Chapter 2: One of those surprises
"Would you sit down?" he asked pointedly. He ignored the strong temptation to roll his eyes. The Doctor, this version at least, reminded him of a young puppy sometimes. Despite his age, despite his experience, he still managed to get himself into trouble at the drop of a hat.
This was no different.
The Doctor had ran off shortly after Rose had wandered toward the pyramid, babbling about some stelae that he had not noticed before or some such. After making certain that Rose was still in sight, he had followed. He remembered the Doctor's warnings about hidden cenotes.
It seemed the Time Lord had not, proving what sort of 'surprise' this was destined to be. The ground had given away underneath the Doctor, who had with a short 'oh!' of surprise started to fall. It was only his quick action that had prevented his lover from falling into the sinkhole.
He had not, however, prevented the Doctor from injuring himself.
"Jack, I'm fine."
"Yeah, right." He sighed. "Sit down! I want to take a look at that ankle."
The Doctor shot him a wounded look. "It's fine. Just a little twist, but nothing I can't handle. Besides, we need to get back to Rose. You know how jeopardy-friendly she is."
"She's not the one limping." Of course he would use the Rose-card. But he would not be swayed. The ankle needed attention, even if it was only twisted.
"How d'you know? She could be now. I just want to make sure she's all right." The worried look in his lover's eyes sent a pang through him.
"She'll be fine. I'll be quick." He dropped all innuendoes and urged him to sit down. "Just let me look."
With a much-put-upon look, the Doctor sank to the ground, rolling up the leg of his trousers to reveal the slightly-swollen limb. It did not look bad, he admitted. Might not even bruise, but it should be bandaged. He dug in his carryall for the roll of bandages and tore off a length. He worked in silence, deftly wrapping the ankle.
"There, done. Wasn't too hard, was it?"
"Doctor! Jack!" Rose's voice reached them and he turned in the direction of her voice.
"Over here!" He shouted, waving the hand that wasn't pressing the auto-sealers on the bandage to catch her attention.
Rose hurried toward them, skidding to a halt next to the Doctor. Her eyes took in their position on the ground.
Before she could ask any questions, the Time Lord spoke as he lifted his hand toward her. "You all right?"
She immediately grasped the offered hand and smiled. "Yeah. I turned around and you weren't there. Neither of you." Rose levelled him with an accusing look and he shrugged. She turned her attention back to the Doctor. "But shouldn't I be askin' you that?"
"Just had a bit of a run-in with a cenote. It forgot to leave out a closed for the holidays sign."
Rose sighed. "Right. An' what were you doin' while he was havin' an argument with a cenote, Jack?"
"Mediating."
She shot him a look. "So what really did happen? An' are you okay, Doctor?"
"Sure, I'm great. Like I said, had a run in with a cenote. It's all better now, though. Jack fixed me up."
He could see faint lines of pain around the other man's eyes despite his attempts to hide it. Sadly, he had nothing in his medkit that he could use to ease the pain. After all, the Doctor was apparently allergic to certain human medications – including aspirin. "Do you want to go back to the TARDIS?"
The Doctor shook his head. "No need to fuss! I'm fine! Spectacular! There's more to see than just the hidden cenote, after all."
Before he could reply, Rose spoke. "Speaking of more to see, I found something interesting. There's a…steli? Stela? Stelae, that's it. A stelae that's got a symbol on it that looks like a dinosaur."
That apparently caught the Doctor's attention. "A dinosaur?" The Time Lord pushed himself to his feet, balancing precariously for a moment though he waved off his unspoken offer of help. "Show me."
Something in the Time Lord's expression must have communicated urgency, for Rose nodded and led the way. He kept half an eye on his footing, and the other on the Doctor. He was hurting – it was obvious in the way he limped, though he tried to hide it, and in the set of his shoulders. However, he said nothing.
He was not certain just what it was about dinosaurs that had caught the Doctor's attention, but he knew this. Just as the cenote encounter indicated just what sort of surprise this trip was destined to be, the stelae confirmed it.
Almost subconsciously, his hand settled on the handle of his sonic blaster.
Was it too much to ask for one trip, just one, where no one got injured, there were no mysteries to catch his attention, and they could just enjoy being together as a family without worrying about life or death situations? He rather believed it was. Rose's words haunted him as he walked beside her, hand-in-hand.
Dinosaur.
This 'surprise' was gaining shades of a past adventure, oh so long ago. Another mystery. Another country. Same planet. Not again. Please, not again.
Rose led him to the eroded stelae, releasing his hand to point at the hieroglyphs that caught her interest. "See? It looks like a dinosaur, an' that lizard-man is somehow linked to it. I counted six of 'em like it. Is the lizard-man some sort of god or something?"
He stared at the carvings. It could not be possible. Should not be possible. He knew just who the images depicted. Knew what species, what they wanted, and why they would be here. A tropical rainforest would be the perfect place to remain until the present day. There was hope, however. He could be wrong.
Without responding to Rose, he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and turned it on. The faint hum of the device was drowned out by the sounds of the jungle, but he heard enough of its output for confirmation. The pyramid, just in front of them, was emitting energy signatures that had no place in a Mayan ruin.
"Stay here," he told his companions.
