WARNINGS: VIOLENCE, GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS. DEATH. LANGUAGE
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Chapter Twelve: The Pirate Queen
Part One
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We ran through the thick jungle. Vines and thorns tore at my face and clothes. I was sweating from the heat of the sun even though it was so dark I could just barely see the backs of the people running in front of me.
My mom made it into the house first. It looked like it always had, in the middle of a lawn that was equal parts grass and gravel, small and brown with a wide front porch.
My brothers were in the house next, followed by my dad. Then me. Just before the maggot faced people. I slammed the door in their faces and turned back around, not at all concerned now that I was home. Home was safe.
The inside was different, though. It was an empty wooden room. I mean, it could've been a house. Just a big empty one that was definitely not mine. The most noteworthy details were the big windows lining the wall in front of me, the one opposite the door I had just come through. Two half triangle windows above three rectangle ones. Beyond them was only jungle, dark and impenetrable.
I turned to ask my mom about what happened to our house. Had we remodeled or moved? Or did someone else live here? But she and the rest of my family were nowhere to be seen.
The Doctor was there through, weirdly close and looming. His blue eyes glittered, every bit as dark and foreboding as the forest outside.
Wordlessly, he started shoving me towards the door. Not the plain one I'd come in, but another one that I hadn't noticed before, just off to the side of the windows. They were white like the doors on the inside of the TARDIS.
I tried to fight him. Tried to explain that there were monsters outside that would kill us both if we opened the doors. Told him that I could see their maggot-dripping faces snapping at the window, ready to slice me up and eat me. But my words were jumbled up beyond any form of coherence. And even if they did make sense, I didn't think he was listening anyway.
All I could do was stare in horror as I was pushed past the TARDIS doors and into the darkness of an empty street.
I stumbled onto the asphalt, skinning my hands even though I couldn't feel it.
A splash of pink breezed past me and I turned to see Rose bounding into the TARDIS with a huge grin on her sinisterly beautiful face. The Doctor greeted her like an old friend.
I tried to protest from my place on the ground, but they couldn't hear me. After a few moments, they turned to give me similarly annoyed looks. Fear gripped my heart as their unnaturally flawless faces melted away like wax, revealing the rotten gore and maggots that festered beneath.
Despite my own terror and revulsion, I pleaded with them to stay. Begged them not to go or to at least bring me with them.
They left anyway.
Loneliness and grief ached in my chest as the TARDIS wheezed its way out of existence. I looked about the foggy street, blinded by the harsh orange street lights and deafened by the pattering of far-away raindrops.
Maybe if I made my face decay like them, they'd come back for me.
Before I could ponder this notion further, a roar shattered the deafening quiet. The same sound of animalistic fury that I'd heard coming from the crack on the Otherside…
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I woke with a start and instantly regretted it as a wave of seasickness washed over me. A barely audible groan squeezed out from my lungs and I managed to sit up despite the fact that my head felt like it weighed eighty pounds.
I had been on a boat plenty of times, but I'd never gotten seasick before. Sure, I'd gotten carsick. That happened all the time, especially when I had to ride in the back. But seasick? Never.
Though, to be fair, I'd never been on a boat this long either. Not to mention that I was not on a boat. I was on a ship. A big one with rigging and sails and whatever. A proper ship.
Maybe the reason I'd never gotten seasick before was because on all the boats I'd been on before, I had always been on the deck. Open air. Healthy ocean breeze to wash away all the sickness and nausea and dizziness and other people's waste and vomit.
Yeah. Open air made a difference.
There was no open air where I was, in the belly of a large full on pirate ship. Locked in a cell, no less. With ten other people. God, the smell.
I finished wriggling my way upright, bracing my back against the splintering wood. The place was dark and damp. Basically what you'd expect in a pirate ship brig. The only source of light was what leaked in from the hatch, which naturally was the only way in or out of the wretched place. Via a ladder.
There were three cells in the brig. As far as I could tell, the thirtyish of us were separated into groups; the men, the ones that could be ransomed or sold, and those that would be released at an opportune moment. The Captain of the ship thought I was from a wealthy Portuguese or English family due to my complexion and strange clothing. I wasn't about to argue. At least then I'd be kept alive until the Doctor could find me. Until then, I was condemned to sit and rot in the cell closest to the hatch.
There were worse fates, I supposed.
Everything was quiet. Unnaturally quiet, now that I thought about it. Nighttime was usually subdued, but not like this. Normally you'd have your healthy combination of snoring, sniffling, crying, begging, and maybe even the occasional laugh. But not tonight. Tonight everyone seemed to be collectively holding their breaths. Except me, left out of the loop, as per usual.
