Here comes chapter two! Three will be up soon. I still don't own Doctor Who. Weird, right?
She woke up with the gut feeling that she'd been unconscious for only a few minutes. She also woke up with a soreness spread across her skin but fortunately no real pain beyond that.
After taking a few moments to gather herself, she lifted her head slowly and saw the only light there was in the darkness—the sonic screwdriver. The Doctor was crouching over her and appeared to be using it solely as a light source. He was handling it clumsily, which immediately worried Donna.
"You okay?" she asked.
He looked up. His face was illuminated only very dimly by the screwdriver's light, and she could just make out his features. "Are you?"
"I think so, just bruised." His shoulders sagged as he allowed himself to relax a little, and he nodded. She waited, watching him as he seemed to do a final once-over of her and decide that she was probably right. He started to put his screwdriver away and then seemed to remember that he needed it for light. She watched him and finally repeated more forcefully, "Doctor. Are you all right?"
He put his hand to his forehead, but she really couldn't make out any details in his face. His hand quickly flew to his throat, his chest, his sides, and his legs, and after a few seconds of this he said, "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Really?" Donna said dubiously.
"Cross my hearts," he promised.
She laughed a little, but it turned into a cough. She waved her hand in front of her face. "Dust's still settling."
"Yes, you've only been out for about seven minutes."
Donna opened her mouth to ask how he could possibly know that, then snapped it shut. "What about you?"
"Oh, only a couple of minutes less."
She nodded, and looked around, though it didn't work very well since the little screwdriver didn't come close to illuminating the entire cave. "So what now?"
The Doctor reached the screwdriver out, apparently scanning their surroundings. "It goes on and on and on. Opening this way." He sprang to his feet very suddenly, and pointed his screwdriver off into the darkness.
Donna stood up, slightly shaky but none the worse for wear. She grasped his arm. "Doctor, I can't see a thing."
"That's all right, neither can I. Just keep ahold of me and I'll scan the ground, make sure we don't trip or fall down any deep chasms to our deaths."
She scowled at him, though of course he couldn't see it.
Progress was slow. The Doctor had to be very careful, make sure he had scanned the area very well and account for all contingencies before they could take each step. He knew Donna was getting slightly annoyed by his thoroughness, but she didn't say anything because it was what was keeping them alive.
Honestly, he was multitasking. He really didn't know much about Cirula, but obviously there was something on this planet that had trapped them in a cave. He knew they could well be lost in here for a very long time—it was a cave, for goodness sake—but something told him there was something else worthier of concern at the moment. He just couldn't think what it might be. So instead, he settled on being content that his instincts were assuring him that getting out wouldn't be a problem.
When they finally sat down for a rest, she brought up the possibility: "These caves could go on for ages. You've got to have a better plan than this. How are we getting out?"
She was whispering. The echoing of the caves unnerved her, and quite honestly he didn't like it much either. "There are people not too far away," he replied, just as quietly.
"How do you know?" He could just hear her brow furrowing in the question, though he couldn't see anything at all. He'd temporarily shut off his screwdriver.
"Time Lords, we… we've got six senses. All of yours, and then a certain… telepathic sense. We had a word for it in Gallifreyan but there's no English equivalent. It's how I can see into another's mind."
"You can do that?" He heard the shock quite plainly.
"Yes. You've never seen that?" He chose not to address her look of shock. "Anyway, I can sense them. I can't hear what they're thinking or anything, and I can't contact them over this distance, but I can sense the presence of minds and thoughts not too far from here. I am sure that we'll be able to find them."
Donna was in a much better mood after that. She seemed to have a bit more energy and she complained less, though she'd already been quite a trooper before.
The Doctor, however, was feeling as if he were missing something. The musty smell of the cave, the planet they were on, the way the cave-in had seemed to happen right on cue—it all came together in a way that made the Doctor sure that there was something he should be worried about, but couldn't remember with any clarity. Like a dream.
He shrugged it off with relative ease. It was probably nothing.