The Dread of Tomorrow and Yesterday – Chapter 53
A/N: Here's the second chapter of Silence in the Library. More sparks between the Doctor and Rhea and River.
Okay, first of all, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy Boxing Day to those who celebrate it like I do. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and I hope you like a bundle of chapters as your present. I plan on updating the last chapter of Forest of the Dead on the 31st which as you guys know is the anniversary of when I first posted this story. But before then, there will be this chapter and one tomorrow to lead up to the one on the 31st because I wanted to finish Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead.
By the way, is there anything else you guys would like to do on the 31st to celebrate this story. Are you sure you guys wouldn't like a Tumblr panel so you guys can talk to Rhea on Tumblr? I'm sure she'd love to answer all of your questions.
Replies to Reviews:
Muirgen17: Thank you so much and I'm so glad you liked River. It'll be interesting to see how the Doctor contends with both Rhea and River.
crossMIRAGE19: I know, I missed writing too, but I'm glad I got a chance to get back to it. I always cry when I watch River die in Forest of the Dead and I'm sure Rhea will have a lot of feels when that happens as well. And I can't wait until Rhea gets closer to River, knowing that River's going to die.
NicoleR85: I was just waiting for a moment for Rhea to showcase her psychology knowledge. I don't think I'm working on a schedule for the time being because I'm writing three stories at the same time and I have time to write nowadays. So, I think I'm just going to do update whenever I can and maybe go back on a schedule when I get back to school.
Audrie-13: Don't worry about that, I haven't actually made it the most obvious thing in the world. Maybe I need Rhea to kiss a girl so it's more obvious...
LoveableAmethyst129: I wanted River to have a familiar face when she got the library, but Rhea's attitude towards her may change in the future...
Marmalade1512: Thank you so much and I'm so glad you liked the Doctor/River/Rhea interaction!
grapejuice101: Thank you so much! I am planning to do 12, but not anytime soon. I'll have to give it some time.
beulah2013: I agree, Rhea doesn't need a jealous companion, she's going to have a few jealous secondary characters over the course of the story. I haven't really worked out what happens pre-Classic Who. We'll have to wait and see whether the Master knows her or not so we can tell how long the Doctor's known Rhea. And even if the Doctor did have some other wife on Gallifrey, I don't think Rhea would feel inadequate next to her because it's Rhea and she practically exudes sexual confidence. If there's one thing she knows, it's how to please a man in bed. At least, that's what I'm trying to portray. This trauma-stricken girl who knows how to get a man to play her tune through sex but knows absolutely nothing about feelings or love or relationships. I'm kind of going for the idea that Susan's the Doctor's and Rhea's adopted granddaughter, although I don't think she'd be too pleased to be called Grandmother. I don't know if I'd ever do Classic Who just because New Who's still going strong and there's so many of New Who episodes for me to get through. Maybe once Doctor Who comes to an end or I just get sick of this story, I may consider doing Classic Who. Although, it may take me years to get through it all. If I do them, it may just be the big episodes that I tackle.
LookAliveSunshine03: I thought Rhea would fit eel in this episode and I really did like writing her defending Miss Evangelista. She's very much the whole defend-the-weak kind of girl. I love the flirting between River and Rhea, and I'm sure we'll see more of that in the future.
TimeladyAlly: I do love the Rhea/River relationship and I want to expand in it in the future, and I will, I promise. I am so sorry I couldn't update this story on Christmas Eve, I really wanted to but time got away from me. I did update Stormdancer but unless you're interested in Vampire Diaries, that's probably not your cup of tea. I'm sure you're a great writer. Trust me, I was exactly the same way last year. I was so nervous and anything I'd written previously was absolute rubbish. But then I decided to give it a go and I got 412 reviews in the span of one year. You just need to believe in yourself, at the risk of sounding extremely cheesy.
: I'm so glad you found the story so gripping!
Warnings: Flirting, swearing.
Silence in the Library: Boogeyman
The Doctor narrowed her eyes at her in suspicion, wondering where she was getting all of her information from. How does she know River Song? What isn't she telling me? And what the hell is with this diary of hers? How does Rhea know the rules? "What rules?" He asked, carefully.
