Lost In Time: A Doctor Who Fanfiction

Chapter 21 - The Darkness Waiting

Lyssa grimaced as the glittering stream of the Time Vortex faded to reveal the hallways of Nine and Ten's TARDIS. Normally she loved seeing the TARDIS. Normally, however, she was not fresh from a shower with sopping wet hair soaking through a towel, or wearing slightly damp pajamas. And normally she didn't have a little ball of dread pooling in her stomach the moment she landed.

"I would jump on the day I decide to wash my hair," she muttered with a sigh, trying to distract herself. "At least I ended up on the TARDIS instead of some freezing wasteland." Not recognizing her surroundings, she picked a direction at random and headed down a hallway, gently pressing her towel against her curls in an effort to soak up the extra water before it made a mess on the floor.

Ten minutes later, she hadn't seen a single person or room that she recognized. Her feeling of dread hadn't grown any worse, but something was definitely off. Despite the ship being exactly the same as always, the very atmosphere felt tense, as if even the TARDIS were holding her breath in anticipation of... something.

She bit her lip, a cold chill running down her spine as she passed a door, a faint howling noise emanating from within. "Hey, old girl? Do you think you could do whatever it is you do and help me out here?" she murmured as she came to another turn, trailing a hand along the wall and glancing up at the ceiling. "I just... I think I need to be ready sooner rather than later, and as much as I love exploring, I'm a little lost."

The ship hummed, raising the temperature of the hallway a few degrees until she felt warm again, and she gave the ceiling a grateful smile. The lights to one of the hallways shut off, illuminating a single path for her, and she hurried down it with a whisper of thanks. After that, it was only a matter of a few minutes for her to find the familiar door leading to her room. She pushed it open and stopped short, eyes widening with surprise.

Her room had changed.

The wall by her bookcase and chair had previously been blank. Now, there was a large rectangular nook in the wall above her chair, with a ladder built into the wall leading up to it. It was lit with fairy lights strung inside, giving the area a soft glow. It was lined with cushions and pillows in various shades of purple, and delicate white curtains tied back with ribbons on either side finished off the look.

"Is that a reading nook?" she gasped, dropping her towel on the floor and clambering up into the hollow. "This is amazing," she breathed, patting the soft padding. "You're amazing!" she told the TARDIS, smiling when the ship hummed quietly. "I might never leave, this is so comfortable!"

And then a cold drop of water trickled down her neck from her hair and she shivered. "Okay. Once my hair is taken care of, then I might never leave." No longer distracted by her hidey-hole, the feelings of dread came back and she grimaced. "That too," she muttered reluctantly.

She heaved a sigh and climbed down from the little room, picking up her towel from the floor as she headed for her hair supplies. Her feelings of dread weren't exactly helped by the TARDIS once more bringing out a little machine that dried and set her curls- without any damaging heat - in a matter of seconds. Either the TARDIS was trying to comfort her, or the ship was feeling the same sense of urgency she did.

She managed a wan smile of thanks as she quickly pinned it up into a bun. Once that was dealt with, she picked out a simple blue tunic and jeans and tugged on a pair of boots. About to leave, she paused as a flash of blue caught her attention in the mirror, and couldn't help a smile when she saw her new charm, the little gem in the center perfectly matching her tunic. She clasped the little charm - she could already tell it was going to become a habit - and felt a little of the tension slip out of her shoulders.