The man was bored. He needed a new game, some new toys, something new to do. So he began flipping through his historical archives, looking for something new. "Boring, boring, done that, boring, oh so tedious, boring, been there, boring... what's this? She killed the Doctor?" Even he hadn't been able to do that. "Oh, she must be a clever girl... a challenge..."

/

River woke with a start, aware that something was very wrong. It was too quiet. She shuddered convulsively at the thought of the Silence, but quickly realized that this was an ordinary silence, a quiet born of... not the presence of something, but rather a lack of it.

There was no storm outside her cell.

She sat up and looked around. Nothing to see; it was too dark even for her. She felt around her. Bed seemed normal. But that was all there was... just her bed from the Stormcage in a dark room. Hardly a room, even - she could reach out and touch the walls on either side of the bed, and they were smooth. No shelves, no hangings... just the cool smooth walls and the bed and the dark. There was what might be a door but it had no handle or tactile way to open it. Bits of her in the back of her mind were screaming with terror, but she must remain calm. This situation was strange, surreal, and somehow ominous, as though vaguely remembered from a childhood nightmare... and her nightmares - like her childhood - had not been normal by anyone's standards. This was not a good situation at all. This required calm. And careful planning. And thought.

So River sat back to think. As her Doctor might say... thinking is good.

/

Still bored, he thought, why doesn't she do something? She just sits there... doesn't cry, doesn't scream for help, doesn't do more than try the door once and then give up! Time to add a little roll of the dice... and see what my new toy does...

/

River heard the clattering noise and sat bolt upright on the bed. And then the lights came up suddenly enough to make her shield her eyes. As soon as she could bear it, she took a quick look around the room. She had been right - the room was slightly less than two metres by three, and in one end was a door... or what would be a door if it had had visible hinges or latches. It didn't.

But it slid open.

River regarded it warily. Should she leave the dubious safety of this room and venture out? Or risk being stuck in here? It was the thought of the dark and the silence in this room weighing down on her again that decided her. She got up from the bed and peered around the door frame. It was a featureless corridor as far as she could see in both directions- just pale grey walls and ceiling and floor, all the corners rounded and seamless. She took a deep breath and stepped out into the hallway, facing to the right. The door - not unexpectedly - silently slid shut behind her.

And the lights went out, leaving her in inky blackness again. "All right," she said aloud, refusing to give into the eerie silence, "So keep one hand against the wall. Won't work against a good perception filter, but..." Oh yes, River my girl, make some noise, she thought. That helps against the silence. And the dark. And she began to walk, trailing her left hand along the wall. She began to sing a little tune - Tick tock goes the clock, He cradled and he rocked her. Tick tock goes the clock, 'Til River kills the...- under her breath, then realized what it was she was singing and stopped abruptly, both the singing and the walking. Oh please, please, please Old Girl, if you can hear me, she thought desperately, please bring my Doctor here now. Please. I need him, please...

/

The man sat up straight. This was interesting. Was she trying to send some sort of psychic distress call? Perhaps she wasn't as clever as he had thought; she certainly couldn't do that from in here. And to whom was she making this futile attempt? It looked like - but she had killed him - history said she had. Why would hisTARDIS still... unless he was alive! The man rubbed his hands together with satisfaction, thinking this is going to be amusing... and the Doctor! - If the Doctor was alive in spite of this girl, then how much more fun would it be to play them both through his new maze? He would make it easy for the Doctor to find them... he just needed to send a message or two of his own.