My thoughts are with everyone in Manchester and Marawi today. I hope this little story can take everyone's mind off of the news for a little while.

16: Carnivore

Amy and Rory stepped slowly out of the TARDIS, eyes locked on the tops of the never ending trees looming above them. Bird-like creatures flew and cawed as they trailed across the sky. They would've looked just like normal Earth Hawks if it weren't for their incredibly long, neon pink tails. Amy pulled a camera she'd bought on their last trip to her home planet, now three months past, and took a picture of the green forest. Rory turned to the Doctor as he shut his TARDIS' doors, a satisfied smile twerking his lip.

"Doctor, where are we? It looks like Brazil."

The Doctor scoffed at the suggestion. "You think this is the Amazon? Come on, Rory, this is nothing like the Amazon. Just look at the leaves."

Rory could've rolled his eyes, but Amy was watching and he'd spent the past few hours explaining how he totally did enjoy his conversations with the Doctor, even when the alien was incredibly frustrating. "Where are we then?"

The Doctor grinned. "Amazonias!"

Rory did roll his eyes this time. Amy merely smiled, nudging him on the shoulder playfully. Rory instantly warmed into his companions' game and smiled himself, gazing around the expansive forest with wonder.

The Doctor was already ten paces ahead of them, whizzing his Sonic Screwdriver at a purple flower with wide, spotted petals. Rory could've sworn the plang was moving on its own, following the movements of the Doctor's Sonic. Amy bent to her knees in front of it. "Is that a flower? It almost seems...I don't know."

"Sentient."

The Doctor stuffed the Sonic into his inside pocket and clasped his hands together. "I love new planets. This flower can sense soundwaves; it's how it hears its prey. And then it uses something like echolocation to figure out a way to...attack." The Doctor took a few steps back, pulling Amy back with him by her sleeve. "Actually, we'd better get out of here. It's heard us all talking and it might be thinking of ways to eat us."

Rory's eyes widened. "Doctor!"

The Doctor led them deeper into the forest, keeping an eye on the purple flower as they went. "It's alright, Rory, don't be such a worrier. It probably can't even swallow you."

"Probably?"

Amy stopped suddenly, facing ahead. The Doctor and Rory were still watching the flowers behind them skeptically. Amy reached a hand out toward her companions. "Um, guys?"

The Doctor and Rory spun around at the same time, both faces changing drastically. For Rory, that meant going slack-jawed and wide-eyed as he latched onto Amy's hand. As for the Doctor, his lips parted in a toothy grin and he pushed forward into the clearing ahead.

At the outer edge of this clearing stood what looked like some kind of dinosaur, its back plated in sharp, rock-like formations like a turtle shell. On its face were three small horns. What kept Amy and Rory holding onto each other at the entrance of the clearing, though, was its sheer massive size. Its stocky legs were as wide as a mini-fridge; its back the size of a large car.

The Doctor approached the creature with only a slight bend in his knee, ignoring Amy's protests. "Oh, you're a beautiful thing, aren't you?"

Rory looked from the creature to the Doctor. "Doctor," he whispered, "That thing is scarier than the flower. Let's get out of here."

The Doctor straightened himself and turned back to his human companions. "He's a vegetarian, look. He's just enjoying his salad lunch. He won't mind me."

Rory and Amy looked at the creature, which, sure enough, was munching on the grass below. The Doctor turned back and started cooing at it in a baby voice, but Amy shook her head. "Are you sure about this, Doctor?"

The Doctor stepped on a twig as he turned back to them, a disgruntled look on his face. "What's gotten into you two, today?"

Rory and Amy's faces were plastered with terror, both looking at a spot just behind the Doctor's right shoulder. Slowly, he caught on, and turned back to face the alien creature. Rory's voice behind him came with a tremor. "Doctor, I don't think those are vegetarian teeth."

The creature, now approaching the Doctor with its pounding, clawed feet, had its mouth open in a snarl. Red tinged the sharp, numerous teeth set in its wide jaw. The Doctor felt light headed for a second. "I may have been very mistaken. It wasn't eating the grass, it was eating…"

Amy edged closer to the Doctor, reaching an arm out to grab him. "Doctor…"

The creature let out a loud roar, and the Doctor spun instantly. "Run!"

His companions followed without hesitation, sprinting off into the trees, adrenaline kicking into their veins. With no regard for the small branches hitting their faces, they made their way through the forest underbrush, jumping clear over any fallen branches that happened to be in their way. Behind them, the creature's ability to break through the trees with its hard shell more than made up for its short, stocky legs. It was on the Doctor's heels before he could even catch up to his friends. Amy glanced behind her and her legs faltered, slowing her a bit.

"Doctor?"

"Keep going! Back to the TARDIS!"

Rory helped his wife get back up to speed, pulling her along, until his eye caught one of the vivid purple flowers. The whole bunch of them were turned toward the trio, almost blocking the path. "Doctor?"

The Doctor fumbled for his Sonic as the carnivore nipped at his coat, just missing it by a hair. "Yes, one second Rory, I'm a bit preoccupied at the mome-"

The rest of the Doctor's sentence came in a shout as he tripped over a root and went down hard onto his stomach. Amy called out loudly above him, but he hardly heard her, his ears filled with the sound of his hearts beating almost ceaselessly. His eyes were shut tightly as he waited in anticipation. Why the creature hadn't finished him off already was a mystery. Cautiously, he opened one eye, then the other, and saw Rory approaching ever so slowly, his eyes locked on a spot just above the Doctor. When he was close enough, the human reached an arm out and finally looked down to the Doctor. "Are you okay?"

The Doctor grabbed his friend's arm and pulled himself to his feet, crouching around the creature's seemingly frozen face. Once upright, he eyed it curiously. Amy called out to both of them, and Rory pulled at his arm, but the Doctor merely whipped out his Sonic and traced it over the still creature. It's mouth was still open, hovering over the spot he'd just been on the forest floor.

"The flowers protected us. They scanned us, so they must've seen that we weren't going to hurt them. Interesting."

Rory grabbed the Doctor's arm forcefully now, pulling him along toward the TARDIS. "Can we think about why we weren't killed after we're out of the danger zone?"

The Doctor turned with a distracted nod and followed his companions back to the TARDIS, keeping one eye on the frozen creature. As he closed the door, he heard the unmistakable roar of a carnivore that had its meal stolen from its clutches. The Doctor leaned his head on the windowpane as he considered how close he had come to being prey. His hearts still beat out of sync.

"Hey, you okay?"

Amy's Scottish burr brought him back into the TARDIS, and brought the smile back to his face. "Of course I am, Pond. Didn't become lunch did I?"

Amy rubbed his arm and sauntered back to Rory, who was stood beside the Console looking at the controls with a confused brow. The Doctor spend just one last second contemplating his risky lifestyle before prancing up the steps to be with his friends on the upper deck and dropping a lever, sending the ship careening off into the Time Vortex.