Not wanting to be left out, I quieted my breathing and strained my ears, trying to figure out what everyone was NOT talking about.
For a moment, all I could hear was the creaking of the ship, the steady lapping of the waves at the hull, and the distant flap of sails, but then, a low growl.
My blood froze.
When I was coming back from the Otherside, I'd heard a growling noise coming from somewhere behind me, but I had convinced myself that it was just my imagination. But then the same sound kept recurring in frequent nightmares I'd had since.
It was a very distinct sound. Sort of a mix between dog and something you'd hear in Jurassic Park; from one of the raptors or the T-Rex. Unearthly and unfamiliar, rumbling from a cavernous chest.
Apparently it had crawled out of my nightmares to haunt me in the other nightmare — real life.
It was here.
One of the people cowering in the shadows to my left let out a frightened whimper as the growling grew in volume.
Then, footsteps. Not human footsteps. Definitely not human footsteps. It was too big… had too many legs to be human.
Thump scratch thumpthumpthump swishscratch.
I clamped my hand over my mouth to muffle my breathing.
Something was in the shadows. Just on the other side of the cell bars. Near the far wall, on the opposite side of the slice of moonlight streaming in from the open hatch.
It moved.
A flash of a leathery flank. Rolling, wiry muscles. A leg that bent at an unnatural angle, tipped with curved claws longer than my hand.
I widened my eyes, begging them to adjust to the darkness. I could just barely make it out, a shape slinking against the far wall. It was bear sized and hunched over, walking on at least four legs, if not more.
Then it had moved around to the other side of the room, too far to the left for me to see from my place in the cell. The Doctor or one of his companions might have moved to the front of the cell and try to keep it in sight.
Not me though. I just pressed myself against the ship's wall and tried to make myself as small as possible. I wasn't going any closer or doing anything to make myself noticed. Hell no. Not at night. Not in the dark. And definitely not when I was the one being caged. No sir. Nuh-uh.
So I just sat there like the rest of the prisoners. Quiet, barely daring to draw breath. Waiting for daylight.
Minutes felt like hours, years or even centuries, but the suffocating silence remained, only broken by the occasional muffled sob or the scratching of the creature moving around.
Screams shattered the atmosphere, frantic cries of pain, terror, and confusion drowned out the creature's roars.
Then it was silent again.
Dead silent. The creature slowly made its way back in front of the bars, close enough for me to see the six legs, leather skin, and long, dripping teeth.
It brushed by my cell on its way out, sending waves of dizziness and a sense of wrongness crashing into me.
Maybe it wasn't seasickness after all.
The creature vanished in a flash of light, like it had simply walked out through an invisible door.
And it was gone. Was that what it looked like when I went to the Otherside?
Wait.
Crap.
It was FROM the Otherside. So every time I went there, I would be in its territory.
I choked back a sob and listened as the people around me did the same. Whimpers of fear filled the room as we all waited for sunrise.
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The Doctor glowered at the man holding him captive impassively. It didn't matter that he was tied to a chair, he was always the most commanding presence in the room, and the young Imperial Officer was starting to understand that.
The guard shuffled his feet, feeling more and more uncomfortable with the man he was guarding by the moment. It wasn't that guarding prisoners made him anxious, or even that this particular man he was guarding now was being particularly threatening. Despite the fact that the prisoner, who called himself 'the Doctor', was a rather large and imposing man, he wasn't making threats, just sat there looking bored and impatient.
Honestly it would probably be easier if he WAS shouting threats… or begging to be released… or… something. He'd been unconscious when he was first brought in, and since then he had only asked where he was and why he was tied up.
Since then, he'd been quiet and staring, and that had been hours ago.
It was his eyes that unsettled him, the guard decided. Large, calm, and unnaturally blue. The Doctor gave off some kind of aura as well. Whether it was the air of a superior officer or mass murderer, the guard really wasn't sure.
"How much longer?" The Doctor asked suddenly, startling his guard. "I have a friend I need to get back to."
"The Captain will be here shortly," was all the guard said, straightening his back to cover up for his skittishness.
"Yeah, you've said that," the Doctor complained. "You've been saying that for the last four hours. Where is this Captain of yours, then? Off walking the plank? This isn't a big ship and we're at sail, so what's so important that a man can't take the time to 'ave an innocent man released?"
"Matters of government, I'm afraid," a new voice cut in.
The Doctor glanced up to see a tall man of impressive stature with glittering eyes stride into the small room.
"The Captain, I presume," the Doctor addressed him, squaring his shoulders to match the newcomer.
"Yes," the newcomer said flatly. He opened his mouth to continue but the Doctor cut him off.
