(Sorry everyone! I took the chapter down because it had too many errors for my liking, but here it is again ready to go!)
Hello Dears! Can I just say how nice it feels to be publishing on a regular bases again? Anyway I am suuuuuper excited for these next few chapter and I hope you are too. As always please check out the Oddity Tales playlist on 8tracks by typing in Oddity Tales into the search. New songs are being added periodically c: Oh and WE HAVE A TUMBLR! The Oddity Tales tumblr account is now up and running so if you want ask me any immediate questions that you don't want to wait a week for an answer, head over there :) Again just type Oddity Tales into tumblr, you'll find it. And without further ado, please enjoy this chapter of The Oddity Tales :D
Lizzie and the Doctor spent hours on that lounge, listening to the wonderful tales of Gallifrey. But they had to stop at some point, and the opportune moment happened when Amy and Rory wandered into the new pool/library. Everyone had a marvelous time relaxing with each other after that, swimming, telling stories, and just being with one another without any threat of danger. The laid back time they spent in the pool made everyone suddenly aware of just how tired they all were. They agreed to cut back on the adventures for at least a week, to give them time to recuperate. Of course, with the Doctor that didn't mean much. He wasn't going to let them all drift around the time vortex for a whole one hundred and sixty eight hours. But he managed to control himself, and their excursions out of the Tardis were, for the most part, safe. Well, with the exception of one giant tarantula, but anyone hardly counted that.
The pool library quickly became one of Lizzie's most frequently inhabited rooms on board, coming in third place behind the underbelly of the console and her own room. She didn't usually swim, instead taking a float down the river to find a book to read on one of the sun chairs. It was one of the most peaceful rooms on board, completely silent with the exception of the water lapping up on the walls of the pool. Occasionally, the Tardis would dig up some instrumental music to play for her as a surprise. She always knew how to bring a smile to Lizzie's face.
She was about three quarters of the way through The History of the Kings of Britain when the doors to the pool room were haphazardously thrown open. Lizzie didn't bother to look up as Amy's boots strode forward.
"There you are!" she called. "What are you doing?" Lizzie lifted the book over her head in response before returning to King Arthur and the Battle of Bath. Amy plopped down on the chair next to her, snatching the novel from her hands. "What are you reading?"
"Excuse me! I haven't marked the page!" Amy rolled her eyes and flipped the book in her hands, studying the tapestry-adorned cover with gold lettering.
"Ugh, boring." She carelessly tossed it back to the blonde, crossing her legs. "You're such a nerd."
"And you're a flirt," Lizzie growled. "We're even." She flipped through the pages to find her spot as Amy chuckled.
"So I was thinking," she started, practically bouncing in her seat. "You know where we haven't been?" Lizzie raised her eyebrows and Amy waved her off, anticipating her answer of, 'There's a lot of places we haven't been.' "Rio," she finished proudly. Lizzie shrugged, cocking her head to the side.
"Yeah, so?"
"Oh, Lizzie, come on!" she whined desperately. "Wasn't our pool day fun?" She nodded, but Amy barely paused in her speech to notice. "A beach day would be even more fun! Think about it. Hot day, blue ocean, bathing suits, ice cream and most importantly very hot shirtless boys." She winked predictably at the end, causing Lizzie to smirk. She spotted the weakness immediately. "Aha! See? Fun! Come on, go change."
"Ugh, Amy," she started to sigh, throwing her head back, but the redhead cut her off.
"Nope! You! Clothes! I'm gonna go find the boys." And without allowing any more protest, she strode back out of the room. Lizzie sagged in her seat, letting her head fall to her chest before slowly sliding her legs off the chair. Maybe a beach day would be nice. She could do some more swimming, enjoy the sun from a respectable, human distance, and even go back to her book. Plus, it couldn't hurt to see the sights, maybe go shopping with Amy. Slightly less reluctant, she got up from the lounge chair and stretched. She trudged through the quiet, empty hallways back to her room, where she gently placed the old book on her writing desk and stood in front of her wardrobe.
