AN: Here we go again! I'm back and more free to write than I have been in MONTHS. If you've been reading my other story 'Crossfade' (if you aren't, you really should be lol) then you'll know I posted the most recent chapter a couple of days ago after a relatively long break from both stories! Yayyy it's the return of my creative juices.

Exam season (and the run up to it) reallyyy took a lot out of me, and I pretty much only had the free time to sleep and eat. Now my exams are done, I've got more time to write and enjoy myself!

So keep your eyes peeled - there may be a fair few stories coming your way in the next few weeks!

Chapter 9: Silence in the Library

Doctor Moon sat opposite his patient, tapping lightly against his notepad.

"Close your eyes, and tell me what you see."

She did so, the smallest of frowns creasing her forehead.

"The library."

"Open your eyes again. Where are you now?"

"My living room, Doctor Moon."

He scrawled a few notes down. "When you close your eyes…"

"I go to the library."

"Go to the library now. Are you back there?"

"Yes."

"The same part?"

"No, it's always different. The library goes on forever."

"How do you move around?"

She smiled. "By wishing." But her face shifted again and her expression became a frown.

"What's wrong?"

Now, her voice was shaking. "Something's here. Someone's got in. No one's supposed to get in."

Her dad put a hand on her shoulder, looking concerned. "She's never mentioned anyone else. She's always been alone."

"Someone's in my library. No, no, please, that's not allowed. That's not allowed."

Doctor Moon leant forwards. "Listen to me. The library is in your mind."

"I know it's in my mind, but… something's got inside. Someone's here."

Hands deep in his pockets, the Doctor strode out into the reception of a huge building, grinning widely.

"Books. People never really stop loving books."

Eris and Donna followed him out, the former bouncing on the balls of her feet as the latter looked at her like she was nuts.

"I've always wanted to come here. Not exactly what the original plan was, but I'm not complaining."

"Fifty-first century. By now you've got holovids, direct to brain downloads, fiction mist, but you need the smell. The smell of books, Donna. Deep breath."

He led them down a wide staircase, and they stopped at the solid balcony rail to gaze out at the sight before them. As far as the eye could see, there were tall buildings and spires running all the way to the horizon. The air around them was cloudless and entirely still - no breeze, no birds, nothing. It was incredible.

"The Library. So big it doesn't need a name. Just a great big 'The'."

Donna's jaw was on the floor. "It's like a city."

"It's a world. Literally, a world. The whole core of the planet is the index computer. Biggest hard drive ever. And up here, every book that was ever written. Whole continents of Jeffrey Archer, Bridget Jones, Monty Python's Big Red Book. Brand new editions, specially printed."

Eris was hanging over the ledge, the toes of her boots scraping the floor as she tried to read the distant signposts. "Think of all the science books! Things that were written millenia ago shelved next to things that are brand new!"

"Yeah, they shelve things chronologically as well as by author."

"Oh shut up, you're ruining my vision."

Donna snorted. It was nice seeing them like this - the bickering would eventually get annoying again, but being in the middle of them giving each other the silent treatment was far worse.

Eris continued. "I wonder if they left any of the notes in the publications. The number of scientists' works that I doodled over and added things to… I'm sure there'd be something of mine kicking about down there, bright and shiny in new print."

He licked his finger and held it up.

"We're near the equator, so this must be… biographies! I love biographies."

Donna nudged him in the ribs. "Yeah, very you. Always a death at the end."

"You need a good death. Without death, there'd only be comedies. Dying gives us size." She moved to pick up a book from one of the many stacks in front of them, and he smacked the back of her hand. "Ah ah ah. Spoilers."

"What?"

"These books are from your future. You don't want to read ahead. Spoil all the surprises. Like peeking at the end."

His daughter's eyebrows shot up. "Um, hello. Pot, kettle? Ringing any bells?"

The ginger agreed. "Yeah, isn't travelling with you one big spoiler?"

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I try to keep you away from major plot developments. Which, to be honest, I seem to be very bad at… because you know what? This is the biggest library in the universe. So where is everyone? It's silent."

He bounded over to a nearby information terminal, sonicking it. Donna peered over his shoulder.

"The library?"

"The planet. The whole planet."

She shrugged. "Maybe it's a Sunday."

"No, I never land on Sundays. Sundays are boring."

"Well, maybe everyone's really, really quiet."

Eris snorted. "I like that idea. But no, the place is empty - even if everyone was playing sleeping lions they'd still show up on the system."

"Doctor, why are we here? Really, why?"

He kept his focus on the screen. "Oh, you know, just passing."

"No, seriously. It was all let's hit the beach, then suddenly we're in a library. Why?"

"Now that's interesting."

"What?"

"Scanning for life forms. If I do a scan looking for your basic humanoids. You know, your book readers, few limbs and a face, apart from us, I get nothing. Zippo, nada. See? Nobody home. But if I widen the parameters to any kind of life…" He tapped at one of the keys, and the number skyrocketed. The tally increased at an incredible rate before capping itself at '1,000,000,000,000'. A little message below it in red letters stated 'maximum system capacity'.

"A million, million. Gives up after that. A million, million."

Eris pulled a face. "That's a hell of a lot of library cards to keep track of."

Donna looked around again, the hairs on the back of her neck prickling as she stared at the empty space. "But there's nothing here. There's no one."

"And not a sound. A million, million life forms, and silence in the library."

"But there's no one here. There's just books. I mean, it's not the books, is it? I mean, it can't be the books, can it? I mean, books can't be alive."

