In one moment there was almost only darkness and the vague impression of something that was not nothing. We flew, that much lingered. The place that was no place faded away the brighter it got. I heard a voice too, but its words refused to make much sense.

Eternity passed. A dreamless slumber from which emerging felt like crawling out of thick mud. I managed, eventually. And the words made sense and my eyes caught sight.

I gasped in some air, looking around without orientation. Trees, a creek, falling leaves.

And two men.

It shocked them when I asked who they were and they exchanged puzzled looks. Concerned ones too. Probably. I had never been to good at reading facial expressions. But one thing was clear, however.

They expected me to know them.

"I am the Master," the man who held me spoke. His tone was suddenly dark, commanding.

I blinked stupidly at him and wriggled out of his arms. It felt too strange to be held by someone I had no memory of. And what kind of name was that even supposed to be?

"I'm the Doctor," the other one said.

"A Doctor and a Master," I muttered and shook my head. "From a university? I don't remember going to one… And we're in a forest anyway… and…" I blinked my eyes shut and listened inside myself. "Why do I feel like I'm tipsy? 'N why do I wear clothes like some sailor? And where are we?"

My head spun. None of this made any sense. I tried to scramble to my feet and away from those looks they gave me. Should I run? Had they drugged me? As soon as I was on my feet I dropped to the ground again, too shaky to keep myself upright.

"Hey, slow, Lucy. We're not going to hurt you. We're friends." The one in the pinstripe suit held his hands up and took a step towards me. A pair of old school 3D glasses hung out from his chest pocket.

"What's the last thing you remember?" The other one again. He looked my age, somewhere in his early thirties. A neatly trimmed goatee sat on his face, giving him a serious look. His eyes pierced into mine, hazel in colour and full of… I couldn't tell. Disappointment? Anger?

I focused on his question and tried to recall whatever I could gather from the moment before I had awoken here. "I… there is… uhm…"

There were too many images, scenes that blurred into another without any coherence. Yesterday? A week before? Was it a year or even more? Faces, places, occurrences…

"I was at school. No, no, that's not possible. Too long ago. That was… ten years? I was… my Dad, no, my Mom." I groaned and buried my head in my hands, groaning. "'S all scrambled. I don't know. My flat… I was chatting with a friend and… I think I wanted to meet up with someone? Oh right…' s probably on my phone. Lemme check WhatsApp and…" It wasn't there. My smartphone was not in any of the few pockets the pants had. I felt panic arise. I needed that phone. How else would I get back home? How would I contact anyone? There was no way I could afford a new one and…

"It's in your room."

The voice of the man who called himself the Master tore me out of the fear and I released a breath. But wait… "My room? You mean my apartment? Why didn't I take it with me and… I still don't know…"

My body was clearly against being conscious and awake. A cold shiver ran down my spine and every bone seemed to freeze. I let out a groan and pinched my eyes shut.

"I think you should get some sleep and tomorrow we'll see," the Doctor offered, reaching a hand out towards me.

"Sleep?" I glared at the offered hand in disbelief. "How could I ever sleep now when I have no clue what's going on or if I'm even safe and where am I anyway and-"

"Oh, calm the fuck down, little one or I'll knock you out," growled the Master. "I promised not to hurt you and that idiot over there isn't even capable of stomping on a fly."

"Oi! Not true!"

"Threats're not very calming." I pursed my lips and scowled at the two. Whoever they were, it seemed they wanted me to feel safe. Although that doesn't mean much. The worst people I had ever met had also done their best to do that. Just so I would let my guard down. But maybe it helped to pretend to be less on edge? I took deep breaths and reined in the fear like I had done so often. Learn to think like the predator. Make them believe they have the upper hand so you can slip away at the right moment.

The Master knelt down next to me and grabbed my chin, not letting me jerk away. His piercing eyes searched me for whatever he deemed worthy to find. It was hard not to panic. Right now he could do to me whatever he wanted and I had barely a chance to defend myself.

And then he let go.

Simple as that. No further threats, no harm. Instead he sighed and brushed a hand over his face. "I guess your recent memories are damaged. Or locked. Or… I'm not sure."

"All of them?" asked the Doctor. "I mean, you don't remember us and you probably won't remember the TARDIS either or why you're here. That's… huh… that won't be easy to explain."

"What's a tades?"

"TARDIS," the Doctor repeated with a wide and happy grin. "Time And Relative Dimension In Space. We're inside of it right now. This isn't a real forest. 'S just a room. Big one, mind you, but still."

I glanced back and forth between the two, waiting for any clue as to whether or not they were making fun of me, but they didn't react. At least not in a way I could read. My pulse quickened again, but I forced my breath to keep steady so the fear couldn't overwhelm me. I tried again to remember. Anything. Something had to be there, right?

The only result was a sharp pain in my head and also my chest. Hot, glowing knives sliced through me and I groaned, almost collapsing. Hands grabbed my shoulders, holding me.

"'M okay," I muttered through gritted teeth. "Let go." The Master held me. Was this concern on his face? It was real. It was fake? I couldn't tell and that spiked my fear even more. I didn't know this man. He shouldn't be so close. Not close enough to harm me. I swatted his hands away and crawled backwards. The more space there was between us the better. "Don't touch me."

