Chapter 2

After I recovered from the initial shock, I realized that I could see right through him! My mind raced and I tried to figure out what was going on. My only thought was that he was a hologram, well, hopefully. He turned to me and I found his appearance quite strange. He wore a hat that appeared to be similar to a cowboy hat, but it had a velvety texture. His brown curls spilled out from under his hat and framed his attentive blue eyes. His brown suit was adorned with a multi-colored scarf, accented by a maroon ascot. These served to draw attention from his rather lengthy nose.

When he turned to speak to me, his voice surprised me. It was very deep, but his accent was light and emphatic. He said, "Welcome to the Secondary Control Room," as if I perfectly understood what he meant. While I was working this out, he began his recorded speech. "This room serves as a backup to the main TARDIS console. Interdimensional travel -" His figure began to flicker and fizzle. I could make out a few phrases including: emergency situation, planar dispersion, and Type 24.

The only thing that I could make sense of was that this room was to be used in emergencies and that this was an emergency. I registered this in my mind and continued to the console. When I approached it, I was met with at least a hundred unlabeled, colored buttons. I reached for a small yellow one, but decided against it. I couldn't determine what would happen if I tried any of these buttons. I could end up going back 1,000 years or burning myself to a nice crisp. Reluctantly, I left the only room that could provide me with an escape.

I was suddenly startled by a frightful and horrible scream. I couldn't tell if it was in pain or if it was in preparation for a fight. I froze as it rang out, held in place by the waves that coursed through my body. It held its duration, and then silence. I wasn't sure whether to run away from it or towards it, so I decided to proceed cautiously in the direction from which it had come.

As I rounded the corner, I saw a heap of a body on the floor up ahead. I ran to it, figuring that whoever lay there had been the source of that bloodcurdling scream. As I approached them, I could see that they were surely dead. Their organs hung out of their carcass and were adorned with gashes. Their skin was frozen solid and bunched up in places. Their eyes were lifeless and dull.

I covered my face with my hands and let out a gasp. What could have caused this? I had no idea of any creature that would pride itself in killing so terribly. I began to sob and turned away so I didn't have to see what had been done.

I was paralyzed as something suddenly gasped for air. I held back my fears and turned to the body… which was no longer there. I turned to run and stumbled right into a man. The same man who had been lying on the floor moments ago. My fear suddenly consumed me and my head began to shake from left to right. My heart leapt into my throat.

I broke from our entanglement and tried to flee back towards the Secondary Control Room, but he grabbed my arm. He slowly pulled me in and turned me to face him. I began to violently shake and tried to form a coherent sentence as he brought me closer. He saw my lips moving rapidly and moved his finger to them to silence my future words.

"What are you doing here?" he asked me in a whisper.

"Weren't… dead… you… there?"

"I don't usually stay dead very long, it's quite boring. Now, who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I'm the Doctor's assistant, Clara. I was… with him until this happened."

"What do you mean, this?"

"I don't know, everything just… stopped."

"What just stopped?"

"The TARDIS!"

"You mean I'm on the TARDIS and it just… stopped working?"

"That's what it looks like. Now, answer me this: who are you and how did you get here?"

"Well, the name's Captain Jack Harkness, pleasure. And as to how I got here, I have no idea. One minute I was in London and the next I was here."

This answered none of my real questions, but I accepted that he was a conundrum of a man. His eyes showed his evident wit, but he seemed stunned and confused.

"Did you notice that the light has been getting dimmer?" he asked me.

"No," I replied.

Within seconds, we were in complete darkness. I couldn't even see Jack, although I could feel his breath rustling my hair. Although I could feel his presence, I had never felt more alone.