"Okay," Lizzie said aloud, "time for a beach day." She swiftly opened the doors to find a rack full of heavy sweaters. She furrowed her brow, quickly shutting the doors again. "Okay," she repeated, closing her eyes and concentrating, hands pressed flat on the wood. "I need clothing for Rio." Again she swung the doors open, this time met with a few heavy parkas, boots, and some hats that fell out to hit her in the face. She swept them back inside, glaring at the psychic closet. "Come on! Rio's hot, I can't wear a stupid parka!" She slammed the doors shut and went on to shout, "Beach! Now, something I should wear!" For a third time, Lizzie threw the doors open, this time met with a completely empty closet. She glowered into the compartment, pursing her lips. "Oh ha ha, you're so funny." She shut the doors and went to pull them open again, only to find them completely stuck shut. A loud groan escaped her throat as she began to rattle the handles. "Nooo, come on! I'm sorry!" She dropped her hands, taking a deep breath as she listened to the Tardis hum and rumble, collecting her thoughts. Once calmed, she opened her eyes, looking carefully at the wardrobe. Well, she'd never steered her wrong before. "Okay, okay. You know best. What do you think I need to wear?" Carefully this time, Lizzie eased the door open to find a single outfit in the dresser. A pair of sturdy jeans, a mustard colored sweater with a V-neck, a leather jacket, and a stylish pair of thick, brown boots. "Alright, then," she conceded with a small smile, changing into the clothes, grabbing her book and heading out the door.
The console room was still empty when she arrived. With a slightly disappointed frown, Lizzie plopped into the makeshift captains chair and opened the Geoffrey book again. She read another five pages before Amy practically bounced in, fiancé on her heels.
"Morning!" Rory greeted, trotting down the steps with a smile.
"Good morning!" she called back, unnecessarily loud. He winced and rolled his eyes, still grinning.
"You know Rio's a tropical climate, yeah?" Amy questioned, quirking an eyebrow.
"Yes, thank you for the geography lesson, ," she jabbed, returning to her book.
"Then why are you dressed like that?" Lizzie waved her off, glancing up at her black shorts and cowboy boots.
"I'll just change when we get there. You never know when in Rio we're gonna land."
"Pretty sure Rio's always been hot," she replied snidely. Lizzie shook her head with a smirk and went back to her book, while the now-perfectly-happy couple chatted. It was another 15 pages before the Doctor joined them.
"Look at you all!" he called proudly from the second platform. "All assembled and ready to go!" He took the stairs two at a time, spinning as he reached the bottom level and began throwing levers.
"Why," Amy demanded upon seeing him, "am I the only one dressed for Rio?!" The Doctor simply laughed, yanking the string on a small bell a couple times and brushing her off. He was dressed in his normal tweed jacket and dark brown pants, sporting a burgundy bow tie, as was to be expected. Rory was also dressed for cooler weather, a long sleeved plaid shirt under one of his ridiculous puffy vests. "And why are you still reading that?" Amy rounded on Lizzie, crossing her arms as if she was responsible for everyone's apparent lack of enthusiasm about Rio.
"I can read at the beach," she defended.
"Ooh, what are you reading?" The Doctor snatched the book out of her hands and placed it back before she could even respond. "Hey! 'Atta girl! History of the Kings of Britain! Have you ever met Geoffrey of Monmouth? Probably not. Oh, good ol' Geoffrey! The imagination on that man!" He went twirling back toward the controls, peering around the central column, giving the book a pointed look and adding as an after thought, "As you might have noticed. The talking eagle's real though! Maybe not the bit about the Hedgehog of Winchester, but I've been wrong before. In fact, why don't we-?"
"No!" Amy practically screeched, torn between horror and a strike of amusement. "We are not going to look for mythical rodents! We are going to Rio!"
"Erinaceomorpha," the Doctor replied immediately.
"What?" Rory asked.
"The hedgehog," he explained plainly. "It's in the order of Erinaceomorpha, not rodentia."
"Doctor," Amy growled in a warning tone.
"But hardly the point!" he finished hastily. "Now, Rio! Rio de Janeiro! Avante para nossa aventura!" His face split into a grin as the group gathered around the console, gripping tight before he threw the final switch. Then they were off, hurtling through the vortex to the sound of the time rotor, until everything was still. Amy let go and began to bounce in place, more than ready to explore Brazil. The friends quickly followed the Doctor down the stairs to the double doors. He leaned his back against them, mischievous smile in place.
"Behold," he announced, attempting to build the suspense as much as he could. He spun around and threw the doors open, side stepping Amy as she sprung forward to look. "Rio!"
It was grey. Well, not completely, but Lizzie hadn't been slapped in the face by colors and noise like she had expected. Outside the Tardis lay a very grey countryside. The grass looked dull under the overcast sky, made even more morbid by the headstones scattered over the area. Beyond the cemetery were some rolling hills, strikingly different from the mountains of Brazil, covered with thick trees that looked anything but tropical. There were a few birds squawking into the silence, the only sign of life in the immediate area.
