Amy let out a small shriek as she stumbled over a crevice. If it was not for Rory's or the Doctor's steady hands holding onto her, she was sure she would have been burnt to a crisp multiple times.
"We're almost there," The Doctor muttered in response to Amy's panting breaths. He wasn't out of breath at all—the advantage of having two hearts, she grumbled to herself.
They were indeed close to the TARDIS. She could almost make out the black letters on the TARDIS door. But she could not calm the thudding of her heart. She was horribly aware of how close the whirring of engines sounded.
Her stomach lurched and she let out a little gasp as searchlights flickered to life, its beams swinging wildly around them.
"Don't panic Amy!" the Doctor encouraged.
"No one is panicking," Amy snapped back defensively, "…except maybe Rory."
"What?!" Rory exclaimed indignity, "I am not panicking." But he yelped anyway as a mechanical voice boomed around them.
"Halt or you will be eliminated."
Like hell I will, Amy thought aggressively.
"Halt!" The voice thundered. But they were so close…only a few more steps.
The ground around them exploded. Amy screamed and waved her arm wildly as a speck of ember fried her sleeves. She stumbled backwards and hit a wooden something. It was the TARDIS. She almost cried from relief, but the feeling was short lived.
"Move Amy!" The Doctor gasped, shoving her aside. He snapped his fingers. Nothing happened.
"Oh...Keys...keys…come on…" the Doctor muttered as his hands desperately searched around in his pockets.
Amy's ears rung as the ship fired again, raining them with dirt. The explosions were getting closer and she couldn't shake away the unpleasant feeling that the ship wouldn't miss next time. Yet, the Doctor was still searching for the TARDIS keys. She bit back hysterical giggles at the absurdity of the situation. She realized that she probably wasn't very successful when Rory looked at her with concern.
"Ah ha!" The Doctor exclaimed as he pulled out the TARDIS keys from his back pocket, "I just checked there. I could have sworn—."
"Oh shut up Doctor and open the door," Amy shouted, her eyes wide as the ship's weapon began to charge again.
"Right."
The TARDIS doors swung open and the trio half fell into its interior. The Doctor slammed the doors shut behind them muting the chaos outside.
"We are not doing that again," Rory finally said.
"We can take a break and go swimming in the oceans on the planet of Tealemar next," the Doctor agreed as he hurried toward the consoles, "…and what is it with all the TARDIS locking me out today…."
Amy sighed with relief and snuggled against Rory as she closed her eyes wearily. She couldn't wait to go home and take a shower. She smelled like a burnt chicken.
Click. Click. Click…
"Rory, stop doing that," Amy said irritably. She heard Rory gulp and felt his arms tighten around her.
Amy's eyes flew open. Her breath caught and she froze as she looked in horror at what so tightly held Rory's attention.
"Doctor…" her voice weak. "Doctor!" she raised her voice though it still trembled.
Hot molten eyes glared at her, its owner a transparent humanoid. She could see the purple veins and organs that pulsed within, but not any bones that held up its form. If she looked hard enough, she could see the TARDIS blue on the other side. She felt sick. Where was the Doctor?
Amy shrieked as the creature lunged for her. She could hear Rory's outraged shout as he tried to hit it away. Her eyes widened as the creature's "hands" passed through Rory as if he was made of smoke and grabbed her, wrenching her way. Amy gasped as she felt fire sear across her shoulder blades and stared dumbly at the scarlet that spread across her shirt. Black spots peppered her vision and the world faded. She dimly heard Rory's screams as the world fell to pieces.
Conflicting emotions—Horror, admiration, and disgust—tore through the Doctor as words and charts flashed by on the monitor. His mind raced as he absorbed the information, of the promise and the destruction it held.
A high-pitched scream jolted him out his thoughts and reality rushed back. He whirled around irritably. His breath caught and died in his lungs. Red. His eyes were drawn to the crimson blotch on Amy's shirt. He struggled to inhale. The world tightened around him, threatening to crush him.