"Your rules." Rhea and River said, simultaneously.
Books began to fly off the shelves and across the room.
"What's that? I didn't do that. Did you do that?" The Doctor asked the others.
"Not me." Proper Dave said.
The screen in front of the Doctor now read 'CAL – Access Denied'.
"What's 'CAL'?" The Doctor muttered to himself.
Miss Evangelista whimpered as the others simply watched the books in amazement. When the books stopped, Donna walked over to her.
"You all right?" Donna asked, softly.
"What's that? What's happening?" Miss Evangelista asked, fearfully.
"I don't know." Proper Dave shook his head.
"Oh, thanks for offering to help with the lights." Donna murmured to Miss Evangelista.
Miss Evangelista shrugged. "They don't want me. They think I'm stupid 'cause I'm pretty."
"Course they don't. Nobody thinks that." Donna said, reassuringly.
"No, they're right, though. I'm a moron, me. My dad said I had the IQ of plankton and I was pleased."
Donna laughed. "See? That's funny."
Miss Evangelista looked at her, strangely. "N-no. I-I really was pleased. Is that funny?"
Donna winced. "No. No."
More books clattered against the floor and Miss Evangelista whimpered anew.
"What the hell's causing that?" Rhea frowned.
River stepped closer to her. "Is it the little girl?"
The Doctor gritted his teeth. "Well, who is the little girl? What's she got to do with this place?"
The Doctor was sitting on the desk in the domed reading room, with Rhea by his side.
"How does the data core work? What's the principle? What's CAL?" The Doctor growled.
"Ask Mr Lux." River suggested.
The Doctor turned to Mr Lux. "CAL. What is it?"
"I'm sorry. You didn't sign your personal experience contracts." Mr Lux said, smugly.
Rhea took a threatening step forward. "You really don't want to piss me off right now." She snapped. "And I am this close to shooting you, so start talking."
The Doctor held a hand out to stop Rhea from pulling out her gun. He jumped down from the desk. "Mr 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." Mr Lux shot back.
The Doctor scowled. "Funny thing, Mr Lux, I don't wanna see everyone in this room dead because some idiot thinks his pride is more important."
"Then why didn't you sign his contract?" River chimed in and the Doctor stared at her. "I didn't either. I'm getting worse than you." She smirked.
"Okay, okay, okay. Let's start it again. What happened here? On the actual day 100 years ago, what physically happened?" The Doctor asked.
A panel in the wall slid up to reveal a passage.
"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 100 years."
Miss Evangelista's attention was drawn to the uncovered passage.
"It's taken three generations of my family just to decode the seals and get back here."
"Um, excuse me." Miss Evangelista said, nervously.
"Not just now." Mr Lux scolded, sharply.
"There was one other thing in the last message." River said, slowly.
Mr Lux turned to her and glared. "That's confidential."
River raised an eyebrow. "I trust this man and woman with my life… with everything."
"You've only just met them." Mr Lux scoffed.
River smirked. "Nope. He's only just met me." River looked over at Rhea, who raised a questioning eyebrow at the curly-haired woman.
With a brief look at Donna, the Doctor and Rhea went over to River to see what she had to show them. Miss Evangelista was shuffling, uncomfortably, by the open panel.
"Um, this might be important, actually." Miss Evangelista said, hesitantly.
"In a moment." Mr Lux growled, sternly.
River showed Rhea and the Doctor a data file. "This is a data extract that came with the message."
The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "'4022 saved. No survivors.'" He read.
"4022. That's the exact number of people who were in the library when the planet was sealed." River explained.
"But, wait, how can 4022 people have been saved if there were no survivors?" Rhea asked, incredulously.
River grimaced. "That's what we're here to find out."
"So far what we haven't found are any bodies." Mr Lux said, grimly.
Suddenly, everyone heard a scream and the Doctor, Rhea and the others ran through the passage in the wall, the Doctor leading the way. When they reached the lecture room of the Library, they came upon a skeleton, ripped of its flesh.