A hand stopped his forward movement and he looked at it pointedly. "Oh, no, you don't, Doctor," Jack said, his grip firm. "What is it?"
"What's wrong?" Rose added.
He knew them. They would not let him leave unless he gave them some sort of explanation. "The pyramid. There's an energy signature that shouldn't be here. I can sneak in and sneak out without any the wiser. I want you two to either stay here or go back to the TARDIS."
"Like hell we will," Jack snapped.
Rose reached out to touch his shoulder. "You need us."
Always. But not now. "Yes, I do. First, I need you two to go to the TARDIS. You can come with me, but there's a chronon detector in the lab. I need it. Down the hall, up the stairs, past the Cleopatra bust, and second door on the left. Jack, I know I wouldn't normally say this but, believe it or not, I think we need more weapons. Can you do that?"
His companions shared a look before Rose spoke for them both. "You'll still be here when we get back, yeah?"
"Of course." He feigned hurt. "You doubt me?"
"Yes," Jack said. "It's you. How do we know this isn't some attempt to get rid of us so you can go off and get into trouble without us?"
He grinned. "Simple. My ankle's hurt, yeah? I certainly don't fancy climbing that pyramid or walking back to the TARDIS on it just yet. 'Sides, you can stop at the medical bay and get that sonic healing device from the cabinet. It'll fix me up good as new. This'll also give me a chance to look at this stelae a bit closer. There might be something else on here that can give us an idea of what we might be up against."
His companions looked sceptical. "All right," Rose said, somewhat reluctantly. "But you'd better be here when we get back!"
He nodded. If everything went as he intended, he should be back well before they returned.
With yet another unhappy look, the two headed for the TARDIS. Each time one of them turned – just to make certain he had not disappeared, he was certain – he grinned and waved cheerily at them. He had no intention of moving a muscle.
Not until they were out of sight, of course.
He was certain that they were deliberately lagging. They could move faster. Quicker they went, quicker he could do the same. When they finally disappeared into the foliage, he grinned. Fantastic.
According to the sonic, the signal was near the top of the pyramid. Sparing a brief thought for his injured ankle, he shrugged. Nothing to it. Just get up and get down again with none the wiser.
Easy.
The overgrown steps proved precarious as he climbed the pyramid. The size of it was deceptive from the ground. Clinging to its side, nothing was more obvious. At the height of Naachtun's power, the pyramid must have been magnificent. Someday, he promised himself, he'd go back to see it. Do a comparison. See the sights, meet the people, and avoid falling into cenotes. It was a plan.
His ankle protested each movement of his body, but he firmly ignored the pain. Had to be done. No choice. If what he suspected was true, his injury would be the least of his worries.
He rested briefly at the top to allow the throb of his ankle to subside. The air within the temple reeked of moss and mildew, which caused his nose to twitch in reaction. The signal was definitely stronger here, but it was apparently beneath him. Frowning in thought, he tucked his sonic screwdriver back into his pocket and pulled out a torch.
The powerful beam cut away at the dusty twilight of the covered temple. He cast the light over the walls and floor, skirting over the relics and cracked and faded paintwork. Ah. There. In the corner, on the wall.
An entrance.
He double-checked the readouts on his sonic screwdriver and spared a thought for Rose and Jack. If he wanted to let it seem that he had never left, he should return to the stelae. However, curiosity was a strong motivator. There was a saying that said it was better to ask for forgiveness than for permission, or something of that nature. That should work.
It took far longer than he liked to prise open the entrance and longer still to manoeuvre himself inside. He had to leave his trench-coat behind, but not before he had filled his pockets with the useful items he normally kept in his outer layer. This was probably a bad idea, but he had to know. He had to find out. If what he suspected was true, he would need to get hold of UNIT at the very least. The Brigadier, for certain.
If it was true, the human race was in danger.
Again.
As ever.
He shook his head ruefully at the thought as he shimmied down the narrow tunnel, deeper into the pyramid. His clothes caught against the cracked and worried stone as he travelled on. The beam of the torch showed no indication of an end to the passage – in his imagination, he could well believe it to reach the Earth's core. The humidity and general dampness of the rainforest seemed to, if anything, increase as he descended. Nothing that he had seen or felt seemed to negate his conclusions. If anything, they supported them.
Squeak.
Scratch-scratch-scratch-scratchety-scratch.
He stopped and braced himself against the sides of the tunnel. The sounds came from below, further down the tunnel. That confirmed it.
He knew exactly what was happening, and it was not good.
He had to get out.
Now.
Scratch.
A sound. Behind him. His hearts thudded dully in his chest as he realised he was surrounded.
Scratch, scratch.
Closer.
He turned off the torch, though he knew it would do little good.
Scratch, scratch.
Squeak.
He could try to move. Just a little, just a bit. Shift his aching limbs as he listened as the rush of blood filled his ears. There had to be a way. Something he could do. He had to get out.
Scratch.
It was almost upon him. Almost here. He knew what they were, knew what they were capable of. He had to get out. Had to. There must be something. His hand tightened around the torch. It might work as a club. Might, even though they had hard skulls.
Scratch.
Right behind him. His ankle twitched involuntarily, hitting the wall with a low thud. A moment later, he felt the floor disappear beneath him.
He fell...
...and landed.
With a crunch.
To be continued...