Halfway Out Of The Dark || The Doctor

The End of The World

Rose ran into the TARDIS, where the Doctor and the Artist were waiting. "Right then, Rose Tyler, you tell us, where d'yer wanna go?" the Doctor asked, "Backwards or forwards in time, what's it gonna be?"

"Forwards." Rose said immediately.

"How far d'ya wanna go?" the Artist asked, pressing a few buttons on the console.

"100 years." Rose replied, picking a random number.

The Doctor pulled a lever and turned a nob. The TARDIS wheezed into life for a few seconds, then settled. "There yer go." the Doctor said, "Step outside those doors, it's the 22nd century."

"You're kidding." Rose remarked in disbelief.

"That's a bit boring, though." the Doctor said, "D'yer wanna go further?"

"Fine by me." Rose shrugged.

And so, they were soon off again. Rose watched the two aliens as they piloted the TARDIS. They were both like the footplate crew of a steam locomotive, working together in perfect sync. After a few seconds, the TARDIS settled again, with a bit of a jolt this time.

"10,000 years in the future." the Doctor said smugly, "Step outside, it's the year 12005, the New Roman Empire."

"You think ya so impressive." Rose teased.

"I am so impressive!" the Doctor pouted.

"You wish!"

"Right then, you asked for it." the Doctor huffed, "I know exactly where to go." He revved up the engines and pumped a lever, "Hold on!" And the TARDIS hurtled off with the Doctor piloting by himself this time, the Artist just stepping back to watch him, amused that his ego had been pricked.

With a pinging noise, the TARDIS stopped. "Where are we?" Rose asked. The Doctor didn't answer, he just gestured to the door. "What's out there?" Rose asked excitedly. Again, the Doctor just gestured to the door, so Rose stepped outside.

The Doctor watched her go, feeling very pleased with himself. The Artist checked the monitor and her smile promptly disappeared. "I'm not sure this is a good idea." she told the Doctor, "I wouldn't pick this for ya first date if I were you."

"A. It's not a date." the Doctor retorted, "B. I know what I'm doing." And with that, he stepped outside, the Artist reluctantly following.

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Rose found herself standing in a wood-panelled room with an enormous window covered by shutters. The Doctor went over to a futuristic-looking control panel on the wall and flashed his sonic screwdriver on it, causing the shutters to open, then they all went down some stairs and looked out of the window. Outside, they could see Planet Earth in all it's glory.

"You lot." the Doctor remarked, "Yer spend all yer time thinking about dying. Like yer gonna killed by eggs or beef or global warming or asteroids. But you never take time to imagine the impossible. Maybe you survive. This the year 5.5/apple/26. Five billion years in your future. This is the day... 'old on." He looked at his watch. As he did so, the sun flared brightly, the window automatically tinting to protect the trio's eyes from the blinding flash. "This is the day the Sun expands. Welcome to the end of the world." the Doctor finished.

Rose could only stare at this bombshell. The Doctor didn't notice, he just turned on his heel and strode over to the doors, which opened and he walked off into a hallway. The Artist gave Rose's arm a comforting squeeze. "I'm sorry, Rose." she said, "I did tell him this was a bad idea. We can take ya somewhere else if ya want."

"No, no, I'll be alright." Rose waved her off, and so both women went off after the Doctor.

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