The Doctor became aware of Josh waking about fifteen minutes into his fruitless search for the creatures he'd seen down in the storm drain. He didn't leap up and go straight to him as he didn't want to crowd him. He carried on reading, but was able to see Josh in the mirror if he raised his eyes to it from the screen. He did it every couple of minutes just to monitor him. He watched Josh looking down at the cast on his elevated leg. He then saw him fingering the cooling strip on his brow and the strips closing the cut on his head. He inspected his arms as if looking for further needle marks or tubing. He then struggled to sit up a little more. The Doctor would have to show him how the bed controls worked so he could sit up and lie back without any bother.

He saw Josh look over to him as he maintained a position that looked like he was reading from the computer. For a moment it looked like Josh was going to say something to him. He didn't though. Instead Josh poured himself a glass of water from the jug. He sniffed it suspiciously and then cautiously sipped it. He seemed satisfied that it was just water because he drank the glass down and then poured himself another. The Doctor watched Josh look inside the sandwich he left him. He was quite proud of that one, it was his favourite — peanut butter and sliced banana. Josh regarded the contents and then pushed the sandwich away making the Doctor frown. Josh opened one of the chocolate bars and ate that. He then ate the second and the third, before he started on the crisps, and then, because he'd clearly realised he was starving hungry he had a tentative bite of the sandwich. He looked in it again and repositioned a slice of banana before tucking into it properly.

"How are you feeling?" the Doctor asked him.

"Okay."

"Would you like anything else to eat?" he checked. "You must have been hungry." Josh shook his head. "What about to drink? I wasn't sure what you'd like. I usually just drink tea. Do you like tea?"

"No, not really. Water is fine."

"Now you're awake. I'm going to grab myself a cup of tea. Your ankle is only in a temporary cast while it swells up and until the swelling goes down. It's going to be better if you just stay there with it up, but if you do want to let it down, there is a button on the side of the frame. It will lower your leg back down so you can take the sling off. If you stand on your ankle at the moment you're going to do real damage. If you are going to try to run off then steal the crutches when you go. You're not locked in," the Doctor assured him. "If you want to leave then you can, but you need to make sure you go straight to a hospital because you need further treatment on your ankle. I'm going to make a tea. Are you sure you don't want one?"

"I don't like it."

"Okay." The Doctor went out of the sickbay and across to the galley. He made himself a cup of tea and then returned. Josh hadn't moved from the bed. "Still here?" the Doctor commented. "Are you in pain?"

"Yeah, it hurts."

"If you're staying for a while there are a couple of choices. I can set up a system where you can give yourself painkillers when you need them, but it's going to be in a drip so I'll have to put a cannula into your arm and it will have to stay there. If I do that you can manage it yourself with a clicker that will dose out the drugs to a maintain them up to a maximum level. If you don't want the a cannula then you can ask me when it starts to hurt and I will give you the drugs."

"The drip sounds okay."

"Good choice," the Doctor confirmed and grinned. He went and got what he needed to attach Josh to a self administration medicine pump. He put it up and showed Josh how it worked. He assured him that the drugs weren't addictive and that they wouldn't make him drowsy, but, if he had problems sleeping when he was tired he could have something else to help him to sleep. He got him a urine bottle so he could pee if he needed to and he then got him a bowl of warm soapy water, a towel, a nail file, and some clean clothing. "I'm going back to my computer over there," the Doctor told Josh. "If you need a hand with anything then let me know."

Josh managed to clean himself up, but he struggled to change his jeans. The Doctor gently assisted him making sure he didn't disturb his leg too much. "What have you been doing about getting clean if you're living in the woods?" the Doctor asked him.

"I wash in the stream," Josh told him. "And, every couple of weeks I help a lady called Margaret. I weed her garden or do other jobs. She cooks dinner for me and lets me have a hot bath for helping her out. She said I could sleep in her barn if I wanted to."

"She knows you're a runaway?" the Doctor checked.

"She knows I don't have anywhere to stay, but she thinks I'm 18."

"18? I'd have accepted 16 at a push, but not 18."

"She's old and can't see very well. She's a nice lady. I don't like lying to her, but she'd tell and I'd get taken back to the foster home."

"What have you been eating?"

"I have snares set up and there are fish in the stream. I know how to identify edible mushrooms and wild plants you can eat. Sometimes I pinch things from the allotment or from gardens. That's how I met Margaret. She's got a big vegetable plot. I help her on it and she lets me have carrots or apples or stuff. I said I'd pay her for them, but she says it's payment for the work I do."

"If you've got money why are you living in the woods?"

"I've not got much cash," Josh informed him. "Most of it is in the bank and I can't get it out the bank. If I did that then they'd know where I am. I took as much from my allowance as I was allowed and brought it with me, but I have to make it last. If I tried to book into a hotel or something then they'd ask how old I am and if I used my bank account then they'd find me."

"Is your foster home that bad?"

"Yes."

"Why not go to the authorities and tell them?"

"They're not bothered."

"If you're that unhappy?"

"No one has beaten me up there and no one has sexually abused me."

"I'm very glad to hear it."

