When There's No Trust

Chapter Rating: K+

A.N: Thanks again for the reviews. They mean ever so much. Hope you like chapter seven.


Chapter VII - Running in the Dark

The trees set either side of the small trail of grassy dirt became nothing more than stark blurred ghosts of greys and black as Mickey and Rose ran through the depths of the forest. Their pounding hearts beat in rhythm with their slamming feet hitting against the ground. The growl behind them seemed to be growing louder, its shrill howling sending shivers down Rose's neck.

They raced through the trees, barely aware of where they were heading. Rose's hand was linked with Mickey's, and as she turned, his outline looked nothing more than that of the trees around her, a black shadow cascading against the dark night around them.

Their heartbeats quickening and breaths leaving harshly as they ran; no idea where they were heading, but vaguely aware they were delving deeper and deeper into the forest with each step, the beast becoming closer and closer with them.

It was very suddenly that Rose felt a jolt of sharp pain in the hand grasping Mickey's, and immediately after all contact was gone, his hand vanished from hers. A thin tree truck, whipping their hands apart as they ran either side of it, had separated them. Looking by her, she could see no evidence of her friend, and just hoped with all her might he was still following. The beast was still raging behind her, no evidence of it stopping. Rose cradled her hurt hand to her chest. It was throbbing painfully.

She could feel the sweat sticking her hair to her forehead, her eyes stung as the cold rain swept air gushed at her face. A flash of lightening briefly illuminated her pale face from above, followed quickly by a crack of thunder that shattered her eardrums loudly. A warning of how very close above them the storm was.

The loud growls behind her merged with the thunder above until it all raged in her ears, making her want to close her eyes tight. But she didn't, she moved on, looking from either side and hoping one of the blurred outlines of blacks and greys was Mickey.

--

"Rose!"

The Doctor was trying impossibly hard to keep the panic out of his voice as he screamed into the forest.

"Mickey!"

His footsteps were quick on the ground. His heightened vision allowed him to see where he was going, but it was still difficult to decipher what some of the shadows of the forest were.

"Rose!! "

His hearts were drumming so hard against his rib cage he thought they might be in danger of jumping out of his chest. His ears were pricked up, listening for anything… anything to interpret where they were.

A forked flash from above lit the path ahead for a brief second.

"Mickey! …Rose!! "

The last word of his scream amalgamated with a sudden loud and jolting crack of thunder from above. His breathing was quick and haggard; the longer he was alone, the more he was having trouble controlling it.

"Rose!! "

The rain was a constant sound; he was by now so used to the gentle drumming against the canopies of the trees that it only merged into the silence. His feet continued to patter against the ground fast, until he suddenly heard a shout from the distance. An echo of the name he had just screamed out himself, but with a different voice.

A voice he recognised.

"Mickey?! "

Wasting no time, he ran toward the source of the voice. The wind and rain seeping through the tree canopies above was washing his face, sending spots of water in his eyes, blurring his vision.

As he blinked the water from his eyes, he tried hard not to think about the fact that Mickey had been calling Rose's name… like himself, could that mean he didn't know where she was…?

His speed increased, and much sooner than he anticipated he collided with a thump into the London boy. The Doctor fell back, rubbing his head, where of which some part of Mickey had hit head on.

"Doctor," Mickey cried, seeming a little panicked, but mostly relieved as he blinked disbelieved at the Timelord in front of him.

"Mickey." The Doctor's eyes were wide; Mickey's features were dim in such small light, but he looked worn. "Where's Rose?" the Doctor asked, already dreading the answer.

"I dunno. We got separated," Mickey informed him. "There was… there was the beast… the thing chasing us, we were holdin' hands, but we had to let go and…" he stared, wide-eyed at the Doctor, "…and I dunno, I was running but suddenly she wasn't there, and neither was the… the beast thing !" He shivered in the rain, his pale, afraid face briefly illuminated by a flash above. He waited for the rumble of thunder to pass before continuing a little hysterically, "I didn't know where she was! And the beast's gone. She won't answer when I call her! What if it got her Doctor?!"

"We'll find her," the Doctor said quickly, noting the boy's panic, though he had to try hard to stop his own terror giving him away. Turning to stride quickly onwards, he screamed out into the forest, "Rose!! "

A deafening, inhuman roar blew out from deep in the trees.

--

Her speed was increasing. She was sprinting through the brambles and dirt, jumping over roots, and keeping her eyes wide, trying to see past a grey-black mass of darkness. She couldn't hear the growls of the beast anymore over the thunder and thrashing rain and had no way of knowing if it was still pursuing her.

She was still cradling her wrist to her chest as it continued to ache agonizingly. She changed course; turning a sharp right, she ran into the denser reaches of trees, away from the trail. There was barely any room to move, the trees, brambles, roots, and bushes were everywhere. It wasn't long before she tripped.

Her eyes were on the ground. Her arms had come down to break her fall, causing her wrist to sting even more. She was poised on her forearms, and knees, seeing a dark muddy ground. Her eyes closed tight shut.

Nothing happened.

Opening her eyes and blinking through the darkness, her breaths were shallow and drained, her pulse banged painfully in her head. Her matted hair hung about her face. Very slowly, and trying not to wince, she rolled over to a sitting position, looking up into the trees. Nothing was there.

Through croaky breaths Rose managed to pull herself back to her feet. Cradling her hand to her chest, she took a tentative step forward. The moment her foot broke a twig with soft crack, was the moment a deafening roar drilled her eardrums from somewhere close by. It echoed around her. Someone gave a gasp, and it was a moment before Rose realised it had been herself.

"God," she whispered, voice cracked.

Another roar. Much closer this time. Rose resisted the urge to cover her ears, and gave into the more urgent need; to run.

She didn't get far before gravity and the trees roots pulled her down again. She was beginning to think that coming into the denser part of the trees had been a mistake. A low growl from behind induced a sharp gasp from her throat and she crawled behind a tall truck, sitting below it, pulling her knees to her chest, and closing her eyes.

There was nowhere to run. All she could do was prey it hadn't seen her before, and stay hidden. The growl was almost like a prolonged, angry purr coming from in front of the tree she was hidden behind.

There was a deep regret gnawing at her, as death came so close. How she had left things with the Doctor… it made her want to cry.

The rain that continued to smear down her face, merging with tears, and the constant bangs of thunder from above were now nothing more than part of the background canopy. All she could feel was the beast's presence; scuffling movements, low growls, the smell of decay. Ever more closer.

It was only a matter of time.

--Preview--

Chapter VIII - Blotched Black

Her eyes were moist, and she was leaning heavily against the tree, holding her injured hand close, her other hand placed across her mouth in horror, her faced poked by the wood she was holding. Her breathing was erratic.

She was going to die.