oOo
Chapter Nine
Crash Landing
oOo

The TARDIS shook and rattled. It took every muscle in my body to keep myself upright as I crossed into the console room where the Doctor was madly running around, pressing buttons and pulling levers. Donna was by his side helplessly clinging to one of the time machines panels.

"The stabilizers are not functioning!" The Doctor shouted over the loud beeps and moans the TARDIS emitted. "I have no control of anything!"

A hard shake tilted everything to the right. I let out a small scream as I felt myself tumble pass the doorway and into the opposite wall. My body hit the metal, smashing my cheek and shoulder into it.

"Clara!" The Doctor shouted. The TARDIS righted itself but still shook with such a violent intensity I wondered if it would break apart. "Donna, hold this." I heard the Doctor bark to her. Moment later I felt his warm hand on my back. "Clara, are you alright?" He asked close to my ear.

With his help I pried myself off the wall.

"Yes, I think so." I nodded. My whole body throbbed, my face ached but none of that seemed very important at the moment. I set my hand on his shoulder to help myself stand upright. "What is going on?"

"You're bleeding." The Doctor frowned, ignoring my question. He reached out and gently swiped his finger on the corner of my mouth.

Instinctively my tongue darted out and tasted the tangy substances of my blood. "I'm fine, Doctor," I assured him, more concern about the massive shaking.

"Doctor!" Donna screamed. We both turned at her shrill cry. Donna held the lever the Doctor had told her too with difficulty, her hands and arms trembled as she slowly lost her grip. "Doctor, help!" she cried again.

Wasting no time and not willing to let me go, the Doctor took my hand in a death grip and pulled me with him as he rushed back to the center console. Stopping near the seats he separated my hand from his and set it on the metal railing.

"Do not let go." He ordered firmly. I nodded, trying hard to not show how scared I was.

I watched the Doctor rush back over to Donna. Her face was covered in sweat; her eyes were clamped shut as she strained to keep the lever stable. The Doctor ran to the opposite side and pressed several buttons.

"Nothing is responding!" The TARDIS shook as if to agree with his statement. The Doctor glanced down at the monitor and furrowed his brow in displeasure. "This is not possible." He rushed to the other side of the console and pushed a large blue button, he then ran back to the screen. "There is no way!"

"What is it Doctor?"

The TARDIS shook again, except this time it felt different. The pressure in the room changed and became oppressively heavy, so much so that it was becoming too hard to stand. I felt the heaviness of the air pressing me down to my knees and then it happened. My whole body lurched and my heart flew into my throat. We were falling. I collapsed onto my stomach, my hands slamming hard on the metal grid. I heard Donna scream as she crumbled to the ground.

"Doctor, what is happening?" I heard myself half-scream, half-gasped for air.

"We're crashing, hold on!"

The TARDIS twisted and we all tumbled off to the right. My body crashed hard into the console and everything went black.

oOo

"Clara? Clara?" I felt a wonderfully cool hand sweep over my forehead and down my cheek. I twisted my head, following the lovely frosty feeling it was doing to my skin. "Clara, wake up."

With difficulty I cracked my eyes open. Everything was fuzzy, including the dark figure over me. After blinking several times the room came into focus. The Doctor was crouched over me.

"Hey." I whispered, my throat feeling scratchy and hoarse.

The Doctor gave me a small smile but his face faltered as I tried to sit up and flinched at the pain that shot through my body.

"Nothing is broken, just some bruises." He quickly said.

He set his strong hand behind my back and helped me sit up with difficulty. I glanced down at my now tattered clothing. My shirt and trousers were ripped in several places, along with what appeared to be burn marks. My hands were grimy and I hated to see what the rest of me looked like, but the Doctor was right, nothing felt broken, I was just sore and I knew I would pay for it dearly tomorrow.

I twisted my head to face the Doctor who looked about as good as I felt. His once off-white button shirt was now the color of ash and had a several burn holes and tears. His face was streaked with soot and he had a small gash at the corner of his eyebrow.

"You're hurt!"

Forgetting my own pain I quickly turned and got to my knees facing the Doctor to examine his injury. My hand jetted to his cut to see how severe it was.

"It's okay, I'm fine, Clara." He whispered, grabbing my hand in his. Our fingers automatically intertwined together as if we had done so a million times before.

I gazed at him lovingly for a long moment, relieved that he was safe and unharmed. But as if waking from a dream I recalled his words, the TARDIS was crashing. I quickly looked around us and the sight made me gasp. The room was barely recognizable. What remained of the center console was emitting a thick black smoke. The ground was covered in ash and metal debris from the ceiling and walls which had crumbled in.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice strangled by the sad sight.

The Doctor looked behind him, at the console, as if he needed to be reminded of what happened to his precious ship. With a pained look his eyes shut briefly.

"We crashed."

"Where?"

"I am not exactly sure." The Doctor stood and helped me to my feet. "The TARDIS is unresponsive and I didn't want to go have a look outside when you and Donna were unconscious."

I looked down and saw Donna on the other side the room. The Doctor had covered her with his jacket. A small moan escaped from her and we both rushed to her side. I knelt.