"Everybody careful. Stay in the light." The Doctor ordered.
"Doctor, I don't like this. I'm not exactly equipped to fight shadows." Rhea snapped, her blaster twisted in her hands, one finger already on the trigger. "My training didn't exactly cover this type of enemy."
The Doctor wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed a quick, but reassuring, kiss to the side of her head. "Don't worry, Rhea, we'll get through this." He murmured.
Rhea narrowed her eyes at him. "You see, you always say that, but we always manage to get through everything by the skin of our teeth." She growled.
The Doctor clucked his tongue and winked at her, making her smile, reluctantly.
"You keep saying that. I don't see the point." Proper Dave grumbled.
"Then go into the dark and die." Rhea growled, her eyes fiery. I really don't have much patience for people willing to ignore orders when their lives are in danger. Rebellion against authority only goes so far.
"Rhea." The Doctor chided, gently.
"What?" Rhea raised an eyebrow. "If he's stupid enough to ignore you, then let him die." She scowled.
The Doctor sighed. "Who screamed?" He asked, looking around.
"Miss Evangelista. She's the only one of us not here." Rhea said, her eye searching in the darkness of the room for any sign of the young woman.
"Where is she?" The Doctor muttered.
River held up the communication device attached to her spacesuit. "Miss Evangelista, please state your current-"
Everyone stood still when they heard River's words echoing all around them, coming from somewhere close to them. The Doctor pointed the beam of his torch against the suit that was attached to the skeleton.
River and Rhea walked over to the skeleton. "Please state your current..." She kneeled beside the skeleton. "… position."
Rhea pulled the broken collar to reveal the green lights of the communication device. "It's her, it's Miss Evangelista." She grimaced and moved back over to the Doctor. "In hindsight, it should have been obvious it was her." She muttered to him.
"We heard her scream a few seconds ago. What could do that to a person in a few seconds?" Anita asked.
"It took less than a few seconds." The Doctor said, grimly, eyeing the skeleton with dread.
"What did?" Anita looked at him, nervously.
"Hello?" Miss Evangelista's voice crackled over the communication device.
River's face transformed into an expression of grief. "I'm sorry, everyone. This isn't going to be pleasant. She's ghosting."
Rhea frowned at River. "What do you mean?"
"Hello? Excuse me. I-I'm sorry, hello? Excuse me." Miss Evangelista's voice came over the communication device, stunning everyone into a stupor as they stared at the skeleton.
"That's-that's her. That's Miss Evangelista." Donna stuttered, gripping onto Rhea's hand, possessively.
"I don't wanna sound horrible, but couldn't we just... you know-" Proper Dave murmured.
River shot him a withering look and her eyes were furious. "This is her last moment… no, we can't." She snapped. "A little respect, thank you."
"Sorry, where am I? Excuse me."
"But that's Miss Evangelista." Donna whispered, horror dripping from her voice.
"It's a data ghost. She'll be gone in a moment." River explained, her voice quiet and mournful. She raised the communication device attached to her spacesuit. "Miss Evangelista, you're fine. Just relax. We'll be with you presently."
"What's a data ghost?" Rhea muttered to the Doctor, her fingers twisting in the Doctor's.
"There's a neural relay in the communicator, let's 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 after-image." The Doctor murmured.
"My father lasted a day. Kept talking about his shoelaces." Anita whispered, looking away from Miss Evangelista's remains.
"She's in there." Donna swallowed hard.
"I can't see. I can't...Where am I?"
"She's just brainwaves now. Pattern won't hold for long." Proper Dave said.
"She's conscious. She's thinking." Rhea pointed out.
"I can't see. I can't...I don't know what I'm thinking."
The Doctor looked down. "She's a footprint on the beach and the tide's coming in."
"Where's that woman? The nice woman...is she there?"
"What woman?" Mr Lux asked, confused.
Donna took a step forward, chewing on her lip. "She means… I think, she means me."
"Is she there?"
