Evie slowly opened her eyes. The sounds of the creature had become less angry. She saw at once that it had staggered backwards; retreating out of the room as though simply being in there was harmful to it. The Doctor was gazing at Amy and she was looking back, as though seeing him through new eyes.
"Amy Williams." He said softly. "It's time to stop waiting."
They gazed at each other for a moment more and then the Doctor stood up, moving to the open door and looking through it. Evie shuffled closer to Amy, holding her hand tightly. They exchanged a small smile, both shaken by the experience. Evie had honestly thought that she was about to die. Her body, brain and soul had all been telling her that that was it. It was all over.
But here she was. Losing faith in the mystical character she had created around her father, and seeing him for who he really was, had saved her life.
There was a loud thud and a flash of light from the corridor. Seeing that the Doctor had already left the room, Evie stood up and followed, leaving Rory to take her place beside his wife.
Lying on the floor, the creature seemed to have given up. It was grunting pathetically, as though it was running out of energy. Seeing it like that almost made the young woman sympathetic. It looked so helpless.
The Doctor cradled its head as light continued to flash. He was stroking its face tenderly as Evie knelt beside him. Tentatively, she reached out and laid a hand on the creature's chest. It gave a snort, almost of alarm and Evie glanced quickly at the Doctor who gave her a weak, yet reassuring, smile.
"I severed the food supply, sacrificing their faith in me. I gave you the space to die." He told the creature, shushing it gently. He stroked its nose, comforting it in its last moments. Evie followed his lead, a sudden rush of sympathy for the dying creature overcoming her.
They both stood up, looking around as the walls and floors began to fold away. Blackness replaced them, surrounding and encompassing them completely. They seemed to be in some kind of cyber-dimension… like in a computer game. Evie glanced at her father in confusion, before returning to her knees and stoking the creature's face once more.
"What is it?" Amy asked, alerting Evie to the fact that she, Rory and the Tivolian had appeared around them. "A minotaur? Or an alien? Or an alien Minotaur. That's not a question I thought I'd be asking this morning!"
"I-It's both, actually." The Doctor told her. He brought up some kind of menu and read the information displayed quickly. "Distant cousin of the Nimon. They descend on planets and set themselves up as Gods to be worshipped… which is fine, until the inhabitants get all secular and advanced enough to build bonkers prisons."
"Correction…" Rory said. He was on the ground, staring through a large porthole.
Evie instinctively wanted to go and look through it as well, but she felt guilty leaving the dying creature alone. She shook her head, wondering why she felt the need to comfort the creature that had come so close to killing her only moments before; it was bonkers.
"Prisons in space." Rory finished.
Amy shook her head. "Where are the guards?"
"No need for any. It's all automated." The Doctor said with a shrug. "It drifts through space snatching people with belief systems and converts their faith into food for the creature."
"Once you're here, there's no way out." Evie added.
"Precisely." Her father agreed with a nod.
Amy and the Doctor moved a little further away and lowered their voices. It wasn't enough, however, to stop Evie hearing their conversation.
"It didn't want just me. Or Evie." Amy told him meaningfully. "So, you must believe in some god or someone… or they'd have shown you the door too. So, what do Time Lords pray to?"
"According to the in-flight recorder, the programme developed glitches. It got stuck on the same setting; the fears from the people before us weren't tidied away." He told her, avoiding the question. Evie was disappointed; the same question had occurred to her. She wanted to know what her father had seen in that room. She knew, however, that he was unlikely to share that information.
The creature growled mournfully and Evie realised she'd stopped stroking its nose. Apologising in an almost inaudible voice she resumed the motion, gently.
"What's it saying?" Amy asked.
"'An ancient creature, drenched in the blood of the innocent, drifting in space through an endless, shifting maze. For such a creature death would be a gift.'" The Doctor translated slowly.
"Poor thing." Evie breathed, resting her hand on its cheek.
The Doctor reached down to clasp its clawed hand. "Then accept it and sleep well." As the Doctor turned and walked away, the creature let out an angrier growl. Evie jumped, retracting her hands from its face. "'I wasn't talking about myself.'" He translated in a low, wary voice.
The creature gave a low, throaty groan and closed its eyes for the final time. Evie ran a hand down its nose and patted its shoulder. "I'm sorry." She whispered, unsure as to why she was saying that. She was also unsure who she was speaking to; the creature or her father.
He walked to the TARDIS silently, not looking at anyone. Rory reached out to Amy, sliding an arm around her. Then he held out a hand to Evie. She took it and leant into him as he wrapped an arm around her as well. Pressing a kiss to the side of each of their heads, he propelled them gently into the police box. As they went inside, Evie threw a last glance over her shoulder to the motionless body of the creature on the ground.