Children are told when they are young, that the dark is full of scary monsters under their bed and in their closets. The girl had seen these monsters and knew they were real. But she had the Doctor and he was like a reliable teddy bear.
Each and every time a monster surfaced to scare the girl, the Doctor made sure each and every monster vanished. She could always count on him. There was no monster she couldn't face with the Doctor by her side. She had no doubt in her mind. If anyone tried to hurt her, the Doctor could destroy them.
The Doctor could destroy all the monsters.
"Run, Rachel, Run." The Doctor grabbed my hand. I think this was the fastest I had ever run in my life. "Keep up with us Kalara." I grabbed her hand as we kept running. I didn't have a flashlight, but both of the other two did. And I hoped it was enough to get back to the TARDIS.
The darkness was closing in and the Doctor wouldn't tell me anything. All he would say was to run and not stop. My lungs were burning and there was a pain in my side. Still, the Doctor would not let me stop or slow down. It was worse than the Weeping Angels and worse than anything we had ever fought before in our lives. But the Doctor didn't want to fight. He just wanted to run.
But look at me; I'm starting in the middle. Here's the beginning.
"Oh, Rachel, we've been to so many places, but we have yet to go to a beach. Space Florida or Space Hawaii?" The Doctor leaned on the controls, a button away from taking me to the beach.
"Sorry, Doctor. I grew up in California not too far from the beach and I rarely went. Sorry to say, I hate the beach." I smiled as the Doctor looked at me confused. I couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. "But let's go to Space Hawaii just so I can see what its like." The Doctor's face brightened and he pressed some buttons. Soon enough, we landed and I grabbed a jacket.
"You can't go out there like that!" The Doctor gestured to my jeans and long sleeved t-shirt. Not to mention the jacket I was putting on. "We're on Space Hawaii. You have to dress cooler than that. You'll melt." He gestured back to my room. I sighed and trekked back.
Looking through my clothes, I found some shorts and a tank top that could do alright in the heat. But I kept on my converse. Knowing the Doctor I would still have to run, even in Space Hawaii. I walked back to the control room and spun around.
"Is this better, Doctor?" I smiled as I stood in front of him. The Doctor seemed to approve of my outfit, so we headed towards the door.
As soon as we stepped outside, I sighed in exasperation. We weren't on a beach at all. We were in the middle of some forest. The Doctor backed up against the TARDIS, leaning on it.
"Well, this isn't right." The Doctor crossed his arms. I couldn't do anything but laugh at him. He looked back at the TARDIS and at the surrounding area.
"And you made me change into this." I gestured to the clothes I was wearing. I was cold just standing there. "I think that we should either leave, or I should change back to what I was wearing." I turned back to the TARDIS, burying my hands in my pockets for my key. The Doctor walked around the outside of the TARDIS, trying to figure something out.
"I think we should leave." I nodded as the Doctor was lost in thought. He gestured to the door of the TARDIS and I found the key and unlocked the door.
Before we could get inside, a group came running towards us. Immediately, they surrounded us, one grabbing the Doctor and one grabbing me and we were running. The TARDIS doors closed, but in the hustle, I had dropped my key.
And I had no idea who these people were. They just grabbed us and started to run. For some reason, though, I did not want to stop. I glanced back a couple times to see what was chasing us or why we were running, but all I could see was utter blackness. I could make out the faint outlines of the trees, but most everything was shadowed. When we finally reached a clearing, where the sun was shining through, the whole group slowed down and fanned out into a circle around us. The Doctor looked a bit peeved by the whole thing, but I still clung to him.
"Will someone please tell me what is going on here?" The Doctor looked at each member of the group. None of them responded. I, in turn, looked at each of them really for the first time. Most of them were humans. But the others weren't.
"Doctor?" I turned to him, questioning everything that was going on. He turned to me.
"They're Silurians, Rachel. This must be some sort of expedition group?" When one of the members nodded, the Doctor carried on. "And this question is important, Rachel, and I want you to give me an honest answer." I nodded and looked into the Doctor's eyes. "Are you afraid of the dark?"