"Nuh-uh," Amy declared, surveying our surroundings.
"Not really getting the sunshine carnival vibe…" Rory mused, stepping out of the box and looking around. Lizzie made a noise of agreement as the Doctor stormed out in front of her.
"No!" He glared at Rory for a fraction of a second before he was distracted. "Ooh! Feel that, though, what's that?" He scurried farther into the clearing, and Amy, Rory and Lizzie all spread out as well. "The ground feels strange…" Lizzie shut the door firmly behind her, turning back to find the Doctor bouncing curiously on the balls of his feet. He glanced over his shoulder to gauge the humans reactions. "Just me…Wait…That's weird…"
"What's weird?" Lizzie asked curiously, walking closer toward him and stooping to the ground, tapping it with her fingers to see if she could detect anything strange.
"Doctor, stop trying to distract us!" Amy groaned. "We're in the wrong place." Lizzie shared a fleeting look with the Doctor, before he sprung into motion, dashing back past the Tardis with her on his heels. "Elizabeth Lorne! Do not encourage him! It's freezing and I've dressed for Rio! We are not stopping here." The odd balls both ignored her tone of finality, dashing over to a particularly old and crooked batch of headstones. The Doctor knelt down quickly, tearing a few blades of grass from one of the many discoloured patches in the field. "Doctor! You listening to me? It's a graveyard! You promised me a beach!"
"What kind of grass is that?" Lizzie questioned, staring closely at the odd foliage.
"Blue grass," he replied rapidly. "Patches of it, all around the graveyard…"
"Which means?" Amy and Rory walked reluctantly up to join them, and the Doctor stuffed his sample in his jacket.
"So!" he grinned. "Earth, 2020-ish, ten years in your future. Wrong continent for Rio, I'll admit, but it's not a massive overshoot!"
"We're not even in the right hemisphere, dummy," Lizzie teased, knocking his shoulder with her own. He pouted, but Amy cut off their banter.
"Why are those people waving at us?" This caused Lizzie quirk an eyebrow. She followed Amy's gaze to the opposite hill, where two small figures had appeared. Besides their waving arms, they were nothing but two little spots of colour, the one on the left in some deep red sweater, and the other in a dark blue coat. The group all shared confused looks until the Doctor stepped forward.
"Can't be," he muttered skeptically, pulling out a compact pair of binoculars from inside his coat. Lizzie craned her neck, standing on her tiptoes to get a better look as he peered over at them. Rory gave a small wave until Amy forced his arm down. "It is!" the Doctor concluded in surprise. "It's you two!" He turned to look at the couple next to him before turning back to their future counterparts.
"No…we're here…" Rory objected over Amy's pleased giggle. "How can we be there?"
"Time travel, you dunce!" Lizzie laughed, shoving his head and using his shoulder for balance as she tried to see better.
"Ten years in your future, come to – relive past glories I imagine," the Doctor elaborated, tucking the device back in his pocket. "Humans," he added turning to Lizzie and poking her nose. "You're so nostalgic."
"We're still together in ten years…" Amy stated, staring almost terrified at her future. Rory gave a dry laugh.
"No need to sound so surprised!"
"Hang on," she piped. "If we're there…where's Lizzie?" The group looked at their blonde friend cautiously, gauging how she felt about her missing future. She surprised them all by smiling, moving between Amy and Rory and throwing her arms around them.
"Oh, I could be anywhere around here," she mused. "The important thing is, ten years from now, I'm not still hanging around you two all the time! Ha!" She whooped, throwing her hands in the air and laughing with her friends as Amy shoved her.
"Hey, let's go talk to them!" she gushed excitedly, turning to her fiancé. "We could say 'hi' to future us! How cool is that?!" She took Rory's hand and was already three steps away when the Doctor stopped her.
"Uh – no, best not. Really best not. These things get complicated very quickly, and – oh look…" He trailed off, suddenly distracted. The group all turned their disappointed eyes to the trees, where there was a tower of yellow steel rising up. "A big mining thing…I love a big mining thing…See, way better than Rio. Rio doesn't have a big mining thing." Lizzie's face split into a wide smile as Amy and Rory deflated behind her.
"We're not gonna have a look, are we?" Amy whined.
