Chapter 2
Save for a faint hum in the background, the ship was eerily quiet. Jamie had shut his eyes, as if awaiting some terrible fate. But there was no sudden jostling to throw them onto the floor, no loud, piercing noises.
Nothing except that wee hum. A hum that vaguely reminded him of the TARDIS. Somewhat familiar, yet different enough to make him realize he didn't like it.
Cautiously opening his eyes, he took a cursory look around the room. He'd barely given it much notice the couple of times he'd ridden in one of these. A small part of him wondered what sorts of rooms were in it and what they looked like.
He knew it really didn't matter. All it did was serve as a means of escape from those bawheid Time Lords.
His gaze settled on Zoe next to him. If this were any other time Zoe would be eagerly exploring this machine—delving into every technological nook and cranny and making comparisons to the TARDIS. The mental image triggered a small smile that turned sad as he studied the look of disquiet anticipation on her face. He knew she probably didn't care at the moment either. He gave her hand a little squeeze.
Zoe looked up at him and, putting on what she hoped was a brave smile, squeezed his hand in return. "I'm alright," she said, her voice shaking ever so slightly.
The room was suddenly filled by a familiar wheezing, alerting them the machine had landed and was materializing. Zoe's expression was still a mix of curiosity and apprehension. "Well," Jamie started, gesturing with his hand toward the door. "Let's see where we've landed up."
The door slid open and they cautiously stepped outside. Jamie squinted a bit as he surveyed their new surroundings. The sky was a sort of bluish-violet color with what appeared to be two suns fairly low on the horizon, close to setting. There was some other very large, round planet visible on the opposite side of the sky, mostly orange with bands of different colors.
His gaze dropped to the landscape itself, which at first glance didn't seem different from Earth's. The immediate area was quite rocky and a bit arid, but a good distance away he spotted a change to a grassy area and beyond that some forest. It was very new and actually quite pretty.
The next thing he noticed was the temperature. It seemed fairly mild; perhaps a bit of a chill from the occasional breeze, but nothing that would make him feel uncomfortable despite his legs being bare. Zoe herself seemed well-equipped for it with her trench coat, jodhpurs and boots.
Jamie turned to look at Zoe, watching her keen brown eyes recording and analyzing every visible contour of the landscape. He wondered what she was thinking and was just about to ask when a sudden, loud, familiar wheezing sound pierced the air behind them, causing him to jump.
He wheeled around just in time to find the SIDRAT fading away. Turning toward Zoe, he found she'd noticed it too and was just as startled as he was. He quickly grabbed her arm.
"Run!" he cried, rushing them over to a large boulder behind which to take refuge.
Zoe watched it disappear, her mouth flattening into a grim line. "It must be equipped with a homing device."
"A wha'?"
"A mechanism that allows them to control the machine's flight," she explained, her voice barely above a whisper. "The Time Lords probably called it back to their own planet, much like the way they brought us and the Doctor there in the TARDIS."
Jamie nodded absently. He didn't care much about the specifics of how they'd done it. There was an even bigger issue causing worry to fester inside him.
"Aye, an' I suppose they now know where we are."
For once, Zoe was at a loss for words, prompting him to continue. "An' they'll try tae capture us an' bring us back. Mebbe even punish us for takin' that thing."
"You really think so?"
"Why no'? Look wha' they did tae the Doctor," Jamie returned cynically. "An' look at wha' they had planned for us, takin' away our memories of travelin' wi' him, bringin' us back tae our own times."
Zoe sighed. "As much as I hate it, I can see why they had gone after the Doctor." Jamie stared at her incredulously. "I'm not saying I agree with it, I was just trying to see it from their point of view," she hastily added. "But why us? How much of a threat are we to them? We're certainly not going to be reunited with the Doctor anytime soon. And it's not as if we've got any special knowledge of them to spread around the universe."
"Aye, I know that an' ye know that. But I dinnae think they know that. Who knows what goes on in those boggin' heids o' theirs?"
Jamie's colloquialism caused a corner of Zoe's mouth to twitch with amusement. But the amusement soon faded as the gravity of their situation began to sink in, threatening to overwhelm her. "So, not only are we stranded on a completely unknown planet, but we've also got to worry about the Time Lords looking for us." She turned to him, her big brown eyes colored with worry. "Oh, Jamie, what are we going to do?"