The three of them looked warily at the book on top of the nearest stack, reaching out for it in unison. But before their fingertips could brush the cover, a voice made them jump out of their skins.

"Welcome."

"That came from back there."

"Yeah."

"Come on then."

They returned to where they had landed, now noticing something they hadn't before - an artistic representation of a humanoid figure, sculpted from a dull, off-white sort of plastic. As they approached it, it turned the headpiece, revealing the face of a pretty black woman in the centre. Donna recoiled a little as it started to speak.

"I am Courtesy Node seven one zero slash aqua. Please enjoy the Library and respect the personal access codes of all your fellow readers, regardless of species or hygiene taboo."

"That face, it looks real."

The Doctor muttered. "Yeah, don't worry about it."

"A statue with a real face, though? It's a hologram or something, isn't it?"

"No, but really, it's fine."
As Eris shot him a suspicious look, which he ignored, the node continued in its droning monotone.

"Additional. There follows a brief message from the Head Librarian for your urgent attention. It has been edited for tone and content by a Felman Lux Automated Decency Filter. Message follows. Run. For God's sake, run. No way is safe. The library has sealed itself, we can't. Oh, they're here. Argh. Slarg. Snick. Message ends. Please switch off your mobile comm. units for the comfort of other readers."

He nodded thoughtfully. "So that's why we're here. Any other messages, same date stamp?"

"One additional message. This message carries a Felman Lux coherency warning of five zero eleven-"

"Yeah, yeah, fine, fine, fine. Just play it."

"Message follows. Count the shadows. For God's sake, remember, if you want to live, count the shadows. Message ends."

"Donna?"

"Yeah?"

"Stay out of the shadows."

"Why, what's in the shadows?"
But he'd already wandered off without an answer. The women followed, keeping cautious eyes on the edges of every shadow they passed.

Soon, they found themselves wandering through the stacks, shelves of books towering above them and disappearing into the shadows on both sides. The area was relatively well lit, but there were some dark corners that they took care to avoid. Donna wasn't finished with her interrogation yet.

"So. We weren't just in the neighbourhood."

Stopping, the Doctor relented. "Yeah, I kind of, sort of lied a bit. I got a message on the psychic paper." He dug it out of his pocket and turned it so they could all see. In very neat handwriting was two simple sentences. 'The library. Come as soon as you can x."

"What do you think? Cry for help?"

"Cry for help with a kiss?"

Eris shrugged. "Oh, we've all done that. I put kisses on everything - they're surprisingly effective on death threats."

He blinked down at her. "Who've you been sending death threats to?"

"Hey, Europe in the early eighteenth century wasn't always the friendliest of places. I had to stand up for myself somehow."

Donna rolled her eyes. "Never mind all that now. Who's it from?"

"No idea."

"So why did we come here? Why did you -"

But he cut her off. "Donna. Look."

She turned to look over her shoulder and saw what had him looking so concerned.

The lights behind them were going out.

"What's happening?"

"Run!"

The three of them broke into a sprint, aiming for the nearest door they could see - before slamming into it with a collective dull thud.

"Oh, come on."

"What, is it locked?"

"Jammed. The wood's warped."

"Well, sonic it. Use the thingy."

"I can't, it's wood."

"What, it doesn't do wood?"

The look of incredulity on her face would have been a cause for laughter at any other time, but the others kept their focus on getting in.

"Hang on, hang on. I can vibrate the molecules, fry the bindings. I can shatterline the interface."

Eris shoved him aside, rummaging in her jacket.

"Oh, move it. I can split the lock."

She'd just managed to wedge the crowbar (that had somehow made an appearance from inside the breast pocket of her jacket) into the crack between the doors when Donna tapped her on the arm.

"Right, get out of the way. I'm gonna kick it."

And she did, full force. The doors flew inwards and the three of them darted inside, closing the door again and wedging the handles with a couple of nearby books. Relieved, they relaxed for a moment - and then Eris realised they had company.

"Oh. Hello. Look, we're really sorry to burst on you like this. We didn't know you were here. Okay if we stop here for a bit?"

The little girl in the middle of the room gasped, and promptly turned into a small bronze globe. It dropped to the floor, and the Doctor rushed over to it, sonic screwdriver in hand.

Donna was baffled. "What is it?"

"Security camera. Must have switched itself off."

She was hyperventilating, hands picking at the fabric of her skirt.

"They were in my library. How can they be in my library?"

Doctor Moon got down to her level, trying to calm her. "Who were they?"

Her eyes widened suddenly, and she clapped her hands over her ears.

"What's that? What's that noise?"

Her dad looked over at the Doctor, concerned. "What noise? What is she hearing?"

She fell forwards, sprawling on the floor as the men moved to comfort her.

"No, stop it. No. No. Please."

"Nice door skills, Donna."

She shrugged, secretly quite proud of herself. "Yeah, well, you know, boyfriends. Sometimes you need the element of surprise. What was that? What was after us? I mean, did we just run away from a power cut?"

"Possibly."

"Are we safe here?"

"Of course we're safe. There's a little shop."
Eris grumbled under her breath as she moved to look around the new room. "You and your bloody shops. One of these days you'll end up working in one, and it'll be a complete disaster."

"Gotcha!"

The lens covering the camera disappeared, and a little panel on the side lit up with scrolling text. He read it, and a frown crossed his face.

"No, stop it. No. No. Please. Oh, I'm sorry. I really am. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It's alive."

Donna pulled a face. "You said it was a security camera."

