DISCLAIMER: I do not own Doctor Who. This is a nonprofit fan fiction. All non-Doctor Who characters are mine.
Chapter 2: On the Run
The Doctor is running and running. My lungs feel as though they're about to burst, but I don't stop or plan on complaining. I always do my best to get the Doctor's approval, though most of the time it's like he sees right through me. Shoving the thought aside, I push myself to keep up. Nine hundred years old, and he's still kicking my butt at running.
He suddenly drops to the ground, behind a bush. I collapse next to him, trying to hide how out of breath I am. Waving the sonic screwdriver in front of him, a smile spreads across his face, a special glint coming to his dark eyes. I've seen that look enough to know that he's found something, but doesn't quite know what it is.
"What is it?" I ask, wondering what the sonic could have possibly picked up on.
There's nothing in front of us except a semi-large clearing. It looks beautiful the way that the sun slants through it, illuminating the area with its bright warmth. Lush, green grass sways in the spring breeze. Even though I don't know for sure that it's spring, I can just feel it somehow.
"A ship." I can hear the smile in his voice.
Martha kneeled on the soft dirt beside the Doctor, watching him puzzle through this information. There are plenty of species that could cloak their ships, just like the Family had. But something made this race, which ever one it happened to be, stand out against all the others. The girl, bloody and terrified, was obviously running for her life. While it could very likely have been from a bear or a wolf, the Doctor just knew that wasn't the case.
What didn't make sense was why they hadn't just killed her yet. If that was their plan, they could have easily have just wiped her out. But why hadn't they? And why would they want her dead?
Always trying to see the best in every situation, the Doctor tried to figure some reason other than trying to kill the teenaged girl. This proved difficult when the image of her bloody and battered form stumbling from the trees kept playing over in his mind.
As the sun begins to sink below the tree line, I find myself unable to run another step. While my whole body aches to just drop to the ground, I force my legs to keep moving. I continue through the woods with a slow, labored walk. Searching the unfamiliar surroundings for a place to sleep, I find myself wondering how I even got into this disaster.
This was supposed to be a "family trip" for spring break. My parents are always trying to get Tony (my twin), Andy (my younger brother), and I to get along and quit arguing so much. This, exploring the great outdoors, was their solution to the problem. The most it had accomplished was forcing my brothers and I to make a pact not to fight the whole trip; it was a very strained agreement.
If only it weren't for gathering firewood, I would never have found myself here. The worst part is that my family probably thinks that I had some brilliant idea to run away or have a friend come rescue me somehow. I wish that were the case.
Stop it, Amber. I demand myself; this is no time for a pity party.
Somehow, someway, I have to get through this. I have to survive. Because, admittedly, I miss my mom and dad, and even my moron brothers.
Behind me, a twig snaps. Unable to see in the darkness and unwilling to stay around long enough to try to figure out what caused the noise, I take off. Fear is an amazing thing, I realize. It's the only thing that gives me the energy to keep running. Vaguely, I'm aware of a strange sort of pull in my chest that seems to be guiding me somewhere.
The forest is beginning to get dark, which means that I eventually have to stop running and find a place to stay for the night. This will be my fourth day on the run, my fourth night trying to find a safe enough place to settle in for the night.
My breathing is labored, and my body begs me to stop running, but I can't. Not yet. Just a little further, and I'll slow down again. Turning around a tree, I slam straight into someone. The force of the collision knocks me back, causing me to land on my bum, hard.
Ignoring the pain in my tail bone, I spring to my feet, ready to fight whatever it is that managed to find me. I will not let them win, or at least I'll do my best not to.
Squinting through the darkness to see my attacker, I can make out a vaguely familiar shape.
"Amber?" He asks tentatively. My heart soars with relief. It's Tony. Stupid, annoying, wonderful Tony.
"Oh!" I throw my arms around him in a tight hug—well, as tightly as I can manage in my weakened state.
"I'm so glad I found you!" We same simultaneously. Usually I hate that freaky twin thing when we say the same thing or can sense each other, but this time I'm grateful.
"We can go home now!" I cheer.
"Where's Mom and Dad?" Tony asks. My stomach suddenly drops with these words.
"I thought you where with them."
We stare at each other for a moment before grabbing each other's hands and taking off together.