A/N Glass of Pinot Grigio, bag of chocolate chips—ready to get this chapter done at last. Whoever is still following this story is a saint for putting up with me!

Apparently I lied when I promised I'd update sooner… sorry about that., I truly am.

Thanks to Sanguine Ink, Snow'sLuckyCat, Dreamcatcher49, and AlexOLoughlinFan for reviewing the last chapter!

And yes, whump ensues.

Chapter Four: Captives

The Doctor fell onto a cool dirt surface, rolling upright immediately, wide eyed and wary.

"Rose?" He called upward. "I've fallen into some sort of pit or cave. Can you hear me, Rose?" He blinked, dumbfounded. His head hurt. One minute he was pushing Rose up against a tree, and the next there was nothing but darkness and he was falling. He felt a blush creep into his cheeks. What had come over him? The way he had behaved was certainly not the delicate manner of which he preferred to skirt around subjects of intimacy. It broke several of his rules in fact, least of all that of pursuing carnal pleasures in frozen woods in the dead of winter with a supposed monster knocking about.

He shook his head. Why was he still thinking of this? Surely the first in a long list of items within his mind should be his current situation. And where was Rose? Never mind Rose, which way was up and which was down?

He fingered his sonic screwdriver but even that couldn't penetrate the darkness.

"Where am I?" His voice echoed. "I'm in some kind of enclosed space. Can't say I'm not relieved I'm not floating in the recesses of my vast, brilliant mind. Wouldn't mind turning the lights on would you? Nah. Why would you? The darkness adds to the allure. Gives me shivers! You never know what's in the darkness. One thing I do know: no Vashda Nerada or I'd already be dead! If you want me to think I'm going insane well here's the news for you, that interstellar orbiter has left the dock centuries ago. Besides, what better conversation can I have than with myself?"

The Doctor closed his mouth and listened to the echoes fade. He stretched his arms out and reached blindly through the air. He took what he thought were steps forward but with nothing relative to his position, he was not sure he actually was moving at all.

A light erupted in the center of his vision and he covered his eyes before forcing them to adjust as quickly as possible.

A young woman dressed in tight jeans and a plaid loose fitting shirt held a flashlight before him. Behind her he could see the roughly hewn stone that he assumed must be some kind of cave.

"Oh, hallo there. Is this your cave? I'm dreadfully sorry only, the lighting is rather poor, frankly I'm surprised you haven't had more people accidently wander in during tea by torchlight. I'm the Doctor." He waved a hand but the woman only stared at him blankly.

Her face was half lit by the flashlight and the Doctor could tell she was very beautiful and probably not much older than Rose. Her long dark hair hung naturally from a loose ponytail. She approached the Doctor and ran a hand up his arm and neck to caress his cheek.

"I know I'm a handsome devil but I'd like to get to know you first." He drew out his sonic screwdriver and whirred it into her eyes. "You are not even there are you. Who are you? I want to talk to the entity that is possessing this young woman's body."

Suddenly, she dropped the flashlight and grabbed hold of his wrists with both hands. The Doctor turned the tables quickly and captured her wrists instead. His sonic screwdriver clattered into the pitch dark and he bit his lip in regret. He lowered the struggling woman's wrists and held them tightly. "Now, now, let's not get grabby—" He reprimanded then gave a grunt of surprise as several arms clutched at him from behind.

A man, his face similarly vacant came into a view twisting the Doctor's arms. The Doctor yelled as the stronger man forced him down to his knees. "You're being controlled! Someone or something is controlling you but you can break out of this, I can help you, listen to me, let me help…"

An arm went around his neck, not completely cutting off his air, but putting enough pressure on his arteries to weaken him. His hands and legs thrashed from their hold but they were swiftly bound with what felt like bailing twine. A man held him from behind. The Doctor felt the blood pound in his neck and he watched in horror at what the young brunette held before him. "No! Of all things, not that! I need to speak to the entity that is- no-no-no-no!" He found himself begging before a large amount of cloth was forced into his mouth and tied firmly in place. He felt wads of cloth shoved roughly inside his ears and wrinkled his nose as the rustling sounds were muffled then stared helplessly as she approached with the blindfold. He made throaty pleading noises but blackness had returned, this time, deeper than ever.