For a second, I didn't know how to exactly answer his question. As a child I had been terrified of the dark. As I had grown up, I came to accept the dark as part of life. But as soon as I had moved out on my own into a new place and a new world I realized something. The darkness will always frighten me.
"It petrifies me." The Doctor grabbed me into a hug. And I felt it. The Doctor was really scared, not just for me, though. The Doctor was scared for everyone. I hugged him back. "Doctor," I tried to sound reassuring. "We're going to be alright. We'll make it back to the TARDIS and we can fly away and we'll just be fine." I smiled and pulled away from the hug and looked again at the people around me. "You said the aliens were called Silurians?"
One of them turned towards me. They looked a little offended by what I had said. She advanced towards me and I tried to stand my ground, trying to observe her more closely. Then something dawned on me.
"Wait, isn't there a period in history called the Silurian period. Like before there were humans, there were reptiles." I smiled. It had dawned on me. "Silurians. You're not aliens at all. You're from Earth before humans." I let out a chuckle as she tilted her head. "You must hate us." I smiled at her. "Geez, you guys look cool. Too bad we evolved." A small smile creeped onto her face.
"Kalara." She held out her hand for me to shake.
"Rachel." I smiled in return and took her hand. It was reptilian, which I was expecting, but nonetheless, it still gave me a bit of a shock to feel the texture on my hand.
"Not all apes are so horrid, I suppose." She took her hand away and turned to the rest of the group. She addressed them. "Did we lose anyone?" I looked around the circle, counting each member. There was the Doctor and I as well as Kalara's group of ten; four Silurians and six humans.
"There are two missing." The response came back and Kalara cursed under her breath. The Doctor began to inquire as to what was going on. I tuned out their conversation and scanned around the surrounding forest. There were brief moments when I could swear I saw the shadows get darker and move, but then I looked back and there was nothing unique. The darkness was just playing tricks on my eyes. The Doctor placed his hand on my shoulder. I turned to see an unmasked look of concern in his eyes.
"I'm so sorry to have brought you here." I was unsure why the Doctor was so scared for us. I mean, the Weeping Angels were bad and the Daleks were bad, but the Doctor handled them. The Doctor always said that the monsters were afraid of him. It was how the universe worked. "There are things here that are going to try to kill us and they might succeed."
I backed away from the Doctor, not really understanding what he was saying. I knew, though, that I couldn't question the Doctor. The look in his eyes made me understand. He had seen whatever was after us before and something terrible had happened.
"Doctor, what's going to try and kill us?" The Doctor took my hand in his and pulled me away from the outer circle. Everyone, other than the two of us, were strapped with weapons, at least the Silurians were.
"I think telling you would be worse than keeping you in the dark." I looked away and sighed. I didn't want to be ignorant about this whole thing. "But I will tell you this; I can't fight them, River can't fight them, no one can fight them. When you know they're there, you just run." Kalara walked over to us again.
"The daylight is dimming and the shadows are taking over this clearing, we are preparing to run again so that we can make it to my ship and get out of here." She held out her hand towards me. I looked down at her hand and then back at her. "The Doctor can handle himself. I'm making you my responsibility." She reached out and grabbed my hand.
"I'm sure the Doctor can take care of me." I looked down at her hand holding mine. "Besides, I can take care of myself." She glanced back at me and laughed.
"You don't realize what we're running from." She gripped my hand tighter and she called to everyone else. "Is everyone ready?" I saw everyone around the circle nod. I even saw the Doctor glance at me and nod reassuringly. I sighed and braced myself.
Then we were off running and I felt as though I should have trained for a marathon. We didn't stop and Kalara made sure I kept up and that we were in the middle of the pack. The Doctor was right next to me the entire way.
We stopped again when we could see the sunlight. But there were more people missing. But we kept running and running and only stopping in the light. The shadows kept following us. Sometimes they got closer and we couldn't stop except to take a breath. Other stops we had time to take a head count and realize that some around the edges were gone. And I had the sneaking suspicion we were lost amidst all these trees.