"Yes, she's here. Hang on." River murmured into the communication device. She pressed a button the device to put it on speaker for Donna. "Go ahead. She can hear you." River pressed.
"Hello, are you there?" Miss Evangelista asked.
Donna gasped and shook her head, her eyes closing and tears leaking from her eyes.
"Help her." Rhea whispered, nudging her in front.
"She's dead." Donna's eyes were wide and staring with horror.
"Yeah, help her." The Doctor said, urgently.
"Hello? Is that the nice woman?"
Donna shook her head and wiped her cheeks. "Yeah." She said, hoarsely. "Hello. Yeah, 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." Donna murmured.
"Don't tell the others. They'll only laugh."
"I won't tell them. I said I won't." Donna said, reassuringly.
"Don't tell the others. They'll only laugh."
"I'm not going to tell them." Donna choked out.
The indicator lights of the neural relay began to flash.
"Don't tell the others. They'll only laugh."
"She's looping now. The pattern's degrading." River said, quietly.
"I can't think. I...don't know...I...I...I...Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream."
"Does anybody mind if I…" Rhea looked around and saw everyone looking away. She stepped forward and turned off the relay.
"That was… that was horrible. That was the most horrible thing I've ever seen." Donna stammered.
The Doctor placed a hand on Donna's shoulder in a show of comfort.
"No…" River held up Miss Evangelista's communication device. "...just a freak of technology." She pocketed the device.
"Whatever did this to her, whatever killed her, I'd really like a word with that." Rhea growled and River nodded in agreement.
"I'll introduce you." The Doctor pulled Rhea along and they left the room.
The others followed with a last look at Miss Evangelista's skeleton.
The Doctor and Rhea ran into the domed reading room, the Doctor casting his torch about.
"I'm gonna need a packed lunch." The Doctor said.
"Hang on." River murmured and rushed over to her backpack, picking out a lunchbox.
The Doctor knelt beside River, Rhea standing behind him. "What's in that book?"
"Spoilers." River shrugged.
"Who are you?" The Doctor snapped.
"Professor River Song, University of-"
"To us." The Doctor amended. "Who are you to us?"
River smirked. "Again… spoilers." From the growing frown on the Doctor's face, Rhea and River could both see that he was getting incensed. River held out a metal box with food inside. "Chicken and a bit of salad. Knock yourself out."
The Doctor took the box and flipped the torch that was in his other hand. "Right, you lot! Let's all meet the Vashta Nerada."
The Doctor was on his knees, using the sonic screwdriver to test the shadows, while Rhea and River watched him with affection, Donna standing on the other side of River.
"You travel with them, don't you?" River glanced at Donna, briefly. "The Doctor and Rhea… you travel with them."
Donna's hackles rose and she tensed, narrowing her eyes at the strange woman. "What of it?" She asked, suspiciously.
Rhea raised an eyebrow at Donna's hostile tone. From what she could see, the Doctor and Donna were incredibly suspicious of River. She didn't know why, but she could tell by their tone towards the archaeologist that they didn't trust her. Not that she trusted River, herself. River was an unknown to Rhea and she didn't trust unknowns. She was a hot and feisty unknown. But an unknown. And Rhea was inherently suspicious of unknowns. Usually, they tried to screw her over later on. And usually, if the Doctor didn't trust someone, it was for good reason. Even she felt a bit uncomfortable by the way River looked at her and the Doctor.
"Proper Dave, can you move a bit?" The Doctor said, hurriedly.
"Why?"
"Over there by the water cooler."
Proper Dave, reluctantly, moved out of the Doctor's way. The Doctor continued to test the shadows. Rhea left River's and Donna's side and moved over to the Doctor.
"You know them, don't you?" Donna asked again, quietly.
"Oh, God, do I know those two. We go way back, those two and me...just not this far back."
"I'm sorry, what?" Donna's brow furrowed.
"He hasn't met me yet. She has, but it's too early for her. I sent them a message but it went wrong. It arrived too early. This is the Doctor and Rhea in the days before they knew me. And he looks at me... he looks right through me, and it shouldn't kill me, but it does. And she… she doesn't really care. I'm just someone else to her. She knows me, but she doesn't consider me important enough."
