Chapter 10

The hair on my arms rose as the sentence vibrated across the divide. The only warm part of that statement was the heat of the fire pushed from the other side. I looked to the Doctor for help, but he was already waiting with a calm smile.

"It's alright," he nodded. "We were expecting this, remember?" He held out an arm in good humor again and I looped mine through like a debutante being escorted to a ball. Not to her execution.

The Doctor led the way around the fire, taking care to step over the bones while looking as harmless as possible to the captors. The **-*-* dog whined a single deep note at our departure. The guide's eyes widened comically at this and he turned an appraising gaze to us as the Protectors took their stations on each side.

This must be what the Pilgrims felt like during the witch hunts. Scrutinized by paranoids and one stubbornly silent normal guy.

I turned my eyes up to the sky in a 'Why me?' gesture and noticed the pale pink hue of morning rapidly approaching. The Doctor paused in attempting to be chummy with the Protectors and followed my gaze.

"Don't worry. You'll see plenty more of those," he correctly detected my mood. I clenched my teeth at the offhanded optimism and screwed my eyes shut while taking a deep breath. When I opened them again, he was staring at me from the corner of his eye with a concerned look.

I humored him. "This isn't a story now. There's no one scribbling over a desk, trying to write our way out of this."

"Pessimist."

I glared over in time to see his teeth flash out of the smile and into an innocent look. "I'm a realist."

He rolled his eyes, "I've discovered your world's problem! You've all forgotten that life is a story. Every move you make is a part of history that," he leaned close again in a mock whisper, "by the way, gets written down in some form or another. Like all stories."

I stuck out my tongue and ignored the strange look from the Doctor's guard.

We walked in silence for a few moments more as our group rounded a curve before the Doctor leaned over and pretended to brush off a bug, whispering almost inaudibly, "Do you trust me?"

I pulled out of my reverie at the sudden change in tone and nodded slightly.

"Good," he smirked and murmured, "Finally a straight answer to that question. Follow my lead up ahead." He straightened again, still arm in arm, and smiled when the captors glanced over. They hastily looked away. I began to wonder what their legends said about the soulless. Images of vampires and zombies with super large eyes and long, spindly fingers weren't helping – I shuddered.

"THERE IS ANOTHER FIRE IN A MOMENT IF YOU ARE COLD."

I jumped a foot into the air, which earned a surprised cry of protest from the Timelord who was still locked onto my arm.

That guide! Shit. How long has he been watching?

Carefully, this time I unlocked my arm from the Doctor and thought quickly, "Uh, th-thank you. It gets pretty chilly away from the fire here, even in the mornings."

The guide had begun to turn around, but at this last part he twisted to look back with a calculating stare.

"HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE YOUR ARRIVAL?"

"Eh…" I thought back to the exploding anti-rat, the pool, and the loss of the Doctor – both times. "This is the sixth day."

The guide looked away. "TOO LONG. THEY WON'T LET YOU LEAVE."

I watched as he stalked off towards the front of the group, and hoped halfheartedly that he was just being dramatic.

What's that supposed to mean?

The Doctor nudged my side with his elbow and I jumped again, forgetting for a moment that he was still walking beside me. It took me less than a second to notice the large crowd that was gathering at the far end of the community. I hope whatever he has planned is going to work…

We approached the crowd at a brisk pace, faster than they were expecting because they backed away quickly and parted like the Red Sea. The anxiety in the air was palpable.

As we passed the natives, I snuck a peek at their expressions. Most were uneasy, shifting their gazes between our group and theirs, while others were solemn. All had shown up to see how the Inquiry would decide our fate.

I glanced at the Doctor. His expression was neutral.

Figures…Looks like I'll be the only one freaking out if this crowd turns into a mob.

At that moment, a murmur began making its way through the crowd, slowly growing in volume. I turned from side to side in search of the source and found it at the head of our group. The guide was on a stump a head above the crowd, waiting. As he twisted to the other half of the crowd, the murmuring ceased.

"WE ARE READY." The guide returned to face us, but this time the crowd mirrored his movements.

Hundreds of faces looked up at the Doctor and I. The fear and anxiety drained from their expressions. There was no malice. No anger. Just a sea of vacant stares.

"Well!" The Doctor grabbed my hand and dragged me through the crowd. "Not exactly what I had in mind, but when is it ever!"

As we brushed past the gatherers, the Timelord reached inside his jacket pocket for the screwdriver and pointed it at the clearing ahead. I could hear the Tardis whirring into existence, but had to stop before we could even make ten steps as a black fog fell over my vision.

Hundreds of voices whispered through the darkness, "BEGINNING."

Oh…fudge.