And back to getting the Doctor back...
Chapter Six
"Supplies!" Frost flung the man up against one of the crates. She had been having one heck of a fight with him, trying to convince him that she could indeed save the Doctor. Right now, she was spitting blood from a vicious hit to the face that was bound to bruise later. "I need them now!"
"You're crazy! You can't go out there!" the man sputtered and choked as the cold hand holding him against the crate tightened. "You're friend is dead!"
"Have you ever seen the extremes a mother grizzly will go through to get to her cubs?" she leaned in close, ice and blood on her breath. Her fangs flashed menacingly in the artificial light far above their heads and her dark eyes delivered a clear threat promising certain death. "I will go through anything and anyone that is between me and him."
The man opened and closed his mouth a few times, but finally sighed. "They're in the closet in the office."
Frost released him and bounded off towards the stairwell. The man was following close behind her, still trying to sway her that there was no way in heaven or hell that her friend was still alive. Then again, she was never one to be told that something was impossible. Ever since she was a little girl, she had seen impossible things and had never stopped to ask if they were real or not. The man's babbling started to drag her back to reality as she hefted up a backpack and began filling it with supplies.
"Even if he is alive, you'll have to kill that thing to get to him!" the man waved his hand frantically towards the broken crates far down below.
She paused a moment, her eyes dark and sparking with memories. "If I have to kill it, so be it."
"You are crazy," the man muttered and settled on just watching her pack the supplies she was going to need. Lots of medical supplies were stuck in there along with two bottles of water and an extra coat. The woman also tucked a magnesium stick in her pants pocket and shrugged on a long coat. "Have you ever shot one of those before?"
Frost glared at him as she tucked a 9mm in the back of her pants and shrugged her Osprey backpack on. She completed her gear by grabbing one of the 10gauges and pushed passed the man. Her bare feet barely made a sound as she thundered down the stairs to the ground floor.
"Aren't you gonna wear shoes?" the man yelled down at her.
For a second she looked up at him, and he swore he saw her image flicker just a little bit. And after a few moments, he was completely alone again in the abandoned warehouse.
The beast dropped the struggling Doctor into the snow and growled at him. He stumbled to his feet and once again tried speaking to the creature that had carried him clear out into the wilderness.
"Now, now, easy there," he said softly and sternly. The indigo beast flexed its shoulders and swished its tail, shifting around in the snow as he spoke to it. "No need to get violent. I wasn't the one that came after you."
The Doctor took a few steps back, putting some distance between him and the beast. In rebuttal the creature pulled its lips back and hissed. The white whiskers on its face swayed in the wind as it blew through the clearing surrounded by trees. The steel blue eyes watched him carefully, not daring to give him any time to make a break for it.
"What are you, then?" the Doctor questioned, slowly reaching down into his pocket. His fingertips brushed the sonic screwdriver as he kept speaking to the creature. "Are you some sort of experiment? Or are you just lost on an unfamiliar planet?"
The creature lashed out with one paw, hunching down into the snow much like a cat would. The Doctor ducked out of the way of the large claws, pulling out his sonic before the creature could get closer. The tip glowed blue as the pitch of the sound got higher until it reached the correct frequency. A disturbed growl came from the creature as it buried its head beneath its large paws, trying to block the noise out by shoving its head down into the snow.
"Sorry, big guy," the Doctor mumbled as the creature thrashed around in the snow, blood beginning to run down the sides of its head from its inner ears. He flicked the sonic off and returned it to his coat pocket, frowning at the unconscious creature breathing heavily in the bloodied snow in front of him. "Well, I s'pose I should get back to the warehouse and see if I can get the TARDIS out here to pick you up and take you somewhere where you'll cause less trouble."
The Time Lord placed his hands in his pockets and picked his way back to the trail the creature had made. He couldn't see the warehouse from this distance, but from the time it took the beast to run out here, he figured he'd have to walk for about half an hour before he got back.
Snow blew around him in gusts, speckling his spiky hair with white snowflakes and teasing his long coattails. The wind whistled in the trees and his breath fogged the cold air, but he seemed oblivious to the frosty weather. Right now his attention was being focused on a large shadow that was gradually becoming darker. His first gut instinct told him to run, but his mind reminded him that the shadow was blocking his way to the warehouse. Well, running was still a good idea.
Large paws hit the snow softly and came to a halt as the creature saw a shadow take off running in the opposite direction. It bounded for a few steps and came to see that the larger shadow lying in the snow was its mate, and that the one running off was their prey. Light blue eyes narrowed and ears laid back, the creature lurched into a run after the fading shadow.
Frost shook her head once or twice, trying to get rid of the ringing in her ears. She didn't think the sound from his sonic screwdriver could travel that far, but she had sure heard it when he used it. That gave her the reassurance that he was still alive, but also worried her.
"Two different gaits," she whispered when she looked down at the tracks. One set was definitely running, sending bits and chunks of snow flying. The other, however, was steadier and more likely just trotting. If he didn't know that, then there was still a chance that one of them might bring him down.
She pushed her sterling hair behind one ear, glancing up at the snow blown land. The sun was nowhere to be seen, but light still trickled down through the fog and cloud. Also, there was another light bounding through the trees ahead of her.
"Oh no you don't," she hissed and broke into a run to beat the lanterns.
The Doctor grabbed a tree limb and made a 90 degree turn, kicking up snow with his heels. He glanced over his shoulder, wide eyes darting to and fro to look for his pursuer. Nothing, he couldn't see or hear anything, save for the frantic beating of his own two hearts. His brow furrowed as he searched harder for whatever had been chasing him, his steps slowing down just as he came to the lip of a cliff.