Donna glared at her, her eyes narrowing. "What are you talking about? Are you talking rubbish? Do you know them or don't you?" She snapped.
"Donna!" The Doctor scolded. "Quiet, I'm working."
"Sorry." Donna muttered, still sneaking suspicious and angry glances at River.
River paled and spun around to looked at Donna, her eyes wide and her face white. "Donna. You're Donna, Donna Noble." She whispered, shocked.
"Yeah." Donna grimaced. "Why?"
"I do know the Doctor and Rhea, but in the future. Their personal future." River frowned for a second. "Or at least his. Hers is kind of confusing."
"So why don't you know me? Where am I in the future?" Donna asked, nervously.
River opened her mouth to answer, but the Doctor called out, stopping her.
"Okay, got a live one!" The Doctor jumped to his feet and faced the others. "That's not darkness down those corridors. This..." He pointed at the darkness. "… is not a shadow. It's a swarm…" He picked up the lunch. "… a man-eating swarm." He threw a chicken leg at the shadow and it was stripped of flesh even before it reached the floor. "They're piranhas of they air. The Vashta Nerada… literally "the shadows that melt the flesh." Most planets will have them but usually in small clusters. I've never seen an infestation on this scale-or as aggressive."
Donna frowned. "What do you mean, 'most planets'? Not Earth." She said, incredulously.
The Doctor hummed in agreement. "Earth and a billion other worlds. Where there's meat, there's Vashta Nerada. You can see them sometimes if you look. Dust in sunbeams."
Donna raised an eyebrow. "If they were on Earth, we'd know."
"Um, not necessarily." Rhea chimed in. "Thousands of people go missing every day. Think about those who never get found." She murmured.
"Every shadow?" River wondered aloud.
"No," The Doctor corrected. "But any shadow."
"So, what do we do?" Rhea turned to look at him.
The Doctor shrugged. "Daleks, aim for the eyestalk. Sontarans, back of the neck. Vashta Nerada... run. Just run." He growled.
"Run?" Rhea asked, incredulously. "Run where, exactly?"
"This is an index point. There must be an exit teleport somewhere." The Doctor explained.
Everyone turned to look at Mr Lux with raised eyebrows.
"Don't look at me." Mr Lux scoffed. "I haven't memorised the schematics."
"The gift shop!" Rhea exclaimed, suddenly. "They always make you go through the gift shop on the way out so you'll buy something."
The Doctor ran to the door of the shop and peered inside, looking for the teleport. "You're right. Brilliant! That's why I like the little shop."
"Okay, let's move it." Proper Dave said and made a motion to move his foot.
The Doctor held a hand out to stop him. "Actually, Proper Dave, can you stay where you are for a moment?"
"Why?"
The Doctor's face fell. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. But you've got two shadows." Everyone looked down at Proper Dave's feet and saw one shadow behind Proper Dave and one at his side. "It's how they hunt. They latch onto a food source and keep it fresh."
"What do I do?" Proper Dave asked, fearfully.
"You stay absolutely still, like there's a wasp in the room. Like there's a million wasps."
"We're not leaving you, Dave." River chimed in.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "'Course we're not leaving you." He scoffed. "Where's your helmet? Don't point, just tell me."
"On the floor by my bag." Proper Dave said.
Anita went to pick it up.
"Don't cross his shadow!" The Doctor shouted. Anita dodged the shadows, picked up the helmet and handed it to the Doctor. "Thanks. Now, the rest of you, helmets back on and sealed up." He placed the helmet on Proper Dave's head for him. "We'll need everything we've got."
"But Doctor, we haven't got any helmets." Donna told the Doctor, worriedly.
"Yeah, but we're safe anyway." The Doctor shrugged.
Donna stared at him, incredulously. "How are we safe?"
"We're not. That was just a clever lie to shut you up."
"Doctor!" Rhea snapped.
The Doctor looked at River. "Professor, anything I can do with this suit?"
