The elevator shot up like a bullet through the skyward steel cave, knocking them down to the floor once again. Fighting the force of the rise, they themselves rose back to a standing position and grasped each other to keep their balance. Vicious wind whistled past them, grating their cheeks, while the deafening sound of the hurtling elevator dampened their other senses. The transitions from door to wall to door and back again had fizzled into a blur of flashy silver and rusty brown.
''Doctor!'' yelled Amy. ''What do we do?!''
''Just keep calm,'' shouted the Doctor, ''and everything will be fine!''
''When does that ever accomplish anything?!'' screamed Amy furiously.
''One out of ten times!'' roared the Doctor.
''What happened the times it worked?!'' Amy asked desperately.
''I don't know, it's never worked! This is the tenth time I've tried!'' thundered the Doctor.
''So if you've only stayed calm ten times, what were you doing when you got out of every other mess?!'' Amy growled.
''You're right,'' said the Doctor. ''Amy start panicking and everything will be okay!''
Sparks flew from the friction between the relentless chunk of hurtling metal and its unflinching tracks. Amy screamed and threw her arms over her head. The Doctor looked every which way and his mind raced the elevator to a way out before it could decide for them. He bowed his head and closed his eyes, muttering to himself; speaking his thoughts out loud.
''Sonic won't work, there's too much power; can't break the cables, they'll be deadlocked on both ends and we're already too high to fall. Come on, come on. Think, think, think. There's always a way out. Always!''
''Doctor,'' Amy moaned, ''I don't wanna die.''
Though her speech was subdued, the Doctor heard every word. There was no longer any need to howl over the noise. Everything around them had disappeared. It was merely their voices in the abyss. Nothing else seemed worth listening to.
''The doors,'' said Amy, her eyes fixated hysterically on the flashes of silver passing by, ''they're moving so fast.''
''Doors…'' said the Doctor, a gleam in his eye and a curl in his jaw. ''Amy, remember when you were little and I told you everything would be okay, even though I was lying just to make you feel better?''
She nodded ever so slightly, too dazed to do much more. The Doctor broke the pause that followed with a smile that brought Amy back to life. ''We're doomed,'' he chirped.
The raucous clashing of iron against steel tumbled back. The Doctor grabbed Amy's hand and the pair dragged themselves to the edge of the lift, facing the wall with the doors. The Doctor beheld the site of the top of the hotel, careening closer and closer from the great distance. He shot his hand into the air; his sonic screwdriver directed raptly onto the wall a couple of hundred feet above them. It vibrated vigorously as it whirred into action and elevator doors were ripped open one after the other, all the way to the top of the chute.
''I know we're moving fast,'' ejaculated the Doctor, ''but we'll make it!''
''Okay!'' screeched Amy.
''On the count of three! One!''
They inched a tad closer to the edge.
''Two!''
Bending their knees, they braced themselves.
''This is our stop! Three!''
Hand in hand, they launched themselves forward with all the force they could muster. The timing was, with an abundance of luck, perfect. Guests on floor one-hundred and ninety-five watched on in awe as a young man and woman launched out of the bizarrely open elevator doors, followed by a surge of blue light. The momentum that had carried them up the elevator shaft continued to be in effect and they hovered in the air for half a second, like a rollercoaster going over a hill.
Their stomachs clenched as they reached the peak of their flight. Gravity took its turn and pulled them out of suspension. As they fell back towards the floor, they stretched their arms out instinctively and felt them collide with a part of the floor that was still attached to reality while the rest of them fell through the ground. Managing to hold on to the small platform, the resulting sight was two pairs of clumsy legs swinging about from the ceiling of floor one-hundred and ninety-five, and two torsos seemingly climbing out of the floor of level one-hundred and ninety-six.
They pulled themselves upwards and stood, backed up against the wall on the few feet of floor that was available to them, looking down onto the flickering landing. Visitors that were scuttling about on each floor were utterly gobsmacked. They looked at each other with astonishment, but moments later they were back where they all had been positioned seconds prior to the impossible event and carried on scampering along the hallways, unaffected by the absent floor below them.
''If this day gets any weirder,'' said Amy, her eyes speaking louder than her voice, ''I think my head's going to explode.''
''Don't say that, think of the mess you'll leave for the janitors!'' joked the Doctor.
''In case you didn't notice, the janitors around here don't seem too friendly.'' said Amy.
''Well, at least there's something to learn from this place,'' said the Doctor. ''Nothing is ever how it appears.''
''Well, it appears we need to find a way out of the current weird,'' said Amy, looking down at the floor. ''How are we supposed to know which part of the floor to stand on?''
''We cheat,'' said the Doctor, flicking up his sonicking device. He waved it around the floor, pressing the button firmly. The humming grew louder and peaked, but nothing happened.
''Oh, what is wrong with you today?'' said the Doctor to his pet.
''Wait,'' said Amy, suddenly struck with an idea. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
''It's not what it seems,'' she whispered to herself, absorbing the thought with all the mental strength she could collect. Amy opened her eyes again to discover that most of the level and all of the guests had almost vanished, hovering around like a film that was halfway through transitioning to another scene. The upper and lower floors were still intact illusions of a holiday villa, but what Amy could see when she focussed on the hidden layer of floor one-hundred and ninety-six took a while for her to comprehend.
All around her was a grid of metal beams and platforms that vaguely resembled the layout of the floor of the hotel. Most of the walls were missing, and masses of a marginally liquid metal substance forming several bed-like shapes were dispersed around the floor. Amy could see the reality of the construction yard-like building, concealing itself as 'The Vaconian', although it appeared they had reached a height where it wasn't able to fully construct the environment. It was running out of stock, whatever that stock was.
''Doctor, are you seeing this?'' asked Amy, enshrouded in baffled astonishment. The Doctor emerged from a tranquil state just as Amy had done moments prior, and saw the level through the eyes of his companion. He observed with piercing examination, trying to work out what the structure could be.
Amy brusquely collapsed down onto her knees and both of their visions, of a sort, were suddenly interrupted. Amelia clutched her head in agony but quickly recovered. The Doctor knelt down beside her and placed his palm lightly on her shoulder.
''Amy,'' he said fearfully, ''are you okay?''
''I'm fine,'' she said, staggering back to her feet.
''It must be the signal,'' said the Doctor. ''We can't fight it like that for too long or it could be damaging our brains.''
They started towards the stairs, following a path they had uncovered when they tricked the placebo effect , but before they could make it, their view ahead was obscured by total blackness. It had happened quicker than the power simply going out. The transition from quiet morning to silent night was instantaneous. It seemed the floor had been deserted as well as darkened.
Amy and the Doctor paused anxiously, bracing for something else to happen.
''Doc-tor,'' said Amy, raising her voice with each syllable. ''It's getting weird again…''
''Sshh,'' the Doctor whispered, tapping a finger to his lips. In the hush, a light whooshing sound could be heard creeping towards them. Growing louder with each second and getting heavier and softer in between, eventually the sound was unmistakeable. It was the sound of breathing.
They were not alone.