"Josh?!" The Doctor dared to call out his name. There wasn't any blood splattered on the wall and there were no drag marks. He supposed there could have been another creature out in the woods that had come across him on the way back in, but there would have been evidence of that, and, he was sure nothing had past him. He picked up the pills, wiping the plastic on his trousers, and then dropping them back into his pocket. "Josh! Where are you?!" He called out again.
He knew nothing had passed him, so he headed back toward the exit. As he got to the fork in the tunnel he felt a wave of panic wash over him. "Josh?" he called out again. The Doctor's head was aching and he had a lot to do. He looked down the side tunnel toward the metal grille. "Josh," the Doctor sighed. The boy hadn't tried to make his way out, but was in the side tunnel, pushing himself on his backside toward the grille.
"I don't think we can get out that way," the Doctor informed him as he approached. It was only as he got closer that he realised Josh was trying to move more quickly and desperately to get away. His renewed effort to move despite his clearly broken ankle was to get away from him. The Doctor didn't move any closer, but crouched down. "Josh."
"Stay away from me."
"I'm not going to hurt you."
"You'd not tell me if you were."
"No, probably not," the Doctor confirmed. "But, I'm not. We need to get out of these tunnels. There is a whole pack of those things down there in the caves. I don't know what they are, where they are from, or how to deal with them right now, so we need to go."
"You saw them?" Josh didn't sound like he believed them.
"Yes, I did."
"How come you're not dead?" Josh asked. "Are they your pets?"
"Pets?" the Doctor balked. "No, they're not my pets, why would I have creatures like that as pets?"
"People do," Josh informed him. "People keep all kinds of animals as pets and then they let them go in the sewers. I saw it."
"Perhaps, but we're not in a sewer, Josh, this is a storm drain."
"Same thing."
"While I'd welcome an opportunity to debate the similarities and differences between sewers and storm drains now is not the time."
"I heard there is a mad man that lives near here who has all kinds of pets. How do I know that's not you?" Josh asked still backing away from him though not as quickly.
"I don't keep carnivorous beasts that feed on humans as pets," the Doctor informed Josh patiently.
"Then how come you're not dead?"
"They didn't see me."
"The one I saw had reflective eyes. They can see well in the dark."
"They were busy."
"Doing what?"
"They were feeding, Josh," the Doctor told him gravely.
"On the others?" Josh asked quietly. The Doctor nodded and Josh paused his bum shuffling long legged escape. "Are they all dead?"
"I'm sorry, Josh, yes, they're all dead."
"You said you were going to help them."
"I didn't get there in time. I was too late to help them." The Doctor took a couple of steps forward.
"That's my rucksack." Josh commented seeing his bag over the Doctor's shoulder.
"You can have it back when we get out of here," the Doctor informed him. "You've got a lot of spirit, Josh, and I admire that, and just from talking to you now I can tell that you're smart, but you've got a broken ankle and you're going the wrong way. I can't guarantee how long those creatures are going to stay where they are, and you're not going to get out of here without any help. I'm the only one here and I'm offering you help, but frankly, Josh. I'm not going to leave you in here on your own. I'm going to get you out of here. I'd rather not have to fight you to do that."
Josh just looked at him suspiciously and the Doctor sighed. "Of course if you want your rucksack back now you can sit there until you get eaten and I'll be on my way."
"When you put it like that?" Josh offered making the Doctor smile. "But, I'm not taking drugs out of a plastic packet and no funny business."
"Can I come over to you then?" the Doctor asked him and Josh nodded. The Doctor approached him and crouched back down in front of him. He offered Josh his hand. "I'm the Doctor by the way," the Doctor informed him. Josh looked a little puzzled by the introduction but he reached up and took the Doctor's hand. As they made contact the Doctor felt a powerful pulse of energy that repelled him back off his heels onto the floor. He put his hand to his head as he groaned, before looking critically at the boy. "It's you?"
"What the Hell was that?!" Josh exclaimed shaking his hand as if it had been on fire.
"Um?" The Doctor rubbed his face picking himself back up from the floor. "I'm not entirely sure," he admitted. "You are human, right?"
"What kind of a question is that?"
"Right, yes, course you are," the Doctor confirmed. He didn't think it was an appropriate time to go into the fact that he wasn't human with the boy who had just flattened him with his psychic strength. "Blimey," the Doctor commented. His head was really starting to ache. He had too much to do to think about it. "I need to have a look at your ankle."
"I don't think there is any time," Josh told him quietly.
"We need to make sure there is blood flowing past the injury and into your foot. If it's compromised then the longer we leave it the harder it's going to be to fix," the Doctor warned him. "The offer of the painkillers still stands?"
"There really is no time," Josh insisted as he shuffled himself backward. The Doctor saw that he was looking past him and toward the main tunnel. The Doctor looked behind him and then slowly rose back to his feet. A creature stood at the end of the tunnel, blocking their escape, it was staring straight at them with beady yellow eyes. Josh had been right. They were reflective. Their vision in the dark would be excellent. The creature snarled as it crouched down on powerful legs ready to pounce.