"What good are the damn suits? Miss Evangelista was wearing a suit. There was nothing left." Mr Lux scoffed.
"We can increase the mesh density. Dial it up to 400%. Make it a tougher meal." River suggested.
The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and used it on Proper Dave's suit. "800%. Pass it on." He held out his sonic screwdriver to River.
"Gotcha!" River smirked and held up her own.
The Doctor paled and looked at the offending object with shock and alarm. "What's that?" He breathed.
"I think it's a screwdriver." Rhea muttered to him, her hand slipping into his empty one and squeezing, her own shock hidden away.
"Yeah, it's sonic." The Doctor muttered back, subconsciously leaning into her.
"Yeah, I know." River nodded. "Snap!" She changed the settings on the others' suits.
The Doctor grabbed Rhea's and Donna's hands. "With me! Come on!"
The Doctor pulled Rhea and Donna into the gift shop. He let go off their hands as he went to the teleport controls. Donna looked at the countertop.
"What are we doing? We shopping? Is it a good time to shop?" Donna asked, hurriedly.
The Doctor pushed her towards the teleport. "No talking, just moving. Try it. Right. Stand there in the middle. It's a teleport. Stand in the middle." He started to work the controls. "Can't send the others, the TARDIS won't recognize them."
"What're you doing?" Donna asked, worriedly, as she took her place on the platform.
"You don't have a suit, you're not safe!" The Doctor exclaimed.
Donna snorted. "You two don't have suits, so you're in as much danger as I am and I'm not leaving you!" She shouted, looking between the Doctor and Rhea.
"Donna!" The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Let me explain…" He pressed a button on the control panel and Donna disappeared in a flash of light. He turned to Rhea with a beaming smile on his face. "That's how you do it!" He looked at Rhea, expectantly. "Now you." He ordered.
Rhea scowled. "Are you questioning my badassness? Is that why you're trying to get rid of me?" She asked, incredulously.
"I need you to be safe." The Doctor said, earnestly.
"Yeah, well, safe's overrated. I'd rather be here with you." She said, a little uncomfortable by the tenor of her voice towards the end.
She realised what she had just expressed to him and she, determinedly, looked away from the Doctor, eager for him not to see any emotion on her face that would incriminate her later on. It was times like this where she questioned the filter between her mind and her lips. She didn't know why, if she had such a great sense of self-preservation, her mouth saw fit to spill these words that only made her sound like some stupid, lovesick teenage girl, determined to give anything and everything for a boy she had a crush on. It had been over a decade since she had been that girl and it had only been for one boy. And he had still dumped her after she put out for him. That was something that she thought of with great resentment even now. But the Doctor had this way of tearing past every single, carefully structured wall around her heart and slinking into her heart.
The Doctor sighed. "I'm not going to be able to get rid of you, am I?"
Rhea grinned at him, triumphantly. "No way, honey."
"Doctor! Rhea!" River shouted from the other room.
They ran out of the gift shop.
Donna materialised in the TARDIS, but before the process could be completed and she could fully manifest herself in the console room, she screamed and flickered out.
"Where did it go?" Rhea asked, looking down at Proper Dave's feet.
"It's just gone. I looked 'round, one shadow. See?" Proper Dave gestured to around him.
"Does this mean we can leave? I don't want to hang around here." River said, nervously.
"I don't know why we're still here. We can leave him, can't we? I mean, no offence..." Mr Lux said.
"Shut up, Mr Lux." River snapped.
"Did you feel anything, like an energy transfer? Anything at all?" The Doctor asked.
"No. No, but look, i-it's gone." Proper Dave started to turn around.
The Doctor's eyes widened and held a hand out to stop him from moving. "Stop there. Stop, stop, stop there. Stop moving! They're never just gone, and they never give up." He got down on his knees and tested the shadows with the sonic screwdriver. "Well, this one's benign."
"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Proper Dave called out.
The Doctor frowned and looked up at Proper Dave. "No one, they're fine."
"No, seriously, turn them back on."
"They are on." Rhea said, slowly.
"I can't see a ruddy thing."