Jamie sighed. "Look, we'll come up wi' somethin'," he told her, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Ye're a canny lass, Zoe, I'm sure ye'll make some sorta contraption in no time flat tae hide us from their 'Find-O-Matic rays' or whatever they'd use tae locate us."
Zoe's eyes widened and she uttered a surprised giggle. "'Find-O-Matic rays', Jamie?"
Jamie felt his cheeks flush. "Well, ye know wha' I mean. Those 'special powers' of theirs. An' mebbe we dinnae mean that much tae them, so they'll leave us alone. Wha'ever happens, we'll be ready for it. Eh?" He met her gaze with an encouraging smile. The wrinkle of concern in her brow smoothed and she managed a slight smile of her own.
Jamie tentatively poked his head out from behind the rock. The SIDRAT was gone but he decided to wait just another moment longer to ensure they wouldn't be on the receiving end of some Time Lord attack.
When nothing had materialized he turned back to Zoe with an encouraging nod. She met his eyes with a bit of hesitancy before joining him out in the open.
Jamie's attention then returned to the vast landscape stretching out before them. "So, what d'ye think?" he finally asked her with a slight shrug.
Zoe pursed her lips in thought. "Well, it's interesting, but ..." As she hesitated, he noticed the lines of worry wrinkling her brow again. "I wish I had some idea of how to check and see exactly where we are. I mean, there was no scanner that I could see in that transport like the TARDIS has, and I don't even have any portable equipment to check for readings of atmospheric composition, air quality, gravity ..."
Jamie held up a hand to stop her rambling. "Well, we clearly got no trouble breathin' or any problems walkin' around, so I dinnae think ye need tae worry about stuff like that."
"But I need to have that empirical evidence in front of me!" she insisted. She took a deep breath. "I just … feel naked without my instruments."
Jamie gave her a long look, his expression not quite readable. "Really?" Then a faintly rakish grin spread across his face. "Ye dinnae look naked."
Zoe flushed at her silly choice of words. "Oh, Jamie! It's just an expression. It means I feel ... incomplete without them. Whenever we'd arrive on some new planet, the Doctor would check all the readings to make sure it had a breathable atmosphere, sufficient gravity ..." She trailed off, shutting her eyes in frustration. "And now we've got neither the Doctor nor the TARDIS."
"Aye, I know," Jamie told her softly. "But we've got each other." A mischievous grin tugged at the corner of his mouth and he gave her shoulder a little playful nudge. "An' I am tellin' ye this planet is fine. See?" He proceeded to jump up and down a few times and then edged closer to Zoe, huffing a couple of breaths in her face.
"Aaagh, stop that!" she cried, wrinkling her nose and swatting him away.
Jamie laughed good-naturedly and then patted her shoulder, his hand lingering there just for a moment. He watched her aggravated expression melt into a hint of an amused grin. "Come on, we've got this whole place tae explore. Let's see what we can see."
Looking around, he made a wide sweeping gesture with his hand. "So," he prompted, "pick a direction."
Zoe's eyes narrowed in thought as they scanned the horizon. Finally, she picked out a spot to the southwest where the dry, rocky landscape transitioned into an area covered by a bluish-green colored grass, almost resembling a meadow. Even from this distance it looked rather pretty. Jamie could not have made a better choice himself.
"Alreeght then! That way!" With a decisive nod Jamie began to walk in the chosen direction, but when he did not hear the familiar stride of small feet behind him he stopped and turned. Zoe had not moved but was standing still, as if frozen, her arms wrapped around her middle, looking smaller than usual.
Jamie walked back to her side and held out his hand to her.
"Come on lass, it'll be alright."
There was still a hint of apprehension in her eyes but then she seemed to rally. She took his hand and gave him a faint smile.
They were halfway to the meadow when Zoe suddenly stopped.
"Wait a moment. I'd like to have a look at one of these rocks." She bent, picking up a large, irregularly-shaped, reddish one. It looked nearly too big for her to even hold in her hand.
Jamie drew closer and sat on his haunches, wondering what was so compelling about a simple stone. To be honest, he'd given up wondering ages ago; like the wee scientist in front of him, he was sure it was something he could not even hope to understand.
Zoe was turning the stone over in her hands and running her fingers over it—even bringing it right up to her face. She was studying every square inch of that thing. A fond smile crossed Jamie's face as he watched her absorption.
