Doctor Who - In the Room By The Doctor-Traveling with Donna

Doctor Who - In the Room

His head bounced against the wall for the millionth time. He lost count how many moons he had seen. He didn't care for his surroundings, simple though they were. The only light that made it into the room was either from a ten inch slot in the door where they gave him food, and a window no bigger than a book nearly twelve feet off the ground. Its to keep you from hurting yourself, they always told me. But he always believed that it was that they didn't want him to escape. To tell the truth. To tell The Doctor what really happened.

He finally met the gaze of the man in front of him. Funny, he thought, he looks a lot younger than I remember. Though every times their eyes met, he remember just how old this man was. Over a thousand years had passed over that body, though he did a damn good job of covering it up. Maybe he is vain, he pondered, nearly out loud. His long black coat and dark pushed back hair did not move, as if his intention was to make the man believe he wasn't even there. He breathed in, as if to speak, but could only sob with a shudder. The Doctor simply continued to look down at the pathetic lump of a man, barely able to ever stand due to the loss of balance with his arms wrapped around his body in a hug. His eyes said he was waiting, but his patience was waning.

The man sucked air back into his lungs and breathed out heavily. "Finally," he said, "I have waited for you for so many years. Finally, someone who will listen to the truth. Finally, I can tell you what happened, Doctor."

In his memories, all he can hear are screams. Screams from the young and old alike. Children crying out in terror and pain. Parents crying for their loss young. The old crying for mercy. But, the reality was that the screams were largely drowned out by the gun shots, the crackle of fires burning everything, and the sound of electricity popping and fizzing.

"They didn't care who was there. They killed mercilessly. Old, young, babies, it didn't matter. Age and sex lost all meaning in the killing. I watched as they reached out with arms longer than a punting pole and touched those they could. I watch as some burst in to flames, while others just ceased to exist. It was....horror."

The Doctor's gaze never flinched. He nodded for the man to go on.

"People begged for mercy. A futile effort. We knew what they wanted, but we didn't give it to them. We thought we were doing the right thing. How could we have ever known? How could we have thought..."

The Doctor's gaze sharpened a bit, which caused the man to wince, but continue.

"...After everything burned to the ground, they moved back to the center of the town, back to their ship. One of them had it, they took it from the remains of the Town Hall. Satisfied, they began to board their ship and disappeared before our eyes. We thought the worst was over....god we were wrong."

He began to shift uncomfortably, as if he there was something on the floor he wanted desperately to get away from.

"They came....a group posing to be UNIT came in and began to question the living and cremating the dead. They asked...all these questions that we didn't know the answer to. They were more interested in the aliens than the deaths. I was standing in line, waiting to be questioned...when I heard the truth. Once they were done questioning you, they shot you...."

The Doctor took a breath, as if he hadn't breathed during the entire story.

"I ran....I ran so far....I thought that I had made it...that they'd never find me. But they did. They found me and they'll find you too, Doctor. They'll find you and they'll do so much worse to you."

The Doctor looked down at the curled up ball the man made of himself, pity and sadness in his eyes.

"They'll find you Doctor...and they'll burn you, just like they did to us. They'll destroy you, and everything you have...and your mind....just like me...."

The man began to sob uncontrollably from his tight ball in the corner of the room. He did not even notice the Doctor leave. He never noticed that the Doctor was ever really there.

The Doctor turned his back to the man and walked through the door of the TARDIS. As the doors slammed shut behind him and the engines began to rev up for take off, the man was left alone. He hadn't seen anyone, no one since he ran. And now he was alone, in the room. Forever.

By The Doctor-Traveling with Donna