"Donna?" I whispered.

She opened her eyes and sat up as if a bolt of lightning had hit her, but as she did so, she let out a pained screamed, clutching her left arm.

"Donna, it's okay, we are safe." I offered soothing.

"My arm," she cried. "It hurts."

The Doctor knelt next to us and with care he touched her arm.

"It's fractured. It must have happened when one of the ceiling beams fell on you."

Donna cradled her arm close to her chest.

"Can't you do anything with all the spaceman technology you have?" She snapped.

"I'm afraid not." The Doctor stood and walked to what remained of the console. He hit a few buttons but nothing except sparks happened. "The TARDIS is too damaged; she needs time to recharge before I can attempt to do anything."

"So we are stuck here?" Donna retorted.

I stood up and helped Donna to her feet.

"I'm afraid so."

"Where is here?" I asked approaching the Doctor.

His face grew. "I don't know."

But I knew he was lying. He knew where he was, he just didn't want to tell me. "Shouldn't we have a look?" I asked glancing at the door.

As if right on cue a loud voice boomed from the outside.

"Doctor, you cannot hide in there forever. Why don't you come out and say hello?"

The voice pierced through me like a set of knifes. The voice that I had heard before and that haunted my dreams.

"Is that –?" Donna started.

"Simeon's." The Doctor and I finished at the same time.

"How ...?"

The Doctor ran to the TARDIS door and pressed his ear against it.

"I am a patient man Doctor, but I think for both our benefits you really should come out." Simeon boomed.

"We are safe as long as we stay in here, right?" Donna asked rushing up behind the Doctor.

"Both you and I know you are defenseless Doctor, I suggest you come out before I am force to take more drastic measures." Simeon shouted as if he had heard Donna's question.

"Doctor?"

Turning around the Doctor wore a serious look, his gaze refusing to meet mine.

"While the TARDIS is recharging she is vulnerable and can't protect us from anything."

I knew then what he was saying. He had to go out there and face Walter Simeon.

"Doctor you can't go out there." Donna said, her voice climbing in panic.

"I don't think we have much of a choice right now. I can't let Simeon get in the TARDIS." He turned to me and gave me a half-hearted smile. "I just need to distract him long enough for the TARDIS to recharge, and then we can get out of here." Taking the few steps that separated us, the Doctor took my hands in his. "I will return shortly, just stay here, please."

Before I could argue the Doctor leaned in and gave me a lingering kiss that left me breathless and he was gone.

oOo

Donna and I watched the TARDIS door shut tightly behind the Doctor. Shuffling and mumbling echoed from the other side.

"He is going to get himself killed." Donna angrily glared at the door.

Donna's words rang through my head. I could not let him do this, she was right; he was going to get himself killed. Without thinking my body spurred into motion. I charged to the door, bound and determined to rush out, but when I reached the door and pulled on the handle to get out the door didn't budge. I yanked outwards again and the only sound that came was the clink of metal from the lock being in place.

"No, no, open!" Looking down at the door I searched for a lock to undo but there was nothing there to unlock. The Doctor had somehow locked the door and made it impossible for anyone to leave or enter. Angrily I grasped the doorknob. I pulled and pushed making the doors violently shake. "Open the door!" I screamed at no one in particular.

My heart sped up and my stomach churned at the realization that was falling on me. The Doctor knew this was that moment, the moment I had waited for my entire life. It was the reason I was here. I had to save the Doctor.

"Clara, calm down!" Donna approached me from the back. "We will find another way."

"I have to get out there, Donna!" I turned to face the woman who I did not know at all yet who understood me the most.

"I know you do and we will find a way, but first you have to calm down." She gently put her hand out as if trying to approach a wild animal.

My labored breathing made my chest heave up and down rapidly as I tried to calm myself. She was right, I had to calm down and think straight. Donna slowly took a step towards me, then another until her unhurt hand wrapped around mine. She motioned with her head to step away from the door and to go take a seat in what remained of the TARDIS seats.

As we walked towards the old stools, broken glass lay on the ground and I caught a glimpse of my reflection. It became clear why Donna had been so hesitant on approaching me. My hair was wild and snarled every which way. Most of my exposed skin was dirty with smudges of soot, and some dried blood had smeared on my cheek from my cut. But what I really noticed were my eyes. They were wild and erratic, they were the eyes of someone desperate who would do anything to get things done, and I knew deep down that I would.

"Are there any other exits?" I asked Donna after sitting for several minutes in silence.

"No, not that I am aware of." Donna sighed, obviously feeling discouraged.

Neither one of us spoke for a long time. There was no point. We were both locked in the TARDIS with no way of leaving until the Doctor let us out.

oOo

I don't know how much time had gone by, but at some point both Donna and I had fallen asleep. I briefly wondered if I suffered some sort of concussion. My head throbbed and every limb on my body was sore, but for a very short moment I could have sworn I had heard the Doctor speak to me, telling me that it was time to wake up. To my dismay though I was still in the run-down TARDIS.

