Whoop! The Doctor's gonna have two companions in the next series and he's staying to at least the end! Yay! Apparently David Tennant loves cake. D'you think we could bribe him? Anyhoo, please review!
There was no shade.
Ray slumped down on the piping sand, his breath coming in short rasps. It was so hot! He didn't think he'd ever been so hot in his life. He was desperate for a drink of water to quench his thirst but they had run out a while back. His shorts were sticking to his thighs making him very uncomfortable and itchy. Trails of sweat trickled down his chest and he didn't like to imagine how bad he smelt.
They'd been looking for shade the last hour and still found nothing. There was no foliage in the desert so nothing to shelter under as the sun beat down. For the briefest of moments there would be a tiny bit of shade at the base of the dunes before it disappeared seconds later.
All the young boy wanted to do was curl up and die. His head was throbbing with dehydration despite the fact Time Lords could go a very long time without water. Ray's back was burning and red raw from the sun. He wished now that he'd worn a t-shirt.
He spared a quick glance at his siblings who were fairing no better. Their heads hung low and shoulders drooping. Phoenix especially looked bad. She was swaying slightly as she walked and Ray was suddenly struck by the feeling she was about to fall. He dove side wards, catching his sister's limp body before she hit the floor. She had fainted.
"Is…she…ok?" Alfie panted, jumping in to help Ray as he lowered Phoenix to the floor.
"I think its heat stroke," Ray replied, checking his sister's vitals, "She's fine, she just needs shade and water. Two things we don't have." His mouth was set in a grim line.
"Will she wake up?" Ember appeared at her younger brother's side, looking anxious.
"I don't know, like I said, she needs two things we don't have," the boy looked worried.
"Ok, well, we can carry her back to the TARDIS and get help there," Ember declared, moving in to take some of her triplet's weight.
"No way, we aren't going back," Alfie shook his head, "We have to find Hollie."
"What? You would risk Phoenix's life not to mention ours just to save your girlfriend?!" Ember spat the last word out viciously.
"We can regenerate! She can't!"
"So, that's no reason to waste a life! Dad always says that there is no point in using a regeneration over something that's not worth it and this isn't even your life to decide over! You've already used one of your lives before you even reached a hundred!"
"You're saying Hollie's not worth this?" Alfie yelled, his eyes flashing dangerously, scaring his siblings for a moment, "She's part of the family just as much as you or I, just not by blood! She would risk her life to help you so why can't you do the same for her?" The teenager stormed off across the sand, kicking up granules as he went.
Just as he took one step though there was a sudden crack and the ground fell away. The boy didn't even time to register it and cry out before he'd disappeared from sight completely.
"Alfie!" Ember yelled her face a picture of shock before her and her brother darted over to the gap in the sand.
They couldn't make out much in the gloom but the young girl still yelled, desperate for a reply, hoping she hadn't lost her elder brother forever.
"Em, move," Ray shoved her to the side to get a better look, ignoring the racking sobs issuing from her mouth. This was no time for tears. He needed to find out what the hell had happened to Alfie. Peering down the hole he still could see nothing. "I need to test how deep it is." He muttered to himself.
Spinning on the spot he glanced around him and spotted a small stone. That's random but useful he thought. Grabbing the rough object and dropping it down the hole. He waited in anticipation for the sound of it hitting the bottom. There was a loud chink suddenly. So it wasn't that deep.
"I'm going down," Ray announced.
"Wh-what?!" Ember gaped, "No way! It's too dangerous. I'm not losing both my brothers down that hole."
"Ember, I'll be fine, it's not deep."
"Ray, don't you dare…" Ember trailed off as her brother dropped into the darkness, "RAY!" She stared down the hole but couldn't see anything. "Damn brothers." The girl was just about to jump into the gap when she suddenly remembered Phoenix. Turning on her heel she hurried over to her sister. "Sorry, you don't really have much choice in this, Nix."
Dragging her sister over to the place where her brothers had disappeared, the Time Lord girl took a deep breath and slithered into the hole, holding onto her sibling tightly.
When Alfie hit the floor he tumbled to one side and did a James Bond-style roll before returning to his feet. Sand had fallen on his head and coated his hair. He raised a hand and tried in vain to brush it off. The Time Lord coughed as he inhaled some dust and looked around him. He was in a corridor. That was weird. A corridor under a desert?
He was about to start walking down the passage, maybe Hollie was down here, when there was a yell and something landed beside him, crumpling on the floor.
"Ow," came a mumble, "It was deeper than I thought."
"Ray?"
"Yep, that's me, and geez isn't it cool down here?" the boy stood up, brushing himself down and inspecting his torso for any bumps or scrapes.
"I know," Alfie nodded, enjoying being out of the scorching desert seat, "Where are the girls?"
"They're…" Ray began but suddenly two more objects fell from the ceiling and plopped down beside him. Ember stood moments later but Phoenix was still unconscious, "Here." He finished, jaw slack.
"Ok, well, wherever the hell we are it must have been built by someone and therefore hopefully they have water for Phoenix," Alfie declared, "Let's go explore."
Before he could move an inch though something grabbed him from behind and he let out a strangled yelp of surprise.
"Shh," a low, husky voice whispered in his ear, "We don't want to be discovered."
"What?" Ray stepped forward and looked at the creature that had a hold on his brother.
It was tall, long limbed and almost human except it had pure black eyes that looked like pieces of coal contrasting to its straw coloured skin that he guessed was for camouflage. One other slightly unnerving thing was that it had no mouth, just slits on the side of its throat, sort of like gills which was where the voice seemed to be originating from.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Damn, I wish I'd paid more attention in Alien Identification class," Ember muttered softly to herself as she eyed the alien warily.