The Master let his hand fall and regarded me with a long dark look. Then he shot to his feet in one swift motion, snarling. "Fine. I'll fuck off then. You deal with her, Doctor. I'm having enough."

And with that he stormed away, loudly stomping through leafs and roots until his steps vanished. I took some deep breaths. This was all too much. Why was he so angry?

"Can you stand?" asked the Doctor. "If touch's too much right now, it's fine. We should get you to the med bay though. I want to check all of your vitals. And then maybe you can have a shower and some sleep. Or… whatever you want, actually. We're not in any hurry."

Could I actually stand? My head was spinning, my breath coming short and my pulse racing. Okay, calm down. Don't get a panic attack.

I took a breath and counted to four, held it and counted again, released, counted, held, counted. Repeat. A technique I had learned a long time ago. Breathe to the count of four, calm your body. Your mind can only panic when your body signals danger.

At least the Doctor didn't try to come closer. Right now any kind of touch would be like electric shocks. And I didn't know what their intentions were. Friends, foes, harm or good. Everything was possible.

"Feelin' better?" His smile seemed genuine.

But bad people could have nice smiles.

Think. There was nothing I could do right now. Staying would mean to deal with an unfamiliar environment on my own. Coming along would mean to give myself into the hands of who knows whom. He made an effort to appear nice, at least. If it was a mask, he might wear it long enough for me to run as soon as I had found a way out of here. If he was nice, then better for me.

"Med bay," I mumbled. "Sounds Star Trek."

The Doctor chuckled. "I know! It's funny, isn't it? The Master thinks it's childish, but who'd want to call it an infirmary for inter universal life form treatment? Too complicated and long. And he uses it too, but don't mention it."

"Won't." I used a tree to get to my feet and found that they were willing to carry me. Keep breathing. Keep counting. One, two, three, four. With steady steps I followed my strangely named companion.

It turned out that he had told the truth. The forest, indeed, was, behind a door. And outside of it lay a corridor, greeting me with its hexagonal shape.

"Damn." I touched the cold metal. Something pulsed through it, a light hum of sorts. "Don't tell me we're inside a spaceship."

"Alright. I won't."

"Then what is it?"

The Doctor pressed his lips together. What he had told me about it had already slipped my mind again. Time and relative dimensions? A forest inside a room. Another dimension. Okay, it made sense. Time… what about time though? The Doctor didn't say a word.

"So?" I pressed. Curiosity won the upper hand.

"You told me not to say it."

I couldn't help it. The whole situation be damned, but I laughed. "Thought taking things too literally is my job."

The Doctor grinned, his thumbs stuck in his pockets and he rocked back and forth on his heels. For a second I thought about whether aliens might also be autistic sometimes. Speaking of which…

"If this is a spaceship then… You two are aliens?"

"Yep!" With a prominently popped 'p'. His eyes twinkled and his fidgeting made me think he might enjoy this way too much. The introduction that is.

I squinted my eyes at him. "Did you abduct me?" An obvious first thought, wasn't it? "'M not a good test subject for humans, mind you."

"No! No, we didn't! It was your choice. Mostly, I think. The Master… Oh, let him explain himself. But no, we didn't take you against your will!"

Big puppy eyes. If it weren't for the fact that I had found myself suddenly stranded in the strangest environment I would have taken some time to adore the almost innocence the man before me displayed. Something about him felt so childish and yet… old. Maybe even wise.

But not dangerous.

My life had me tossed into the hands of enough truly malevolent people to be able to tell the difference. And the Doctor was no threat to me.

As for the other one…

Too much to know, too many thoughts. The Doctor walked me to a wooden door in the hallway and gestured me inside. A warm and cosy bedroom greeted me, clad in brown and orange tones. There was an autumn like atmosphere in here, made by the colours and the faint glow of a light hose that was wrapped around the bed.

"Just thought we skip the med bay til you rested. Test results would be skewed anyway and my sonic didn't pick up on anything weird." He tossed a blue glowing metal pen in the air and caught it again with a smile, then nodded inside the room. "It's yours." The Doctor stayed outside, arms and legs folded and leaned again at the door frame. "You've been living here for almost a year in earthen time."

"Earthen time," I repeated, letting the implication melt on my tongue. And also… almost a year? A quick look through the room confirmed the Doctor's words. Books and video games lined the shelves on the wall and some lay on the desk, right next to a computer. It wasn't messy, but the room definitely looked used. And very much like one I would occupy.

I shook my head and groaned. "Crap, how… is this all even possible? Why don't I remember anything?" This is…" I gestured outside and to the Doctor. "This's stuff I dreamed of and had way too many fantasies about and now you tell me I've been living it!"

He nodded, smiling. "We'll figure it out, don't worry. Something must be responsible for the memory loss, so something else surely can bring'em back. And now, sleep, take a bath, relax a little and then we'll see. You're among friends, I promise." He put a hand in the middle of his chest and then moved from the door before promptly turning back. "The TARDIS, my ship, she likes you. If you need to go anywhere, just ask. She'll be happy to guide."

One last wink and he strode away.

A sentient ship. Aliens. Space travel. My head spun, but at least the panic was gone. Mostly.

What a fine mess I had awoken into.