Doctor Who | Fanfic - Animus Lost - (1/?) - PG-13 - Ten/Rose
animus lost
Some things are better left undisturbed.
PG-13
Ten/Rose
1,151 words
Not mine. Not even close.
My first serious attempt at fic in over a year. Be kind folks, I'm more than a little rusty.
“No, I mean.” She raised a trembling hand, pointing. “It’s really dark.”
«¤»
- Prologue -
“You guys can stay, but we’ve got to be quiet. It’s like two in the morning and my parents are asleep.”
“Still can’t believe they let you take the car, Tia,” slurred a gangly, ruffle-haired boy in the back seat. He leant forward, between the gap, grinning. “They must really love you.”
Tia shrugged, and flicked off the ignition. The headlamps went out, leaving them in total darkness in the tiny village. “I told you, Tom. It was on the condition I wouldn’t drink.” She turned to face him. “It was either that or not go, so… ”
He reached out an unsteady hand and curled some hair behind her ear. “Maybe I can make it up to you,” he half-whispered, but rather than seductive, it came out more as a sleepy sigh.
In the passenger seat across from them there came an audible cough.
“Charming. Tom, you’re disgusting,” commented a red-head, rolling her eyes. “Give Tia a break.”
“Yeah, Tom. Listen to Katie.” Tia joined in, but her eyes caught his and they each shared a secret smile. Nobody knew they had decided to make their relationship official, at least to each other.
Tom collapsed back and let out a rough sigh. “Fine,” he gave in, feigning annoyance. “Can we get out of here? I’ve really got to take a leak and I don’t think your dad’ll like it if I spoil his fine upholstery with my - ”
“Yes, yes, all right,” Tia rushed, fumbling to get the keys out of the ignition. “Just give me a sec. I can barely see a thing.”
The village she lived in really was out in the middle of nowhere. They had to drive for twenty minutes before they even got to the nearest supermarket. There were a few houses dotted around within sight, close enough to be counted as ‘neighbours’, but generally life in the country was quiet and undisturbed. Tia’s friends often complained to her that she lived so far out of the way, as it meant they often didn’t get to see her. Were it not for the local college and her younger brother, she imagined her parents would have probably already moved.
Yanking on the keychain, she gave a frustrated groan.
“Ugh, it always sticks. Stupid thing.” In the pitch black she gave it a harder tug, jingling the metal as she wiggled the key back and forth. “Katie, get your phone, will you? Shine it over here.”
Obediently, Katie reached into her pocket and pulled out her mobile, activating the flashlight on the side.
“Here you go,” she said, and passed it to Tia.
As Tia’s hands fumbled in the dark, she pointed the phone in the direction of the ignition - where it promptly went out. She stared down at the blank screen before handing it back to Katie’s silhouette.
“Battery must have died.”
“That’s weird,” Katie mumbled, examining it. “I charged it before we came out.”
“For God’s - here, let me,” offered an irritable Tom, who was fidgeting like a five year old in a long and boring queue. “Women are so useless.”
“Um, excuse me! It’s not too late to make you sleep in the car, you know.”
“Whatever.”
He leant over into the front, shining the light from his own mobile phone across the ignition. With a beleaguered sigh, Tia gave the keys a decisive yank - at which point, Tom’s light also died.
“Oh, what?” cried Tia. “This is ridiculous! It’s never normally this bad.”
“Serves you right for living in the middle of nowhere.”
“I do not live in the middle of nowhere, Tom. Antarctica is the middle of nowhere. Just because this is a tiny village doesn’t mean it’s - ”
“Um, guys?” The voice was Katie’s, but it lacked the sarcasm that usually came whenever Tia and Tom started to bicker.
They both turned to her simultaneously. “What?”
“It’s … really dark outside.”
Tom rolled his eyes. “Duh. It’s night time, Katie, where have you been?”
“No, I mean.” She raised a trembling hand, pointing. “It’s really dark.”
