While You Were Out ...

Chapter 3

As the Doctor blearily blinked his eyes open, his field of vision contained nothing but red sands and dirt. Lifting his head, he found he was lying prone on the ground. He felt groggy, almost as if he'd just been rudely awakened from a long nap.

"Oh, my word," he muttered to himself, "what in heaven's name happened?" Sitting up straight, he gazed down at his hands, feeling utterly confused.

He froze and his eyes widened as it suddenly hit him: Once they'd landed on this planet they had left the TARDIS and begun exploring. He'd spotted a small cluster of buildings, almost resembling a settlement of some sort. He'd headed off in that direction, Jamie and Zoe behind him, when he felt something odd. It seemed like a disturbance in the atmosphere, similar to what one might feel on Earth at the start of a thunderstorm, or even a solar storm. He then felt a strange, rippling sensation —perhaps an energy surge —which had knocked him off his feet. He must have fallen on his head and was knocked out.

He felt the back of his head and then tested his arms and legs. Good. He was unharmed physically apart from the quite understandable grogginess and confusion.

His mind then immediately shifted to his young companions and he quickly got to his feet. "Jamie, Zoe, did either of you feel th ..."

His voice died in his throat as he turned around, discovering no one there.

He frantically looked around. "Jamie? Zoe?"

Could they have hidden somewhere? Perhaps when the rippling sensation began, Jamie had grabbed Zoe and looked for shelter in which to hide.

But that was impossible. There was nothing as far as the eye could see.

That is, until he spotted a collection of large, red boulders standing in a haphazard arrangement. The Doctor's eyes narrowed as he studied them. Large and very similar in appearance to sandstone, they looked like something that could act as a good windbreak.

Or hiding spot.

A slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he quickly headed in their direction.

A careful search of the structure turned up fruitless. There was no sign of his companions.

But where could they have gone, then?

"Jamie?! Zoe?! This isn't funny! Come out, wherever you are!" he called frantically.

Having received no answer, he sighed in frustration. A thought began to twitch at the back of his mind. Could they already have made for the group of buildings he'd spotted? Yes, that certainly wasn't out of the question. Perhaps they hadn't even seen the outcropping of rocks, and Zoe had suggested seeking shelter or even help at those buildings. He thought they were quite a distance away, but anything seemed possible. He just needed to orient himself in the direction in which he'd spotted that cluster of buildings...

If he could only remember ...

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With the sun finally beginning to set and darkness sweeping over the landscape, Zoe looked up from the pamphlet she was given to peruse at the lab. After all that had happened today, she was getting quite tired and decided it would be a good time to get some sleep.

Jamie suddenly exited the room, looking a bit dismayed.

The petite astrophysicist arched an eyebrow at him. "I thought you were turning in."

"Oh, aye. But, weel, there's one wee problem."

"What's that?"

"Ye'll see." He gestured for her to join him inside the sleeping quarters. Zoe blinked as she took in the interior. It was sparsely but tastefully decorated with a small, upholstered chair, a writing desk, a chest of drawers, dressing table, and a closet.