Stellar Collision

Chapter 34

Dayle watched in stunned horror as the invisible hand pinning the Doctor to the tree just seemed to let go all at once and he hit the ground, lifeless. Her whole body went cold, for it was in that instant she realized what the Doctor's death meant. This wasn't just some boyfriend dying. Or even some guy who gave her hope and brought her back to life. He was also her only ride home. Without him, she was stuck here, away from her girls.

It was like she'd been kicked in the stomach. She doubled over and threw up right then and there, sat hard on the ground and curled up. She vaguely noticed the other Dayle had run over and was checking the Doctor for a pulse and breath sounds. Cursing when she couldn't find either. There was a roaring inside her head. He's gone.

Then it began to rain.

"Dayle... Dayle sweetie, we need to go. We need to get out of here right now." Dayle B's voice cut through the roaring. She was tugging at her arm, frantic now. "That Tregannon goblin thing. He's taken off but who knows if he'll be back. And Arc isn't laying in the spot he'd fallen earlier. We need to get back to the TARDIS, now."

Dayle A looked up at her, confused. "Why go back to the TARDIS? It doesn't do one bit of good without a fucking Time Lord to operate the thing." Her head was throbbing now as well as her side. The space pain meds were wearing off.

Dayle B shook her head. "No honey. It can still take you home. The Doctor told us, there's a failsafe... some program thing..."

"Emergency Program One." Jesse said softly, suddenly beside her, helping her to her feet. "He said if anything happened to him, it would be automatic."

Dayle A felt a rush of relief followed by a wave of profound sadness. His words, in his sweet British accent came back to haunt her. "You have my word on that Dayle Moss." Even in death, it seems he'd kept his promise.

She allowed herself to be pulled along by Jesse and Dayle B, looking back once to see his poor body laying crumpled in the downpour. She started to cry.

"He saved my damn life. He handed me that stone so it couldn't attack me. Knowing it would go after him next. The idiot died so I wouldn't." she was muttering, inconsolable, soaked now by the rain. She wondered if they were even going in the right direction.

Just then, an unnatural trail of lightning crackled in the sky overhead, the trees blew against the direction of the wind. They were just turning around to see what was coming when Dayle A was suddenly snatched by her hair and pulled roughly back to the spot they'd just left at a frightening speed. She was thrown onto the muddy ground.

It was the goblin. That evil creature who'd just murdered her good friend, hovering over her in a rage.

"WHERE IS IT!?" Sarcrayle demanded. "Give it to me now and I might let you walk away alive."

Dayle genuinely had no clue what he was talking about. She struggled to sit up just to be pushed back down by Sarcrayle's telekinetic power."I-I-I don't know what you want! I don't have anything..." Anger coursed through her, overriding any confusion she might have felt. "You got your fucking Amplifier thing and you... you killed the Doctor anyway..."

The small but powerful creature hauled back and slapped her across the face, breaking open the cut on her cheek. "It's gone. The most important component is missing. The induction loop. One of you must have removed it. Give it back to me now!" He shook her.

"But it worked. You took on physical form... I don't understand..."

"Stupid girl. Without that induction loop, I can't recall my craft. I can't attempt to make amends with my people. I am stuck here on this pathetic rock in this contemptable solar system."