nChapter 14-When Jenny met Vesuvius

"This is the worst disaster ever!" Jenny looks at her broken fingernail whilst the citizens of Pompeii run for their lives.

"Yeah, it's almost as worse as that." I look towards Vesuvius then look back at Jenny pointedly. She gives me a glare.

"I'm bored." She moans.

"Oh for God's sake, Jenny, how the hell are you bored?" I glance around, and impatiently brush the ash from my hair. The sky is growing darker due to the ever expanding cloud erupting from Vesuvius. "Dad came here with Donna, so let's try and find them." I start looking around, and do my best to ignore the screaming people.

Jenny looks away from her nail to focus her attention on me. "Why?" she asks.

"What?" I start to walk along the street.

Jenny follows. "Why are you looking for you-our dad?" I glance around before picking up a dropped bag of coins.

"Sweet, it's got tons of coins in here."

"Give that here!" Jenny grabs the coin purse from me, but I hold on tight. "Hey, get your own!" I snarl, and pull sharply. The coin purse splits, and the coins fly everywhere. "Oh great, thanks a lot, Jenny!" I turn on my heels and storm off.

"Robin!" I hear Jenny call, but I ignore her. My eyes dart around for any sign of dad or his blue box. "Wish we'd never come here, stupid piece of-" I'm cut off by the sight of a red haired woman begging with a man who looks strikingly identical to my dad. "Eureka." I whisper under my breath. I listen to their conversation curiously.

"There you are!" Jenny comes up behind me, but I shush her with a wave of my hand, and motion towards the pair. Jenny falls silent, and when they walk away, says, "We should follow them."

"We should get back to the TARDIS now." I glance back at the erupting volcano, and shudder fearfully. "Really, we should."

Jenny looks at me strangely. "Why did you want to find them in the first place?" she demands.

I shrug. "Boredom?" I venture, before falling over as the ground shakes violently.

Jenny lands on top of me, but angrily pulls me back onto my feet. "You go back to the TARDIS, I want to speak to Donna."

"Why...she hasn't even met you yet. It'll disrupt the time line or some shit like that..." I spot my TARDIS, disguised as a column again. "I quite like my TARDIS looking like a Roman column. Perhaps I'll keep it that way..." I muse.

Jenny says nothing, but walks away. "I'm not coming back for your mummified remains!" I call out after her. I'm rewarded with a flip of the finger. "Nice." I walk over to my TARDIS, and try to find the keyhole. I can't find it. "Odd...TARDIS, can I get in?" I quickly add, "Please?"

The TARDIS doesn't answer. Dread sinks in. "Oh bollocks." I wheel around. "Where's my TARDIS? Why does this always HAPPEN TO ME?" I kick the column, and scream.

"Why aren't you running?" a beggar man grabs my arm. "Run, you stupid girl!" Before I have time to protest, the guy drags me along the street, whilst the ash cloud starts swamping Pompeii.

"JENNY! JENNY, HELP!" I scream, tears pouring down my cheeks.

"Stop screaming in my ear!" the man growls. My mind clicks on the voice.

"I know you...you're..."

"Shut up for now!" the man lifts me onto his shoulder, and breaks into a sprint. I kick out and 'accidentally' hit his face, causing him to grunt and swear loudly.

"Jeez, no need to swear." I tease mockingly, and instantly regret it. I'm thrown down onto the ground, and left as the man runs off. "Wait!" I scream. I get up and look at the approaching ash cloud. "Shit." I curse. "For the love of rabbits, wait!" I run after him, adrenaline coursing through my body. My legs go into overdrive, and I soon overtake him. I don't look back.

Somebody runs out from a side street and pushes me over. My head knocks the ground, and I sink into darkness.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()(()()()()

"What the heck...ah my freaking head." My eyes still shut; I rub the back of my head. "What the hell happened?" I cautiously open my eyes, and immediately close them again against the blaring sun. "I thought Vesuvius was erupting?" I mumble, my voice hoarse due to a lack of water.

"It was, but now it's not." A male voice answers, and I feel a cool hand press my forehead.

I open my eyes again, this time more tentatively, and look around. I'm on a beach covered in debris and dirty ash, with crying, wailing people and make-shift tents. I lean forwards, and look across the bay, towards the still smoking volcano.

"What happened?" I mumble towards the beggar man, whose covered in ash and mud. He looks at me. "I mean, what happened to me...when I..." a sudden bout of pain shoots through my skull, and I double over in agony.

"Sit back!" the man pushes me down, and lifts a drink of water to my mouth. I drink greedily, then lean back down and breathe deeply.

"Where's Jenny?" I gasp. "And my TARDIS?" I look at the man suspiciously. "And what are you doing here?"

"Oh shut up." He stands up and calls out a name. A young boy in a torn tunic appears, with a haggard expression. "Fetch me the blonde rebel." The boy scurries off.

"Blonde rebel?" I query. "Do you mean Jenny?"

The man shoots me a dark, sarcastic look. "Well done Einstein." He gives a mock clap, then turns on his heels and walks away.

"Jackass." I mutter under my breath, before leaning back. Something's not right. I look up when I hear approaching footsteps, and smile up at Jenny and the boy.

Jenny turns to the boy. "You can return to your family, Marcus." She smiles politely, and little Marcus runs off. Jenny bends down and helps me sit up. "Are you okay?" she asks in concern.

"I think so." I wince slightly. "My head's killing me though." I look at Jenny in fear. "What happened to the TARDIS? It wasn't where we left it..."

"Hush, Robin, don't worry about your TARDIS." Jenny squeezes my hand reassuringly. "We're safe now."

"Are we, Jenny? Are we really safe with that man nearby?" When Jenny doesn't answer, I continue, "How did we escape?"

Jenny looks at me. "His TARDIS."

Who is that man? What happened to Robin's TARDIS? Find out more in the next chapter!