Chapter 13

He was fighting a losing battle.

He could feel his consciousness slip away as the craving grew stronger. He slipped down the side of the wall, his eyes closed.

What was he doing again? Oh, yes. Protecting Jo.

Jo.

Her scent pulsated across the room. He could see her, hear her every movement. She had no place to run. She was trapped in the dark with the world's most dangerous predator—a predator currently crouching in the corner, only meters away.

He caught himself crawling forward toward the delicious smell and instantly slammed himself back, smacking his head against the wall.

"Doctor?" her voice wafted across to him, slightly distorted. "Are you alright?"

"Jo… stay there…" he said in a strangled voice. His own voice sounded foreign to him. It was harder to manipulate his tongue around his now elongated teeth.

The world was becoming very dark. The slightest disturbance in the air rippled across his vision. And shining through the dark clouds was an intense light. The light beat with a fast, beautiful rhythm. He needed to be close to that light. He needed to taste it…

He stood up slowly and started walking towards it.

Jo stood by the door, the wooden leg of the stool gripped tightly in both hands. She listened closely, not daring to speak or even breathe.

This was all her fault. She hadn't been paying attention—too wrapped up in the investigation. The corners of her eyes pinched together. Anything that happened to her now would be her own fault.

She heard a sudden shuffling noise and then a great bang, as if something heavy had been thrown against the wall. She peered into the darkness but could see nothing.

"Doctor?" she called out, tremulously. "Are you alright?"

He mumbled something in reply, but it was completely incomprehensible. He sounded like he was drowning.

Jo felt like she was drowning herself. Alone in the silence and the dark. And then the shuffling noise grew louder and louder and closer. Her heartbeat skyrocketed and the wood almost slipped in her sweaty hands.

For lack of anything better to do, she pounded on the door and screamed.

The Brigadier slammed the door of the manor, huffing. "Well that was a complete waste of time!" he shouted to no one in particular.

Sgt. Benton cautiously opened the front door and closed it just as quietly. "Hopefully the Doctor and Ms. Grant have had a bit more luck," he said.

The Brigadier placed his hands on his hips and looked around critically. "Well where are they then? Their car was in the drive. And where the devil was that butler off to in such a hurry?"

"I've no idea, sir."

"It must have been somewhere important with the amount of petrol he was burning."

Just then the soft whine of a scream pierced the air. Both the Brigadier and Benton turned their heads to the source of the cry.

"That's Ms. Grant!" the Brigadier realized, his eyes wide.

The two men raced down the hall as fast as their military boots could carry them.

The Doctor was intoxicated by the bright smell. It shifted in front of him, pushing itself into the corner. Why was it hiding? There was something there—something he needed to remember...

It was making a noise. It was making a loud, raucous noise that hurt his sensitive ears. He reached out his hands. He needed to stop it—needed to stop that awful noise—needed to drink in that beautiful smell…

Suddenly the world exploded into light. His eyes burned and he stumbled back into the shadows. And then he was being shoved forcibly back by something—someone? The smells were everywhere now. There were too many of them…

And then there was one strong smell. He was holding it in his hands. It wasn't beating. It felt dead. At this point, though, it didn't matter. He sank his teeth into it and drank. And for one long, precious moment he was blissfully happy.

Jo slammed her hand on the door, again and again. "Help!" she screamed. "Help me!"

She caught her breath and stopped pounding for a second, listening. His breathing was closer. She wished she could see. She would give anything to able to see.

As if in answer to her wishes, the door suddenly burst open and the Brigadier and Sgt. Benton rushed into the room, guns in hand.

"Please, he's—"

But she didn't need to explain. The Doctor stood in the shadows, his teeth bared. He held his hands in front of his face, protecting himself from the light. The Brigadier wasted no time. He shoved the Doctor back with the butt of his gun and pulled a packet of dark liquid out of his pocket. He thrust the packet into the Doctor's hands and then retreated.

Without waiting for anything, the Brigadier grabbed Jo's wrist and practically dragged her up the stairs. Benton followed closely behind.

"I was afraid of this," the Brigadier mumbled as they left the Doctor to feed.

If you're short on Doctor Who videos I highly recommend the Babelcolour tributes. Also, I recently rewatched 'The Mind of Evil' and was overdosed with Pertwee awesomeness. On the downside, however, my computer is currently crawling with viruses and I've been forced to surreptitiously use my mom's. This means that updates might become a bit irregular. Sorry!

iPinkNinja - I always thought their clings were cute as well. Thank you for reviewing!

Amron - I sympathize with your computer problems. I'll keep writing though, don't worry! Thank you!