"It is. It's an alive one."

She sat up, staring at the opposite wall. Doctor Moon put his hands on her shoulders.

"Can you hear me? Are you all right?"

"Others are coming."

"Who's coming? Who are the others?"

Her voice had become completely monotone, and she didn't seem to be truly aware of their presence. "The library is breached. Others are coming."

"What others?"

Reading the same message on the screen, Donna got to her feet and approached a nearby node.

"Others? What's it mean, others? Excuse me. What does it mean, others?"

The Doctor huffed. "That's barely more than a speak your weight machine, it can't help you."

"So why's it got a face?"

He winced as the node replied. "This flesh aspect was donated by Mark Chambers on the occasion of his death."

"It's a real face?"

"It has been actualised individually for you from the many facial aspects saved to our extensive flesh banks. Please enjoy."

"It chose me a dead face it thought I'd like? That statue's got a real dead person's face on it!"

He didn't seem quite so disturbed by it as she was. "It's the fifty-first century. That's basically like donating a park bench."

"It's donating a face!"

She backed away, shuddering in disgust, and flinched as Eris grabbed her from behind.

"Donna, don't step back. No, I mean it. Take a step forwards, now."

"Oi, what's with the hands? You could've just asked me to stand still."

"The shadow. Look."

"What about it?"

The Doctor looked solemn. "Count the shadows."

"One. There, counted it. One shadow."

"Yeah. But what's casting it?"

She looked around, and understood what he meant. The shadow was triangular - but there was nothing above them that was the right shape to cast it.

He shouted suddenly, smacking himself upside the head.

"Oh, I'm thick! Look at me, I'm old and thick. Head's too full of stuff. I need a bigger head."

Eris kicked him in the ankle. "Oh, I'm so glad you've finally come to that conclusion. Really. It was getting frustrating trying to find the right time to tell you."

He nodded towards one of the adjoining corridors. The light that had illuminated the doorway was flickering and fading.

Donna shrugged. "The power must be going. If there's nobody here, no one's been doing maintenance."

"This place runs on fission cells. They'll outburn the sun."

"Then why is it dark?"

"It's not dark."

She glanced down at the floor by chance - and felt her heart skip a beat. "That shadow. It's gone."

Taking both girls by the hand, he looked worried. "We need to get back to the Tardis."

"Why?"

Eris had worked it out, and now looked rather pale.

"Because that shadow hasn't gone. It's moved."

At a precisely unhelpful moment, the node spoke up again.

"Reminder. The library has been breached. Others are coming. Reminder. The library has been breached. Others are coming. Reminder. The library has been breached."

They lost the rest of his words as a door on the far side of the room was blown open in a flash of bright light. As the smoking of the ruins subsided, six figures in white spacesuits entered, filtering into the room to stand in a small cluster. One of them stepped forwards, approaching the group of time travellers. They pressed a button on the front of the suit and the polarising filter on the front of the helmet cleared, revealing a rather pretty woman with very curly blonde hair.

"Hello, sweetie."

The Doctor put his hands on his hips. "Get out. All of you. Turn around, get back in your rocket and fly away. Tell your grandchildren you came to the library and lived. They won't believe you."

Instead, she ignored him and unscrewed her helmet.

"Pop your helmets, everyone. We've got breathers."

One of the other women in the crew frowned. "How do you know they're not androids?"

"Because I've dated androids. They're rubbish."

A short, bald man - with an attitude that suggested he was the one in charge, huffed towards them. "Who is this? You said we were the only expedition. I paid for exclusives."

"I lied, I'm always lying. Bound to be others."

"Miss Evangelista, I want to see the contracts."

She turned back to them. "You came through the north door, yeah? How was that, much damage?"

He groaned. "Please, just leave. I'm asking you seriously and properly, just leave. Hang on. Did you say expedition?"

The bald man nodded. "My expedition. I funded it."

"Oh, you're not, are you? Tell me you're not archaeologists."

She raised an eyebrow. "Got a problem with archaeologists?"

"I'm a time traveller. I point and laugh at archaeologists."

Eris shot him a look. "Says the man who's been travelling with one of the people who discovered the ruins of Pompeii for the last few centuries."

The woman held out a hand to shake, eyes glinting. "Ah. Professor River Song, archaeologist."

He accepted the handshake. "River Song, lovely name. As you're leaving, and you're leaving now, you need to set up a quarantine beacon. Code wall the planet, the whole planet. Nobody comes here, not ever again. Not one living thing, not here, not ever." He glanced over at the black woman who'd spoken before as she shifted her weight. "Stop right there. What's your name?"

"Anita."

"Anita, stay out of the shadows. Not a foot, not a finger in the shadows till you're safely back in your ship. Goes for all of you. Stay in the light. Find a nice, bright spot and just stand. If you understand me, look very, very scared. No, bit more scared than that. Okay, it'll do for now. You. Who are you?"

The man with the afro startled a little, not expecting to be addressed. "Er, Dave."

"Okay, Dave."

"Oh, well, Other Dave, because that's Proper Dave the pilot, he was the first Dave, so when we-"

"Other Dave, the way you came, does it look the same as before?"

He dragged him over to the doorway so they could check it out.

"Yeah. Oh, it's a bit darker."

"How much darker?"

"Oh, like I could see where we came through just like a moment ago. I can't now."

"Ok. Seal up this door. We'll find another way out."

The leader of the group tutted. "We're not looking for a way out. Miss Evangelista?"