"At this rate, we shall all be gone before my ship comes into sight." I sighed and sank to the floor, there were only four of us left; me, Kalara, the Doctor, and some other human. But as Kalara spoke, I could tell she was ready to give up.
"We're lost." I turned to the Doctor. My state of mind was the same as Kalara's. I was ready to give up. I didn't want to carry on running. In fact, I was pretty sure I couldn't. The Doctor looked over at me.
"You know we can't just give up. We have to keep pushing forward." The Doctor pulled out a flashlight from the pocket of the only other human left. Kalara pulled out hers.
"Alright, we must move then before it turns dark and we are all taken." I looked at each of us. The Doctor took my hand, as did Kalara. I turned back to the human, a man, and smiled at him. It was something that I felt he needed.
I blinked and in that instant, there was no longer a person standing there. There were only bones falling to the ground. A scream ripped its way out of my lips before I could stop it. The Doctor grabbed me and pulled me along. My hand was still gripping Kalara's, but it was as though they were dragging me along. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the spot where the man was just standing. I had just smiled at him and then he was a pile of bones.
"Run, Rachel, Run!" The Doctor pulled me along. I snapped my head away and really started to run. The Doctor turned back to Kalara. "Keep up with us Kalara." They both clicked on their flashlights as we kept running. It seemed to make the shadows disperse if only for the amount of time they were pointed at the shadows. When they started to flicker, I almost cried, but we kept moving. I just hoped we could get back to the TARDIS. I'm sure that was where the Doctor was leading us.
With the flashlights flickering, the darkness kept getting closer and closer. I wanted to know how that man was flesh and bone one second and just bone the next. Yet, I knew the Doctor wouldn't answer any questions I had. So we just kept running. This time there was no stopping because there was no sunlight or break in the shadows around us, except for the flashlight ray that kept us moving forward.
Eventually, I saw the outline. In the distance, there was a vague outline of the TARDIS. I smiled and kept running. It was like there was a burst of energy and the three of us ran the last leg of our journey faster than ever.
We were right in front of the TARDIS. The Doctor snapped and the door was open, but I realized I still needed my key. It had fallen. I was sure it was right in front. I slowed and bent to pick it up.
"Rachel, just leave it." I shook my head. It would only take a second in order to pick up the key. I saw the glint a little off to the left. I ran to grab it and by the time I got to pick it up, all around me, there was darkness. It was like they were circling around me. "Rachel, where are you? Rachel Foster!" I could hear the Doctor through the darkness, but I couldn't see him. I couldn't pinpoint where the voice was coming from. Then I heard Kalara.
"Hold on, the Doctor is going to try to help. He's getting something from inside." Apparently, the darkness was only concerned with me. It was playing with me. It started to close in on me from one side. I tried to scoot away from it, but the circle around me was small. I knew that in seconds I would end just like that man, I would be a pile of bones.
"If the Doctor is going to do something, could he please do it now?" I tried to stay calm as the darkness kept getting closer.
A sudden brightness blinded me, but also caused all the darkness to retreat. I smiled. So the Doctor had found a way to at least fight the darkness, at least for a bit. I ran towards the light. Kalara and the Doctor grabbed me and we were in the TARDIS.
The Doctor jumped up and made sure we were getting far away from the forest. I fell to the floor, exhausted. I didn't even try to get away from the door or try to do anything, except lie on the floor greedily gulping air into my lungs.
Tomorrow I would be sore and I probably would sleep for most of the day. But the engine sounds were a little bit of a comfort. Seeing as how I almost got devoured by shadows, I was happy to be alive.
"Space Hawaii. And this time, I'm sure we're there." The Doctor walked over and stood over me. "Are you coming, Rachel Foster?" I smiled and though it was hard, I took the hand he offered me and got up. My legs were wobbly and I could hardly stand, but the Doctor supported me as we walked out onto a bright, sunny tropical beach. The light was all I needed and I knew that I would like beaches a lot more now, for some reason.