Tia and Tom followed her hand with their gaze and Tia felt her palms start to sweat. It was always dark in the middle of the night, due to the lack of street lamps in the area. But there was always something, even the faintest glow: the stars, the moon, a house or car in the distance. But when she looked at the windscreen, she couldn’t see a thing. She couldn’t even make out her own silhouette staring back at her. Looking back to her friends, she gasped when even they seemed to have been swallowed up by darkness.
“Katie?” she called quietly. “Tom?”
She got no reply.
“Guys, this isn’t funny.”
Blindly, she reached behind her, trying to fumble for the handle of the door. But although her hands came across solid objects, she couldn’t make out what was what. As stupid as it sounded, she couldn’t even be sure that she was in the car any more. She waved a hand in front of her face and couldn’t make a single thing out.
“Hey!” she whimpered reaching forward this time. “What’s going on?”
Relief flooded her when her hands found something warm and soft, like a body. At least that gave her some grounding. It didn’t last long, however, as her fingers suddenly came across something sticky, warm and wet, oozing all over her fingers. A metallic smell lifted and began to choke her, and Tia nearly gagged.
“No… ”
She shook the body - Katie’s, she presumed - and tried to ignore the sensation of blood covering her hands. This couldn’t be real. She began to yell Katie’s name in fear, then Tom’s, then both of them as she became more and more panicked. She tried to shift in her chair, tried to make out something - anything - that wasn’t deep, dark black. But it was like everything had been swallowed up by nothingness. Like she was drowning in it.
The smell in the car was getting too much, and her trembling body felt as though it was going to pass out. She began to kick out, crying and screaming. Her limbs met nothing but air. Reaching for Katie’s body again, Tia found there was nothing. Nothing behind, nothing above.
Then all of a sudden a shadow appeared from the darkness. She didn’t know how it could be darker than dark, how it held form against the absence of everything, but the last thing Tia Mackavoy was aware of as it engulfed her was that she had never got to tell Tom that she loved him.
|| Next » ||
Some things are better left undisturbed.
PG-13
Ten/Rose
1,151 words
Not mine. Not even close.
My first serious attempt at fic in over a year. Be kind folks, I'm more than a little rusty.
“No, I mean.” She raised a trembling hand, pointing. “It’s really dark.”
«¤»
- Prologue -
“You guys can stay, but we’ve got to be quiet. It’s like two in the morning and my parents are asleep.”
“Still can’t believe they let you take the car, Tia,” slurred a gangly, ruffle-haired boy in the back seat. He leant forward, between the gap, grinning. “They must really love you.”
Tia shrugged, and flicked off the ignition. The headlamps went out, leaving them in total darkness in the tiny village. “I told you, Tom. It was on the condition I wouldn’t drink.” She turned to face him. “It was either that or not go, so… ”
He reached out an unsteady hand and curled some hair behind her ear. “Maybe I can make it up to you,” he half-whispered, but rather than seductive, it came out more as a sleepy sigh.
In the passenger seat across from them there came an audible cough.
“Charming. Tom, you’re disgusting,” commented a red-head, rolling her eyes. “Give Tia a break.”
“Yeah, Tom. Listen to Katie.” Tia joined in, but her eyes caught his and they each shared a secret smile. Nobody knew they had decided to make their relationship official, at least to each other.
Tom collapsed back and let out a rough sigh. “Fine,” he gave in, feigning annoyance. “Can we get out of here? I’ve really got to take a leak and I don’t think your dad’ll like it if I spoil his fine upholstery with my - ”
“Yes, yes, all right,” Tia rushed, fumbling to get the keys out of the ignition. “Just give me a sec. I can barely see a thing.”
The village she lived in really was out in the middle of nowhere. They had to drive for twenty minutes before they even got to the nearest supermarket. There were a few houses dotted around within sight, close enough to be counted as ‘neighbours’, but generally life in the country was quiet and undisturbed. Tia’s friends often complained to her that she lived so far out of the way, as it meant they often didn’t get to see her. Were it not for the local college and her younger brother, she imagined her parents would have probably already moved.
