It was high noon, the sun burning the sky. The boys were tired from their escape from the castle that morning. Hard to believe that they could go from luxury in a prison to free men, starving to death in a matter of hours.
"Dean? I'm thirsty." Sam sat against the wall, his big brother still pacing.
"We're all thirsty and hungry. We need to-"
THUMP
Something landed just outside their hole. John held up a hand to quiet everyone and to stay down. He crept towards the entrance, where a ray of sunlight pierced through. He peered out just enough so his eyes could see. It was a sack. He looked around for a moment.
No one or nothing in sight. But something was out there.
"Sherlock," John whispered, snapping his fingers then pointed towards the ground. "Give me-" A branch was put into his hand. John figured it would be just about long enough.
Looking around once more, he reached out to hook the bag. He dared to make a step up and out, and in a flash, the bag was caught and he jerked it back in as he himself fell down back into the hole.
The boys crowded around him, wondering what was in the bag.
"It might be a bomb." Dean wondered.
"No, Dean, it's not a bomb." Sherlock corrected. He pulled out a single water bottle, a small loaf of bread and a note.
Sherlock read it out loud.
"I heard you boys skipped breakfast and figured you might be hungry. Better eat up. You'll need your strength tomorrow."
"For what?" Sam asked.
No one knew.
They divided the bread into four pieces, each eating as slowly as slowly their hunger would let them. Then they each took a couple of sips of water, saving the rest for later.
"What if it was poisened?" Dean asked.
"Then we would be dead already." Sherlock replied. "Moriarty needs us alive for some reason. He wouldn't kill us this soon. This quickly."
Everyone shifted nervously, hoping this was all just a bad dream that they would eventually wake up from.
John and Dean found a piece of a door that would cover the hole so they could be shaded during the day and closed off from the night. Sherlock talked with Sam about the latest book he had read to keep his mind entertained on something besides their unfortunate predicament. He noticed Sam was discouraged, not really listening to what he was saying.
"It's not just, you know, Mrs. Hudson. I keep thinking that man-"
"We all know he is not a man."
"Yeah, but when he looked at me with those eyes, I saw something in my headache."
"In your headache?"
"Yeah, I saw something. Something that scared me more than anything else."
"What was it?"
"I don't know." Sam felt bad for not being able to answer Sherlock's question.
"Don't know what?" Dean asked as he and John hopped in from finishing securing their makeshift door.
"Nothing." Sam looked down, then cut his eyes at Sherlock. He knew he could trust Sherlock with anything. He was very smart, and Sam wanted to be just like him when he got older.
"Ok, well, we have protected this thing from just about anything not human we could think of." Dean plopped down on the ground, then took a small sip of water before handing it to John. "What I don't get is how he to and us."
"He has eyes and ears everywhere." John said. "When I found the sack, something was out there. I couldn't see it or hear it, but I felt this presence."
Everyone thought about it for a moment.
Dean spoke up. "Well, whatever it is, it can't get in here." He laid down, exhausted from the day.
"It's noon." Sherlock said.
"And I'm tired." Dean laid on his back, shifting too try to find a comfortable position.
"We have had quite enough for a day and a half's worth of events." John said. "A little nap won't hurt."
No more argument from Sherlock, who winked at Sam before laying down himself.
Sam pulled out his little notebook from his inside pocket, and started writing everything he could remember about his headache and the yellow-eyed demon.
Jim Moriarty, Prince of Reichenbach, was thrilled. Everything was falling into place, although not as originally planned. He thought back to the looks on their faces, the terror and utter betrayal. And now they were lost and scared. Confused little animals whose only surviving because he said so.
Not one demon was to lay a hand on them, not yet. Not until tomorrow.
He smiled as he looked over the wall into the wilderness. So much power, and it was all his.
He considered letting the Doctor inside his head again so he could gloat, but decided against it. He will come. So while he would have to wait, he could have a little fun.
"Let the game begin."
The TARDIS landed in a playground, where two children played silently. There were no adults and no other kids in sight of the area.
Stepping up into the big sandbox, the Doctor walked up to big slide and waited.
The boy and girl jumped off the swings and silently walked up to him.
"Hello. I don't remember you being this young last time."
"We could say the same thing about you, Doctor." The little boy said suspiciously.
"What brings you here? He's not up there." The girl questioned.
"I know. He won't tell me where He is either. I was hoping that-"
"He's not here either. He ran away looking for Dad." The girl interrupted, saying it a little too quickly.
The Doctor could tell they were lying. He rubbed his hands through his hair. "Do you know where he is?"
"We don't know. We were hoping you had any leads."
Well, the Doctor knew one thing for sure. He would definitely not tell them anything if he finds him. "Guess I need to keep looking, then. Carry on." The Doctor walked away, worried for his old friend.
Once inside the TARDIS, he let out a defeated sigh. "Where are you? I need to help me help them."
Doctor.
"Yes?" He spun around, looking up, hoping for a sign. "Why did you leave? Your children, they have fallen. I need to save them. Now!"
Wait.
The Doctor pulled a lever a little rougher than was necessary.
"Why?"