"It seems very similar to sandstone," she murmured. "Or mudstone." She pulled it away and straightened up a bit, her brow creasing in frustration. "Oh, if only I had a microscope. Or at the very least, a hand lens …"
Zoe trailed off as she glanced up to see Jamie grinning at her.
"What?"
"Oh, naething. I'm jist glad to see you actin' more like yerself."
Zoe self-consciously tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. "When wasn't I?" She said archly.
'Ever since we left the Doctor,' Jamie thought sullenly, but he wouldn't dare say it. "Come on, let's go explore that bonny meadow ye pointed out," he told her instead, offering his hand again to her. Zoe regarded it tentatively for a moment before taking it and allowing Jamie to help her up. There was still a hint of apprehension in her eyes, but nothing like the panic from earlier.
Gallifrey: Time Control
Gazing at the screen before him, the Time Lord technician sighed in satisfaction. He turned and gestured to the President to join him. "My lord, we've located the SIDRAT stolen by the Doctor's friends. It's on its way back and should arrive presently."
The President nodded. "Excellent."
"I've also obtained the coordinates of the planet where it landed." He paused to read from the monitor. "SQ612-69 in the Aestra quadrant of the Lysistrata galaxy."
The Chancellor suddenly joined them. "So, this is where the Doctor's friends have landed. We must retrieve them."
The President turned to him with a frown. "Explain."
"Any knowledge of ours they may be privy to could be dangerous if it gets into the wrong hands. I don't expect the boy to be an issue; his mind is too primitive. The girl is another matter entirely; her intelligence nearly rivals ours. Alone, I very much doubt they could pose a threat, but if they were to align with others in the galaxy, they could become a considerable nuisance."
"Last we checked, this planet they have landed on is uninhabited," the technician cut in.
"You know that would not be enough to stop them, considering they are friends of the Doctor!" the Chancellor insisted.
"Enough! We've got bigger problems at the moment." The President gestured to another console's screen which depicted the Flamel supernova situation, a particularly dangerous one they hadn't even come close to resolving. "I firmly believe these two young humans will not pose a direct threat to us. For one thing, there is no chance they could reunite with the Doctor. He is now exiled to Earth with a non-functional TARDIS."
"But -"
"I have spoken!" the President interrupted hotly. "There will be no further discussion!"
The Chancellor glared at him. "Very well. But should you ever turn out to be wrong, let it be on your head." He turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.
The President sighed as he turned back to the technician. Meeting the young Time Lord's gaze, he nodded, prompting him to switch off the screen containing the stolen SIDRAT's information.
Zoe shivered as a cool breeze swept past, ruffling her hair. The twin suns had just set, darkening the sky to a rich indigo color as they reached a small clearing in the meadow. It really was a lovely sight. The bluish-green grass was quite soft, its texture comparable to cotton, and Jamie couldn't resist jumping into and lying back on it for a spell. Zoe was content to just observe it from where she stood, until some persistent goading from Jamie changed her mind. He kept saying it felt like lying on a soft cloud. His assessment was quite accurate.
They had also come across a meandering stream that culminated in a small waterfall as the land sloped downward. At one point Jamie had knelt down, intent on sampling some of the water. The fact Zoe didn't know how clean the water was or if it contained any harmful chemicals was enough to make her try and stop him, although truthfully she wouldn't have minded a drink herself. Jamie merely shrugged her off, dramatically insisting that he would die either way if he did not quench his thirst. Zoe stepped back, tensing as she waited to see whether he would suffer any ill effects. When nothing happened she breathed a sigh of relief and turned her attention to the peaceful sights and sounds of the water – that is, until Jamie began noisily splashing it against his face. "Och, tha's better."
Zoe was surprised they hadn't found much in the way of animal life. The relative quiet had been punctuated by what sounded like birdsong. Jamie likened it to some strange owl.
As they reached the clearing, it hit her how much her feet ached and how good it would feel to sit down. It seemed they'd been walking for miles and hadn't found any shelter, nothing to eat or drink save for the bit of stream water Jamie had filled up the tiny flask inside his sporran with.
Another chilly breeze tickled her neck and she shivered once more.