The Doctor stood up. "Dave, turn around."
Proper Dave turned around. "What's going on? Why can't I see? Is the power gone? Are we safe here?"
"Dave, I want you to stay still, absolutely still." Proper Dave suddenly stiffened. "Dave-Dave? Dave, can you hear me? You all right? Talk to me, Dave."
"I'm fine. I'm okay. I'm-I'm fine."
"I want you to stay still, absolutely still." The Doctor said, warningly.
"I'm fine. I'm okay. I'm-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 Proper Dave's communicator started to blink, furiously.
River swallowed hard. "He's gone. He's ghosting." She murmured.
"Then why is he still standing?" Mr Lux asked.
The Doctor moved closer to Proper Dave.
"Doctor, don't." Rhea said, worriedly, her hand reaching out to pull him back.
"It's okay, Rhea." The Doctor said, reassuringly. He turned to Proper Dave. "Dave, can you hear me?"
"Hey, who turned out the lights?"
Proper Dave's hands reached out and he began to choke the Doctor, bringing him to his knees. Rhea started, but River held her back. The Doctor looked up into Proper Dave's helmet and could see only a skeleton inside.
"Hey, who turned out the lights? Hey, who turned out the lights?"
"Excuse me!" River called out.
She used her sonic screwdriver on the suit and the creature that was now Proper Dave let go of the Doctor.
The Doctor scrambled away from the creature and back to Rhea's side, her fingers and eyes checking his throat for any injuries.
"Back away from it! Get back, right back!" The Doctor shouted.
The creature came after them, awkwardly, like it was a child just starting to learn how to walk.
"Doesn't move very fast, does it?" Rhea muttered.
"It's a swarm in a suit. But it's learning."
Four shadows spread out from its feet.
"What do we do? What do we do?" Mr Lux shouted, panicked.
"See that wall behind you? Duck!" River shouted, using a sonic blaster on the wall to create an opening.
"You're joking, right?" Rhea's eyes widened. She turned to the Doctor, recognising the gun as the same one that Jack had back in 1941. "Where does she get this stuff? A sonic screwdriver and now a-"
"Squareness gun!" The Doctor exclaimed.
"Everybody out! Go, go, go! Move it! Move, move! Move it! Move, move!" River shouted, ushering everyone through the hole she had just created.
They finally reached the stacks of bookshelves in the Library, the other running ahead, while Rhea, River and the Doctor brought up the rear.
"You said not every shadow-" River began.
"But any shadow." Rhea finished.
They all looked around for a way out and Proper Dave arrived at the opening.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?"
"Run!" Rhea shouted and grabbed the Doctor's and River's hands.
They all ran through the narrow aisle between the bookshelves.
The Doctor was using the sonic screwdriver on a lamp that was situated above them. The others were busy trying to catch their breath.
"Trying to boost the power. Light doesn't stop them, but it slows them down." The Doctor explained, absentmindedly.
"So what's the plan? Do we have a plan?" River pointed her own rusty sonic screwdriver at the light and it got brighter.
Rhea snorted. "Since when is there a plan?" She asked, incredulously. "The Doctor never has a plan. He has stupid ideas that seem to work… for some reason." She muttered to herself.
The Doctor ignored Rhea's reply. "Your screwdriver…" He looked at River and stepped down from the platform. "… looks exactly like mine." He said, suspiciously.
Now this was something that made Rhea suspicious as well. It was one thing to have a sonic screwdriver, but one that looked like a cross between Matchstick Man's one and Mystery Man's one… that made her tingle in really unpleasant ways. And now, she had the exact same blaster that Jack had used in 1941. The screwdriver I could take, but the sonic blaster? There were now more suspicious coincidences than mere chance and it was beginning to raise her hackles. Who was this woman, how did she have a sonic screwdriver and a sonic blaster, so similar to two decidedly important men in my life, and who was she to them?
"Yeah." River nodded, not seeing the suspicious and distrustful look that formed on Rhea's face. "You gave it to me."