A painful prod in his back made him walk forward. He tripped on the twine around his ankles and, with no means of protecting himself, fell forward onto his face on the rocky ground. He was hefted to his feet by several arms and prodded again. This time he stepped more cautiously and was able to determine how much slack of twine he had between his ankles. His chin and cheekbone had split and he could feel the blood trickle down catching maddeningly on every growth of stubble until his eyes watered with the urge to scratch. A sharp prod to the ribs told him to turn. Deaf, dumb, and blind, the Doctor could do nothing but obey.

Rose stood shaking from fear and cold. "Doctor." She moaned hopelessly. She had been calling for what felt like hours. The woods were so dark, Rose had no idea of the direction they had come from. She let her hands feel ahead of her and made it to another tree. Something sticky met her fingers. Sap? It could be blood. Rose could not help the thought from invading her mind. It must be sap. She drew a finger to her nose. Iron. It was definitely blood. Her stomach churned. "Doctor." She moaned again, sick to her stomach.

Suddenly, there was an all mighty crash and Rose ducked her head, unable to prevent her scream. Every nerve in her body was on alert. She wanted to run, but she couldn't find a direction to do so. A grunt and a groan as though from a wounded animal echoed broadly through the forest. She turned around. It sounded as though its feet were pawing slowly at the snow yet the grunting breaths, as loud as a horse, came from at least eight feet from the ground.

Rose drew a shuddering breath. Tears coursed steadily down her cheeks. "My name is Rose. I'm lost, and my best friend has left me or was taken or…summat I dunno." Her voice grew more hysterical. "I'm scared something has happened to him. I'm cold and I don't think I'll survive out here."

She paused and the creature did not move. Thankfully, it made enough noise by breathing that Rose could tell where it was. Not knowing what else to do, she continued talking.

"I'm very scared right now. I'm sure you're a lovely per—horse…creature…thing. Wh-what's your name?"

Pain shot through her head suddenly making her cry out. She squeezed her eyes shut and doubled over in pain. Images paraded through her mind. Horrifying images of dead animals and frightened people sped through her mind and the creature snorted and moaned.

"Telepathy." She gasped as the images subsided. "Please. Don't hurt me. We can talk about this. My friend, the Doctor, he will know what to do." She realized her mistake far too late. Images of the Doctor were in her mind and the creature fixated on them. Her head felt as though it might split open if the onslaught continued.

Then suddenly it stopped and Rose was drifting peacefully through her mind as though asleep.

"You poor thing," She whispered with a sudden surge of empathy. "You are all alone. Like the Doctor." Her voice trembled as her emotion surged. "Like the Doctor. You are always alone. You can't help your nature. You need to kill to survive…and you're hungry. So hungry…I must help you."

The Doctor shook with anger and fatigue. His body was being pummeled this way and that for hours and still there was no sign of stopping. He burned to say something. If only he could speak. The gag, tied firmly around his head, was performing its job masterfully. It stuck to his throat constantly triggering his gag reflex.

He felt the prodding implement poke at his bruised ribs again. Frustration and anger overcame him and he stopped suddenly. He swayed where he stood having difficulty keeping his balance with most of his senses suppressed. The poker jabbed again at his aching ribs and this time, he curled into himself and fell to the floor with a heavy thud. What if he simply refused to get up? Better, what if he pretended to pass out?

Something hard struck his back and he tried unsuccessfully to bite his cheek with his molars to stop from grunting with pain. As far as they knew, he was unconscious.

He tried to escape as far as he could into his mind and when he did, he was with Rose in the TARDIS feeling the elation of another solved riddle, another conquered obstacle. When the inevitable strike was delivered, he didn't feel his shoulder blade shatter. He was already slipping into true unconsciousness.

Rose put a hand to her head, peering around her in confusion. She sat up in the snow. It was dawn. Light shone through the trees, sparkling on the snow. She should have froze to death, but instead, she felt as though she had stepped from a heated room, the warmth still lingering on her skin. She looked down at her hands and stared in horror at the blood and dirt on them. Quickly, she checked herself for injuries, and, finding none, searched the surrounding areas for incriminating footprints, more blood, or any sign of a struggle.

"Nothing." She whispered to the crisp morning. "Not a trace."

Yes there are a couple parallels in my unrelated stories. Again, please accept my sincerest apologies for the late update. Please stay tuned, I'll be writing more soon.