"Well, that was a bit lucky," he said slowly, glancing down the gray wall into the snow covered trees below. "Now then, silence is never a good thing. Come on, I know that you're there somewhere."
A responding moan that could be likened to a lion's came from the trees as the shadow appeared, stalking quietly on large paws. This creature was different, its pelt being mottled various shades of blue, black, and gray and it lacked horns atop its head unlike the other creature. It was just as big as the other, though, and bared large fangs in a snarl.
The Doctor turned his back on the cliff, reaching inside his coat pocket again with slow movements. However, this time the creature took note of this and struck out with one front paw. He yelped and jumped away from the cliff, skidding on his knees in the snow. A powerful swing bowled him away from the edge, but snatched his breath away as his back cracked against a tree.
"Ah, cheeky devil," he hissed, sucking in a painful breath and getting to his feet again.
A spray of snow went up as the creature sprang toward him, letting out a warning growl. He ducked and rolled out of the way as the large paw swung at him again, connecting solidly with the trunk of the tree. The Doctor glanced back as he bolted away, seeing the creature's claws stuck in the bark. The beast yowled and tugged on its trapped paw, snarling and snapping its teeth in his direction as his shadow began to fade away in the fog and snow.
His adrenaline level fully spiked now, the Doctor paused a moment to get his bearings straight. He turned a little bit North and started running again, hoping to at least get to the warehouse where there was a better chance of making a stand. The chill in the air burned his throat as he ran on, snowflakes stinging his face and eyes all the way. It was lonely clear out there in the Alaskan wilderness, and silent. The silence was probably the most eerie thing that struck the Doctor. He was used to noise and the panting of a companion running alongside him. But now, he was running alone.
He heard it before he saw it. There was one heavy crunch in the trail behind him before he went down. A few flecks of blood splattered in the clean snow next to him as he lifted his head and shook the flakes from his hair and eyes. As he rolled onto his back, he saw the creature shake its bloody paw a few times before returning its attention to him. At best, he could figure that it had torn a claw or two out in its attempt to get free from the tree.
The Doctor already had his hand half way into his pocket to get his sonic out when the beast lunged down at him. He pulled his arm up and braced himself for the impact. His pained cry rang out in the icy no-man's-land as large teeth smashed into his forearm, the canines tearing through his coat and jacket down into his flesh. A deep throated growl came from the creature, a dangerous look flashing in its light blue eyes. He heard a crack come from his arm as the beast bit down and pulled back, lifting its head up to glare down at him with blood staining the gray hairs on its chin.
"What did I do to you?" the Time Lord questioned and stood up slowly, cradling his torn up arm to his chest. "I can take you home! I can get you off this planet and back to your home world if you'd just let me!"
Silence seeped amongst the two aliens as the larger one almost seemed to consider this offer for a moment. However, the Doctor knew better and stepped back, reaching into his coat pocket with his good arm. The silence broke as the creature laid its ears back and its pupils narrowed into barely visible slits at his movement.
The Doctor ducked and feigned, constantly edging back towards the trees while he manipulated the sonic into the right frequency. His face showed no mercy as the creature shook its head and moaned an awful sound, blood starting to trickle down from one ear and web through its long fur. It buried its face into the snow, its tail lashing in distress and frustration. Snow was pushed aside as its large hind paws kicked out, the thorn like claws unsheathing as it fought to block out the annoying sound.
"I'm sorry," the Doctor sighed, waiting for the beast to finally lose consciousness. It hadn't started writhing on the ground like the other did, which should've been his first clue to move out of the way.
With an almighty kick of its back legs, the creature bulldozed its front through the snow and knocked the Time Lord over. Now that the ringing had stopped, it lifted up its head and shook it vigorously, sending blood flying into the trees. Before the man on the ground could reach out to grab his sonic, the beast hooked its claws into his leg and pulled him towards it, his screaming falling on deaf ears.
The Doctor kicked out, his converse clad foot connecting with the beast's sensitive nose. Now free from the vicious claws, he scooted back until he bumped a tree and used it for support to pull himself up. After swiping its paws across its bloodied nose, the creature looked up at him and snarled. He ducked around the back of the tree when the creature lunged, dragging its claws down the length of the trunk and leaving deep scores in the bark.
A paw reached around and swatted at the Doctor, but he slid out of the way and edged around the tree as the creature slinked around towards him. The long tail of the beast brushed him as he stood up and held his breath a moment. There was no way he could run with his leg torn up like it was, and even if he could, that creature could bound nearly twenty feet at a time. If I could just get to the sonic, he thought desperately as he spotted the tool lying in the snow about seven feet away. He shoved off the tree and jumped towards it.
His hearts nearly stopped as a heavy paw slammed him down into the ground. A huge mouth clamped down on his already injured arm and lifted him up, shaking his body like he was nothing more than a doll. Something popped in his shoulder as the beast hurled him into a tree. His breath came in ragged pants as fire spread from his shoulder and up his neck, rendering him nearly paralyzed. His dark eyes watched as the beast approached him again, head lowered and powerful legs carrying it almost gracefully across the snow. Its shadow loomed over him, and his fiery eyes met its cruel blue ones for a brief moment.
Silence rang out through the trees.
Pssh...I don't want to go up against those two beasts. Do any of you? Man, I would be in trouble if the stuff I wrote came to life. Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing! :)