Waiting On A Rival

Chapter 27

While the Doctor and I scanned the floor, River and Donna were talking. I couldn't shake this feeling.

The one where you're almost certain there's someone else with you. When your breathing hitches, your skin crawls, and your mind concocts nightmares from restless nights.

Not that it was unexpected. The Vashta Nerada have that effect. I called out, "Proper Dave, could you move over a bit?"

"Why?" He asked.

"Over there by the water cooler," I said absentmindedly, "Thanks." The Doctor and I bumped into each other for the fifth time. Like all of the times before, I sidestepped left, he sidestepped right. With neither of us looking up, we crashed into each other again. How identical can our actions be before we're completely in each other's way.

Donna and River giggled at us. "Donna!" The Doctor snapped, "Quiet, I'm working."

"Sorry." They resumed their talk while I went around the Doctor.

"Me neither," I paused before continuing, "So, who's River?"

The Doctor looked at me briefly before turning back.

The real Doctor interrupted my thoughts, "Okay, got a live one. That's not darkness down those tunnels. This is not a shadow. It's a swarm. A man eating swarm." He threw a chicken leg from the lunch, but it was reduced to bone when it hit the floor.

"The piranhas of the air. The Vashta Nerada. Literally, the shadows that melt the flesh," I sighed, "Most planets have them, but usually in small clusters. I've never seen an infestation on this scale, or this aggressive."

"What do you mean, most planets?Not Earth?" Donna checked.

"Mmm. Earth, and a billion other worlds. Where there's meat, there's Vashta Nerada. You can see them sometimes, if you look. The dust in sunbeams."

She insisted, "If they were on Earth, we'd know."

"Nah. Normally they live on road kill. But sometimes people go missing," I explained, "Not everyone comes back out of the dark."

"Every shadow?"

"No. But any shadow," the Doctor corrected.

River asked, "So what do we do?"

"Daleks, aim for the eyestalk," I rambled, "Sontarans, back of the neck. Vashta Nerada?"

He finished the thought, "Run. Just run."

"Run? Run where?" She demanded.

"This is an index point," the Doctor stated, "There must be an exit teleport somewhere." He looked expectedly at Lux since it's his library.

"Don't look at me, I haven't memorised the schematics," he scoffed.

Donna lit up, "Doctor, the little shop. They always make you go through the little shop on the way out so they can sell you stuff."

"You're right. Brilliant!" The Doctor said to me, "That's why I like the little shop." I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, let's move it." Dave headed to the shop, but my eyes flitted to his shadows.

"Actually, Proper Dave?" I said slowly, "Could you stay where you are for a moment?"

"Why?" I nudged the Doctor and nodded subtilely toward him.

He sighed, "I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry. But you've got two shadows." Two pitch black shadows formed a right angle with Dave in the corner. It's how they hunt. They latch on to a food source and keep it fresh."