"That's all the authorities care about. I'm 14. I'm not stupid. I'm not a little kid anymore. No one good wants older kids, especially not one who is dual heritage. Black families don't want a half white kid and white families don't want a half black kid."

"I'm sure that isn't the case."

"It is," Josh informed him. "I don't want to talk about it. I'm just not going back. I'm fine living in the woods.""

"With a broken ankle?" the Doctor asked him. Josh just sighed.

"You could let me stay here until I'm better."

"Would you like to do that?" the Doctor checked surprised that he was not only prepared to offer the boy safe harbour for the months it might take him to recover from the serious injury, but that he quite liked the idea.

"Maybe."

"Do you trust me now then?"

"You've done what you said you'd do," Josh acknowledged. "You saved me from that thing and you've looked after me," Josh commented. "And, there is something about you and this place that makes me feel like home did. I don't know how. I don't even know who you are or where I am, but it feels safe and nothing has felt like that since I had to leave home."

"We can discuss all of that later. Now I know you're more comfortable, I need to go and seal the tunnels to keep those creatures down there until I work out what to do with them."

"Are you going to kill them?"

"Not if I can help it," the Doctor commented. "I don't recognise them and I've done some research and they don't match any species in my records. I'm going to try and figure out where they came from, but they can't stay down in the tunnels snacking on unsuspecting teenagers. There were a lot of bodies down there, Josh, not all of them were human, there were pigs, cows, and I think there was what was left of a horse. If they're going out and taking farm animals as well as people? I don't know how they've survived down there for so long without anyone reporting it. It looks like they've been down there months and it smelt like they've been down there longer. Someone must have noticed other people going missing."

"I don't think anyone cares."

"I care."

"The only people that come this far into the woods are usually want to get high or stash things away from the police," Josh offered. "Normal dog walkers and things don't tend to use these paths. I've not seen a dog walker come through here for weeks."

"The dogs probably have more sense," the Doctor suggested and then smiled at Josh as he worked out that was a friendly insult. They clearly weren't in the place for banter yet. Josh didn't know if he was actually being kidnapped nicely or not.

"I won't be gone long."

"It's dark and your torch is rubbish."

"I know I'm going to be in the dark now," the Doctor informed him. "I didn't know I was going into tunnels before. I've got a decent red light torch that shouldn't bother the animals and I've got some night vision glasses. It'll be fine. I'll be able to see as well as anything else out there."

"What if they kill you?"

"They won't, but, same as before. If you decide to escape while I'm gone, or, they do get me and I don't come back, then you're not locked in. Please remember to use the crutches and you have to go to a hospital. If you're still here when I come back, because I will be coming back, I'll make us something else to eat and we can talk some more or you can rest," the Doctor commented. "Oh, but one more thing? What year is it?"

"Is that to check I didn't bang my head hard or because you've banged yours?" Josh asked — maybe they weren't in the place for banter, but the Doctor thought that sounded a little like cheek.

"It's just a question."

"How can you not know what year it is?"

"I travel a lot."

"Maybe that is why you didn't know you were in Yorkshire, but not what year it is."

"That depends on how you travel doesn't it?" the Doctor asked him and winked. "But, blimey, Josh, it is a simple question."

"It's 2026, but it's still a question that doesn't make sense."

"Well, you can think about that while I'm gone, unless of course you're secretly planning to make your escape, in which case the quickest way out is to the left," he informed him. "If you turn to the right you'll get lost. Now, I really need to go and seal the tunnels."

"How?"

"From what I saw when I was down there, there are two ways in and out of the main cave area where they were living. I've got some explosives and I'm going to close those tunnels so they're stuck in there. They've got enough food in there to keep them going until I figure out where they're from. I could do with getting a tissue sample from one of them if I can, but I'll just have to see if that opportunity presents itself. I don't plan to get close enough to prod one of them."

"Maybe you could tell where they came from with their scat?" Josh commented.

"You want me to go round collecting poo?" the Doctor asked and Josh almost smiled. "Nice, thank you, but you're right and it's a good idea. They're unlikely to defecate in the same place as they eat and sleep."

"Is it really full of dead bodies down there?" Josh asked quietly.

"It is."

"Why do you have to go and deal with it? Why can't you just call someone?"

"It's kind of my job," the Doctor informed him. "We can talk about that when I get back as well. Anyway, if it's 2026, which is a little later than I anticipated, then you'll know what a touchscreen interface is," the Doctor told Josh and pulled the monitor closer to him. "This is your basic touchscreen interface, well actually it isn't, it's really not basic at all, but you can have basic access to it for now. You can access the telly or there is a library of films or books on there. If you're not going to make your escape then you can watch or read something while I'm out. I won't be long," the Doctor commented and patted Josh lightly on the shoulder. He didn't flinch away from him. The Doctor headed toward the sickbay exit.

"Are you scared?" Josh called out after him.

"I'm about to head down into dark tunnels filled with dead bodies and weird creatures that are perfectly happy ripping people to shreds with the full intention of blowing the tunnels up around me. What's to be scared about?" he asked him. "Yeah, I'm scared," the Doctor confirmed. "But, it's okay to be scared when things are scary," he added. "Scared is smart. People who don't get scared? They're often the ones who end up dead. I've got to go though. I won't be long."