A very young-looking woman with sleek brown hair stepped forward, sounding rather nervous as she held out a few sheets of blue paper.

"I'm Mister Lux's personal… everything. You need to sign these contracts agreeing that your individual experience inside the library are the intellectual property of the Felman Lux Corporation."

The three of them nodded.

"Right, give it here."

"Let's have a look, yeah?"

"Yeah, lovely. Thanks."

And in unison, the three of them shredded the contracts.

Lux was practically frothing at the mouth. "My family built this library. I have rights."

River rolled her eyes. "You have a mouth that won't stop." She directed her next question at the Doctor. "You think there's danger here?"

"Something came to this library and killed everything in it. Killed a whole world. Danger? Could be."

"That was a hundred years ago. The Library's been silent for a hundred years. Whatever came here's long dead."

"Bet your life?"

She shot him a smirk. "Always." Her face fell a little as he backed away slightly, looking a bit awkward. Thankfully, Mr Lux served as an excellent distraction as he rounded on Other Dave.

"What are you doing?"

"He said seal the door."

"You're taking orders from him?"

Eris grinned, swiping the man's torch from the loop in his belt.

"Yeah, that happens a lot. Spooky, isn't it? Dad."

He took it and switched it on, shining it into the far recesses of the room.

"Almost every species in the universe has an irrational fear of the dark. But they're wrong, because it's not irrational. It's Vashta Nerada."

Donna frowned - the name made her spine itch. "What's Vashta Nerada?"

"It's what's in the dark. It's what's always in the dark. Lights! That's what we need, lights. You got lights?"

River shrugged "What for?"

"Form a circle. Safe area. Big as you can, lights pointing out."

"Oi. Do as he says."

Lux stared at her incredulously. "You're not listening to this man?"

"Apparently I am."

Eris, now looking rather guarded, still managed a little dig.

"It's usually rather a good idea to do so. The people who listen are often the ones who make it out alive."

River continued as the man stomped off. "Anita, unpack the lights. Other Dave, make sure the door's secure, then help Anita. Mister Lux, put your helmet back on, block the visor. Proper Dave, find an active terminal. I want you to access the library database. See what you can find about what happened here a hundred years ago. Pretty boy, firecracker, you're with me. Step into my office."

"Professor Song, why am I the only one wearing my helmet?"

She shot him the sweetest of smiles. "I don't fancy you."

As the Doctor wandered over to assist Dave at the terminal he'd chosen, Eris stood in the middle of the room, the strange woman's words ticking over in her brain. Her theory was soon proven right.

"Pretty boy. With me, I said."

He pulled a face at Donna. "Oh, I'm pretty boy?"

"Yes. Ooo, that came out a bit quick."

"Pretty?"

"Meh."

He started back across the room, turning to deliver another warning as he drew level with his daughter. "Don't let your shadows cross. Seriously, don't even let them touch. Any of them could be infected."

Other Dave glanced at Anita. "How can a shadow be infected?"

Miss Evangelista moved to join them, wringing her hands. "Excuse me, can I help?"

Anita shook her head. "No, we're fine."

"I could just you know, hold things."

Other Dave agreed, clearly trying to keep a smile off his face. "No, really, we're okay."

As the girl wandered away, despondent, Donna joined them.

"Couldn't she help?"

"Trust me. I just spent four days on a ship with that woman. She's er…"

Anita snorted as he trailed off. "Couldn't tell the difference between the escape pod and the bathroom. We had to go back for her. Twice."

River laid a rather battered-looking blue book on the table as the Doctor and Eris joined her.

"Thanks."

He frowned. "For what?"

"The usual. For coming when I call."

"Oh, that was you?"

"You're doing a very good job, acting like you don't know me. I'm assuming there's a reason. Now, this is the sort of silly thing I'd expect from you, Doctor, but Eris is usually a little bit less insistent on those sort of practical jokes than you are."

Eris blinked in shock. "How do you know my name?"

The Doctor rubbed at the back of his head. "There's a fairly good reason, actually."

She looked momentarily baffled, then brushed it off. "Okay, shall we do diaries, then? Where are we this time? Er, going by your face, I'd say it's early days for you, yeah? So, er, crash of the Byzantium. Have we done that yet? Obviously ringing no bells. Right. Oh, picnic at Asgard. Have we done Asgard yet? Obviously not. Blimey, very early days, then. Ah, life with a time traveller. Never knew it could be such hard work. Look at you. Oh, you're young."

Their looks of confusion only deepened with every sentence, and as she reached up to brush her fingers against his cheek he backed away.

"I'm really not, you know."

"No, but you are. Your eyes. You're younger than I've ever seen you."

"You've… seen me before, then?"

The look on her face was now tinged with fear. "Doctor, Eris. One of you, please tell me you know who I am."

Eris found that she felt sorry for her, and reached out to squeeze her hand. "I'm really sorry. But who are you?"

They were interrupted by a loud, repetitive noise. Proper Dave raised a hand, looking sheepish.

"Sorry, that was me. Trying to get through into the security protocols. I seem to have set something off."

River, discreetly brushing away the tears that had started to gather in her eyes, straightened up.

"What is that? Is that an alarm?"

Donna, on the other side of the room, recognised it. "Doctor? Doctor, that sounds like-"

He did too. "It is. It's a phone."

The telephone started to ring as she sat on the floor in the living room, her back to the television. She kept doodling, not thinking too much of it. But soon, it started to get on her nerves.

"Dad?"

"In a minute."

Assuming he was busy, she went back to her sketch. But after a few more minutes passed and he still hadn't done anything about it, she tried again.