A loud crash suddenly made both Donna and I jump. It had come from outside the TARDIS walls.

"Clara, I know you are in there and I suggest you come out." The voice of Simeon loudly rang through the TARDIS door. I stood and slowly walked to the door with every intention of leaving, until Donna abruptly stopped me.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"Going out there." I stated the obvious, much calmer then I felt.

"Are you mad?" She cried. "You heard the Doctor, he told us to wait here."

"I have to go out there, Donna." I gave her a weak smile, "it's my destiny, and I have to save the Doctor."

"No way, this is exactly what Simeon wants, you can't do this. If there is one thing I learned from the Doctor is that there is always another way." Tears appeared in her eyes as if she knew she was fighting a losing battle.

"Donna ..." I gave her a sad smile. "I was born to save the Doctor." She shook her head but I could see it in her eyes that she was willing to hear me out so I continued. "I will go out there and somehow find a way to distract Simeon. You will need to get the Doctor back in here and get him away from here safely."

"No way!" She glared. "There is no way the Doctor will leave you behind ... I will not leave you here." Donna started to pace. "We will both go out there and see what is going on, and then we will all get out together."

"Donna, we don't know what is going on. I have no intentions of staying behind, but we have the advantage that Simeon seems clueless that you are here. You just need to get the Doctor in here; I will take care of the rest."

Donna stopped pacing and gave me an assessing look, as if she wasn't quite sure if I was telling the truth or not, but either way it was the best plan we had on short notice. She gave a reluctant single nod.

"There is just one problem, the doors are locked."

Glancing at the TARDIS doors it was as if someone had waved a magic wand. The sound of a single lock clicked loudly breaking the silent, still air. It would seem someone else agreed with my plan. I looked around at the time machine and wondered if there was more to the ship then I previous thought.

I walked to the door and gave Donna a last glance before stepping out of the protective cocoon of the TARDIS.

oOo

As soon as I stepped out of the TARDIS, the door shut with a loud bang. I was grabbed by each arm and I had to stifle the scream that wanted to escape from my lips at the sight of my captors. The faceless creatures which had a vague depression where the eyes should have been grabbed my arms with force. Their white faces with blacked skin around their mouths were like a sight out of a horror film.

The beasts wore the same Victorian garb as Simeon and were not exactly the fastest moving beings, but they were strong and held onto my arm with a death grip. I didn't fight them and let them led me to where they wanted to take me.

The TARDIS had been parked in a small alcove but once we cleared the small space, it revealed a giant warehouse of some sort. It was empty except for a cage in the center of the room with a low hanging light bulb dangling from its wire. The cage was vacant and there was no sign of the Doctor anywhere.

"Ah, there you are, my dear Clara. I am pleased you decided to join us of your own free will." Walter Simeon called from a dark corner of the room.

I squinted trying to see but the storehouse was so dark it was almost impossible to discern anything beyond a few feet in front of me.

"Where is the Doctor?" I called as my faceless captors stopped walking and stilled me in place.

"I think what you should ask is what have I done with the Doctor." Simeon countered with a slight glee to his voice.

My heart plummeted at his words, was I too late? Before I could ask Simeon what he meant a few dim lights popped on in the corner where he stood. He gave me a dark smile as my eyes wandered to the ominous machine he stood next too. The contraption was littered with blinking lights and levers. As my eyes traveled the length of it all it landed to a chair which contained the Doctor.

"Doctor!" I screamed, making a dash to run to his side, but the creatures hold got even tighter making it impossible for me to move.

The Doctor sat limply in the chair, his arms were strapped down and there was several wires stuck to his skull which were connected to the machine behind him. His head rolled from one side to the other as if he was fighting unconsciousness. His skin was a sickly white and covered in sweat.

"What did you do to him?" I wailed, pulling at my jailers again.

Simeon laughed as if my reaction amused him.

"I needed information from him and he refused to cooperate." Simeon glanced to the Doctor with a look of regret. "So I devised this machine, it can extract any thought from a mind." He paused and gave me the most leery smile I had seen on a person. "The only problem is it tends to fry the mind in the process." He giggled and nodded to my captors.

The monsters holding me dragged me to the cage and with a quick push, threw me inside, shutting the heavy iron door. Simeon casually strolled over to the cage as the faceless men strolled to the Doctor and worked on unhooking his arms.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, quickly picking myself off the ground to face him.

-"Like you, my dear Clara, I have been scattered throughout the Doctor's timeline, in hopes to destroy everything good he has done. What I had not planned is for you to follow me in and right all my wrongs." Simeon stopped inches from the cage. His ghastly sleeked back hair and pasty color eyes glared at me with vile hatred. "I failed every attempt to destroy him, until today." Simeon leaned in, his repulsive stale breath wafted over my face. He was too close but I refused to move, to be intimidated by him. "Today, I will learn the Doctor's name and I will go back to Trenzalore, before the Doctor can be warned and I shall destroy him properly."

"He will never tell you his name." I grounded out in anger.

Simeon stepped even closer, his chest pressed against the bars, touching my hands. "He won't have too, because you will tell me everything I need to know."