-(Now)-

Rose grabbed at the sticky bundle, her fingers trapped in the thick cottony wrapping. Rubbing her scratchy nose across her shoulder in an attempt to quell the itching, Rose brought the bundle up to her chest, stumbling back slightly under the weight.

Yet another devoured meal all snuggled in a string web. Rose could smell the dusty and dried bones of what ever creature it might have once been. She struggled to the ramp that lead her up to the grass above them, and out into the sunshine. Only a few steps beyond the trap door that she exited from, she released the cocooned creature into a ravine. Her leg snapped back as she tugged the cord to its very length and she turned, looking up at the dark glittering sky before walking back towards the trap door. She remembered the first time she'd seen such a thing, sealing itself perfectly, hidden under the grass.

-(Nine Days Ago)-

Rose smiled as the Doctor shoved open the doors to the TARDIS and strode out. Bright light spilled down on the doorway, green rippling grass dipped in cyan dew enticed her out from the darkly lit console room.

The Doctor had spread his arms and stood as if he could actually absorb the light straight from the sky itself. Rose wouldn't doubt it with all the wonders she'd seen him do yet. She sidled up beside him and grabbed his arm, forcing him to lean dangerously to one side. He scowled at her, "Oi!" He tumbled to the left and Rose let go just in time to keep him from falling over. "What was that for?" He demanded, righting himself and setting his arms on top of the other.

"Just a mood, ain't you ever had one of them, mate? Just a silly impulse?" Rose grinned and popped off one shoe, balancing as best she could. She set her bare foot in the damp grass and stretched down to take off her other sneaker.

The Doctor uncrossed his arms, Rose should have suspected as his hand slowly came at her, but she glanced only once. Before she could react, one foot in her hand and shoe half-off, the Doctor gave her just enough of a shove to topple her over.

Rose shrieked and flailed, her shoe flying away as she collapsed into the damp grass. She lay there a moment, shocked, and let out a long laugh. "What was that?"

"A fancy of mood. Silly impulse." He replied dryly, crossing his arms again, and his huge smile spreading across his face.

Rose sat up and tilted her head, "We here for somethin'? This place safe or what?"

"Oh, safe as any. Here to look around a bit, did you know this planet is all plane? Not more than a tiny rim of hills upon it."

Indeed, Rose looked around, and she could see on and on to the horizon. Waves of grass all covered in bright blue drops that reflected from a brilliantly blue sky. "Nothin' plain about it. Why can't we come to more places like this?" Rose quipped, hopping to her feet and feeling the cool dew drip across her feet, straight through her toes.

"Plane. Like a prairie? Meaning no mountains, you stupid ape." The Doctor responded, shaking his head.

Hoping he was playing along with her and not really calling her his favorite name for her idiot boyfriend. "All I mean is… that we always end up in dark scary places, lots of guns and war, yeah? Look around, just nice and open." Rose smiled up at him, and he rose an eyebrow.

"You want to look around, or you happy to stand here and prattle about it like your Mum?"

"Don't bring in me Mum." Rose pointed in a random direction, her finger choosing where they should go with no discretion. "That way?"

"Doesn't matter to me…But I think we should go that way." The Doctor pointed a little to the right, and Rose looked in his chosen direction. There didn't seem to be anything different from where he wanted to go, so she shrugged.

"Fine."

He offered her his arm, and she took it, leaving her shoes off next to the TARDIS. Glancing down, Rose noticed he didn't seem to mind that his shoes would get soaked through, and she wondered if he had alien shoes that didn't get wet or something. The sun was just getting ready to set, and Rose realized perhaps was not dew on the grass, it might have been rain…even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky. That, or maybe the days here were very short and the dew hadn't dried before sundown, she had no idea what size this planet was.

"You like it?" The Doctor asked in an odd tone, almost as if he really wanted her to say she did. His eyes roved the shivering plants around him, and then settled on the horizon.

"I think it's the nicest planet we've been on yet." Rose responded, smiling and listening to the rustle of the wind, there was a faint insect chirrup coming from somewhere, and the sun was just beginning to turn the sky pink.

"Reminds me of the Eye of Orion. Quiet gets to you after a bit though, too much quiet, you know." He took a long breath, and Rose looked up at him, his brow furrowed. Eyes inattentive from her, he pulled his arm free of hers and walked slowly to a patch of greenery and crouched. "Hullo…" He poked his finger at something, and Rose knew she had to go see what had caught his attention.

"What is it then?" She crouched next to him and raised an eyebrow, not seeing anything worth noting.

"Not sure. Looks like a…door." He ran his finger along the ground, obviously seeing something Rose was not. "A very, very cleverly hidden door. A big door." He scooted to the right and kept tracing his finger along the edge of the hidden door.

Rose still saw absolutely nothing of interest in the dirt and sighed, looking up instead at the sunset that they were missing. The sun was almost half gone now, the most glorious moments of the sunset still in full brilliance. Ignoring the Doctor's muttering about the 'door' Rose stood to her full height and watched the alien sun sink beyond the horizon.

"GET DOWN! ROSE!" The Doctor's voice snapped Rose from her appreciation of the setting sun and she spun around on instinct, before registering his words and falling to her stomach.

A long, thin, hairy, leg reached out to her, hitting her purple hoodie, and the coarse hairs seemed to stick to her clothing. Rose pulled back, the leg grating across her jacket like Velcro before moving for another swipe at her. This time, she wasn't fast enough and it slammed her to a fixed point on the ground, catching itself down her back and in her hair. Greasy, wire-y, hairs seemed to stick to her as she tried to scrabble out from underneath it. "Doctor!" She yelped, her face splattering with dew as she was dragged forward, towards the dark hole where the leg emerged.

She caught a flash of movement, the Doctor was waving his screwdriver wildly, and then, to her horror, he was slapped across the head by another leg. The Doctor fell, and she couldn't make out what happened to him once he hit the ground, all she knew was that she was being quickly dragged into a dark cave that had appeared from nowhere.

"DOCTOR!"