Chapter Two
Light. Space. The universe open around him.
Boy was frightened at the unfamiliar. Boy was scared by the emptiness and movement that were almost forgotten. Boy was terrified of what this would mean.
No pain now. Boy didn't know how to not be in pain. Pain was always there, rising and falling in a pattern Boy could not predict. He'd tried. He'd tried to calculate when the dull ache would grant him moments of respite or when the appalling agony would drive anything else from his thoughts. Boy was almost as scared by lack of pain as by this freedom.
He was scared that this was the day of the trap.
He knew the trap was what the pain was for. He was told by the voice in his thoughts, told when the pain lessened enough for him to listen. The end of pain meant the start of the trap.
Boy tried to hide. He crawled into a dark spot and stayed still, eyes shut, hands pressed over his ears. He would bring it back. He would bring back the motionless, silent dark. He would bring it back because that would mean the trap wasn't here. He wished for the pain to return, because when Boy hurt, the Doctor was safe.
--
"Doctor, there's something here," Donna hissed in a frightened whisper. She looked around, hoping to see something that she could use as a weapon. The Doctor didn't bother with such things. He just moved slowly towards the source of the noise. Donna followed, not wanting to be any further away from the Doctor than necessary, just in case something horrible happened. The guy on the screen had seemed pretty clear he wanted the Doctor dead.
"Who's there?" the Doctor asked. He moved cautiously. The faint sound of movement was the only answer that came. They followed the source of the noise and Donna saw a huddled figure.
Small and humanoid, the figure was crouched in the tiny gap between two machines. It looked human, just huddled into a ball, as though trying to be as small as possible. Its face was pressed against its knees, hands firmly against its ears, concealing so much that Donna couldn't even guess whether it was male or female. It didn't look at all dangerous, but Donna had seen enough of life with the Doctor not to trust appearances even slightly.
"Are you hurt?" the Doctor asked, crouching before the frightened person. Donna wanted to warn him to stay back, but the figure just tried to pull back even further into its hiding place.
"Maybe I can help you. I'm the Doctor."
The figure moved its head, a faint shake that looked like a denial.
"Are you in pain?" the Doctor continued. "Let me see." He reached out to touch a trembling arm, but the person flinched away.
"Go away." The voice came out as a faint whisper, shaking with tears. A boy, Donna guessed by the sound of it.
"I'm not going to hurt you. How long have you been here?"
"Go away," the whisper came again.
"Did the Master hurt you? Here, let me see." The Doctor reached out to take one of the boy's arms, trying to lift it away from his head so that he could get a look at the figure in front of them. The boy just tightened his grip around his head, forcing his face into his knees and pulling himself into his tight ball.
"Go away."
Donna almost wanted to suggest leaving him. The boy clearly wasn't interested in help and this lab was giving her the creeps. The strange man's face was still frozen on the screen and the machinery was ominous. She glanced at the open TARDIS door and wondered if she should just head back inside. But the Doctor always had to try and help.
The Doctor reached out again. He placed a hand on the boy's head. The tension vanished in an instant, the boy's arms falling limp to his sides.
"What did you do?" Donna asked.
"It's a bit like hypnosis," the Doctor answered. "I placed the suggestion in his mind that he should sleep."
"I still think we should leave," Donna said.
"If the Master wanted me here, it won't be as simple as that."
"Who is the Master?"
"The greatest monster my species has ever produced."
The Doctor was reaching into the gap between the machines, his arms grasping the boy gently and easing him from the hiding space. When he was out, the Doctor laid the boy out on the floor. Donna got her first glimpse of the boy's face. He certainly looked human, probably around sixteen years old. There was no sign of any injury. Somewhat confused, Donna looked to the Doctor for an explanation.
She saw the look of horror on the Doctor's face.
"What is it?" she asked.
The Doctor turned away. He leaned against one of the pieces of equipment that was nearby, his body almost shaking and struggling to support itself. Donna moved to him, seeing the expression of fear on his face. The Doctor, calm in the face of any danger, looked horrified by the sight of a young boy.
"Who is he, Doctor?"
"Someone who should be dead."