"Yes, fascinating, I'm sure," the Doctor growled. "But if it's all the same to you, I'd really like to get going. I have this friend, you see. She's not from around here and now she's on her own."
The Captain bristled at being interrupted. "You are suspected of conspiring with pirates! If I were you, I would be more concerned about my own safety."
The Doctor's eyes blazed, making the guard flinch at his spot by the door. "Except you've got no evidence. That's why you've been holding me this long." The Doctor saw the annoyed look on the Captain's face and knew he was right. "So if you don't mind, untie me and we can discuss this properly."
The Captain held his gaze for a moment, but then nodded to the guard to cut the bonds.
Once his hands were free the Doctor stood and stretched. "Now then, how far away are we from where you lot picked me up?"
"You aren't asking the questions here!"
The Doctor whipped around to face him, his face a terrifying mask of rage. "I don't bloody care!" The Doctor spat, spittle flying. "You lot put her in danger when you captured me! And I know you only did that because you couldn't stop the raid on the city or capture any actual pirates!" His voice lowered but lost none of its energy. Hands now free, the Doctor could fish out his psychic paper and shove it in the Captain's face. "So it would be in your best interest to cooperate with me."
The Captain blanched even though his expression didn't change. "Sorry for the mix up, Admiral, we had no idea you were Portuguese Navy."
The Doctor looked at the paper in mild surprise before snapping it closed and stuffing it back in his jacket. "No real harm done. Just help me get back to my friend and we'll call it even."
The Captain nodded uncertainly as the Doctor stared to pace. "We were passing near Macau when we noticed ships bearing the pirate insignia entering a nearby port," he rattled off in a militaristic fashion. "That was six hours ago. We have orders to continue on our patrol. We'll pass back by Macau in three days."
"Three days?" The Doctor exclaimed, crossing over to the small window that sat midway up the wooden wall and gazing out at the water beyond. Beyond the stormy blue he could just make out a sliver of the coast. "You just said we left around six hours ago! Can't we just turn back?"
"We will not change route to drop off a passenger," the Captain snapped. He blinked at the Doctor's angry posture before trying to backtrack. "I'm sorry, Admiral, but surely you must understand the extent of the threat the Red Flag fleet poses. Even the joint efforts of our Navies has not been enough."
The Doctor whipped around to face him. "Wait. The Red Flag Fleet? Portuguese and Chinese Navies working together? What year is this? Wait, let me guess. Sometime between 1809 and 1810, right?"
Before the bewildered Captain could answer any of the agitated Time Lord's questions, the Doctor switched tracks again.
The Doctor massaged the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. "What about by land? How long would it take me to get back to Macau by foot?"
"A week, at least."
The Doctor walked back over to the window, resting his hands on either side of the glass. He nodded at the Captain distractedly when the man left, promising that the Doctor could stay on board until they passed Macau again.
Finally alone, the Doctor let out a frustrated groan, resting his forehead defeatedly against the cool glass.
Three days. Buffy would be alone for three bloody days. And that was if she hadn't wandered off or gotten captured.
A rock settled in the pit of his stomach at the thought. It was his fault. If something happened to her…
He gave his head a quick shake.
She had still been in an extra dimensional state when he saw her last. Well, maybe he couldn't see her but… that was the last place that he had known her to be.
Did she even know what had happened to him? Or did she just reappear and find him gone? Would she think he had abandoned her? Or worse, she had noticed, and come out during the raid?
The Doctor fiddled with his psychic paper thoughtfully. He could probably use it to send a message to her phone.
The Doctor palmed his forehead in annoyance. He hadn't upgraded her phone yet. There was no way she would get a signal.
Well, hopefully Buffy wouldn't have come out during the raid and, having nothing better to do, would just stay near the TARDIS.
That made him feel a little better. The TARDIS could take care of her until he got back.
No.
The Doctor slammed his forehead against the glass with a frustrated groan.
She didn't have a key.
Three days. She would have to fend for herself for three days.
Three days outside of the TARDIS without food or shelter.
A myriad of horrible things that could happen to a young woman on the streets raced through his head, making him sick to the stomach.
The Doctor gave his head another shake before striding out of the small cabin, looking for things to keep his mind busy or, better yet, things that might speed up the journey.
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Responses to Comments:
Emzy2k11 , LPWomer , GayMexicanBatman , Miriam Who , That's Balderdash , time-twilight : Thank you so much for your everlasting support! Idk what I'd do if I didn't have you guys egging me on! Hope you enjoy!
Ghouly-Girl : Lol I'm a huge fan of cliffhangers... they make me feel a bit evil ;P
HalfPastEleven : Yeah I'm going to be digging into the vulnerable side of the Doctor A LOT in later chapters, so if you like that you got some stuff to look forward to :)