The heat was still unrelenting; it was the first odd thing that Rose noticed. As the sun faded from the sky and the bright lights began to shine from the stage, the heat was as intense and suffocating as it had been when she and the Doctor had first stepped out of the TARDIS.
And that was the second odd thing that she noticed. It had been over two hours, and Rose hadn't seen the Doctor since he'd wandered off in search of water. She hadn't been aware of it to begin with, as she'd sat talking to Alex, happy just to soak up the sun and the lively surroundings. At first she'd tried to ignore it, reasoning that he'd probably found someone to chat to or argue with, or had even gone back to the TARDIS, and was tinkering away as usual. But, for some reason, she couldn't let it go and, now that she'd noticed it, she felt his absence keenly. The atmosphere that had settled over the festival with the darkness was unlike anything she'd experienced before. She'd experienced great things, it was true, but nothing like this feeling in the air, this buzz. But in her worried state it only served to tighten the knot in her stomach and she decided to leave Alex, albeit reluctantly, and look for the Doctor.
She couldn't find him anywhere. She looked in various tents where smaller stages were set up; she wandered around the area that was dominated by food stalls, desperately wishing she had some money on her; she went back to where she'd last seen him and looked around there, but he was nowhere to be seen. There was a meeting point, near the entrance, and she stood there for a while, feeling stupid, wishing that he'd worn his leather jacket after all, so that at least he'd have stood out a little from the all the other men she saw, all wearing jeans and t-shirts. Unsurprisingly, he didn't turn up here either. She went back to the TARDIS, and found it empty.
Feeling hot tears prick her eyes, she kicked at the wall in frustration. She wasn't genuinely upset – not yet, at least – but it was just a bit much. She couldn't think where he could possibly be, and the prospect of searching through the extensive campsites was not really one she wanted to consider. And she could just picture the Doctor's exasperated and teasing expression at that, so, grudgingly, she set off.
It was darker outside but the heat seemed, if anything, even worse. Looking up, Rose couldn't see the stars that she was expecting to see and she shivered in spite of the temperature. It looked as if they were cut off from the outside world, hidden under a blanket of this thick, humid, oppressive heat. Her head and her vision began to swim; she stumbled back against the wall of the TARDIS and closed her eyes, wondering why she'd been feeling like this all day, and exasperated at the thought of fainting again. Resting her cheek against the familiar blue wall, she felt comforted; it was cool and it calmed her down. She stayed there for a few minutes, waiting for the dizziness to pass. If only she knew how to drive the TARDIS, she thought; she may have been able to get the sentimental old spaceship to materialize just next to the Doctor, wherever he was.
"Alright," she murmured, "find the Doctor, kill him, get him to give me a driving lesson."
Or find Alex again and –"Stop it."
It's only you who's thinking it.
"And then go somewhere cold. Ice planet or something."
She ran a hand through her hair and pushed away from the TARDIS wall, walking slowly until she was sure she was steady on her feet again.
Right, what would the Doctor do now? She had to be alert, she thought. She might be able to… sense him somehow. Instinctively. She closed her eyes again and listened. Nothing happened.
Stupid. You don't actually know that he has any remotely psychic abilities, you just assume.
Rose scowled. "But the TARDIS – "
You have no idea how much she can do either.
"Bollocks."
She picked a direction at random and started to walk, wondering how she was going to explain herself to the occupants of the campsite that she was heading into. What did people normally do when they got lost at these things? Probably just made new friends and stayed with them instead, she supposed, as a small group of teenagers staggered past her, covered in what looked suspiciously like ketchup and… noodles?
As the laughter of the group faded into the distance, a cold silence settled around Rose. She felt… alone; the campsite where she found herself seemed eerily desolate. She listened. Nothing. And then the air was full of whispers, as if a strong breeze was blowing through the nearby trees, corrupting the leaves into hissing at her where she stood. Which was odd, because there was not the slightest hint of a breeze in the night air.
She looked into the few tents that were nearest her, and they were empty. She looked into the next few, and they were empty. There were no campfires, no voices… they couldn't all be out watching the bands, could they? It was a horrible image; a dark field full of dark shapes that should have been full of lively people. Empty.
Tears began to sting her eyes again and she sat down on a deserted deck chair, completely at a loss. She felt claustrophobic in the heat, her clothes sticking to her, making her skin crawl. A wave of panic washed over her, and she squeezed her eyes tight shut, trying to push the feelings away.
Really not the time for this, Rose. Get a grip!
She dropped her head into her hands firmly, attempting to force some sort of order into her thoughts. Was it the heat? She giggled wildly.
Maybe my brain is melting.
The giggles descended into full-scale laughter and the tears began to roll down her face as she buried her face in her knees. She knew something was very wrong, but even as the panic rose up in her again she found she could do nothing but sit where she was. Her senses seemed to be far away from her body; she heard an animal move softly and quietly through the grass several feet away.
But she didn't hear the quiet footsteps of the man who approached, didn't notice his presence until she felt a hand clasp her upper arm roughly.