"Dad, the phone. Aren't you going to answer it?"

He looked up from the pot of pasta sauce he was stirring, frowning slightly.

"It's not ringing, sweetie."

As he returned his attention to the food, she got up herself. But as she rested her hand on the receiver, the ringing stopped.

Proper Dave shrugged as the Doctor joined him.

"I'm just trying to call up the data core, but it's not responding. Just that noise."

"Let me try something."

He tapped at a few of the keys, and a message appeared. Access denied.

"Okay, doesn't like that. Let's try something else."

Now, the screen went fuzzy, and something came into view. It was the little girl with brown hair, sat on the floor of what looked like a typical middle class British living room.

"Okay, here it comes. Hello?"

She turned towards the sound, scooching over on her knees to take a better look at the people that had appeared.

"Hello. Are you in my television?"

"Well, no, I'm, I'm sort of in space. Er, I was trying to call up the data core of a triple grid security processor."

She thought for a moment. "Would you like to speak to my Dad?"

"Dad or your Mum. That'd be lovely."

Her forehead creased. "I know you. You're in my library."

Eris, peering from under the Doctor's arm, tilted her head to one side.

"Your library?"

"The library's never been on the television before. What have you done?"

He looked just as confused as she was. "Er, well, I just rerouted the interface…"

But the image disappeared, becoming static for a moment before being replaced by the Access Denied panel. River frowned.

"What happened? Who was that?"

"I need another terminal. Keep working on those lights. We need those lights!"

"You heard him, people. Let there be light."

The other scurried off to resume what they had been doing. River stopped briefly to speak to Mr Lux, and the Doctor and Eris crept back to the desk where she had left her diary. They moved to open the cover when she appeared again and took it back.

"Sorry, you're not allowed to see inside the book. It's against the rules."

"What rules?"

"Your rules."

There was a series of thuds as a number of books suddenly ejected themselves from the shelving, bouncing off the floor.

"What's that? I didn't do that. Did you do that?"

Proper Dave shook his head. "Not me."

The Doctor's screen now had a new pop-up. Alongside the Access Denied banner was a red label that simply said, 'CAL'.

"What's CAL?"

The bombardment of books settled for a moment, and Donna approached a trembling Miss Evangelista in the hope of offering her some comfort.

"You alright?"

"What's that? What's happening?"

"I'm not sure, but my friends are trying to work it out. Oh, thanks, for er, you know, offering to help with the lights."

"They don't want me. They think I'm stupid, because I'm pretty."

"Course they don't. Nobody thinks that."

"No, they're right though. I'm a moron, me. My dad said I have the IQ of plankton, and I was pleased."

She laughed. "See, that's funny."

The brunette's face fell. "No, no, I really was pleased. Is that funny?"

Realising that she'd put her foot right in her mouth, Donna tried to fix her mistake.

"Oh no, no."

Books started flying all over the place again, and she covered the other woman's head as she panicked.

River, narrowly being missed by a rather thick volume, huffed.

"What's causing that? Is it the little girl?"

The Doctor groaned, smacking the terminal. "But who is the little girl? What's she got to do with this place? How does the data core work? What's the principle? What's CAL?"

"Ask Mister Lux."

"CAL, what is it?"

Lux looked incredibly smug. "Sorry, you didn't sign your personal experience contracts."

Eris bristled, squaring up to the shorter man. "Mister Lux. Right now, you're in more danger than you've ever been in your whole life. And you're protecting a patent?"

"I'm protecting my family's pride."

"Well, oddly enough, Lux, I don't want to see everyone in this room dead because some idiot thinks his pride is more important. I know it's an awfully strange concept but I happen to value actual people's lives over a few words written on a bit of paper."

River folded her arms. "Then why don't you sign his contract?" When she rounded on her, she held her hands up with a laugh. "I didn't either. I think you two have been a bad influence on me."

He got between them, sighing. "Okay, okay, okay. Let's start at the beginning. What happened here? On the actual day, a hundred years ago, what physically happened?"

"There was a message from the Library. Just one. The lights are going out. Then the computer sealed the planet, and there was nothing for a hundred years."

Lux clearly didn't appreciate the information being shared. "It's taken three generations of my family just to decode the seals and get back in."

A noise from behind her made Miss Evangelista turn - one of the wall panels had disappeared, revealing a dim corridor. "Er, excuse me?"

"Not just now."

River continued. "There was one other thing in the last message."

"That's confidential!"

"I trust these people with my life, with everything."

"You've only just met them."

"No, they've only just met me."

She tried again. "Er, this might be important, actually." But she had no success. Deciding to take a look on her own (and hoping just a little bit that finding something important would make the crew respect her a little more), she stepped through the new opening and followed the hallway through to a large room. It looked as though it had once been used for teaching: numerous benches were set up in parallel with the walls, facing the centre where a large wooden chair was placed. Intrigued, she moved closer towards it.

Digging a small communication device from a pocket, River turned it so the three travellers could see the screen. "This is a data extract that came with the message."

The Doctor read it aloud. "Four thousand and twenty two saved. No survivors."

"Four thousand and twenty two. That's the exact number of people who were in the library when the planet was sealed."

Donna frowned, something about the wording bothering her.

"But how can four thousand and twenty two people have been saved if there were no survivors?"

"That's what we're here to find out."

Lux nodded. "And so far, what we haven't found are any bodies."

And then a heartstopping scream echoed around them.

