. I glanced down at the slice on my hand. It had stopped bleeding, but it still hurt.

"No. I already said I'm staying. And I may not like them, but those people don't deserve to be devoured by the Nightterrors."

The Doctor smiled and bounced to his feet.

"Well then, we better get started!"

I laughed softly and used the edge of the console to pull myself up. But it was then I saw the black, smoke-like substance seeping through the seams of the door. I scrambled back and touched the Doctor's shoulder. He looked up and froze.

"But that's impossible!" He whispered.

The smoke gathered on the opposite side of the Tardis, shifting and flowing like liquid until it came together. A pitch black wolf with gleaming crimson eyes glared at us hungrily. It pulled back its muzzle to bare ivory fangs and snarled gutturally.

Then it leaped.

Has anyone ever had nightmares like that, where no matter what you do you can't seem to run? It's scary.

Also, I have only just watched the last episode of season 4, none of the specials, so if any of you have protests about something in my story, please tell me (nicely) because I would like to stay as close to the fandom as I can. I think the Nightterrors are of my own making, unless they really do exist, then these are mine.

Oh! The wolf is a big hint toward future developments. Bet you can't guess what will happen! (not including DarkIronhide3537, cause you already know. Did get your name right?)

That's enough of that. Please review! Even if you just want to flame me. They will be used to power my Dalek mothership.

Unbetaed.