Doctor Who - Revolution of the Daleks first scene imagining

Doctor who - Revolution of Daleks first scene imagining

All that could be heard from the darkness was a faint scratching. A sound that creeps in through the ears and gnaws into the back of the brain. A sound of hopelessness.

Gradually, a cool ray of light reaches the darkness, filling a single corner of the room. In the crevice crouches a shell of a woman, with a small stump of chalk in her trembling hands. She etches away at the walls, wearing the chalk down to her fingers. Her face shrunken, her eyes wearied with age and her shoulder shield her from the world. This is a woman who has lost everything, who is unrecognisable yet her name would still strike fear into the hearts of many.

This is the Doctor.

Gone were her glory days of travelling all of space and time, of escaping to far-off worlds with a smile on her face. Gone are her friends, who always seemed to help in times of crisis. The universe's protector, the last of the mighty timelords, the vanquisher of the daleks has been reduced to nothing but a shadow rotting in a dark cramped cell.

A sudden clang bounces off the walls of the room, and the room streams with light, blinding the Doctor. A scuffed metal plate is slid in through the trapdoor, by a clawed hand that slams the door shut before it is barely even opened. The Doctor immediately sniffs the congealed, grey slop upon the plate from across the room, but does not move an inch. Her stomach growls, yet she has no desire to nourish herself, no desire to survive.

Thud, thud tud. A muffled noise rings in the background, and the Doctor's ears prick up. Something was happening in the corridors, but it's not like the Doctor could really do anything. She's sitting here useless once again, with the sound of metal doors bursting open and the yells of prisoners crying out going on around her.

'Doctooooor'

One of the Doctors' hearts skipped a beat. Had she heard that correctly? Perhaps she was just deluding herself, fooling herself into an intangible reality of renewed hope. But no, there really was something afoot ; the hustle and bustle outside was enough to give it away, as the Judoon usually had this sort of thing under their control by this point. But, who could have come all off this way to meet her, who even knew she was here?

Once again, the room filled with a blinding light, letting in the cacophony from the halls. But this time, it was not just a trapdoor. The heavy metal door creaked open, the hinges screeching from age. The outline of a shadowy figure stood firmly in the doorway, coat billowing in the slight breeze and gun in hand. The Doctor had to squint to make him out, but slowly it dawned upon her....

'Captain Jack'

The captain strode across the cell in two steps, crouching down to comfort the Doctor. 'It's you, It's really you' A smile crossed the Doctor's face, which was probably the first smile in years. Yet that smile quickly faded. 'How do I know that you're real?'

Jack engulfed the Doctor in his arms, stroking his fingers through her matted hair and rocking her back and forth. How was this trembling, paranoid husk the Doctor that he once knew? It pained him to think of what this hellish cell had done to her, and how long she's had to endure it, but he knew that if he could just get the Doctor out of here, he knew that he could restore her to her former self, and save the universe at the same time.

'It worked out well with me and Alonso, by the way' whispered the Captain. The Doctor smiled again, sure that it was her friend.

'What's your plan to get us out of here then, Jack Harkness?', the Doctor began.

'Aren't the plans usually your thing?', he laughed, but the Doctor looked at him seriously, with eyes that were even older than his. 'Well,' he said, 'are you ready to run?'

'I'm always ready!'

The Timelord stood up, still with the careful help of Jack. At a warning look from the Doctor, Jack removed his hands from her shoulders, and peered around the room's threshold into the corridor. Motioning to the Doctor, he took off at a great speed, his feet echoing in the narrow halls. The Doctor was not far behind him, but lagging behind all the same. Escaping from the Judoon felt exhilarating, but she still felt weak and ached all over.

Right, left, right, right again. They travelled down the twisting corridors, passing the cells of many intergalactic prisoners. Some called out, or heckled the pair, but most cells were empty, and their inhabitants on the loose, wreaking havoc. Footsteps could be heard above them, but so far, they had not encountered any Judoon. The Doctor hoped they wouldn't ; Jack may have had his gun, but she still felt incomplete without her sonic screwdriver.

The corridors seemed to last forever, and every new one looked the same as the last. They could have been running in circles for all the Doctor knew, but Jack looked confident, as if he had memorized the blueprints of the building. At an intersection of corridors, the Doctor thought that she saw someone coming towards them, but she was whisked away so quickly that she couldn't be sure. She hoped that they'd be out soon.

Still they were running. It felt like they'd been running for days, but Jack kept on his steady pace, not slowing down for anything. The Doctor was panting, and her two hearts felt like they were about to explode. After years of being confined within the same four walls, she was getting tired quickly. She began to slow, and the distance between her and Jack was getting bigger. The Captain glanced over his shoulder, seeing the Doctor's struggle, but kept running. They had to escape and soon the Judoon would be upon them.

A loud crash from behind him finally stopped the Captain. Looking around, his eyes met the wretched sight of the Doctor, fallen to the floor in sheer exhaustion. She had been so close, but her body had given out from under her. Again, he felt a sudden loss, but knew that he had to rescue the Doctor, whatever state she was in. Gently picking the frail woman up, he turned the corner to see a blue police box. They were here.

But so was the Judoon. A tightly packed group of them, dressed in full armour, were making their way from the other end of the corridor. He'd have to protect the Doctor from them at all costs, as he owed it to her, and to the universe.

Beginning to feel around for his gun with his spare hand, Jack could hear a soft 'No' in his hear. The Doctor, barely conscious, was looking up at the man with a stubborn look on her face, and Jack, feeling the cold metal of the weapon, pushed it back into his pocket.

'Well What do I do then, Doctor?'

'T-Tardis' muttered the Doctor. Could Jack really make it to the TARDIS in time? He eyed up the time machine, and gave the Doctor one more glance before running with all of his might along the last leg of the corridor.

The Judoon were shooting now, and were also not far off from the TARDIS, but Jack knew he could do it. He could taste it almost, and once he was in there he knew that everything would be OK somehow.

He flung open the door, skidding into the smooth floor, landing next to the Doctor, who was still unconscious. The door slammed shut, but he could still hear the Judoon. They needed to get out now, but the Doctor was in no fit state to fly the thing. 'Please Doctor, just one last miracle...'

The TARDIS was silent for a few moments, but then Jack could hear a huge intake of breath, and the Doctor was somehow back on her feet again. She rushed to the TARDIS console, and immediately began flicking various switches and twiddling with various dials. Before long, the familiar sound of the TARDIS traveling filled the air, and Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

The Doctor turned to Jack and grinned, 'you didn't think I'd let you down, did you?'