Doctor Who: Sacrifice Falling

Chapter 2: Everything Burns

Chapter 2: Everything Burns

The rusted wreckage offered no answers. Amy and Rory and the Doctor, stared out into the landscape, looking in wonder at the enormous mass before them, weathered and decayed. It didn't seem real. It certainly didn't seem like a spaceship that had sideswiped them only moments ago. And the expression on the Doctor's face was clear: the wreckage confused him.

His mouth moved silently as he paced through thoughts coursing through his head, racing through possibility after possibility. Rory gave him a nudge, an attempt to break him out of his transfixed state. "Doctor?"

"How? How is this possible?" He spoke in barely a whisper, then gradually gained more volume with each word. "Time passes faster? A second out there is a hundred years down here? Memory blackout? Time displacement? I don't know." He thumped the doorframe of the TARDIS. "And I hate not knowing." He practically shouted the final word into the desolate beyond, and it echoed long and deep into the vast hot nothingness.

The Doctor's jaw clenched, and his shoulders slumped. Then, on a dime, his demeanour turned, and he straightened his back as he looked at Rory and Amy. "Come on," the Doctor said, and he clapped his hands. "Let's learn some stuff."

He bounded out of the TARDIS, and Amy and Rory exchanged worried glances. "Uhh, Doctor," said Amy. "You sure you want to stray from home base?"

He waved a dismissive hand. "Yes, yes, I know where we parked. Besides, how else do you expect to learn about stuff if you're cooped up inside a phone box of infinite space?"

"You've lead your share of desert expeditions?" said Rory.

"Well, I've been to a desert. I'll take my chances."

"No offence," said Amy, "but I think I'll take my chances with infinite space."

The Doctor stared at her. "You're not coming?"

"I don't have the shoes."

"Or the complexion," said Rory, earning him a thump on the arm from his wife.

The Doctor sighed. "But I've memorised a bunch of new jokes. I was looking forward to trying them out." He bit his lip, then shrugged. "Fine. Ginger's out. Looks like it's just you and me, Fred."

The two went silent, and Rory's expression remained passive, until the remark registered. "I'm Fred?"

"Well, I'm not going out there by myself. Heading out on an adventure, you need a travel buddy. Every school kid knows that, and they're only six."

Rory looked out at the hot landscape. He stammered. "But, but, someone needs to stay here and, uhh, make sure the… things are…"

"Things will be fine. I've got my top Pond on the case. Besides, look at you. Shirt, shorts. You're more than dressed for the part. Settled. Travel buddy. Let's go."

The Doctor ventured forth, and as Rory followed he cast a helpless glance back at Amy. He searched her with his eyes, but she simply leaned against the door frame of the TARDIS and crossed her arms. "He needs a travel buddy. And you need a tan."

Rory raised an eyebrow. She noticed his expression, and her demeanour softened. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I'll read a book or something. You just come back safe, okay? And look after him."

Rory narrowed his eyes. "You owe me one." He turned and sighed into the desert. It was going to be a long walk. "Doctor! Wait up!"

***

His feet cracked the parched ground, the dirt dry and brittle from a scorching sun. The Doctor had removed his jacket and draped it over his head and neck, his shirtsleeves rolled up. Rory's polo shirt hung limp from his body, and large sweat stains had formed at his armpits and back. His lips were dry. The heat was intense.