A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read this story so far, and thank you everyone who has reviewed. Hope you're all feeling confused, hehe. Here's chapter Seven.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter Seven: Unforgettable

The mass of terrified survivors huddled together for comfort after their ordeal. Some were angry, some were just plain scared. One woman was crying. The Doctor rushed from one group to another, checking that no one was injured. Rose went over to find Florence, who was shaking and staring at the forest. Rose took her hand gently and sat her down, wrapping an arm over her shoulders.

"What were those things?" Florence asked in a wobbly voice.

"I don't know," Rose replied honestly. "But I'm guessing they're to do with why we're stuck here."

"But... they shone like the moon. They weren't human, they couldn't possibly have been. My God, what were they?"

Rose could hear the panic rising in her voice, and tried to calm her. "Hey, it's okay. Look, they had plenty of time to hurt us if they wanted to, but they didn't. They can't be all that bad."

Florence nodded slightly, still shaking. Rose gave her a few moments to calm down, and then tried speaking to her again.

"What was it like, being... frozen still like that? Why were you saying all those things?"

Florence looked at her, and blinked. Rose peered through the murky light provided by the campfire, and saw a sort of peace wash over her.

"Saying what things, dear?"

Rose frowned. "All that stuff you was saying when those creatures were here?"

Florence looked confused for a moment, and then smiled a little. "Oh, I can't remember now. No matter. I wonder where those children got to, it's way past their bedtime."

She stood up and wandered away into the crowd. Rose turned to the rest of the group and saw them all having a similar reaction, as if what had just occurred was of no importance, and they were eager to continue their evening activities. Rose headed over to the Doctor, who was trying to examine Paul the mechanic. Paul shrugged him away with a pat on the back, telling him not to worry so much. The Doctor stood and stared, flabbergasted, as he went off to fill the little tea kettle.

"They're not bothered at all," Rose said quietly, watching people settle down again for the evening.

"Yeah," said the Doctor.

"That's not good, is it?" Rose asked.

"Is any of this good?"

The Doctor quickly darted over to the campfire, and addressed the group.

"Hello, everybody. Um... can you tell me what's going on?"

A burly man in the small crowd frowned at him. "What do you mean?"

The Doctor stared at him in disbelief. "Two extraterrestrial glowing things just took over your minds? Comments? Questions? Concerns?"

A woman chuckled. "Oh, I wouldn't worry yourself so much about it. We're all fine."

Rose joined the Doctor again, and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"Extraterrestrial?"

"Irrefutably. Definitely not of this earth. Not sure of anything else right now, though."

"Doctor, why can't they remember?"

The Doctor was quiet for a moment. "Oh I think they can remember. But they just don't seem to... care. And I'll tell you something else..." he pulled her aside from the group so they had no chance of overhearing. "I don't think this was the first time it has happened."

Rose felt chills run down her spine. "What makes you think that?"

The Doctor was frowning to himself, obviously hypothesising. "What we saw was basically a complete take-over of the brain: control of motor functions and what seemed like unlimited access to memories, specifically, the repertoire of knowledge. That sort of thing wouldn't have been that easy if it were the first time – that sort of control takes several attempts. And they didn't try to control us, which must mean they either didn't think we would be useful, or they weren't expecting us. Not to sound pig-headed, but if it's knowledge they're after, I'd be their best bet." He tapped the side of his head. "So I'm guessing they weren't expecting us."

"Which means they've done it before, and they knew the group."

The Doctor nodded. He looked around the camp briefly.

"Are the children safe?"

Rose nodded. "Um, yeah, Florence went off to put them to bed." Thinking of the children reminded her of the conversation she had had with them earlier. "Doctor, what's a Zenith?"

He stared at her, puzzled. "It means the highest point of something," he replied. "Why?"

"Earlier the children asked me if we were here about the Zenith. They said they could take me there. What do you think they meant?"

The Doctor shook his head slightly. "Don't know. Maybe the highest point on the island; I have no idea. We should ask them."

He looked out at the blackness of the forest. "We'll ask them in the morning."

Needless to say, Rose didn't get much sleep that night. Her mind was full of the images of the hauntingly luminous little people she had seen that evening. After jumping out of her skin for the seventh time at the sound of a particularly ferocious wave, she decided to give up trying, and headed out of the little makeshift tent and went to sit near the dwindling campfire. The Doctor was sat there, his arms folded over the top of his knees, his chin resting on his arms. He was deep in thought.

She looked at him for several moments, but he didn't acknowledge her. She sighed.

"Look, don't worry, you'll figure it out in the end, you always do. We'll be able to leave, and we can go and zoom around again. We can even visit my mum," she tried to joke, the smile failing her.

"I wasn't thinking about that," he murmured.

Rose knew better than to ask. She just waited.