Jamie noticed. "It is gettin' a wee nippy, eh?" He pointed to a large, flat boulder on the ground. "Stay here. I'll see if I can find somethin' tae make a fire with."
Zoe heaved a sigh of relief as she sat heavily down onto the flat rock. It felt so good to be off her feet! She watched Jamie walk away and wrapped her arms around herself, not only feeling the chill of the nighttime air, but the uncertainty of this very alien world starting to creep up on her once again. She fought against the temptation to call him back.
Jamie returned sooner than she expected, a satisfied smile on his face and a pile of rotted wood in his arms. Sitting next to her, he put it on the ground before them and then picked up a handful of different colored stones. "I found these as well," he said, holding one of them up in front of her. "Should have a fire goin' in no time."
Zoe nodded. Jamie appeared to be fishing for her approval but she merely shut her eyes, gritting her teeth in frustration. If only they had a sonic screwdriver like the Doctor's; they could instantly produce a flame for a fire. Goodness, she was so used to technology taking care of everything.
Opening her eyes, she found Jamie with his eyes narrowed in concentration as he held up two identical stones that seemed to closely resemble flint. He struck them together but nothing happened. He repeated it, only to get the same result.
Zoe clucked her tongue. She probably shouldn't have, but it was too late. Jamie shot her a dark look.
"What?" he snapped.
"Striking two stones of the same composition together is not practical. You'll perhaps get a flash, but nothing hot enough to make a spark. But if you use a striking stone - "
"Here, ye do it, then." Jamie threw the pair of stones down and then picked up the others he'd found, practically shoving them in front of her.
Zoe gazed at him, taken aback. "I was only trying to help, Jamie," she said, unable to keep the note of irritation from her voice. "If you want to get a fire going, you have to—"
"Aye, well, I dinnae need yer help," he shot back. "It's ma job tae build the fire, so jist leave me be."
Zoe sighed, supporting her head in her hands. Jamie was going to keep at it, no matter what she said. She cast a sideways glance at him as he picked up the two flint-like stones, struggling once again to produce a spark as he struck them against each other.
Dropping them in front of himself, he offered them a scowl and huffed a breath that ruffled the fringe on his forehead. At last he turned back to Zoe, looking hopeless.
She allowed a hint of a smile to cross her face as she drew a bit closer, bringing the stones with her. "As I was saying, if you use a striking stone that's harder than the one in your hand, such as quartz, the percussion of the two stones impacting together will send a spark from the stones to the tinder. The makeup within the quartz has a characteristic that pulls everything together." A smile of accomplishment lit up her face. But Jamie's face was blank. Zoe could practically see her words making a graceful arc over his head.
"Uh-huh." Jamie gestured to the stones in front of her. "So ... can we make these work or not?"
"Let me see ..."
Jamie's brow knitted in curiosity as he watched her studying them closely. A smile soon inched across her face.
"What?"
Turning toward him, she held up one of two different colored stones in her hands. It was milky white in color. "This hard stone appears to have properties very similar to quartz, which works well as a strike stone. This one," she gestured to the yellowish bronze one in her left hand, "is quite similar to pentlandite, an iron nickel sulfide. It will be the hand stone. When you use the quartz stone and hit the hand stone, a spark will be produced since the quartz is harder than the pentlandite." She handed the two stones to Jamie before casually gazing around the immediate area. "We'll have to have it sheltered enough from the elements in order for the spark to survive. The tinder you gathered will do the rest."
Jamie nodded thoughtfully. "Aye, there's no' much of a breeze now, but if it starts up again -"
"Then we can dig a hole, place the fire in there," she finished.
"Well, here's hopin' we willnae have tae go that far," Jamie started as he sat cross-legged before the pile of wood, holding the stones over it. He quickly turned to Zoe, who was miming the proper form and technique he should use. Jamie's eyes narrowed as he focused his gaze on the stones and used the lighter-colored one in his right hand to strike the other, darker one in his left.
Nothing happened. He tried again, this time with more force but the result was no different. Jamie frowned. He'd made fires plenty of times before; of course, that was back on Earth. He cast a fleeting gaze at Zoe, who was nodding at him in encouragement with her fists balled up.
A distant memory poked at him and his gaze flew to the piled up wood. That was the one thing he was doing wrong! Putting the stones down, he grabbed the pieces of wood, placing them in a more upright position in a circle around the tinder. His brow furrowed in concentration as he took up the stones once again, striking one against the other with as much force as he could muster.