The sound spurred them all into a run, darting down the little corridor and through to the hidden room, the Doctor leading the pack. They all stopped dead at the sight of a rag-shrouded skeleton in the chair at the centre of the room.

"Everybody, careful. Stay in the light."

Other Dave shrugged, looking at the remains uneasily. "You keep saying that. I don't see the point."

"Who screamed?"

"Miss Evangelista."

"And where is she?"

River turned on her communications device. "Miss Evangelista, please state your current-" She stopped for a moment, frowning. "Some kind of audio defect. Let me try again. Please state your current…" But this time, she trailed off because she'd worked out exactly where the echo was coming from "...position. It's her. It's Miss Evangelista."

Anita could feel her teeth chattering out of fear. "We heard her scream a few seconds ago. What could do that to a person in a few seconds?"

He shook his head. "It took a lot less than a few seconds."

"What did?"

"Hello?" Miss Evangelista's voice sounded slightly tinny over the communications array. "Hello?"

River blanched. "Er, I'm sorry, everyone. Er, this isn't going to be pleasant. She's ghosting."

Donna shook her head. "She's what?"

"Hello? Excuse me. I'm sorry. Hello? Excuse me."

"That's, that's her, that's Miss Evangelista."

Proper Dave looked uncomfortable. "I don't want to sound horrible, but couldn't we just, you know?"

River snapped over her shoulder. "This is her last moment. No, we can't. A little respect, thank you."

She continued asking questions. "Sorry, where am I? Excuse me?"

Donna took great comfort from the arm that Eris put around her back.

"But that's Miss Evangelista."

"I'm sorry, Donna. It's a data ghost. She'll be gone in a moment."

"What's a data ghost?"

The Doctor pointed at one of the remaining chunks of the suit; it held a small rectangular unit with flashing lights. "There's a neural relay in the communicator. Lets you send thought mail. That's it there. Those green lights. Sometimes it can hold an impression of a living consciousness for a short time after death. Like an afterimage."

Anita seemed a little calmer now, but had wrapped her arms around her waist. "My grandfather lasted a day. Kept talking about his shoelaces."

Donna sniffled. "She's in there."

Miss Evangelista's voice broke through again. "I can't see. I can't. Where am I?"

"She's conscious. She's thinking."

"I can't see, I can't. I don't know what I'm thinking."

The Doctor looked solemn as he put his arms around his friends.

"She's a footprint on the beach. And the tide's coming in."

"Where's that woman? The nice woman. Is she there?"

Lux pulled a face. "What woman?"

And Donna had a moment of realisation. "She means… I think she means me."

"Is she there? The nice woman."

Eris rubbed her back and raised her voice a little.

"Yes, she's here. Hang on. River, can you adjust the pickup on that?"

She nodded, twisting one of the dials, and gestured at the remains. "Go ahead. She can hear you."

"Hello? Are you there?"

"But…she's dead."

"And you can help her."

What was left of Miss Evangelista sounded almost lonely now.

"Hello? Is that the nice woman?"

"Yeah. Hello. Yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm here. You okay?"

"What I said before, about being stupid. Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh."

"Course I won't. Course I won't tell them."

"Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh."

"I won't tell them. I said I won't."

"Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh."

"I'm not going to tell them."

"Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh."

The light at her collar was now flashing rapidly, and River shook her head.

"She's looping now. The pattern's degrading."

"I can't think. I don't know, I, I, I, I scream. Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream."

"Does anybody mind if I…?"

"Ice cream. Ice cream."

And she reached forwards carefully, switching off the dead woman's unit and leaving the room in silence once again.

The redhead felt herself shudder. "That was, that was horrible. That was the most horrible thing I've ever seen."

"No. It's just a freak of technology. But whatever did this to her, whatever killed her, I'd like a word with that."

A note of anger crept into the Doctor's voice - partly on behalf of the woman he'd barely made the effort to say hello to, and partly due to the effect her passing had had on his best friend.

"I'll introduce you."

"I'm going to need a packed lunch."

The majority of the archaeological team stared blankly at him as they filed back into the central room, watching as he stalked around like he and his friends owned the place. River moved to root through her backpack.

"Hang on. I'll see what I've got."

As the Doctor examined various shadowed sections at the edge of their central patch of light, sonicking bits of furniture, Eris leant against the desk next to her and tapped the cover of the little blue book again.

"What's in there?"

"Spoilers."

"Who are you?"

"Professor River Song, University of-"

She cut her off, putting a hand on her wrist. "To us. Who are you to me and my dad? Because I've been around a long time and I never forget a face."

"Again, spoilers. Besides, you're really not as old as you think." Before the stunned girl could respond, River pulled a white plastic tub out of her bag. "Chicken and a bit of salad. Knock yourself out."

Taking it, he opened the box and grabbed the chicken leg, ignoring the salad.

"Right, you lot. Let's all meet the Vashta Nerada."

She was sulking. She knew she was probably being dramatic, but the day had just been so strange that she felt awful. As she sat on the living room floor, nudging the TV remote with a socked foot, her dad stuck his head around the door.

"Darling, Doctor Moon is going now, but he'd like a word with you alone. Is that all right?"

"Yes, of course, Doctor Moon."

Doctor Moon smiled, and came to crouch next to her.

"Thank you. Now, listen. This is important. There's the real world, and there's the world of nightmares. That's right, isn't it? You understand that?"

"Yes, I know, Doctor Moon."

"What I want you to remember is this, and I know it's hard. The real world is a lie, and your nightmares are real. The library is real. There are people trapped in there, people who need to be saved. The shadows are moving again. Those people are depending on you. Only you can save them. Only you."