Eventually he turned to look at her. "I promised to keep you safe. How is this safe? How was Krop Tor safe? Daleks, werewolves, gas masked zombie-kids, I just..." he sighed, and ran his hands over his face. He was obviously tired. "I keep running into trouble headfirst as if it doesn't matter, but when I think about all the times I've come so close to losing you..." he trailed off again. "I was determined to keep you safe this time. Earth, 21st Century, the Caribbean! How could it be safer without physically wrapping you in bubblewrap? And yet here we are, once again with the peril. I should take you home."

Rose took a deep breath so as not to lose her temper. "Don't be ridiculous. You don't go out looking for trouble. Well, usually..." she faltered. "And yeah, it's dangerous, but you told me that when I signed up, right?" She grinned, and nudged him with her shoulder. "Honestly, Doctor, I wouldn't change it for the world. You're not getting rid of me."

The Doctor failed to see the humour in what she was saying. "Honestly, Rose, sometimes it feels like the Universe is trying its damnedest to make that happen."

It took Rose a moment to respond, and when she did, there was a huge lump in her throat. "What do you mean?"

The Doctor saw the worry in her eyes, and tried to smile. "Nothing. I don't mean anything. Go try and get some sleep."

The next morning Rose and the Doctor searched through the mass of people for the youngest survivors, Rebeccah and Joseph. Rose was still amazed by how everyone was just getting on with their lives, not concerned about the invasion of their camp at all.

They eventually found them, hiding in the tree line of the forest. The Doctor approached them, and they both turned as still as statues.

"Good morning," he said brightly. "My friend Rose here tells me that you've got a secret."

"If it's a secret, then why did she tell you?" Joseph asked in a grumpy voice.

The Doctor was a little taken aback. "You've got a point there, I suppose."

Rose ignored him, and stepped over to Rebeccah. "Look, this Zenith you told me about yesterday. You said you could take me there. Will you take us?"

Rebeccah eyed the Doctor curiously. "He's too old to keep up."

"Oi!" the Doctor retorted. Rose burst into giggles.

"You're definitely right, but can he tag along anyway?" Rose asked when she could speak. The Doctor glared at her.

Rebeccah nodded, and, pulling at Joseph's sleeve, they lead the way into the forest.

They walked for nearly an hour, which seemed impossible, the Doctor calculated, as it had taken them less than twenty minutes the other day to walk round the whole island.

"This place is a bit weird, isn't it?" he asked conversationally, shoving his hands in his pockets as they made their way through a huge patch of nettles.

"Yes, it's a lot weird," Joseph replied. The Doctor grinned.

"It was definitely a lot weird what happened last night, eh?" he asked carefully.

"We're here," Rebeccah replied, avoiding the question entirely. Sure enough, as they turned past a large boulder, they finally found out what the Zenith was.

A huge metal egg, dull silver, about the size of a caravan, was embedded in the soil at a strange angle. Big blue letters on the side read 'ZENITH capsule.'

"We found it a long time ago," Joseph explained. "But it said something else. Then we came back yesterday, and it said that instead. Rebeccah read if for me; she said it was a Zenith."

"The TARDIS translator kicked in when we landed," he answered quietly, more to himself than to the child. "At least that's one thing that's still working."

"Doctor, what is it?" Rose asked in amazement. "I'm guessing it's a ship."

The Doctor walked around the edge of the Zenith, three times in a circle, before answering. "It's an escape pod," he explained. "See, it's crashed here." He pointed to the disturbed mud and an uprooted tree.

"Do you recognise it?"

He shook his head vigorously. "There are thousands and thousands of different makes of these things, being used by thousands of species. It's just a generic escape pod. Zenith doesn't mean anything, it's just the name given to it. Oh, hello."

His keen eyes had spotted something in the side of the pod, half covered with mud, and he bent down to examine it. Rose stepped closer for a better look. It was some sort of hatch, full of blinking lights and a mass of wires.

"A maintenance hatch," the Doctor figured out. "Someone's been trying to do a little DIY."

"They want to leave, just like us?" Rose asked, obviously excited.
"Possibly."

"Then maybe you can help them!"

"We have to find them again first."

"Oh, they come every night," said Rebeccah.

Rose and the Doctor turned and stared at the children, who until now had watched the exchange silently.

"Who come every night?" the Doctor asked carefully.

"Those glowy things," Joseph replied. "They're scary."

Rose stepped over to them. "Do you know why the grown ups aren't scared?"

Rebeccah glanced at Joseph, then answered. "They start to forget, and by night time they can't remember. Then it happens again."

Rose and the Doctor exchanged a determined expression.

"So they'll be there tonight." Rose reaffirmed.

"And we'll be waiting," was the Doctor's response.

A/N: I hope everyone's following it up to now. I've tried to explain what's going on as much as I can, but if there's anything I've written that you don't get, let me know how I can improve it. Obviously, though, some things will be explained in the forthcoming chapters.

Thank you for reading.