"Guess who?" I feel hands clasped tightly around my eyes and flounder for a second before I recognise the voice. It's Amy- how could I forget?
"Amy! I thought the Doctor said it would be over a thousand years until I saw you again." I'm confused. How can my love be right behind me, yet should be in the box I'm guarding? It's still dark outside, and chilling winds sweep the landscape to make it even colder. Matthew is still snuggled on his sheet, looking angelic in his sleep.
"...Yeah. That's complicated," she says. "But Rory, you've got to listen to me. We've not got long. Well, you have, but I haven't. Listen. You have to keep remembering me and why you're here because otherwise you'll walk off and I won't be safe- you'll never see me again," I look into her beautiful green eyes and see the concern she has for me. "I know it will be hard for you, but remember what you're fighting for. And, above all, remember that I love you." And with that I see my love fade into the blackness.
Golden sunlight rains down on me as I wake from my enchanting sleep. Amy. Where is she? She was here a minute ago and now she's gone and... It was a dream, wasn't it? I must have dozed off at some point because it was dark last time I looked.
I see Matthew wriggle about and suddenly sit up, screaming for something to go away.
"Leave them alone, please!" He screams. "Please, get away from them. Take me; they are worth so much more, please take me! No!" His eyes open but he still screams. I run over and hold him tightly, reassuring him.
"It's alright. It's all going to be okay. It's Rory. You'll be fine. Don't worry." He loosens up after that and lies back down, staring into nothingness. "What happened in your nightmare?"
"I-I can't tell you, otherwise you'll be in danger too. Please, j-just leave me now and I'll go alone. I don't want anyone else to be hurt by my actions." Curious, I decide to question him further.
"Please, I want to help you Matthew. I'm not leaving until we solve this mystery." I feel like I'm actually doing something again. I have a purpose now and I have to fulfil it. "Please tell me what's going on."
"I've told you already," he says. However, I know that's not the whole truth as I can see a flicker of guilt in his eyes. He looks at me and sees that I don't believe him. He's like me. I always used to tell heroic stories of how I used to get into trouble with Mrs White and everyone seemed awe-struck. Everyone except Amy. She never believed any of my stories because she knew them all to be false. I always seemed to end up confessing all to her. And now it seems I have swapped role. I'm trying to get the truth out of a little boy.
"Here's the truth, okay," he sniffs. "We were playing a game of dice in our cave underneath the ground. I was on guard duty with my friend Carl. We were always on guard because no-one liked us as much so we were disposable. They just gave us a spade to protect ourselves and we used them often, but not in defence. We played sword fights and dug small tunnels to get away from the others' mocking and taunting. I really hated it there. But, the thing is, that was the only place where we were safe.
"But one day Carl was ill so a girl called Jade took over his duties," he seems reluctant to say the next part. "And I really love her." I snort. He's about seven! But, then I think back to when I was seven and I had loved Amy for more than three years. "No, I really do. So, in a way, I was glad that Carl was ill. It meant I had time to talk to Jade and really get to know her. We used to dig far out, sometimes even to the surface. And that's where we stumbled upon the Baspiels' camp. They captured us and took us to see their leader. They tried to force information out of us but we wouldn't budge. However, it was when we got tortured that I fell." How could someone torture a little boy? "It was so painful and I really couldn't stand it. My eyes were so sore and that's when I became blind. So I yelled that we were hiding under the ground. I lead them to the hole where Jade and I had come out and they laughed and let me go back. Then, that night, they attacked. They sent massive rocks down on the ground and the roof nearly collapsed. I had the spade in my hand so I dug as fast as I could, ignoring their screams. I know it was stupid of me, but I was so frightened."
We sit there for a while. He shivers a bit in my arms as the cold winds sweep along. I can't believe it. I can't believe that a little boy that was so small and innocent could be capable of such deceit. He's betrayed his friends and then left them to die in a hole.
There have been times when I hated Amy so much that I felt like hurting her. Mel, Amy and I were playing hide and seek in the playground and, as always, I was on. I started counting to a hundred as they ran off.
"A hundred!" I called. "Ready or not, here I come!" I was about to take my hands from my eyes when I heard her voice.
"Rory, can you count again, please?" It was Amy.
"Yeah, Rory, we're not quite ready." Mel. They continued to talk whilst I counted again. I was really annoyed when I couldn't find them anywhere, and then later I couldn't find anyone anywhere because they'd all gone inside for lessons.
"Why didn't you tell me that everyone had gone inside?" I asked Amy, my face still burning after coming in over half an hour late.
"Because you looked like you were happy... Ok, to tell you the truth we weren't playing the game. I was looking for Ben and I wanted him to ask me out. Sorry, Rory. Please can we be friends?" I was still angry, but how could I resist her beautiful green eyes?
"Of course, Amelia." I slumped down in my seat, waiting for the lesson to end.
I realise that I haven't said anything for a while and Matthew is getting uncomfortable.
"What can we do, Rory?" he asks. "We can't just leave them in the cavern, can we? I don't even know where Jade is, I haven't seen her since we were questioned. Rory, please say something."
"What we do is we –" I'm cut off by a noise. Something is moving in the undergrowth. I can feel Matthew tensing. I stand up and daw my sword warily. I must protect this little boy all I can. I must protect Amy as well, but at the forefront is a vulnerable little boy who is in so much danger.