- 𝐔𝐍𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 !

070

—Chapter seventy | The Impossible Astronaut

—EVE STOOD BY, STILL INVESTIGATING ALL THE STRANGE OBJECTS. She glanced over toward the Doctor every so often, ignoring the strange feeling in her chest every time she did so. Unknown to her, he was doing the exact same. "So..." Canton spoke causing Eve to snap out of her thoughts. "...I was in a bar having a drink. Tell me honestly, am I still there?"

"Nope. Definitely not." Eve smiled. "If you were, this is one weird drunk dream- well..." She tilted her head slightly, thinking about it. "Actually, I've had worse."

The brunette snapped her head over to the hole where a panicked River came climbing out. Eve went to rush over but all of the fear from the curly-haired woman's face vanished. "All clear. Just tunnels, nothing down there I can see. Er, give me five minutes, I want to take another look round."

"Stupidly dangerous." The Doctor's voiced shouted.

"Yep, I like it too." River looked toward Amy. "Amy, look after him. Eve," The brunette hummed looking at her. "with me." 

"Of course, ma'am." Eve smirked as she jogged over and began climbing down the hole after River. The Doctor glanced at her with worry before speaking to Rory.

"Rory, would you mind going with her?"

"Yeah," Rory spoke. "A bit."

"Then I appreciate it all the more." The Doctor patted Rory on the back and walking away.

"Hang on, River, Eve, I'm coming too." Rory's voice was heard from where River and Eve stood. Eve smiled.

"Aye! Rory, River, and Eve, best trio to ever." Eve smiled as Rory climbed down before turning around. River was looking panicked once again as she tried to catch her breath. "River?"

"You okay?" Rory asked the curly-haired woman.

"Ah yes, yes." She looked at them both. "I just felt a bit sick. It's the prison food probably."

"You sure?" Eve asked with worry.

"Yes, Sweetie, I'm sure." River smiled at her before taking her device out of her bag. "This way, what do you think?" They all began to walk. 

Eve followed closely behind River with Rory. The brunette could swear she felt eyes on her. There was a quiet rattle in the darkness which caused her to snap her head around. She watched as Rory snapped his head toward the sound of scurrying. "You hear it too, yeah?" 

He nodded. "I keep thinking I hear things." 

"Interesting! These tunnels are odd. Really odd. How can they be really old and nobody notice them?" River looked around as she spoke. Within a few short moments, they spotted a door.

"It's a maintenance hatch." Rory said as they looked at it.

"It's locked." River told them both as she tried to open the door.

Eve mumbled. "Of course, it's locked."

"Why do people always lock things?" River questioned.

"What's through there?" Rory looked toward the two women.

"No idea."

"Something bad." Rory's voice echoed.

"Almost definitely." Eve chuckled at River's reply. Rory turned around with a sigh.

"You're going to open it, aren't you?" He questioned.

"It's locked." River stated. "How's a girl supposed to resist?"

"Is this sensible?"

"God, I hope not." Eve laughed slightly. She glanced toward Rory who was looking at her with furrowed eyebrows. "What?"

"You and the Doctor... I can kind of picture it." 

"Not you as well." Eve groaned. River smirked as she tried to unlock the door.

"Keep a look out." 

There was a small pause of silence as Eve looked around the dark passageway. "What did you mean? What you said to Amy. There's a worse day coming for you." She heard Rory say from behind her.

"When I first met the Doctor and The Reader a long, long time ago..." Eve's eyes snapped toward her at the sound of the words 'the Reader'. "...they knew all about me. Think about that. Impressionable young girl, and suddenly these people just drop out of the sky, they're clever and mad and wonderful and knows every last thing about her. Imagine what that does to a girl."

"I don't really have to." Rory said.

"Trouble is, it's all back to front. My past is their future. We're travelling in opposite directions. Every time we meet, I know them more, they know me less." Eve watched from further away as they spoke. "I live for the days when I see them. But I know that every time I do, they'll be one step further away. And the day's coming, when I'll look into those two's eyes... my Reader..." River closed her eyes before opening them. "and she won't have the faintest idea who I am."

There was a loud click and a noise. River took her head away from the door as the lock light up. "And I think it's going to kill me." 

Eve sent a sad look her way as she opened the door. The trio walked into the room to find.. something that almost reminded Eve of a Tardis console room. "What is this place?" Rory asked as they looked around.

There was a loud alarm which made the trio look around. "That's an alarm." River said. "Check if anythings coming." The two nodded and looked outside the door to meet the same eyes she met in the bathroom back in the white house.

"You." Eve glared. "You!" The Electricity practically glowed in her eyes before she was dragged back inside. "River!" The brunette called. 

The curly-haired woman looked at her. "There's nothing, it's fine." The spider-woman smiled at the blonde who began trying to figure out the strange machine.

There was a loud whooshing noise as River placed her hand on the large button. "These tunnels, they're not just here, they're everywhere. They're running under the surface of the entire planet! They've been here for centuries!" 

Eve walked forward and toward River with confusion. There was a shiver that ran up Eve's spine, signalling her spider sense. Her head snapped toward Rory as a crackling sound echoed out. A bright light shone. "Rory!" The two women screamed.

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