"Let's go and have a look," the Doctor suggested. Before anyone else moved, Lizzie took off down the hill, giggling like mad. She had appreciated the rest, of course, but she wasn't travelling with the Doctor to sit in the spaceship. She missed the adventure, even for the short time she had went without it. She heard him call everyone ahead, his words lost in the wind as she galloped down the steep hill. She stopped to wait for him at the bottom, only to have him nearly knock her over.
"Would you like me to take that?" he asked through the laughter.
"What?"
"Your book," he explained, gesturing to the tattered book in her hand, which she had completely forgot about. "Would you like me to carry your book?" Lizzie smirked at the cliché, grandiosely handing it over.
"Why yes you may, kind sir." He smiled, tucking the book inside the tweed jacket. She narrowed her eyes, staring at the flat fabric. "Where do you put all that stuff?"
"My pockets."
"Yeah, but I mean you've got a book, some grass, binoculars and who knows what else in there, and you can't see it at all." His smile grew into a smirk as he stared proudly at her.
"They're bigger on the inside." She gaped for a moment, grin still plastered on her face. She heard Amy calling for them from up the hill. "Come on!" He tore off, making his way down the path to the trees and the mine. Shaking herself, Lizzie let out another laugh and ran after him, leaving Amy to catch up for herself.
When they reached the edge of town, they fell into walking formation. Amy and Lizzie matched each other stride for stride, the Doctor leading the way in front of them.
"Where's Rory?" she asked, checking behind them to see if he was lagging behind. Amy scoffed.
"Tardis. He didn't want me wearing the engagement ring out and about. He'll catch up."
"He's right Amy. I know you want to show it off, but especially on trips like this, you could lose it."
"Oh, shut up, you sound just like him!"
"Aha!" the Doctor cheered, ending their little tiff. He jogged over to a large set of imposing metal gates, leading into an industrial work site. "Restricted access. No unauthorized personnel," he read. "Hmm." With a smug smile, he pulled out the sonic, flicked it open, and pointed it to the padlock hanging on the fence. With a high-pitched buzz, a clang, and a flash of sparks, the lock burst open. Lizzie jumped back with a squeal, causing him to wink at her.
"That is breaking and entering!" Amy gasped.
"What did I break?!" he chuckled. "Sonic-ing and entering. Totally different." Lizzie let out a giggle through her hand, which had shot up over her mouth, and Amy sent her a slightly disapproving, but mostly amused look. The gates swung open and the Doctor gestured the two woman forward with a small bow. Amy rolled her eyes, swinging round the post and threw the entrance.
"Come on!" Lizzie jogged after her.
"You're sure Rory'll catch us up?" he called from behind them. Amy waved an arm over her head.
"Yeah, he'll be fine! Hurry up. The quicker we find out what's going on, the sooner I can get to the beach." He swung the gate closed, speeding to catch up with them.
It was completely silent for the most part. The site had been totally deserted, but it didn't look old or in ruins. So where was everybody? Possibilities ran through Lizzie's head. Maybe all the workers were in a meeting. Maybe they'd been attacked, obliterated. Maybe there was an alien on premises, and they'd all run away. Or maybe they all just had the day off.
"Weird, weird," the Doctor kept muttering to himself. "Something's weird." Occasionally, he would stop walking and bunny hop along, looking for a spot of ground that didn't feel strange. Lizzie would slow down and watch his reaction, but decided that whatever he could feel was too obscure for her senses. Amy never stopped. She just strutted along, brooding over the cold weather. Finally, they turned a corner to approach what seemed to be the central building. It looked worn and the windows were dirty, but not uninhabitable. "Aha!" the Doctor shouted at the site. "Now we're getting somewhere. Come on, let's try…this door!" He scampered over to the wall, pushing open a heavy door that had been left ajar and ducking inside. The girls followed him into an equally dirty hallway, with no windows and a narrow path. The ceiling was low as well, giant ducts, lights and wires barely a foot over their heads. "I don't like it," the Doctor whispered again as they turned a corner. "I don't like this ground. What about now? Can you feel it now?"
"Nope," Lizzie replied, carelessly popping the 'p' on the end.
"Honestly, we've got no idea what you're on about," Amy added moodily. The Doctor paused, staring up at the ceiling and twirling his sample of grass between his fingers. He wiggled his feet into the ground a bit before continuing around the bend.
"The ground doesn't feel like it should."
"It's ten years in the future!" Amy cried. "Maybe how this ground feels is how it always feels."
"That's true," Lizzie agreed. "We don't even know where on Earth we are. This could be normal."