"I only give my screwdriver to Rhea. Not just anyone." The Doctor snapped, a little fearfully, gripping onto Rhea's hand for support.
River smirked. "I'm not just anyone."
"Who are you?" Rhea asked, quietly.
The way that River looked at her would have made anyone but Rhea look shamefaced. But it was Rhea and her mouth was set in a firm line and her eyes were cold, any warm feelings towards the archaeologist slowly disappearing with every new coincidence and happy accident that formed.
"What's the plan?" River asked again, her voice now hoarse and her eyes pained, something that both Rhea and the Doctor were determined to ignore.
Enemies were good at looking sad when they want to be.
"I teleported Donna back to the TARDIS. If we don't get back there in under five hours, Emergency Programme One will activate." The Doctor explained, slowly, a little mollified by the fact that Rhea seemed to have started to distrust the woman in front of them.
"Take her home, yeah." River finished, nonchalantly. She turned to the others. "We need to get a shift on!"
The Doctor looked at his sonic screwdriver with concern and beckoned Rhea over to his side. "She's not there. I should have received a signal. The console signals me if there's a teleport breach."
"Maybe the coordinates have slipped. The equipment here is ancient." River offered.
Rhea looked up at the Doctor, worriedly. "Or something stopped her from reaching the TARDIS." She murmured.
The Doctor saw one of the nodes and ran to it. "Donna Noble. There's a Donna Noble somewhere in this library. Do you have the software to locate her?"
The node swivelled around, revealing a hologram of Donna's face.
"Donna Noble has left The Library. Donna Noble has been saved." The node intoned in Donna's voice.
"Donna." Rhea whispered, horrified, her eyes and mouth etched in some furious shock.
Rhea and the Doctor both recoiled, rearing back. They both, simultaneously, reached to touch the hologram of Donna's face with their fingers, just checking to see if it was real. They flinched when they touched the face, Rhea drawing hers back, quickly, reaching for the Doctor's hand, which was at his side. His hand felt strong and reassuring amidst hers and she revelled in the contact for a brief moment.
"How can it be Donna?" River asked, horrified, staring at the node. "How is that possible?"
"Donna Noble has left The Library. Donna Noble has been saved."
"Oh, Donna." The Doctor murmured, mournfully.
"Donna Noble has left The Library."
Proper Dave rounded the corner and stepped into the aisle the Doctor, Rhea and River were currently loitering in, his arms stretched out and his gait like a movie zombie.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?" He called out, drawing everyone's attention.
"Doctor! Rhea!" River called out, fearfully.
But the Doctor and Rhea could only stare at Donna's face as the node kept repeating its terrifying words. River came running back with the others.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?"
"Donna Noble has left The Library. Donna Noble has been saved."
"Doctor, Rhea, we've got to go now." River said, urgently, grabbing their wrists and pulling them along.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Proper Dave called out again, as he lumbered down the aisle.
"Donna Noble has left The Library. Donna Noble has been saved."
"Hey, who turned out the lights?"
The group ran down the aisles, desperate to escape the chasing swarm of Vashta Nerada.
"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."
The group finally reached a dead end, desperately looking for another way out.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?"
"Donna Noble has left The Library. Donna Noble has been saved."
"Doctor, Rhea, what are we going to do?" River asked, desperately.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?"
"Donna Noble has left The Library. Donna Noble has been saved."
A/N: And here was the second chapter of Silence in the Library. As you can see, Rhea is beginning to have second thoughts about River. In my opinion, if River wanted the Doctor to trust her, she shouldn't have acted so arrogant. She reminded me so much of Rose in Turn Left. Have you noticed that Rose, River and Amy get a bit too full of themselves after travelling with the Doctor for a little while? Rhea will definitely be questioning River in the next chapter of her treatment of the Doctor. Maybe even some threatening ;) And I wonder what River will whisper in the Doctor's and Rhea's ears to get them to trust her? Will it still be the Doctor's name or does River have something else to tell the Doctor? But what will she tell Rhea?
Please let me know whether you guys want to have a Tumblr panel with Rhea, guys!
Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to leave a review!