A flash suddenly ignited, which quickly grew into a spark and then into a tiny flame upon the tinderwood. Jamie's eyes widened and his mouth cracked open in a jubilant smile.
"You did it!" Zoe exclaimed.
Jamie watched in satisfaction as several more flames licked at the tinder and it grew into a full-fledged fire. "There, that should keep us warm." He stepped back and rejoined Zoe on the flat rock. He sat down right beside her, so close his thigh was touching hers. Zoe shivered despite the warmth of his body heat radiating through her clothes.
Jamie noticed her shiver and promptly removed his jacket, holding it up to her. Zoe shook her head. "That's alright, Jamie. I'm not cold."
He arched an eyebrow. "Oh, aye?"
"No, I'm not. I've got this." She gestured to the trench coat she still wore.
"Och, if ye're still shiverin' through that, it's no' doin' it's job." He draped the jacket over her.
"What about you?"
He shrugged. "I'm fine. I'm a hot-blooded Scot, remember? I dinnae get cold easily. Besides, men's blood runs hotter than women's."
Zoe sighed. That wasn't scientifically true, but she wasn't going to bother correcting him. And she really did appreciate his concern. "Well, thanks," she said with a smile. She then stared at the fire. "I wish we had something to eat."
Jamie's eyes narrowed in thought until he reached into his sporran and pulled out a small paper bag.
"What is that?" Zoe asked.
"The Doctor gave them to me." He dug into the bag, pulling out several small sweets of assorted colors. "I think he called 'em 'Jelly Babies.'"
Zoe accepted a few from him and snorted as she studied them. "Not exactly what I had in mind in terms of sustenance."
"Beggers cannae be choosers, lass."
"I wasn't begging. I was wishing."
"If wishes were horses—"
"Jamie!"
"What?"
"Just … nothing." She sighed. "I just can't believe what's happened. It seems like only a few days ago we were off with the Doctor in the TARDIS, wondering where we were going to land. Now we've been ripped away from him and we're in the middle of who-knows-where, no idea what's going to happen to us."
Jamie reached around and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey. We'll get through it. I'm sorry fer snappin' at ye earlier."
"I understand, Jamie," she replied softly. "And I'm sorry for my short temper as well."
The full impact of the day finally hit Zoe; she could feel the emotional and physical exhaustion taking its toll. Her whole body felt as heavy as lead, especially her head. Impulsively, she let it drop onto Jamie's shoulder.
Zoe felt his body stiffen and immediately lifted her head.
"Oh, I'm sorry! Do you mind? I'm just so tired …"
Jamie put a hand on her head and brought it back to his shoulder. "Nae, it's fine," he said hastily, feeling bad that she should interpret his surprise as displeasure.
Recovering, he then settled his arm more firmly around her, pulling Zoe closer.
As she settled back in, the lines around Zoe's eyes and mouth faded; her lips tugged into the faintest of smiles.
"Quite a place, isnae it?" Jamie suddenly asked, looking up at the stars.
"Mm," Zoe murmured, studying the sky. "The stars are so big and bright." She shifted her gaze to the east, her eyes lighting up as she pointed to the large, multi-banded planet. "And look at this. An oblate spheroid, just like Earth, but it must be nearly one order of magnitude larger. And it also appears to be a gas giant like Jupiter. It's even got similar atmospheric bands - cloud layers. Of course this is all just observational; I've no way to confirm whether any of it is correct."
"Oh, aye," Jamie replied after a beat. "Aye, that planet thingamabob is reeght bonny."
Zoe did not seem to hear him as she continued to stare up at the sky in wonder. It warmed Jamie's heart to see the familiar twinkle back in her eyes. As he gazed at her and then at the tableau before them, his mind started wandering. It almost felt as though the two of them were camping, as part of some little side trip where the Doctor had dropped them off on a random planet to give them some time to explore it together, perhaps as a diversion after some harrowing adventure with Cybermen or Daleks or Ice Warriors. They had a set amount of time here and then the Doctor would come back for them.
But, no. The Doctor was facing some punishment by his own people, whom he and Zoe had just escaped and were now trying to adapt to this new world. The Doctor would not be coming back.
All they had was each other.