"Good thought, but no it's not," the Doctor disagreed. A siren began to echo through the halls, startling the two companions, but the Doctor strode on. "Hear that?" he asked, reaching into his jacket and flipping open the sonic. "Drill in startup mode. Afterwaves of a recent seismological shift…and blue grass…" He stopped, shoving the blades in his mouth and giving a few chews. He started hacking, sticking his tongue out and cringing at the taste, causing Amy and Lizzie to laugh.
"Oh please!" she giggled. "Have you always been this disgusting?"
"You remember the apple incident," Lizzie added. "Of course he has!"
He contemplated what they both said for a moment before giving a small smile. "No. That's recent." He walked the rest of the length of the hall, popping his head through a red door at the end. "What's in…here? Hello!" Apparently spotting some form of life, he walked excitedly into the room. Amy and Lizzie shared a look before following him.
It was certainly the most inhabited of the building. Desks and workbenches lined the walls, covered with untidy piles of papers, tools, and other kinds of machinery. There were large fuse boxes all over the brick walls, and in the center, a station with all sorts of complicated maintenance devices, presumably giving readings on the drill. Working at the computer was a short woman, with dark skin and dark hair, who looked completely in her element, hands moving their way meticulously across the keyboard. Well, she looked completely in her element besides the look of utter confusion on her face as three strangers wandered into her private work place.
"Who are you? What're you doing here?" she demanded, before giving Amy a second look. "And what are you wearing?"
"I dressed for Rio," she explained moodily, earning herself a light slap on the arm from Lizzie. She pouted.
"Ministry of Drills, Earth and Science," the Doctor proclaimed, retrieving the psychic paper and flashing it quickly. "New ministry, just merged, lot of responsibility on our shoulders, don't like to talk about it. What are you doing?"
"None of your business," she snapped, shaking her shoulders and going about her work, apparently deciding she would pretend they weren't there. Lizzie watched her as she followed a hose on the ground to a device standing erect in the middle of the room. It seemed like some sort of mix between a drill and a metal detector or a scanner, and when she moved it, it revealed a large hole in the concrete floor.
"Where are you getting these readings from?" the Doctor asked from behind her.
"Under the soil," she replied, moving the scanner back toward the computer.
"The drill's up and running again," a new voice informed them. An older man in a plaid shirt and thick red jacket was walking toward us, clearly another leader of the operation. He gave the group a calculating look as walked over to the woman. "What's going on? Who are these people?"
"Amy, Lizzie, The Doctor," Amy listed, carelessly leaning on a beat up, yellow cart. "We're not staying, are we, Doctor?" Lizzie sent her friend a short glare, walking over to the Doctor, who was crouching over the hole in the floor. She tapped him on the shoulder and held out her hand expectantly. He looked up at her, raising an eyebrow.
"Credentials," she sighed.
"Oh!" He reached in his pocket and tossed her psychic paper. She caught it in midair and walked casually over to the two workers.
"Sorry about him," she apologized in a professional tone. "Like he said, Ministry of Drills, Earth and Science. We heard about your progress and just wanted to pop by for a quick look around."
"I've never heard of it," the woman said shrewdly, turning the paper over in her hands.
"Newly merged, had to change the name. Again, already explained. Anyway, these two are my shadows for the day, learning the ropes."
"Right," the man said, equally as skeptic, "and what is he doing?" Lizzie looked over her shoulder to see Amy picking at her nails, the Doctor on his knees over the floor and sniffing the pile of dirt. She cringed.
"To be honest? No idea. But I'm just here for guidance. I'm supposed to let them take the lead on mock inspections."
"Why's there a big patch of earth in the middle of your floor?" he piped.
"We don't know," the woman replied as Lizzie handed their fake credentials back to their owner. "It just appeared over night." The Doctor paused, eyes wide. Amy walked over to join them, but he abruptly stood up and pushed Lizzie away from the ditch.
"Good, right. You all need to get out of here very fast." He nudged the woman aside moving to stare at the readings on the monitor.
"Why?" she asked immediately.
"What's your name?"
"Nasreen Chaudhry," the woman replied, watching him with interest.
"Look at the screens, Nasreen. Look at your readings. It's moving." Lizzie moved behind him quickly, leaning on his back to look over his shoulder at the incomprehensible numbers.
"Hey, that's specialized equipment! Get away from it," the man ordered, moving to her side.
"Excuse me, we're professionals," she argued back, shrugging his hand off her shoulder.
