13 Novella 6

Holding

You cough and hack as smoke coats your lungs like cement paste. You can feel it, fiery and gritty in your throat as you fight to clear it.

Opening your eyes as wide as possible doesn't help much; the air is thick with dust and you can barely see the unmoving body draped across your own.

Audibly wincing as you shift, you drag yourself from under her, coughing more as tears sting your face when you see it is Missy. Of course it was Missy. It looked like she had thrown herself across you in an attempt to shield you from the damage. It had worked, you were bruised and you could feel warm wetness around your collarbone but that was nothing compared to her.

You bend over her, trying to find a pulse as screams come alive around you. Bizarrely your first thought is of the blonde stranger. You shake that one away and sigh when you feel two heartbeats under her shirt.

"Missy? Missy love please wake up!" You beg but she isn't responding. You know almost nothing in the world would stop her reassuring you when you were this worried, so things must be bad. You try again, shaking her slightly but her eyes stay closed, blood trickling down from her temple.

The sound is all off around you, like you're hearing it from a television, and you are beyond disorientated. You get the impression only you two and a few others were still in the hall, and they seemed to be leaving you behind.

You try to reach anyone mentally but you are so dizzy and pained that you can no more concentrate than steer the bomber planes away yourself.

"H-" you start, coughing when your stupid chest gives a painful twinge. You grip it and try again.

"Help!" You call, but you feel it travelled mere feet at best. So no one could hear you. You were alone.

Looking fretfully down you sense her breathing slowing.

"Oh no, oh no Missy" you whisper, placing your hand once more on her chest.

A heartbeat and... that's it. Just one heartbeat. She was dying.

Your love was dying.

Scrunching your face in agony, you rise to your feet and begin shifting some of the debris. You wince when you see her leg, twisted and bleeding. Gaining inspiration you rip a length of your spoiled dress and tie a tight bandage.

Eventually she is uncovered, and you pull her into a sitting position. Placing an arm around your shoulder you drag her up, sweating with the effort.

You begin to haul her away, her head lolling as you go. You are somehow free from your patch and you vaguely recognise the wrecked dance floor. The Tardis should be straight ahead.

You continue to drag her, panicking slightly as you fail to locate the blue box when you hear someone calling your name.

"(Y/n)!" They shout and you turn to see The Doctor and Jenny climbing over some rubble towards you.

"It's Missy, she's hurt!" You gasp and Jenny pulls you into her as The Doctor picks Missy cleanly up into her arms and takes off back to the Tardis. They drag you in and slam the doors, the ship taking off of its own accord as Jenny helps you lie down.

"Sweetheart what happened? What happened to Missy?" She asks anxiously, scrambling with your inhaler as you sit up against her knee. You shake your head in defeat, hair coming loose around your shoulders as you look around desperately, but The Doctor has apparently already taken her off to the medbay.

You attempt to make your way to your feet, only to fall back, exhausted, into Jenny's arms. Fighting not to succumb to the panic, she scoops you up and takes you down a corridor to the medbay also, the lights not making any sense as they flash behind your eyelids.

She lays you on a bed where you rise instantly to catch sight of a still unconscious Missy. That was it.

You keel forward and retch drily until you vomit over yourself. Sobbing as your throat burns, Jenny leans you back and pulls your hair out of your face.

"Please, Missy!" you cough, Jenny trying to soothe you as you shake.

"Love calm down, she's going to be fine-" you aren't listening and she sighs, attempting to hold you as you struggle to leave your bed and find Missy for yourself.

"(Y/n) stop, you need to lie down" she begs but you are fighting with her properly now. Accepting you weren't going to calm down any time soon, she places her fingers on your temples and closes her own eyes.

"No Jenny wait!" you shout but she shakes her head in defeat, biting her lip anxiously.

"I'm sorry" she says, plunging you into lonely darkness.