Up, Up, and Away

Chapter 14

The Doctor smiled, but it was very reserved. A shy smile, just for herself and the Professor.

"I still don't understand how you're here- I'll need an explanation later," She cautioned, receiving a small smirk from the archeologist.

"Oh of course, just wait until we're alone," she sung, voice suggesting she was interested in more than just explaining herself. I saw the Doctor consider replying, but her eyes shot open like she just remembered something.

"There were things following us-" The Doctor began.

"I remember, sweetie. Duck now!" the Professor yelled, and the Doctor squatted down, hands over her head. Professor Song practically pulled a gun out of nowhere and immediately shot the three beings who burst into the room. They fell, but began seeping shadows across the floor.

"On the bed! Now!" Professor ordered, grabbing the Doctor's hand and pulling her to stand on the large cot in the corner. We all followed, and the Doctor tugged her hand back, but only to snatch the gun out of Professor Song's hand.

"What have I told you about these?" She chided, hurling the weapon at the shadows. It was devoured in a second, and Professor Song put her hands on her hips.

"You've just destroyed my only gun!" the woman complained. The Doctor gave her a knowing look.

"No use in lying, River," she teased. So that must be the woman's name. If the Doctor knows it, she must trust the archeologist. Or the other way around.

The Doctor squeezed over to Yaz, where she began going through the pockets of her jacket, searching for the sonic.

"Where's it gone?" The Doctor asked a still dazed Yasmin. She faltered for a minute, but was hurried along by the Doctor's urgent stare and the impending doom.

"I must've dropped it, it's- it's over there!" Yaz exclaimed, pointing to the ground beside River's chair. Without hesitating, the Doctor jumped off the bed.

"Doctor!" Yaz and River yelled in unison, giving each other awkward stares afterwards. The Doctor was safe though, and she'd landed just outside the shadows. She scooped up the sonic and pointed it at the ground, right before it licked her boots.

Slowly, repelled by the sonic waves, the shadows retreated back inside their humans. The bodies began to rise again, and the Doctor stared in disbelief. They walked towards us, surrounded by a giant black cloud, ready to turn us into whatever they were.

"What do we do, Doctor?" I asked, worried for all our sakes. We were pressed up against a wall, surrounded, and I didn't see how we could make it out. River had her head in her hands and was murmuring.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it," she repeated to herself, frustrated. Graham tried to push in front of me but I wouldn't let him.

"Get behind me son, it's what your nan would want," he pleaded. I refused to move.

"Nan wouldn't want you to die!" I replied, frantic. The sonic was dying out, and I knew it couldn't hold the monsters back for much longer.

"Nobody's going to die!" The Doctor yelled over the chaos. River was getting louder, and we all watched as she slapped herself across the face.

"Why do I have to be so good at that?" She asked herself, then went back to panicked chanting. Yaz jumped down next to the Doctor, determined to help somehow.

"What do I need to do, I'll do anything," she offered, grabbing the Doctor's arm. She was scronching her face in concentration, and I could tell it wasn't just the sonic holding the shadow people back.