"What is?" Nasreen asked, as if she hadn't been interrupted.
"Doctor, this steam, is that a good thing?" Amy asked. They all turned around in unison to find her squatting next to the pit, where a thick, white mist had developed over the dirt.
"Shouldn't think so." He pushed Lizzie behind him as he walked to the edge, barely pausing in his speech. "It's shifting, when it shouldn't be shifting!"
"What shouldn't?" Nasreen questioned, again. Suddenly, there was a technological buzz in the air, bouncing off the walls as the whole room began to shake. Lizzie fell back, gripping onto the table tightly.
"The ground, the soil, the earth, moving! But how? Why?!" He ran frantically back and forth, trying to piece together what could possibly be going on.
"Earthquake?" Amy asked nervously.
"Doubt it," Lizzie retorted, holding her gaze. She nodded.
"What's going on?!" the man demanded, looking nervously back and forth between the two woman.
"Can't be an earthquake," the Doctor concluded, turning around as the room continued to quiver. "Cause it's only happening in this room." Lizzie's face scrunched in confusion, but before she could ask how he knew there was a giant cracking sound. Everyone let out small screams of surprise, as two more perfectly circular holes appeared in the concrete floor, smoking like the first. Lizzie backed up against the computer, looking to the Doctor for direction as the ditches closed in. "It knows we're here. The ground's attacking us."
"No!" Nasreen called, still adamant but chuckling anxiously. "That's not possible!"
"And do you have a better explanation for the holes in the floor?!" Lizzie snapped at her.
"Under the circumstances," the Doctor said over her, "I'd suggest…run!" They didn't need to be told twice. Nasreen and Lizzie both went sprinting off, jumping over the danger spots as they sprung up, chasing them out of the room. There was a yell, and they all turned to see that the man's foot had been sunken into one of the traps.
"Tony!" Nasreen screamed. Amy froze, staring at Tony he suck lower and lower. He was already knee deep in the soil, and ditches were still appearing.
"Stay back, Amy!" the Doctor yelled, anticipating her thought. "Stay away from the earth!" She gave Lizzie a final look before backtracking, jumping over a large hole and gripping onto Tony's arm.
"It's okay," she assured him tugging him up with all her strength. And that was when the ground broke. The pavement crumbled beneath her and she let out a violent scream, her boots quickly disappearing in the dirt. "Ah! It's pulling me down!" But Lizzie was already at her side, running and jumping over fresh holes for her best friend's life.
"Amy! Elizabeth!" the Doctor shouted, taking off behind her. Lizzie ran up behind her, hooking her arms under her armpits and tugging up for all she was worth.
"Lizzie, help me!" she cried. "Something's got me!" She leaned back into the blondes arms and Lizzie stepped forward, bracing her foot on the side of the hole as Amy sunk to her knees, her thighs. "Doctor! The ground's got my legs!" The Doctor propelled himself onto his stomach in front of them, grabbing Amy's flailing hands as Lizzie's knees crumpled beneath her.
"I've got you!" he assured her, squeezing her hands tight. She was up to her chest now, being swallowed whole by the earth. Nasreen sprinted over to Tony, pulling at his arms with all her strength. The soil seemed more interested in Amy, and Tony climbed out onto the pavement, breathing heavily. Lizzie growled, pulling Amy out a few inches before the ground redoubled its efforts. "Don't let go," she pleaded.
"Never," the Doctor replied immediately, and Lizzie attempted to shake her head.
"Not on my life."
"Doctor, what is it?" Amy implored, gasping for air as the dirt piled around her chest. "Why is it doing this?"
"Stay calm," he instructed her intently. "Keep hold of my hand. Don't let go." He called over his shoulder to Nasreen and Tony. "Your drill, shut it down! Go!" They shared one look before nodding and sprinting out of the room. Lizzie was almost completely collapsed now, her right leg bracing in front of her, her left knee on the floor and her torso completely bent as she tried to grab her best friend.
"Can you get me out?" she asked. Lizzie grunted.
"Of course we can."
"Amy, try and stay calm," the Doctor said gently. "If you struggle, it'll make things worse. Keep hold of my hand." She nodded, but the ground had other ideas. She began sinking again, smoke still flying up around them and the room shaking. "I'm not going to let you go," he repeated, kneeling up against the force of the ground. The soil tugged back viciously, and the Doctor lost his grip, flying across the room. Lizzie jolted forward, Amy sinking up to her neck and her arms becoming buried in the dirt, still hooked under her own.
