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And thanks to Amy for being my beta:-)
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Despairs Darkest Destiny
Chapter Seven
The Doctor had one arm wrapped around Rose's waist pulling her tightly against him, her legs and arms hung uselessly into the water and her head lolled from side to side. Her hair floated in the water and her face sunk into the blackness of the water which lapped hungrily at her face. The Doctor clung to a pole with his hand – his knuckles were whitening from the force, he hoisted Rose up each time her mouth came dangerously close to the taunting water. He ignored the burning pain in his muscles as he clung onto safety – safety for both of them, he could see what he needed to do – what he needed to reach, but he couldn't. On one hand he could release the pole so he and Rose could float away, or he could let go of Rose and let her slowly yet surely meet an inevitable fate, or he could cling on and wait for the water to raise them to the ceiling so they could choke to death together.
The Doctor looked at the pole and then at Rose – she looked so small and innocent – the Doctor held her tighter knowing he could never let her go. He frantically kicked his legs out fighting the current – the water slipped through his toes curling around each one and snaking through them. He needed to fight the current – he needed to reach the lever
'Almost' he called out through his clenched teeth, his legs were battling the under current as his toes bravely stuck out. His legs kicked desperately out through the waves – his feet reached the pole. He felt Rose slip and held her tighter – his feet fell off the lever. The Doctors' entire body was shaking with the force of his determination his fingers dug into Roses' soft skin – he knew he was adding to her bruises but if he didn't then he would definitely drop her. He reached his legs out again knowing if he failed this time he wouldn't have the energy to attempt it again.
The Doctor kicked his legs out frustrated, each time his toes would brush against the pole they would be torn away by the current. The Doctor let himself slide down the pole a bit more, lengthening his body but weakening his hold on Rose. His toes wrapped around the pole and he managed to move the soles of his feet onto the pole, he tried to push down. The lever was almost down but he heard a spluttering sound – he looked down to see water pouring into Roses' mouth. He moved his arms from her waist and moved it so her neck rested in the crook of his arm. Her body lifelessly hung below the water, her pale skin disappearing into the water – her head was the only thing above the water now and it hungrily lapped at her face. The Doctor knew he had to be fast as his grip would slip, he gathered the last bit of strength from every cell of his being. He swung his legs up as he released a shout of raw masculine energy – his feet swung round the pole, his ankles locking preventing slippage. He lay flat out on top of the water, one hand barely holding onto the pole, Roses head rested on his shoulder and his feet moved downwards. The lever groaned in protest but was slowly moving down, he kicked more violently as the level heaved, it screeched viciously before locking into place. Vents at the bottom of the room opened, a suckling sound filled the room and tiny air bubbles danced up through the water into the air. The Doctor released the pole as the water slowly began to drain out of the Tardis, he lay on his back floating on the water, Rose was pulled across his chest, her legs sinking into the water. The Doctor heaved for breath as he laid there thinking of how close they had come to death – Rose's face was a deathly white except for the deep purple bruises that marked her skin.
Rose ran screaming into the lake, Beau was beside her and they danced in the crystal clear water that sparkled around their feet like a million diamonds. Rose waded into the water so that her skirt billowed around her, the current tugging at it, pulling it in swirling circles of white cotton that danced around her legs. She giggled gleefully as rainbow scaled fish darted between her legs, weaving in and out around her. Beau tried to follow her but his podgy legs stumbled as he fell into the sand. Rose glanced at the beach, the white sandy shores fading into the distance as she followed the fish further and further into the water towards their freedom – towards her freedom.
On the beach Isabella stood, her summer dress blowing around her in the gentle breeze, her blonde curls were bursting with life and danced around her head, her grey eyes sparkled as she waved at Beau. Rose continued to dance in the water, spoiling her dress but relishing in her freedom, loving the happiness that soared through her soul – she was no longer scared when she escaped into the water. Rose lost herself in her own little world as she danced in the tiny waves of warm water that lapped at her arms and her waist. She moved her face down so tiny sparkles of water sprinkled over her face and into her hair – the water cool against her burning skin. Rose watched the fish darting through the water, their tails making smooth streamline moments through the water. Rose was so captivated she didn't hear Beau's laughter stop, nor did she see Isabella rushing to the waters edge and sweeping her son up into her arms clutching him to her chest and holding him close. Rose barely heard the splashing of water as someone forged a path through the simple serenity, staining it with their darkness. Rose watched the fish then her heart froze as everything around her went dark, she cautiously turned around looking up at the man – silently pleading with him. He grabbed fistfuls of her cotton dress, hoisting it above her thigh
'Brand new' he muttered 'I told her you didn't deserve it'
Rose stared at him in silence, her eyes wide and her legs trembling – all the fish had darted away. The man – who Rose recognised as Lewis, pulled at the hem of her mud stained dress
'Please don't' she whispered. He looked at her outraged.
