The Doctor's Reluctant Companion [Tenth Doctor]

Into Darkness

Rose seized my hand tightly, pulling me towards a tunnel. The Charthakians screamed together, nearly deafening us with the echoes.

For a moment, the air fairly whistled with sharp claws and flailing tails. A slim hand grasped my empty one and I held it tightly, subconsciously recognizing the Doctor's grip. 

The three of us hurtled into the dark, away from the horrible siren howls of the Charthakians. I pulled Rose to a stop when I felt the Doctor falter, his grasp loosening, then failing entirely, slipping away.

For a moment, all that we heard in the tunnel was our own hoarse breathing. Then the Doctor broke the crushing silence.

"Can somebody help me up? We need to keep moving."

A blue light flickered on, highlighting the Doctor's drawn, pointed face, glancing off his slight cheekbones. The device in his hand gave off just enough illumination for us to dimly see each other.

Rose and I's matching blonde hair lay in tangles across our shoulders, and the Doctor's normally gravity-defying spikes were plastered to his forehead with sweat.

Even though I knew I wouldn't be able to lift the six foot Doctor on my own, however skinny he was, I slid an arm under his and tried to pull him to his feet. Rose caught my glance and took the other side, and together we got the Doctor standing again. He wouldn't put weight on his right foot, leaning on me entirely.

"Damn lizard twisted my ankle when it stomped on me," he grumbled.

We continued on, slower, with the Doctor using us as crutches.

"What's the plan?" Rose asked, stumbling over an unseen rock.

"These tunnels should lead us to the city. From there we can find the leader and sort this mess out," the Doctor replied quietly.

"Should? Seems like you're balancing a lot on that," I observed. "And they don't seem like the bargaining sort."

"I know what I'm doing," the Doctor reassured, fiddling with the device in his hand. The light increased, illuminating our feet. The tunnel floor was splashed with dried red, making us simultaneously cringe.

A shriek echoed in the tunnel. The Doctor stuffed the device, which I then realized was his sonic screwdriver, into his pocket. "They've found us!"

We picked up our pace to a stumbling run, still supporting the half-lame Doctor. Without the sonic screwdriver lighting the tunnel, we were running blind. The Doctor must've realized this, because he brought the device back out, clamping it between his teeth.

Soon, we hit a fork in the tunnel. It branched off into two, leading farther into the darkness.

"We should split up to confuse them," I suggested breathlessly.

The Doctor shook his head furiously, his words muffled by the handle of his screwdriver. "Absolutely not!"

"I don't want to be responsible for your guys' deaths," I argued, all the guilt from yesterday racing back.

With those words, I sped off into the right tunnel, yanking away from the Doctor's grasping hand, which seized my collar as I dashed away.

I'd gotten well into the darkness, away from their calls, before the severity of my decision fully hit me, stealing the rest of the air from my lungs. The stony floor of the cave rose up to meet my knees, sending a shockwave through my body. The darkness closed in as I gasped for breath, the siren-howls of the Charthakians fading to background noise as panic froze my muscles.

The cavern began to shake, thundering steps racing up the tunnel. I scrambled to my feet, forcing my terror-locked body into motion. Why did I leave Rose and the Doctor?! Stupid, stupid, stupid...