"Doctor! It's pulling me down! Something is pulling me!" she screeched. He scrambled forward, latching onto her wrist with both hands.
"Stay calm," he ground out through his teeth. "Hold on. If they can just shut down the drill…"
"Ah! I can't hold on!" she cried, face screwing up with the effort.
"Yes you can, Amy!" Lizzie screamed. "Yes you can! I've got you! Everything's going to be alright, just hold on!" She ignored the encouragement, staring into the Doctor's eyes with fear.
"What's pulling me? What is under the earth? I don't want to suffocate under there."
"Amy, concentrate," the Doctor demanded, pleading this time. "Don't you give up!" But her hair was beginning to disappear. Tears streamed from Lizzie's eyes, landing on the soil as she sank lower and lower.
"Lizzie," Amy cringed. "I'm sorry."
"Don't, just..don't. You'll be fine." Lizzie reprimanded, but it was completely obvious she was crying.
"Tell Rory…" And she went. Dirt piled up over her face, but Lizzie refused to let go. She was practically in a split on the ground, up to her shoulders in the blasted dirt as it ripped her dearest friend, practically her sister, away from her.
"No. Amy!" the Doctor cried. "Amy, no!" Her head sunk under, and just her arms remained visible. Lizzie choked back sobs, letting her arms follow her under the surface as the Doctor screamed over and over. "No! No! No! No! No!" He paddled through the dirt with his hands, digging and digging. But she was gone. "No…no…" He threw his arms down, getting up and pulling the screwdriver out of his coat. He scanned the earth, leaving Lizzie there as she curled up in a ball, her arms still planted in the soil, too weak to even try pulling them out. "No, no, no," he muttered, before the buzzing waned off to silence. He dropped his arm, and Lizzie could feel his eyes on her as she wept into the soil. Amy…
Footsteps pounded into the room, Tony and Nasreen presumably, though the broken companion did not lift her head.
"Where is she?" Nasreen asked, gently but out of breath.
"She's gone," the Doctor whispered. "The ground took her." And that was it. The confirmation Lizzie needed. She was gone. Her best friend was gone. The girl she'd practically been raised and went through everything together with, gone because she wasn't strong enough to keep her out of trouble. Any strength she had left her, and she slumped to the ground. Lizzie wished the soil would take her. She wished the dirt would take hold of her arms and pull her in. Because she would go. She would dive head-first if it meant getting Amy back. But even the ground didn't want her. And she couldn't blame it.
She felt a soft hand on her shoulder, but she refused to look up. She just kept on crying. The hands gently tugged her sleeves, raising her useless arms out of the earth. Her skin was caked with brown, and there were clumps all over and under the leather jacket. The hands lifted her up, forcing her into a standing position and leading her over the wall. They eased her down, sitting much more comfortably with her back against stone, legs tucked up in front of herself instead of pinned down underneath. The hands vanished and returned, wiping her hands, her sleeves, trying to clean off every reminder of the holes all over the room. They were hesitant at first, but became more assured as they went on. Then they stopped. Lizzie became aware that she was no longer just crying, but whimpering. Words like "no," "Amy," and "sorry," slipped through her lips without consent. And then the hand lifted her face, wiping tears from her cheeks. To Lizzie's surprise, she found it was Nasreen. She took her hands, and in one of the most solemn voices whispered to her.
"I'm sorry." That was it. Then she patted her hands and got up from her crouching position, joining the Tony at the monitors. The Doctor was pacing, back and forth past the spot where Amy had disappeared. Lizzie stared at the ground in front of her, barely aware of the conversation that was going on.
"Is that what happened to Mo? Are they dead?" Lizzie subconsciously cringed at the word.
"It's not quicksand." The Doctor's voice. "She didn't just sink. Something pulled her in – something wanted her."
"The ground wanted her?"
"You said the ground was dormant, just a patch of earth, when you first saw it this morning. And the drill was stopped."
"That's right."
"But when you re-started the drill, the ground fought back."
"So what, the ground wants us to stop drilling? Doctor, that's ridiculous!"
"I'm not saying that, and it's not ridiculous, I just don't think it's right – ah! Oh! Of course. Ha! It's bio-programming."
"What?"
"Bio-programming!" The Doctor's laugh pricked at Lizzie's ears, along with his telltale clap. "Oh! It's clever! You use bio-signals to resonate the internal molecular structure of natural objects! It's mainly used in engineering and construction, mostly jungle planets, but that's way in the future, and not here. What's it doing here?"