'I'm sorry, what did you say?' he murmured, his eyes a blazing. Rose trembled
'I said, please don't' she barely whispered – her voice shaking. Lewis tugged at her dress, it ripped around her thighs, the fabric loosely flapping in the breeze and his clenched fist
'Filth' he spat 'a filth dress for a filthy girl' he spat in her face. Rose shuddered and looked down at her bare legs – they were sprinkled with goosebumps. He ran a sweaty finger down her cheek and watched her flinch in reaction
'Filth' he growled in her ear 'Do you know where filth belongs?' he asked her tauntingly. She looked at him, shivering under the heat of his glare
'We leave the filth in the lake' he told her with a cold smile. Roses eyes darted to the beach, Isabella and Beau were barely visible on the horizon of the beach. Rose shivered as she felt the sea life moving around her ankles – what had once been simple and innocent was now dark and deadly. Rose shuddered as his hands pushed down onto her shoulders she screamed as he kicked the back of her knees. Lewis stood over her and pushed her head down into the water, she tried to fight back but her fingers and toes sunk into the mud which gripped at her like steel clamps, her legs tried to move in protest but they just slipped against the seaweed. Rose opened her eyes and stared down at the seabed, fish swam by, their black beady eyes watching her teasing her as they swam through her hair. She could feel their wet scales pressing against her skin in a silence promise, each of them waiting for a bite of her tender flesh. Air bubbles slowly escaped towards the surface bursting into the air and their freedom. Rose breathed in water, her lungs burning as she tried to fight the brute force that was pushing down on her. Her eyes burned red with blood, black specs dotted her vision as the water clawed through her hair, up her nose and into her ears. It burned the back of her throat and tore at her skin. Rose gave one last violent kick upwards before giving into the darkness as she slowly sunk into the mud that clawed at her.
The water was at standing level now, it had taken hours for the water to slowly drain through and escape through the tiny vents. The Doctor gently floated with Rose until they met the floor in a soggy heap. The Doctor lay back against the floor, tired and exhausted. Rose lay slumped on top of him still unmoving. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close as they gathered their strength.
Several moments later Rose began to stir, she felt tight unyielding arms wrapped around her body and the surface beneath her gently moved up and down. Her eyelids fluttered open and she saw the Doctor lying beneath her, his face was pale with tiredness and his brown hair was plastered to his forehead. His hair dripped as did all the walls around them, a million droplets of water slowly sliding down, each drop slithering by and marking the walls. Rose breathed deeply and tried not to move as her bruised body throbbed, she could feel her cast turning into a soggy mess around her leg – She dropped her head to his chest and rested her hands on his arms, she slowly breathed as she tried to ignore the pain of her wounds and the burning sensation in her lungs from where she nearly drowned. She closed her eyes and let silent tears slip down her face joining the wetness that already marked the ship. The Doctor felt a dead weight on top of him and slowly stirred, his arms and legs were anchored down so he couldn't move – he could just feel the wetness of his clothes pressed against his skin and another wet mound on top of him. He slowly opened his eyes to see Rose lying slumped across him, her hands dug into his upper arms leaving rings behind. Her wet blonde hair splayed across his shoulder and onto his face he felt clumps of it sticking to his cheek as did his own hair. His hands moved to her waist and he heard her softly moan and try to move away from his hand.
He felt her swollen tender skin under his finger tips, tiny hairs stood on end as the cold air sucked at them, her underwear was soaked through and shivers wrecked her body. Her hands flexed against his arms as she wrapped her fingers around his biceps digging into the muscle, her eyes flew open and she instantly looked up to see the Doctor. He smiled at her – not knowing what else he could do, Rose winced as she changed positions so that her head rested effortlessly on his shoulder, the Doctor ran his fingers through her hair separating golden curls that had knotted together. Rose glanced around.
'What happened?' she finally mustered
'Ah – did I not tell you about the torrential flash floods in 2020?' he asked innocently
'No, you didn't' she replied giving him a look. He smiled softly at her, almost apologetically
'The aspects of your dreams are becoming a reality' he said quietly. Rose's eyes widened
'So this is all my fault?' she asked weakly
'No' he said strongly as he stroked a curl off her hair
'It just means we need to sort this out soon or…' he trailed off
'Or what?' Rose asked her eyes wide and desperate.
'Or who knows what could happen next time' he said quietly. Rose gulped and looked around the room not knowing what she would do if the things that haunted her in her sleep also haunted her in real life. She shook her head and tried to change the subject wanting to remove the awful thoughts from her head.
'So where did it all go?' Rose asked curiously as she gazed at the floor remembering the hungry waves testing her skin.
'Tardis emergency drainage system' the Doctor said proudly 'just turned it on and…' he exclaimed gesturing around him choosing not to tell her of the struggle of how he barely clung onto her and the pole. He wiped rain drops off her face as he thought of the moment she nearly slipped
'That's handy then' Rose murmured. The Doctor smiled to himself before standing up as he lifted Rose with him. She cried out – her hands moving to her ribs and her leg crumbling beneath her. The Doctor caught her and lifted her up, she looked at him seriously
'I had another one' she whispered. His eyes hardened as he held her closer
'We're gunna sort this Rose – I promise' he vowed. Rose nodded hoping and praying that he was right, because if he wasn't then she would most certainly crack – once and for all.