As the Doctor returned to scanning the floor and Eris moved to stand over his shoulder - looking visibly troubled by her conversation with River - Donna sidled over to stand with the strange woman. They were quiet for a few moments before the conversation started.

"You travel with them, don't you? The Doctor, you travel with him."

"What about it? You know them, don't you?"

She laughed. "Oh God, do I know those two. We go way back, those idiots and me. Just not this far back."

Donna frowned. "I'm sorry, what?"

"They haven't met me yet. I sent him a message, but it went wrong. It arrived too early. This is the Doctor and Eris in the days before they knew me. And the way they look at me… she looks at me like I'm something she can't quite figure out, which I'm almost used to by now. But he… he looks right through me and it shouldn't kill me, but it does."

She rolled her eyes, raising her voice out of sheer incredulity.

"What are you talking about? Are you just talking rubbish? Do you know him or don't you?"

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder. "Donna! Quiet, I'm working."

Then there was a soft thudding sound as Eris smacked him across the back of the head.

"Oi! As if you don't constantly talk my ears off while I'm trying to get things done. Be nice."

He mumbled a quick apology, completely missing the look that crossed River's face.

"Donna. You're Donna. Donna Noble."

"Yeah. Why?"

She seemed to be choosing her words carefully. "I do know the Doctor and Eris, but in the future. Their personal future."

"So why don't you know me? Where am I in the future?"

She was saved from responding by the Doctor standing up and beckoning them all over.

"Okay, we've got a live one."

As the others gathered around, he launched into one of his usual dramatic spiels.

"That's not darkness down those tunnels. This is not a shadow. It's a swarm. A man eating swarm."

He tossed the chicken leg into the shadow - it only took a fraction of a second to hit the floor, and in that tiny moment, it had become a picked-clean bone.

"The piranhas of the air. The Vashta Nerada. Literally, the shadows that melt the flesh. Most planets have them, but usually in small clusters. I've never seen an infestation on this scale, or one this aggressive."

Donna's eyes widened. "What do you mean, most planets? Not Earth?"

"Mmm. Earth, and a billion other worlds. Where there's meat, there's Vashta Nerada. You can see them sometimes, if you look. The dust in sunbeams."

"If they were on Earth, we'd know."

"Nah. Normally they live on road kill. But sometimes people go missing. Not everyone comes back out of the dark."

River turned slowly on the spot, realising exactly how much of the room they were in was shrouded in shade. "Every shadow?"

"No. But any shadow."

"So what do we do?"

He shrugged. "Daleks, aim for the eyestalk. Sontarans, back of the neck. Vashta Nerada? Run. Just run."

"Run? Run where?"

"This is an index point. There must be an exit teleport somewhere."

Lux held his hands up. "Don't look at me, I haven't memorised the schematics."

In unison, Donna and Eris grinned.

"The little shop!"

"What?"

Donna looked at him like it was obvious. "Doctor, the little shop. They always make you go through the little shop on the way out so they can sell you stuff."

He gave her a quick squeeze, grinning. "You're right. Brilliant! That's why I like the little shop."

Proper Dave nodded. "Okay, so let's move it."

He started forwards, but Eris moved to block him.

"Actually, Proper Dave - could you stay where you are for a moment?"

"Why?"

Nudging her dad, she flicked her eyes down to the floor. And he noticed what had caught her attention. His face fell.

"I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry. But you've got two shadows."

Proper Dave had two shadows, at right angles to each other in the low light.

"It's how they hunt. They latch on to a food source and keep it fresh."

"What do I do?"

"You stay absolutely still, like there's a wasp in the room. Like there's a million wasps."

River shook her head. "We're not leaving you, Dave."

"Course we're not leaving him. Where's your helmet? Don't point, just tell me."

His voice was shaking a little, but he was obviously trying to keep it together.

"On the floor, by my bag."

Anita moved to get it, passing it over to the Doctor.

"Thanks. Now, the rest of you, helmets back on and sealed up. We'll need everything we've got." He locked the helmet onto Dave's suit, and Donna pointed out the obvious.

"But, Doctor, we haven't got any helmets."

"Yeah, but we're safe anyway."

"How are we safe?"

"We're not. That was a clever lie to shut you up. Professor, anything I can do with the suit?"

Lux huffed. "What good are the damn suits? Miss Evangelista was wearing her suit. There was nothing left."

Eris glared at him. "Have you got any better ideas, Mr Lux? Because if you don't, shut up. You're wasting our time and what's left of your own brain cells."

River shot the girl a grin before answering the original question.

"We can increase the mesh density. Dial it up four hundred percent. Make it a tougher meal."

"Okay." He sonicked the port on the front of Proper Dave's suit. "Eight hundred percent. Pass it on."

"Gotcha." And she held up a device of her own.

"What's that?"

"It's a screwdriver."

"It's sonic."

"Yeah, I know. Snap."

She started upgrading everyone else's suits as the Doctor took Donna by the arm, leading her towards the shop.

"With me. Come on."

"What are we doing? We shopping? Is it a good time to shop?"

They led her through the gift shop towards a raised dais, marked with three separate circles and headed by a tall lectern.

"No talking, just moving. Try it. Right, stand there in the middle. It's a teleport. Stand in the middle. Can't send the others, Tardis won't recognise them."

"What are you doing?"

"You don't have a suit. You're not safe."