"Um, sorry. Did you just say 'jungle planets'?"
"You're not making any sense, man."
"Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense, you're just not keeping up!" Lizzie felt a tingle in the side of her mouth, a desperate and failed attempt to smile. "The earth, the ground beneath our feet, was bio-programmed to attack."
"Yeah, even if that were possible, which – by the way – it's not, why?"
"Stop you drilling. Okay, so we find whatever's doing the bio-programming, we can find Amy, we can get her back." At those words Lizzie froze, still staring at the ground, but completely tense and ready to spring. "Sh! Sh! Sh! Have I gone mad? I've gone mad!"
"Doctor - !"
"Sh, sh! Silence! Absolute silence!" A pause. "You stopped the drill, right?"
"Yes."
"And you've only got the one drill?"
"Yes."
"You're sure about that?"
"Yes!" Another pause.
"So, if you shut the drill down…why can I still hear drilling? ...It's under the ground…"
"That's not possible." There was a scuttle as the Doctor, who was laying nearby, jumped to his feet. The sound of the screwdriver pierced the air as Lizzie became more attentive of her surroundings.
"Oh, no! What are you – What are you doing?!"
"Hacking into your records! Reports, samples, sensors, good, just unite the data, make it all, make conversation. Let's have a look. So! We are here and this is your drill hole…21.009 kilometers…Well done!"
"…Thank you…? It's taken us a long time."
"Why here, though? Why drill on this site?"
"We found patches of grass in this area, containing trace minerals unseen in this country for 20 million years."
"The blue grass! Oh, Nasreen! Those trace minerals weren't X marking the spot, saying 'dig here.' They were a warning. 'Stay away!' Cause while you've been drilling down…somebody else has been drilling up." A pause, while the monitor made a humming sound. "Oh…beautiful. Network of tunnels all the way down."
"No, no, we've surveyed that area."
"You only saw what you were looking for." There was a light beeping, almost like a sonar reading.
"What – what are they?"
"…Heat signals. Wait. Dual readings, hot and cold, doesn't make sense, and now they're moving…fast. How many people live nearby?"
"Just my daughter and the family. The rest of the staff travel in."
"Grab this equipment, and take it outside," the Doctor instructed with finality.
"Why?" Nasreen's voice. "What are we doing?!"
"That noise isn't a drill. It's transport. Three of them, thirty kilometers down, rate of speed looks about hundred and fifty kilometers an hour. Should be here in…ooh, quite soon – twelve minutes. Whatever bio-programmed the earth is on its way up. Now." There was a bang as he shut the portable monitor. "Take as much as you can, and get it outside. Be there in a mo." A few seconds later, their noises of packing could be heard. Lizzie could feel his quiet approach through the floor. He knelt down, taking her hands in his. "Lizzie, look at me." She stared at his chest, conveniently placed directly in front of the spot on the floor she'd been staring down. "Elizabeth…" she raised her head, his face a blurry mess through the unshed tears that had collected. He moved one hand to cup her cheek, long fingers threading through the edges of her hair. "There are people down there," he whispered. "There are people there who we can talk to, who can take us to Amy. I'll get her back, I promise." She stared blankly at him, trying to clear her vision by forcing the water out of her eyes. "Please," he begged. "I need you with me on this…" Very slowly, she nodded her head. He grinned widely.
"Okay." He gripped her hands tightly and pulled her up, lacing his fingers with hers as they each grabbed some equipment with one arm. With one last look at the pit, they walked outside to meet Tony and Nasreen, and prepare for the arrival of the people from within the earth.
Effy- Thank you :D
AxidentlGoddes - Trust me I've missed writing it! And again I must say your reviews are always lovely to read :) As for calling Amy out on her crap, Lizzie will do it at some point, but as for right now there is gonna be a build and when it happens...well it's gonna be gooooood ;)
Alice Song - I know right? The pool library always sounded amazing to me
Richelle Costa - There maybe ;) All I'm gonna say is the crack in the wall. That has A LOT to do with Lizzie's arc, even past this season.
- Thank you dear :)
.125 - Thank you! The book part was my favorite to write of that chapter :)
ovenfreshh - Thanks dear :) And I love the swimsuit too! I got the idea for it off tumblr and I couldn't unsee it.
littlelol - That's what I was going for :) I hate it in a fanfiction when the romance has no time to develop
snufflesawesome - Thank you dear! Good to be back ;)
Octowarth - and here it is :D
Review maybe?