"This sun is just what the doctor ordered." Kalara smiled and threw out a blanket. The Doctor chuckled, pulled out a chair and let me sit down. The Doctor walked back into the TARDIS as Kalara basked in the sun and I observed the constant waves of the impossibly blue ocean.
"We're going to have a proper picnic today." The Doctor emerged from the TARDIS with a picnic basket and a larger blanket. I looked at him and had to laugh. He was wearing his button up shirt, suspenders and bowtie, but his jacket was gone. The silliest part of his outfit was his pants, or rather, the shorts he was wearing.
"Sometimes, Doctor, you style just reminds me how alien you really are." The Doctor smiled and spread out the blanket.
The day passed as we relaxed at the beach. There was no one there and we could just joke around and have a fun time. The meal the Doctor provided as a picnic lunch was edible. He had made sandwiches and there was fruit, some of it alien, and plenty of water. The Doctor made us drink plenty of water. Kalara was content just bathing in the sun, but the Doctor made me jump into the waves with him. Of course, we were fully soaked and in our regular clothes.
I was perfectly content with our day at the beach. I smiled and we laughed. When it got dark, we got back in the TARDIS and flew away. Kalara asked to be dropped off somewhere. I didn't really know where we left her. She told us to call her should we need any help. But she bid us goodbye and it was just me and the Doctor in the TARDIS again.
The Doctor was in the control room, taking us somewhere new and exciting. He asked me for suggestions.
"Somewhere bright and sunny and nowhere near any type of forest," I replied, smile on my face. I had seen too many forests, each with its own danger, and I didn't want to go anywhere near one for a while.
"Bright and sunny it is." The Doctor turned back to the controls. I smiled and let out a yawn. The Doctor turned to me. "You had better get to sleep." I walked back to my room. But I couldn't sleep. I kept my lights on bright and sat up writing until the Doctor came into my room. "You can't sleep." It wasn't a question, just a statement of fact.
"I can't bring myself to turn off the lights." I played with my pen in my hands. The Doctor came over and sat across from me on my bed. "Every time I close my eyes, I just see shadows chasing me. I can't-"
"Rachel," The Doctor took my hands in his. "The things in the forest. They're called Vashta Nerada. There were thousands of them, but we got away. They only live in forests and in this one library. There aren't any in your room." I nodded. "Are you going to be alright?"
"Yeah, I guess I will be." I tried to smile. The Doctor looked into my eyes. He stood and smiled down at me.
"Alright." The Doctor grabbed a pillow from behind me and grabbed a couple blankets from the base of my bed. I looked at the Doctor questioningly. He seemed to remember something and grabbed a cheetah stuffed animal from atop the dresser in my room. "Come on then." With the pile of pillows and such in his arms, I followed the Doctor out of my room and back to the control room. "I know that there's a room in the TARDIS somewhere where there are pillow forts, but I think that building them is the fun part." The Doctor dropped all the pillows and blankets on the ground and started to build. He smiled the whole time and I helped him.
As soon as it was built, spanning around my chair and the console, we crawled inside. I grabbed my stuffed animal and we sat there, the whole time talking and laughing. The Doctor got me to take my mind off the shadows and the Vashta Nerada and eventually, I got tired and felt myself drifting off to sleep.
"It's alright." The Doctor smiled at me. "I won't let anything harm you. You'll be fine. I'll be right here while you sleep." I lay down and clutched my stuffed cheetah to my chest. I hadn't slept with the stuffed toy for such a long time. It was the last reminder of my home that I had. I had left everything else back in California when I moved to London. It was something that always gave me comfort. I felt safe with it in my arms and I felt safe with the Doctor sitting next to me, occasionally pressing some buttons. It was easy to sleep with the both of them near.
I fell asleep as the Doctor brushed some stray hairs from my face. When I woke up, the Doctor was in the same place, snoring softly. I smiled and yawned, too sore and tired to care much about the shadows or the darkness. The Doctor would always protect me, from anything. And I fell back asleep, dreaming of my reliable teddy bear, the Doctor, who was right by my side.