Yanking on the keychain, she gave a frustrated groan.
“Ugh, it always sticks. Stupid thing.” In the pitch black she gave it a harder tug, jingling the metal as she wiggled the key back and forth. “Katie, get your phone, will you? Shine it over here.”
Obediently, Katie reached into her pocket and pulled out her mobile, activating the flashlight on the side.
“Here you go,” she said, and passed it to Tia.
As Tia’s hands fumbled in the dark, she pointed the phone in the direction of the ignition - where it promptly went out. She stared down at the blank screen before handing it back to Katie’s silhouette.
“Battery must have died.”
“That’s weird,” Katie mumbled, examining it. “I charged it before we came out.”
“For God’s - here, let me,” offered an irritable Tom, who was fidgeting like a five year old in a long and boring queue. “Women are so useless.”
“Um, excuse me! It’s not too late to make you sleep in the car, you know.”
“Whatever.”
He leant over into the front, shining the light from his own mobile phone across the ignition. With a beleaguered sigh, Tia gave the keys a decisive yank - at which point, Tom’s light also died.
“Oh, what?” cried Tia. “This is ridiculous! It’s never normally this bad.”
“Serves you right for living in the middle of nowhere.”
“I do not live in the middle of nowhere, Tom. Antarctica is the middle of nowhere. Just because this is a tiny village doesn’t mean it’s - ”
“Um, guys?” The voice was Katie’s, but it lacked the sarcasm that usually came whenever Tia and Tom started to bicker.
They both turned to her simultaneously. “What?”
“It’s … really dark outside.”
Tom rolled his eyes. “Duh. It’s night time, Katie, where have you been?”
“No, I mean.” She raised a trembling hand, pointing. “It’s really dark.”
Tia and Tom followed her hand with their gaze and Tia felt her palms start to sweat. It was always dark in the middle of the night, due to the lack of street lamps in the area. But there was always something, even the faintest glow: the stars, the moon, a house or car in the distance. But when she looked at the windscreen, she couldn’t see a thing. She couldn’t even make out her own silhouette staring back at her. Looking back to her friends, she gasped when even they seemed to have been swallowed up by darkness.
“Katie?” she called quietly. “Tom?”
She got no reply.
“Guys, this isn’t funny.”
Blindly, she reached behind her, trying to fumble for the handle of the door. But although her hands came across solid objects, she couldn’t make out what was what. As stupid as it sounded, she couldn’t even be sure that she was in the car any more. She waved a hand in front of her face and couldn’t make a single thing out.
“Hey!” she whimpered reaching forward this time. “What’s going on?”
Relief flooded her when her hands found something warm and soft, like a body. At least that gave her some grounding. It didn’t last long, however, as her fingers suddenly came across something sticky, warm and wet, oozing all over her fingers. A metallic smell lifted and began to choke her, and Tia nearly gagged.
“No… ”
She shook the body - Katie’s, she presumed - and tried to ignore the sensation of blood covering her hands. This couldn’t be real. She began to yell Katie’s name in fear, then Tom’s, then both of them as she became more and more panicked. She tried to shift in her chair, tried to make out something - anything - that wasn’t deep, dark black. But it was like everything had been swallowed up by nothingness. Like she was drowning in it.
The smell in the car was getting too much, and her trembling body felt as though it was going to pass out. She began to kick out, crying and screaming. Her limbs met nothing but air. Reaching for Katie’s body again, Tia found there was nothing. Nothing behind, nothing above.
Then all of a sudden a shadow appeared from the darkness. She didn’t know how it could be darker than dark, how it held form against the absence of everything, but the last thing Tia Mackavoy was aware of as it engulfed her was that she had never got to tell Tom that she loved him.
|| Next » ||