"There is no time for that, we have to be quick, we are too close to the surface," it replied hurriedly, "Follow me."
Alfie found the creature had released him and he made to follow it but Ray grabbed his arm.
"How do we know we can trust it?"
"We don't, but it hasn't killed us yet, has it?" he asked, "And what choice do we have? Maybe they have stuff to help, Nix." Ray nodded mutely, turning to pick his sister off the floor, "Here, let me."
Alfie removed the burden from his brother and slung the unmoving form of Phoenix over his shoulder. She barely weighed anything and felt way too hot but he was comforted by feeling her heart beat steadily in her chest.
They trailed the alien down several twisting corridors and passages getting deeper underground and Ember thought even if she wanted to escape she could never remember the way out. Flickering torches illuminated the walk ways and Ray could make out strange symbols on the wall that even with his huge, knowledgeable Time Lord brain he could not translate.
Eventually the reached some kind of massive cavern stretching at least a mile into the distance and stopped. The creature flung his arms wide and said, "Welcome to Infradious, hidden city of the Piplet people, sworn enemies of the Xaom."
"Ok, so…who exactly are you?" Ray asked, directing his question at their guide.
"And what have you done with Hollie?" Alfie added, his chocolate brown eyes hardening suspiciously.
"Hollie? I know of no Hollie. We take no prisoners except Xaom. We welcome any foreigners to this land with open arms. That is where we and the Xaom differ mostly. They torture and sacrifice any intruders on their land," the creature replied.
"Ok, so I'm guessing Hollie is with the….what did you say…Oxam?" Alfie frowned.
"No, Xaom," the alien corrected, "Oh, I am so sorry, how rude could I be, to answer your question, human, I am named Aoz."
"Aoz," Ray rolled the sound of the word on his tongue then grinned, "That's an awesome name!"
"Sorry, I am not familiar with the word 'awesome' as you put it but I am glad you like it, I was named after my grandfather," Aoz's eyes sparkled with kindness. Ray guessed that if he'd had lips he would've smiled.
"It means fantastic," Ray said, "Now, we were wondering, could you help our sister? She has heat stroke or something."
"Of course," Aoz nodded, "I'm not surprised she is ill. What were you doing above surface with no provisions? You always have to be prepared in the desert."
"Yeah, we…" Alfie started but received a glare from his sister, "I didn't think of that, I was too busy going after our friend. We think she has been kidnapped by the Xaom. D'you think you could take us to wherever they live?"
"The Piplet's and Xaom's have been feuding for thousands of years, ever since the beginning of Saharabi," Aoz announced, "There have been many battles and wars and so many on each side have lost lives."
"Yes, but d'you know where they are?"
"Not really, they move a lot, unlike us," their new alien friend said, "They know where we are but we defend our city well and they can't get in as we are so deep down and they need warmth but they can reach nearer the surface which is why we had to be quiet. They live on the surface whereas we live below."
"I can see that," Alfie said sarcastically but Aoz didn't seem to notice, "But have you any idea where they are?"
"No, sorry."
"Ok, we'll find them ourselves then. How do we get out of here?"
"You are not going anywhere. Your sibling is ill and you all need rest and water. Then you may go but only with a guide and provisions."
"But…"
"No, follow me; we will go to the leader of the Piplets, Likan."
The Doctor knew he was on a fruitless search. The kids could've gone miles in this amount of time. The TARDIS couldn't track them for some absurd reason. That either meant they'd left the planet, which was unlikely, or they were underground which was just as unlikely. Strange.
He headed back inside the TARDIS and groaned as he slumped in the captain's chair, head in hands.
"Any sign?" Jack looked up from where he was fiddling with a knob on the TARDIS.
"Nope, not a sausage."
"Great, so…what we gonna do if the TARDIS can't find them?"
"I don't know," the Doctor replied after a pause.
"You don't know?" Rose squeaked, "Doctor, our children are missing, you have to have some idea of where to find them."
"No, sorry, the only way I can think of is to track them."
"Oh, well that's just swell," Jack sighed, "What I don't get is why they wondered so far off in the first place. I mean they must have a reason, a purpose, otherwise why go so far?"
"I don't know," the Doctor answered feeling helpless. He seemed to be a lot of 'I don't know' -ing at the moment.
"Damn," Jack cursed, "Well, we best get out there then. First things first though, provisions…oh crap, they didn't take anything with them did they?"
"No, no water, food or shelter. They're out there in a sweltering desert in shorts and t-shirt. How could Alfie be so stupid? He's the oldest! He should've known better!" Rose was close to tears.
"Rose, they'll be fine. Alfie may have been stupid in letting them go but he's with them so he'll look after them," the Time Lord put a comforting arm around Rose.
"Let's go tracking," Jack had appeared suddenly with three backpacks as if out of thin air.
"Where'd they come from?" the Doctor frowned.
"They came out of thin air," Jack shrugged.
"I bet it was the TARDIS, thanks old girl!" the Time Lord seemed to be back to his energetic self instead of despondent, "Moving out!" He leapt towards the door. "We're going on a bear hunt, we're gonna catch a bear…well actually some kids but…" The Doctor continued singing happily. "Wait a mo; does anyone actually know how to track?"
He received a shrug from both his companions. "Neither do I but we can learn can't we?" He jumped out the TARDIS doors with a wave of his hands, "See you a bit old girl! If we're not back in a few days call the police!" With a bark of a laugh he disappeared.
I'm not old. The TARDIS muttered for Jack and Rose's ears only and they sniggered before departing.
"Course you're not, girl, I'm betting you're younger than the Doctor anyway and I had children with him." Rose reassured her.
Whoop! I just realise Piplets sound like Piglets. Lol! Yay! I love the bear hunt song! Anyone else heard it or is it just me being weird? Please review and have a tiffin!