Sara, Rose, and Donna…the fates of his past companions flashed through his mind and terror flared inside of him.
"What do you want?" he asked flatly. He could not take his eyes off Amy's wound.
"Doctor, you have to do something," Rory pleaded, his voice cracked. He struggled helplessly against a second humanoid that pinned his arms against his sides and forced him onto his knees.
"Be quiet Rory," the Doctor said. He was surprised at how calm he sounded. Anger began to will up inside of him as he looked at the creatures whose hands now threateningly encircled Amy's and Rory's necks, dulling the edges of fear that had almost frozen him. He wanted to wrap his hands around their necks instead and his hand trembled from the effort to not do so.
The creature tilted its head at him silently, seeming to analyzing him with its lifeless red eyes. In all his travels, it was his first time that he encountered such creatures and he hoped, for their sake, that it was his last. If Amy and Rory were killed, he would…No; he had to concentrate on the task at hand.
"Information," the creature holding Amy said in a gurgling voice.
"What kind of information?" the Doctor asked. Caution made his hands snake discreetly toward his screwdriver still plugged into the TARDIS. He stiffened as the creature's nails ran across Amy's neck, leaving a crimson line. Rory moaned, slumping. The Doctor could see the tears that were beginning to form in Rory's eyes.
"I think you know," it said, baring its teeth in a smile. Yes, he could guess what the creature wanted.
"Let my companions go first," The Doctor growled.
Amy's captive threw back its head and laughed, "I don't think you are in the position to bargain, Doctor."
"You know me?" the Doctor's eyes narrowed.
"My master warned us about you," it said, tightening its hold on Amy's neck, "Now, the information, Doctor. Or you'll have to clean up quite the mess in your TARDIS tonight."
The Doctor hesitated. Amy and Rory were two mortals fated to die. Their lives passed by in a flicker, compared to the infinite of time, even if they were to live to their maxim lifespan. Dared he betray time itself for two such mortals? He could not. He would not.
The creature's hands made a move to crush Amy's neck.
"I'll give it to you!" he heard himself shout as he held up the screwdriver, breathing hard. The creature paused and shook its head.
"We want the information," it repeated.
"It's in here," the Doctor said through gritted his teeth.
"No," the creature holding Rory finally spoke, "We know what is in your…stick. But we do not understand it, it is written in code. Translate it for us, Doctor."
The last of the Doctor's hopes plummeted at the creature's words, "You don't expect me to do that do you?"
"If you want your companions to live," it said carelessly.
The Doctor felt his shoulders droop in defeat. In the end, he could not let Amy and Rory die. His mind laughed cruelly at him and whispered, what's the matter? Afraid to sacrifice two more lives? It would not make a difference with all the blood that already stain hands. He plugged his screwdriver back into the TARDIS control boards and hesitated, before rapidly typing the password that would decrypt the information to give a simple formula that anyone could understand. He jerked the screwdriver out.
"My companions," The Doctor demanded.
"We are not falling for any of your tricks this time," the creature with Amy said.
"There are no tricks," The Doctor growled and for once, he could not think of one idea that would ensure the lives of his companions and devoid their captors of information. The creature cocked its head at him and seemed to come to a conclusion. It let go of Amy who fell limply onto the ground and nodded at its companion. The companion reluctantly released Rory who darted towards Amy's fallen form.
The Doctor handed the screwdriver over to creature. It snatched his screwdriver and reached for something attached in its belt at its waist.
There was a loud bang and a bright flash of light that blinded the Doctor. He lunged forward instinctively, reaching for Amy and Rory. He felt his hand touch the soft wool of Amy's sweater before something ripped her away from him. He heard Rory's scream and tried to shout his name, but smoke jammed the words in his throat and he broke out in uncontrollable coughs. Even without seeing, he knew that they were gone. His hands trembled. They still clung to the torn piece of Amy's sweater.
Sorry guys for the REALLY LONG delay. I will definitely write more this year and it is my goal to finish this story (One chapter per week, because I got faster at writing ^^). Sorry again and hope you guys enjoy.