13 Novella 1

Lake

You are careful to hide your new injuries from The Doctor the next morning when she comes to do her checks, and make a special effort not to flinch when she reaches to your face to shine a torch in your eyes.

She doesn't look convinced, but you didn't expect her to be.

"How are you feeling?" She asks, watching you carefully.

"Fine" you lie. She sees through that too, sighing and shaking her head.

"I was going to take Jenny and Yaz to see a planet today, but I think you ought to stay behind and rest for now." She says.

"Wait no but I'm fine!" You exclaim in horror at missing out on another planet.

"You were tortured" she says through her teeth, as though that settles it.

"I noticed" you say coldly.

You stare each other down, and eventually her face drops and she nods in defeat.

"Fine. But first sign of trouble, and I'll drag you right back here" she threatens.

You keep your mouth shut and nod, ready to move on.

                           *             *              *

You won't lie. You are nervous to follow the others out onto the next planet some hours later after you had cleaned yourself up and put some fresh clothes on.

The Doctor had told you it would be warm, but you sighed as you pulled on a long sleeve top as usual.

You were the last one out and the heat instantly hit you like a wave. The Doctor had left her coat in the Tardis and was currently trying not to stare too hard at Yaz in her denim shorts and crop top.

You smile at them, unable to believe they could both be so oblivious. For all her intelligence, The Doctor was ridiculously slow when it came to this particular area. Jenny also looks good, you noted in surprise.

She wore shorts too with a light beige jacket and a black bralet underneath. It suited her, and you turn away quickly.

She turns to look at you, noticing your hesitance to leave the safety of the ship. She extends her hand to you in a friendly gesture, and you recoil, feeling your worst fears are being confirmed.

"Sorry yes I forgot, It's ok (Y/n), neither me or The Doctor will let anything happen to you."

You have no reason to trust her, but somehow you do, so you follow the group, closing the door behind you with a resounding creak.

You don't walk far before Jenny spins and looks at the group with a sly grin at the top of a ledge, water six feet below.

To your horror she winks and falls backwards off the ledge, plunging into the water without a splash. In fact, the water absorbs her beneath the surface and she doesn't re-emerge.

You and Yaz exchange panicked glances but The Doctor only rolls her eyes and mutters.

"Show off"

"So they do have a few things in common then..." you whisper to Yaz, making her giggle.

Of course The Doctor hears, and turns, pouting like a child, which only makes you laugh harder, but not nearly as hard as Yaz, the time lady watching her in awed wonder and soon they are both in peals of laughter.

"I am not a show off!" Exclaims The Doctor, fighting back a grin and trying to remain serious.

This only makes Yaz snort harder, the Time Lady's face melting into a grin until she suddenly grabs Yaz around the waist, and with a yelp, pulls her over the ledge as they are both absorbed.

You are left looking over the ledge, your eyebrows coming down in a frown. It was apparent this substance wasn't water, so you had nothing to fear. It wasn't going to be like last time. You were safe.

Yaz, Jenny and The Doctor were waiting at the bottom. With that, you take a step back then sprint a few steps, flinging yourself far off the edge.

You enjoy the sensation of falling, but feel no impact- you only know you've stopped falling because you've slowed right down.

You open your eyes and panic instantly, realising you are several meters below the surface. You gasp, realising too late you shouldn't have opened your mouth, and wait for the burning sensation in your lungs to begin.

Only it doesn't come.

You open your eyes and realise you cannot feel the water. Actually there is a visible 5cm barrier between you and the teal liquid. Another thing, you aren't drowning. You can breathe.

You grin in surprise and catch sight of The Doctor swimming towards you, kicking her legs like a child, the iridescent bubble obviously outlining her form.

Understanding, you begin to paddle as you would in water, and, despite the lack of resistance, find yourself moving.

You giggle and find bubbles leave your protective shell. The Doctor grins at you, blonde hair surrounding her head like a halo as she treads water. Indicating the bottom of the lake, she shrugs and frowns.

You nod and follow her down, watching the light of her sonic lead the way.

She is a powerful swimmer and travels quickly, you working hard to catch up.

The teal is a more concentrated colour down here but visibility is still strong. In the corner of your vision you see Yaz and Jenny turning neat somersaults in the water.

The Doctor lands at bottom on the balls of her feet and walks in slow motion across the lake bed, sonic outstretched in front of her. You land next to her, feeling the pressure is greater down here.

You quite like the feeling, but can't help wonder how much air you have left. You wander further from The Doctor and manage to trip over something round and heavy.

Bending down and squinting carefully, you pick it up, nearly dropping it as you blanch, realising what you hold.

Looking around in horrified silence, you realise just how many objects there are, all nearly identical in size and shape.

Holding the object outstretched in front of you, you dolphin swim back to the Doctor and Jenny, not nearly fast enough.

You shout her name but of course she can't hear you.

Swallowing your fear, you tug at her sleeve, and press the human skull into her hand. Her eyes widen in horror and you hold your hands up, making the sign for tens and tens of them, hoping she gets the message, which, from her concentrated expression, she does.

Jenny also looks horrified, and it's then that your realise Yaz is not with them. You point at yourself, then The Doctor, then Jenny and put up three fingers, shrugging as you raise the fourth.

The Women looks around themselves perplexed and you feel fear set it. The Doctor points at the skull, then the direction you came from determinedly.

You nod and lead the way, running in slow motion across the river bed until you arrive at the disturbing scene.

What you hadn't noticed the first time was the faint silver glow rippling from patches of sea weed yielding purple fruits.

You turn to The Doctor and Jenny but their faces are blank, arms beginning to outstretch towards the glow, stumbling slowly forward over the layer of human skulls.