As he gazed up at the sky, Jamie blinked away the tears that had pooled in his eyes. His ears picked up a faint sound of slow, steady breathing and he turned slightly to find Zoe had fallen asleep.
He smiled fondly down at her. She looked so peaceful. Jamie tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear and leaned into her, resting his head on hers. He struggled to stay awake, just in case there was any danger she needed protecting from. It was very quiet here, but they'd only begun exploring a wee portion of this planet. And there was no telling whether those Time Lords would decide to enact revenge on them after all.
Another glance at the peacefully dozing Zoe and he'd given up, finally succumbing to sleep.
Zoe woke with a start from what she finally deduced to be a quite disturbing dream. She and Jamie had been traversing the planet they were now on when the background slowly began to fade into a blank void, much like the one they encountered before their journey to the Land of Fiction. There were no formidable robots this time, just a whole area of … nothing. Neither of them had any idea where they were or what they should do, until they heard the sound of a familiar voice.
"Jamie! Zoe! I've been looking for you," it cried. It was faint and distant, but she'd recognize that voice anywhere. She shared a look of astonishment with Jamie.
"Doctor!" Jamie cried back.
"Is that you?!" Zoe added.
"Yes! Come towards me!" he called. As he spoke, he suddenly materialized about fifty feet or so away.
Not wasting any time - not even to wonder how he'd just appeared out of nowhere - she clutched Jamie's hand and they ran in his direction. The Doctor looked overjoyed to see them, his face cracked open in a huge smile and his arms outstretched, as if ready to pull them both against him in a fierce hug.
"Oh, Doctor, you've no idea how we've missed you!" Zoe exclaimed.
They were only ten feet away when his features began to fade. "Oh, no! What are you doing?! You can't!" he protested to some unseen force.
"Doctor, no!" she and Jamie cried in unison.
But he was gone, and there was nothing they could do.
"Doctor, no," Zoe whimpered, beating her fists against something soft. She blinked her eyes open to find she was lying on her left side, legs tucked up, almost in a fetal position. Her hands had been curled into fists and were slightly smudged with dirt. She still had her trench coat on and Jamie's black jacket was draped on top.
Her gaze settled on the campfire he had made and it finally dawned on her. They must have fallen asleep. She was unsure how long she'd been out until she saw the fire had dwindled to nothing. It must have been a while.
"Jamie?" she muttered, casting her gaze around the immediate area. He was nowhere to be seen. She began to feel panic rising up inside her and tried to banish it. It was possible he was looking for more firewood. Not that he really needed it …
She waited several more minutes, but Jamie still hadn't returned. A faint, high-pitched noise pierced the silence.
"Jamie?!" Zoe called. Picking herself up off the ground, she did a quick reconnaissance of the area around their campsite to no avail. Jamie was gone.
The high-pitched noise grew closer, in the form of a loud screech. It was the most dreadful thing Zoe could ever remember hearing.
"Jamie, this isn't funny!" she cried, embarrassed at how shaky her voice sounded. She took a few more steps away and bent slightly as she scoured the horizon for any sign of her friend. She thought she caught a faint figure about thirty yards away. A kilted figure with tell-tale pleats and glints of red.
She heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh, Jamie! I didn't know where you -"
She had no time to react to the deafening scream behind her, nor the sudden, heavy impact to her backside which knocked her clean off her feet.
Zoe yelped as she hit the ground, stunned as she tried to stop her fall with her elbows. Her eyes widened in terror as she got a good look at her assailant.
The creature was at least ten feet tall and appeared to be some cross between a lizard and a bird. It was covered in feathers but its head featured a large, wedge-shaped beak with sharp, powerful teeth. It seemed eerily reminiscent of photos she'd once seen of prehistoric birds on Earth.
The thing didn't seem intent on ceasing its attack. It lunged for her and she backed up, desperately trying to avoid it.
"Zoe?"
Amid her panic, she could hear Jamie's voice calling her.
"Jamie, come quickly!" she cried.
She backed away from it again but it reached out with one of its talons, attempting to strike her. Managing to get to her feet, she quickly dodged it but it was fast, and, as it turned, swatted her with such force she smacked her head up against a boulder.
Her vision was blurry but she thought she saw Jamie nearing, his knife drawn.
"Craig an Tuire!"
There was a faint sound reminiscent of a gunshot before her senses dulled and everything went black.