Donna folded her arms. "Neither of you have a suit, so you're in just as much danger as I am and I'm not leaving you!"

"Donna, let me explain."

And he hit the 'on' button, and she vanished.

Eris sighed, relieved. "Nice work."

A shout from River drew them away. "Doctor."

"Where did it go?"

Proper Dave shrugged, turning on the spot. "It's just gone. I looked round, one shadow, see."

River was assessing the exits. "Does that mean we can leave? I don't want to hang around here."

Lux didn't really seem to care - which wasn't exactly a shock given what they had seen of him already. "I don't know why we're still here. We can leave him, can't we? I mean, no offence."

"Oh, shut up, Mr Lux."

The Doctor was more concerned with checking on Proper Dave.

"Did you feel anything, like an energy transfer? Anything at all?"

He shook his head, moving to turn again. "No, no, but look, it's gone."

"Stop there. Stop, stop, stop there. Stop moving. They're never just gone and they never give up." He crouched to sonic the patch of shadow on the floor. "Well, this one's benign."

A few feet away from the man, Eris stiffened a little. The visor of his helmet had repolarised, and something about that simple action made the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. And the next words out of Proper Dave's mouth only made that instinct worse.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

The Doctor glanced up. "No one, they're fine."

"No seriously, turn them back on."

River exchanged a look with Eris, the same bad feeling rising in her own chest. "They are on."

"I can't see a ruddy thing. What's going on? Why can't I see? Is the power gone? Are we safe here?"

Getting to his feet, the Doctor held out a hand. "Dave, I want you stay still. Absolutely still."

He started to twitch, then seize on the spot, joints crunching as he convulsed. The others took a step back.

"Dave? Dave? Dave, can you hear me? Are you all right? Talk to me, Dave."

"I'm fine. I'm okay. I'm fine."

"I want you to stay still. Absolutely still."

"I'm fine. I'm okay. I'm fine. I can't. Why can't I? I, I can't. Why can't I? I, I can't. Why can't I? I-"

The lights on his comm unit were flashing intermittently, and River looked pale.

"He's gone. He's ghosting."

Lux eyed the spacesuited man suspiciously. "Then why is he still standing?"

Dave's mantra changed now. "Hey, who turned out the lights? Hey, who turned out the lights?"

As the Doctor took a step towards him, Eris moved so she was within arms reach.

"Be careful."

"Dave, can you hear me?"

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

Two things happened simultaneously: Proper Dave grabbed the Doctor by the throat, and the polarising filter failed, revealing a skull stripped of all flesh and sinew.

"Who turned out the lights? Hey, who turned out the lights?"

Eris grabbed the Doctor by the shoulders and pulled him backwards, kicking at the dead man's wrists for good measure.

"Back from it! Get back. Right back."

The group moved to the opposite side of the space, watching as the figure took a lurching step forwards. River raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't move very fast, does it?"

"It's a swarm in a suit. But it's learning."

Four shadows sprung from it's feet, growing gradually to take up the remaining lit space on the floor. Finally, Lux started to look a little bit concerned.

"What do we do? Where do we go?"

River grabbed a gun from her belt. "See that wall behind you? Duck." And she fired, creating a square hole. The Doctor grinned.

"Squareness gun!"

"Everybody out. Go, go, go. Move it. Move, move. Move it. Move, move."

They clambered through into the stacks, dismayed to see just how dim it was.

"You said not every shadow."

Eris frowned. "But any shadow. We need to keep moving and hope for the best."

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

River grabbed her by the hand. "Run!"

The group ran full pelt through the narrow walkways for almost five minutes, until they were satisfied that they had put a fair bit of distance between them and the swarm. They didn't have a clue as to where they actually were within the library's vast expanse, but for now it was better than nothing.

As the others caught their breath, the Doctor tried to sonic one of the light fittings.

"Trying to boost the power. Light doesn't stop them, but it slows them down."

River looked up at him. "So, what's the plan? Do we have a plan?"

"Your screwdriver looks exactly like mine."

"Yeah. You gave it to me."

"I don't give my screwdriver to anyone."

"I'm not anyone."

"Then who are you?"

She ignored him. "What's the plan?"

"I teleported Donna back to the Tardis. If we don't get back there in under five hours, emergency program one will activate."

"Take her home, yeah. We need to get a shift on."

He frowned down at the sonic for a moment. "She's not there. I should have received a signal. The console signals me if there's a teleport breach."

"Well, maybe the coordinates have slipped. The equipment here's ancient."

Spotting a nearby node, Eris wandered over. "I'll ask, you keep trying the lights. Excuse me. Donna Noble. There's a Donna Noble somewhere in this library. Do you have the software to locate her position?"

The node turned it's head, and she felt her stomach drop to her feet. The face it held was Donna's.

"Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved."

"Dad!"

He joined her, horrified, as the node repeated it's constant message.

"Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved."

River blanched. "How can it be Donna? How's that possible?"

"Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved. Donna Noble has left the library."

And another mantra interrupted the monotony, and they realised that they were running out of time. "Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"Donna Noble has been saved."

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"Donna Noble has left the library."

River grabbed them both by the shoulders. "Doctor, Eris, we've got to go now!"

"Donna Noble has been saved."

"Hey, Who turned out the lights?"

"Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved."

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved."

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved."

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"Donna Noble has left the library."

Still able to hear both voices, the group found themselves trapped between growing shadows, not able to see a way out.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved."

"Doctor, what do we do?"

"Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved."

See you later, and happy reading!

Much love,

Azzie xx